Just picked up a pioneer vsx-1021-k...my questions is do you audiophiles think it will handle the 6ohms okay?

RyanN wrote:This may be a good time to ask a question that's been bothering me...
How would I use this with my HTPC?
A receiver is not what I'm looking for. My PC has a BR player and a tuner card. I don't use FM, AM, CDs, DVDs, Game consoles, cable TV, satellite TV, or any other audio or video sources. I don't want another remote control, even a universal one. My PC already has volume.
I have one video/audio source (My PC) hooked up to my TV.
I would think that there should exist a box which takes audio inputs from a PC sound card and has amplified 5.1 speaker outputs. No video, no source selection.

Since this would essentially be a receiver with most of the features taken out, it shouldn't cost too much either.

You want a surround sound receiver. I've never seen a 5-channel amplifier that wasn't a home theater receiver, and if you buy individual amps for the front, rear, and center channels (sub is powered and doesn't need an amp), you'll end up paying as much or more for less power.

randypj wrote:6 ohms? That's a little weird, and won't match a lot of amplifiers.

--------------------------------------

Please someone correct me. My recollection is from way back in the 8-track & Nakamichi "audiophile" cassette decks, i.e., ~1972.

Systems will generally take any ohm speakers. I "think" the standard pretty much is still 8 ohm. It seems like the difference in speaker ohms only makes a difference in db....er, loudness ability? I do remember 8, 6, 4 ohm. As I recall, some mfg. would "cheat" specs by using a different ohm?

Please, someone enlighten us both. Thanks.
--randypj

The issue with the ohm rating is, 'course, how much resistance the speakers put in the circuit. I know that I'm going to way over simplify this because I'm not an EE, but I just think about it as how much power flows back to the receiver... I know that's probably not the right way to say it.

But you're conflating sensitivity with resistance. Yes, lower resistance will allow an amp to push more power, but that won't necessarily translate to louder-- it just might make the amp run with more power than it was rated to push so it will overheat and, potentially, fry itself (or make the PROTECT light come on).

What the lower ohm speakers let the amp do is push itself too hard and it could potentially start to clip and damage the speaker or itself. However, if you keep the volume low enough so that your amp rated for 75 watts at 8 ohms never goes beyond 75 watts for the 4 ohm load, you should be okay. The problem is that you could keep turning it up and force the amp to go to 100+ watts into that 4ohm load and damage it.

wish it was wireless

tomas49ers wrote:Just picked up a pioneer vsx-1021-k...my questions is do you audiophiles think it will handle the 6ohms okay?

Since Pioneer rates the power of that receiver based on a 6 ohm load, I'd say yes

Also, since you'll be routing the really power-hungry low frequencies to a powered sub, you'll be doubly okay.

gds wrote:
Any size separate sub will usually get down to the frequencies that will travel through walls no matter how quietly you play them.

Lower bass does travel more easily. It's also about volume, however. My sub can play 16Hz at the same volume as 50Hz, at the same time. With the volume turned down to not disturb others, I can still hear and feel the sub. With boomy subs, people always complain that they completely lose bass when they turn it down for neighbors or other people in their own house.

Can I plug this system directly to my television set? Or do I need a receiver/amplifier as well?

RyanN wrote:This may be a good time to ask a question that's been bothering me...
How would I use this with my HTPC?
A receiver is not what I'm looking for. My PC has a BR player and a tuner card. I don't use FM, AM, CDs, DVDs, Game consoles, cable TV, satellite TV, or any other audio or video sources. I don't want another remote control, even a universal one. My PC already has volume.
I have one video/audio source (My PC) hooked up to my TV.
I would think that there should exist a box which takes audio inputs from a PC sound card and has amplified 5.1 speaker outputs. No video, no source selection.

Since this would essentially be a receiver with most of the features taken out, it shouldn't cost too much either.

You want a receiver, that is what you want. Extra inputs shouldn't matter to you, don't worry about it. Your PC does NOT have proper volume control for surround sound. And, most likely, if you use a digital output for 5.1, the PC's volume is disabled.

If you want, search for "integrated amplifier", which is basically an amp with a volume control. But I'm reasonably sure they only make stereo models, not surround.

help an audiophile Baby New Year out, please. I got my first HDTV last week, and love the image, but the sound is lacking. (VERY lacking) Are these speakers worth it? From reading the comments it appears that I may need something else to make them work correctly - a receiver? I know nothing of what this is. Any links to handy references or wondrous explanations from the more verbose folks would be appreciated.

Would I be able to connect these speakers to the HDTV directly, or is that even a foolish question to ask? Help!

Edit: It looks like when I spell out n o o b it changes that to "baby new year". hahaha!

You do need receiver, or an amplifier. All sets of speakers like this will need the same. These speakers look fairly small but for 150 its not a terrible deal. There are $150 HTIB (home theater in a box) systems out there that come with an amplifier as well from sony or anywhere else. It looks like that might be a better fit for most people. A receiver alone will cost you at least 100 bucks. And for 100 bucks it would be a very weak receiver not capable of running speakers very much bigger than the ones shown here.

for that price range I would recommend either an htib, or a sound bar. Yamaha makes a great virtual surround bar for around $150. You just need to add a sub, and still would need an amp.

Kirk2out wrote:A wires-across-the-room question...

I have a 50" TV along a wall and a nice receiver below it. In front of that I have a couple of sofas and a recliner, all of which make for a great home theater setup once I have good speakers (like these) in place. With this Yamaha set, I can easily fit the center, subwoofer, left front and right front without having wires snaked across the room. Is there any way to get the signal to the left and right rear that doesn't entail stringing wires across the room.? There's no wall near where those rear speakers would sit. I don't want to do some cord chase down from the ceiling. Any ideas? Or just bite the (trip hazard) bullet and string them across the room?

What I do in situations like this is find a rug that matches the room and run the wires under the rug. It's usually not to hard to find something that doesn't look as bad as wires.

Kirk2out wrote:A wires-across-the-room question...

I have a 50" TV along a wall and a nice receiver below it. In front of that I have a couple of sofas and a recliner, all of which make for a great home theater setup once I have good speakers (like these) in place. With this Yamaha set, I can easily fit the center, subwoofer, left front and right front without having wires snaked across the room. Is there any way to get the signal to the left and right rear that doesn't entail stringing wires across the room.? There's no wall near where those rear speakers would sit. I don't want to do some cord chase down from the ceiling. Any ideas? Or just bite the (trip hazard) bullet and string them across the room?

Assuming this room is on the first floor and you have a basement below, it's very easy to run the wire below by making a small hole in the floor for the rear speaker wires to go through by the receiver and another for them to come back up near the rear speakers.

The frequency response on the subwoofer is a tad high, which is a bummer because this is one of the few affordable options that comes with a sealed enclosure. It would have been nice to see this box tuned from 10 Hz to 100sih Hz.

For the few audio newbs, sealed enclosures get rid of annoying port whistle, and generally offer tighter sound and a wider usable frequency range but don't offer as strong a 'peak' in the tuned frequency range.

FalseProphecy wrote:I clearly see six speakers. What makes it 5.1 as opposed to 6?

the ".1" refers to the subwoofer, or, low frequency effects, channel. The other 5 are discrete, full range audio channels used when the content is encoded in Dolby Digital 5.1

scottybox wrote:Assuming this room is on the first floor and you have a basement below, it's very easy to run the wire below by making a small hole in the floor for the rear speaker wires to go through by the receiver and another for them to come back up near the rear speakers.

Some of us have ceilings in our basements which prevent us from even getting to the wire, and aside from that I would prefer not puncturing holes in my floor.

Spiky wrote:... My sub can play 16Hz at the same volume as 50Hz, at the same time. With the volume turned down to not disturb others, I can still hear and feel the sub.

If you are in an apartment and you can hear and feel the sub, so can your neighbors.
This from http://www.planetoftunes.com/sound/acoustics.htm :

"....Remember that sound at 20Hz has a wavelength of 17 meters, and at 20KHz a wavelength of 1.7cm. A basic rule states that to completely absorb (stop) a soundwave, an obstacle must be greater in size, or thicker, than the sounds wavelength...
...In short, high frequency sound is more easily absorbed than mid and low frequency sound. Walls are not able to absorb soundwaves at 20Hz (with a wavelength of 17 metres) so they will be partially reflected and partially transmitted through. This explains why low frequency sound is more obtrusive and carries further."

Thanks Woot for not delivering my order. It's beena nightmare!!

Don't force a 5.1 setup if your room or HT setup isn't conducive to it. A 2.1 setup or a 2.0 setup with good floor standing speakers and a good integrated amp/receiver will often produce better audio than a comparably priced 5.1 setup.

FalseProphecy wrote:I clearly see six speakers. What makes it 5.1 as opposed to 6?

5 speakers, 1 subwoofer

bengmur wrote:Some of us have ceilings in our basements which prevent us from even getting to the wire, and aside from that I would prefer not puncturing holes in my floor.

Same idea applies, but go up top instead. Is there a lamp or phone or anything like that near your couch? If so, use the wall where it's plugged in to run speaker wires through. They even make wall plates to accommodate you in hookups like this.

Granted, it'll take a little work and a lot more wire to string it from your receiver to the rear speakers, but in the end, it'll be worth it.

drylakebed01 wrote:Can I plug this system directly to my television set? Or do I need a receiver/amplifier as well?

You will need a receiver/amplifier as well. Some tv's come with 2 speaker connections, but that is about it. If you want to use all speakers, you will need the receiver/amp.

Kirk2out wrote:A wires-across-the-room question...

I have a 50" TV along a wall and a nice receiver below it. In front of that I have a couple of sofas and a recliner, all of which make for a great home theater setup once I have good speakers (like these) in place. With this Yamaha set, I can easily fit the center, subwoofer, left front and right front without having wires snaked across the room. Is there any way to get the signal to the left and right rear that doesn't entail stringing wires across the room.? There's no wall near where those rear speakers would sit. I don't want to do some cord chase down from the ceiling. Any ideas? Or just bite the (trip hazard) bullet and string them across the room?

They do make wireless recievers design for rear speakers or get some cordmates to cover the cord that go across the floor.

drylakebed01 wrote:Can I plug this system directly to my television set? Or do I need a receiver/amplifier as well?

you would need a home theater amplifier to power these speakers.

kingoflos wrote:They do make wireless recievers design for rear speakers or get some cordmates to cover the cord that go across the floor.

Radio Shack makes a set of transmitter / receivers that can be used to send the signal to any set of rear speakers as well as power them. One still needs to plug the rear unit receivers into an electrical outlet for power.

How is this system compared to this

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-NS-SP1800BL-5-1-Channel-Theater-Speaker/dp/B001AVRD62/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324671563&sr=8-1

I just go under the floor, or into the attic.

Kirk2out wrote:A wires-across-the-room question...

I have a 50" TV along a wall and a nice receiver below it. In front of that I have a couple of sofas and a recliner, all of which make for a great home theater setup once I have good speakers (like these) in place. With this Yamaha set, I can easily fit the center, subwoofer, left front and right front without having wires snaked across the room. Is there any way to get the signal to the left and right rear that doesn't entail stringing wires across the room.? There's no wall near where those rear speakers would sit. I don't want to do some cord chase down from the ceiling. Any ideas? Or just bite the (trip hazard) bullet and string them across the room?

tfranz wrote:"There are...five...speakers..."
- Captain Picard

LOL, I liked the Captain Picard reference.

Nobody wants to point out this would be Captain Kirk, not Picard?

wait.. so whats the .1?

Can somebody break it down for me?

The ".1" refers to the subwoofer being its own audio channel. You'll see references to "2.1" (stereo and sub), "3.1" (stereo, center and sub) and "5.1" (stereo, center, surrounds and sub) systems. (There are also 7.1 and 9.1, and even ".2" systems with two sub channels.)

To power these speakers, you'll need a home theater receiver that has its own subwoofer output jack. Unlike some subwoofers, this one cannot be connected to a stereo receiver using speaker cables.

McGuffy wrote:I have a 1.5 setup (I listen to a lot of hip hop).

Was I really the only one that thought this was hilarious?! McGuffy, I'd give you a quality post for this one lol.

Depends on your TV.

I had an older JVC 46" DLP that had all the 5.1 hookups on the back.

I haven't seen any newer flat screens with this feature... so you probably need an amp (unless you see those hookups on your TV).

Soooooo this will make it by Christmas?

Whoo-Hoo!! Got the Kindle DX I ordered yesterday morning in 26 hours! Texas to Virginia, Thanks Woot!

how would the speakers on this sale compare to this set?
http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-HT-S3400-5-1-Channel-Theater-System/dp/B004O0TRDI/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

michaelahess wrote:Nobody wants to point out this would be Captain Kirk, not Picard?

I know I've hit rock bottom when I feel compelled to respond to Star Trek trivia. It was Captain Picard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_eSwq1ewsU

well i recently made a mistake purchase and had a sony reciever just floating around the house, was using it as a computer stand. guess i now will have a reason to find a better desk

somerandomguy1 wrote:How is this system compared to this

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-NS-SP1800BL-5-1-Channel-Theater-Speaker/dp/B001AVRD62/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324671563&sr=8-1

This system is different.

mcjanice1 wrote:I just received the Sherwood NetBoxx 7.1-Channel Internet A/V Streaming Receiver.
Specs: Power Output Stereo Mode: 6ohms,THD 0.5%, 1kHz | 2x 100 W

Would the "Yamaha 5.1 Home Theater Speaker System with Powered Subwoofer" be a good match?

I would say they're a nice match. Detailed specs for the Sherwood are here if any of the "experts" wants to weigh in.

http://sellout.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=20568

johnsonjf wrote:I know I've hit rock bottom when I feel compelled to respond to Star Trek trivia. It was Captain Picard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_eSwq1ewsU

Ah may apologies. The quote wasnt something I recognized because it never existed. It was typed like Kirk talkes, not Picard. I didn't make the link to Picards line.

mdnorman wrote:This system is different.

The key word is COMPARED. Sigh. People don't read.