Almost ready to upgrade, but I have a question...

[Freekman]

I have a PS3 "fatty" and am considering upgrading my receiver to the Pioneer VSX-819H-K in order to hear the phenomenal lossless audio. However, before I do so, I am wondering whether I need to upgrade my speakers to even be able to hear the difference between lossy and lossless. My speakers are from the Samsung HT-WX70 (currently discontinued) and I don't know if the quality of the speakers have anything to do with being able to hear lossless audio. Do I need to buy new speakers, as well, or will the new receiver do just fine?

[HAMP]

Check to make sure the OHM's for the speakers are ok with your new receiver.

You don't want to mess up your receiver if the speakers are 2 Ohm's.

Your question: Yes you will hear the lossless sound from the older speakers, but will you hear the best possible sound? I'll let you answer that.

[callas01]

I agree with Hamp,

Check the ohm rating on the speakers you have, Sony HTiB's are usually 3 ohms, I wouldn't put those on that receiver....

Also, I would get rid of the satelites when you can too, because they will not sound as good as a good pair of Bookshelf speakers or towers. If I may suggest, get an Onkyo HT-160 and a nice set of Energy or Polk towers and build up from there.

[Freekman]

What do the speaker's ohms have to do with the receiver?

EDIT: Just researched that and came to the conclusion that since I have a low budget of a few hundred bucks, I should go with the Sony HT-SS360 as some have suggested. It comes with speakers and a receiver (which I assume have the same impedance, obviously) and since my PS3 decodes lossless codecs, and since the SS360 can output uncompressed LPCM, I should be good. In the future, I can always upgrade (once I exceed in life and get my own place to live), but for now I believe this is the best choice for my setup in order to hear lossless audio. If anyone can recommend a cheaper/more convenient HTiB, that would be great. Thank you.

[blue11]

Originally Posted by Freekman

What do the speaker's ohms have to do with the receiver?

ohms is a measure of resistance/impedance. basically, at least from what I understand, when an AVR, in this instance the Pioneer 819 sends the electrical current to make the speakers vibrate to produce sound, it is regulated at 8 ohms. using speakers that do not match this resistance/impedance causes the avr to send more of a load through the speaker wires than what the speakers are designed for. this causes the avr to "work hard" and overheat. now there are some people who use speakers that are not rated at 8 ohms, that do not ahve any porblems. this can be attributed to not driving the amp too hard and listen to things are high volume. whether or not this causes incremental damage to the avr or speakers, I don't know.
essentially, it's better to have speakers with the same impedance/resistance for better results

[Kryptonic]

Originally Posted by Freekman

What do the speaker's ohms have to do with the receiver?

EDIT: Just researched that and came to the conclusion that since I have a low budget of a few hundred bucks, I should go with the Sony HT-SS360 as some have suggested. It comes with speakers and a receiver (which I assume have the same impedance, obviously) and since my PS3 decodes lossless codecs, and since the SS360 can output uncompressed LPCM, I should be good. In the future, I can always upgrade (once I exceed in life and get my own place to live), but for now I believe this is the best choice for my setup in order to hear lossless audio. If anyone can recommend a cheaper/more convenient HTiB, that would be great. Thank you.

I would seriously advise against buying any HTiB unless you go for an Onkyo. Those are pretty decent with solid speakers, certainly much better than those puny satellite's that come with most HTiB including the Sony you're eyeballing which honestly isn't going to sound any better than your current setup. Piece together your system. Sell your old one. Start with a receiver and good pair of front left and right channels and a subwoofer and slowly add the appropriate speakers to the other channels. You can build a very nice system for a good price. Check for deals on Polk speakers on NewEgg for instance. There are many good deals online for quality speakers.