suround sound amp

Kovaks

Kovaks

Mr. Poopybutthole
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So the new house has suround sound built into the ceiling 5.1 in the family room a d the 7.1 Chanel in the living room, never had anything like this before so I need some advice on getting an amp and setting this bad boy up. I am hoping to spend less than 300 but if that is unrealistic then I could see going up to $500. I really don't want to have to do any of the calibration manually and would definitely like to be able to Bluetooth stream from my phone to it.
 
Z

Zombie Thorne_sl

shitlord
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Anything Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo or Pioneer in that price range will be more than fine. You really need to get an idea of what kind of speakers you are working with though. Generally speaking, in wall/ceiling mounted speakers are not ideal due to placement issues. Or they could be seriously high end speakers mounted specifically for the previous owners setup. Try to find out what you have.
 
Chanur

Chanur

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I just want to post about the Denon receiver I got at Christmas. The sound is amazing . How ever its now in the shop for the second time for repairs. The first time it was 6 weeks(which I blame on the shop not Denon). This time who knows. The good thing though is Denon has paid for it all.

I freely admit its likely I have a dud and Denon has been good about covering their warranty. They told me some stupid shit the first go around like don't use HDMI from my satellite even though its for exactly that. Not sure I will go Denon again though the sound has been excellent and the warranty good. Because of those two things I have not totally written them off.
 
W

Wuwei_sl

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I agree with the brands having been recommended so far. On a related note, i never had any issues with my own Denon receiver in the five years I used it.

I would really recommend putting the 500$ compared to the 300$ into the receiver. Not knowing what specific models you are considering (or your current setup), the surround system only gets as good as its weakest part.
 
BrutulTM

BrutulTM

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I recently bought a Yamaha and it is fine except for the fact that for some reason they have a different signal for on and off which fucks up most universal remotes. My DirecTV remote can turn my receiver on but not off. I generally just leave it on all the time, but I don't know how much power that is wasting or how much it's shortening the life of the receiver.
 
P

Picasso3

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Mine turns my hallway closet into a sauna when I leave it on but it's an older model probably 06 or so
 
Siliconemelons

Siliconemelons

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I obeyed the advice in the huge thread from FoH (did that get archived? it was a great thread, with lots of real good info)

Denon receiver and Polk TSi-level speakers - great cost- great results. I have the TSi 100's for L and R the CS10 or 20 I forgot for center - and OWM3's for rear channels - my sub is some 12" Sony- it was an open item sale for like 50 bucks- but every time I go to BBuy etc I look for a sale on a polk sub as I really want them all to match :p

someone posted amazon or somewhere has generic speakers that are made by polk that are just rebadged TSi speakers and like 20-30$ less.
 
F

forin

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Kovak,
Do you strictly need and amp or do you need an AV receiver?

If you have a current AV receiver make sure it has pre/outs for an external amp. If you lack an AV receiver I would look at Onkyo or Pioneer. Denon has been slacking the last few years in reliability and quality, imo.

If you just need a multi-channel amp and $500 is your limit I would look to find a used Emotiva amp. They perform close to their posted specs but their reliability has been in question a few times.

I am a personal fan of using Pro amps from QSC, Crown, Behringer. These amps are made for professional gigs and will laugh at HT use. If you buy new (which i recommend, used pro amps have probably been pushed very hard) they come with a 2-3 year no question warranty. The problem with them is that they are generally loud and would need to be placed in a closet or in another room. You can literally get a 2 channel amp that hits 1000 watts per channel for under 300 bucks. I know its over budget but you could buy 2 for now and a 3rd later.
 
Kovaks

Kovaks

Mr. Poopybutthole
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Thanks for the advice, I know absolutely nothing about this subject, I probably am looking for an AV receiver, all I know is I have speakers in the ceiling and wires hanging out of the wall. I have heard of onkyo before, ill look around at those and pioneer.
 
Leadsalad

Leadsalad

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forin_sl said:
Kovak,
Do you strictly need and amp or do you need an AV receiver?

If you have a current AV receiver make sure it has pre/outs for an external amp. If you lack an AV receiver I would look at Onkyo or Pioneer. Denon has been slacking the last few years in reliability and quality, imo.

If you just need a multi-channel amp and $500 is your limit I would look to find a used Emotiva amp. They perform close to their posted specs but their reliability has been in question a few times.

I am a personal fan of using Pro amps from QSC, Crown, Behringer. These amps are made for professional gigs and will laugh at HT use. If you buy new (which i recommend, used pro amps have probably been pushed very hard) they come with a 2-3 year no question warranty. The problem with them is that they are generally loud and would need to be placed in a closet or in another room. You can literally get a 2 channel amp that hits 1000 watts per channel for under 300 bucks. I know its over budget but you could buy 2 for now and a 3rd later.
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Problem with most of this advice is that new receivers these days under $1000 or so don't have pre outs anymore. And amps aren't really available under $1000 themselves either. Pretty much the only options available are all in one receivers at his pricepoint of $3-500. Stand alones are a niche market nowadays, the electronics behind systems are pretty much throw away technology.
 
F

forin

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Leadsalad_sl said:
Problem with most of this advice is that new receivers these days under $1000 or so don't have pre outs anymore. And amps aren't really available under $1000 themselves either. Pretty much the only options available are all in one receivers at his pricepoint of $3-500. Stand alones are a niche market nowadays, the electronics behind systems are pretty much throw away technology.
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The title is "surround sound amp" to me that is a separate amp and not an AV receiver. That is why I asked if he needed a receiver or a separate amp
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I should have been more specific and asked, "If you have a receiver and need an amp make sure it has pre/outs".

Most sub $500 receivers have the same feature sets but the low end Denon's have been known to be less than stellar performers.

I was probably off topic with the pro amp comments, my apologizes, I hope I didn't confuse you Kovaks.

Pioneer Sc-1222-k,http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882117412- $499.99
 
Siliconemelons

Siliconemelons

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forin_sl said:
The title is "surround sound amp" to me that is a separate amp and not an AV receiver. That is why I asked if he needed a receiver or a separate amp
smile.png
I should have been more specific and asked, "If you have a receiver and need an amp make sure it has pre/outs".

Most sub $500 receivers have the same feature sets but the low end Denon's have been known to be less than stellar performers.

I was probably off topic with the pro amp comments, my apologizes, I hope I didn't confuse you Kovaks.

Pioneer Sc-1222-k,http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882117412- $499.99
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That's a god damned sexy piece right there...

Whenever I move to a new house and I get to redo my surround sound and go from 5.1 to 7.1 I wish for something as hot as that ;-)

And it is nice to have your receiver and amp all separate and get some studio level speakers and shit, but your increasing the price point ten fold... but reference speakers and shit will last you forever. Really I am hoping to be able to make a room into a transformable theater - in roof motorized screen (really not that much if you look around- its just wiring the damn thing and mounting it not-crappaly) - a recessed projector that is out of the way and unseen- and find some really nice in wall / roof speakers - throw in some sun-blocking shades and boom- living room to movie time!
 
Void

Void

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Yeah, he definitely needs a receiver.

This is what I havehttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1although I got it for about $50 less than that through Amazon, so the price fluctuates.

I am a Yamaha fanboy. I have had Yamaha's since I was 16 (which was 28 years ago), and not a single one has ever failed in any way. The first receiver and CD player I had went back and forth with me to college every year, moved dorm rooms several times, and then did heavy duty while I shared an apartment with my buddy and we had the "party house." The CD player never even skipped. I got a new receiver when I was about 30, but the old one still worked, and the person I gave it to STILL uses it in their garage with all the dust and 110 degree heat that Sacramento summer's bring. I've only ever bought Yamaha CD players, tape decks, and I even have my Yamaha turntable still, just in case I need to play those records I haven't touched in 15 years but I refuse to part with. Not a single piece of Yamaha equipment has ever had any issue with it, I always just replaced it when I felt the need to upgrade and gave away the old one.

I realize that's anecdotal, and I probably just got lucky. My friend is a big Denon fan and he's never had a problem either, although he bought an Onkyo once and the HDMI shit all over him for whatever reason, but once they replaced it that one was perfect too. So any of those brands are fantastic, I'm just heavily prejudiced towards Yamaha and will never buy anything but their receivers, now that I really don't need stuff like CD/Bluray players, tape decks, and record players with devices like the PS3 available. Oh yeah, and Yamaha speakers used to suck; they might be a bit better now, but they aren't anywhere near the level of a Polk or higher, and I'd never buy them over any other decent brand.
 
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