Old school receiver, tips to max it out?

[reubelim]

Hi all:

I have been enjoying a Yamaha AX-1 which does 6.1, which I have hooked up to similarly old-school components: B&W DM 604 mains and a bit newer large B&W center, small Sherwood front effects, mid-sized Mission rear center and NHT SuperOne rear effects, and Jamo SW505e sub. My monitor is a Pany 50 inch 1080i plasma and I use either a Pioneer 1080i regular DVD player, old Pioneer laser disc or hook up an HP notebook w/ blueray via the HDMI to the Pany. Yup, I am cheap, (sigh). Five kids in school from law school to toddler age will do that to you...

My questions are: 1) Can I connect in series 2 rear centers so that I would have something like 7.1 instead of the 6.1 I now have with just 1 rear center? How would this differ from regular 7.1, and what stuff do I have to watch out for if I try this? I have some nice AR15 8 ohms lying around that I want to use for the purpose. 2) What is the ideal blu-player I should get to enjoy some of the newer HD codexes via direct analog connects to the AX-1? I have extensively read the thread on doing this trick. Tried it out using the analog outs on the Pioneer and didn't notice much of a difference, maybe because it's not blu-ray, but did notice that the subwoofer became ineffective. Perhaps anyone could recommend a blu-ray that has requisite processing and bass controls that isn't too expensive and would slot in perfectly when I can get a new receiver?

Yes, I really intend to upgrade to an HDMI receiver, but will have to wait until I can afford one which can match the power specs/basic processing I now get from the AX-1. Softening up the missus though on getting a new blu-ray player, so hope you guys could help out.

Cheers!

[arush5268d]

For a player I'd personally recommend one of the Panasonics. If you care about the 2.0 profile / BD-Live then you'll be paying for the hefty price tag on the DMP-50. Personally that's not anything that interests me so I am just as happy as a clam with my Panasonic DMP-30. Both players have analog audio outputs. I don't have any firsthand experience with the Sony stand-alone players but I'm sure some of the other members here can fill you in on those.

[reubelim]

Thanks for the suggest, am actually considering Pany players for the Viera link feature. Was hoping too for advice on connecting speakers in series, have no experience doing this and I might just end up with a big in-home fireworks show.

Take care!

[un4gvn94538]

Originally Posted by reubelim

Hi all:

I have been enjoying a Yamaha AX-1 which does 6.1, which I have hooked up to similarly old-school components: B&W DM 604 mains and a bit newer large B&W center, small Sherwood front effects, mid-sized Mission rear center and NHT SuperOne rear effects, and Jamo SW505e sub. My monitor is a Pany 50 inch 1080i plasma and I use either a Pioneer 1080i regular DVD player, old Pioneer laser disc or hook up an HP notebook w/ blueray via the HDMI to the Pany. Yup, I am cheap, (sigh). Five kids in school from law school to toddler age will do that to you...

My questions are: 1) Can I connect in series 2 rear centers so that I would have something like 7.1 instead of the 6.1 I now have with just 1 rear center? How would this differ from regular 7.1, and what stuff do I have to watch out for if I try this? I have some nice AR15 8 ohms lying around that I want to use for the purpose. 2) What is the ideal blu-player I should get to enjoy some of the newer HD codexes via direct analog connects to the AX-1? I have extensively read the thread on doing this trick. Tried it out using the analog outs on the Pioneer and didn't notice much of a difference, maybe because it's not blu-ray, but did notice that the subwoofer became ineffective. Perhaps anyone could recommend a blu-ray that has requisite processing and bass controls that isn't too expensive and would slot in perfectly when I can get a new receiver?

Yes, I really intend to upgrade to an HDMI receiver, but will have to wait until I can afford one which can match the power specs/basic processing I now get from the AX-1. Softening up the missus though on getting a new blu-ray player, so hope you guys could help out.

Cheers!

basically thats how my old school 7.1 was inside the reciever. the diff now is that its 7.1 discrete. with the two rear backs having diff audio for a more smooth surround rather than both outputting the same audio all the time. and i dont know if its advisable so i cant comment on it.

[reubelim]

I am partial to Yamahas myself. Have another newer non-HDMI receiver in the masters, but its a lower-end one matched to Yamaha sub and speakers, it does the job. Listened a few months back to the 605 and 875 Onkyos and they sound sweet, now there are 6 series (606, etc) and newer Yamahas and Sonys--its a never-ending arms race! Do we see 9 or even 10.1 soon?

Just found out yday while fiddling around that the new HP Pavilion laptop that I use for blu-ray also carries sound through the HDMI, so this changes my upgrade priority a bit to a new receiver.

Thanks for all the inputs, take care all!