Help with HT set up

[MaxTimeOff]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the board. Clearly there are lots of knowledgable folks here so here goes.

I am not an hi-fi aficionado but bought the following setup about eight years ago (at the behest of a friend). The following equipment has been in a seldom used TV room where we have not really appreciated its capabilities. We occasionally fire up the TV but often do not turn on the other sound components. Here's what we have:

B&W Power subwoofer - V75 MK2
B&W (2) DM 601's speakers with stands
B&W CC#6 center channel speaker
Yamaha RX-V692 receiver.

We also have a DVD player and CD player but will need to be replaced with the latest and greatest, suggestions?

I am planning to move everything to a 10' x 11' room that will be a dedicated media room featuring a 50" HD plasma (DirecTV feed). I want to create a surround sound so I think I will need some additional speakers to mount on the wall/ceiling for the rears. I am planning to use the existing speakers for the fronts and center, good idea? Our sitting position will be opposed to the TV (obviously) against the wall so the "rear "speakers will have to be located on the sides and not to the rear, will this present a problem?

What speakers (B&W for consistency) should I get for the wall/ceiling rears? I don't really want to use the 601's for the rears as they are too big, but should I? I would like some small block size wall mount speakers. Also, will that Yamaha receiver RX-V92 do or should I replace it? It has hardly been used and I would like to use it if it would push all these speakers.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

MaxTimeOff

[Andrew Pratt]

Given the size of that room I might suggest you look into B&W in-wall speakers to use as rear surrounds to maximize space.

Your receiver can process Dolby Pro Logic but not the newer discrete formats that are found on DVD's and HD TV though technically it is DD ready which means that if you could find a DVD player with onboard DD decoding you could still use it. That said most DVD players today assume that your receiver will have the decoders and the RX-V692 doesn't have adequate power amps for the rear channels (only 40 watts vs the 80 up front). If you can I'd strongly suggest replacing it with a more modern unit to get equal power for all speakers and to get the newer surround sound decoders. For TV watching Pro Logic II which replaced Pro Logic is very nice and greatly enhances most TV shows.

[Ocelot]

Max,

I'll leave the speaker options to others.
But I looked up your receiver and saw thats its 80 watts per channel for the mains and 40 watts for the surrounds.
Also that is does not have dobly digital processing.
IMO you absolutly need a DD and DST reciever to enjoy a DVD home theater.

edit: Andrew posts faster than me

[MaxTimeOff]

The receiver must go!!! I agree.....

I have narrowed it down to 3 manufacturers, in no particular order, Yamaha, Denon, and Onkyo. I need a 5.1 system for the small HT I am setting up 10' x 11' room, what should I get? It seems that most of the higher end stuff is 6.1 - 9.1.

Who makes an awsome 5.1? Should I just go with a 6.1 or 7.1 and not use all the channels??

MaxTimeOff

[Andrew Pratt]

Not using the extra channels won't hurt and often many of the recievers can decode 7.1 but only have 5 onboard amp channels. 7.1 in your room would be difficult given that your couch is going to be right up against the back wall so for now I'd suggest getting the best 5.1 system you can and later consider 7.1 if the room changes etc. Between Yamaha, Denon and Oynko I'd like pick the Denon but Yamaha's are nice too if you like their sound. I'd consider Marantz or maybe even the new Pioneer's as well as the digital Panasonics that are getting rave reviews at the moment.

[David Meek]

Loren, whichever receiver you go with (I'm a Yammie guy myself - RX-V1), be sure that it has automatic room calibration capability. If you're familiar with it I'll stop here, but if you aren't, hop back in.

The Yamaha RX-V2500 is a good choice for around $1K. For less, the RX-V1500 has most of the features of the 2500, but its MSRP is $850. If you want to be really budget concious, look at the RX-V750. MSRP is $650 and you still get 192kHz/24-bit DACs, the YPAO room optimization software (see comment above), etc. However, you are starting to restrict your amplification at this point which may render it moot choice.

Now having said that, the Denon, Marantz and NAD offerings are good choices also - you really can't go wrong. That is as long as you audition the various brands/models with music you are most familiar with, and use that as a basis for digging into certain ones a bit deeper. Personally, I like the Yamaha's penchant for clarity. Although the non-top-of-the-line models from years back were harsh, that's been toned down (pun intended) to a clean, detailed signature.

For a 10 x 11 room, the B&W's will be fine for front/center duty. At least until you get the next upgrade bug. They're moderately efficient with good sound above 80-90 Hz IIRC, and you have a sub to handle the low notes. For consistency's sake, what about the B&W DM-303s? MSRP is $300. They aren't shielded, but using them as surrounds will eliminate that as an issue. Their size is 13"H x 8"W x 9.5"D

As always this is just my 2 cents, but I do hope it helps.