OT: Home Audio Question

oneheadlite

oneheadlite

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Hey Gang

Looking for some advice for home audio. I have to lead with - I'm not an audiophile, nor am I looking to spend a ton of dough. But, whatever it is that I buy I want to make sure it's not only going to last a short amount of time.

Use case: Our house is set up such that most of the time we just have music playing through our TV speakers (not blaring) which spreads through the main level and into the kitchen/dining area (no walls in between). We've got a 6 year old, and bedrooms are upstairs; whatever audio setup I go with it's not like we'll be cranking it while watching tv/movies at night.

What I have, for what it's worth: I've got a Klipsch 5.1 setup (Quintet II) from about 2005 and a Yamaha Receiver (htr...something. I think 5640?). The whole setup's been in storage for years; just recently pulled the receiver out and with nothing connected it won't turn on - powers off within 5 seconds of turning on.

My 5.1 setup's been in storage because our living room's not conducive to easily setting up all the speakers. Also, that receiver is huuuge.


I'm debating between trying to find a soundbar that fits the budget, or finding a compact amplifier/receiver to be able to reinstate at least a 3.0 or 3.1 setup with my Klipsch speakers. I was really happy with their sound back in the day.
From the little bit I've read, it seems like a separate speaker 3.1 setup should provide better sound that most sound bars, but I'm wondering how much I need to spend on a receiver to make that happen.

Hopefully this makes sense. Ideally I'd like to be in the $200 range, which probably doesn't line up with my above goal of not buying garbage. I could probably justify $400 to try and get something decent.

Looking forward to hearing more from folks who are better versed in this than me!
 
I looked but I really couldn’t find something for you on Best Buy or Crutchfield. I looked at smaller devices, most of them integrated amplifiers but those are pretty much only 2 channels.

And if you want 3 channels (2+center) you are pretty much looking at 5 channels at a minimum. And that means the bigger receivers unfortunately though some start at just a few hundred dollars. But they try to throw in all sorts of features in the receivers including features you may not need.

Devon had a smaller, lifestyle receiver previously but those type of devices are quite a bit more expensive and I don’t think Denon sold enough to keep producing them.

Wish I had better news for you. If I run across anything else, I’ll let you know.
 
Thanks for looking into it!

I was wondering if going the 5.1 receiver route and not use the rear channels would open more options. The hardest part is finding a smaller receiver (in the budget) you can trust.

Anyone have any sound bar recommendations?
 
Well if you want 3.1 (left,right,center), you'll need at least a 5.1 receiver to do the Dolby decoding so each speaker knows what to play. They do make rear wireless speakers, as a matter of fact, when I was checking Crutchfield for you, that is one of the options in helping pick a receiver. Regarding picking a receiver, I'd look for one with the most good reviews on Best Buy and Crutchfield. ​


Another option is to get an integrated amplifier (2 channels) and forego the center channel. Depending on the speakers, you can sometimes toe the speakers in to aim towards the center and it will approximate the center, a so-called phantom center. It depends on the speakers as to how well that works. Or just not worry about a center, phantom or otherwise, and just use stereo speakers. In this way, you can drastically simplify your audio setup as you no longer need a decoder, you can just get an amplifier to drive your speakers. You'd essentially use the TV out to plug in to the amplifier, which would then drive your speakers.

Sorry, I don't have any recommendations on sound bars.
 
I was really bummed when I found out my receiver wouldn’t power on - I was hoping to refresh my memory of how the speakers sounded, and play with what 3 vs 2 sounded like.
I’ll have to get the manual out and make sure it’s not as simple as a self preservation thing if it doesn’t see the appropriate resistance on the circuits when it powers up. Could also just be damaged, my old house was suuuper dusty and at the time I never put any thought towards what the inside of the receiver looked like…

Not being an audiophile, my thought of having the 3 channel vs 2 was simply coming from more speakers=more better (and I can see how I could make 3 work in the space allotted); hoping for fuller sound.

I think your post explains some of what I was wondering about what the difference is between a receiver and an amplifier - Sounds like a receiver does some sound doctoring while an amp strictly gets the signal powered up.

Any recommendations on a simple 2 channel amplifier?
 
I think a lot of this not only depends on your usage, but the layout of the room too.

I'll use our house as an example. My main living room and kitchen area is a single wide-open space. As much as I'd like to put a surround system in the area, there is simply no good place to put the rear channels for a 5.1 or 7.1 system. Also, we typically use that TV for casual viewing of our TV shows and sports. For this area I use a 2.1 sound bar that is quite good and easily fills the area with sound. For "serious" movie watching I have a 7.1 system in the basement where I was able to properly position the speakers.

I've been pleasantly surprised by how much better a good sound bar is compared to the built in speakers of any TV. The form factor works really well too because you don't have to worry about where/how to place satellite speakers on stands/etc on either side of the TV and most have HDMI or optical inputs which turn on the sound bar when you power up the TV. No need for a tuner.
 
Desertnate - What sound bar are you using?
 
I'm using a 32" Vizio 2.1 sound bar system. The exact model I have is no longer on the market, but they sell a newer version.

It's not all that expensive, yet I've been impressed with the sound quality and the fact the sub and the sound bar communicate wirelessly. For the usage and the room I wasn't after reference-quality sound. I've used it with both a Sharp and Vizio TV and it worked great.
 
Desertnate said:
I'm using a 32" Vizio 2.1 sound bar system. The exact model I have is no longer on the market, but they sell a newer version.

It's not all that expensive, yet I've been impressed with the sound quality and the fact the sub and the sound bar communicate wirelessly. For the usage and the room I wasn't after reference-quality sound. I've used it with both a Sharp and Vizio TV and it worked great.
Click to expand...

I have a similar 1 but TCL to match my TV. I bought it open box for I think $80 bucks. It sounds freaking great for what I need it for.
 
Don't discount Sonos. We have them throughout the home and including our 24x18 family room with an 18ft ceiling and it's incredible. The newer ARC soundbar is great for those with lower ceilings that then bounces sound even. I use that set up in our lower-level theater room and it's also incredible.

We run 5.1 in the two family rooms both on the main floor and in the lower level theater room. Great sound quality, super clean attractive appearance and easy control and so easy to set up.

Happy to answer any questions regarding the set up or speakers.
 
Sonos are good but way overpriced if the focus is audio for a single room. Sonos is best for wireless audio distribution within a house. Think zones in every room without any wires. But you pay dearly for that wireless flexibility and that their app just works. I had Sonos Play5 in the kids rooms and I had a Sonos Connect on my main system but when the Play5s died, we didn't replace them.
 
Price is the main reason I've not spent much time looking at Sonos.

At some point if I ever hang my TV over the fireplace, I might look at a Sonos to get away from extra wires, but it will be a tough sell.
 
Thanks all again for the input.

Ended up going with a Vizio m21d-h8r - it's an "All in One" 2.1 soundbar. Dolby DTS capable. The subwoofers are integrated into it, not separate which is nice. It's nice and low profile. I saw it for $107 during holiday sales, but I didn't jump on it since I had put it on my wish list. Ended up getting it on sale after X-mas for $130 (retail price is $150). I figure heck, it's still not that much more than a lil HomePod mini...

Initial impressions are quite good. Setup was no problem. Sound is waaaay more full than the TV speakers. I did an initial test run up in the lunchroom at work, and made my coworker jealous - he said his 2.0 soundbar (don't know what brand) didn't have near that much bass/sound quality. I'm not looking to rattle the windows, but it's nice to get some low end for music/movies.

Haven't had a ton of time with it going to play with all the various modes, but it's nice it's got settings to balance volume levels or cut the subwoofer output if the kid's in bed.

I'll try to do an update down the road with impressions after it's been in use more if anyone's interested.
 
Desertnate said:
I'm using a 32" Vizio 2.1 sound bar system. The exact model I have is no longer on the market, but they sell a newer version.

It's not all that expensive, yet I've been impressed with the sound quality and the fact the sub and the sound bar communicate wirelessly. For the usage and the room I wasn't after reference-quality sound. I've used it with both a Sharp and Vizio TV and it worked great.
Click to expand...

Oh boy, I need to look up the model of my Vizio sound bar (with woofer), because I bet we both have the same one. It's AMAZING. I think I paid something like $130 for it a few years ago if it's the same one. My living room is small and oddly shaped but I listened to it at Best Buy before getting it elsewhere and I couldn't believe how good it was.

EDIT - Found it. It's gotta be this one: Sound Bar
 
That's pretty close and I paid about the same price off Target.com back when I bought it. It's a screaming deal for what you get. Yours might be a little bit newer, as my sub looks a little different.

Either way, its a great piece of kit if you simply want to hear your TV clearly and you're not after an actual surround sound system or one isn't practical for the room/situation.
 
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