Home Theater Questions

[Bluray Freak 2009]

Hi I Come to these forums asking for help on building a Home Theater from scratch I have read a lot on Home Theaters in general and the surround formats also.

I am getting this as a gift so I have no budget,Due to certain circumstances that occurred on Wednesday I told the family member that I needed a little more time to decide on what components I will choose for my first Home Theater. I was given a whole extra week to choose what components I will be getting.

Here is a list of the components I plan on getting


1.Samsung 55” Class 1080p 240HZ LCD-LED HDTV
Model:UN55B8000
2.Denon 910W 7.1Ch Sirius Satellite Radio Ready A/V Receiver
Model: AVR4310CI


Here is a list of components that I already have bought

Sony PlayStation 3
Sega Dreamcast
Nintendo Gamecube (With Component Output)
Sony PlayStation Portable (With TV Out Function)
DVD Player
VCR

I also have a couple of questions that need answering please.

General Questions

1.As I said above the receiver that's listed above can still be changed before I buy anything,I heard Denon was the best receiver but I heard the Marantz brand was better but then I also read on the internet that Marantz merged with Denon so does that mean that Denon and Marantz products are simillar now. So basically I am willing to hear your advice on which receiver to buy a Denon or Marantz.

2. As you can see I have chosen no speakers yet but I heard Klipsch
(I have speakers for PC that are this brand),Yamhaha are good which brand sounds better?

3.I want to setup the speakers in this format how many would I need and where do I place them




Layout variation for 7.1 widescreen cinema format:
Four channels for speakers at the front—left (L), Center-left (CL), right (R) and Center-Right (CR).
One channel for speaker at the center—center (C).
Two channels for surround speakers at the rear—surround left (LS) and surround right (RS).
One low-frequency effects channel (LFE).
8-channel SDDS uses this layout variation.
This variation is becoming increasingly popular in home entertainment systems, as well as for large cinema auditoria where the screen width is such that the additional channels are needed to cover all angles between the loudspeakers satisfactorily for all seats in the auditorium



3A. Is there a Receiver that does 9.2 just wondering?

2.Can the PSP's Video Out be upscale to TV's Native resolution if so will it look bad?

Receiver Specific Questions

1.I know that I already have chosen a Receiver to buy but that can be changed let me tell you the features I want the receiver to have.

* I want it to be able to handle all surround sound formats including Dolby True HD,DTS-HD
* I want it to have bitstream support for bluray.
* I want it to have a phono input for the record player (The Denon has this input)
* I want it to have an RS232 Port To Control all the AV Equipment From A PC
(The Denon has this port)
* I want it to upscale video to 1080P and convert it to HDMI
(I know the receiver I chose upscales video but I am not sure if it converts it to HDMI Output)
* The receiver I chose has multizone features for audio and video but only for 3 Zones is there any way I can Extend that with external hardware to 9 Zones
* The receiver I chose has AM-FM/XM,Sirius/HD Radio Support
* I want it to support Dolby Pro Logic IIz Decoding ( The Denon has this feature I think )
* I want it to have enough inputs so that later on if I want to add more components to it I can
(Ex. Record Player,D-VHS,SACD,DVD-Audio)

Thanks In Advance For All your Advice

[PitbullMike]

Originally Posted by Bluray Freak 2009

Hi I Come to these forums asking for help on building a Home Theater from scratch I have read a lot on Home Theaters in general and the surround formats also.

I am getting this as a gift so I have no budget but I have to let the family member know by Thursday what I want them to buy.

Here is a list of the components I plan on getting


1.Samsung 55” Class 1080p 240HZ LCD-LED HDTV
Model:UN55B8000
2.Denon 910W 7.1Ch Sirius Satellite Radio Ready A/V Receiver
Model: AVR4310CI


Here is a list of components that I already have bought

Sony PlayStation 3
Sega Dreamcast
Nintendo Gamecube (With Component Output)
Sony PlayStation Portable (With TV Out Function)
DVD Player
VCR

I also have a couple of questions that need answering please.

General Questions

1.As I said above the receiver that's listed above can still be changed before I buy anything,I heard Denon was the best receiver but I heard the Marantz brand was better but then I also read on the internet that Marantz merged with Denon so does that mean that Denon and Marantz products are simillar now. So basically I am willing to hear your advice on which receiver to buy a Denon or Marantz.

2. As you can see I have chosen no speakers yet but I heard Klipsch
(I have speakers for PC that are this brand),Yamhaha are good which brand sounds better?

3.I want to setup the speakers in this format how many would I need and where do I place them




Layout variation for 7.1 widescreen cinema format:
Four channels for speakers at the front—left (L), Center-left (CL), right (R) and Center-Right (CR).
One channel for speaker at the center—center (C).
Two channels for surround speakers at the rear—surround left (LS) and surround right (RS).
One low-frequency effects channel (LFE).
8-channel SDDS uses this layout variation.
This variation is becoming increasingly popular in home entertainment systems, as well as for large cinema auditoria where the screen width is such that the additional channels are needed to cover all angles between the loudspeakers satisfactorily for all seats in the auditorium



3A. Is there a Receiver that does 9.2 just wondering?

2.Can the PSP's Video Out be upscale to TV's Native resolution if so will it look bad?

Receiver Specific Questions

1.I know that I already have chosen a Receiver to buy but that can be changed let me tell you the features I want the receiver to have.

* I want it to be able to handle all surround sound formats including Dolby True HD,DTS-HD
* I want it to have bitstream support for bluray.
* I want it to have a phono input for the record player (The Denon has this input)
* I want it to have an RS232 Port To Control all the AV Equipment From A PC
(The Denon has this port)
* I want it to upscale video to 1080P and convert it to HDMI
(I know the receiver I chose upscales video but I am not sure if it converts it to HDMI Output)
* The receiver I chose has multizone features for audio and video but only for 3 Zones is there any way I can Extend that with external hardware to 9 Zones
* The receiver I chose has AM-FM/XM,Sirius/HD Radio Support
* I want it to support Dolby Pro Logic IIz Decoding ( The Denon has this feature I think )
* I want it to have enough inputs so that later on if I want to add more components to it I can
(Ex. Record Player,D-VHS,SACD,DVD-Audio)

Thanks In Advance For All your Advice

Both Denon and Marantz are excellent receivers,either will do.Klipsch is the better speaker than Yamaha.I have a very nice Marantz receiver for sale
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=103887

[Hammie]

You really need to listen to different speakers for yourself. What one person may recommend may not sound as pleasing to your ears.

For example, I personally do not like the sound of Klipsch speakers because I prefer a warm sounding speaker, i.e., Polk Audio, B&W, Canton. I feel horn speakers are a little harsh for my taste.

As far as whether a 5.1 or 7.1 is better, what size room will you be putting these in? If your listening area is right against the back wall, a 7.1 is probably not the optimum setup for you. A proper 7.1 setup, has the rear surround speakers BEHIND the listening area. Matrixing a 7.1 soundtrack to 5.1 is no big deal and you do not loose anything. I run a 5.1 setup because my room would never accommodate a 7.1 setup properly.

Since it sounds like you are going balls out for your first setup, have you considered separates? You could probably get into a very nice setup for the same price as that Denon you are looking at.

If your "gift" can be about $10-12K, I'm sure we can put together a VERY nice setup.

[Jbald87]

Hey it's not 9.2, How is 10.2?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218008113045

[DragonSarc]

for that price i would get a denon avr-5308

[Bluray Freak 2009]

I will be putting the HT in the family room let me tell you how I will set it up

My family room is big but I will be using wall space to keep as much floor space as clear as possible.

The TV will be hung on the wall.
The surround sound speakers will also be hung on the wall.
The center speaker will be hung on the wall above the TV.
The front speakers will be floor standing speakers.

I have enough space to setup a 9.1 setup no problem because I will be using wall space.

It looks like denon has more choices than Marantz so I will be sticking to denon for my first HT.

[Bluray Freak 2009]

Alright since I now have extended time this is the components I will for sure be getting

1.Samsung 55” Class 1080p 240HZ LCD-LED HDTV
Model:UN55B8000

2.Denon 910W 7.1Ch Sirius Satellite Radio Ready A/V Receiver
Model: AVR4310CI

I will not be changing my mind on the above components any more after extended research done on them and by first hand experience

I have also kind of decided on Yamaha brand speakers after listening to both Yamaha speakers and Klipsch speakers the Yamaha speakers based on listening to them sounded more warm and softer than the Klipsch speakers sounded harsh. although I am still open to suggestions based on speaker brands.

I also have a couple of general questions regarding speakers in general.

1.If I setup a 9.1 system do the number of speakers count as a group toward the maximum number of watt's in this case 910 Watt's of the receiver.

2.Is their an easy way to break down the information below because I am kind of confused on how many speakers I need to buy,where I need need to place them and also remember that I will at least setting up a 9.1 system but If there is a way to add an additional sub to that setup to make a 9.2 system I will also like information on how to setup a 9.2 system if possible.

Layout variation for 7.1 widescreen cinema format:
Four channels for speakers at the front—left (L), Center-left (CL), right (R) and Center-Right (CR).
One channel for speaker at the center—center (C).
Two channels for surround speakers at the rear—surround left (LS) and surround right (RS).
One low-frequency effects channel (LFE).
8-channel SDDS uses this layout variation.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....2180081 13045

This product is a little too old and doesn't have some of the features the denon has the price is also just a little too high just for a receiver for my first Home Theater but that doesn't by any means mean that I don't want more advice from you or from the experts on this forum.

[Bluray Freak 2009]

I found this great thread on here called speakers 101 I will read that and see if I can understand a little more how to setup speakers if not I will post again

[Bluray Freak 2009]

Hi I'm done reading I will post the speaker questions in the speaker section fourm