Brief story on my upgrade woes and newbie with some basic new system questions

[zerobane]

hello,

First off, thanks for the excellent website, one of the best resources for audio information that i have come across.

I started upgrading my system about 2 months ago. I had some 90's vintage infinty towers, super cheap panasonic surrounds, yamaha htr receiver and a sony sub.

Being the typical newbie buyer i started with the bose acousticrap system. I was sorely disappointed, felt like i took a step backwards. Everyone raves about bose, and the price is high so they must be good, right? hehe I dont think these things even played any midrange, compared to my very tired tower they sounded horrible.

At this point i decided a little research may be a good idea.

I then found the high end audio room hidden in the back of worst buy. I fell in love with bug-eyed styled mirages with there tiny foot print and picked that system up for around 800 center+4 speakers. Music was some of the best i've ever heard but the movie surround was somewhat disappointing. The mirages seem to have a huge soundfield due to there 360 design, combined with my cathedral styled room, caused some somewhat strange movie surround effects. Very hard to pinpoint anything that was happening around you. Also the tiny sats once again fall a little short of towers, as to be expected of course.

Another 10 min wait in the best buy return line.

I then happened to go over to circuit city. They had some KEF iq3 and iq5 on a clearance rack at the back of store. I knew KEF's were regarded as high end audio but had no idea on there product line. 15 mins of mulling i decided to risk it. Man was i glad i did!!!

They had
kef iq3's for $180
kef iq5 tower each at $150
then grabbed a Boston Acoustics VR center for $80

I rushed home and plugged in speakers and was completely blown away!! Audio was unbelievable, started with a couple live concert cd's, it was like being there! Then moved on to the movies, it was like hearing a completely different movie, its amazing how much audio I was missing...

Although now im finding all the other limitations of my system, like hearing the motor on the dvd player hum, cheap wires being wrapped around the 60hz power cords, etc...

Questions:

1.
As a audio newbie will i notice a big difference if upgrade the yamaha htr reciever? note: Most of my audio is used for howard stern and movies...

2.
I get wierd bass noises (almost like a blown sub), is a sub a sub? Are the high end subs needed with the iq5's? Should i just got through the articles on sub postioning and tuning with towers? (already printed them Or should the sony 250 watt 10 inch sub be on the list of first things to go?

3.
Is the sound level thingie from radio shack a must have for tuning? Should i buy a better one?

4.
Any reason speaker connections are not soldered and shrink tubed, just a ease thing? Coming from a electric rc car world, if its not soldered its not a good connection. Relying on a screw in connector seems kind of hodgey.

5.
why do bose cost so much?

Thanks for help!!

 

[Alex2507]

3. Yes

4. You can tin the ends of the speaker wire.

5. They need the money.

 

[mike c]

2. yes, the sony sub should go

5. because they spend a lot on marketing. marketing costs more than actual research and development.

 

[jcPanny]

HT Upgrades

After you upgrade the sub, look for a matching Kef center for future upgrade.

What is your current receiver? Those speakers should be pretty easy to drive. Upgrade if you get into BluRay and need HDMI audio features.

 

[trnqk7]

I did a "bass test" on my sony 12" sub last night...it's pathetic. It drops off almost completely below 60hz and has a pretty serious dip after 80-100hz. In short, it sucks. I second that suggestion that it should quick on the list of things to go. If only I didn't need a deck and a fence for the yard right now....

 

[Halon451]

It sounds like you've already pretty much answered your own questions.

I'd get rid of the crappy Sony sub - those things don't hold a candle to more serious subwoofers. Go up to the subwoofers section to get some insight on what's some of the best out there at your price point.

Bose... what can be said that hasn't been said already. God bless the armies of uninformed consumers that keeps them afloat, I guess. I'm sorry you had to find out the hard way.

 

[croseiv]

I did a "bass test" on my sony 12" sub last night...it's pathetic. It drops off almost completely below 60hz and has a pretty serious dip after 80-100hz. In short, it sucks. I second that suggestion that it should quick on the list of things to go. If only I didn't need a deck and a fence for the yard right now....

Wow man, that's not much bass at all. You'll be happy with an SVS sub for sure!

 

[Midcow2]

Answer to questions

hello,

Questions:

1.
As a audio newbie will i notice a big difference if upgrade the yamaha htr reciever? note: Most of my audio is used for howard stern and movies...

2.
I get wierd bass noises (almost like a blown sub), is a sub a sub? Are the high end subs needed with the iq5's? Should i just got through the articles on sub postioning and tuning with towers? (already printed them Or should the sony 250 watt 10 inch sub be on the list of first things to go?

3.
Is the sound level thingie from radio shack a must have for tuning? Should i buy a better one?

4.
Any reason speaker connections are not soldered and shrink tubed, just a ease thing? Coming from a electric rc car world, if its not soldered its not a good connection. Relying on a screw in connector seems kind of hodgey.

5.
why do bose cost so much?

Thanks for help!!

1. Biggest difference is in speakers. Ugrading AVR will not cuase a dramatic improvement.

2. SVS and Hsu make great subs from $399-$1699. When you get the money you might want to consider upgrading your sub.

3. It depends. Does you current AVR have a microphone calibration mode? You new AVR might and that with some personal preference sound level adjustments can improve you sound. There are also calibration disks for around $35. Some people like to tune using Sound Pressure Levels (SPL) and with you catherderal celilings you might benefit.

4. Yes tinning leads or soldering tis the correct way to do it. You can also buy a good cable, such as bluejeans cables with bananna plugs. All cables use copper wire, the better cables have durability and good end connectors.

5. Marketing Marketing Marketing. Bose hase use a few variations of the same name for over 40 years. The marketing is repeative and someoen at some time has heard of Bose. Instead of research and technical development, Bose has spent their money on advertising and name branding.