Sub-woofer Rewire? - Noob question

[PTCTommy]

Greetings All,

I'm am very green when it comes to the details of home electronics. Please forgive the elementary question.

Just purchased a Denon AVR-1713 Receiver. I want to use the speakers (5.1) from my old Sony Dream System (DAV-FR1) and, except for the sub-woofer, I'm sure I can.

The sub-woofer (model #SS-WS12) has two (proprietary) connections. I had thought to rewire each connection onto an RCA jack and use an RCA Y-cable to plug them into the single input on the Denon.

Will that work?

Tom

 

[markw]

Are you saying that your old subwoofer is connected by speaker wires? If so, it won't work with your new receiver. It needs a powered subwoofer, or one with a built-in amplifier.

P.S From what I can find on the net, that subwoofer is "passive" so what I said above is valid.

 

[timoteo]

Yeah sorry Tommy, what Mark said right. That "Dream" system is meant to work only with the components that it came with as a package. I would look into what ohm rating that the speakers are. Most of the time they are rated at 2ohms or 3ohms. If this is the case then I would NOT recommend hooking them up to the Denon. You could damage the Denon because it is designed for speakers with an 8ohm rating. A 6ohm speaker would probably be ok on the Denon but anything 4ohms & under can & will eventually overload the amps.

Do yourself a big favor & look into some decent entry level speakers & sub. You will get WAY MORE performance & you won't risk damage to your new receiver. Look into:

Infinity Primus speakers (low cost, huge performance)

HSU HB-1 bookshelf speakers (amazing sound for $150ea)

Pioneer SB series (designed by Andrew Jones, have no right to sound as good as they do for the $)

Subs:

Premier Acoustics PA-120 or PA-150

HSU: VTF-1

These are just a few examples of low cost (relative) speakers & subs that sound fantastic for their price. Even take the price out of the equation & you still have a great sounding home theater!!!

Sorry but it's never a good idea to pair a real home theater receiver with a HTIB system. They aren't meant to work with eachother & you could do damage.

...welcome to home theater!!!

 

[PTCTommy]

Thanks for the great and quick info guys.

Well, that's a bummer. Looking at the other speakers, they're 4 ohm. I'll have to replace the lot.

Thanks also for the options.

t

 

[timoteo]

I hate being the bearer of bad news but just don't want you to damage your new AVR.

If you would like some help with further choices then please give us some more info.

Room size?
Is it open to other areas, other rooms etc?
What your use...%movies vs %music?
What is your budget?

This way we can help direct you in the best route to take to get you where you wanna be!!

 

[PTCTommy]

Thanks again Tim!!

The primary purpose will be for movies / music.

I'm looking at the Onkyo SKS-HT870 speakers. It's a 7.1 set but I'll only setup 5.1 through the Denon. I like the way they look as well. At $300, it's right with what I want to pay. Over time, I'll add higher quality speakers (maybe).

My only concern with the Onkyo's is the impedence per speaker is at 6 ohm. Will that be an issue?

Thanks again for the help. Great to have a 'guru' to bounce this off of!!

t

 

[timoteo]

I would not spend $300 on 7 speakers only to use 5 of them. That $300 is being spent on 7 individual speakers making each speaker a very cheap product. Instead I would HIGHLY recommend you spend $300 on 3 way better speakers & save up to get 2 surround speakers & a sub for later. This way you have a really nice center channel & your front left & front right. You won't have surround sound but you'll have a very decent quality front sound stage to build off of. This is what is normally recommended for people with a low budget.

Plus I still feel that 6ohm is a little low for that Denon. That Denon is their entry level receiver so your much better off pairing up some 8ohm speakers with it.

These are what I would by if I were you:

Center channel- Infinity Primus PC251 = $149 each
Front L/R- Infinity Primus P153 = $152 pair
Total = $301 + tax/shipping

These are 8ohm speakers that are pretty much the "go to" recommendations for low cost speakers. Many members here have these & love them. To me they are the lowest costing good sounding speaker. With these you are spending your money on 3 very good sounding speakers instead of 7 not so good sounding speakers.

Look into them & read reviews on them. They look great too!!! Then you have a choice to either save up for another pair of P153 for surrounds or save for the larger tower speakers in the Primus line. Then you could place the larger towers up front as your front L/R & place the P153 bookshelf speakers in back. You have more flexability. A lot of people get better speakers then wish they had taken their time & pieced their system together & ended up with something even better.

Hope this helps you out!!!

 

[PTCTommy]

Makes sense.

Are the surround speakers unique or will two more P153's serve that role??

I'll order the following and stick with Infinity for the subwoofer (400 watt ok?) and the eventual surround speakers.

Center: Infinity Primus Three-way dual 5-1/4-Inch Speaker
L/R: Infinity Primus Two-Way 5 1/4-Inch Bookshelf/Satellite Speaker

Thanks again.

 

[markw]

I don't know which Infinity you're looking at, but I just picked up one of THESE and, for the price, it's quite a bargain.

 

[j_garcia]

If it is a passive sub, you might also be able to connect it with an external amp, if the wiring was only +/- on the connections. Just a thought. Judging by Sony's other subs though, I'd say you'll likely be better off putting the funds toward a powered sub because even a small external amp is going to be in the same price range as a budget powered sub.

 

[timoteo]

Yeah just adding a couple P153s for surround duty would be good.

Depending on how much money the Infinity subwoofer is will decide if you should get it or not. The Infinity subs are ok but even for a few hundred bucks you can get the BIC Formula F12 or a Premier Acoustics PA-120. Try to get a 12" ported sub if you can.

Don't worry about how many Watts a sub has. You cannot compare subs to others by how many watts because each sub driver has a different efficiency & so the manufacturer pairs an amp with the driver according to what matches best. My 15" HSU VTF-15H has an amp rated at 350watts but will blow away other subs with twice the watts because the driver is VERY efficient!

I'm glad that you decided against the Onkyo speakers. Onkyo makes good receivers but not very good speakers. Your Denon is an excellent entry level AVR so good call on that! The Infinity Primus speakers will sound great. The Primus speakers will definately need a sub to have any bass for movies.

Once you get the sub & speakers post some pictures & we will also help you get everything setup & dialed in!!

 

[PTCTommy]

Thanks again timeteo.

I got the Infinity speakers today. They're bigger than I thought (didn't think to look at that - duh moment). May be a bit too large. I still have to mount the tv so I'll see if I can arrange it so it looks like they fit.

What do you think of the Bose Acoustimass 6 speakers? At $700 for the full set of 5.1, and it being Bose, it may be awesome as well. Plus, I like the tiny footprint!

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[markw]

What do you think of the Bose Acoustimass 6 speakers? At $700 for the full set of 5.1, and it being Bose, it may be awesome as well. Plus, I like the tiny footprint!

No No No No No No No No No No.

Repeat 100 times.

That's quite a jump from your stated $300 limit.

 

[PTCTommy]

No No No No No No No No No No.

Repeat 100 times.

That's quite a jump from your stated $300 limit.

Thanks for the reply Mark.

The budget, like most things, is negotiable. As I still need a sub-woofer and surround speakers, buying these piecemeal is more expensive than I anticipated. I’ll bite the bullet if it’s not too expensive.

The Bose I’ve heard through the years have always sounded great. Why do you oppose these Bose speakers??

Thanks!

 

[markw]

Unless you're totally and hopelessly in love with the styling and the name, you can do much better with other options for that price. If it's the sound you want, you can get comparable for less.

The Infinitys were great speakers. You never stated that size was an issue here, only a price limit. On the whole, tiny speakers = tiny sound.

If you provide some guidelines to work with, perhaps others can recomment other options. I know Mirage and Paradigm, among others, have systems in a similar vein.

But, for some, only Bose will do. If that's what you really want, mazel tov. Go for it. Don't let us stop you.

 

[timoteo]

Tommy, your in a real home theater forum, a place where Bose is one of the worst 4 letter words you could say!! Haha

Bose is the BEST marketed speaker company that I can think of. It's a household name & most people are impressed when you say you have a Bose system....except for someone who actually knows anything bout audio (no offense!!)

Bose is made of cheap materials & their products only perform in a very narrow frequency range. Their "bass module" cannot legally be called a subwoofer because it does not play into the subsonic frequency range & it plays as high as 250hz maybe higher. It's really just a mid-bass fart machine. The tiny cubes sound "boxy" too!!! But the WORST part about Bose is the OUTRAGEOUS PRICE!!!

If we had known you would be willing to spend $700 or more then we could have made some recommendations accordingly. But no worries, it's not too late!! Let us know if the Primus speakers are going to work for you or not. If you can manage their size then I say keep them & we can build on them because they are still nice sounding speakers. If you cannot manage their size then let us know & we'll go from there.

Paired with a decent sub, the Primus can & will sound better than the Bose IMO!!

 

[PTCTommy]

Thanks for the continued, cordial, advice Timeteo.

Thanks also for the Bose explanation. It makes sense. The Infinity's do sound great and, aside from the size, are fine but again, once the TV (55’ Samsung) is hung, the center speaker should fit under it without looking too large.

Now to get off my lazy butt and mount the TV!

t

 

[timoteo]

Your welcome, that's what we're here for!!

So your about $300 in, if you were willing to spend say a total of $700, that leaves $400 in your budget. You see, I like spending other people's money so let's go shopping!!! Hahaha JK!!...

With $400 you could get a Premiere Acoustics PA-120 for $259 & another pair of P153s to complete your 5.1 theater system!! You'd have some of the best low budget speakers you can get & a decent 12" ported sub that would really give your movies some nice rumble!!

Or you could spend more on the sub now & save for your surround speakers later. This is where the big brother PA-150 comes in!! This is a 15" ported beast of a sub that has quite a lot of bass per $. It doesn't plumb the depths but it has plenty of headroom & a lot of punch from about 30hz & above which will really give you a kick in the chest!! It's a large enclosure so if you go this route I suggest you make a mockup of the subs size so you know what your buying & if it can fit.

These 2 subs I'm recommending because you get a lot for your money & are in a similar class as your Primus speakers. HSU, SVS, Rythmik, Outlaw...these subs are a step up in quality but for $400 you can really only get an 8" or 10" & for movies i think you need more than that!!

But if your fine with a clean 10" sub then I would go for the HSU STF-2 for $349. This sub is very musical & accurate. Music will sound great & so will movies but you won't have as much impact because it's a smaller sub.

So it comes down to preference. Smaller/cleaner or Larger/Explosive...simply put.

I've gone through about 7-8 subs in the last 4-5 years. Each sub got larger & larger because you start to crave more bass. Not just more but better as well. Just something to think about ya know!!

Those subs I mention here are assuming you have a $400 budget. Once you get to $500-$600 your able to get into subs that can give you the clean/accurate sound along with the more explosive/louder bass. Once you decide that you want to buy a sub, give us your room size (& any other rooms that are openly connected) & your budget. Then we can zero in on your best choice!!