trying to do the sound thing without a clue

[krazeyeyez]

im just starting to look into getting a sound system set up for home theatre....but i have no idea where to begin. last time i bought a stereo left AND right chanels were the new thing

my real question is whats the differences between 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1 setups and how noticable is the difference? i would love to have great sound but im not an audiophile and i want affordable without cheaping out and getting something i'll regret, but i also want to future proof this setup. if some one could point me in the right direction of key features i should be paying attention too in my research i would greatly appreciate it.

p.s.
just got my tv and blu at the start of Dec. and i am still feeling the wow factor....gotta love blu.

[BTS]

https://forum.blu-ray.com/forumdisplay.php?f=44
HAVE FUN THIS IS A GOOD START

[krazeyeyez]

thanks i have been reading that forum...unfortunatly i couldnt start a thread there yet..... what im looking for is the basic tech stuff i should be looking into. most of those posts i read were more or less just people saying what they got or pushing a certain brand etc...im just looking for some jumping off points to begin my research so i have some knowledge before i start shopping.

[Blu-Dog]

A good primer on this stuff is at the THX official site, www.thx.com , where they show room layouts, speaker placement, stuff like that. When you go there, select Home Entertainment, then Home Theater Tips.

5.1 is the basic standard, been around for years. It's the DVD standard, has been for years. Dolby started it; DTS has improved it.

6.1 was a transitional setup, not supported on any movie release I've ever seen.

7.1 is now implemented on Blu-Ray, in various methods; Dolby has one flavor, DTS another, and each encodes the audio to send information to separate speakers in your system. Three in front; one on either side, one in each rear corner. The "point 1" is the subwoofer, which has it's own channel.

The best of all is called PCM, which doesn't do any encoding to reduce the signal size - but won't fit on HD-DVD, pretty much. Good thing you're in the Blu-Ray world.

Outfitting audio can get expensive. You can do very will with 5.1 setups; 7.1 is nice, but requires more speakers. A 7.1 amp doesn't really cost more than a 5.1, and you can simply leave the two side channel unpopulated.

More important, the various encoding methods have to be decoded from your movie disk, either by the player, or by your receiver. But before we get too deep into that, take a look at that site, see what the room layouts look like, and the basics will be much clearer. Then you can begin to define what you think you'll need, and how to be "upgrade safe" (or at least reasonably so)...

[krazeyeyez]

thanks for the breakdown and the link ill check it out. most appreciated.

[jsteinhauer]

I've been into HT now for just under a year, and I am just now beginning to delve into sound, beyond placing my speakers in a traditional way and using automatic calibration. The AVS forum has a ton of information, and it is a useful resource. Don't rely on information provided by the manufacturers, because it often oversimplifies things. For instance, the manual accompanying my AVR recommends speaker settings that are completely contrary to generally accepted bass management practices.

I recommend doing diligent research in choosing a receiver and set of speakers and not necessarily going with what you can get at the big box stores. There are many affordable options that you can't get at BB and CC and may be superior than what you can get there. I also recommend getting the best you can afford. I now wish I had spent more than I did on my speakers, but also consider that changing the arrangement, furnishings, other treatments in your room can have affects that can accomplish more in improving sound quality than spending thousands on hardware.

I am just beginning to skim the surface of home theater audio, and I find it very complex and challenging. Good luck and have fun.

[crackinhedz]

Entry Level HDMI Receivers

this is a good list to start with, you can most likely find these models a little cheaper elsewhere on the net. But its a good list to start from.

The Sony STR-DG810 is 5.1PCM and the rest are 7.1PCM

These will be the most affordable models still capable of HD audio...

[krazeyeyez]

so all 7.1receivers are pcm capable? basically i want to be covered that all my sound sources are playing at the quality they were intended especially my blu's.

and when your using hdmi and switching through the receiver there is no signal degredation from adding that component in the middle if i understand this right, so i can actually gain inputs out of this also.

[quetzalcoatl]

Originally Posted by krazeyeyez

so all 7.1receivers are pcm capable? basically i want to be covered that all my sound sources are playing at the quality they were intended especially my blu's.

and when your using hdmi and switching through the receiver there is no signal degredation from adding that component in the middle if i understand this right, so i can actually gain inputs out of this also.

Yes that is right. What you want to avoid is video passthrough HDMI receivers. Those will not do anything with the audio, and I think they should be outlawed. The best thing to do is figure what your budget is and from there you can get some suggestions. Since for a receiver and speakers you can spend anywhere from about 1K to 20K+. I would get a 7.1 receiver but it is not a must since there are only about 10-12 tracks on Blu that are 7.1 right now.

And even thought we will give you suggestions find a local shop where you can listen not eveyones tastes are the same. And brands tend to have a similar sound across them and not the same as another. This goes for both speakers and receivers.

[krazeyeyez]

what do you mean by passthrough and whats the drawback?

so if pcm is the best what is dolby true hd or dts hd audio etc...

i just read somewhere on this forum a statement like it sucks i gotta run my ps3 with pcm instead of "bit" something or another (sorry i am a noob).

wow ive been on my comp looking at this stuff for way too long today and the more i read the more i realize i know absolutely nothing and there is far more involved with sound today then i will probably ever understand. im gonna go drink a beer and watch a blu.

[quetzalcoatl]

Originally Posted by krazeyeyez

what do you mean by passthrough and whats the drawback?

so if pcm is the best what is dolby true hd or dts hd audio etc...

i just read somewhere on this forum a statement like it sucks i gotta run my ps3 with pcm instead of "bit" something or another (sorry i am a noob).

wow ive been on my comp looking at this stuff for way too long today and the more i read the more i realize i know absolutely nothing and there is far more involved with sound today then i will probably ever understand. im gonna go drink a beer and watch a blu.

HDMI passthrough does just that allows the HDMI signal to passthrough the receiver. It sounds great but it does not allow for audio to be used via HDMI. So you need a receiver that both allows for passthorugh and will do audio. And most of those that donot do the audio are just labeled as passthrough.
Example the Pioneer 90 is a passthough model where the 91 will do audio via HDMI.


I donot remeber saying PCM is the best. There is plenty of argument on that subject as to weither you want your player to send bitstream or PCM. And looking at your player that is not really a issue for you right now. But since you want to future proof yourself some you need a receiver that will decode both TrueHD and DTS HD MA.

Yes the sound stuff can be complicated especially at first. And the CE manafactures donot make it any easier on anyone. Since they will throw out stuff like DTS HD capable. Well DTS HD is broken into 2 catagories HR which is a lossy track and MA which is lossless. Dolby is not quite so confusing.

But the most important thing is to get a budget. If you donot set one you can and will break the bank.

[Footloose301]

Originally Posted by Blu-Dog

6.1 was a transitional setup, not supported on any movie release I've ever seen.

6.1 is actually on quite a bit of DVD's(DTS ES 6.1 Discrete). The new Rush Hour 3(Special Editon, not the regular), Snakes on a Plane, Butterfly Effect, Blade 1,2, & 3, Saw, Texas Chainsaw Massacre:The New Beginning, etc....

Those are just a few of the DVD movies that I own with 6.1 but I've got many more. You should check them out, they sould so much better than listening to 5.1 DD.

[Footloose301]

Originally Posted by krazeyeyez

i just read somewhere on this forum a statement like it sucks i gotta run my ps3 with pcm instead of "bit" something or another (sorry i am a noob).

what they are talking about is that when you have your PS3 connected via HDMI to the receiver you should set the PS3 to PCM because the PS3 will do all of the audio decoding and then send it along as PCM to the receiver. For instance:

You want to watch a movie in Dolby TrueHD. Set the PS3 to PCM, pop in the movie. The PS3 decodes the information and sends it to the receiver. You will still be listening to Dolby TrueHD, not PCM. The PS3 is ONLY sending the information as PCM to the receiver because it is already decoded. This is probably the best way to do it. By selectiong PCM on your PS3 then your surround receiver's display will not change, it will always say PCM even though you're listening to Dolby Digital, Dolby True HD, DTS-HD, etc. If you set the PS3 to bitstream then it'll be sending the audio file to the receiver and then the receiver will do the decoding.

[krazeyeyez]

just out of curiosity, what is up with my player that the pcm bitstream isnt an issue for me? it was an impulse buy for me to go blu and im happy i did but i also never looked into players so.....fill me in on my blu cause that comment is really freaking me out

[Magic]

Two quick things:

1. Welcome to to the forums! I dig the name. "I'm coming for you b*tch, I'm your Krazey Eyes Killa!" Not sure if everyone gets the reference.

2. Listen to everything that Crackinhedz has to say. He helped me when I first joined and is still a huge help to me today. He is Mr. Audio in my opinion.

[Snowgod]

You are about to embark on a journey of discovery and wonder. The first system you have will be better than anything that has come before it. You will watch old movies and discover that sound will change your movie experience. In movies like the "Haunting" a subwofor can become a character in the movie, IE the ghost. Now for a dose of reality. Your ears will teach you what you like and dislike but you must buy a system to learn what you like. You will have fun and think there is nothing better and then you will start to notice things that annoy you. Tinny sound from the center channel speaker. Non matching speakers will not sound natural as sound moves around you. You will also find that with few exceptions, more money buys better sound. Little tiny speakers produce sound that is not as full or room filling as bigger more expensive systems. I am not saying that small speakers sound bad, just that a $300 system will not sound as good as a $3000 system. Take the time to listen and you will be rewarded. Good luck.

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

Entry Level HDMI Receivers

this is a good list to start with, you can most likely find these models a little cheaper elsewhere on the net. But its a good list to start from.

The Sony STR-DG810 is 5.1PCM and the rest are 7.1PCM

These will be the most affordable models still capable of HD audio...

Krazeyeyez, it can be really confusing with all this technical jargon...so instead of driving yourself crazy, go with one of the receivers from my link... these are entry level HDMI receivers. If you cannot afford between $300-$500 then I would say wait. Do not buy a HTIB and avoid "passthrough" systems which are usually below $300.

You can find the receivers on that list probably for a better price on say like amazon.com But if you want 1080p video (no signal degredation) and HD Audio...go with one of those on the list. Give yourself peace of mind...and then you can just sit back and read these forums and learn bit by bit.

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by Magic

2. Listen to everything that Crackinhedz has to say. He helped me when I first joined and is still a huge help to me today. He is Mr. Audio in my opinion.

...awe shucks.

Thanks for the compliment. There are also many others on here who are pretty knowledgable on electronic issues...some are even here on this thread!

Some people will say "oh you should go to avsforum.com they would know" ... but you can get great help right here on this forum.