Sony and Gallo System?

[cwall]

Hello all,

I will be honest and say that I am somewhat new to the Home Theater realm.

I currently have a HTiB, Sony HTSS2300, and one of the speakers has started crackling, the UI has never worked correctly in the system and I would like to upgrade to a system that has more expandability and punch. With all that being said, I have been researching over the last year or two on a replacement for the system.

I live in an apartment and my living room is of course awkward, and the wife (nor do I really) doesn't want speakers with a large footprint. I primarily watch Sci-Fi or Action movies so quality surrounds are important.

I think I have boiled it down to what I think to be a fairly solid setup with expandability options available. So here goes:

Receiver: Sony STR-DN1040
Speakers: Anthony Gallo A'Diva Ti 5.1

I really like the new GUI on the Sony and, from all I've been reading, the Gallos are supposedly amazing for their size.

What are you guys' thoughts?

Thanks,

Chris

[blackraven]

Here is a good review on the Gallo's. I haven't heard them but they certainly fit the WAF (wife acceptance factor). This will be a huge upgrade from your HTIB.

6moons audio reviews: Anthony Gallo Acoustics A'Dia Ti, Micro Ti, TR1 & TR2 (http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/gallo4/ti.html)

As for the Sony, I have never been a fan of any of their gear, thats not to say the one you are looking at is bad. Also take a look at Onkyo, Yamaha or Marantz.

[cwall]

Thank you for your input blackraven.

I just went to the store and heard the Gallos, and they're awesome. I also went to the Sony store and got my hands on the GUI for the 1040, and I have to say it was pretty slick. 4K upscaling, bluetooth and WiFi: all very nice features.

Any specific models to look at with the Onkyo, Yamaha or Marantz?

Any more input from others is welcome as well :)

[blackraven]

Take a look at the new 6 and 7 series onkyo receivers.

Marantz- Marantz SR5007 7.2-channel home theater receiver with Apple AirPlay® at Crutchfield.com (http://www.crutchfield.com/p_642SR5007/Marantz-SR5007.html?tp=179#details-tab)

[cwall]

I did a little digging on the Onkyo's, and I know this may sound a bit superficial, but I didn't care for the "look" of the device lol.

Additionally, I did follow up on your advice on the Marantz, and I may end up going with that receiver. I was unable to find any info on the GUI for the Marantz. Do you have any info on that box?

Also, what do you guys think of the Sony STR-DA1800ES or STR-DA2800ES?

I have done more research into the Orbs:
People's Choice Home Theater Speaker System (http://www.orbaudio.com/peopleschoicehometheaterspeakersystem.aspx)

From what I have found, they seem to be comparable, if not better, than the Gallos. Thoughts?

[Mr Peabody]

The Gallo I have heard a few times and are very good, I highly doubt the Orb knock offs are comparible.

The Sony 1040 may not be the best bet for overall sound but it is more feature rich than it's competition. I think the Marantz would be a better match with Gallo if it has all the features you require.

[cwall]

Yea, that's what all the research I have done suggests, but I wanted to farm the question out to you guys to see if there were any different responses :)

Taking the wife in tomorrow to hear the speakers. Cross your fingers for the WAF ;)

[cwall]

Well we got the thumbs up on the Gallos, and I pulled the trigger on the Marantz. Now to figure out how to set them up when they get here on Wednesday ;)

[Mr Peabody]

Nice, congrats. On set up just don't get too anxious, take the time to read the manual. I highly recommend using the auto speaker set up, you typically get a good flat response, meaning no one frequency is louder or more prominent than another. Some people like a bit more bass but once your response is flat you can adjust to taste. In an apartment you may not want to go crazy with it though :). You've taken a big step from what you had and I'm sure you will be very happy.

[blackraven]

High five on Gallo's and the Marantz! Let us know how it sounds once you have it set up and calibrated.

[cwall]

Sorry for not being able to respond sooner. The speakers sound awesome. The only issue I have is trying to find the right crossover point. There seem to be 2 settings on the Marantz: one for the "Crossover", the other for the LPF for LFE Frequency.

I them set to the following settings:

Crossover: 80Hz
LPF for LFE: 150Hz

I listened to MANY different combinations between these two settings, but it still sounds somewhat muted in the bass range, probably between 80 - 120Hz. For example, when listening to bullet shots while watching the Lobby scene in the Matrix, the midrange bass sounds weaker than the rest of the sound.

Is there something I am missing?

Thanks!

Chris

[bfalls]

I found this explanation in the AVSForum submitted by james_miller.

LPF of LFE's only single job is to control the amount of upper bass that is passed to the subwoofer when playing a soundtrack with a .1 channel encoded - DD,DTS or whatever. it really has nothing to do with allowing the subwoofer to play higher than the LFE crossover setting.

basically, when playing a soundtrack with a .1 channel, anything above the LPF of LFE setting is disgarded. so for example if its set to 80hz, anything above that in the .1 channel will be thrown away.

The LFE setting controlls the point where bass is redirected from the speakers to the subwoofer. so, if its set to 60hz, anything below that in the main channels will be redirected to the subwoofer. the two are seperate settings not to be confused. There are arguments for and against as to whether you should set LPF of LFE to the same settings as the LFE OR set it to 120hz. personally my subwoofer is crossed over at 60hz - i dont want 120hz material getting to the sub because it becomes far too directional so i have the set the same. your milage may very.

[E-Stat]

The only issue I have is trying to find the right crossover point. Is there something I am missing?
Unfortunately, the real problem is the way the system is designed. Blending what are essentially 4" mid range drivers to a single "subwoofer" is just not going to be optimum. You really need a pair of woofers to blend with the small orbs around 200 hz or so - where a single one would certainly localize itself. Single subs work great with crossovers at 50 hz or below (understanding there is still output above the cutoff).

You're hearing a decided response trough between 80 hz and 200 hz.

[Mr Peabody]

I need to research your model Gallo, if you have the sub/sat system you would be better off running the system as a full range set up from the main terminals and at some point adding another sub of some type for LFE. Have you ran the auto set up with the microphone yet? I use the result on my Marantz preamp.