A Speaker Setup to Make You Cringe

[ehead]

Hi everybody,

I just got my Yamaha HTR-5860 and am very happy with it.

As I am grossly underpaid, I have sort of had to piece together my system slowely, using hand-me-downs where possible. Right now I only have a 2 speaker (stereo) system .... 2 Sony 6 ohm bookshelf speakers from an old Sony "shelf" stereo.

I have 2 6.3 ohm floor speakers from my first stereo system ever (a panasonic component system circa 1986). I thought of using these as the fronts, and switching the Sony's to the surround.

I can grab a center speaker from another "shelf" stereo that broke. I'm not sure what it's impedence is.

I was thinking I could just buy a sub and have 5.1 !
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Some notes:
I primarily use this system as a stereo system ... the cinema 5.1 experience is secondary.
I don't listen to music very loud anymore.
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My questions are:

Is it ok to mix n match like this ?
I thought of going out and buying 2 nice new 8 ohm speakers and a subwoofer, since I usually just listen to music. But I'm worried when in 5.1 mode with the 6 ohm speakers things might go haywire.

I was also thinking of setting up 2 "B channel" speakers for my room/bathroom, and it's no telling where i will get these from or what their impedance might be.

Would I be better off just buying some nice 8 ohms and a sub, and listen to 2.1 ? Wait a while till I have more money.

Can I damage my amp by having such a wacky speaker setup ?

Also, this Yamaha tells you to configure the system for 8 ohm or 4 ohm when first setting it up. The manual says:

Set to 4 ohm if:
Your center and all surround are 6 ohm or higher ! (yeap, that's 6).
Your fronts are 4 ohm or higher, if you use only one set.
Your fronts are 8 ohm or higher (you use 2 sets .... A and B, presummably both simultaneouslY).

Set to 8 ohm if:
If only using one set of fronts - they are all 8 ohms or higher.
If using 2 fronts, they need to be 16 ohms ! Holy smoke. I didn't even know there were 16 ohm speakers.

From looking at this, it looks like right now I should have the yammy set to 4 ohm.


To make things even more complicated, I can see myself having front channel B speakers at a different impedence than my front channel A.

I simply can't afford 7 new speakers and a sub !

Any advice welcome.

 

[ehead]

Sorry, I really screwed up.

Not only did I post this twice somehow, it should be in another forum too, hee hee.

Maybe an admin can fix that.

cheers,
e

 

[jcPanny]

Speaker setup

Ehead,
I just got the same receiver and I am also piecing together a speaker setup. Concerning your next purchase, I would recommend saving for a decent set of front channel speakers like the Axiom M22ti bookshelfs or M60 floorstanders. Since HT is secondary, a set of floorstanding speakers like the M60s will allow you to hold off on the sub purchase and provide great, full range sound for stereo listening. Bookshelf speakers can be setup to work with the sub for both stereo and HT listening on your Yamaha.

While tonally matched speakers (built by same manufacturer) is ideal for HT, your receiver has an automatic EQ will will attempt to account for some of the differences in your mismatched speaker setup.

Audioholics recommends keeping the receiver on the 8 ohm setting (with 1 set of fronts) regaurdless of the speaker setup. As long as you don't buy any inefficient 4 ohm speakers, the Yamaha will have plenty of power.

I also plan to use the A/B speaker connections to power speakers in other rooms. However, I will use A or B (not both) to prevent from taxing the receiver. If you want to drive 2 sets of fronts, you will need to use the 4 ohm setting and your Stereo and HT performance will suffer. For powering remote speakers simultaneously, the best option is to use the Record (pre-amp) Output and connect to an inexpensive 2 channel amp to power speakers in one or more rooms.

 

[Daz3d&Confus3d]

the nice thing about speakers is that a nice set can last you a really long time, thus making your invested money more worthwhile....much more so than electronic components, e.g. receivers, dvd players, etc.

You may want to consider just saving your money for a few months and then buying a decent cost affordable set of towers, that'll enable you to get by without a sub for a while.....though you may not have the really low frequencies (below 40)....you'll still be able to experience good sound quality for music and have a good start for HT....then add your center and use your current speakers for surrounds until you're able to upgrade them down the road!

That's always difficult when you want to buy now (like me being tempted to buy a cheaper sub than what I really want [SVS pb12]), but I think over the long haul you'll be glad you were patient and waited just a bit to save alittle more. I know I'm glad I did that with my receiver and fronts.

Audition some speakers at a local shop, find a set of surrounds that you like and then see what kind of deal they'll give you on the front three (towers or bookshelfs and a center)....never pay retail! get at least 10% off.... 15% would be nicer, 20% if you buy them all at the same time.....work them a bit, that price is negotible...or tell them you'll look elsewhere....they'll come down!

Get the best deal you can....(online retailers like Axiom are good as well....for low-to-mid price ranges). best of luck to you. Enjoy the shopping part....it's half the fun!!!!!!