SweetScientist's First System!

SweetScientist

hello everyone, i have been looking around this forum for a bit researching for my first system, and this is my first post. i have ordered the denon dra835r with two polk audio monitor 50s and a psw505, and i am hoping for the best! i will mostly be using the system to play digital music and movie files, and i was wondering about a few things while everything makes it way to my place.
are there any other things i will need to get this system up and running?
what is the best wiring scheme to connect the speakers and subwoofer to this stereo receiver as well as a television and a computer or digital music player like an ipod?
thank you in advance for any help!

Sherardp

Welcome to CP. You will need speaker wire (10/12 awg preferred), for sub you will need RCA Cable, if you are connecting TV then HDMI or component cable/rca as well. Then cables for any sources you plan to connect, i.e xbox, wii, dvd player, cd player, etc. For quality cables check out www.monoprice.com or www.bluejeanscables.com

Bernal

Installing Your Home Theater: The Plain English Guide to Installation

http://reviews.digitaltrends.com/guide/4/installing-your-home-theater-the-plain-english-guide-to-installation-part-1

http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com/installing-a-home-theater.html

Bernal

How to Install a Home Theater: Video Series

http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_268_install-home-theater.html

Bernal

http://www.ehow.com/video_2280368_cables-wires-home-theater-system.html

skrol

Welcome to Club Polk.

The DRA835 does not have a separate sub output but it does have pre-amp outputs that you should be able to use. Might have to watch if the receiver is in "Source Direct" mode. I think the pre-out is disabled in this mode. If you need one I can dig up a copy of the operating manual.

For ipod, just connect it to one of the available inputs (ie. Tape or VCR, etc).

Stan

SweetScientist

thanks for the tips! if you have that manual at hand, i would really appreciate it. how could i download it from you?

skrol

PM me with an email address.

SweetScientist

66666

SweetScientist

77777

SweetScientist

88888

SweetScientist

99999

SweetScientist

personal message has been sent. moderators please delete my fluff messages.

skrol

Check email.

SweetScientist

thanks again, skrol!
concerning the speaker wires, being that this is just a quartet of equipment, i dont need more than ten feet of wire for any of the runs, and i was considering cutting a bulk of belden 5000 series wire into generous lengths and just connecting without a termination with the bare cable. however, im unsure of the gauge of wire id need. im not sure if this is necessary, but the receiver is 100watts per channel at 8ohms or 230watts per channel at 4ohms. the subwoofer operates at 4ohms and the speakers at 8ohms.
what gauge of wire would be suitable?
would you recommend a termination other than the bare wire?

skrol

I can't find where it says that the sub is operating at 4ohms. You are really connecting to the sub's amplifier which would should a much higher impedance (assuming you are using the PSW505 "Speaker In") and not directly to the speaker voice coil. If you are using the PSW505 Line-In, it is certainly much higher.

For the sub you could use Hook up method #3 in the PSW505 owners manual. Use RCA interconnects from the DRA-835R pre-out to the PSW505 Line-in (Figures 9 and 12)
http://www.polkaudio.com/downloads/manuals/home/PSW303_404_505_Manual.pdf

Another method is to connect with speaker wire from the DRA-835R Speaker-B outputs to the Speaker In on the PSW505. Run the Monitor 50's off the DRA-835R Speaker A output.

For speaker wire, I say the smallest you would want is 14 AWG but you would be better with 12 AWG. The Belden 5000 should be fine. There is a complete science regarding speaker wire that you can get tangled up in. Sorry, I had to say that.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80453

SweetScientist

i quickly searched for the impedance of the psw505, and upon review, the source i rushed to is not very reputable. i think i will try for 12awg once ive settled this wiring scheme, which i thought i had down! in addition to those wiring schemes, someone suggested wiring from the positive a and negative a terminals on the receiver to the subwoofer input with speaker wire and then from the subwoofer to the left and right speakers. how would this plan stack up, and of all of them, which would be the best?

skrol

It would work as the sub is made to do that but you would be adding more sources for resistance out to your main speakers. There is the overall wire length going from the receiver to the sub + the contact resistance at the receiver terminals and the sub terminals, then wire from the sub to your main speakers + contact resistance at the sub and main speakers. I have never done this but I also wonder if there could be noise induced by the amp that is T'd off between the receiver and main speakers.

Someone with more experience please chime in, but I would think it better to run the mains off a separate speaker output on the receiver.

skrol

oops

SweetScientist

i see two decisions with two choices, connecting the subwoofer through the preampout with rca or through the speaker terminals with speaker wire as well as connecting the speakers through the receiver speaker terminals or through the subwoofer output. as far as the subwoofer connection, i dont know which cable is cleaner between the rca and the speakerwire and whether the subwoofer should receive an amplified or unamplfied signal. for the speakers, i dont know if the subwoofer outputs provide a high pass filtered signal and whether the speakers should be getting a full range or high pass filtered signal for the best blending and delegation of ranges.
what does experience say here?

SweetScientist

skrol wrote: »

For the sub you could use Hook up method #3 in the PSW505 owners manual. Use RCA interconnects from the DRA-835R pre-out to the PSW505 Line-in (Figures 9 and 12)
http://www.polkaudio.com/downloads/manuals/home/PSW303_404_505_Manual.pdf

would i just need two regular male male rca interconnects instead of y cables?

skrol

I would NOT us a "Y". Just use two male-to-male RCA interconnects.