Topic: Newbie and Not-so Noob Thread: Questions (FAQ) on Setting up

[e2icroyc]

sir bale existing na yong 40" na lcd eh. nasa bedroom sya ngayon and ililipat sa living room/HT .
for all around nga po. tv/movie/gaming.

plan ko lang kumuha ng projector to be used for movies. bale existing LCD sa likod tapos pull down screen na lang kung pj na. don´t get me wrong mga sir, though mali nga ata pag ka sulat ko. malaki po ang 50" na plasma nga  lang maliit pa din sya compared sa whole wall na 205cmX130cm. ibig ko pong sabihin ay kahit 50" na ang ikabit malaki pa ding ang matitirang sides sa paligid.

ok po kaya yong 50"plasma from samsung, if i go for 50" plasma ito po kasi pinagpipilian namin ni mrs.

[iiinas]

sir bale existing na yong 40" na lcd eh. nasa bedroom sya ngayon and ililipat sa living room/HT .
for all around nga po. tv/movie/gaming.

plan ko lang kumuha ng projector to be used for movies. bale existing LCD sa likod tapos pull down screen na lang kung pj na. don´t get me wrong mga sir, though mali nga ata pag ka sulat ko. malaki po ang 50" na plasma nga  lang maliit pa din sya compared sa whole wall na 205cmX130cm. ibig ko pong sabihin ay kahit 50" na ang ikabit malaki pa ding ang ma***rang sides sa paligid.

ok po kaya yong 50"plasma from samsung, if i go for 50" plasma ito po kasi pinagpipilian namin ni mrs.

hmmm, i think if that's the case, then i will keep the 40" lcd on your bedroom for the cable/tv/games thing. then just set up the pj on the living room. because by doing so, you free up another 1 feet of space for the screen which translates to another 5"-7", so from an 82"-85" pj screen you can now go 87"-92" screen, because the screen can be mounted just against the wall without brackets, this is usually done to give space to the pj screen going down in front of an installed lcd/plasma panel. this way, you also save money.

i understand your point. i went through the same thing when i bought my first 37" lcd, then found out within months that i want something bigger, but a 50" does not look so big anymore, a 60"< is very interesting but the price is just unreachable. so the pj was really the way to go. you will not go wrong with a pj, the experience is truly cinematic.   

[e2icroyc]

ang hirap pala sir nitong bagong hobby ko. hirap mag decide. i actually still have a jvc tv(tube) makapal masyado pero flat screen nya.yon yong nasa salas dati kaso ang laki sobra walang mapapaglagyan sa bedroom except kung sa pasamano ng bintana. mas gusto ko actually yong lcd tapos may projector pa din sa salas. haay nalilito na ako. asking for opinion kasi para di ako magkamali ng decision.  malaking pera din kasi ito. pero is 40" already ok. laki kasi talaga nong wall na paglalagyan eh. im also thinking of putting dvd holders na lang sa both sides ng lcd to make it look fuller. ok kaya yon or makaka distract ba yon habang na nonood na ng tv.

here is more or less how it will look like


this with comparison 2 50"


ito naman with dvd holder sa tabi ng 40"

is it practical or is it worth to buy the plasma?

[iiinas]

ang hirap pala sir nitong bagong hobby ko. hirap mag decide. i actually still have a jvc tv(tube) makapal masyado pero flat screen nya.yon yong nasa salas dati kaso ang laki sobra walang mapapaglagyan sa bedroom except kung sa pasamano ng bintana. mas gusto ko actually yong lcd tapos may projector pa din sa salas. haay nalilito na ako. asking for opinion kasi para di ako magkamali ng decision.  malaking pera din kasi ito. pero is 40" already ok. laki kasi talaga nong wall na paglalagyan eh. im also thinking of putting dvd holders na lang sa both sides ng lcd to make it look fuller. ok kaya yon or makaka distract ba yon habang na nonood na ng tv.

here is more or less how it will look like


this with comparison 2 50"


ito naman with dvd holder sa tabi ng 40"

is it practical or is it worth to buy the plasma?

for a 3 meter viewing length, a forty or even a fifty incher will really look small. regardless whether you want to put the 40" lcd in the ht area or let it stay in the bedroom is up to you. your main decision right now is actually whether to go with a bigger 50" plasma or a really big pj screen. as i have stated before and what i still think is the best option, is to get the pj screen. since it will save you money and in the end give you better viewing pleasure.

i think you are really at a crossroads here. so the best thing to do is to audition, go to an av shop with both pj set-up and 50" panel showing. look at the picture quality and screen size of both, in the end it does not matter what other people want, its really what you and your wife want. goodluck.

[e2icroyc]

thank you sir iiinas, looks like we will go for the PJ screen. we decided to mount the 40"lcd in the living room already and decided not to buy the 50" plasma. my bad, the 40 incher was not that small after all. iba pala pag naka kabit na. i will go to an av store to audition a good PJ and probably a 32"lcd for the bedroom.

salamat sa input sir iiinas, malaking tulong po.

i´ll post my DIY HT sa HT gallery.

[iiinas]

thank you sir iiinas, looks like we will go for the PJ screen. we decided to mount the 40"lcd in the living room already and decided not to buy the 50" plasma. my bad, the 40 incher was not that small after all. iba pala pag naka kabit na. i will go to an av store to audition a good PJ and probably a 32"lcd for the bedroom.

salamat sa input sir iiinas, malaking tulong po.

i´ll post my DIY HT sa HT gallery.

no problem, will await your ht at the gallery. 

[Huddaf]

Uy welcome to pdvd Roy! Lets wait and see your design sa HT Picture Gallery! More power! 

[jduval]

setting-up my first home entertainment system: dedicated AVR(?) vs pc

any comments, suggestion or info will greatly be appreciated

[j0hans0n]

curious newbie here,

about tubes (in amplifiers),
would they break or easily burn out with loud music/fast-paced/pc-console-games/movies/rnb/hiphop audio?
what are their limitations?
on a basic two channel setup, would more tubes also mean better sound or just more power?

anyway, damay ko na iba ko pang questions:
i plan to get DIYed audio everything, hahaha
BS ProaClones, JD Tube amp, JD Tube Preamp, cjtrader diyed rca
plus a diyed subwoofer (from whoever can make me one), plus perhaps an SS amp for it (since i don't know if bass duty still needs to be tube driven )
would these fit my room size of 24sqm?

ito pala room schematics ko


thanks
hehe

[sientobente]

Hi. Also a newbie. I have questions about DTS, Dolby etc. I have read wikipedia and stuff but I can't seem to grasp it. My question is, if the receiver is lets say DTS something, even if the source is a 3.5mm jack coming from my computer, it can reproduce a theater like sound? thanks.

[iiinas]

Hi. Also a newbie. I have questions about DTS, Dolby etc. I have read wikipedia and stuff but I can't seem to grasp it. My question is, if the receiver is lets say DTS something, even if the source is a 3.5mm jack coming from my computer, it can reproduce a theater like sound? thanks.

dts and dolby digital are multi channel digital sound, these are usually available/encoded on movie disc/file. from a player (dvd/bluray/media) for you to be able to enjoy these digital sounds (dolby and dts) your player should have a digital output jack (hdmi, optical or coax) if you dont have these jacks then you cant enjoy these formats. as for playing in a computer, as long as you have a file encoded with either dts and dolby, you should buy an optical cable which have an adapter which can be use for a 3.5mm audio jack, insert that to your computer, connect the other end of the optical cable to your receiver, then sound should come out.

remember, if the file/disc is not encoded with either dolby or dts, even if your receiver can decode the formats, it wont play these sound formats. 

[sientobente]

dts and dolby digital are multi channel digital sound, these are usually available/encoded on movie disc/file. from a player (dvd/bluray/media) for you to be able to enjoy these digital sounds (dolby and dts) your player should have a digital output jack (hdmi, optical or coax) if you dont have these jacks then you cant enjoy these formats. as for playing in a computer, as long as you have a file encoded with either dts and dolby, you should buy an optical cable which have an adapter which can be use for a 3.5mm audio jack, insert that to your computer, connect the other end of the optical cable to your receiver, then sound should come out.

remember, if the file/disc is not encoded with either dolby or dts, even if your receiver can decode the formats, it wont play these sound formats. 

great explanation sir.  it makes things a lot clearer right now. 

[jepoi]

dts and dolby digital are multi channel digital sound, these are usually available/encoded on movie disc/file. from a player (dvd/bluray/media) for you to be able to enjoy these digital sounds (dolby and dts) your player should have a digital output jack (hdmi, optical or coax) if you dont have these jacks then you cant enjoy these formats. as for playing in a computer, as long as you have a file encoded with either dts and dolby, you should buy an optical cable which have an adapter which can be use for a 3.5mm audio jack, insert that to your computer, connect the other end of the optical cable to your receiver, then sound should come out.

remember, if the file/disc is not encoded with either dolby or dts, even if your receiver can decode the formats, it wont play these sound formats. 

mejo related na question po...

what if i do have the receiver that can decode these files, and a source that has one of these (for example DTS 5.1), pero yung nakakabit na speaker sa receiver ko e 1 sub, and fronts lang (basically a 2.1 set-up), yung ibang signals ba (mid/center & surround) hindi na maririnig?

[blackie]

If you choose DTS 5.1 as the way you want to hear it..... Then expect to see a movie without any dialogue and whirring helicopters and passing bullets from behind.  If you do not plan to get a center channel and surround speakers, try pressing the audio button of your dvd player, the disc may have been encrytpted in 2.0  (mono) which kind of defeats the purpose why you chose to select DTS in the first place.

[av_phile1]

DD and DTS are sound formats the modern receiver decodes and are independent of the listening or speaker modes you set on the receiver.  Once the receiver decodes the format, your speaker set-up can be 5.1 or 4.1 with a phantom center or even stereo which downmixes the 6 channels into 2 so you still hear everything but not in surround mode.   

[jepoi]

i think i get it... pa-verify... 

so, if 2.1 pa lang setup ko, from the source, select ko muna stereo out.  pag nakumpleto ko na surround (and center), that's when i can select those 5.1 audio tracks, right?

so, pano yung mga files (mkvs for example) na isa lang ang audio track (na 5.1 format), can the receiver do the down-mixing?  (eto na ata yung sinabi ni boss av_phile1, hindi ko lang naintindihan, ahehe...)

[jepoi]

up...

[Philander]

i think i get it... pa-verify... 

so, if 2.1 pa lang setup ko, from the source, select ko muna stereo out.  pag nakumpleto ko na surround (and center), that's when i can select those 5.1 audio tracks, right?

so, pano yung mga files (mkvs for example) na isa lang ang audio track (na 5.1 format), can the receiver do the down-mixing?  (eto na ata yung sinabi ni boss av_phile1, hindi ko lang naintindihan, ahehe...)

Yes. That is correct.

If you are using digital out of your DVD/Source player to your receiver, then you can set your receiver to have 2.1 channel only. In a usual hometheater system (Receiver or even HTIB), you have the option to configure speaker set-up. If the center or subwoofer is present or there are surround speakers connected. The speaker size and distance, etc.

So if you have a source of 5.1 audio and you have configured your receiver to say... 2.1 basically the receiver will process the sound and produces 2.1 audio. This is called downmixing.

[jepoi]

ah, ok.  thanks for the explanation sir!

another question...

so, assuming i already have the 2.1 speaker setup.  ang next na ba dito 5.1?  hindi ba pwedeng center muna bibilhin ko before the surrounds?  parang wala pa kase akong naririnig na 3.1 speaker setup eh.

[av_phile1]

Unfortunately, walang choice for 3.1.  You can set the receiver to 5.1 and just have a 3.1 speaker set-up but you won't hear the rear channel information.  If I were you, I'll get the rear speakers first since you can always have a phantom center mode.  Those rear channel are what makes the enveloping surround sound work if correctly placed. 

[Philander]

Unfortunately, walang choice for 3.1.  You can set the receiver to 5.1 and just have a 3.1 speaker set-up but you won't hear the rear channel information.  If I were you, I'll get the rear speakers first since you can always have a phantom center mode.  Those rear channel are what makes the enveloping surround sound work if correctly placed. 

Hi Av_phile1, ang pagkakaalam ko merong 3.1 setup sa receiver. In may Marantz receiver as well as on my Samsung HTIB. You can "ON" the speaker to fronts (default of course), subwoofer, and center... thus 3.1.

There's an option for 4.1 as well where you can ON the speakers for fronts, sub, and surround.

[av_phile1]

Must be the newer receivers.  Thanks for the update, I'm obviously not.  Then fine, it's just a matter of turning on the channels that have the speakers.  

[vx2]

I hope someone sees this thread.

Anyway, my question is this. I have already found the optimal placement for the center and left right speakers. My problem comes in when im planning to put in the surround left and right. Putting the bookshelf speakers into stands and placing them behind the sofa is all and good but I don't want to dig up the floor to make the wires pass by.

Since the sofa is positioned, to the left a window and to the right a door, i am planning on mounting the surround left and right on 1.) the left atop the window clearance 2.) the right atop the door clearance. After this I plan to have them angle downward aiming the sofa.

Would that work? I'd be placing them roughly 7-8 feet high and tilting about 30 degrees or something. Also, since the distance from the window to the bathroom are not exactly the same relative to the sofa, i'd just have to hope the automatic equalizer on the receiver will fix this (if not by me manually.)

thoughts? (I plan to do the same for the 7.1 surrounds, back left, back right if in case i finish wiring it).

[Philander]

^^

I think that would work.

MOst of the recent models of receivers have auto calibration features (older models have manual setting but still, the objective is the same) where it automatically calculates the distance, size, position, etc of the speakers connected to the receivers and produces the desired settings and configuration with respect to the position and size of the speakers and the listening area.
 

[vx2]

Thanks sir.

I'm just concerned that if I go with this set-up it might sound like the sounds are coming from "above" rather than the real sides. Hopefully, a downward angle will alleviate that.

[vx2]

P.S.

Any idea whhere can i get bookshelf mounts which features tilting and swivel? (or just tilting for that matter) 

[dips15]

Just wondering.  I've set-up TSi 100s/CS10 and 9dfs with a Denon 1709 imported from the US.  Been using this for a couple of months already but I have a problem of not having enough volume for some sources.  I don't know if I have any connections done wrong but there are some videos that are hardly audible even when maxed out.  In comparison, the same files have no problem with my HTIB. 

I don't think the 1709 shouldn't be that weak with 80 watts per channel while the TSi 100 and CS10 shouldn't be that hard to drive at 8 ohms and at 89 and 91db respectively. 

While I do get a loud enough volume at times with some movies, I do get these volumes at around 80-100 percent of the max volume and I haven't managed to get enough power from my amp to get the higher volumes to see the drivers of my speakers move.

This is the first AVR I've set-up so am not sure if I missed some kind of setting since the user interface of the Denon isn't exactly user friendly.

Any ideas on what I missed or does my Denon just lack the power for what I'm looking for?

[av_phile1]

There are many DVD titles with sound tracks that are inherently weak to allow for the encoding of much stronger signals during the moments that require them like explosions. But having said that, you can do the following:

First off, are you using a BD or DVD player?  How are they connected?  If you are connected via multichannel analog, check if your player has an output level control physically or on the menu and maximize it.  I would suggest you use the digital connection SPDIF/Toslink so you can bypass the player's analog circuits.

Check your speaker connection. Are the speaker polarities observed?.  A perception of weak volume is common if polarities are reversed in some speakers.  

Disconnect all interconnects and just listen with the FM tuner in stereo mode, Dolby prologic and multichannel stereo mode to ensure all amps are fine, Are they still weak?

[dips15]

There are many DVD titles with sound tracks that are inherently weak to allow for the encoding of much stronger signals during the moments that require them like explosions. But having said that, you can do the following:

First off, are you using a BD or DVD player?  How are they connected?  If you are connected via multichannel analog, check if your player has an output level control physically or on the menu and maximize it.  I would suggest you use the digital connection SPDIF/Toslink so you can bypass the player's analog circuits.

Check your speaker connection. Are the speaker polarities observed?.  A perception of weak volume is common if polarities are reversed in some speakers.  

Disconnect all interconnects and just listen with the FM tuner in stereo mode, Dolby prologic and multichannel stereo mode to ensure all amps are fine, Are they still weak?

Thanks.  Most of my viewing is through HD-Pro NMT, PS3 or DVD.  Connections are through Toslink or coaxial spdif.  Although even through coaxial digital input, increasing the volume through my NMT still helps. 

Will try your suggestions when I have the time.

Thanks.

[vx2]

Would anyone advise me on which set up is better or more conducive?

1. Bookshelves




2. DFS, and if so, should it be tilting? It is hoisted pretty high, would that be a problem?


I want to make use of the "multi-zone" thing once in a while that's why i'm considering bookshelves as surrounds, however, i wouldn't mind sacrificing this if DFS would really "draw" me in. Next problem however is the placement.

Or is this whole thing overkill for a room of this size?