A few simple questions about Audio

[austin532]

Thanks, that clears up a lot of questions. Alright I think I'm just about ready to buy a receiver. Finding the right speakers may be the hard part though.

[austin532]

So after shopping around for speakers I've noticed they not only vary in shapes and sizes but in wattage, impedance, and ohms as well. The receiver I am interested in gives out a massive 165W per channel at 6 ohms. The set of speakers I wish to buy range from 80W - 130W at 6 ohms. This doesn't sound very safe and it seems like the receiver will probably blow out the speakers. Should I be worried can I spread the power out evenly to prevent damage?

Here are the receiver power specs:

(6Ohms, 1kHz, 2ch driven) THD : 1%
(6Ohms, 1kHz, 1ch driven) THD : 0.9%
6ohms, 20-20kHz, 2ch driven : 100 W + 100 W (0.09%)
6Ohms, 1kHz, 2ch driven : 120 W + 120 W
6Ohms, 1kHz, 1ch driven : 165 W

[MSZ]

So after shopping around for speakers I've noticed they not only vary in shapes and sizes but in wattage, impedance, and ohms as well. The receiver I am interested in gives out a massive 165W per channel at 6 ohms. The set of speakers I wish to buy range from 80W - 130W at 6 ohms. This doesn't sound very safe and it seems like the receiver will probably blow out the speakers. Should I be worried can I spread the power out evenly to prevent damage?

Here are the receiver power specs:

(6Ohms, 1kHz, 2ch driven) THD : 1%
(6Ohms, 1kHz, 1ch driven) THD : 0.9%
6ohms, 20-20kHz, 2ch driven : 100 W + 100 W (0.09%)
6Ohms, 1kHz, 2ch driven : 120 W + 120 W
6Ohms, 1kHz, 1ch driven : 165 W

165W is 1 channel driven at 1000Hz, which is useless. The real spec you should look at is 20 to 20000Hz, which in this case is only 100w per channel.

Also, the real world performance is usually lower than what manufacturer claims, especially on budget receivers. A typical budget receiver use a small power supply around 200 watt. Driving 5 or 7 channels at the same time would drop the true power output to around 35 watt.

[MSZ]

This site has a lot of power output lab test results of different models(from budget volume sellers to very high end ones), you should take a look at this first:

http://www.soundandvision.com/category/ ... er-reviews

[austin532]

So It looks like I should be safe then. I plan on buying the Sony STR-DN1050 which is one of Sound and Vision's best pick for 2014 and maybe the Pioneer Andrew Jones 5.1 Speaker set.

I plan on using 5.1 for now which would mean slightly more power wattage to each speaker but that still shouldn't matter.

[MSZ]

So It looks like I should be safe then. I plan on buying the Sony STR-DN1050 which is one of Sound and Vision's best pick for 2014 and maybe the Pioneer Andrew Jones 5.1 Speaker set.

I plan on using 5.1 for now which would mean slightly more power wattage to each speaker but that still shouldn't matter.

The Pioneer speaker set is highly reviewed at AVS Forum, you should be good to go.

[austin532]

Yep, they are close to audiophile quality at a budget price. The only problem is lack of space. The room in which I will be placing them in is only 15" x 20" x 7.8". It's more of a rectangle shape than the traditional square shaped room. Half of the room is shared. So cut that in half vertically and that's all the space I have.

I may be better off with just the bookshelf speakers for the front left and right and the small surround sound speakers for the left and right rear. Not a big deal to me as anything is better then using the TV speakers which only put out a mere 10W.

[austin532]

Alright so I temporary have my Sony STR-DN1050 receiver setup to output sound through the TV until I can buy some speakers. The problem is I can't seem to get any sound when using Component cables. My setup right now is Xbox Component > Receiver Component In > Xbox Analog Audio > Receiver Audio In > Receiver HDMI out > TV HDMI In.

The HDMI devices work fine. I also have the same problem with PS2 Component and Gamecube Component.

I know each receiver is different and that there are many possibilities but I would appreciate any ideas as this is driving me crazy.

[bobrocks95]

It probably just doesn't convert analog audio to digital. Simple as that.

[austin532]

So they spent the extra time to make sure it could convert analog video to digital but not audio? What a letdown...

[neorichieb1971]

So they spent the extra time to make sure it could convert analog video to digital but not audio? What a letdown...

That doesn't sound right. You want to convert to PCM. If you see anything in the settings about PCM then thats the way to go. One of the options might be set to "Bitstream". This can also affect a silent output. An amp of that caliber should be able to see this through.

Sounds like you got everything else sorted.

[austin532]

No such luck. There is no PCM or Bitstream option. I believe Sony doesn't use PCM they use an option called AFD. I feel like I've tried using just about every option, every input, and still nothing! Very frustrating

[MSZ]

No such luck. There is no PCM or Bitstream option. I believe Sony doesn't use PCM they use an option called AFD. I feel like I've tried using just about every option, every input, and still nothing! Very frustrating

There is no receiver that doesn't accept PCM signals, so thats not the problem you have. You need to reassign your analog audio to the xbox input if you want to have any sound at all. At default a digital input probably won't allow any analog audio unless you change the settings.

[austin532]

I get what you are saying but the thing is I don't think you can. I can assign Component Input 1, Component Input 2, Optical 1, Optical 2, and Coaxial to any Input but I can't seem to assign Composite or RCA Audio as they are greyed out. I've even tried plugging in the audio to those certain audio ports just to make sure they weren't dedicated to a specific port only but still no luck.

So either 3 things are happening:

1. I'm still doing something wrong. (Wouldn't be surprised)
2. This high end $600 Sony Receiver simply can't convert a simple Analog audio signal to Digital (like bobrocks95 said)
or
3.The audio ports are possibly damaged (I highly doubt this though)

[mickcris]

This should work if you cant get the receiver to do it:
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=1 ... 1&format=2

The analog audio jacks look like they may be assigned to a specific input and cannot be changed (SAT/CATV, Video 1, and CD).

[bobrocks95]

Well, the device's purpose IS to output audio to the speakers, and not the HDMI port. It's not really an excuse to get rid of analog to digital audio conversion, but I'd imagine it's a very seldom used feature. Can you find the manual online? If so, try changing any option that seems even remotely connected. If still nothing works, I guess you'll have to route analog audio separately until you get speakers?

[austin532]

This should work if you cant get the receiver to do it:
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=1 ... 1&format=2

The analog audio jacks look like they may be assigned to a specific input and cannot be changed (SAT/CATV, Video 1, and CD).

Since this is only temporarily there is no need to buy this, still I shouldn't have to resort to this.

Right, the 4 audio Inputs are SAT/CATV, VIDEO 1, SA-CD, and TV. I've tried assigning the Component to all of those and it works fine. I've then tried plugging the RCA cables to all of those inputs but get no sound.

Even if they are assigned to specific inputs I should still at least get some sound when selecting them.

[austin532]

Well, the device's purpose IS to output audio to the speakers, and not the HDMI port. It's not really an excuse to get rid of analog to digital audio conversion, but I'd imagine it's a very seldom used feature. Can you find the manual online? If so, try changing any option that seems even remotely connected. If still nothing works, I guess you'll have to route analog audio separately until you get speakers?

Exactly, even though it's rarely used there is no reason to get rid of it. I'm beginning to think Sony removed this option though to cut corners because it is so rarely used. Would any one be willing to test this out on their receiver and see if they can get sound by plugging in audio from a Component or Composite cable?

Yes, I've found the manual online however it's very vague about the features.

[austin532]

YES, I've finally figured out a half-assed way to get sound.

Step 1. Turn ZONE 2 (Audio Output) ON
Step 2. Connect RCA Cables from ZONE 2 to TV DVI AUDIO IN
Step 3. Make sure TV Source is set to DVI
Step 4. Plug in Component Cables and Audio Cables
Step 5. Make sure Component Input is set to the same name as Audio Input in Receiver Menu Input Settings
Step 6. Set ZONE 2 Input to whatever Source the System or device is plugged into.
Step 7. Turn on Receiver, then System, then TV in that order other wise you need to cycle the sources back to DVI to get sound.

Step 8. Bang head on wall and try to figure out why so many steps are involved just to get simple Analog Audio from Receiver to TV...