Totally Overwhelmed but have some Ideas, please help with A/V Receiver Choice

txcoastal1

drummer86 wrote: »

Also why almost every "Which speakers should I buy" thread on here boils down to "this is what we prefer, but you need to decide for yourself with your ears."

Absolutely correct.

Let's take the Texas polkies gathering at Lone Star Audio Fest every year. We have a pretty close group. We all venture around with CD's in hand listening to all the different set ups. At the end of the days we usually gather and have discussions about each of the rooms a which we preferred.

We usually come to the come close to agreeing on the top 5 or 6 rooms but we also usually have different actual favorites. Some decisions maybe due genre's we prefer, some like the forward sound, others laid back.

We can lead you to water but you must make the choice to drink.

OMG

I definitely got out of all this, 1) listen to the equipment and 2) choose what you prefer, not what reviews say. And it doesn't hurt to find someone with similar taste and chat with them.

by the way, I was wondering, I have some old Yamaha bookshelf speakers that are definitely not great. Once I buy my gear, would damage anything if I hook them up to my Center or surround outputs on the receiver? Just to experiment a little after I get everything else set up how I like it.

txcoastal1

Low volumes if you here distortion of any kind back off or shut it down

gmcman

You know you will end up with about 8 speakers in that room.

How about a Marantz SR7007 and some LSi9's to start. Nice warm sound and detailed.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_642SR7007/Marantz-SR7007.html#details-tab

Start slow and build up.

Just an idea.

drummer86

Another thing to consider is the type of music you like and your listening habits. You may love the sound of a speaker demoing rock music but it won't necessarily shine on jazz. My little Totems really shine in a lot of ways but they really can't do the loud, busy drums of some recordings. That was something I was willing to give up considering my budget and the fact I don't really need crazy loud volumes. I really enjoyed a lot of speakers that I demoed, but these put a bigger smile on my face than any.

OMG

Thanks txcostal, I may try this with the extra Yamaha's. Gmcman, I have the feeling my upcoming purchases are going to lead to many more in the future. I'm sure in the future, there will be floorstanding speakers in that room. I'll put Marantz on my "listen to" list - I think it was already on it. Drummer86, I definitely need a multipurpose speaker. I do like cranking up the volume on rare occasions but will sacrifice that if I must. I'll know the sound when I hear it.

tonyb

OMG wrote: »

I'll know the sound when I hear it.

Everyone does my friend....and that's the journey of audio.

drummer86

Regarding a multi-purpose speaker: I found that I was much more critical of my system's performance for music despite using it for TV/Movies much more frequently. I found quite a few speakers that did both Movies and Music well, but none of them were quite good enough in music until I found my Totem Mites. While other speakers I demoed were better for movies than the Totems, I was willing to overlook that as the Totems just outclassed everything else in my budget for music. They're no slouch when I watch movies, but again, I'm not cranking the volume to ear bleeding, paint stripping levels with a new baby in the house.

OMG

I'll keep my eyes open for Totems. Some have a pretty cool look to them too.

OMG

I owe you guys a post explaining what I ended up getting. First, thanks to all of you for your input which was extremely helpful. I took bits and pieces from most of the replies you sent.

Here it is. I purchased the Polk LSIM703's, Center channel polk (csi line because couldn't afford the lsim), the Polk DSW660 Sub, the Yamaha RX 2030 AVR, Panamax M5300-PM Line Conditioner and a Triplite voltage regulator. Cables I couldn't go high end yet so have Kimber Kable PR4's for the fronts and center and Monster cable to the sub. My new needle will be delivered Monday for my JVC turntable.

This is I have never experienced a clear sound this puts out and volume when cranked is large and full. I still have only scratched the surface and am trying to overcome sub issues that at this point are probably user error - can't seem to get them to stay on pumping out bass. Also seems strange to me that that the overall Yamaha volume goes from mute to about -60 decibles and then really cranks somewhere around -10 decibles - I figured sound begins in positive territory but I'm a novice.

Thanks again to you all.

tonyb

OMG wrote: »

- I figured sound begins in positive territory but I'm a novice.
.

No....fried tweeters begin in the positive territory of the volume dial. Between -10 and 0 is dangerous territory, you really have to listen carefully and if the music starts sounding congested, back off the volume dial...you just hit your limit.

As for the sub, depends on what your playing, and what you have them crossed over at. What is your crossover setting ? Did you set up the inputs, whats the source your using for music ?

OMG

Thanks Tony B, that is good to know. I don't know if I ever went higher than -10db because they are really putting out sound at that point.

As far as setting up inputs, I went in and selected the closest pattern to my 3 speakers and set presence and surrounds to "none'.

The sub power light on the back goes from green to red after several minutes of playing and then seems to stay on red until I unplug it. I read this is a Protection Power Mode LED. I don't think it should ever be red. I have tried music videos from cable TV, movies from the cable box and FM radio.

I will have to retry all the crossover adjustments and check to see that the Power LED is green as I do it so the sub is actually working. But, I mostly use front speaker setting "Small" with the crossover set at 80htz and have moved it up to 120 at times trying to get it to kick on. Setting fronts to large sends a great bass sound through the fronts. I think if I can keep the Power Mode LED on green, my adjustments will be more meaningful.

I sent an email to Polk right after I posted last night. I think I should try the sub on its own with a cd or dvd plugged only to that and see if the power still cuts off after awhile.

msg

Nice setup so far, man, congratulations!

So the sub does play then, yes?
Where do you have the volume knob set on the sub?
How about the crossover on the sub?

I presume you're using line level (RCA plug) and not high/speaker level inputs on the sub?

OMG

I hate to admit it but I'm a moron. I had the sub plugged into the surround on the Yamaha. They abbreviated it to "Sur" and my old eyes thought it said Sub. The Polk Customer Service guy was very cool, almost ready to have me send it back to him. NOW the sound is really amazing! Thanks for your assistance here MSG and TonyB.

Hooked up the turntable today and am digging out the boxes of old albums I stored away and haven't seen for close to 30 years. I forgot what I even have in there.

ken brydson

We've all done it. Enjoy!!

OMG

Thanks Ken, I'm very glad I don't have to deal with returning that huge box and then waiting for the replacement.

tonyb

Cool man, glad you have it worked out. Stupid stuff...yeah, we all done that a time or two. Enjoy

msg

ken brydson wrote: »

We've all done it. Enjoy!!

tonyb wrote: »

Cool man, glad you have it worked out. Stupid stuff...yeah, we all done that a time or two. Enjoy

+1 -- I've done it even after double-checking, even

OMG

That is hilarious now that it is working.