I bought the NAD system, now PRETTY PLEASE help me set it up
|
New member Username: Asz2001Post Number: 3 Registered: May-04 | Thanks to your wonderful advice (all of you) I bought a NAD T743 Receiver and a C542 CD Player. I am a newbie and have a bunch of questions regarding how to set it up. 1. On the back of the CD player, there is Audio out options such as analog (L,R), digital optical and digital out (coaxial). Which is the BEST to use? 2. Receiver says "speakers are rated to be 4 ohms min. per speaker" while my Acoustic Research HC6 manual says under specifications, "nominal impedance 8 ohms". Does this discrepancy matter? Are they compatible? 3. Speaker manual says I can use speaker wire or audio cable. Does the T743 accept "audio wire"? If yes, which is better/ which should I use? 4. What type of cable is best to hook up a DVD player? S-video, component, other? Do I hook up the DVD video directly to the TV and the DVD audio through the receiver for surround sound? 5. How do I incorporate a Time Warner Cable box into my set-up? Do I hook the cable from the wall into the TW Cable box into the Receiver? or from the wall to cable box to the TV (for video) and to the receiver (for audio? Which are the best cables to use for these (component, S-video, other?) THANK YOU SO MUCH! I can't wait to try out this system. ps-I may post some more questions to clarify some things as I attempt to understand all this stuff. |
|
Bronze Member Username: MarkuspToronto, ON Canada Post Number: 92 Registered: Apr-04 | Hi ASZ2001. I'll try to answer som of your questions. 1 - I find the processing in the C542 to be better than in the T743 so I would recommend that you hook up the CD player to the reciever via its analog inputs (the L,R). If you hook it up using either of the digital inputs, you allow your reciever to do the decoding and render the benefits of that nice CD player useless. 2 - You are fine to hook up the speakers. A 4 ohm speaker is harder to drive than an 8 ohm speaker so the NAD will have no problems driving your 8 ohm speakers (NAD is one of the few receivers actually capable of driving a 4 ohm speaker without difficulty). 3 - not sure what "audio wire" is but I recommend a good quality speaker cable of atleast 12 guage for your mains. 4 - Hooking up the DVD player is dependent upon your actual television. If you have an HDTV compatible TV and a progressive scan dvd player, I recommend the component cable connection. If you do not have an HDTV compatible tv, a good quality s-video cable is fine. 5 - rule of thumb is to avoid hooking up dvd players, cable boxes etc through the receiver and go straight to the tv instead. That said, I personally hook up everything through my receiver as my TV only has one component connection so I use my receiver for component switching. Good luck  |
|
New member Username: Asz2001Post Number: 4 Registered: May-04 | thanks for the help, some more questions: 1. for the RCA analog cable (from the CD player to the receiver) i bought Monster Cable THX certified (gold plated) for $15. Is this good enough? MY audio specialist was trying to sell me Audio Quest for around $50 and Kimber for $60. 2. I do not have HDTV (yet). So for the DVD player, the best hook-up would be to use component video from the DVD to the TV and the analog lines out (red white) to the receiver for surround sound. correct? This would be better than using the coaxial or optical outs, correct? 3. For the Time Warner Cable box, the best hook-up would be to use the "cable" cable from the wall into the TW box, and the "cable" cable from the TW box into the TV. then send the analog audio out (white and red) to the receiver. correct? It is better to send the "cable" cable to the TV from the TW cable box rather than use the video out (yellow), or the S-video out. correct? Is it better to use the analog audio out from the cable box to the receiver rather than the digital out from the cable box to the receiver? 4. Is there any reason to have audio going from the TV to the receiver or just from the cable box and DVD to the receiver? Thank you so much! |
|
MarcUR Unregistered guest | 1) Monster is fine for now, you'll be hard pressed to hear a difference, maybe in a year of so of critical listening you might tell a difference. 2) Send the component cables (video) from the dvd to TV. Send the digital out (audio) to the receiver. The TV can only input and output two channel analag stereo. For surround sound, you have to send a digital cable from teh DVD to the receiver. Make sure you pick 5.1 when playing hte dvd, as some dvds default to 2 channel. 3) for the cable box, run the cable line into the box. Run the video to the TV (see if they have s-video for better picture) and run the analog out of the cable box directly to the receiver. No need to run the audio to the tv and back to the receiver. |
|
Bronze Member Username: JonmoonPost Number: 67 Registered: Dec-03 | ASZ2001, some additional thoughts for you. 1. The Monster Cable should be fine. 2. You haven't said what your tv is. The best video connection is the component connection so use that from your dvd to the tv. The best audio connections are the digital ones (coax or optical) and so use those to the receiver. The advantage of using the analog (rca) connections from the cd are to avoid the receiver delay and to use the cd player's decoding as mentioned by Markus above. 3. The cable coming in is fine. I would use the s-video to your tv. This will test the number of inputs in your tv. If the T743 has an on screen display (OSD), you want to run the S-Video through the receiver and then from the receiver to the tv. That way you can access your OSD. Again, go with the audio connection from the digital coax or optical from the cable box to the receiver. 4. There is no reason to connect the tv sound to the receiver because the receiver will be connected to all the sources of the television sound: cable, dvd and cd. You may want the cable box connected directly to the tv by analog or otherwise if you intend to watch tv without the receiver being on. Same would be true for any other source such as vcr or dvd. Generally, the dvd should be watched with the receiver on everytime since the sound quality will be greatly enhanced. As for cable, alot of it depends on the quality of cable: are you getting satellite or digital cable? Those will upgrade picture and sound. |
|
New member Username: Asz2001Post Number: 5 Registered: May-04 | thanks again for all the help!!! by the way TWCable is digital cable. my DVD player is a low-end Sony. my TV is a Sony Wega (not XBR). just a couple more questions: 1. from the DVD to the receiver, is it better to use coaxial or optical for the audio? 2. from the Cable box to the receiver (for audio), is it better to use the analog outs (white/red) or the digital audio out? it seems like MarcUR is saying the former and Jonathan the latter. 3. If the answer to #2 is "digital audio out", what type of cable do I need to buy? Is it a coaxial output? Does anyone else that has the Time Warner digital cable box know? 4. Lastly, do my CD player, digital cable, low-end DVD, and low-end TV mix into 5.1 surround sound or does it just play in stereo through 6 speakers? In other words, do I have to buy a higher-end DVD player and TV to get the full 5.1 surround sound effect? Thanks again everyone! |
|
New member Username: Asz2001Post Number: 6 Registered: May-04 | oops 1 more which I'll call #5 from the last post: 5. when hooking up the speakers (Acoustic Research HC6), do i use an audio cable from the receiver to the sub and speaker wire from the receiver to the sattelites OR audio cable from the receiver to the sub and speaker wire from the sub to the sattelites? thanks again!!! |
|
Bronze Member Username: JonmoonPost Number: 69 Registered: Dec-03 | ASZ2001: 1. That's a debate that I don't know the answer to. Supposedly digital is just a bunch of 1s and 0s. You probably won't hear a difference between coax or optical. A salesman told me that the coax is better in that the optical has to be transformed and is also a more fragile cable. 2. I think Markus (who posted at the same time I did) and I are in agreement: use digital which means coax or optical. 3. I'm not sure I understand this question. The cable for coax is a specific digital coax cable as opposed to the coax cable used for cable tv. It is not the same thing. 4. This is also a big issue. Most of the sources other than dvds, tv shows specifically in surround sound or the new audio dvds or sacds are simply in stereo. The receivers can play them in stereo (some audiophiles will only listen to this music in stereo)or in other surround modes where the surround sound is simulated such as EARS (on the NAD), Pro Logic, Enhanced Stereo. Some of the other receivers have lots of other surround modes which NAD does not have and alot of NAD users don't miss. You have to listen to each and also listen to the source in each and tweak the sound to see what you like best. I have a low end dvd player which plays surround sound dvds just fine. That would be one of my next moves to get a universal dvd player though. |
|
MarcUR Unregistered guest | 1) if the distance is under 6 ft, either one is fine, the big issue is jitter, which at this point you probably won't even recognize. 2&3)if the cable box has a digital out, use coaxial cable, some cable boxes only have analog out, in that case use an rca cable. I prefer digital, but depends on the cable box, it is possible for the analog out to sound better, hopefully not though. 4)Almost all dvd players now have dolby digital. All you really need is a digital cable to go to the receiver, the same kind as the cable box should you have the digital out option. The TV has no effect on audio, it just does the picture (audio if you decide to run the signal to it, but there is really no reason to) |
|
New member Username: Asz2001Post Number: 7 Registered: May-04 | Thanks guys! I spent $450 on cables last night at Best Buy uggghh! Will try to hook it all up tonight. (If I can make it through the setup menus) |
|
MarcUR Unregistered guest | no reason to spend 450, was it a salesman who talked you into spending that much? I guarentee at this point, you won't be able to tell a difference. You would have been better off spending more on speakers or a receiver. |
|
Silver Member Username: SemNew York USA Post Number: 186 Registered: Mar-04 | ASZ2001, Ouch!! $450 on cables is most likely unnecessary. I tried yesterday to post answers to some of your questions but my reply seems to have become cyber-roadkill. That seems to be happening quite a bit lately. Others have made very good points here, in my opinion, the one thing I would say is the $450 would be better spent on a DVD-A/SACD combo player and decent, but not overpriced, cables. I'm not sure if you have 2 speakers or a 5.1 setup but either way a hi-rez setup will give you tons more bang for the buck than over-priced cables transmitting redbook cd sound. |
|
New member Username: Asz2001Post Number: 8 Registered: May-04 | Yes, I spoke to a sales rep. Yes, it's 5.1 Tell me which of these I should return (I kept the receipt) ALL CABLES are Monster Brand 100' XP speaker wire $60 50' XP speaker wire $35 Bass 300 Subwoofer audio cable $40 1 digital coax (DVD) $40 1 digital coax (TW Cable box) $50 Analog RCA for CD player (model 400) $40 component video (DVD) $70 1 S-video plus 1 analog RCA audio kit for TW Cable box $50 plus tax |
|
New member Username: Asz2001Post Number: 9 Registered: May-04 | By the way, Best Buy had Acoustic Research cables which were cheaper, but the guy said that Monster was way better. should I go back and buy the Acoustic Research brand stuff? (my speaker system is Acoustic Research) |
|
MarUR Unregistered guest | My opinion would be to go back and get acoustic research, high end monster may be better, but you'll be hard pressed to hear a difference at this point. If you are a casual listener, which it seems like from what you are posting you won't notice, if you get into it more, it will probably take a good 3-6 months of critical listening to understand what the differences are. |
|
Bronze Member Username: SulfurPost Number: 33 Registered: Dec-03 | You only need either 1 digital coax (gives you 5.1 for channels that support it) or 1 pair RCA (2.0) for your cable box, but not both at the same time. So I would return the $50 S-Video + RCA kit, and get a $10-20 S-Video cable by itself. |
|
Silver Member Username: JohnnyMissouri Post Number: 384 Registered: Dec-03 | I would take back the speaker wire too (if you still can). In my opinion, it is not necessary to spend that kind of money on speaker wire. I bought my wire from www.partsexpress.com. Look at their "Sound King" brand of speaker wire. I got 100 feet of 12 gauge speaker wire shipped for under $35. I am assuming that the Monster wire you got is only 16 gauge...that may not be thick enough if you are running long distances to your surround speakers. This website is also good for other audio/video cables as well. Check out the "Dayton" brand. It comes highly recommended by a few regular posters here. If you must stay with Best Buy, if I remember correctly, even within the Monster brand, there are different "levels" of cables. Try getting the non "THX" certified Monster stuff. It seemed to me that it was much more affordable than the THX stuff. Like others have said, you will likely never hear the difference. Those guys at Best Buy and Circuit City will feed you any BS they need to to get you to buy the most expensive stuff they have. My brother once bought a real cheap $50 DVD player at Best Buy and the salesman talked him into buying an $80 audio/video cable to hook it to the TV. Yeah, thats right, he spend more on the cable than the DVD player itself...my jaw about hit the floor...what some salesman will tell you... |
|
New member Username: Asz2001Post Number: 10 Registered: May-04 | Thanks! Regarding the TWCable box, the sales rep said that only some channels come through digital coax and I need the analog as well to cover all the channels. Is this BS??? |
|
Bronze Member Username: SulfurPost Number: 34 Registered: Dec-03 | Humm it could depend on which brand/model digital box. But I highly doubt it. I have a Shaw DCT2500 which is the same as Motorola DCT2500, your basic <$100 barebone box. I am using S-video + Digital Coax to my receiver & have no issues with any channels, including the lower non-digital basic channels, digital channels, and digital music. That's about 100 TV & 40 music channels. Just hook up your digital box w/ just S-video & digital coax and see if you have sound for all channels. Also you didn't mention VCR (or DVD recorder). Keep in mind there are a few ways to hook that up too. |
|
Bronze Member Username: Asz2001Post Number: 11 Registered: May-04 | thanks for the input. Here's a speaker wire question: If I have 2 speakers, one close to the receiver and one far away, should I make the speaker wire the same length so that the signal arrives at the speaker at the same time (and then just coil up the extra wire)??? or should I just cut the length that's needed to reach the speaker? |
|
Bronze Member Username: SulfurPost Number: 35 Registered: Dec-03 | Correction. I tested my brother's Motorola DCT2000 vs my DCT2500. My newer model 2500 must have auto converted the analog channels to digital. So I don't need any extra RCAs. On his 2000 (1.5 yr old), the analog channels need RCA or else there is no sound. Don't kill yourself over minor details like a few feet of extra wire. Electrons travel MUCH faster than sound. You're better off spending time making sure the speakers are angled & setup properly using an SPL meter. |
|
Bronze Member Username: GoldenarrowPost Number: 77 Registered: Jun-04 | ASZ2001, I bought my speaker wire from Partsexpress. I should have gotten the 12 gauge but instead bought the 14 gauge archectural speaker wire. Sounds OK to me. If I upgrade in the future, I will probably go for 10 gauge. Here is an excellent beginner's guide to cables from Blue Jeans Cable: http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/index.htm I was blessed with a local discount store discontinuing the Acoustic Research Performance cables (same as sold at Best Buy) for almost half the cost as Best Buy (it was a one-time deal, all gone now). I replaced the Radio Shack gold series cables I had accumulated over the years on my system and I DID notice an improvement that was subtle (more impact and immediacy to the sound). I was curious what the Radio Shack gold cables were made of, so I cut one open! Thin copper conductor with 7 tiny strands surrounded by a cheap plastic dielectric (the inner white insulation) and then a one-layer copper shielding around that. JUNK!!! The AR cables are double-shielded with foam dielectric and a solid copper core or twisted pair with a stranded copper core and seem to use similar principles to cable construction to that of Blue Jeans Cables. If you want to price-compare AR cables to Best Buy, check out www.buy.com and search: http://www.buy.com/retail/searchresults.asp?ra=p01%2Czc01%2Cmm01%7Ems01%2Cmp01%2 C&alpha2=&alpha=&csel=&mfgid=0&orderby=1&pagereq=1&pas=p01%2Czc01%2Cmm01&qu=acou stic+research+cables&querytype=&search_store=8&nt=&cscat=1&showcats=&als=3&loc=1 11&sku=&p01=&zc01=&mm01= The AP-0xx cables are the Performance cables. The PR-1xx cables are the step up PRO cables. The Pro cables are made better, the video and digital cables are triple-shielded. The problem with BUY.com is that if you need to return something, like a few cables, it costs an arm and a leg to ship it back to them at your own expense. I consider Monster Cable to be way overpriced. They refuse to publish the specs of their low-end cables in any detail - so you cannot know how to compare them to competitors like AR. AR's web site give great summary detail (www.acoustic-research.com). If the AR cables were not so reasonable in cost, I would have bought from Blue Jeans Cable. Did anyone answer your question about subwoofer interconnect? It should be twisted-pair and preferably shielded (like the AR subwoofer cable) to reject hum. It does NOT have to be super thick. goldenarrow |
|
Bronze Member Username: GoldenarrowPost Number: 79 Registered: Jun-04 | "Did anyone answer your question about subwoofer interconnect? It should be twisted-pair and preferably shielded (like the AR subwoofer cable) to reject hum. It does NOT have to be super thick." Forgot to mention, this assumes that the sub has its own amplifier. |
|
Bronze Member Username: Asz2001Post Number: 12 Registered: May-04 | How do I connect the audio from the Time Warner Cable box to the NAD Receiver? I bought a dig coax and hooked it up to the digital out on the cable box, but where do I put it in in the back of the receiver??? I tried the digital coax inputs #3, #4, #5 but I could not get sound from the speakers. Note, I did get sound for the CD player, so it must be the dig. coax hook-up. any thoughts? thanks again! BTW, the CD player sounds incredible! |
|
MarcUR Unregistered guest | you need to set the up the inputs in the OSD screen. Read the manual as it will have instructions on setting the inputs to outputs. IE, setting Video 1 to equal Coxial 3 or 4. Also, you can change the speaker settings, ie large vs small, distance from the main listening area. The instruction booklet they provide is pretty straight foward and should answer most of your ?s |
|
Bronze Member Username: JonmoonPost Number: 72 Registered: Dec-03 | ASZ2001, MarcUR is correct. That is the reason that you run S-video from the receiver to the TV so as to access your OSD (On Screen Display). You have to assign the inputs to the various functions. There are some defaults which you can use. But otherwise, you have to the tell the receiver what the inputs are so that you can use them. The remote is pretty nice and you should read the manual on how to use it. It is a learning remote (my first experience with a learning remote) and it will learn the functions from your other remotes and replace them all. You need to also cut down the time the back lights stay on or your batteries on the remote will drain quickly. Also, the batteries are pretty crappy and so it would be wise to replace them with better batteries. You will know the batteries need replacing when you touch a function key (such as DVD) and the AMP key lights up. Don't be afaid of the manual, it actually is pretty good. |
|
Bronze Member Username: Asz2001Post Number: 13 Registered: May-04 | ok, i will read the manual tonight, but i was sending the S-video from the cable box directly to the TV. should i instead send it through the receiver to the TV, so that i can access the OSD? |
|
Bronze Member Username: JonmoonPost Number: 73 Registered: Dec-03 | In order to access the OSD, you need a S-video from the receiver to the TV. You can do this two ways, you can go Cable box to receiver to TV or (if you have enough TV inputs) you can go Cable box to TV AND receiver to TV. |
|
Bronze Member Username: JonmoonPost Number: 74 Registered: Dec-03 | Additional post: the S-video connection from the receiver to the TV just provides the OSD and/or would pass along the TV signal. What I do on my system with the visual signal (I have the T763) is to go: Cable Box to TV and VCR, DVD (component) to TV, Then I go VCR S-video to Receiver and then Receiver to TV S-video. So my OSD link is Cable to VCR to Receiver to TV. I was forced to do it this way due to the lack of visual inputs on the TV. However, this way, I access my OSD when my Receiver and TV are in VCR mode. Since I am not using the VCR that much, I am not worrying about the possible degradation of the TV signal since the Cable I watch through the TV (TiVo) goes straight to the TV. I will rejoice when the TiVo has an affordable box that also provides High Definition. I know they just came out with something but it is too pricey now. |
Main Forums
Today's Posts- Home Audio Forum
- A/V Receivers Forum
- Amps Forum
- Cassette Forum
- CD Players Forum
- CD Recorders Forum
- DAC & Transports Forum
- DVD-Audio & SACD Forum
- Equalizers Forum
- Integrated Amps Forum
- iPod Docks Forum
- MiniDisc Forum
- Mini Systems Forum
- Digital Music Systems Forum
- Phono Forum
- Preamps Forum
- Speakers Forum
- Subwoofers Forum
- Tuners Forum
- Home Video Forum
- Home Theater Forum
- Car Audio Forum
- Accessories Forum
- All Forum Topics