New TV question

dromunds

A friend of mine wants to get a new television, he doesn't need 4K, and he wants to go economy. I told him about the Sony XBR and he said he doesn't want to spend that much. I know somebody was recently talking about an economy brand that was supposed to be pretty good. Also, he has a vintage Yamaha 810 receiver. Is there a way to run the TV through that receiver, I assume the TV needs to have RCA outs for the audio. I think my buddy said the only input on the receiver that would be available is Tape 2. WIll that work? Or is that a foolish thought? Thanks. I think he's looking for a TV in the 40-50 inch range.

Nightfall

Vizio. TCL has become popular in the budget category as well.

As far as having RCA outs there's super cheap DACs on Amazon, like $20-30

mhardy6647

Can one still buy TVs (especially lower-end models) with analog inputs and/or outputs? I thought it was all HDMI, all the time nowadays.

That said, I know there are HDMI to analog adaptors on the market. How good they are or how well they work, I dunno.

https://www.parts-express.com/parts-express-hdmi-audio-extractor-with-toslink-and-lr-audio--180-995

I wonder how well synchronized the audio would be?

DaveHo

I think many will still have a headphone out that can be adapted to RCA. Personally I'd go optical out to a Fiio D3 DAC for analog out on the cheap.

tonyp063

TCL.
If you are a Costco member they have a 42" model for about $270. 2 year warranty.
That & the generic DAC DaveHo mentioned.

Can't get much more economy than that.

dromunds

Thanks y'all

dromunds

I haven't used a Tape 2 input for so long, but is there any problem going Fiio D3 to Tape 2 on the receiver?

DaveHo

That will be a line level input, so no problem. Make sure he doesn't run it to the phono input.

dromunds

Thanks, he has a turntable so phono taken.

mhardy6647

dromunds wrote: »

I haven't used a Tape 2 input for so long, but is there any problem going Fiio D3 to Tape 2 on the receiver?

Should be no trouble at all.
Any line level input ought to be OK -- no AUX available on the component in question?

dromunds

As far as his auxiliary input, I understand he already has a CD player in there, and I think he may have a cassette deck in Tape 1. So, it looks like he's going to use Tape 2 for television audio, although I think I am going to suggest that he move the CD player to the other Tape input and use Aux for the TV.

mhardy6647

Shouldn't matter, other than how one accesses the source.

dromunds

Right, just if it were me, it would be easier to remember TV as Auxiliary and the other players more like Tape 1 and 2. By the way, what is the consensus as far as quality of optical cables? Are they all the same? What is a good bang for buck optical cable? Thanks

pitdogg2

dromunds wrote: »

Right, just if it were me, it would be easier to remember TV as Auxiliary and the other players more like Tape 1 and 2. By the way, what is the consensus as far as quality of optical cables? Are they all the same? What is a good bang for buck optical cable? Thanks

get the best you can afford. There is differences in how the fiber is made/drawn and what it is made out of...

WhereYou

Use the Digital to Analog converter, can save a lot to buy the new device.

tonyb

He should have 2 digital inputs on that receiver, and I think 3 HDMI. Just about all TV's these days have a digital output for audio. If he has no digital inputs available, on the receiver, then buying a cheap dac and moving a cdp or other digital component to that dac and use the TV for a digital input on the receiver.

That is...if he cares about getting DD from the TV's content. A separate dac on the TV won't do that for him, that's why he needs to move another digitally connected device to either analog or buy a dac and connect one of the other devices.

dromunds

Tony, his receiver is a Yamaha CR-810 from about 1978. Perhaps I wasn't clear on that. Just the usual phono, aux, tape 1, tape 2 type inputs.

tonyb

OK, thought it was the more modern 810.

So...he doesn't use this system for movies then, so why the need to even connect it to the receiver ? Just for a louder stereo output of TV broadcasts ?

It's your duty to bring him into the modern world of surround sound.

mhardy6647

tonyb wrote: »

...

It's your duty to bring him into the modern world of surround sound.

-- besides, the CA-810 is a pretty nice piece of hardware. Believe it or not, there isn't one here.

tonyb

I don't believe that Doc, you hoarder.

Yeah, it is a nice piece, but not for anything DD related. If he has more than 2 speakers set up, he's missing out.

rooftop59

Come on tony, we all know that flat screen speakers suck! Going through that integrated into a decent pair of speakers will sound much better, even for dialogue driven material...

dromunds

He's told me there's no way he's going to get a new multi-channel AVR. Lol. He loves that vintage Yamaha. He wasn't even going to replace his old monolith TV but he's moving to a different state and doesn't want to have to cart that heavy beast around so he's leaving it at the curb and getting a flat screen for his new place. He has a real nice set of vintage monitors and I'm thinking it'll sound a shite-ton better than the flat screen speakers. And the video quality of even the cheap flat screens will probably awe him compared to what he's been viewing.

Jimbo18

How about using the headphone out of the TV to the RCA inputs on the receiver? I had to do that for a while and it sounded pretty good for home theater. Just need a cable like this.....

tonyb

dromunds wrote: »

He's told me there's no way he's going to get a new multi-channel AVR. Lol. He loves that vintage Yamaha. He wasn't even going to replace his old monolith TV but he's moving to a different state and doesn't want to have to cart that heavy beast around so he's leaving it at the curb and getting a flat screen for his new place. He has a real nice set of vintage monitors and I'm thinking it'll sound a shite-ton better than the flat screen speakers. And the video quality of even the cheap flat screens will probably awe him compared to what he's been viewing.

Gotcha, so movies aren't his bag then. That's cool too, but he'll still need a dac to convert to analog for that receiver....or kick another component to the curb in favor of.

mhardy6647

Jimbo18 wrote: »

How about using the headphone out of the TV to the RCA inputs on the receiver? I had to do that for a while and it sounded pretty good for home theater. Just need a cable like this.....

That should work reasonably well -- surprisingly well, given the low impedance characteristic of a headphone load

Assuming, of course, there's a headphone jack on the TV.

Emlyn

A powered soundbar may be a better option for TV or movie watching and leave the two channel system to do its own thing separately.

tonyb

I'd be willing to bet, no soundbar will compare to the sound he's getting from the Yamaha and vintage speaks. Least none I've heard to date.

pitdogg2

Emlyn wrote: »

A powered soundbar may be a better option for TV or movie watching and leave the two channel system to do its own thing separately.

Like we need another soundbar thread

ken brydson

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Emlyn wrote: »

A powered soundbar may be a better option for TV or movie watching and leave the two channel system to do its own thing separately.

Like we need another soundbar thread

At least another Polk one... oh crap, did I say that out loud?

tonyp063

Yup. You did.
Heard you all the way over here.