Which AV Amp????

photoshop · 23 Dec 2008 at 02:52

PROBLEM SOLVED

Changed the input to VIDEO1 on the amp and now im getting beautiful sounding LPCM on my HTPC

Katoom · 23 Dec 2008 at 09:09

Glad you got it sorted.
If you have an amp that doesn't work, here's the EDID thread. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1091403

photoshop · 23 Dec 2008 at 12:04

i dont think the amp liked the HTPC when plugged into the SAT or DVD input. They must be "optimised" for those inputs or something. VIDEO1 must be a general input.

kidloco · 23 Dec 2008 at 12:23

glad you got it sorted mate, and glad you think you made the right choice

Just need to add the centre, rears and a sub now

photoshop · 23 Dec 2008 at 12:25

kidloco said:
glad you got it sorted mate, and glad you think you made the right choice

Just need to add the centre, rears and a sub now

im looking at getting a sub and then maybe a centre

Lil old me · 23 Dec 2008 at 12:47

Certainly sub first. I have a 5.1 system and a 2.1 and the lack of centre speaker only makes a small difference in a small room. Adding the sub really adds much more to the sound imo.

photoshop · 23 Dec 2008 at 12:49

damn, been looking at subs and boy they are expensive!!
A descent one is around £250-400

kidloco · 23 Dec 2008 at 12:55

I would personally go for the centre 1st, I find it makes a huge difference if you get a decent one. You don't realise just how much use a dedicated centre gets. it also locks the dialogue to the picture.

Sub is great don't get me wrong, but a centre is essential.

kidloco · 23 Dec 2008 at 12:59

photoshop said:
damn, been looking at subs and boy they are expensive!!
A descent one is around £250-400

Yep, don't scrimp on the sub or all you will get is horrible OTT boom. quite a few nice ones around the £200 mark. Unless you have a big room I don't think you would need much more to be honest. I mean £400 would get you a BK monolith, a fantastic sub but is your room big enough.

photoshop · 23 Dec 2008 at 13:11

any recommendations. dont want to spend a lot. Must be black and look tastey!

kidloco · 23 Dec 2008 at 14:06

Take a look at some of these, all great little subs that will work well in a small to medium sized room.

MORDAUNT SHORT AVANT 309i SUB WOOFER - £220 aprox

BK Gemini -£200

BK XLS200 - £280

Reality Bites · 23 Dec 2008 at 14:17

photoshop said:
The Denon AVR 1909 hasn't got very good reviews for the price bracket its in.

which reviews are you looking at exactly? WHSAV have rated it above the 606 other have recommended and was top in that price bracket?

Reality Bites · 23 Dec 2008 at 14:21

Lil old me said:
Certainly sub first. I have a 5.1 system and a 2.1 and the lack of centre speaker only makes a small difference in a small room. Adding the sub really adds much more to the sound imo.

what are you on about? :confused:

How can you say a sub adds more than a centre speaker when the vast majority of voices are sent through the centre speaker? No matter what size the room is, the centre speaker is absolutely key in a movie setup!

Reality Bites · 23 Dec 2008 at 14:27

kidloco said:
I would personally go for the centre 1st, I find it makes a huge difference if you get a decent one. You don't realise just how much use a dedicated centre gets. it also locks the dialogue to the picture.

Sub is great don't get me wrong, but a centre is essential.

kidloco said:
Yep, don't scrimp on the sub or all you will get is horrible OTT boom. quite a few nice ones around the £200 mark. Unless you have a big room I don't think you would need much more to be honest. I mean £400 would get you a BK monolith, a fantastic sub but is your room big enough.

^^^ agree with this 100%.

There are lots of subs in your price bracket (if the £250-£400 is your price?). Personally i preferred a downward firing sub due to it being less directional and also less fussy about where you place it.

MJ accoustics do plenty in your range, and the XLS200 is highly rated on av forums. you must listen to them first though.

Lil old me · 23 Dec 2008 at 14:32

Reality Bites said:
what are you on about?

How can you say a sub adds more than a centre speaker when the vast majority of voices are sent through the centre speaker? No matter what size the room is, the centre speaker is absolutely key in a movie setup!

Well ive found that the fronts tend to do a pretty good job of imitating the centre speaker but have done a worse job at doing the sub's job. In a small room the voices will still sound like theyre coming from out of the tv even with normal front speakers but the fronts wont always be able to reach the deep rumblings of the sub.

craptakular · 23 Dec 2008 at 14:51

muzzler said:
Hi,
just upgraded my old pioneer receiver to the new sony 820.
i'm really impressed by it- It was a doddle to set up and the sound is really clear.
i have the ps3 connected via hdmi and will eventually connect up the dvd player etc as there's enough connections there for everything!
just my opinion but i dont think you'll be disappointed with the sony.

I am picking mine up today. £230 all in with 4 hdmi ports whoop whoop!!

Alexrose1uk · 23 Dec 2008 at 15:33

Aye for what its got its a well priced RX. Meant to be very slightly better sounding for music than the 606, but also slightly less powerful. Good RX for the cash though, esp since the optical/hdmi bug was fixed. Was tempted to get one before my sights went higher (I listen to a fair chunk of music so wanted something reasonable for that too; a £1.2K RX is more than I'd originally wanted to opt for by a long way)!

photoshop · 23 Dec 2008 at 15:52

Reality Bites said:
Personally i preferred a downward firing sub due to it being less directional and also less fussy about where you place it.

This is the type of sub i need. Max budget is £250

Centre speaker, well, i dont want to spend a lot on that either. I'd like a center speaker which isn't bulky or large. Height isn't an issue (up to 190mm) but it has to be kept to a minimum. Ideally the smaller the speaker the better as i want to put it on my AV rack and space i dont have a lot of.

Oxide™ · 23 Dec 2008 at 16:26

also consider the Quad L-ite sub in black http://www.quad-hifi.co.uk/model.php?sector_id=2&range_id=4&model_id=25#

Awesome sub that weighs 25 kgs with its own remote and is downward firing - can be had for £250 refurbished (although didnt see a refurbished black one)

Also not sure what reviews you read about the Denon 1909 - All reviews I read say its fantastic, just that the remote is a bit retardly set out (all configuration buttons on the bottom)

Had the 606 before the 1909 for 2 days as it developed the 'annoying buzz of death' bug thats plagues them and imho the 606 doesnt sound as good and look as good as the 1909 so Im well happy.

photoshop · 23 Dec 2008 at 16:30

Oxlde said:
also consider the Quad L-ite sub in black http://www.quad-hifi.co.uk/model.php?sector_id=2&range_id=4&model_id=25#

Awesome sub that weighs 25 kgs with its own remote and is downward firing - can be had for £250 refurbished (although didnt see a refurbished black one)

Also not sure what reviews you read about the Denon 1909 - All reviews I read say its fantastic, just that the remote is a bit retardly set out (all configuration buttons on the bottom)

Had the 606 before the 1909 for 2 days as it developed the 'annoying buzz of death' bug thats plagues them and imho the 606 doesnt sound as good and look as good as the 1909 so Im well happy.

It was a What Hi-Fi review. http://whathifi.com/Review/Denon-AVR-1909/

The 606 is my opinion is over-rated. My Friend has it. I actually recommended it as it was everyone was banging on about. I have to say it sounds rather flat to me and not dynamic.

How can i check if an amp is downward firing?