Compiling a first home theatre setup

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#423137 1-Jan-2011 11:04

Yes - you can get the same effect.
Normally the benefit of an HDMI cable is an increase in bandwidth for audio...
But as TV / USB movies tend to not require the bandwidth of BluRay DVD's - you shouldn't notice a difference.
The only downside is one more cable to plug in / buy.

timmmay

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#423154 1-Jan-2011 12:43

Can a Samsung LCD TV use ARC to send audio to an Onkyo TX-SR508?

Jaxson

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#423234 1-Jan-2011 20:17

Lizard1977: We got the house

Congrats.
A happy New Year indeed.

H/N has interest free for ever at the moment if it helps.

Lizard1977

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#423238 1-Jan-2011 20:36

Yeah, I'm keeping that in mind. I'm hoping someone here can suggest a package I can take to stores and get a good price on. It'd be good to have some experienced advice to fall back on.

Cheers

Lizard

Dunnersfella

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#423275 1-Jan-2011 22:07

timmmay: Can a Samsung LCD TV use ARC to send audio to an Onkyo TX-SR508?

Your receiver should be fine, your TV... less so.
Series 7 plasmas + LED's have ARC I think?

Dunnersfella

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#423277 1-Jan-2011 22:16

Lizard1977: Yeah, I'm keeping that in mind. I'm hoping someone here can suggest a package I can take to stores and get a good price on. It'd be good to have some experienced advice to fall back on.

Cheers

Lizard

You should be able to go into almost any store and look for a deal on...

A Pioneer VSX920, THP50V20, Wharfdale Diamond 10.6, cables, surge guard, Panasonic BDM-XW380, 2 x HDMI, Apple TV, 1 x Optical cable, 100 foot of speaker cable (generous)...

Some of the other amps mentioned here aren't typically stocked across the board.
Speakers like KEF / Yamo / Polk are limited to certain stores I think, so you won't have as much ability to match prices etc. Of course, SERVICE is one of the keys, as is the ability for them to coordinate the initial setup and on-going support.

timmmay

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#423279 1-Jan-2011 22:27

Sorry to hijack the thread, i'm just curious about this.

Dunnersfella:
timmmay: Can a Samsung LCD TV use ARC to send audio to an Onkyo TX-SR508?

Your receiver should be fine, your TV... less so.
Series 7 plasmas + LED's have ARC I think?

The TV is a LA55C650. How would I try it to see if ARC worked?

Tradepub

Free professional, reference and technical white papers (affiliate link).

Lizard1977

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#423380 2-Jan-2011 12:42

I'll be back in PN on Tuesday, and hoping to make a purchase to take advantage of the deals on at the moment, so I'm going to have to make a decision soon. I think this is what I'm going to go for:

Panasonic THP50V20Z 50" Plasma
Pioneer VSX-920K Receiver
Jamo S606 speaker pack, with 200W subwoofer or Wharfedale Diamond 10 pack.
Panasonic DMR-BW880G 500GB Freeview/HDD recorder

JB Hifi looks like they've got good deals, but Harvey Norman have got a 50 months interest free deal which would help smooth the budget. It wiill probably be one or other of those...

I guess the only grey areas are the speakers. I guess I would be happy with anything, but is there anything which separates Jamo and Wharfedale? At the moment, the main thing seems to be price (Jamo is slightly cheaper) and looks (wife likes the woodgrain on the Jamo).

Also, how would the Pioneer VSX-920 stack up against, say, the Onkyo TX-SR608?

Cheers

Lizard

Jaxson

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#423402 2-Jan-2011 15:08

I personally would not buy speaker cable from the likes of Harvey Norman/JB Hifi etc. Doubt you'd get a good deal on that type of item there. Likewise with hdmi cables etc. If you are on a budget, or you want your money to go further then I'd shop elsewhere for those types of 'non main' items.

My only 2c on the speakers would be to try and get the next model up on the front speakers if you go wharfedale. In the old series that was the 6.9 over the 9.5 that came in the speaker packs. Also are you going 5.1 or 7.1?

Lizard1977

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#423415 2-Jan-2011 15:42

Yeah, I'm planning to get the cables etc from a different store.
I'm planning 5.1 for now, as I can always expand it later. The receivers I'm looking at are 7.1 or 7.2, so there's room to expand. But for now, 5.1 will be plenty.

dontpanic42

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#423420 2-Jan-2011 15:50

Lizard1977:
I'm planning 5.1 for now, as I can always expand it later. The receivers I'm looking at are 7.1 or 7.2, so there's room to expand. But for now, 5.1 will be plenty.

Agreed. Most, if not all, DVDs/Blu-rays are only 5.1.
However I've just watched Toy Story 3 on Blu-ray and noticed a DTS-HD MA track of 7.1. 7.1 seems to be the exception at the moment. When it becomes more common I might have to think about getting two extra surrounds to hook up to my 7.2 receiver (which is a Yamaha RX-V863 - very nice system I might add).

The RX-V863 only has 3xHDMI inputs, but with my PS3 and PlayTV I only really ever use 1 input.

Dunnersfella

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#423490 2-Jan-2011 19:57

I guess it depends on what Wharfdales you're looking at...
They come in multiple configurations - Diamond 9.5's, 9.6's, 10.5's and 10.6's...
There are also different centre speaker options, and from memory, more than one choice for subs.

The key - would be to get the stores to hook the VSX-920 or Onkyo amp up with the speakers and start listening. The rest of it should be elementary I suppose - go with the setup you like.
Make sure to demo a CD and a DVD you're familiar with.

timmmay

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#423507 2-Jan-2011 20:35

The Wharfedale Vardus speakers have seem like a good budget option. They still sound better than anything else i've owned, but I suspect i'll eventually upgrade the centre speaker and sub, if not the lot.

I know nothing about speakers, I just wanted something reasonably decent that was good value.

Lizard1977

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#425688 10-Jan-2011 11:48

So last week I made my purchases:

Panasonic TH-P50V20 50" Plasma
Panasonic DMR-BW880 Blu Ray/HDD recorder
Pioner VSX-920K Amp
Jamo S606 HCS5 5.1 speaker pack (including 250W subwoofer).

I paid a sneeze over $6000 for the package, splitting it between JB Hifi and Harvey Norman. Cabling will be extra. Speaking of which...

As far as I can work out, I will need the following cables:
2 x HDMI
Up to 50m of speaker cable
Up to 20 "banana" plugs
1 x Subwoofer cable
1 x Digital Optical cable (return from TV to Amp)
Surge-protected multiboard.

I'm also thinking of getting a Harmony remote, if my cable budget can stretch to it.

I reckon the HDMI cables will be pretty easy to find - either Jaycar or Trademe should have good deals. The questions I have are to do with the speaker cables.

I've read somewhere that for runs up to 10m long, 16 gauge wire is okay, but 14 is better. I see Jaycar have 30m rolls of fig. 8 speaker cable, which turns out to be 18 gauge, for $30. http://jaycar.co.nz/productView.asp?ID=WB1709&CATID=22&form=CAT&SUBCATID=248 Do you think this would be okay, or should I push for 16 gauge?

How important are "banana" plugs? I've looked through the manuals for both the amp and the speakers, and it looks like you can use bare wire. Is it just a convenience to have a simple push-in plug, or is there a quality issue?

Can anyone recommend a surge-protected multiboard that is worth the money?

Cheers

Lizard

Jaxson

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#425706 10-Jan-2011 12:08

Congrats!

Check here for a guide to cable runs:
http://www.dse.co.nz/dse.filereader?4d2a3ee30124e0602740c0a87f3b0691+EN/catalogs/LRN0002398

Personally I'd ditch the banana plugs unless you plan on unplugging speakers a lot. The money saved here could go a long way towards a harmony remote and with a system like yours I'd totally be encouraging one of those.

Likewise wall sockets etc. To save money I'd prefer to have single cable runs from receiver to speaker. It's one less point to fail at a later date and is not too much of an issue if once again you are not moving the speakers often. I'd consider plugs/wall sockets if they are going to be visible but apart from that personally I'd spend my money elsewhere.

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