Ok, I bought everything now Help Me Set It Up

[shockemags]

I have a Vizio GV42L (looked up some different calibration settings) with a Toshiba HD-A2, XBOX 360, and PS2. My A/V receiver is the Onkyo 605 and my speakers are the Fluance AV-F3 Towers, Fluance AV-SC Center, Fluance Bipolar Surrounds, and AV123 X-sub. Also, Harmony 550 remote, Onkyo DS-A2 Ipod Dock, and APC A/V Sure Protector (Coaxial, Noise Filteration)

Wires & Cables (All From Monoprice):
2 - 6 ft. 28 AWG HDMI Cables
50 ft. 12 AWG Oxygen-Free Speaker Wire
1 - 6 ft. Optical Toslink 8mm Cable
1 - 6 ft. Digital Coaxial Audio RCA Cable
5-7 - Pair of Gold Plated Screw Type Banana Plugs

Is there anything else I need in the wire/cable area?


The setup: (in an apartment so I am not able to tear up the walls)
I am planning on mounting the TV so I was going to just run the HDMI from the 605 to the TV. I am going to run the HD-A2 (via HDMI), 360 and PS2 (via Component) to the 605. As well as an optical for the surround sound on the 360. Now the big questions...

The Towers are capable to be Bi-wired. Would I be able to do this is my setup and would it be worth it?

The Center Speaker will be sitting on a shelf on my TV stand. Is there a easy way to angle is up a bit?

Does the sub need to be hooked up via RCA cable and Speaker wire? How do I turn off the internal crossover to led the receiver handle it?

How do I prepare the speaker wire with banana plugs for best AQ?

What are some of the setting I need for the 605 to get optimum A/V quality?

Would DVE be a good investment to calibrate the Video and Audio?

Misc: Would some green LED be a cool effect? Cheap place to get them?

And as always, Any other words for wisdom and suggestions. Thanks.

 

[avaserfi]

The Towers are capable to be Bi-wired. Would I be able to do this is my setup and would it be worth it?

-Dont waste your time or money its will change nothing audibly

The Center Speaker will be sitting on a shelf on my TV stand. Is there a easy way to angle is up a bit?

-Cheap doorstops from walmart actually work well

Does the sub need to be hooked up via RCA cable and Speaker wire? How do I turn off the internal crossover to led the receiver handle it?

-RCA, turn the subs crossover as high as it goes and just use the receivers settings.

How do I prepare the speaker wire with banana plugs for best AQ?

-Make sure the wire is directly touching the metal on the banana plug and that the connection is good between the two so it won't jiggle.

Would DVE be a good investment to calibrate the Video and Audio?

-Yes either that or Avia, I perfer the latter.

Misc: Would some green LED be a cool effect? Cheap place to get them?
-I wouldn't bother but thats your choice.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Congrats and enjoy.

Dont worry about b-wiring, nothing will be gained from this

Use some black rubber door stops from home depot to angle the center

Use the RCA jack for the sub and turn the crossover on the sub to max

You can use bare wires or banana plugs for the speaker wire; it;s up to you. Bare wire is the best connection but it is difficult to get your fingers behind the AVR so I use bananas

Use the auto set-up for starts and then go back and re-check the settings, you may have to adjust the size(set it to small for all speakers) and the crossover (start with 80hz) later you can get a cal disc and SPL meter and really get it all tuned in.

 

[shockemags]

DVE HD-DVD or Avia for Audio and Video Calibration?

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I use Avia but either is fine. Get off of here and go hook it all up and do the simple calibration and let us know how it sounds.

DVE HD-DVD or Avia for Audio and Video Calibration?

 

[Thunder18]

I notice you mentioned that you had 2 HDMI cables. I assume that one is for the PS3 and one for the Toshiba HD-DVD player. Your Onkyo 605 can act as a switcher if you connect both the Toshiba and the Sony to it and connect a 3rd HDMI cable between the Onkyo and the Vizio. In this scenario, whenever you're watching Blu-Ray's or HD-Dvd's you only have to switch sources on the receiver and not both the receiver and the TV. Also, if you don't connect the PS3 to the receiver via HDMI, the receiver will not be able to receive the Dolby True-HD and DTS-HD Master audio tracks as they can't be passed by optical cable and the PS3 does not have multi-channel outputs.

 

[shockemags]

Thanks but I don't have a PS3

 

[Thunder18]

My mistake, I mis-read the original post.

 

[AlphaWolf]

How do I prepare the speaker wire with banana plugs for best AQ?

-Make sure the wire is directly touching the metal on the banana plug and that the connection is good between the two so it won't jiggle.

Do banana plugs even improve audio quality? I thought they were more of a convenience thing than anything else.

 

[avaserfi]

Do banana plugs even improve audio quality? I thought they were more of a convenience thing than anything else.

That hits it on the nail. Why would adding another point in the line increase sound quality. The only thing banana plugs can do to SQ is reduce it if installed poorly otherwise they do nothing except add convenience.