Your thoughts & advice please!!

TRINADS

My roommate and I have recently moved into a house, and together, we have the following equipment:

TV- Mitsubishi 73" DLP WD73727
PS3
2x XBOX 360 Elite
1 XBOX HD DVD player
Toshiba A30 HD DVD player
Wii
Receivers- Denon 4306
Pioneer Elite VSX-82TSX
Mains- LSi 15's
RTi 12's
Centers - LSi C
RTi A
Surrounds- 2x FXi 5's
4x FXi 3's
Subs- Polk PSW10
Velodyne SPL-800


My initial thought was to put the RTi towers in the rear for surrounds, but the couch would be directly in front of them, and i fear would block a significant portion of the sound. So my second thought is to somehow use all four in the front, is that possible or worth a damn? Would it sound like crap? The denon receiver has a 9.1 capability with the B output. I have enough surrounds for that... Or should I bi-amp the front? I have more stuff than I know what to do with. Help me out. What is the best set up for this equipment? Thank you.

TRINADS

We basically want to utilize this equipment to its fullest, and to have the best set-up possible. We definately don't have to use it all, but the Denon is capable of 9.1, we are just not sure what receivers to use, or use both? what speakers would be good. Any suggestions?

-We are obviously going to try different set-ups to see what sounds the best, but any ideas on where to start would be great!! Thanks!!

danz1906

Try a couple set-ups to see which one sounds best

Fongolio

I think the LSi-15's and the RTi12's all up front would be total overkill. I thinks too that it would mess up the sound. Is there no way to put the 12's on either side of the couch.? Either receiver is good but I think the Pio has more real world power. I'd store some of the speakers and go with a 5.1 or 7.1 setup. Unless you have room behind your sitting position 9.1 is not practical. For a while I was using a 7.1 setup with Pio Elite receiver but the rear speakers were so rarely utilized I finally took them out to free up floor space in the rear of the listening room. 5.2 (two subs) now is very good. Play around with it and you'll find something that works. Good luck.

Mike21

Hi trinads.

There is no such thing as 9.1, at least not yet. What you have is 7.1 with either Zone 2 (stereo out for an amp in a different room) or 2 extra small rear speakers (except I think Yamaha is the only company that does that). DVDs come in stereo (2.1) or 5.1. Blu Ray Discs come in 5.1 and are just starting to get going with with 7.1 (there are maybe 70 so far). Movie discs are not encoded with 9.1.
Mike

cnh

Fongolio wrote: »

I think the LSi-15's and the RTi12's all up front would be total overkill. I thinks too that it would mess up the sound. Is there no way to put the 12's on either side of the couch.? Either receiver is good but I think the Pio has more real world power. I'd store some of the speakers and go with a 5.1 or 7.1 setup. Unless you have room behind your sitting position 9.1 is not practical. For a while I was using a 7.1 setup with Pio Elite receiver but the rear speakers were so rarely utilized I finally took them out to free up floor space in the rear of the listening room. 5.2 (two subs) now is very good. Play around with it and you'll find something that works. Good luck.

A Pioneer Elite 82 more power than a Denon 4306 series. I don't think so. That Denon is a 52.5 pound receiver with 140 watts/channel. Next to Denon's top unit. It's a monster. I don't know what the 82 puts out but the 81 is only 110 watts and barely weighs 35 pounds. The Denon is a power house.

cnh

TRINADS

I am very aware that there is no 9.1 available. The Denon allows for a 9.1 set-up, I believe the surrounds are in stereo, so if I was watching a 7.1 movie, the 4 back surrounds would output the same sound, each surround isn't its' own dedicated channel (I think...) Also, the Pio Elite outputs 130W x 7. I don't know which one truly outputs more power, but my guess is that the Denon would be a better match for the LSi 15's up front.
-It looks like I will probably use the Denon receiver to the LSi15's, and use a 7.1 set up because I have so many FX series surround speakers.
-If I don't use the last two speaker outputs on the Denon for the 9.1 set-up, I can use them to Bi-Amp the front speakers. Is this a good idea? I mean, should I do this? Is this the best way, or will there be a significant difference in sound? Thanks for ALL of your advice, It's ALL helpful. Thanks!!

ben62670

Too many speakers is spreading the power to thin. There is only so much current that a receiver can put out. With LSI's I wouldn't try to do more than 5.1 If you go 7.1 you really need a good amount of room behind you to set it up properly.
Ben

bruss

build a 2 chann rig also

cnh

I would try running a 5.1 off the Denon with the LSIs, they can certainly use MORE power than either of your receivers can give them because they're a 4 ohm load. But reducing the number of speakers may help, also defaulting the surround speakers to small will help distribute more power where it is needed, let a sub or two handle the LFEs.

There are not many Blu-ray soundtracks that have more the 5.1 soundtracks yet! And almost all DVDs are pretty much in that format.

By bi-amping do you mean using both the Pioneer and the Denon on your fronts, because there may be some 'compatibility problems' with that!

If you mean using the extra channels on the Denon to bi-amp...that won't give you any more power and the jury is 'out' as to whether that improves the sound. Your wattage will remain 140w regradless if you do that.

cnh