2. home-theater
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Starting small home theater, need advice

First of all, let me apologize for my lack of knowledge. I have been reading on this site, and realize how much I don't know! So, from a newbie, my apologies.

Now for the question. I've been contemplating installing a VERY mild home theater in my small(ish) family room. (prob 15 x 20). The TV is about 10 ft from the couch, and the speakers would go alongside the TV. I'm looking at a 3.1 channel setup for now, run by a multichannel receiver, with the capability of expanding to 5.1 later. I'd like to spend around $1,000 on the setup as a whole. The primary use for the system would be TV sound (80%), movie (5%) and music (15%). In my opinion, the money is best spent on quality used equipment, rather than on a "system in a box".

My biggest question is: What brands of receiver/speakers/subwoofers should I be looking for, that combine good quality with affordability? I've been looking at the Denon/B&W range, but this may be out of my price range. I assume Denon/Harmon Kardon/Paradigm/Definitive Audio are all good. But honestly, I have little/no experience with these brands. Am I relegated to the big box stores with this price range?

I realize this is like asking a Ferrari mechanic on advice to do an oil change, but I come to you knowing the collective knowledge you all possess. Thanks in advance for all your advice.

Brian
bminchen
realremo
460 posts
 
Woops, you're right, didn't look at that back panel closely enough. Yeah, I thought $650 for pre-outs was a great deal!
I took a look around and I don't think this option can be had on a new receiver for less than $800, +\-
bminchen OP
6 posts
 
Realremo (or anyone else), I Googled 24/192 compatibility, but got confusing results. Can you help me understand what this is? Is it the ability to play files from a USB source? That was what I came away with after reading the top results.

Thanks,
Brian
realremo
460 posts
 
I might be opening up Pandora's box here, but here goes:
this relates to high res music files. If you rip a CD to your computer, that music signal is a 16 bit, 44.1kHz signal. Modern music recording is usually done in a higher resolution these days. You can buy high-res music from websites on the internet like HDtracks. The bit depth is how much music information the DAC "eats" at a time, 24 bits is more info than 16. The kHz rating is how many times per second the analog signal is sampled to convert it to a digital signal. 44.1kHz, or 44,100 times per second, came about because of a scientific reason that escapes me currently, but it is twice the highest limit of human hearing, which is supposedly around 22,000kHz. I sure as hell cannot hear sounds that high, but OK, whatever the scientists say.
It is the sampling frequency that is getting buzz right now, almost all high-res music files are 24 bit, but you will see multiples of both 44.1 and 48 in the sampling specifications on high res music files, which read like this: 24/48, 24/96, 24/192, and the less common 24/44.1, 24/88.2, and 24/176.4. Most modern DACs re-hash incoming digital signals to 24/96 or 24/192, which means every digital audio signal fed to the DAC gets "upsampled," a controversial process that is supposed to push high-frequency artifacts beyond the spectrum of human hearing. But not all DACs that can accept a 24/192 signal coming in. To send this signal, you would have to play the 24/192 music file from your computer.
How does all this relate to the Denon/Onkyo debate? The Onkyo will upconvert to 24/192, the Denon will only upconvert to 24/96. The Onkyo *should* accept 24/192 high res music signals thru its digital inputs, the Denon will not.
Can you hear a difference between 24/96 and 24/192 upsampling? Some people can. Some can't. Some people use DACs that don't upconvert at all. Some people don't care, and just love music!!!
bminchen OP
6 posts
 
Totally makes sense! Thanks for the thorough and complete explanation. Gosh, I was way off!

Okay....one more question and then I'm done (I promise!)

What are your thoughts on optical inputs? Are those for just audio? Or audio/video? If they are just audio, how do you tell the receiver, "okay, when you are on HDMI 1, use optical input 1" Does it override the HDMI input?

I'd be using a DirecTV HD box for one input, and a Samsung Blu-Ray for the other. I'm not using them now (obviously), and I don't want to invest in optical cables if the HDMI will produce the same result.

Thanks again for all your help. I have learned an awful lot so far.

Brian
mtrot
804 posts
 
Brian,

Onkyo 717 @ $530, not a bad deal:

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-NR717-7-2-Channel-Theater-Receiver/dp/B007JOO4YS/ref=sr_1_3?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1354760036&sr=1-3
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