Got some speakers but need a main unit, help please
- Thread starter krisboats
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You didn't answer my question.
The speakers should be better than the existing ones though, and once i have the amps i can always get better speakers later on, yes?
Yes any good speaker will be better than Sony DAV speakers, although to use DAV without a sub will sound horrid. Possibly the sub driver is damaged, you need to open it up and inspect the driver. If your budget is £100 that's not enough, I'd put another £100 into a av amp.
I don't have a clue what i'm looking for. The only thing i could do while i had it open was solder speaker cable to the terminals so i didn't have to buy new sony specific plugs.
Why is £100 not enough? It might be what you'd put into it, but i couldn't care less what you do, i'm asking for advice on something suitable for my situation. I'm a student and i want an entry level piece of hardware... i'm not looking for perfection... just something that will work. We're currently using a 4 year old £30 5.1 system that was bought off ebay. The sony speakers DO sound better, even without the sub working, so it IS worthwhile for me to use them. Then when i have a simple amp like the yamaha one i can just fit a pair of B&W's to it when i get some more money.
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Given your situation here is what I would advise.
1) Buy the Yamaha receiver.
2) Keep the 5 speakers to use as satellites
3) Go to a well known high street hifi dealer and buy the cheapest active subwoofer they sell which is the 'Gale Storm 8'
This will cost you around £180.... I really don't think you can get away with spending much less.
1) Buy the Yamaha receiver.
2) Keep the 5 speakers to use as satellites
3) Go to a well known high street hifi dealer and buy the cheapest active subwoofer they sell which is the 'Gale Storm 8'
This will cost you around £180.... I really don't think you can get away with spending much less.
I know what you all mean now. I've just seen an active sub to fit with the system, and whilst browsing found some floorstanding speakers and some bookshelf speakers to go with it, not forgetting a nice maple centre speaker 
First things first i think, amp then sub.
First things first i think, amp then sub.
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I must admit that I have just scanned a fair bit of this thread, but 1 thing really stands out:
Satellite speak frequency - 180 - 20,000 Hz
You are leaving a lot of Hz range for a sub to cover and the results may not be pretty. Ideally you don't want a sub to be covering anything over 80-100Hz tops in my own experience but I am sure there will be other opinions on this. I can't remember the last sub I came across that was adjustable any higher than 150Hz and even then they sounded far from happy at the higher end of their capabilities. Add to that a 30Hz gap at least in the audible range between where the sub stops and the sats begin.
I have to say it, but I believe that the other guys are right in their opinions that you would actually be better off without those satellite speakers.
Satellite speak frequency - 180 - 20,000 Hz
You are leaving a lot of Hz range for a sub to cover and the results may not be pretty. Ideally you don't want a sub to be covering anything over 80-100Hz tops in my own experience but I am sure there will be other opinions on this. I can't remember the last sub I came across that was adjustable any higher than 150Hz and even then they sounded far from happy at the higher end of their capabilities. Add to that a 30Hz gap at least in the audible range between where the sub stops and the sats begin.
I have to say it, but I believe that the other guys are right in their opinions that you would actually be better off without those satellite speakers.
How can i be better off? Why do people keep saying this. I can't stress enough that the alternative is either use these speakers, or leave the system sitting there till i get more money for new speakers. How is it better to not use it at all than to use them until i can get new ones?
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Because you'll probably have to waste money at this stage buying suitable subwoofer and/or subwoofer amplifier which may need upgrading when you decide to buy more speakers.
Right, well lets set this straight then so theres no more confusion. ORIGINALLY i just wanted to buy an amp and plug all the existing speakers in. After the advice thats already been given i'm looking to get the amp and what i guess the pretentious money-blowers round here would call a "budget" sub... something along the lines of this. Then buying new front/centre speakers and finally new rear speakers when i have some cash available.
That sub is supposed to be suitable, and i know for a fact if i spend £150 on the sub i won't be replacing it for a fair few years.
Why not come at it from a different angle? Buy your 100 pound receiver, scrap your existing speakers and buy a cheapish (say another £100) set of stand mounts? You can then stick with a stereo setup until you get some more money at which time you can buy some floor standing speakers for the front and move your stand mounts to the back.
I agree it seems a waste of money to be buying equipment to supplement what is effectively a worthless set of speakers, and this solution will sound good straight away...
Edit: You wouldn't need to buy a sub either to start with
Edit 2: Just found the entire HTIB your speakers came with (ie DVD player / receiver / speakers / sub) for 129.99 new. Do you really want to spend upwards of 200 pounds just to get these speakers working again?
I agree it seems a waste of money to be buying equipment to supplement what is effectively a worthless set of speakers, and this solution will sound good straight away...
Edit: You wouldn't need to buy a sub either to start with
Edit 2: Just found the entire HTIB your speakers came with (ie DVD player / receiver / speakers / sub) for 129.99 new. Do you really want to spend upwards of 200 pounds just to get these speakers working again?
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That is a little snobbish, £150 on a sub may not be the best but i'm sure it will be ok for 90% of people, just because there are subs out there costing thousands doesn't mean that any less isn't worth it.
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Krisboats, the MS409 sub is not only a great sub you get you started in the world of home cinema (yes Badbob, we all have to start somewhere darling ), but it is actually quite surprising for it's price/market placing (that price has come down quite a bit recently) and may well keep you happy for a good few years. Some of the early ones had power on/off problems if memory serves but that should well in the past now.
I would still recommend not using is at higher than 100Hz max forever though for best sub performance
), but it is actually quite surprising for it's price/market placing (that price has come down quite a bit recently) and may well keep you happy for a good few years. Some of the early ones had power on/off problems if memory serves but that should well in the past now.I would still recommend not using is at higher than 100Hz max forever though for best sub performance
Thats so helpful its unreal, and you've pretty much sealed my idea of getting it. Just wish other people could post such polite, open minded and relevant info.
I know my pc sub sounds horrid if i change the creative bass boost options to have the bass cut off above 100hz so cheers for reminding me about that. Will keep and eye out for mischieveous on/off traits too
Okay, my sister is letting me have my larger mini/midi system speakers back from my old hi-fi. They're JVC ones (not the best again i know) but they're 70hz-20,000hz. What if i get the amp and sub, then use those as left and rights, with the sony speakers as centre and rears.... just until i can get new centre and surround speakers.
I know my pc sub sounds horrid if i change the creative bass boost options to have the bass cut off above 100hz so cheers for reminding me about that. Will keep and eye out for mischieveous on/off traits too
Okay, my sister is letting me have my larger mini/midi system speakers back from my old hi-fi. They're JVC ones (not the best again i know) but they're 70hz-20,000hz. What if i get the amp and sub, then use those as left and rights, with the sony speakers as centre and rears.... just until i can get new centre and surround speakers.
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Do you not have any opinion on my suggestion?
No because it isn't in line with what he wants to do, and you're not being open minded enough or posting relevant information.
Personally though my feelings pretty much echo what you wrote in your post above. It will sound a lot better than what the OP currently has in mind plus it's easily upgradable.
Well I was only offering an alternative solution which he might not have considered... No need to be quite so blunt about it.
Edit: IMO its the OP who's not being open minded, and is only paying attention to posters who agree with him. Why bother posting for advice on a forum if you don't want alternative / differing opinions and solutions?
Soldato
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Huh? I'm on your side! I was being sarcastic. I just thought it was funny how krisboats was moaning at people not being open minded or posting relevant information when in fact they are, but because he doesn't agree with it he's just disregarding it.