Very Basic Question From a Bose-man

aljoseph

I've had nothing but Bose for years so please excuse the naive question. Can most of the modern receivers also be used for sound processing and feeding (as in a true pre-amp) multi-channel amplifiers? So unless I'm laden with money, it's not necessary to buy the highest wattage receiver around if, at some point, I will use it with a separate amp. The reason, then, to upgrade the receiver is because newer models handle more/newer audio/video formats? If so, then shouldn't one invest in a quality amplifier as it is not as susceptible to becoming outdated as the receiver? Please steer me straight if you will. Thanks.

tcrossma

Best I call tell you are perfectly correct in your logic on receivers (processors) and amplifiers. Get a good amp and keep it forever, and change receivers / processors as new technology becomes available.

And welcome to CP.

cnh

+1 on that. A lot of us use a relatively 'recent' AVR as a pre-amp/processor and a power amp, often bought 'used' for the juice.

cnh

aljoseph

Thank you sir. I kinda thought so, but it helps to turn to those in the know. Maybe in time I'll be able to help someone with a question.

jinjuku

aljoseph wrote: »

I've had nothing but Bose for years so please excuse the naive question. Can most of the modern receivers also be used for sound processing and feeding (as in a true pre-amp) multi-channel amplifiers? So unless I'm laden with money, it's not necessary to buy the highest wattage receiver around if, at some point, I will use it with a separate amp. The reason, then, to upgrade the receiver is because newer models handle more/newer audio/video formats? If so, then shouldn't one invest in a quality amplifier as it is not as susceptible to becoming outdated as the receiver? Please steer me straight if you will. Thanks.

Some receivers can go pre-out. You can by pass their built in amplifiers so it is basically a pre-pro.

Some receivers can go pre-in. Some do both.

Now lets say you have a Blu-ray player capable of bit-streaming to LCPM audio. That is the BR player decodes the DTS and Dolby HD audio streams at the player. This means that your receiver doesn't need the HD audio formats integrated in it. The BR player simply passes on the un-encoded audio as LCPM over the HDMI cable. Your receiver does need to be able to support LCPM. This lessens the importance of a receiver with all the latest bells and whistles. I am looking to go receiver-less.

Hillbilly61

I like to see an honest Bose question here and it is refreshing to see some honest responses too! Bose makes some very good speakers. The topology with how Bose work is different from Polk speakers. Therefore, how everything ties together work differently

Welcome to CP Aljoseph! Hang around and we can get you educated with why the Polk approach is better for sound reproduction than Bose. Just beware of some Polk fanboy/Bose bashing talk that can happen. Take in info and judge for yourself.

Happy learning!

aljoseph

Thanks all. I can handle the Polk/fanboy, Bose/bash talk. I like honesty and integrity above all. If we can do that and have some fun while at it, so much the better. I wonder why it took me so long to "see the light".

nooshinjohn

aljoseph wrote: »

Thanks all. I can handle the Polk/fanboy, Bose/bash talk. I like honesty and integrity above all. If we can do that and have some fun while at it, so much the better. I wonder why it took me so long to "see the light".

welcome to CP! there is just two words of advice I can give... BOSE BLOWS!:p

J/K... and welcome.

tonyb

Welcome Joseph,and a well put post to boot.Nice to see some new members asking good questions for a change.Yes,a good amp can spand the technology upgrades that seem to come along on a yearly basis now.Trick is,getting one that meshes well with the other gear,and speakers you have.Some amps have a sonic signiture that is attached to the brand,while some are pretty nuetral in their sound and just amplify the signal given without any added flavor.Depends on what you like,so do some research,ask alot of questions,before plunking down your hard earned cash.Welcome again,enjoy the forum.

reeltrouble1

Shout out to Peoria, nice place. I would like to extend you a personal invitation to visit our unpcoming PolkFest........bring your Bose speaks, we'll bring the M-80's.........when you get their look for a guy called Antn'y and give the Bose to him.

Enjoy your rig.

RT1

aljoseph

I think I've found a home. It'll take me a while to become De-Bose'd (a new word I just coined) as I don't as yet have a complete system to take its place. Hopefully you'll put up with me till then. ;-)))

cheddar

jinjuku wrote: »

Now lets say you have a Blu-ray player capable of bit-streaming to LCPM audio. That is the BR player decodes the DTS and Dolby HD audio streams at the player. This means that your receiver doesn't need the HD audio formats integrated in it. The BR player simply passes on the un-encoded audio as LCPM over the HDMI cable. Your receiver does need to be able to support LCPM. This lessens the importance of a receiver with all the latest bells and whistles. I am looking to go receiver-less.

Welcome to CP to the OP!

The above post may be misleading. So just to be clear:

You don't bitstream LPCM. You bitstream Dolby and DTS encoded (compressed files to make them smaller) audio files to a receiver for decoding (uncompression to PCM) there. Some blu-ray players will have the option of decoding in the blu-ray player and sending the PCM over HDMI to the receiver bypassing whatever decoding capabilities the receiver has. So, for instance, if the player decodes the lossless formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA, then your receiver doesn't need to have these capabilities. But your receiver MUST support the processing of LPCM (almost all do) via HDMI in order to get the decoded PCM from the player. Once the receiver has the PCM by whichever method, it can apply all its digital processing (surround modes etc.) and get it converted to an analog signal for use by your speakers.

jinjuku

cheddar wrote: »

Welcome to CP to the OP!

The above post may be misleading. So just to be clear:

You don't bitstream LPCM. You bitstream Dolby and DTS encoded (compressed files to make them smaller) audio files to a receiver for decoding (uncompression to PCM) there. Some blu-ray players will have the option of decoding in the blu-ray player and sending the PCM over HDMI to the receiver bypassing whatever decoding capabilities the receiver has. So, for instance, if the player decodes the lossless formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA, then your receiver doesn't need to have these capabilities. But your receiver MUST support the processing of LPCM (almost all do) via HDMI in order to get the decoded PCM from the player.

Sorry about that I should have made a clear delineation between Bit-Streaming and LPCM.

LPCM is full un-compressed, already decoded audio, sent to a receivers multi-channel inputs via HDMI (most of the time, there are exceptions). The receiver does no decoding.

Bit-Stream is an encoded stream sent to the receiver and the receiver does the decode.

nooshinjohn

aljoseph wrote: »

I think I've found a home. It'll take me a while to become De-Bose'd (a new word I just coined) as I don't as yet have a complete system to take its place. Hopefully you'll put up with me till then. ;-)))

the best way to become De-bosed is to visit your nearest hi-fi shop and listen to anything else;)....

comfortablycurt

nooshinjohn wrote: »

the best way to become De-bosed is to visit your nearest hi-fi shop and listen to anything else;)....

I have a 5.1 set of "white van speakers". They're essentially a knock off of the Bose Lifestyle Speakers.

I paid 65 dollars for the whole setup. A few months later, one of my friends bought an actual Bose Lifestyle system...I forget what he paid...somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500 dollars. We got it set up and listened to it for a while...

My 65 dollar setup of white van speakers sounded roughly the same as the 1500 dollar Bose setup...possibly even a little better on the low end. Though my friend didn't want to accept it at first, he eventually admitted that my 65 dollar white van speakers sounded better than his 1500 dollar Bose speakers.

So, what it comes down to, is if you want one of those teensy little cute Bose systems, just look for a guy in a white van. He can be found in the parking lot of places such as Best Buy or Fry's...outside of malls...any number of places.

Box
Of
Shitty
Equipment



By the way, no offense intended to the OP here. Now get out there and get some better speakers!!...lol

Welcome to Club Polk aljoseph.:)

edit-We're almost neighbors...kind of...I'm from Dixon, IL about 45 miles south of Rockford. I used to hang out in Peoria a lot when I had friends going to school there.

Rocco1

OP take a ride up from Peoria and go to the Fry's in Downers Grove and listen to the whole polk line. At least get your ears some sweet sound so you dont go hard of hearing listening to those BOSE. It will be about a 2 hour drive but well worth it. Heck maybe you can end up getting something.

aljoseph

Thanks to all who have commented here about Bose. I'm not knocking anyone or anything. The Bose systems I've had (and still have) served me well. For me, the over-riding decision to go that route in the 1st place was, and still is, my better half. Many moons ago, good quality speaker systems were huge. We lived in a small apartment then. No way was my wife going to allow that kind of a setup. We lived in New England (that's where we're from) not far from Framingham, MA. The decision to go Bose was a no brainer for us at the time. Well, times have changed. It's now time to try something better. You guys have any suggestions? ;-)))

Hawkeye

You can help yourself by letting the forum know several things. Ratio to music/movies, budget (the big question), how much room do you have, type of music you listen to, if any, etc. etc.....

What exactly are you looking for? Just speakers or a combination of pieces? Are you willing to buy used or only new?

Don't want to sound glib, but without that type of info you'll get recommendations all over the board and trying to sort it all out can become confusing.

By the way, welcome!

Gordon

aljoseph

Hi Gordon: Sorry to confuse you. I was being smart. If you read the whole thread there was some good natured kidding going on and I was just playing cute. I do appreciate your input. i am changing over to Polk Audio speakers and that's why I'm here and on this forum. I'm inheriting a pair of used RTA-8T speakers I purchased for my Son some years ago and I just purchased a used CSi 30 center channel speaker in the FS section. Still looking for more stuff to complete a setup. Al

zingo

I would also looking into used prepros as well. I saw an Outlaw unit on the local CL for $150 which is a great deal. Add an amp and you will be set for a few years.

aljoseph

Hi Jake. Thanks for the comment. It'll take me awhile but I'll round up the necessary.

Al - K1ELT

erniejade

I actually use a set of 301 for my fronts in my HT system. I also DJ and use an L1 system for the tops and a KV2 subwoofer with it. Everything has it's place in a way.

When re-doing your system, if $ is a wory check out craigs list and look for some used stuff. It is a good way to try out different things. What a lot of us do on here is buy and sell. Welcome to the addiction!!