Newbie audio questions

[ts0323]

I wouldn't exactly consider myself a noob to the video aspect of a home theater, but I don't know a whole lot about the audio part.
Right now I have some cheap Logitech S220 speakers that I bought for $30.
They aren't great, but they're a heck of a lot better than the TV's built-in speakers, and at least they have a sub.

Eventually I'd like to upgrade to some better speakers when I get enough money. However, I have a few questions about the whole setup ---
1. I understand I need an audio receiver + speakers. Do most speakers connect directly to the receiver and that's where they're powered from?
2. Would I connect my Blu-ray player HDMI to the HDTV, then HDMI out to the receiver?
3. What about wireless speakers? How are they powered?
4. The only way to transmit 5.1/7.1 is through HDMI, correct?


Thanks in advance for the responses.

[Intamin]

1. Yes, just hook them up to the receiver with speaker cable.
2. Blu-ray-->HDMI-->Receiver-->HDMI-->TV
3. Wireless speakers are self powered
4. Yes, if you want lossless. You can get 5.1 lossy through the other digital cables if I recall; the only way for 5.1/7.1 lossless is through HDMI.

[ts0323]

Originally Posted by Intamin

1. Yes, just hook them up to the receiver with speaker cable.
2. Blu-ray-->HDMI-->Receiver-->HDMI-->TV
3. Wireless speakers are self powered
4. Yes, if you want lossless. You can get 5.1 lossy through the other digital cables if I recall; the only way for 5.1/7.1 lossless is through HDMI.

Great, that really helps, thanks.
I got a few more questions. Is there any way to get decent speakers plus a receiver for $500? I don't really want to go the HTIB route, but I'm 16 and I don't have a whole lot of money.
Also, will any old receiver accept TrueHD and DTS-HD and all of that?

[BIslander]

Responses in red below:

Originally Posted by ts0323

1. I understand I need an audio receiver + speakers. Do most speakers connect directly to the receiver and that's where they're powered from?Correct. Most people get a powered subwoofer, however.

2. Would I connect my Blu-ray player HDMI to the HDTV, then HDMI out to the receiver?No. The HDMI connection on the TV is an input, not an output. The most common set-up is HDMI from the devices to the AVR and HDMI from the AVR to the TV.

4. The only way to transmit 5.1/7.1 is through HDMI, correct?No. There are a few issues here: First, it's true that HDMI is needed to transmit multichannel PCM. Optical and coax are limited to two channels. However, when it comes to encoded audio, optical and coax do transmit DD 5.1 and DTS. Those are lossy 5.1 codecs. You need HDMI to transmit lossless TrueHD and dts-MA. Finally, if the player has multichannel analog outputs, you can have the player do the decoding and the digital-to-analog conversion and use 6-8 analog cables to send the audio to the receiver. The AVR is essentially just an amplifier in that case.

Originally Posted by ts0323

... will any old receiver accept TrueHD and DTS-HD and all of that?

No. These days, most AVRs have lossless decoders. But, not all. In fact, some of the less expensive receivers only do HDMI switching and don't process audio over HDMI at all.

[Intamin]

Originally Posted by ts0323

Great, that really helps, thanks.
I got a few more questions. Is there any way to get decent speakers plus a receiver for $500? I don't really want to go the HTIB route, but I'm 16 and I don't have a whole lot of money.
Also, will any old receiver accept TrueHD and DTS-HD and all of that?

Reciever and speakers for 500? Yes, very carefully if you watch the deals and what not, but I'm guessing it'd be slightly over that budget, but the quality would/should be much improved over an htib. You could do a Polk, Onkyo, ED-sub for close to that budget which is pretty much the standard entry level set up, or go the used route (ebay or http://www.audiogon.com) and look for good bookshelf or floorstanders-brands that I would look for that would have something in your price range would be: Polk, Monitor Audio, Klipsch, Paradigm, Def-tech, Energy, Dynaudio (probably a stretch for the budget, but there is a pair of bookshelves on Agon for 300), and B&W (I'm sure I'm forgetting a few, but there are a lot of options out there that I bet you'll be happy with). Listen to what you can locally, and you should be able to find reviews of pretty much all of those speaker brands online if you can't find them locally (Oh, and don't be intimidated to go listen locally even if you're 16. Your money is the same as everyone else's.). For receivers that accept TrueHD and DTS-HD, most nowadays are starting to have that standard I believe. I know there is an Onkyo for $300 that does 5.1 out and decodes both codecs.

[ts0323]

Thanks for the response.
My Blu-ray player doesn't have multi-channel analog outputs so I suppose I'd just use HDMI.
How exactly would a powered subwoofer work? Would the audio receiver be hooked up to the sub, then the speakers are hooked up to the sub?

[Intamin]

Originally Posted by ts0323

Thanks for the response.
My Blu-ray player doesn't have multi-channel analog outputs so I suppose I'd just use HDMI.
How exactly would a powered subwoofer work? Would the audio receiver be hooked up to the sub, then the speakers are hooked up to the sub?

The receiver has a sub output on it and the sub has a LFE input. So your speakers are plugged into the receiver. Then just buy a subwoofer cable and connect it to the receiver and the sub.

[ts0323]

Originally Posted by Intamin

Reciever and speakers for 500? Yes, very carefully if you watch the deals and what not, but I'm guessing it'd be slightly over that budget, but the quality would/should be much improved over an htib. You could do a Polk, Onkyo, ED-sub for close to that budget which is pretty much the standard entry level set up, or go the used route (ebay or http://www.audiogon.com) and look for good bookshelf or floorstanders-brands that I would look for that would have something in your price range would be: Polk, Monitor Audio, Klipsch, Paradigm, Def-tech, Energy, Dynaudio (probably a stretch for the budget, but there is a pair of bookshelves on Agon for 300), and B&W (I'm sure I'm forgetting a few, but there are a lot of options out there that I bet you'll be happy with). Listen to what you can locally, and you should be able to find reviews of pretty much all of those speaker brands online if you can't find them locally (Oh, and don't be intimidated to go listen locally even if you're 16. Your money is the same as everyone else's.). For receivers that accept TrueHD and DTS-HD, most nowadays are starting to have that standard I believe. I know there is an Onkyo for $300 that does 5.1 out and decodes both codecs.

Originally Posted by Intamin

The receiver has a sub output on it and the sub has a LFE input. So your speakers are plugged into the receiver. Then just buy a subwoofer cable and connect it to the receiver and the sub.

Great, thanks again.
Now I just need to save up some $.

[Intamin]

http://www.accessories4less.com/make...eceiver/1.html $219

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....cc-v.3---adp-v $200

Which leaves you $80 for surrounds which shouldn't be too hard to find. Throw in another 30 bucks for cables (http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp), and then save for a subwoofer. But, this just shows you can get 5.0 and a receiver for the $500 range.

[ts0323]

Originally Posted by Intamin

http://www.accessories4less.com/make...eceiver/1.html $219

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....cc-v.3---adp-v $200

Which leaves you $80 for surrounds which shouldn't be too hard to find. Throw in another 30 bucks for cables (http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp), and then save for a subwoofer. But, this just shows you can get 5.0 and a receiver for the $500 range.

Wow, those speakers look pretty good.
The $80 surrounds you're referring to are the left and right surround, correct?
I'm also guessing that I don't need 7.1, since this is for a bedroom.

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by Intamin

the only way for 5.1/7.1 lossless is through HDMI.

let us not forget Multichannel Analog.

...but as far as user friendly and convenient, HDMI is the way to go.

[lamont360]

to Intamin: How reliable is buying from audiogon.com???

[Intamin]

Originally Posted by lamont360

to Intamin: How reliable is buying from audiogon.com???

I've bought and sold from there many times. Never had any issues. I've also found that people are a lot more conservative on their rating for an item than say ebay.

[lamont360]

So here is my situation, Intamin. I'm upgrading my center from a Def Tech Procenter 1000 to a Def Tech CLR 2002. Retail is around $550. A trusted buyer on Ebay is $400. And a random guy with only 1 review under his belt (positive review) selling for $300. What would you do?

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by lamont360

So here is my situation, Intamin. I'm upgrading my center from a Def Tech Procenter 1000 to a Def Tech CLR 2002. Retail is around $550. A trusted buyer on Ebay is $400. And a random guy with only 1 review under his belt (positive review) selling for $300. What would you do?

"I" would snag it from Audiogon and pay via paypal.