New to home theater, 5.1 not working

[limitup]

I'm new to home audio/theater and am not quite sure where to start with this question. I setup a basic 5.1 surround sound system using a Yamaha RX-V730 receiver with some Mirage speakers, etc.

The "problem" is that the 2 rear speakers don't seem to produce much output at all. Like when watching a movie, you literally can *never* hear anything from them.

I know the rear speakers shouldn't produce a whole lot of output, but shouldn't you be able to hear something from them every now and then?

I know they are working because if I put my ear right next to them you *can* hear them. So I am thinking that maybe the output level for those 2 speakers is just too low or something.

The receiver has a built-in "test" function where you press a button and it cycles through all the speakers and plays some white noise/static, and the output level of all the speakers is about the same, so now I'm just not sure.

I know this is probably a hard question to answer, but can anyone point me in the right direction in terms of settings, etc. I should be looking at? The manual that came with the receiver isn't that great - either that or I'm more clueless than I think.

Thanks!

 

[Mark Duncan]

Hi,

What type of input are you sending to your receiver? Is it a digital or analog input? If it is an analog input (using composite inputs, RCA) it will not use 5.1. If it is a digital input from cable or sat, most of the times, it is not broadcast in dolby digital, so it will not use 5.1 either. Using a digital input with a dolby digital feed is the only way to get 5.1 to work. These are generally HD or digital TV signals if they are 5.1 compatible, or from a DVD. If the signal is prologic, the receiver will generate some rear sounds, but not near the quality of dolby digital.

I had that problem not too long ago when I first set up my system.

Mark

 

[JVC]

You should be able to go into your receiver's setup menus, and adjust the level of the rear speakers. If you don't have an SPL meter and an HT setup disc, just sit in your usual position, and adjust the rears until they sound like you want them to. Movies are using the rears more and more now days. You will get more than an occaisional sound from them.
But like was said earlier, without HDTV or DD sat receiver w/prem. channel broadcasting in DD, you'll only get 5.1 from a dvd.
Good luck!

 

[Unregistered]

Just to be clear, you will still get 5.1 from analog or DD 2.0 sources. Its just that the 5.1 output will be synthesized by whatever decoder you are using (PLII, Neo6, etc), as opposed to DD 5.1 signals from a DVD or broadcast on digital cable where the surround channels are discrete and thus already part of the signal.

Analog or DD 2.0 converted to 5.1 will often have less surround info because the decoder is really guessing what should go where. However, in most cases it does a remarkable job and there will be plenty of surround info.
Keep in mind though that not all 2 channel sources will end up with significant surround info when decoded.

It sounds like your problem is related to calibration more than anything else. If you use the test tones of the receiver and calibrate by ear, you will get close but not necessarily accurate enough. You really need to use a SPL meter to calibrate, regardless of whether you use the receiver test tones or a calibration disc.