2 rooms and what to do....

[dem beats]

I'm in a wierd situation here guys and I need some help and tips. I'm not sure if this is exactly the right part of the forum to post this but since the imediate need is processing/amplification, I figured here will work.


*basic goal
I badly need(audio from TV is becomeing too much to deal with) some audio processing in my living room and my bedroom. I also need at least 2 chan for these aplications.

*ultimate long term vision
I want to have whole home audi along with lighting and everything integrated. The home I'm in now though won't be permanent, and it wouldn't add much value to make massive changes. My current home isn't in an area where it would be expected really, and most probably wouldn't appreciate it much. I have a server machine already and a big buisness class switch currently and just need to run some cat6.

*the venues and equipment
For the living room I have a PS3 and cable box. Bedroom is just a BRD player.

I would like to feed audio from my home server/pc to the livingroom, and maybe the bedroom. I'm not sure how much receiver I should be buying.... I have an Integra unit unused for now that doesn't have HDMI but has optical. I guessed that one would be used in the bedroom. For the living room though the W wants to plug in her ipod, and then she saw that some of them have DNLA and can run pandora etc. I was thinking RCA's and call it a day for her ipod. I know the PS3 has some capability but I'm not sure everything it can do.


As for speakers...... I could break up the energy RC 5 chan system I have 3 for the livingroom and then the bookshelves for the bedroom..... Or I buy 4 new speakers.... I'm a cheepskate but the idea of buying a whole new 5 chan system gets me all giggly.

For the main HT room I use an yammy z7. It has a ton of options, the only thing I am really missing is some more ease of use on the GUI and I wish it had stereo sub capability. I can't get the dang silent cinema function to work Oh well, otherwise it's a beast of a machine.

 

[dem beats]

So what I'm left with are several options.

Do I canibalize the whole HT send the towers and center to the living room with the z7 and then put the book shelves into the bedroom with the integra?

I don't know if there are units as nice as the z7 out there, but I'm sure something new must have come along.... Getting more bass management might be nice or having multiple bass chans....

Or I could buy the cheepest receiver and some mid grade speaks and let the PS3 run any audio to the living room.....

Or anything inbetween. I'm having trouble with this and really don't have a budget yet which is one of the mail problems. The only reason I don't just buy the cheepest option is, that with the networking posibilities of current receivers could I get a lot more bang for my buck and some upgradeability down the road?

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

I would like to feed audio from my home server/pc to the livingroom, and maybe the bedroom. I'm not sure how much receiver I should be buying.... I have an Integra unit unused for now that doesn't have HDMI but has optical.

Seems like an easy decision. If you need HDMI for the bedroom, get a new receiver. If not, use the one you have.

As for speakers...... I could break up the energy RC 5 chan system I have 3 for the livingroom and then the bookshelves for the bedroom.....

I assume you’d replace the speakers you pirated from the living room for the bedroom; makes no sense to use mismatched speakers in the living room. Just get some new ones for the bedroom.

For the main HT room I use an yammy z7. It has a ton of options, the only thing I am really missing is some more ease of use on the GUI and I wish it had stereo sub capability.

You could use the main L/R outputs, along with an electronic crossover and amplifier, to get stereo subwoofer capability.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[dem beats]

I'm sorry I wasn't clear. The HT room is where I would pirate the speakers from. In other words use the L, R, and Center in the living room and then use what used to be the surrounds in the bedroom. They are bookshelf speakers so they will work.

Then I could get all new HT room speakers.

As for HDMI, for video I can run optical for audio in the bedroom, and I don't much need any video processing for the bedroom or living room really. I'm just wondering if it's work having networking power in the receiver when the Ps3 might be able to do that work for me.

 

[dem beats]

Lets resurect this old thread.

I just spent a load of cash today. UH OH!

I will have a little unveiling tomorrow and I'll throw up some pics, but I'm in a pickle of a perdicament.

You guys will need to help me out a bit I think. I got an upgrade rig for the living room. Wife actually talked me into it. I love her.... Anyway.

She had given me the go ahead on upgrading the receiver and I have an amazing deal on either an anthem 700, or the integra 70.2. This will either replace the z7 or just be a living room beast.

Does anyone have any experience with the Anthem room EQ and network capability? Same question for the 70.2? I will be test driving the 500 and trying out the network capabilities. I've been having trouble with the z7 controls and I love everything about it other than the fact the menu system is garbage to me.

I'll post pics of the new 'peakas for the living room. It's not that amazing but I really haven't heard anything nearly as good in a long time, and for the price I paid... it slaughters everything I have heard that's even close.

 

[dem beats]

I goofed. I'm looking at the mrx 500 and the dtr-40.2 or 50.2

Also in the running are the Marants SR 7005.

I'm mostly concerned with networking into my server for audio.

 

[jostenmeat]

Well, gee, nice choices! I'd be happy with any of them, I think. The Integra appears to have the very latest XT32, also with Pro calibration capability (would require use of the Pro kit), the Marantz is using the older XT, and the Anthem appears to indeed sport ARC. I am led to believe the XT32 would be the most desirable as far as software, but it may be possible that the Anthem might* allow a little more flexibility to adjust towards preference or room, if only in cutoff choice of correction, hmm. The XT32 might(?)* allow dual-individual subwoofer calibrations but you should check on that for sure. Let me find an ARC thread for you started by Warp some time ago.

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showpost.php?p=567647&postcount=5

 

[oppman99]

Does anyone have any experience with the Anthem room EQ and network capability?

I can't help much with the networking stuff, but I use ARC with an Anthem D1processor and really love it. It's easy to set up, and it just works. No out of whack crossover or level settings and I noticed a significant improvemnt, especially in the lower frequencies. I'm not 100% sure, but I think I read that the room correction in the new Anthem AVR's is scaled back a little bit compared to what's in the Statement line.

 

[dem beats]

When I look at the integra vs the marantz, I show the both have the multi EQ audysey... I'm not sure where it mentions pro with the integra.. maybe I'm missing it.

http://integrahometheater.com/model.cfm?m=DTR-50.2&class=Receiver&p=i

http://us.marantz.com/us/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?CatId=AVReceivers&SubCatId=&ProductId=SR7005

I'm strongly leaving towards the marantz. The GUI looks intuitive, and the networking sounds like a winner. It can also handle my other zone problem right there on hand where the anthem looks like it wouldn't handle that.

I'm not sure how the EQ function works though. With the ARC system do you have to plug in a computer to calibrate? I'm not against that, I just couldn't tell. I have a loaned MRX - 500 at the house to test run before I make my decision.


I also have a hunch that in the integra and the Anthem I'm paying for a stronger amplification system... and for right now.. That's not an issue.

 

[dem beats]

Here's a teaser of the new floorstanders.

 

[dem beats]

Here are the twins.

The carboard box is a loaner, that I have yet to open.

 

[dem beats]

In doing some online research, it sounds like the Yamaha A3000 may actually be something to look at.

Originally when I looked at one in the store I was not impressed, and the sales guy was just a casheir who walked around. It almost sounds like the A3000 for 1/2 the price would do more than my beloved Z7.

Though tough to swallow it may allow me an upgrade here.

 

[jostenmeat]

Sorry about the MEQ thingy, I believe I was mistakenly looking up the 70.2. For Pandora, Netflix, and all that, there should be a variety of solutions. You could even just add another BDP for movies and that stuff, in addition to the PS3, perhaps an LG. Hm my bad, I think maybe only Samsung BDP supports Pandora, and I don't like recommending Samsung BDPs!

Here is an LG feature set for instance:
http://www.lg.com/us/tv-audio-video/video/LG-blu-ray-dvd-player-BD390.jsp

ok I have to backtrack yet again, the 570 does Pandora, and thanks to BoredSysAdmin's tip, RIGHT NOW AT THIS MOMENT as amazon "hot deal" , it's $175:
http://www.amazon.com/LG-BD570-Network-Blu-ray-Player/dp/B0036WT1RW/ref=sr_1_1?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1297807248&sr=1-1

 

[jostenmeat]

Oh I almost forgot, congrats on the speakers. What model are they? They will be part of an HT/mch rig, or as a stereo set?

 

[dem beats]

Josten, you are the man. Chicklets to come.

They are the purity. Hency why I don't actually need a robust amp to drive them. I can just line them with RCA's.

As for where they go... stereo in the living room. For the W, but now I'm feeling a bit "jelly" and want to have them in the HT.

 

[jostenmeat]

Ah, fully active, how cool. I vote for stereo, with anything that works as dedicated pre/pro. I suppose the room and layout has the greatest say in that kind of decision.

 

[dem beats]

I'm really torn between the yam A3000 and the marantz 7005.

Ypao vs audyssey.

stereo options for bass or more decoding from Marantz.

Yam colorful GUI or matanz function forward.

4 zones vs 3.

frustrating at times EQ adjusting vs the audyssey

Something I know that's been tweeked and improved or Saving 400 bucks that could go to more equipment.......

 

[dem beats]

I could go AV 7005 and blow the rest on pro amps?



not likely, but stranger things have happened.

 

[jostenmeat]

I am confused, dem beats. You don't need amps, do you?

You should look into your hybrid speaker design, and how that reacts with Audyssey or YPAO. There might be some phase issue, as essentially half your speaker is dipole (they might have the woofer out of phase on purpose? oh I hope I don't worry you for no reason, I could be way off there).

I also think the value of an Audyssey purchase declines with the fewer speakers there are, and two speakers would be pretty much the minimum.

I guess I'd look for SNR specs and such, between the two, and I know Yammys are supposed to have very clear preamp sections. Electrostats are extremely revealing IMO.

Please play with placement, big time, and particularly with space from the front boundary, as well as possible absorption on front wall.

 

[dem beats]

I am confused, dem beats. You don't need amps, do you?

You should look into your hybrid speaker design, and how that reacts with Audyssey or YPAO. There might be some phase issue, as essentially half your speaker is dipole (they might have the woofer out of phase on purpose? oh I hope I don't worry you for no reason, I could be way off there).

I also think the value of an Audyssey purchase declines with the fewer speakers there are, and two speakers would be pretty much the minimum.

I guess I'd look for SNR specs and such, between the two, and I know Yammys are supposed to have very clear preamp sections. Electrostats are extremely revealing IMO.

Amp is built right in so no I don't need amplification. I can power it through an amp however. Many reviewers found that there is a difference between the two methods. I haven't spent enough time A/Bing that theory to be sure.

They are revealing. It's almost hard to listen to poor recordings and some compressed music. For SNR the yamy's both list 100 DB and the marantz lists 102. THD is a bit more in analog on the Marantz but I am thinking it won't make much of a difference.

The "need" for a new AV receiver stems from the W wanting one, and she refuses to entertain the zone 2 option from the z7. She can then plug in her Ipod, laptop, PS3, cable box, CD player, and now apparently she found some records she wants a turn table for. Yeesh. I require it to be a networking device, so that's the reason I end up looking at the higher level gear.

Please play with placement, big time, and particularly with space from the front boundary, as well as possible absorption on front wall.

Everyday I re evaluate the speakers position with put raw left and right source. From the laptop or CD, with no receiver or amp in the way. This is THE biggest factor for any speaker IMHO and it's just made that much more apparent with the Logan's. I got the go ahead from the W to put in some room treatments also.