 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
74.182.27.248
In Reply to: RE: Tell us exacty what you have to work with. (NT) posted by Kal Rubinson on July 17, 2009 at 17:46:02
Yes, SLP-50 bare bones pre-amp. I suppose I need pre-amp processor?
I have seen dogs with more style than men,...
Charles Bukowski
Edits: 07/17/09Follow Ups:
you don't even need to bother with the center yet. As long as you tell the pre-pro you don't have any except L/R front speakers, it will mix the center channel audio (plus all the rest) appropriately.
I suggest an AVR with pre outputs for your pre-pro if on a minimal budget. If doing a center channel, this is the last place to skimp; it must be done well or much better to just skip it and use your good stereo gear to reproduce the center audio instead, I'm sure it will image adequately well.
Just swap the pre-pro/AVR front outputs with your stereo pre outputs into your amp depending on whether listening to video or pure audio discs. Alternatively you could hook the pre-pro/AVR front outputs into one of your stereo preamp inputs, with the stereo pre at a preset volume level (1-3 o'clock) for video disc use...I've done this before and it worked fine.
If I had your gear, I would spend money on a sub for DVD/BD use before I'd go into the center channel. With quality stereo gear, running a "phantom" center channel is plenty decent. Heck, I'd probably even do the surrounds before the center. That's what I'm saying now, but that's not the way I went back in the day... The center speaker (and amp) must be done well, or else it is worse than no center, because most movie sound is in the center channel. Most center speaker designs seem to assume your front speakers are crap, so they help distribute the crap sound more evenly and directionally. So I say use your good gear to best advantage until you're motivated to sink more $$ into the center. Anyway, once you have a mch audio processor, you can crank up the center channel (for dialogue) if you have to, even if you don't have a real center channel.
Now I have to look for a AV receiver, and a Sub. Well, that doesn't sound so complicated. Thanks for the help! ;)
I have seen dogs with more style than men,...
Charles Bukowski
The AVR strictly because of cost. I use a Denon 3808 as a pre-pro (only). It has a lot of features for the $. When I got it there were very few proper pre-pros that handled all the latest hi-res audio formats found on BD. The ones there are now are still a bit pricey, a good one, even a half-decent one, is always likely to be so...increasing quality audio channels from 2 to 7 (at least) is bound to be pricey.
Any AVR has an amp for the center channel of course, so you can try it out with some "random" speaker you might have to get a feel. Center speakers for movies should be specially designed to do the job though. A good center setup certainly makes movies properly mixed with true mch sound (i.e. most and mainly only dialog in the center) much more enjoyable. Many like to use the same speaker for center as for the L/R fronts: usually they're the ones who listen to more of mch music.
With your gear, I was thinking a sub would get you more bang (literally) for the $ from movie soundtracks than a center would, right now. But maybe not. Do you think you'll watch a lot of "older" movies, say more than a dozen years old? Or a lot of newer ones that aren't the action/sci-fi type?
I (we, because this was my family's idea) watch mostly old old and foreign movies - however here and there some new and acclaimed ones pop-up. No, we don't watch the action movies hardly at all. DVD's and Netflix through computer - we haven't had cable/satellite for over five years. Why did we get the 50" Plasma? The computer is to small for three people to watch ;) Thanks!
I have seen dogs with more style than men,...
Charles Bukowski
Here's where I'm coming from: the majority of "older" movies, and most non-action movies, have their sound mix directed to the front. Regardless if the DVD/BD sound format for them is listed as 5.1 or 7.1, it's still mostly in the front. With half-decent L/R front speakers, the "phantom" center channel should image very well. With this same type of movie, there is usually "nothing" (effectively, or actually) in the .1/LFE track...so you can skip the sub unless you'd like it for stereo music anyway. The sub(s) can improve overall movie sound even if there's no .1 audio, but that's a more advanced topic and some would not prefer it anyway.
So really, with a flexible DVD/BD player as far as audio mixing goes, I'm not sure you really need any more "channel" gear to enjoy the type of movies you propose to watch. Perhaps a BD player that decodes all the hi-res formats and has good DVD upscaling would be the best bang for the $ for you right now.
Bear in mind I'm coming from a position of "fully equipped" to a modest 7.1 standard, so it's not like I'm against all this stuff... I wish some people would chime in and contradict what I'm saying. :) I watch all variety of movies and the complete HT sound system often gets a good workout, but the majority of movies I watch, made over the last almost 100 years in my "collection", do not require anything more than a stereo system to fully enjoy. It's mostly the more current action movies, those made during the DVD era (roughly), that are the exceptions.
Just with regular RCA cable from the DVD (Up converting Philips will have to do for now) to the Pre-amp input, and I'll have a satisfying Cinema Sound? Very well, I will post the result. Thanks! ;)
I have seen dogs with more style than men,...
Charles Bukowski
My caveat would be, when you're so totally relying on the disc player for the audio (i.e. it decodes everything and outputs analog), it should be a good one. Very good. The stereo analog outputs of typical DVD/BD players pretty much suck IMO. Some decent ones are discussed in this forum. There are many quite good DVD-only players with stereo outputs available very cheaply now, closeouts, as the market moves towards BD capability with the better models.
it worked very well - however, for some reason I had to crank-up the volume more than usual. But again, it was an old movie 1972 "Cabaret." Still, it mada world of difference v. listening the TV sound. Thanks again!
"the public is not allowed to win in any game ever invented, and that includes the American Revolution." Charles Bukowski
Post a Followup:
| FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
