New to home cinema but not HiFi, I have a decent set up, but would like to keep the cinema side separate, are all AV receivers capable of taking AV from Sat/ cable/DVD boxes/players and putting them through a projector, I know that they have to have enough inputs/outputs all HDMI, so how do I get the internet through the projector? We watch and listen to a lot of the groups and bands from the 60/70/80s at the moment we watch via "Youtube" on our smart Samsung Tv audio through the HiFi system, we would like to watch them on the big screen, with the sound through the normal surround system. There is a lot of choice out there so perhaps a budget of £600 for the receiver, the speakers will be 5/1 Q Acoustic system. Thanks for any advice.
Perhaps a silly question but!
- Thread starter Nos
- Start date
As long as it's a proper AV receiver (which it sounds like you're considering given the reference to Q Acoustic speakers) then yes. The video from any HDMI input should route through to the output. The standard caveats apply; the signals have to be compatible with the receiver and display device (e.g. no inputting a 4K signal through a non-4K receiver or display), and if the source device uses something other than HDM such as component then make sure that the AV receiver can cross convert and upscale.
Projectors tend not to have smart features / browsers etc. It's expected that a source device has that instead. Think of the projector more in terms of a PC monitor rather than as a television receiver i.e. it displays the signal it is given and that's about it
A smart Blu-ray player or an Amazon Fire Stick or a Google Chromecast or an Android TV box or a Playstation or Xbox console or a laptop with HDMI out...... any of these devices will host the Youtube player app, then send their video and audio signals via HDMI to the receiver which then forwards the picture to the projector.
Thankyou very much, I was on another AV forum which closed last year, so joined another large Uk one, I posed this same question and got a stupid reply, so thankyou very much, I will stay here but Iam afraid my technical input will limited, I do have an Xbox one so will try and sort it out.
if not will get a smart Blu ray player.
if not will get a smart Blu ray player.Welcome aboard 
If you're going to buy a Blu-ray player anyway, then fine, I think all but the very cheapest have some smart features. But, for the love of God, don't get a BD player if its main purpose will be to run YT in to a projector.
The first smart-enabled devices launched about 10 years ago. For pretty-much the last five years it has been a standard feature on a lot of TV and BD players. In that time we've learned a lot. The main thing is that TV manufacturers suck at providing long-term support for their apps.
The problems start with the hardware: Because consumer electronics is such a cut-throat business, the manufacturers skimp on the processing and memory. Next, to offset some of the hardware issues, they develop their own versions of the player apps. The problem there is that they don't put the money in to supporting these custom apps, which then makes updates hard to roll out.
Finally, the user interface is usually crap. Comparing a console's handling of YT versus a TV or BD player, the console is quicker and far less glitchy. Get your console up and running, or buy a Google Chromecast if you're on Android phones, or an Amazon Fire Stick. Google and Amazon have got pot loads of cash to spend fighting for a share of the streaming market. That means they have a vested interest in keeping their hardware up-to-date. The benefit to you is that their devices will keep working for longer.
If you're going to buy a Blu-ray player anyway, then fine, I think all but the very cheapest have some smart features. But, for the love of God, don't get a BD player if its main purpose will be to run YT in to a projector.
The first smart-enabled devices launched about 10 years ago. For pretty-much the last five years it has been a standard feature on a lot of TV and BD players. In that time we've learned a lot. The main thing is that TV manufacturers suck at providing long-term support for their apps.
The problems start with the hardware: Because consumer electronics is such a cut-throat business, the manufacturers skimp on the processing and memory. Next, to offset some of the hardware issues, they develop their own versions of the player apps. The problem there is that they don't put the money in to supporting these custom apps, which then makes updates hard to roll out.
Finally, the user interface is usually crap. Comparing a console's handling of YT versus a TV or BD player, the console is quicker and far less glitchy. Get your console up and running, or buy a Google Chromecast if you're on Android phones, or an Amazon Fire Stick. Google and Amazon have got pot loads of cash to spend fighting for a share of the streaming market. That means they have a vested interest in keeping their hardware up-to-date. The benefit to you is that their devices will keep working for longer.
Thankyou very much, I was on another AV forum which closed last year, so joined another large Uk one, I posed this same question and got a stupid reply, so thankyou very much, I will stay here but Iam afraid my technical input will limited, I do have an Xbox one so will try and sort it out.
hi Nos , welcome
do you mind me asking the name of the forum that closed ?
cheers
Not sure if I can, it was supported by a magazine, I think its closed as I cant find it anywhere, anyhow Iam happy here now. Lucid my Blu-ray is basic "LG BP250" and will not support anything apart from Dvds, the fire stick looks to be the way to go, it say's plug into HDMI on Tv, I assume I can plug it into the new AV receiver instead, when we get one, new house to get built first 
Nos
Nos
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Fire Stick doesn't support the YouTube app. You have to access it via the built in web browser.
A Roku stick might be a better option as it has no affinity to any brand and therefore carries all the apps for streaming you'll need.
A Roku stick might be a better option as it has no affinity to any brand and therefore carries all the apps for streaming you'll need.
Since the youtube SQ became equivalent of 128Kb/s mp3 I rarely listen to it, and have jumped between free trials on music streaming services;
YT doesn't have 5.1 afaik (recent thread) so AV would just duplicate sound through rear speakers;
if you have a spotify app on a roku would it give higher audio qualities too. ?
If the cinema & music are in the same room, isn't it cluttering to have two sets of front speakers, to that end the Yamaha streaming pre-amp, where you could re-use the fronts+audio-amp, and have some active rears sounds vfm.
YT doesn't have 5.1 afaik (recent thread) so AV would just duplicate sound through rear speakers;
if you have a spotify app on a roku would it give higher audio qualities too. ?
If the cinema & music are in the same room, isn't it cluttering to have two sets of front speakers, to that end the Yamaha streaming pre-amp, where you could re-use the fronts+audio-amp, and have some active rears sounds vfm.
BIB: .... which is exactly what I did today. Worked just fine.
OP, there's no perfect solution for everyone. My preferred solution might not fit someone else's particular criteria, nor their solution fit mine. We all have to find what works for us as individuals. I'm used to accessing YT via a browser on my PC, or via an app on my Android phone. It's no skin off my nose to use either method. Find what works for you.
Thanks again, regarding the speakers, I have a Rega Biro amp, Q Acoustic Concept 40s, Marantz Cd player, all linked with QED79, said I was old school
, QA do a surround system using my speakers along with some rears and a sub, also possibility for pair of ceiling ones as well, they said that I could use my 40s through my amp or by fitting a by-pass switch as part of a surround system, you may know of a better way thereby saving the biggest expensive ie fronts, and only one set doing both jobs, its all in one side of the lounge, with a 2mt deep alcove for the Tv and screen, we can get back upto 7mts from the screen, the lounge is 52m2. Will look into the Roku stick.
, QA do a surround system using my speakers along with some rears and a sub, also possibility for pair of ceiling ones as well, they said that I could use my 40s through my amp or by fitting a by-pass switch as part of a surround system, you may know of a better way thereby saving the biggest expensive ie fronts, and only one set doing both jobs, its all in one side of the lounge, with a 2mt deep alcove for the Tv and screen, we can get back upto 7mts from the screen, the lounge is 52m2. Will look into the Roku stick.
Agreed. But they tend to be more along the lines of gaming/entertainment projectors rather than units dedicated to home cinema.
Thanks again, regarding the speakers, I have a Rega Biro amp, Q Acoustic Concept 40s, Marantz Cd player, all linked with QED79, said I was old school
Personally I would avoid switches in line between the amp and speakers. Sonically, it's introducing a weak link in the chain.
If you're interested, there is a way to keep the purity of the stereo and to have AV surround. Do you want the ceiling speakers for Atmos in the main room or second zone audio somewhere else in the house?
Q Acoustics does a pretty comprehensive range of speakers. Their subs though aren't great. Better alternatives exist for the same sort of money.
Thanks for your replies, I dont know much about Atmos but they would be fitted in the main room, I did think that having a physical switch was a bit old fashioned, whats the alternative? please feel free to recommend other makes of speakers, as said would prefer to keep the QAs as main for both mediums.
Atmos - or Dolby Atmosphere to give it a fuller description is an enhancement to surround sound. As well as sound from the sides (5.1) and rear (7.1) there's now additional information that can come from above with Atmos 5.1.2 or Atmos 7.1.4 The numbers in bold indicate whether it's two speakers or 4 speakers in the ceiling.
Atmos is limited to certain types of content though, so you won't get Atmos-enhanced sound tracks on DVDs, or (most) ordinary Blu-rays, or regular Freeview, Sky, Virgin or streamed channels. It's being used as a tool to up-sell people to 4K UHD Blu-ray, 4K UHD Sky and premium 4K UHD streaming services.
Atmos is Dolby Laboratories vesion of a height enhanced sound track. Dolby's natural competitor is DTS. They have their version which is called DTS-X. Naturally, neither are compatible with the other in terms of decoding. There are also some small differences in the implementation of speaker placement, but that's less of an issue. So long as an AV receiver is capable of decoding either format then you'll have both bases covered.
Atmos (and DTS-X) has specific discrete channels of information encoded in to the audio stream. This is different from from previous versions of height-enhanced sound that you might and will still find mainly on 9.1 and 11.1 channel surround amps. An amplifier with Dolby PLIIz uses the existing 5.1/7.1 discrete surround track to then generate (fudge) some additional height effect sound. i.e. it wasn't there on the disc's sound track, the amplifier is making it up by using some clever algorithms. However, it can be very effective, and unlike Atmos and DTS-X, it's not limited only to UHD titles. PLIIz and the competitor versions DTS Neo:X, Audyssey DSX and Yamaha Presence can be applied to the signals from ordinary DVD, regular 1080p Blu-ray and TV. One key difference is though the speaker placement compared to Atmos.
Atmos 5.1.2 has the ceiling speakers roughly above where you sit. The pseudo-height formats (z, X, DSX etc) have the first set of speakers above the front speakers. This doesn't normally suit ceiling speakers very well unless they're specifically designed to project forward rather than down.
This brings us back to your thought about having some ceiling speakers in the main room in a 5.1 system. If they're not for Atmos, then are you thinking about them for the surround side channels in 5.1 or have you got something else in mind. It's important to think this through because it can (and will) affect the performance of the system and which way it can develop in the future.
On a much simpler tack.... Subwoofers. QA's own unit uses two small drivers (8" I believe) in a slimline vertical cabinet. It's designed to make the sub easier to hide behind a sofa or chair. The catch is that it doesn't go that deep. Your ears will tell you that anything down to about 40Hz sounds like a lot of bass. It's the same trick that Bose does with its 'subs'. You're still missing the deeper bass that's available in music (down to 20Hz) and in film soundtracks which routinely go deeper than that. How deep you want to go depends though on your budget, what size box the room will accommodate, how understanding your neighbours are, and very often what the wife or significant other will let you get away with
Atmos is limited to certain types of content though, so you won't get Atmos-enhanced sound tracks on DVDs, or (most) ordinary Blu-rays, or regular Freeview, Sky, Virgin or streamed channels. It's being used as a tool to up-sell people to 4K UHD Blu-ray, 4K UHD Sky and premium 4K UHD streaming services.
Atmos is Dolby Laboratories vesion of a height enhanced sound track. Dolby's natural competitor is DTS. They have their version which is called DTS-X. Naturally, neither are compatible with the other in terms of decoding. There are also some small differences in the implementation of speaker placement, but that's less of an issue. So long as an AV receiver is capable of decoding either format then you'll have both bases covered.
Atmos (and DTS-X) has specific discrete channels of information encoded in to the audio stream. This is different from from previous versions of height-enhanced sound that you might and will still find mainly on 9.1 and 11.1 channel surround amps. An amplifier with Dolby PLIIz uses the existing 5.1/7.1 discrete surround track to then generate (fudge) some additional height effect sound. i.e. it wasn't there on the disc's sound track, the amplifier is making it up by using some clever algorithms. However, it can be very effective, and unlike Atmos and DTS-X, it's not limited only to UHD titles. PLIIz and the competitor versions DTS Neo:X, Audyssey DSX and Yamaha Presence can be applied to the signals from ordinary DVD, regular 1080p Blu-ray and TV. One key difference is though the speaker placement compared to Atmos.
Atmos 5.1.2 has the ceiling speakers roughly above where you sit. The pseudo-height formats (z, X, DSX etc) have the first set of speakers above the front speakers. This doesn't normally suit ceiling speakers very well unless they're specifically designed to project forward rather than down.
This brings us back to your thought about having some ceiling speakers in the main room in a 5.1 system. If they're not for Atmos, then are you thinking about them for the surround side channels in 5.1 or have you got something else in mind. It's important to think this through because it can (and will) affect the performance of the system and which way it can develop in the future.
On a much simpler tack.... Subwoofers. QA's own unit uses two small drivers (8" I believe) in a slimline vertical cabinet. It's designed to make the sub easier to hide behind a sofa or chair. The catch is that it doesn't go that deep. Your ears will tell you that anything down to about 40Hz sounds like a lot of bass. It's the same trick that Bose does with its 'subs'. You're still missing the deeper bass that's available in music (down to 20Hz) and in film soundtracks which routinely go deeper than that. How deep you want to go depends though on your budget, what size box the room will accommodate, how understanding your neighbours are, and very often what the wife or significant other will let you get away with
Thank again for your time and easy to understand replies, its a new house so, the TV and screen will be in a 1.75mt deep x 3.6mt alcove so lots of space, no neighbours, we drive the Rega and QAs to their max occasionally, my DW of forty years is as passionate about AV as me, we both have a musical background. The surround speakers at the rear would have been wall mounted, but as its a new house, planning all the wiring is easier at this stage, hence my post, apart from the wiring going in we cant do much now until we move in sometime in November, but Iam sure you all aware its a pain in the butt to retro fit a lot of new sound gear.
Planning the wiring now, and getting it done in the first fix, is a good idea. As you've realised, it's much cheaper getting this done when the walls and ceiling are open rather than after the surfaces have been finished.
Deciding what cables, and where they'll terminate, and then making sure they're pulled correctly (to a proper plan rather than leaving it to a Spark who may or may not get it right), and labelled (yep, they forget to do that too), and then not subsequently damaged by following trades nailing or drilling in to walls and ceilings can be something of a challenge. It's not insurmountable. I do it in lots of new build and major refurb' projects.
Have a look at this layout plan by Dolby. People often refer to rear speakers in a 5.1 layout, but they're not rear at all. Those speakers are to the sides of the main listening position. Here's the link to the picture.
Where you're planning to have in-ceilings to the sides (5.1) and rear (7.1) then the type and positioning of the speaker needs some thought. You'll need to have a very clear idea of where the seating will go in the room. In fact, the positioning of everything - the gear, the speakers, the sub, even you on your seating, can be planned before the footings are dug, and in this way it's possible to avoid a lot of the sonic problems that get in the way of really good stereo and multichannel performance.
Coming back to specific bits of gear; subwoofers. Your main speakers are rated to get down to 53Hz. Quite whether that's 53Hz before the output starts rolling off or at the quieter -3dB point, or the much quieter -6dB point isn't clear from the QA web site. -3dB is a typical quoted figure, but some makers use -6dB when they're trying to flatter a products performance. In room, your speakers will sound like they dig a little deeper as they interact with the room itself. Closeness to the rear and side walls can load the bass with a little artificial boost. Get too close though and the boost turns in to boom and bass overhang.
Bringing this back to the QA subs, they're not really big enough (driver size and cabinet volume) or powerful enough (amplifier wattage) to make much of a useful contribution to your £800+ floor-stander main speakers. The QA subs are designed to partner their smaller bookshelf speakers which, due to cabinet size, are far more limited in bass performance.
QA's biggest sub gets down to 35Hz, which really isn't going to make much of a useful contribution alongside your main speakers. As an alternative to their £300 sub, you should consider something with a larger driver (12" vs QA's 8") and more power (250-400W vs QA's 150W). My first port of call in such situations is BK Electric. It's a brand that sells direct to the general public, so you're making a £100-£250 saving straight away because there's no dealer margin sitting on top of the factory gate price. This gives you a significant performance boost for your money compared to retail brands.
Given your current speakers, and the fact that this will be a dual music/AV system, there's no point messing around discussing small-driver/low-powered subs. Go straight for the Monolith 12" 300W bass ported sub. It digs deep enough to give even some organ pieces an impressive presence, and it has enough power to make movies really rock.
BK subs have a neat trick up their sleeve too. It's a dual connection. Alongside the usual low level AV connection from a home cinema receiver's subwoofer out socket, the BK subs also have a connection called high level which is for the more powerful speaker level connection from an amplifier or receiver. Connecting in this way supplements the bass performance of the main speakers only. That means when you're listening just to music, you have the benefit of the sub working with the main speakers so it fills in the missing bottom end. In effect, it's like upgrading your main speakers to something far larger, but without the cost or the size or the additional power required to make that change.
In your case then, this would connect to the Rega Brio speaker sockets in parallel with the existing wiring to the Concept 40s. The natural questions most Hi-Fi enthusiasts then ask are 1) won't this pull power away from the main speakers, and 2) will it change the synergy between the amp and the main speakers? Happily, the answer to both those question is No.
The high level connection to the sub is at such high resistance that it draws virtually no current, so it's not seen by the amp as a speaker load. As far as the amp is concerned, the sub is invisible as far as power consumption goes. Also, because the main speaker signal isn't interrupted, it doesn't change the character of the sound of the amp and main speakers together.
There are other brands of subs that use high level connections in a different way. They connect in-line between the amp and mains speaker; daisy-chain fashion. The speaker signal goes through the sub first, and with some of them, it is actively filtered to cut away a portion of the sound that's then fed to the sub. There are pros and cons with this. On the plus side, it can reduce the load on the amp which means the amp has an easier time driving the reduced frequency range going to the main speakers. That can be a good thing, a bit like running your speakers with a marginally more powerful amp. The negatives are that it's introducing some extra circuitry sitting directly between the amp and the main speakers that wasn't present before. Some say they can't hear a difference. Others, that they can.
Coming back to the BK, its high level connection doesn't get in the way, but it doesn't take some of the heavy lifting away from the Rega. If you're following so far, I'll finish off here by telling you how the high level and low level (AV) connections work together on the BK subs.
The BK sub can accept both signals at the same time. On the rear panel, there are two sets of adjustments. One set is for blending the sub with the main speakers. This is the high level crossover. The second set of controls are for the low level (AV) connection. Most of the settings for this are actually handled by the AV receiver.
When playing just music (Rega amp on, but AV receiver not on) then the sub is getting it's signal only from the high level sockets connected to the Rega amp. When it's time to play movies, it's the Rega amp that's still driving the main speakers. It gets its signal from the AV receiver via an unused line input on the Brio. Your Brio connections then are CD (the Marantz) plus any other dedicated stereo only sources (in my case a turntable and the stereo line out from a very good CD/DVD player), and a stereo connection that uses the AV receiver as a source to the Brio. It could be any of the line inputs; Line 1, Tuner or Tape, they all do the same thing. The AV receiver connects to the TV, DVD/Blu-ray player, Roku/Amazon/Google/Apple streaming device and passes the front channel signals to the Brio while handling power to the centre and surround speakers itself. There's a low level subwoofer connection direct to the BK sub. This carries low bass from the film low frequency effects channel (LFE - tyrannosaurs stomping about, the deep bass bits of explosions etc) plus any part of the standard audio spectrum that the centre speaker and surround speakers can't handle. The BK sub combines and plays all this as if it were one signal. That's pretty clever. You get the best out of your main speakers for music, and you get full effects for movies, with nothing more complicated than two bits of wire and some great thinking from BK.
To complete the picture, the AV receiver has to be one with a set of Pre-Outs for the front L&R channels. Marantz SR6013 @ £950, Marantz SR5013 £tba, Denon AVR-X3500H £600, Pioneer VSX-LX503 £800, Yamaha RX-A880 @ £750 all fit the bill. It's a little under the radar, but the Marantz slimline receiver - SR1609 @ £449 - also has front Pre-Out connections. Being a slimline unit, it doesn't pack quite the punch of it's bigger siblings, but with the Brio driving the front channel speakers it might make a nice companion for your intended system. It's 4K UHD TV compatible, and does ATMOS if you desire too.
Deciding what cables, and where they'll terminate, and then making sure they're pulled correctly (to a proper plan rather than leaving it to a Spark who may or may not get it right), and labelled (yep, they forget to do that too), and then not subsequently damaged by following trades nailing or drilling in to walls and ceilings can be something of a challenge. It's not insurmountable. I do it in lots of new build and major refurb' projects.
Have a look at this layout plan by Dolby. People often refer to rear speakers in a 5.1 layout, but they're not rear at all. Those speakers are to the sides of the main listening position. Here's the link to the picture.
Where you're planning to have in-ceilings to the sides (5.1) and rear (7.1) then the type and positioning of the speaker needs some thought. You'll need to have a very clear idea of where the seating will go in the room. In fact, the positioning of everything - the gear, the speakers, the sub, even you on your seating, can be planned before the footings are dug, and in this way it's possible to avoid a lot of the sonic problems that get in the way of really good stereo and multichannel performance.
Coming back to specific bits of gear; subwoofers. Your main speakers are rated to get down to 53Hz. Quite whether that's 53Hz before the output starts rolling off or at the quieter -3dB point, or the much quieter -6dB point isn't clear from the QA web site. -3dB is a typical quoted figure, but some makers use -6dB when they're trying to flatter a products performance. In room, your speakers will sound like they dig a little deeper as they interact with the room itself. Closeness to the rear and side walls can load the bass with a little artificial boost. Get too close though and the boost turns in to boom and bass overhang.
Bringing this back to the QA subs, they're not really big enough (driver size and cabinet volume) or powerful enough (amplifier wattage) to make much of a useful contribution to your £800+ floor-stander main speakers. The QA subs are designed to partner their smaller bookshelf speakers which, due to cabinet size, are far more limited in bass performance.
QA's biggest sub gets down to 35Hz, which really isn't going to make much of a useful contribution alongside your main speakers. As an alternative to their £300 sub, you should consider something with a larger driver (12" vs QA's 8") and more power (250-400W vs QA's 150W). My first port of call in such situations is BK Electric. It's a brand that sells direct to the general public, so you're making a £100-£250 saving straight away because there's no dealer margin sitting on top of the factory gate price. This gives you a significant performance boost for your money compared to retail brands.
Given your current speakers, and the fact that this will be a dual music/AV system, there's no point messing around discussing small-driver/low-powered subs. Go straight for the Monolith 12" 300W bass ported sub. It digs deep enough to give even some organ pieces an impressive presence, and it has enough power to make movies really rock.
BK subs have a neat trick up their sleeve too. It's a dual connection. Alongside the usual low level AV connection from a home cinema receiver's subwoofer out socket, the BK subs also have a connection called high level which is for the more powerful speaker level connection from an amplifier or receiver. Connecting in this way supplements the bass performance of the main speakers only. That means when you're listening just to music, you have the benefit of the sub working with the main speakers so it fills in the missing bottom end. In effect, it's like upgrading your main speakers to something far larger, but without the cost or the size or the additional power required to make that change.
In your case then, this would connect to the Rega Brio speaker sockets in parallel with the existing wiring to the Concept 40s. The natural questions most Hi-Fi enthusiasts then ask are 1) won't this pull power away from the main speakers, and 2) will it change the synergy between the amp and the main speakers? Happily, the answer to both those question is No.
The high level connection to the sub is at such high resistance that it draws virtually no current, so it's not seen by the amp as a speaker load. As far as the amp is concerned, the sub is invisible as far as power consumption goes. Also, because the main speaker signal isn't interrupted, it doesn't change the character of the sound of the amp and main speakers together.
There are other brands of subs that use high level connections in a different way. They connect in-line between the amp and mains speaker; daisy-chain fashion. The speaker signal goes through the sub first, and with some of them, it is actively filtered to cut away a portion of the sound that's then fed to the sub. There are pros and cons with this. On the plus side, it can reduce the load on the amp which means the amp has an easier time driving the reduced frequency range going to the main speakers. That can be a good thing, a bit like running your speakers with a marginally more powerful amp. The negatives are that it's introducing some extra circuitry sitting directly between the amp and the main speakers that wasn't present before. Some say they can't hear a difference. Others, that they can.
Coming back to the BK, its high level connection doesn't get in the way, but it doesn't take some of the heavy lifting away from the Rega. If you're following so far, I'll finish off here by telling you how the high level and low level (AV) connections work together on the BK subs.
The BK sub can accept both signals at the same time. On the rear panel, there are two sets of adjustments. One set is for blending the sub with the main speakers. This is the high level crossover. The second set of controls are for the low level (AV) connection. Most of the settings for this are actually handled by the AV receiver.
When playing just music (Rega amp on, but AV receiver not on) then the sub is getting it's signal only from the high level sockets connected to the Rega amp. When it's time to play movies, it's the Rega amp that's still driving the main speakers. It gets its signal from the AV receiver via an unused line input on the Brio. Your Brio connections then are CD (the Marantz) plus any other dedicated stereo only sources (in my case a turntable and the stereo line out from a very good CD/DVD player), and a stereo connection that uses the AV receiver as a source to the Brio. It could be any of the line inputs; Line 1, Tuner or Tape, they all do the same thing. The AV receiver connects to the TV, DVD/Blu-ray player, Roku/Amazon/Google/Apple streaming device and passes the front channel signals to the Brio while handling power to the centre and surround speakers itself. There's a low level subwoofer connection direct to the BK sub. This carries low bass from the film low frequency effects channel (LFE - tyrannosaurs stomping about, the deep bass bits of explosions etc) plus any part of the standard audio spectrum that the centre speaker and surround speakers can't handle. The BK sub combines and plays all this as if it were one signal. That's pretty clever. You get the best out of your main speakers for music, and you get full effects for movies, with nothing more complicated than two bits of wire and some great thinking from BK.
To complete the picture, the AV receiver has to be one with a set of Pre-Outs for the front L&R channels. Marantz SR6013 @ £950, Marantz SR5013 £tba, Denon AVR-X3500H £600, Pioneer VSX-LX503 £800, Yamaha RX-A880 @ £750 all fit the bill. It's a little under the radar, but the Marantz slimline receiver - SR1609 @ £449 - also has front Pre-Out connections. Being a slimline unit, it doesn't pack quite the punch of it's bigger siblings, but with the Brio driving the front channel speakers it might make a nice companion for your intended system. It's 4K UHD TV compatible, and does ATMOS if you desire too.
Thanks once again, I think I understand it, I will re-read a few more times, I hadn't realized that I will be using the Rega when in film mode, so I need the BK sub a few good quality HDMI leads and a pair of rears or ceiling Speakers, and one of the AV receivers, Speaker wire is a very emotional subject with AV techies, so will stick to my trusted QED 79, Thanks. Nos
Using the Rega in the way suggested is simply one solution to achieve your aim of using the QA Concept 40 for both music and film. Of the two most practical solutions (switch versus pre-outs) it's the one that offers the most advantages and fewest disadvantages. What you finally decide on though is up to you
Add to your list of gear a centre speaker (plus cable and stand) and fire hoods for the ceiling speakers if that's the way you're heading.ll also need a stereo RCA cable to link the AV receiver pre-outs to one of the line inputs.
On the subject of ceiling speakers, something you should consider is that putting a speaker in the ceiling void means the sound will travel up in to the room above. For some, that's not an issue as the room above might be a roof space or never occupied while the system is in use. For others, the sound carrying through is a problem they need to address with sound-deadening materials.
Speaker cable... For rears and centre, unless you're going very high-end, then simple 100% copper multi-strand of adequate thickness will do just fine. Minimum cross sectional area (CSA) of 1.5mm squared. QED 79 is absolutely fine.
Add to your list of gear a centre speaker (plus cable and stand) and fire hoods for the ceiling speakers if that's the way you're heading.ll also need a stereo RCA cable to link the AV receiver pre-outs to one of the line inputs.
On the subject of ceiling speakers, something you should consider is that putting a speaker in the ceiling void means the sound will travel up in to the room above. For some, that's not an issue as the room above might be a roof space or never occupied while the system is in use. For others, the sound carrying through is a problem they need to address with sound-deadening materials.
Speaker cable... For rears and centre, unless you're going very high-end, then simple 100% copper multi-strand of adequate thickness will do just fine. Minimum cross sectional area (CSA) of 1.5mm squared. QED 79 is absolutely fine.
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