eARC Connection Question

[lovinthehd]

I’m not naturally an electronic techy kind of guy, but I’m one who wants to know and understand everything. So I’ve been diving in and trying to digest and learn a lot on a short time. Inthink I’m starting to get overloaded from watching videos. I’m enjoying it, but wow there is a LOT to home audio, especially if you really want to get it right . I think it’s hard to become an audio expert overnight, haha!

Excellent approach, maybe not so much relying on videos, tho...many dubious sources of people who like their own image/voice more than what they actually know. This is a pretty good place to ask questions, and I highly encourage you to keep asking questions as you've been doing.....

 

[Rylan]

My wife isn’t a bass girl, and I have a 10 month old son. My wife is excited to have a theater room, and she had no clue how much time I’ve been educating myself with this. So I’m only starting with one sub. And I’m sure that will sound great. If I want to tone back the bass on the sub, will 80Hz be ideal Still? I hear the two numbers of 80 Hz but also 120 Hz. Am
I missing something there?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

What about using the apps on my Sony UBP X700 Blue-Ray player? Would this also be an option as an external steaming divice to give me the same quality you mentioned? It says the Sony X700 plays native 4K, plays Netflix in 4K and it also does these streaming options, AAC, PCM, and SACD. Or what about the Apple TV built into my QLED Samsung TV? I guess I’m not sure if that would be 4k. I need to look at my TVs manual. It’s a brand new TV. Bought if a few weeks ago. Getting the proper quality connectivity is not really in my wheelhouse

Yeah the apps in the x700 are pretty good. I have that player and really like it’s responsiveness and performance. There’s a long owners thread in avs chronicling freeze ups etc, but mine has only done that a few times. I pretty much only use it for BD and UHD as I’ve found the Apple TV 4K to be great.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

My wife isn’t a bass girl, and I have a 10 month old son. My wife is excited to have a theater room, and she had no clue how much time I’ve been educating myself with this. So I’m only starting with one sub. And I’m sure that will sound great. If I want to tone back the bass on the sub, will 80Hz be ideal Still? I hear the two numbers of 80 Hz but also 120 Hz. Am
I missing something there?

Well a crossover of 80 or 120 will depend on the capabilities of the other speakers. If they’re capable, then you can cross them lower. You may be thinking of the LFE channel( the .1 in 5/7.1) which has a frequency range of 1-120hz. Normally the LPF of lfe is se at 120 unless you have localization due to placement, and higher frequencies.

 

[lovinthehd]

My wife isn’t a bass girl, and I have a 10 month old son. My wife is excited to have a theater room, and she had no clue how much time I’ve been educating myself with this. So I’m only starting with one sub. And I’m sure that will sound great. If I want to tone back the bass on the sub, will 80Hz be ideal Still? I hear the two numbers of 80 Hz but also 120 Hz. Am
I missing something there?

As mentioned, you might be confusing a crossover vs the LFE LPF adjustment. Also the LPF on the sub itself should be maxed out if using bass management in the avr. Generally best way to reduce volume from a sub is to turn the sub trim level in the avr down a bit....or there are some features on some avrs to help limit low frequencies for others in the house like a compression routine (like Dynamic Volume, an Audyssey feature in the Denon you've got coming....forget what Onkyo calls theirs).

 

[Rylan]

All audio return channel does it take audio that originates in your tv/display and takes it back to the avr (ARC only capable of lossy codecs, eARC handling lossless). So if no audio from over-the-air, onboard tv apps, then it doesn't matter. Leaving it connected and a few settings changes and you can still use it if you want. I never changed mine from the ARC ports.....just don't use the audio from the tvs for a long time now.

Ok, so let’s say my wife wants to watch one of her favorite hallmark Christmas movies that she always watched through the TVs app but she wants to enjoy the AVRs speaker setup. What’s the best way then to do this. If using the TVs audio, The HDMI we need to be connected to the eARC? Or If she had an apple TV 4K, and had the app on there, that would give her a better audio experience? If she was using the app through the tv, then even if it’s connected to the eARC, I would need to go into the TV and change some settings to make it work correctly?

 

[Rylan]

Well a crossover of 80 or 120 will depend on the capabilities of the other speakers. If they’re capable, then you can cross them lower. You may be thinking of the LFE channel( the .1 in 5/7.1) which has a frequency range of 1-120hz. Normally the LPF of lfe is se at 120 unless you have localization due to placement, and higher frequencies.

ok! Looking back on my notes and the manual for my RSL Speedwoofer and things Gene has said, it looks like the crossover for my sub should be 80Hz and I’ll be using the LFE setting, but then I’m wondering, is there a separate bass setting done during calibration that is different from the crossover setting that I will set the Hz for? And that could potentially be 120 Hz?

 

[Rylan]

As mentioned, you might be confusing a crossover vs the LFE LPF adjustment. Also the LPF on the sub itself should be maxed out if using bass management in the avr. Generally best way to reduce volume from a sub is to turn the sub trim level in the avr down a bit....or there are some features on some avrs to help limit low frequencies for others in the house like a compression routine (like Dynamic Volume, an Audyssey feature in the Denon you've got coming....forget what Onkyo calls theirs).

Gene did review my exact speakers. I was able to find that video.

In this above video, around min 3:00 Gene says personally if I was doing this CG3 system,

CG23M 5.1 Home Theater Speaker System - RSL Speakers

rslspeakers.com

and I was only doing one sub. I would set the crossover on the bass at 80 Hz and then just set up the satellite speakers, but if you eventually add in a second sub, which I highly recommend, then I would set the crossover at 100 Hz. And then play both subs in the front of the room on the corners. If you do have a receiver that can control both subs independently, that’s one of the few times I recommend Stereo bass when you do a higher than 80 Hz crossover.”

• In the same above video, Gene says he gives the Speedwoofer 10S the Bassaholic Medium rating. (I have the Speedwoofer 10S MKII)

 

[Rylan]

Excellent approach, maybe not so much relying on videos, tho...many dubious sources of people who like their own image/voice more than what they actually know. This is a pretty good place to ask questions, and I highly encourage you to keep asking questions as you've been doing.....

I appreciate the support and that I can ask questions. I watched 99% of all my videos from 2 sources. Home Theater Guru who is all about speaker placement, he’s been great, and the others are all on Audiohilics channel. Those are my sources. Once I trust someone and see they are credible, I focus in on them. So I don’t have a lot of voices steering me many directions

 

[lovinthehd]

Gene did review my exact speakers. I was able to find that video.

In this above video, around min 3:00 Gene says personally if I was doing this CG3 system,

CG23M 5.1 Home Theater Speaker System - RSL Speakers

rslspeakers.com

and I was only doing one sub. I would set the crossover on the bass at 80 Hz and then just set up the satellite speakers, but if you eventually add in a second sub, which I highly recommend, then I would set the crossover at 100 Hz. And then play both subs in the front of the room on the corners. If you do have a receiver that can control both subs independently, that’s one of the few times I recommend Stereo bass when you do a higher than 80 Hz crossover.”

• In the same above video, Gene says he gives the Speedwoofer 10S the Bassaholic Medium rating. (I have the Speedwoofer 10S MKII)

Who are you quoting? Crossover on the bass? What does that mean? Stereo bass is not what independent sub management on avrs does either. Not much point to stereo subs in any case.

 

[Rylan]

Who are you quoting? Crossover on the bass? What does that mean? Stereo bass is not what independent sub management on avrs does either. Not much point to stereo subs in any case.

I wrote down what Gene was saying. I meant to write sub but wrote bass by accident. But if you listen to this video starting at min 3, that’s where I heard it. It’s only a min of listening

 

[lovinthehd]

I wrote down what Gene was saying. I meant to write sub but wrote bass by accident. But if you listen to this video starting at min 3, that’s where I heard it. It’s only a min of listening

OK up until he talks about stereo subs. I don't know what avr/pre-pro he's referring to that can do that with still providing bass management (using crossovers). All/most all of the dual sub capable avrs/pre-pros can do is set level/delay separately for the subs, but the sub output is a mono signal, not stereo.

ps with many setups to actually get stereo bass your subs need to share your L/R channels for the signals to be different....usually done by high level inputs on the subs and using speakers full range. Not a lot of stereo sub bass content out there otoh.

 

[Rylan]

OK up until he talks about stereo subs. I don't know what avr/pre-pro he's referring to that can do that with still providing bass management (using crossovers). All/most all of the dual sub capable avrs/pre-pros can do is set level/delay separately for the subs, but the sub output is a mono signal, not stereo.

ps with many setups to actually get stereo bass your subs need to share your L/R channels for the signals to be different....usually done by high level inputs on the subs and using speakers full range. Not a lot of stereo sub bass content out there otoh.

Ok! Sorry confuse you at first with writing bass my mistake. I only plan to use that one subwoofer for now anyways. So I’ll use the crossover at 80HZ. I did however look up the X4700H and I read somewhere saying that it does have 2 “independent” subwoofer outputs

 

[lovinthehd]

Ok! Sorry confuse you at first with writing bass my mistake. I only plan to use that one subwoofer for now anyways. So I’ll use the crossover at 80HZ. I did however look up the X4700H and I read somewhere saying that it does have 2 “independent” subwoofer outputs

Yes, the 4700 has two independent sub outputs, so you can separately adjust level/delay as needed (delay is expressed as distance in the avr), primarily to account for subs that aren't setup equidistant to your seat. I have an older Denon with that feature.

 

[BMXTRIX]

What about using the apps on my Sony UBP X700 Blue-Ray player? Would this also be an option as an external steaming divice to give me the same quality you mentioned? It says the Sony X700 plays native 4K, plays Netflix in 4K and it also does these streaming options, AAC, PCM, and SACD. Or what about the Apple TV built into my QLED Samsung TV? I guess I’m not sure if that would be 4k. I need to look at my TVs manual. It’s a brand new TV. Bought if a few weeks ago. Getting the proper quality connectivity is not really in my wheelhouse

Yes, but no.

Use your Blu-ray Disc player to play Blu-ray Discs (and DVDs). Don't ask it to do double duty as a top-notch streaming device. It's like using a small sedan to haul bricks. It can do it, but not well, and not in any way that makes you happy.

Instead, pick up a Roku Ultra, or a Apple TV 4K. Get a streaming device that was built, from day one, to do a GOOD job of streaming. The Roku Ultra can be had for just under $100. It's not terribly expensive.

Also, do NOT overspend on HDMI cables!!! Perfectly good slim, 4K capable HDMI cables can be had from Monoprice for under $10 a cable. I prefer their ultra-thin HDMI cables as they are lightweight and do a great job.

https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Certified-Premium-Ultra-Speed/dp/B074FFM8NH/ref=psdc_667846011_t2_B014ROOBVI?th=1

 

[Rylan]

Yes, but no.

Use your Blu-ray Disc player to play Blu-ray Discs (and DVDs). Don't ask it to do double duty as a top-notch streaming device. It's like using a small sedan to haul bricks. It can do it, but not well, and not in any way that makes you happy.

Instead, pick up a Roku Ultra, or a Apple TV 4K. Get a streaming device that was built, from day one, to do a GOOD job of streaming. The Roku Ultra can be had for just under $100. It's not terribly expensive.

Also, do NOT overspend on HDMI cables!!! Perfectly good slim, 4K capable HDMI cables can be had from Monoprice for under $10 a cable. I prefer their ultra-thin HDMI cables as they are lightweight and do a great job.

https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Certified-Premium-Ultra-Speed/dp/B074FFM8NH/ref=psdc_667846011_t2_B014ROOBVI?th=1

That’s a really great analogy. Makes sense. I did end up purchasing a couple HDMI’s from Monoprice when I purchased my 12 Guage speaker wire.
These are what I picked up. They were still close to that price. https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=42683

 

[Teetertotter?]

So is my best option to connect the AVR TO MY TV via the eARC HDMI’s, and then have all other devices HDMI’s connect to the AVR? Or is there a better option in regards to getting the best audio/video?

That is how my set-up has been since 2006 with Denon AVR's. When you use the TV with apps you use, the audio is fed back to the AVR and to the speakers. I have not had any issues. I would suggest buying HDMI certified cables.....IMO.

 

[gimpy]

I'm not sure exactly what you have set up. If you want to have a 5.1 system, then you run everything thru your avr. (I know nothing about how roku, Apple TV, etc. work, so, not talking about those devices). I also do not have earc in my system.

So, run your DVD/blue ray player, your direct TV and/or dish receiver all thru the avr (via hdmi). From your avr, you run a single hdmi cable (or, I assume earc) straight to your tv and it's arc/or earc connection. This will let you play your audio from these devices (DVD, direct TV) to your 5.1 speakers, as well as the video will show up on the TV. (You only need one arc out from the avr to the one arc input at the tv.)

The arc (earc?) is to run sound from your tv back thru the avr and out to your 5.1 speakers. You can also control the tv volume to the speakers with your tv remote this way.

My setup for years was (still is 5.1). Dvd, and direct TV went into the avr, then out to TV with hdmi. Earlier this year I did away with direct TV and now only stream from my smart(?) TV. So, to get 5.1 out my speakers when streaming TV, I had to redo my hdmi cable from my avr to the TV. I now use both arc connections instead of the regular hdmi connections. But, I don't know about earc. I only assume it's somehow similar without the physical connections?

 

[lovinthehd]

But, I don't know about earc. I only assume it's somehow similar without the physical connections?

eARC is just higher capability ARC, same cables (and some port limitations depending on gear, as well as higher speed cabling needed perhaps to accommodate both video and audio)....mostly allows lossless audio now instead of just lossy coming back from the tv itself.

 

[dianaermos]

When I setup my new AVR Onkyo RZ50 which supports eARC to my eARC supported QLED Samsung TV, will I want to make sure I only use the eARC ports to connect the two? ddos protection for vps provider At this point I don’t know much about eARC but I’m assuming this will give me the best foundation for starting my home theater audio setup. It looks as though I only have one supported eARC port on my TV

if you’re using the built in apps vs a streamer. I personally find streaming devices to be better overall, and you don’t have to worry about compressed audio