[RESOLVED] looking for thoughts on upgrading home enterainment system

[surfacerider]

Few years ago I bought LG 43" HD 1080p flat screen. Included with the pruchase was an LG 5 cd suround sound advertised at 1,000 watts rms. Added to that a sony 3D blue ray player and a VCR to cover all my media.

Couple months ago I upgraded to a Samsung 3D 55" LED 6500 Series smart tv , and for the missing rumbling floor board action scenes a used Energy Powered sub.

All components are connected to the tv with HDMI cables , except for the VCR it uses RCA's. Now I am looking for a better fuller sound , and I have decided to go with Yahama.

So my questions are:

1. Can I post links here for some components I am thinking of.

2. Since everything is connected to the tv with HDMI and I'm just using the AV Reciever for sound does the reciever have to be HDMI and saw some 3D compliant , does that matter.

3. There are a lot of components out there what should I be looking for to get a better sound.

4. Adding a pre amp , would that be benaficial , my audio output on the tv is RCA

Thanks in advance , Surf

[SuperSparks]

Post links by all means

[surfacerider]

ok here are 2 I was lookking at:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-RX-V1...item3a73cc374e

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-RX-V1...item3a73cc374e

Thanks supersparks

[fink]

Adding a pre-amp won't improve the actual quality of the sound.. it is what it is.. it's entirely source dependant.. but depending on the preamp, it could allow you to manipulate it in different ways... eg- equalization, spatial and dimensional characteristics, multi channel orientation, subwoofer output, etc.


Having said that your current LG 5 and the receiver linked to above all have built in preamps that will do all that anyway so no, a second pre-preamp won't be useful in your system.

BTW.. the top link above is the same as the bottom.

[cdroman]

Speakers will give the best upgrade along with a good sub woofer for fuller sound. Good subs and speakers are worth the money if you have the budget, and sound is important, and can be found
http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/index.html
http://www.hsuresearch.com/
http://www.svsound.com/


Of course there are lots of other options out there.

[surfacerider]

The lg suround sound needs to be turned up just past 3/4 volume to achieve a reasonal volume level for most of the action movies I have in an apartment sized living room. I think that that is a little too much needed volume control

The powered Energy sub will turn up so it will drown out the whole movie and not be able to hear the dialog as well as get things falling off the wall.

So I was looking for something with more power out put so as to keep below the distortion level on my LG reciever down. Accordint all the specs the Yahama has about 3 time the out put as the LG.

Or maybe I'm barging up the wron tree

Thanks surf

[SuperSparks]

That does rather suggest that your current speakers are horrendously inefficient. I'm inclined to go along with Cdroman, I think upgrading your speakers might be the way to go. If your present amp is 1000 Watt RMS, I don't see that changing to a different one of about the same power is going to help much. But the efficiency of a speaker can make a huge difference to the volume.

[fink]

See if there's a setting on the TV for a "fixed" volume output. If it's set for the tv to control the volume via the remote then it could be putting out a lower level than is ideal.

The position of the volume control would likely be the same for the Yamaha amp as it is for the LG. The rated power output of any amp doesn't affect where the volume control needs to be set to.. it just gives you more headroom if you want to turn it up to a louder level without pushing it to a point where it distorts.

The perceived volume difference attainable by a 900Watt amp vs a 300Watt amp is only 4.5 decibels... not really that much when you consider that just 3 decibels is considered to be when a volume increase or decrease is noticed by the average human ear so getting a more powerful amp isn't the solution.

As far as the subwoofer being too loud that's a balancing act that you'll need to set for optimum levels. Bass frequencies (and highs too) are less noticeable at very low volumes than at louder levels so when you turn the volume up the bass output suddenly becomes overbearing... hence a loudness control on most amps to compensate for that at low volumes... turn that off at increased levels, if it's on, for a more realistic low end response. Also the audio on movies, esp action films, is tweaked to increase the audio dynamics so it exacerbates that wall shaking effect often to the point of ridiculous. I have a setting on my current DVD player to make that dynamic volume increase more subtle.

And I do agree that better speakers are the way to go to upgrade a home theater... they're the most important component in the audio setup by far.

One other thing to try, if you can, is to take the audio patch from other points/components in your system.. eg from the cable box, if you have one, and/or the DVD player.. their output is probably hotter (louder) than the TV's is. There should be enough inputs on the LG receiver to plug them both in separately so you can switch easily. There won't be any difference in sound quality but the volume control might not have to be turned up quite so far for the volume you want since the input level would be a bit higher.

[surfacerider]

Now I'm confused.

For example 2 car sterio's same make , differant models. the first one I had was rated 15w X 4. Driving down the freeway with the windows down to get the volume to a level that I could hear required over 1/2 volume where as with most sterios after 1/2 volume all that happens is the sound get's dirty

Later I changed it wirh one rated 25W X 4 and a whole new experiance , same volume level under 1/2 and a cleaner sound.

So i guess I'm applying this mentality to my home theater system.

Back to my project in hand. Replacing the passive sub that came with the LG LH-E932TB system with the Energy Powered sub has given me what was missing ...... that low rumbling , floor vibrating experiance. After going through the manual a little adjustment and tweeking it works great with a volume setting of 3-4

My next purchase will be a 7.1 reciever or a/v reciever depending on how you want to word it. And I have chosen Yahama for styling ( important ) and reviews.

This is where it gets confusing. I see units rated at 80w to 900w and any where in between , and most of these retail prices are more than I paid for my complete system.

So here are 3 I was looking at , could i have your thoughts onn them please.

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/va...985458416.html

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-RX-V1...item41647f8d21

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-RX-V1...item3a73cc374e

Later on I'll finish everything off with speakers.

Thanks every one for your input ........... surf

[Train]

Ohms law still applies.
This is geared more toward cars though.
http://www.bcae1.com/spkrimp.htm

Remember, to me a good 8 ohms system sounds a lot better. And no two hear the same thing either.

[fink]

It's important to not get fixated on where the volume knob needs to be set for optimum or maximum volume. It's a totally arbitrary thing that will change, sometimes drastically, between different amps, models, brands, etc and is also entirely dependent on the output of the device that's plugged into it.. eg your TV which seems to have a somewhat lower output level than others so the volume knob needs to be turned to a higher point. It doesn't mean anything is broken although it can be annoying if you constantly have to adjust the volume knob if you're switching between a high output device to a low output device.

And as suggested above the efficiency of the speakers is also a major factor. Different speakers require a different am't of power (watts) to achieve the same volume so that's yet another variable in where the volume knob needs to be set for a desired level. A common method of measuring speaker efficiency is to measure the volume output at 1 meter using a 1 Kilohertz tone with a fixed amplifier output (usually 1 Watt). An efficient speaker will give you something like 100 to 105 decibels whereas an inefficient speaker would be around 95 decibels or lower. That's a pretty big range of volume that to even out between the two speakers would require quite a jump with the volume knob.

[fink]

All 3 of those receivers look to be of good quality. If I were buying one I'd weigh out the features I want vs the price. I'd tend not to get too granular with the specs since the audible differences between them would be very minimal.

I'd also lean more towards an ebay purchase because there are some available remedies if there are problems with the seller or equipment. Not so much with Craigslist.

[surfacerider]

Thanks everyone for all your input , it is greatly appreciated , it definatly takes some of the confusion out of all the numbers.

surf

[Train]

As for speakers, if at all possible listen to them. Been know to open up speakers and add resistors, rewire them, just so I can even hear them instead of squealing.
May be well worth your time to learn how to set up the inside of a speaker box. Has been for me anyway.