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New member Username: KlammerPost Number: 8 Registered: Oct-05 | I have bought a house and it has 6 pairs of speakers run to various sections of the house. I need something to hook them all to. |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 6377 Registered: May-04 | Try a decent receiver, a speaker distribution panel or switch box and some autoformer based volume controls. Anything beyond that is icing on the cake. |
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New member Username: KlammerPost Number: 9 Registered: Oct-05 | Thanks Jan |
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JanW Unregistered guest | I have the same problem - just bought a house with four rooms wired (8 speakers). Could you expand any on how a newbie would identify a "decent" receiver? I looked at a Yamaha RX-777 on clearance today. Would something in that range give decent performance? I'd appreciate any tips, as I don't know any more than what the guy at the store told me today. Thanks very much! |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 6392 Registered: May-04 | A decent receiver will depend on your budget, your taste and how you will use the product. How one person chooses a receiver is as different as how one person chooses an automobile or a refrigerator. I think most of the forum members would agree that all receivers do not sound alike. That might be disputed by the few who believe most audio products that have measurably flat frequency response will sound alike. This gets into taste and how you will use the product. The first question I ask is whether you intend to sit down and listen to music while doing nothing else. Is music something you enjoy enough to make time for it in your day, or is it mostly background music that is on while you read the paper or fix dinner? If you sit down to listen to music for the joy of music, you will probably want a different receiver than the person who uses music as filler. If the sounds around you during the day are filler or will be used while entertaining, you can choose a relatively basic receiver with enough inputs and outputs to satisfy your needs. If you are going to be running additional rooms and spaces off this receiver, you will have to decide whether you want multi-room or multi-zone operation. Multi-room means the same source can play in all the rooms. Multi-zone means different sources can play in different areas. If you have two zones, you can have a home theater in the main room and the tuner or CD can be playing in the rest of the house. Multi-zone operation will cost a bit more than multi-room and will require additional amplification channels. If the receiver is going to be used for home theater, you will be looking at what is the current favorite of the receiver market. And, you will be looking for different features than a simple two channel music system receiver. Which features you desire or require will be determined by the rest of your system when you deal in home theater models. I would look for a receiver which can operate low impedance loads without resorting to a "protection" switch. Harman Kardon receivers do a very good job of this. I also would prefer the receiver not have a fan inside, but that is less important than the ability to drive low impedance loads. In home theater receivers with multiple channels of amplification, fans are rather ubiquitous. If you actually sit and listen to music, you might want to invest in a slightly better receiver/amplifier. Two channel receivers still exist and the "high end" market has many "integrated amplifiers" which have exceptional sound. High end doesn't always mean high priced; but it will be more expensive than a clearance Yamaha. If you enjoy music, it may be worth the expense since a good two channel amplifier is likely to last you for a decade and will provide more musical enjoyment to the critical listener. I wish I could give you more specific information, but the forum's format prohibits too much detail. Additionally, everyone will be choosing based on different criteria and to cover all the bases in a short essay is impossible. Let me give you a few links and recommend you poke around the forum a bit. If you have a real audio dealer in your area rather than a Best Buy or Circuit City, I strongly recommend you make an appointment on a slow weekday afternoon to discuss what you might like with a professional in the business. Give the manager of the store a call and explain your situation. Ask the manager to pair you with a salesperson who will take the time to walk you through the process. You don't have to buy from that store and I suggest you visit a few shops if possible. I would suggest you consider buying from an independent retailer rather than a big box or internet retailer since you might need some assistance in putting the system together. The few dollars extra you will pay an independent audio specialist will go toward having access to their knowledge and their services. Good luck and let us know if you have other questions as you proceed. http://www.stereophile.com/reference/50/index.html http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_1_1/index.html http://www.hometech.com/learn/index.html https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/56618.html https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/119086.html http://lp2cd.com/audio_terms/a/index.html http://diyaudiocorner.tripod.com/def.htm http://eli47.tripod.com/audiogloss.html http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/index.php http://buy.audiogon.com/cgia/fsb.pl http://timefordvd.com/tutorial/index.shtml http://www.russound.com/ http://www.cardinalproaudio.com/main/terms.htm http://www.prillaman.net/ht_info_8-wiring.html http://www.hometech.com/audio/ http://www.inwallstore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=i&Categ ory_Code=impedance http://www.inwallstore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=i&Categ ory_Code=_info http://www.audioclassics.com/ https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/products/reviews/156699.html There are probably statements in some of these links that I would disagree with. Like most things, audio is based on opinion. If you want a decent system a little study will help you get there. If you enjoy music, the time spent will be worth the effort. |
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Silver Member Username: ChitownPost Number: 391 Registered: Apr-05 | Ken what kind of speakers are these? Who would just leave 12 speakers in the house? |
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Bronze Member Username: KlammerPost Number: 11 Registered: Oct-05 | I don't know the make and models of the speakers. They are built in. Two in the master Two in the Dining Room Two in the Family Room Two in the Kitchen Plus there are wires on the deck and in the living room. I am looking at the Yamaha - HTR-5990 for the main receiver for the Media Room 5 Speakers in the basement. I guess my follow up question is does the Yamaha - HTR-5990 have enough power to run the speakers thoughout the house if I use a speaker distribution panel? |