My frist post with a few queres :)

[darkblack]

Hi,
wonderful community. Never knew such a wonderful one existed in this niche till I picked up the site from a Google search. Happy that I landed at the right place.

Hope the mods don't get mad me placing questions around various areas under the HTIB secion

I own a Onkyo HT-SR800 which I purchased in Chennai around 2 years ago. I use it for watching movies. I have connected it to my PC via an optical spdif for my audio and the HDMI pass through for connection between my TV and PC. I also use it quite a bit for music played via the PC again.

1) I have never heard sounds from my rear surrounds ever! even when playing mkv and full dts encoded audio/video? When does it every work?

2) Also we are in the process of restructuring the HT room and would require speaker wiring since the OE wiring is not sufficient in length. When I set it up for the first time I just used good quality speaker wires procured from ritchie street around Rs.15/m , will that be sufficient or is there anywhere I can get good quality speaker wires which has minimal losses/distortion?

Also I am in the process of setting up another room (Study) where, I would like to setup a HT system which will be exclusively for listening to music. Very small budget somewhere around Rs.15-22k. Needn't be too powerful or loud since the room is just 10ftx10ft. Tempted to buy one of those creative speakers, but I am sure there are better alternatives. Any suggestions from the gurus here? Just Want to get the best quality audio at that can be got for this price and hopefully with a spdif input.

Cheers! and thanks in advance

 

[iaudio]

Darkblack, have you tried using a dvd player with your Onkyo? Does it give proper 5.1?

For your second query,
why do you need an HT for pure music listening.
You could look at this:
http://www.hifivision.com/amplifier...ripath-2020-amplifier-versus-nad-c320bee.html

 

[darkblack]

Thanks for your quick reply

Yea, I use a Sony upscaling type DVD player with the spdif out connected to the receiver and 5.1 works well.

Also, yea HT may be the wrong terminology used, I just need a decent receiver and a good set of speakers for the price, something which I can procure locally and not risk shipping from HK

 

[iaudio]

darkblack,

So its 5.1 from the PC that doesnt work? You could try one of those usb sound cards which output 5.1. Are you sure the motherboard outputs 5.1? Else add a internal sound card with analog 5.1 out.

Pl go through the link I posted. Do you strictly need a reciever for connectivity options/video? Else go for a simple stereo integrated amp with two speakers.What will be using as source for music?

 

[venkatcr]

So its 5.1 from the PC that doesnt work? You could try one of those usb sound cards which output 5.1. Are you sure the motherboard outputs 5.1? Else add a internal sound card with analog 5.1 out.

Two things to do. One; check that the motherboard supports 5.1. Two; to check through it's set up whether it is down mixing the 5.l to 2.1. If it is doing that, all you have to do is to check off the down mixing.

Cheers

 

[darkblack]

Hi thanks again for your replies,

With regards to the surround speaker query => My HT , it's a 7.1. The left and right surrounds work great. But the rear surrounds don't work even with a DVD. BTW, the sound card in my current htpc which is connected to the HT receiver via optical is Newegg.com - AUZEN XPlosion 7.1 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card

With regards to the new equipment,
"What will be using as source for music" => I will again probably use a PC, with a sound card similar to the one in my HTPC. Probably I messed out with my terminology what I want is a good 5.1 setup to listen to good quality music from my PC within my budget. Kindly suggest

 

[venkatcr]

With regards to the surround speaker query => My HT , it's a 7.1. The left and right surrounds work great. But the rear surrounds don't work even with a DVD. BTW, the sound card in my current htpc which is connected to the HT receiver via optical is Newegg.com - AUZEN XPlosion 7.1 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card

With most movies, you will not hear any sound from the rear channels and they are coded for 5.1. To test if the rear channels are working, use a audio test program.

Cheers

 

[iaudio]

Darkblack, DVDs and even some blu rays have only 5.1 audio, so you wont hear anything from the rear 2 speakers. So dont worry about it. Spin a blu ray with 7.1 audio on your pc, if it has blu ray drive and see if it works.

My humble suggestion is you should avoid 5.1 for your music, a 2 channel integrated amp or a pre power set up would give you the best sound quality for music.

 

[sam9s]

1) I have never heard sounds from my rear surrounds ever! even when playing mkv and full dts encoded audio/video? When does it every work?

As members explained if your source is 5.1, you would not hear anything from Rear Back spks, however, there must be an option in your AVR called DD EX or DTS ES, what this does is, split the rear channel in to 2 Rear back channels, if you will select this the AVR will convert 5.1 in to 7.1 by splitting the one rear channel in to 2 rear back ones. Ofcourse that cannot be compared with discreet 7.1 audio but does the job fairly good for 5.1 movies.
This cross-channel encoding is referred to as matrix encoding, since the surround back channel is encoded and later decoded from those of the surround left and surround right channels, technically its just 5.1 but as I said does the job fairly good.

so try that out, I am doing the same with my HT.

 

[darkblack]

Thanks guys for all your kind replies. I will try sam9s suggestion, but might take a few weeks since my entire place is under renovationspeaker

Getting back to my new requirement, any suggestion on where can i get myself a decent amp+speaker combo for my music (from PC).

Thanks a lot again for your kind replies, i feel right at home, when compared to LOTS of other forums where newbies are snubbed at

Cheers!!!

 

[darkblack]

Hi Guys,
Any help on the amp+speaker combo will be really nice

Thanks

 

[venkatcr]

If you are going to play from a PC, look for powered speakers such as AudioEngine A2. Check Audioengine - BAJAAO.COM - India - Buy & Review Musical Instruments in for details.

cheers