New sound for tv.

[crazyfingers]

I actually was more thinking of the manuals for tvs and avrs, but how about this for the sub? https://rslspeakers.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/RSL-Speedwoofer-10S-Owners-manual-Incl-AT3.pdf

I'm one of those people who never buys anything more than $20 without first reading the user manual.

 

[crazyfingers]

Is there a reason to prefer optical vs HDMI Arc when connecting a powered speaker to a TV? My LG TV has both.

 

[lovinthehd]

I'm one of those people who never buys anything more than $20 without first reading the user manual.

I tend to read manuals first, too...

Is there a reason to prefer optical vs HDMI Arc when connecting a powered speaker to a TV? My LG TV has both.

HDMI ARC (rather than eARC) generally has no advantage over optical, they'll both pass back lossy multich audio back to the receiver. eARC can provide lossless multich audio, tho (but for 2.1 that wouldn't matter). Don't think there are many powered speakers that take hdmi, tho (or ARC enabled for that matter).

 

[crazyfingers]

Thanks. Looks like the TV has an ARC/eARC in addition to optical.

Just trying to understand my options.

 

[isolar8001]

We went to Best Buy and it was a shambles! I didn't expect much but usually Best Buy is better than Walmart. What a mess. At least it was on the way.

Then we went to my old stereo store. I listened to the Bluesound Soundbar and I didn't think that it was a lot better than what I have. I can put subs on them but now it's up to $1500 and I don't know that I want to spend that for maybe 4 times a year. I don't know but for $7xx I think that they put a lot of cost into the Bluesound part and the actual sound is not better than a $500 soundbar.

I listened to some self-powered psb bookshelf speakers and they were good but need a sub which they can attach. They do take optical inputs and are self=powered. $7xx + the sub and I'm up there again.

I also looked at a basic receiver and speakers but I have to think.... 99.9% of the time I'm watching DVDs or Bluerays of movies or TV shows. I don't know that bookshelf speakers are really the answer for the 99.9% of the time I'm listening to dialog.

I need to think about this.

I kinda figured that's the situation you would encounter....given the size of the drivers in soundbars with the limited airspace available, you are going to "hit the limit" of what can be done pretty quickly.
Some might be a little cleaner or have a different sound signature, but they are all going to end up with a similar sound....that is, they can only do so much.
That's why when you go up in price for soundbars the Atmos trickery goes into effect...dazzle them with bull$hit.

 

[Trebdp83]

Optical is limited to lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 here. ARC will support lossy Atmos/Dolby Digital Plus and eARC will support lossless Atmos/Dolby TrueHD and multichannel PCM.

 

[crazyfingers]

Optical is limited to lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 here. ARC will support lossy Atmos/Dolby Digital Plus and eARC will support lossless Atmos/Dolby TrueHD and multichannel PCM.

See this is where my giant gaps in knowledge exist. I know the different music file formats and which are lossy vs lossless and bit rates, etc.. I know what computer devices have what speeds etc and I'm very good with computers.

But Almos vs TrueHD, ARC, eARC are all terms I need to google. As someone who likes a 2 channel world, these all seem overboard to me and I wonder why a fiber optic cable can't shove plenty of data fast. I probably only know enough to be dangerous.

 

[lovinthehd]

See this is where my giant gaps in knowledge exist. I know the different music file formats and which are lossy vs lossless and bit rates, etc.. I know what computer devices have what speeds etc and I'm very good with computers.

But Almos vs TrueHD, ARC, eARC are all terms I need to google. As someone who likes a 2 channel world, these all seem overboard to me and I wonder why a fiber optic cable can't shove plenty of data fast. I probably only know enough to be dangerous.

Atmos can come in both lossless and lossy versions, like was said the ARC hdmi is capable of lossy 7.1 Atmos (via Dolby Digital Plus), whereas the eARC can handle a lossless version. Dolby Digital Plus is the main one used by streaming services, tho. To get lossless into a tv you generally need to plug a bluray player (ps or a gaming console, not something I use) into the tv. True HD is a compressed but lossless 7.1 codec. ARC just means an audio channel going back to something like a receiver (or some bluray players) from a tv, using tv sourced audio, which is generally limited. For a 2ch system it won't mean much either way.

 

[isolar8001]

See this is where my giant gaps in knowledge exist. I know the different music file formats and which are lossy vs lossless and bit rates, etc.. I know what computer devices have what speeds etc and I'm very good with computers.

But Almos vs TrueHD, ARC, eARC are all terms I need to google. As someone who likes a 2 channel world, these all seem overboard to me and I wonder why a fiber optic cable can't shove plenty of data fast. I probably only know enough to be dangerous.

In your situation just using a soundbar for 2 channel, optical will work fine........set your audio on your set to PCM to get a nice even volume with a 2 channel downmix if you use optical.

 

[crazyfingers]

I've been giving this a lot of thought.

What do you think of this solution.

A pair of psb Alpha AM3 powered speakers and an Alpha S8 powered subwoofer.
549.00 + $549= $1100+tax

They will go into standby after 20 minutes of inactivity. There are different settings for:

Standard Stereo
Widesound Expanded
Dialogue Enhanced Dialogue Clarity
WideSound™ Plus Expanded Soundstage with Enhanced Dialogue Clarity

The speakers are small enough to fit sideways on the shelf under the TV or I can experiment spreading them out more. The sub can go almost anywhere of course but probably where the current one sits.

Alpha AM3 Compact Powered Speakers - PSB Speakers

The AM3 is a compact home music system that connects to virtually any device, wired or wirelessly, and delivers bold stereo sound for everything you enjoy, from vinyl to music streaming.

www.psbspeakers.com

Alpha S8 – 8" Subwoofer - PSB Speakers

PSB has been making critically-acclaimed speakers for more than 45 years and are especially famous for speakers that deliver high bang for the buck. The Alpha S8 will astound with adding lifelike realism for both music and movies to PSB speakers or any high performance speaker.

www.psbspeakers.com

 

[isolar8001]

I've been giving this a lot of thought.

What do you think of this solution.

A pair of psb Alpha AM3 powered speakers and an Alpha S8 powered subwoofer.
549.00 + $549= $1100+tax

They will go into standby after 20 minutes of inactivity. There are different settings for:

Standard Stereo
Widesound Expanded
Dialogue Enhanced Dialogue Clarity
WideSound™ Plus Expanded Soundstage with Enhanced Dialogue Clarity

The speakers are small enough to fit sideways on the shelf under the TV or I can experiment spreading them out more. The sub can go almost anywhere of course but probably where the current one sits.

Alpha AM3 Compact Powered Speakers - PSB Speakers

The AM3 is a compact home music system that connects to virtually any device, wired or wirelessly, and delivers bold stereo sound for everything you enjoy, from vinyl to music streaming.

www.psbspeakers.com

Alpha S8 – 8" Subwoofer - PSB Speakers

PSB has been making critically-acclaimed speakers for more than 45 years and are especially famous for speakers that deliver high bang for the buck. The Alpha S8 will astound with adding lifelike realism for both music and movies to PSB speakers or any high performance speaker.

www.psbspeakers.com

Looks nice, PSB is pretty well regarded.....hefty price for an 8 inch sub, but that's probably due to being smaller.
Light years beyond your soundbar or any new soundbar.

 

[crazyfingers]

It's funny that it wasn't until Jan 2021 that I truly realized how crappy the speakers are on most flat screen TVs. We were slow to adopt frat screen.

But I was spending a week at my parent's unoccupied house. My dad had died 2 years before and my mom was in assisted living and she tested positive for Covid the day after I had spent about 2 hours visiting her in her room, with a mask. I went to their house old house to protect my family and my parents still had a huge boxy CRT TV. I had brought some movies on DVD and was hearing soft dialog on that old TV that I never heard on my flat screen.

I never got the Covid from her probably because of my mask but I came home determined to get better sound on my flat screen.

 

[crazyfingers]

Been thinking about this all day today. The shop is closed Sundays and Mondays but I expect to go over Tuesday and get them unless something goes wrong.

I could order online but I like this store and they do have a 2 week no questions asked, full refund policy if I'm not completely happy.

 

[Kingnoob]

I've been giving this a lot of thought.

What do you think of this solution.

A pair of psb Alpha AM3 powered speakers and an Alpha S8 powered subwoofer.
549.00 + $549= $1100+tax

They will go into standby after 20 minutes of inactivity. There are different settings for:

Standard Stereo
Widesound Expanded
Dialogue Enhanced Dialogue Clarity
WideSound™ Plus Expanded Soundstage with Enhanced Dialogue Clarity

The speakers are small enough to fit sideways on the shelf under the TV or I can experiment spreading them out more. The sub can go almost anywhere of course but probably where the current one sits.

Alpha AM3 Compact Powered Speakers - PSB Speakers

The AM3 is a compact home music system that connects to virtually any device, wired or wirelessly, and delivers bold stereo sound for everything you enjoy, from vinyl to music streaming.

www.psbspeakers.com

Alpha S8 – 8" Subwoofer - PSB Speakers

PSB has been making critically-acclaimed speakers for more than 45 years and are especially famous for speakers that deliver high bang for the buck. The Alpha S8 will astound with adding lifelike realism for both music and movies to PSB speakers or any high performance speaker.

www.psbspeakers.com

Looks like quality stuff , it’s only a matter of how good you think it sounds . Micro sub looks good quality, 8” is small but some can get pretty loud right??
I mean full systems are expensive, why not try out something smaller.

 

[crazyfingers]

Looks like quality stuff , it’s only a matter of how good you think it sounds . Micro sub looks good quality, 8” is small but some can get pretty loud right??
I mean full systems are expensive, why not try out something smaller.

It's kinda a bimodal thing. The Samsung soundbar and sub I have now are good 99% of the time for TV or dvd/blueray movies that I don't turn up louder than i need.

But the maybe 4 times a year that i want to livestream a live concert on nugs the soundbar doesnt quite make me happy. These concerts are a party for me and my 20 year old sons. I think that these psb items will do nicely for concerts but not overkill when I watch TV or a Dvd/bluray movie.

 

[Kingnoob]

It's kinda a bimodal thing. The Samsung soundbar and sub I have now are good 99% of the time for TV or dvd/blueray movies that I don't turn up louder than i need.

But the maybe 4 times a year that i want to livestream a live concert on nugs the soundbar doesnt quite make me happy. These concerts are a party for me and my 20 year old sons. I think that these psb items will do nicely for concerts but not overkill when I watch TV or a Dvd/bluray movie.

Ahh I see I set my systems up for overkill , sadly I can’t move my best 15” sub downstairs to my new tv room . It’s parents house so I can’t make anyone move the elliptical somewhere else so I can put my sub there. So I’m using two 10” cHeaper subs and man there boomy , sound quality sometimes lacking . That psb sub is higher quality but smaller then my 10” . One is a jamo ..
I use towers as fronts in 2 systems , the other one is 4 bookshelves. But powered towers are rare , bookshelves are probably fine if you don’t listen louder . I never max out anything stuff gets way louder then I listen, towers win because I don’t gotta deal with speaker stands hehe.

 

[isolar8001]

Ahh I see I set my systems up for overkill , sadly I can’t move my best 15” sub downstairs to my new tv room . It’s parents house so I can’t make anyone move the elliptical somewhere else so I can put my sub there. So I’m using two 10” cHeaper subs and man there boomy , sound quality sometimes lacking . That psb sub is higher quality but smaller then my 10” . One is a jamo ..

Wow....

 

[crazyfingers]

So in anticipation of going to the shop tomorrow I've been studying the two manuals.

The powered speakers has these connections on the back. The key is that it has one Sub-Out. None of the documentation mention LFE on the powered speakers.

Powered Speaker back

Below is the back of the powered subwoofer. It has low level RCA left and right inputs. Neither is labeled LFE but it has LFE controls. Do I need a single mono RCA cable to split to two mono RCA for Left and right or can I simply run a single RCA from Sub-Out on the speaker to one or the other (left or Right) on the subwoofer?

It's maddening when stuff has pathetic documentation but it's become the norm.

 

[everettT]

So in anticipation of going to the shop tomorrow I've been studying the two manuals.

The powered speakers has these connections on the back. The key is that it has one Sub-Out. None of the documentation mention LFE on the powered speakers.

Powered Speaker back
View attachment 61742

Below is the back of the powered subwoofer. It has low level RCA left and right inputs. Neither is labeled LFE but it has LFE controls. Do I need a single mono RCA cable to split to two mono RCA for Left and right or can I simply run a single RCA from Sub-Out on the speaker to one or the other (left or Right) on the subwoofer?


View attachment 61743

It's maddening when stuff has pathetic documentation but it's become the norm.

You can just use a single cable.

 

[isolar8001]

So in anticipation of going to the shop tomorrow I've been studying the two manuals.

The powered speakers has these connections on the back. The key is that it has one Sub-Out. None of the documentation mention LFE on the powered speakers.

Powered Speaker back
View attachment 61742

Below is the back of the powered subwoofer. It has low level RCA left and right inputs. Neither is labeled LFE but it has LFE controls. Do I need a single mono RCA cable to split to two mono RCA for Left and right or can I simply run a single RCA from Sub-Out on the speaker to one or the other (left or Right) on the subwoofer?


View attachment 61743

It's maddening when stuff has pathetic documentation but it's become the norm.

Yes, you can use just a single cable....on an RSL sub, the left input is used when using a single cable input....not sure is PSB is doing the same.