please help with home theater set up

[joshyousem]

I need some advice please:
I have recently set up a home theater in my newly-finished basement. This is the equipment that I have:

TV: Vizio E701i-A3
Receiver: Denon AVR-1804
Blu-Ray: LG Blu-Ray player
Speakers: 5 NHT SB1's (center, left, right, and 2 surrounds)

I currently do not have any kind of satellite/cable/tv channels.

We watch Blu-Ray discs and Netflix (through the Vizio's VIA netflix app, connected to internet with wifi)

As of now, the Blu-Ray player is connected (with HDMI cable) to the TV, and the TV is connected to the receiver (with TOSLINK cable).

The Blu-Ray player is not connected to the receiver.

Everything is working ok, but since the Denon receiver does not have any HDMI ports, is this the optimal way to have my stuff connected? Should I be buying a new receiver that has HDMI ports? Am I getting the best possible sound?

Any advice is much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[JonnyFive23517]

Everything is working ok, but since the Denon receiver does not have any HDMI ports, is this the optimal way to have my stuff connected? Should I be buying a new receiver that has HDMI ports? Am I getting the best possible sound?

You are not getting the best possible sound, but you are asking the right questions to make some serious improvements.

1) Your NHTSB1s roll off at 68hz, so you definitely need a subwoofer or two! You are missing all the bass frequencies.
2) You should be getting 5 discrete channels of sound the way you have described, but you need to check the "status" button on the receiver to be sure.
3) My recommendation is a new subwoofer (or two) and a Denon receiver with Audyssey XT or XT32 if you are looking to get a good sound for movies with minimal setup on your part. Budget? Room size?

 

[joshyousem]

I am planning on purchasing an NHT b10d subwoofer (waiting for B-stock to ship next month).

my budget is basically this: aside from spending the money on the subwoofer, I don't want to spend more. I am mainly curious if I have my system wired correctly to achieve the best possible sound for the equipment that I already have.

the room is approximately 25x25 feet (625 square feet)

 

[JonnyFive23517]

Given the receiver you have, I believe that is the correct way to wire it with the optical Toslink cable. But you need to check the "status" button your receiver to make sure it is receiving 5 discrete channels from the TV. I had to switch my TV output to PCM for it to output optical audio correctly.

Also, I understand the temptation to buy matching sub to your speakers, but there are a lot of better subs out there for not a lot of money so I would do some more research.

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/subwoofers/86910-2013-subwoofer-roundup-6-subs-$500-less.html

 

[JonnyFive23517]

How tall are your ceilings? Even at 8' tall, your room will be considered very large so to get any meaningful bass experience it's going to require more than even two budget subwoofers. Just FYI.

 

[markw]

I can guarantee that if you run your blu-ray directly to your AVR via either optical or coaxial digital interconnects you'll get the best possible 5.1 sound of which your current setup is capable.

It's highly doubtful that your TV passes 5.1 sound from your blu-ray to your receiver. Most downconvert it to stereo.

And, yes, you can bo better with a subwoofer by concentating on those who specialize in subwoofers.

[edit] Your manual does say that the TV should pass 5.1 dolby digital through the optical cable.