Help setting up home theater with Panasonic CT-32HX42 and Aiwa NSX-V70

[JBElliott]

I've posted this elsewhere, so for give me for double posting and feel free to delete whichever post is in the less appropriate place.

Hi,

I've just moved into a new house with a big family room in which I'd like to set up a decent home theater with the equipment I already own (i.e. I just moved into a new house and don't have the cash to buy a good home theater system right now and I'm making do with what I've got).

For a television, I've got a Panasonic CT-32HX42 which is a decent HDTV ready 32" flat screen (http://reviews.cnet.com/Panasonic_CT...-20578356.html)
and for the audio I've got an Aiwa NSX-V70 (http://www.audioreview.com/cat/other..._2749crx.aspx).

Neither system is great, but the Panasonic has a good picture and the Aiwa has decent sound with DSP surround sound, BBE and so on.

I've read the simple introdcutions to setting up a home theater (e.g. this one: http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/speaker-setup-guidelines/home-theater-speaker-layout-an-essential-guide. php) but have a few questions about applying those ideas to the equipment I have.

Specifically, the Aiwa I have has no "center channel speaker" and no subwoofer. It does have to smaller surround sound speakers and two larger front speakers.

In my last house I had all four speakers on shelves about five feet high with the front speakers located above the corners of the television and the surround sound speakers a few feet further out from them, all along the same wall across from my couch. I had all kinds of problems hearing the dialog whenever I tried to use surround sound from the DVD player or from the television.

My question is mostly about the lack of the "center channel speaker." If I set things up in the standard configuration, front speakers above the television and surround sound speakers slightly behind the couch, then will this give a decent audio experience? Will I be able to have all the nice surround sound effects and hear the dialog?

In the past I've been disabling the speakers on the television, but I could enable those. If I did that, would they act as the "center channel speaker?"

Additionally, is there a best configuration of sound settings on the DVD player, stereo system and television? Each seems to have a few different settings; e.g. surround on/off, BBE on/off etc.

Any advice is welcome. Thanks.

Jim
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[mulester7]

My question is mostly about the lack of the "center channel speaker." If I set things up in the standard configuration, front speakers above the television and surround sound speakers slightly behind the couch, then will this give a decent audio experience? Will I be able to have all the nice surround sound effects and hear the dialog?

In the past I've been disabling the speakers on the television, but I could enable those. If I did that, would they act as the "center channel speaker?"

.....JBElliot, I think about all anyone here can say is, jump right in the thick middle of it....the only person you need to please is JBElliot....but....you'll want to work toward at least 5.1.....

.....I hooked up TV sound one time for a friend, and he used the built-in speaker-system of this TV he bought that was big as a fairly large entertainment center, that might have had 7-10 watts rms total both sides, usually the case....but, it had quite decent midrange out of it's own speakers....I ran the signals from the TV to his receiver which pushed two Klipsch Heresy's, sweet, this is the Heritage Line member I prefer and would want at least four of....anyhow, I had to disable the cassette deck to bring in the TV signals, but he said they never used it, so then I ripped the treble and bass tone controls all the way up full on only the receiver, and brought the volume of the receiver up slowly....the speakers in the TV doing the mids mainly, literally came to life, and the overall effect was amazing as we watched live NBA action with tennis shoes squeaking and "live" sounding crowd roars....it was like adding two XXXX eq's, took me back, seriously.....anyhow, try the TV as center speaker, Jim, sure.....but still....work toward at least 5.1 with quality components, with a main's regiment, (important coming), "that stays within matching presence, and is properly damped".....

 

[JBElliott]

.........anyhow, try the TV as center speaker, Jim, sure.....but still....work toward at least 5.1 with quality components and speakers, important, that stay within matching presence.....

Thanks for the tips. In the long run, I'd like to replace everything, but in the short term I'll arrange things in the standard 5.1 configuration and then play around with things to see how good (or just not bad) I can make it.

 

[mulester7]

Thanks for the tips. In the long run, I'd like to replace everything, but in the short term I'll arrange things in the standard 5.1 configuration and then play around with things to see how good (or just not bad) I can make it.

.....good deal....tell us how it works out.....