**** The Audio and Sound Advice Thread ***

If your anywhere near NY, run, don't walk and pick up this used set:
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/c...1208830450

If I had another room..... ugh. These babies are on my short list. I can barely think of any other speaker I'd want at $2k, let alone at $1200 for the set. Above 80hz, almost NOTHING can touch these.

Quote from ironchef25 : also for those who has the tx-sr605 im hoping you guys might be able to answere this. if i connect a composite source to the receiver and have hdmi monitor on. will the composite signal (480i) be upconverted to 720p? cause right now its my tv is saying the composite is only 480p.

you're confusing "upconverting" with "upsampling"... the former is when the receiver takes an analog source...such as your composite input and "upconverts" it to output the signal thru HDMI... outputing through component video can also be an example of upconversion.
upsampling is scaling the video resolution, such as you may desire, 480i-to-720p... another example could be 720p in -to- 1080p out...
the 605 does not have upscaling abilities... it does have a de-interlacer...which is why you are seeing a 480p output on your TV from a 480i input. the 705 will upscale to 720 & 1080 depending on the source input.
hope that helps... if any other questions feel free to ask...

Quote from stickycash : you're confusing "upconverting" with "upsampling"...

I believe the 705 has the Farjouda chip for upscaling.

Quote from axiom : I believe the 705 has the Farjouda chip for upscaling.

Ok I'm wrong. The 805 is the cheapest Onkyo with upscaling. It also has Burr-Brown DACs... its a pretty sweet "Low of the high end" machine.

woot. someone posted a 10% Best Buy coupon in SD.. i might pick up the RC-52 tonight. cant wait..
oh ok i get it now.. upscaling vs upconverting.. Upscaling > Upconverting

Quote from ironchef25 : woot. someone posted a 10% Best Buy coupon in SD.. i might pick up the RC-52 tonight. cant wait.. oh ok i get it now.. upscaling vs upconverting.. Upscaling > Upconverting

Good luck on those klipschs!

Yes, and remember both a receiver or a TV can upscale. Alot of the time, they will advertise the upscaling chip as a feature checklist.

Hi guys, I'm looking for a little buying advice. I've just started upgrading my audio system and here's what I have so far:

Fronts: 2x Polk RTi12
Rear: 2x Polk R300
Center: Pending - probably either Polk CSI5 or Polk CSI A6

Right now I'm looking to get a new receiver so that I can feed the RTi12s well (I plan on bi-amping them). I'm currently looking at the Onkyo TX-SR805 [onkyousa.com] or the Yamaha RX-V1800 [yamaha.com]. One of the nice features that I like about the Yamaha is that it has 4 HDMI inputs vs. 3 on the Onkyo. I've already got 3 HDMI devices and I think I'll definitely be needing the extra port in the future. From what I've read it seems that the Yamaha 1800 is the better receiver overall.

Does anyone have any opinions on these two receivers? I was getting ready to get the Yamaha until I read that it clips the HDMI input levels to between 16-235. [avsforum.com] This is supposed to be the standard range that TV, DVDs, HD DVDs, BluRay, etc. are mastered to so I'm not sure that this is much of a problem. But there are cases where certain material uses blacker-than-black (BTB) values and in those cases the Yamaha would clip any values below 16 and you'd never see them. Though if you have your display calibrated correctly then you shouldn't see anything below 16 (BTB) anyway since anything shown at 16 or below should be pure black (unless you turn up the brightness).

So now I'm borderline - I'm not sure that this is really a problem that I should be worried about. But on the other side, it bothers me that Yamaha is modifying the HDMI signal from the source and sending a clipped signal to the display. Supposedly analog signals (S-Video, Component, etc.) upconverted to HDMI do allow for BTB levels and no clipping is performed.

So what do you guys think?

Thanks for the input!

Quote from kuwan : Hi guys, I'm looking for a little buying advice. I've just started upgrading my audio system and here's what I have so far: Fronts: 2x Polk RTi12 Rear: 2x Polk R300 Center: Pending - probably either Polk CSI5 or Polk CSI A6 Right now I'm looking to get a new receiver so that I can feed the RTi12s well (I plan on bi-amping them). I'm currently looking at the Onkyo TX-SR805 [onkyousa.com] or the Yamaha RX-V1800 [yamaha.com]. One of the nice features that I like about the Yamaha is that it has 4 HDMI inputs vs. 3 on the Onkyo. I've already got 3 HDMI devices and I think I'll definitely be needing the extra port in the future. From what I've read it seems that the Yamaha 1800 is the better receiver overall. Does anyone have any opinions on these two receivers? I was getting ready to get the Yamaha until I read that it clips the HDMI input levels to between 16-235. [avsforum.com] This is supposed to be the standard range that TV, DVDs, HD DVDs, BluRay, etc. are mastered to so I'm not sure that this is much of a problem. But there are cases where certain material uses blacker-than-black (BTB) values and in those cases the Yamaha would clip any values below 16 and you'd never see them. Though if you have your display calibrated correctly then you shouldn't see anything below 16 (BTB) anyway since anything shown at 16 or below should be pure black (unless you turn up the brightness). So now I'm borderline - I'm not sure that this is really a problem that I should be worried about. But on the other side, it bothers me that Yamaha is modifying the HDMI signal from the source and sending a clipped signal to the display. Supposedly analog signals (S-Video, Component, etc.) upconverted to HDMI do allow for BTB levels and no clipping is performed. So what do you guys think? Thanks for the input!

Hey Kuwan,

I wouldn't worry too much about the the Yamaha's clipping. Honestly, I'd have no hesitation about buying any of the big boys in receivers (Denon, HK, Yamaha, Onkyo). On the audio side, the Onkyo's Audessey calibration is generally considered the best auto-calibration system on the market, better than Yamaha's YPAO. For me, I'd just find the best deal I can on one of these and call it a day. However, some of the other members pointed here there were some major heating issues with the 805. I believe there are some threads over on AVS on that.

Are you dead set on Polk? Polk makes some great entry level gear and their mid level gear is solid, but there are some other nice choices. The Paradigm Monitor 9 v5 is a very nice piece for the money. But my cash would go to this particular speaker:
X-statik open baffle speaker [av123.com]

Keep in mind the shipping maybe a bit high so add that cost in. Maybe I'm biased, but Onix makes some of the best bang for the buck out there. Their drivers and crossover quality is hard to beat at this price point. I do some light speaker modification and intend to build some stuff. I can tell you those poly caps, air core inductors, and the big kick, SonicCaps!!! are not cheap. The 5.25" version of that woofer, the GR Research M-130X runs about $40 retail. This doesn't sound like a lot but try to find out the costs of most speakers on the market. You will be surprised at how cheap they are. The M-130X is a VERY highly regarded woofer in the DIY community.

The center is no slouch either.
X-voc e center [av123.com]

Or if you need smaller:
x-cs center [av123.com]

Quote from axiom : Hey Kuwan, I wouldn't worry too much about the the Yamaha's clipping. Honestly, I'd have no hesitation about buying any of the big boys in receivers (Denon, HK, Yamaha, Onkyo). On the audio side, the Onkyo's Audessey calibration is generally considered the best auto-calibration system on the market, better than Yamaha's YPAO. For me, I'd just find the best deal I can on one of these and call it a day. However, some of the other members pointed here there were some major heating issues with the 805. I believe there are some threads over on AVS on that.

Yeah, I've heard that the Onkyo can get quite hot, which could be an issue. There's currently a really good deal on the Yamaha which is why I'm considering it. It's normally around $1200 but the current deal is $768 shipped. That's just barely above the Onkyo 805's going rate of around $700-750. And to get an extra HDMI port for only a little bit more seems like a great deal.

As for the speakers, I've already got those, at least the fronts and the rears. I still need to get the center channel. I'm very happy with the Polks so far. I did look at av123.com's stuff when looking into speakers, but most of their stuff was on back order and I found some really excellent deals on the Polks.

Quote from kuwan : Yeah, I've heard that the Onkyo can get quite hot, which could be an issue. There's currently a really good deal on the Yamaha which is why I'm considering it. It's normally around $1200 but the current deal is $768 shipped. That's just barely above the Onkyo 805's going rate of around $700-750. And to get an extra HDMI port for only a little bit more seems like a great deal. As for the speakers, I've already got those, at least the fronts and the rears. I still need to get the center channel. I'm very happy with the Polks so far. I did look at av123.com's stuff when looking into speakers, but most of their stuff was on back order and I found some really excellent deals on the Polks.

Sorry didn't realize you had the speakers already!

At that price, I'd just get the Yamaha. I'd worry about that Onkyo heating problem and thats quite a nice deal!

As for biamping, give it a shot, though I've tried it on old speakers and I prefered not biamping. Basically, you are replacing the internal crossover with the receiver acting as a crossover. If the receiver can use its auto-calibration in concert with biamping, this might yield some really nice performance upgrades because you are essentially get an active tuned crossover. However, it could be worse as well. A speaker like the one I have has a very well engineered internal crossover and I'd doubt bi-amping would help it much without the use of a high end active crossover. But, experiment and see what you can get. If you have a room response microphone, even better, you can take measurements.

Wow, I'm trying to do some research which I'll continue & found this thread. When it comes to sound though, everything flies over my head. Next weekend I'll have about $400 to spend on a surround sound system, but really not to picky if its cheaper. The only thing is that I will have just over $400 in a Bestbuy giftcard. Anything we get now will be an upgrade from never having any better sound quality.

The range would actually be about $200-$400 spending at BestBuy and we have all 3 game systems(PS3, 360, Wii) plus Direct TV HD-DVR. Any general idea on getting my bang for the buck would be helpful. Thanks!

Quote from ASeven721 : Wow, I'm trying to do some research which I'll continue & found this thread. When it comes to sound though, everything flies over my head. Next weekend I'll have about $400 to spend on a surround sound system, but really not to picky if its cheaper. The only thing is that I will have just over $400 in a Bestbuy giftcard. Anything we get now will be an upgrade from never having any better sound quality. The range would actually be about $200-$400 spending at BestBuy and we have all 3 game systems(PS3, 360, Wii) plus Direct TV HD-DVR. Any general idea on getting my bang for the buck would be helpful. Thanks!

Welcome!

For an all in one solution, its hard to beat any of the Onkyo sets that show up here. When someone I know wants something in your price range and don't want to do alot of work waiting for sales, this is the set I recommend.

You may want to piece something together from the deals here. The Polk R series goes on sale here every so often. If you are going to get something piece by piece, I would spend about $100 on the receiver, $100 on a sub, and the rest on speakers.

Quote from axiom : You may want to piece something together from the deals here. The Polk R series goes on sale here every so often. If you are going to get something piece by piece, I would spend about $100 on the receiver, $100 on a sub, and the rest on speakers.

Speaking of the Polk R series Fry's has a deal on the R300s right now - $49.99 each vs. $199.99 each normally:

http://forums.slickdeals.net/show...5&t=766221

I got two of them for my rear channels, but they'd be an excellent choice for a low cost surround system - you could get 4 plus a center or just get 5 (if you have room for a floor-standing center ). I know you've got a gift card at Best Buy, but you're not likely to find better speakers there at this price.

Quote from axiom : Sorry didn't realize you had the speakers already! At that price, I'd just get the Yamaha. I'd worry about that Onkyo heating problem and thats quite a nice deal! As for biamping, give it a shot, though I've tried it on old speakers and I prefered not biamping. Basically, you are replacing the internal crossover with the receiver acting as a crossover. If the receiver can use its auto-calibration in concert with biamping, this might yield some really nice performance upgrades because you are essentially get an active tuned crossover. However, it could be worse as well. A speaker like the one I have has a very well engineered internal crossover and I'd doubt bi-amping would help it much without the use of a high end active crossover. But, experiment and see what you can get. If you have a room response microphone, even better, you can take measurements.

Well, I decided to get the Yamaha. I think it'll be a great receiver and I can't wait to hook it up. This is the current deal for it, $768 shipped at 6ave.com:

http://forums.slickdeals.net/show...p=10862971

I thought one of the other benefits to bi-amping was that you can send twice as much power to the speakers. Is this not a large advantage? Anyway, I'll definitely do some experimenting to see what sounds the best.

Now all I need to get is my center channel.