Digital vs Non Digital Receivers - Need Help

[Tu Kewl]

I am in the market for my first surround system (I know I'm out of date). I'm trying to do my research and I am now at odds weather I want to get a digital system such as the Sony Dream systems or going with a put it together yourself system starting with (what I call) an analog receiver (the bigger bulkier ones)

Now ignoring all the bells and whistles that come with each (such as 1080p passthrough or digital media ports, or even the number of connections, etc), will there be any difference in the quality of sound produced by each of these?

For my particular situation, I am living is a small condo and don't need the system pumping out huge wattage, but I want to be able to experience the whole range of sounds and not want to sacrifice quality. The system will be used almost exclusively for TV watching anyways.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[jcPanny]

HT system

If you are willing to take the time to read a few articles and posts on this forum, then buying a receiver and seperate speakers and sub is a good option.

You will get better sound quality from a receiver and quality bookshelf speakers than a Sony HTIB.

Post some info about your budget and room and you will get plenty of suggestions.

 

[markw]

First off, HT is digital. Any receiver than can provide a multi-channel HT experience is a "digital" receiver. Analog receivers do two channel stereo and are incressingly more difficult to find.

Secondly, a lot depends on your price range, and what's available where you are. Here in New Jersey in the USA I have quite a selection from dirt cheap to insanely expensive and, in many cases, the quality of sound shows what you've spent.

So, with these tidbits in mind, you wanna repost your question?

 

[Tu Kewl]

Thanks for the clarification. I'm an audio newb and not up to date on the terminology or the theory.

First, I know there are probably better companies to buy audio equipment from, but I will probably end up getting Sony because I can get quite a large discount as I have a relative that works there.

Now on to my clarifications.
I'm looking to spend in the range of 500-1100 CAD (yes, I'm in Canada), and will only be purchasing the 5 speaker + sub combo because it will be for a 12x16 room in a condo and I don't need those extra 2 speakers for a 7.1 system.
My primary uses will be for watching TV, with a little music on the side, and a place to connect my Wii and DVD player (assuming I don't get the htib system).

The products I'm limited to are all on the www.sonystyle.ca site.

My questions are:

1) What is the proper term for the 'thin' receivers?
2) What is the proper term for the 'bigger bulkier' receivers?
3) I realize that HTib are complete systems, but what are the main differences between the two other than amount of connections and other bells and whistles?
4) If there is a quality difference between the two types of receivers, will I notice a difference watching movies in a condo at a moderate volume?
5) I'm not interested how loud a system can go. I am interested in the best quality of sound. By that I mean being able to distinguish the lows and the highs and hearing all the different frequencies that go into a sound byte. I just want to watch a movie and be able to hear everything (of course limited to my budget). Will either, in general, give better quality?

I am trying to look through the threads posted, but so far have not come across the answer to my question, partly because I don't know the proper terminology.

Thanks for the help.
TK

 

[jake5717]

I think what you're asking is what is the difference between Digital Amps and Analog Amps........I don't know the answer but someone here does.

....and maybe you'll get something from this http://www.audioholics.com/education/amplifier-technology/the-truth-about-digital-class-d-amplifiers

 

[Tu Kewl]

I think what you're asking is what is the difference between Digital Amps and Analog Amps........I don't know the answer but someone here does.

....and maybe you'll get something from this http://www.audioholics.com/education/amplifier-technology/the-truth-about-digital-class-d-amplifiers

I'm not sure if the terms I'm using are correct and on that link I don't see any pictures.
I'd post a link but I cant because I don't have a high enough post count.
I will as soon as I reach 5 posts.

 

[avaserfi]

What is the proper term for the 'thin' receivers?
2) What is the proper term for the 'bigger bulkier' receivers?
3) I realize that HTib are complete systems, but what are the main differences between the two other than amount of connections and other bells and whistles?
4) If there is a quality difference between the two types of receivers, will I notice a difference watching movies in a condo at a moderate volume?
5) I'm not interested how loud a system can go. I am interested in the best quality of sound. By that I mean being able to distinguish the lows and the highs and hearing all the different frequencies that go into a sound byte. I just want to watch a movie and be able to hear everything (of course limited to my budget). Will either, in general, give better quality?

1&2) With the thin receivers you might be thinking of an audio/video processor. These are generally thinner because they do not supply any power to the speakers they let the amp do that job. Also, you might be thinking of HTiB set ups. Those are generally thinner because they are designed for style of substance.
3) If you decide to go the HTiB route you will probably have a much easier solution but the quality for the money spent will be noticeably different. The biggest thing I have noticed even with higher end HTiB systems are the terrible sub that come with them.
4) Loudness does not equal sound quality. You will almost always get more clear sound from putting your system together from separates (if done right).

 

[mtrycrafts]

I am in the market for my first surround system (I know I'm out of date). I'm trying to do my research and I am now at odds weather I want to get a digital system such as the Sony Dream systems or going with a put it together yourself system starting with (what I call) an analog receiver (the bigger bulkier ones)

Now ignoring all the bells and whistles that come with each (such as 1080p passthrough or digital media ports, or even the number of connections, etc), will there be any difference in the quality of sound produced by each of these?

For my particular situation, I am living is a small condo and don't need the system pumping out huge wattage, but I want to be able to experience the whole range of sounds and not want to sacrifice quality. The system will be used almost exclusively for TV watching anyways.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

Speakers are the primary components that affect sound quality in combination with the room's acoustic characteristics.
HTIB is simple to get and put together. You are also looking at a great price, certainly hard not to go with such a system and you do live in a condo and have a small room. For your first setup, I'd recommend this, especially with the expected purchase price you would have.
With a bit more research and most likely more $$, you could also put together better speakers and a receiver to drive it. Perhaps, over time, more experience this would be in order at a different home in the future?

 

[Seth=L]

I think MDS is on the right track, the speakers dictate the sound the most.

There are some problems with the Sony Dream system HTIAB, in my opinion. The satellite(small) speakers are cosmetically OK and maybe about the same SQ(sound quality) as Bose (not a good standard). A full size speaker, even a bookshelf speaker like the Insignia speakers offered at Best Buy have better SQ than Bose or Sony satellites. Secondly, the connectors on Sony Dream system receiver/dvd player units are proprietary, meaning they can only be connected (ideally) to the supplied speakers or the supplied wires. Third, the powered woofer is less than third-rate in my opinion.

I have a couple questions, do you have a DVD player? Do you already have some speakers, if so what are they? If you have a subwoofer you could list that as well (I assume you don't have one yet)

Getting some full size fronts from Athena for around $300 would have better overall sound and bass output than the Dream system. You could easily buy surrounds and a center channel as well (a small pair of bookshelf speakers and a center speaker for another $300-400. That leaves another $300-$400 for a decent and much more powerful receiver from Yamaha, Pioneer, Onkyo, or Sony if you can get a very good discount, the Sony STR-DG1000 comes to mind. Other good receivers would be the Yamaha HTR-5960 (same as RX-V659 which you could also get), Onkyo TX-SR604, 674, 605 are all possibilities.

Good luck.

 

[MDS]

To help a little with terminology, usually when people say 'digital receiver' that is meant as shorthand for 'digital switching amplifier' as opposed to traditional receivers/amps that use analog amplifiers. As noted above by markw, all receivers nowadays are 'digital' in that they accept digital signals and process them in the digital domain (they even accept analog inputs and convert them to digital for processing) but the amplification stages are still analog.

 

[Tu Kewl]

Thanks for trying to help an audio doofus out.

What I meant by thin and bulkier receivers are the following:

Thin receiver - The receivers that come with a HTIB system.
Bigger bulkier receiver - The one pictured in Seth=L's sig

I don't know what these are called (unless they are both called receivers), and why the HTIB ones are so much thinner. Why are HTIB systems now moving to these types of receivers, when in general, the ones pictured in Seth=L's sig do a better job (from what I'm interpreting this thread as saying)?

Every component I buy (speakers, sub, etc) will be from Sony because of this discount I can get which translates anywhere between a 40%-50% discount.

I will be purchasing the receiver/speakers/subs together as I don't currently own any, but will be Sony. So essentially I can get their higher end speakers at a price equivalent to lower end stuff.

What I do own is a dvd player and a wii, which will be the only 2 things I will be connecting to this system.

The whole point of my thread is to determine if it is better for me to get a HTIB or put a system together myself (all Sony), with a budget between 600-1000 MSRP (in Canadian dollars). Example: should I buy a $1000 MSRP sony dream system, or buy a $500 receiver, $400 speakers, and a $100 sub (just generalizing, not actual prices).

 

[Seth=L]

Well the budget should probably go toward the speakers more than the receiver. How much can you get the Sony STR-DG1000 for? If you can't get it for under $400 I would go for a lower model like the STR-DG801. For speakers, you could get Sony home speakers, which aren't the personal favorite of most people, but they are still much better than the Sony Dream system speakers.

The thin receivers use a different type of amplifier (Class D switching) which are lighter and cheaper to manufacture. The primary problem with HTIAB is the inability to upgrade, with a seperate receiver you can upgrade later as money allows. Buying seperates will have a better cost/benifit ratio.

 

[Tu Kewl]

Seth=L,

Thanks for helping. Unfortunately I am limited to Sony Canada products, and the STR-DG1000 is not available in Canada.
I can get the STR-DG910, STR-DG810, or STR-DG710 here for about a 40% discount off the MSRP (in Canadian $s).

I havn't compared the specs between the two, but I will, only problem being that specs can only tell you so much.

But I wasn't aware that HTIB can only use the supplied speakers. I think (though I don't know) that speakers are pretty much a technology that stays relatively stable (unlike computers), so getting good/decent speakers now can only help when the receiver is out of date and I only need to upgrade that.

If anybody is interested, the products I an considering are located in the following links:
Receivers
http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/servlet/CategoryDisplays?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10001&categoryId=32104&navigationPath=33000n32100
Speakers/Woofers
http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/servlet/CategoryDisplays?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10001&categoryId=32105&navigationPath=33000n32100
HTIB (which seems to be on the outs)
http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/servlet/CategoryDisplays?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=10001&categoryId=33247&navigationPath=33000

I must purchase something from this inventory.