Potentially the longest thread in history...

[Joe C]

I could see how that could be an advantage. I never had a 5.1 or 7.1 system or heard one on a home type situation before so I supposed I should do that if I get a chance. I do use a blu-ray player connected to the PCM output and a coax audio cable going to the amp I can listen to video, cd's and connect a USB drive. I tried doing that before just by going from the blu-ray through the tv and from the tv to the amp using RCA cables on my old system and it was not very impressive at all.

 

[PP Mguire]

Probably because the converter on the TV was trash. Bluray typically is lossless format, but that's through HDMI. Via Toslink it can be higher 192khz quality but it will only do that in stereo mode. It also depends on if the receiver will accept it, and if the player will output it. If the player is sending a surround signal and the receiver is muxing that with Pro Logic (or their surround cinema I think it's called on yours) you're going to have a loss in quality. Mainly because it's downgraded to 16bit and 320Kb bitrate then that is muxed by the receiver. It can still sound good, but I don't do this specifically for this reason, at least on my PC anyways. Would be a waste of my soundcard. It's a matter of subjection but blind testing randoms I have definitely concluded that straight analog from my card to receiver definitely sounds better than optical with the receiver doing the decoding work. Matter of hardware I'm sure, but I'd be willing to bet money most people with gear like ours have similar limitations.

 

[Joe C]

I was referring to my 1986 Fisher amp.... It did not have a PCM port on it. I have a Samsung tv but as far as audio quality...it really sux. From what I read up on it, the PCM lets the amp convert audio output rather than the blu-ray. So on the updated amp (I have to say updated because this is still an old amp, but better than my older amp) I have the audio go to the amp from the blu-ray player and just use the HDMI cable for video quality. I mute the tv. Its not like an old fashioned tv....it is a Samsung 55" led tv but their audio is pathetic, and I do not have good hearing!

 

[PP Mguire]

I have a Samsung 65", I know. Optical out is an option on mine though, as is ARC, but I still prefered to send data directly to my receiver and video out to the TV when I used it. Now the kids have it.

Bluray to the receiver still applies to my above message.

 

[kmanmx]

My dream in life is to have a detached house (expensive in the UK, basically $500k+ for something half decent) and a nice hifi and dolby atmos home cinema setup. I want some B&W 803's for my Hifi and for the Atmos setup I'm not sure, other than the fact I'm pretty sure I will go with two SVS 16 Ultras.

I've either been too you to afford nice speakers as a kid, or lived in a mid terrace for as long as I've been an adult and can afford this stuff. It's frustrating. So by the time I'm in my 40's and finally managed to get myself into a big enough detached house, I'm gonna spend like 20 grand on my audio setup - and it will be sweet.

 

[PP Mguire]

Honestly, would start out with a nice Marantz or Denon 11.2.4 and some medium quality Klipsch speakers to see if it's worth it for you, then see if you can go find a demo of B&Ws to see if the difference in quality is worth the cost to your ears. We just had a whole convo about how it probably won't be lol. I can agree on the SVS's though. I'm going to build my own sub setup.

I'm gonna spend like 20 grand on my audio setup

20 grand USD will get you 1 830 D3 and almost a Marantz SR8015.

 

[Joe C]

Do you really need to spend 20K on audio? Could your ears tell the difference from a $7,500. system to a $20K system? I mean if you have the extra cash then go for it

Here's an interesting story about a man named Roger Russell, he was an engineer working for McIntosh, and I found it interesting on a history about speakers, and how the industry changed over time....

1967
This year marks the beginning of the McIntosh Loudspeaker Division. I was hired in March to create a series of loudspeaker systems that would introduce an entirely new product line for McIntosh.

http://www.roger-russell.com/lsd1.htm

And after retirement he designed and is selling these speakers...I mean that you can get these if money is no object!
https://www.ids25.com/brochure.htm
and they have no crossovers!

 

[PP Mguire]

Be about 12.5 grand for me based on rental home situation and flat ceiling for floormount Atmos height. I have 2 different lists, one for rental that doesn't modify and another for meteor room for our planned build. The meteor room is more akin to a real home theater that relies on rack mounted amps for fronts/rears/center/subs and custom built sub enclosures under the raised seating to do away with low end shakers. Doesn't utilize traditional shitty half range center channel speaker either.

Marantz SR8015 $3100
Klipsch SPL-150SW x2 $2400
Klipsch RP-8060FA x4 $5080
Klipsch RP-502S $899 (comes as pair for surrounds)
Klipsch RP-504C $749
Dayton Audio BST-1 x4 $200
Nobsound NS-03G x4 $100 (probably sub with 200W rack monoblock since these are split off LFE for simplicity)

Don't worry, couch is a Marketplace special so idc if I screw into the wood lol.

I know my meteor room blueprint works fantastic because an old coworker of mine actually built it damn near to spec in his own home in 2018. He changed up the audio for a more simplistic approach but more or less same layout. (No custom enclosures or rack amps, just a last gen Marantz with Klipsch standard reference speakers and he put 2 SVS subs under the raised seating instead)

 

[kmanmx]

Honestly, would start out with a nice Marantz or Denon 11.2.4 and some medium quality Klipsch speakers to see if it's worth it for you, then see if you can go find a demo of B&Ws to see if the difference in quality is worth the cost to your ears. We just had a whole convo about how it probably won't be lol. I can agree on the SVS's though. I'm going to build my own sub setup.

20 grand USD will get you 1 830 D3 and almost a Marantz SR8015.

The 803 D3 is about £13k a pair here - and they'd be purely for a stereo hifi system. I would buy cheaper front and rear speakers for the AV home theatre, as it's more about high SPL and low distortion rather than extracting the final percentage of timbre or detail like with hifi. But the SVS 16's are about 2500 each. So maybe £25000 all said and done...I doubt I will spend that much really. Probably £10k. But a man can dream.

Im sure the B&Ws are not worth the money and I can get something 95% as good for less than half the price. But I just happen to think they look sweet too, and I've always kind of had a lust for them ever since I've seen them. I would buy them if I ever had the money spare and a suitable house, but no, they definitely do not offer value for money haha. At least with the actual speakers they actually do make a large difference being the things that actually make the sound

Do you really need to spend 20K on audio? Could your ears tell the difference from a $7,500. system to a $20K system? I mean if you have the extra cash then go for it

Here's an interesting story about a man named Roger Russell, he was an engineer working for McIntosh, and I found it interesting on a history about speakers, and how the industry changed over time....

http://www.roger-russell.com/lsd1.htm

And after retirement he designed and is selling these speakers...I mean that you can get these if money is no object!
https://www.ids25.com/brochure.htm
and they have no crossovers!

Haha, no I definitely don't need too. But I have a love affair with B&W 800 series speakers. They've been a life long dream. I will probably never own them so they will remain that way.

 

[Joe C]

I checked out those B&W 800 series and I can see why you fell in love with them, awesome speakers!