Looking to buy 2.1 system for my living room.

[afterlife2]

Eh, I ordered 100 feet of speaker wire, why would I not just wait a few days more? No reason to buy more...100 feet is already plenty.


I mean, I can even go 5.1 if I wanted to. Two bookshelf speakers for the back and a center...probably be able to pick all that up for like 300-350$ and have a nice 5.1 setup.

Good you have patience.
You can get these as rear speakers. They are a bargain: eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices
then you can get that Boston center that you posted.

 

[GranteedEV]

100 feet is already plenty.

Says you.

My rear surrounds probably use 50 feet each. My side surrounds probably use around 30 feet each. One passive subwoofer probably uses 35-40 feet. Which leaves around 8-10 feet for fronts. At least the center is only around 3-4 feet.

 

[Mkilbride]

Good you have patience.
You can get these as rear speakers. They are a bargain: eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices
then you can get that Boston center that you posted.

Hah, yeah, nothing is certain yet, but I can always upgrade later. First see how these go.

 

[Mkilbride]

Uh hey, just finding out about these Banana plugs and they look pretty well, uh, useful, that is to say, I've been reading you're stupid not to use them.

No one suggested them to me?

 

[afterlife2]

They are not really needed. I just bought a pair myself since they were on sale last week, but not hooked them up yet. So your speakers should arrive today!

 

[jonnythan]

They make it about 37.24 times easier to hook things up at the back of the receiver, especially if you have to unplug wires to rearrange something and then plug them back in. I recommend them, but they're not necessary.

 

[Mkilbride]

They are not really needed. I just bought a pair myself since they were on sale last week, but not hooked them up yet. So your speakers should arrive today!

Yes, smaller than I thought though. Kinda surprised. I mean they are of a good height for the TV I suppose, but they looked so big online. Also many reviews spoke of them feeling "cheap", but they got some nice heft to them and the finish is amazing, smooth. Looks better than my Dad's old Stereo Speakers he bought in the 90's by far and those were high quality back then.

 

[Scumfrog]

I like bannana plugs. They are convenient and sure make hook up easier in the back of the reciever. Less chance of wires crossing too. Let us know how it all sounds.
Mike

 

[afterlife2]

Yes, smaller than I thought though. Kinda surprised. I mean they are of a good height for the TV I suppose, but they looked so big online. Also many reviews spoke of them feeling "cheap", but they got some nice heft to them and the finish is amazing, smooth. Looks better than my Dad's old Stereo Speakers he bought in the 90's by far and those were high quality back then.

Yeah that's why those reviews are subjective. Every time I see those speakers all I think about is a beautiful piano. Can't wait to read what you think of the whole setup when you put it together. so...what DVD/CD are you gonna try with it first?

 

[Mkilbride]

Yeah that's why those reviews are subjective. Every time I see those speakers all I think about is a beautiful piano. Can't wait to read what you think of the whole setup when you put it together. so...what DVD/CD are you gonna try with it first?

I dunno what I'll try first, but you'll have to wait til Monday, as that is when the Speaker wire should arrive.

The Sub is coming Tuesday. Can't complain about free shipping; 3-5 days, even if somehow I order on Sunday and it ships on Monday, Friday isn't the Fifth, Saturday is, but no Saturday delivery, and somehow it gets bumped to Tuesday. le sigh

Also ordered a Digital Camera, which should come Monday. I can hook up the two speakers and try that.

I just hooked up the Receiver for the Passthrough thing. I had no sound at first and was worried I couldn't use it with my TV's default speakers, but I found the option while navigating the OSD. The only annoyance is my remote for the TV no longer works on my PS3, since the PS3 is hooked up via the receiver or some such stuff, will have to look into that later.

I will probably start off with some of my nice FLAC shows, as they have that lossless audio, even once it's converted via my DLNA Media Center, it'll still be quality.

Should be nice. They fit perfectly with the TV. Might have trouble finding the perfect area for the Subwoofer though.

Might order a staple gun also if I go 5.1, so I could staple the wire to the walls or something instead of routing it along the floor. Wish the Speaker wire was white, then it'd blend in with my ceiling.

It has the same finish as this:

For some reason, I can't find a picture of the Classic II's in Cherry, only the default black, but it's that same finish. Smooth, nothing feels cheap, got real weight to it. Looks very hand-made, you know?

One of the corners is rounded, instead of a sharp square, looks like it took a hit there...but I am getting them half-priced, refurbished. A warranty came with it saying everything will work as intended.

It is "B-Grade Refurbished, fully functional, with minor cosmetic blemishes" as the certificate says. I'm fine with that. You can't even notice unless you look for it.

Figure if I ever went 5.1, I'd snag two of these http://www.bostonacoustics.com/CS-26-II-Bookshelf-Speaker-Refurbished-P877.aspx

+ the Boston Center.

So it's be the entire Classic II series, except the Subwoofer, which is that Velodyne one.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ZBJSIM/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=

Still not sure why the Classic II Subwoofer wouldn't go good with it, but hey, I'm no audiophile. I just thought stuff all from the same set would sound best together.

 

[Mkilbride]

Found some old speaker wire hanging around and did a botch job. No idea what gauge, if I put it in correctly or not, but it's to late to play with it and I'm going to bed. However, I did notice something, I could not control the volume with my TV remote. Only the Receivers remote. And that displayed in dB, not % or numbers.

So it's kind of frustrating to understand exactly what's going on. I mean, from what I can tell, I can't adjust the volume like I used to? You know, like 25/100 or so? Really don't like the decibel system for gauging it and other people at my house will have a hard time with it as well. I tried using Viera Link, but nothing happened.

Kinda sucks. Now I need 3 remotes. One for changing the channel, one for turning the TV on / Off and adjusting it's settings, and one for the Volume now.

I was hoping to only need to touch the Receivers remote every so often, maybe weeks or months and not fiddle with it. Set it and forget it. Seems I'm not so lucky.

Also I sit abou 4-8 feet away from the TV, depending if I sit in my chair or lay on the couch. So I set the distance thingy in the receiver for 6 feet? That right?

The sub won't be hre till Tuesday...but I can start breaking these things in...I'll also probably change the speaker wire out once the new stuff arrives. This stuff is really bad looking.

I got impatient when I found it, stripped it poorly and just wanted to test it.




Question though;

Is there anyway to make my TV Remote, from a Panasonic ST30 control the Volume?

 

[afterlife2]

Is there anyway to make my TV Remote, from a Panasonic ST30 control the Volume?

You can get this remote for only 15$: Newegg.com - Refurbished: Logitech Harmony 300i Infrared Universal Remote - 3rd party
I might get one myself. Does your Denon remote not have a channel changer? It should. All you have to do is program it.
What do you mean about bad? sound or wires?

 

[Mkilbride]

You can get this remote for only 15$: Newegg.com - Refurbished: Logitech Harmony 300i Infrared Universal Remote - 3rd party
I might get one myself. Does your Denon remote not have a channel changer? It should. All you have to do is program it.
What do you mean about bad? sound or wires?

Bad? Well the wires, I mean I found them hanging from a ceiling in a spare room, after closer inspection, I noticed they were speaker wire. I've put them in and they work and setup the receiver as the Denon guide told me to.

And yes it has a channel changer, but I don't know how to configure it; on top of that...it doesn't have numbers to change, it only has a + or -,

I have Comcast and with a few hundred channels and on demand, that won't cut on it.

I also found the "Absolute" volume option, which makes it out of 99, so now around 55/99, the volume is right. Though one thing I am going to have to get used to is how every program needs different volume. With my TV speakers, about 25-30 sounded perfect.

With these, sometimes 50 is enough, others 60, then randomly some need like 30. Also the way the volume works is 0.5 per press, but if you hold it, it goes down like 10 per second, so it's tough to time right lol. Getting used to having to shut the Receiver off as well.

I find it odd how I can now turn the TV off, but the sound still plays until I axe the receiver. Also can't use mute on the Panasonic controller.

Also, when I mute on the Receiver, it makes an awfully load click noise, kinda annoying, but bearable, not like I'll be pressing it on and off constantly.

So far they sound pretty good...though they miss some detail. Oddly enough, detail that my cheap speakers for my PC pick up and my old TV Speakers somewhat picked up.

So I'm guessing it's a configuration issue with the receiver, even though I've configured it according to the guide. Oh well, plenty of time to mess with that.

One thing I don't like about them is the "punch", I dunno if that's the accurate term, but when say, some music is playing, you get this random, bass like boom that slightly vibrates them. Not really a fan of that. I like Subwoofers for low frequency sounds and such things, but the "booming bass" everyone likes, I'm not a fan of. It feels fake, unreal, and ruins immersion.

It sounds like when you hit a wooden wall when your fist and the perso nin the other room hears it.

 

[afterlife2]

Check out these articles:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/877661-post3.html
Did you do the Auto calibration? I did it, but did not like the settings and I tried like 4 times. The way I have it setup it made me happy as heck. Yeah I have Absolute volume too and I too have it 50-60 volume like you said depends on the material. You may want to call Denon and ask some questions. I called Onkyo when I was setting mine up AND THEY WERE EXCELLENT. ONCE YOU GET IT THE WAY YOU WANT IT THOSE SPEAKERS WILL SHINE. Sorry for the caps did not want to rewrite. Oh and don't forget to turn your vol. all the way down before you turn off the Denon.

 

[Mkilbride]

Check out these articles:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/877661-post3.html
Did you do the Auto calibration? I did it, but did not like the settings and I tried like 4 times. The way I have it setup it made me happy as heck. Yeah I have Absolute volume too and I too have it 50-60 volume like you said depends on the material. You may want to call Denon and ask some questions. I called Onkyo when I was setting mine up AND THEY WERE EXCELLENT. ONCE YOU GET IT THE WAY YOU WANT IT THOSE SPEAKERS WILL SHINE. Sorry for the caps did not want to rewrite. Oh and don't forget to turn your vol. all the way down before you turn it off.

Didn't see an auto calibration setting.

My sub won't be here til Monday or Tuesday though.

And why turn the VOlume all the way down when I turn it off? Never heard that before..

 

[zieglj01]

One thing I don't like about them is the "punch", I dunno if that's the accurate term, but when say, some music is playing, you get this random, bass like boom that slightly vibrates them. Not really a fan of that. I like Subwoofers for low frequency sounds and such things, but the "booming bass" everyone likes, I'm not a fan of. It feels fake, unreal, and ruins immersion.
It sounds like when you hit a wooden wall when your fist and the perso nin the other room hears it.

Do you have them against the back wall? They need to be at least
18 inches from the back and side walls.

 

[afterlife2]

Didn't see an auto calibration setting.

My sub won't be here til Monday or Tuesday though.

And why turn the VOlume all the way down when I turn it off? Never heard that before..

You are better off doing it yourself and I bet Denon Cust service can help you for the best audio settings. The reason I say turn it down because they can harm your speaker/sub if source is on too loud. Just a precaution I've always taken when someone told me about it. And you don't want to make the GF/wife angry do you?

 

[jonnythan]

You definitely don't need to turn it all the way down after you use it. That is pointless. I would suggest that if you are listening at high levels to turn it down to a more reasonable level before you shut it off just so you're not blown out of your seat next session.

As for auto calibration..... well, read the manual. It's kinda useful.

 

[afterlife2]

You definitely don't need to turn it all the way down after you use it. That is pointless. I would suggest that if you are listening at high levels to turn it down to a more reasonable level before you shut it off just so you're not blown out of your seat next session.

As for auto calibration..... well, read the manual. It's kinda useful.

That's what I said and meant.

 

[Mkilbride]

That's what I said and meant.

I did.

No auto-calibration setting did I see. Even came with PDF versions on a CD and nothing about it there. Even using the search function, the word Calibration is never used, capital or not.

Also wasn't in any menu's.

And no, they aren't against the wall.

I have them about a foot and a half away from the wall. So as to line up with the TV, so they aren't ahead of it, but at it's side, and I put them about 3-4 inches from the TV. I can't really put them more than a foot and a half or so away from the wall or they'll be in the way of, you know, my front door.

Argh, stupid Monday, come along so I can get the sub and my Digital Camera to show you guys...but the problem with wanting Monday to come also means wanting one of the hardest days of my work week to happen. I work at the USPS...and Monday...it is is the worst. You get cut up, bruised up, and run at least 20 miles pushing Postcons around...and you never have enough help...I nearly die every Monday