new here, need help putting together a system

[blackraven]

Try a small amount of rubber cement. Its flexible and wont crack.

[cgibsong002]

i ended up putting on a small bit of caulk. unfortunately it didn't quite dry by the time i had to leave for school again. on the bright side, i got a free receiver after all. its a sony str-v200. couldn't find any reviews on it, but it works and sounds good. I ended up taking that and the small BA's up to school with me. I tried out the energys... very good. Much more low end power than the BA's, as well as a bit more of a full spectrum overall. Although a subwoofer would still be nice, I now understand how a sub isn't completely necessary with those. Even the BA's are fine without a sub, they certainly have more defined bass than the subwoofer that came with my logitech speakers had.
so far i'm quite satisfied with everything i've got, and i'm still under that budget.

[blackraven]

Glad to hear that you like the Energy's. They are great speakers for the price. You could have done a lot worse. Now all you need is a really good budget CD player.

[Mr Peabody]

Free stuff is always good to help stay within a budget Sounds like you are on your way.

[cgibsong002]

Glad to hear that you like the Energy's. They are great speakers for the price. You could have done a lot worse. Now all you need is a really good budget CD player.

i suppose a cd player will have a higher quality sound output than my cpu?

[Mr Peabody]

The virtues of a CPU as a delivery system is debated but if done correctly most feel it's fine. With that being said the addition of a decent DAC is usually made. I'm not into that but there are several here that use computer as a storage and playback device.

[cgibsong002]

The virtues of a CPU as a delivery system is debated but if done correctly most feel it's fine. With that being said the addition of a decent DAC is usually made. I'm not into that but there are several here that use computer as a storage and playback device.

Yeah the whole reason I use my computer for music is because it's so simple and convenient. I'm constantly on my computer so i can easily change music and everything without having to move or change CD's. I feel that even an I-pod dock would be much more of a hassle.

[Mr Peabody]

Do you use mp3 files or the entire song (lossless)? Of course, the larger the file the better sound you will get. I don't know if this is a feature on Itunes but using WMP setting to a "variable bitrate" helps too. I'm probably telling you stuff you already know

[cgibsong002]

Do you use mp3 files or the entire song (lossless)? Of course, the larger the file the better sound you will get. I don't know if this is a feature on Itunes but using WMP setting to a "variable bitrate" helps too. I'm probably telling you stuff you already know

i use mp3s and windows media center. i've got through (what i thought) every possible feature on windows media player and center... don't see anything about variable bitrate. where is this located?

[Mr Peabody]

I'm still using XP, my WMP is version 11. I pull down the "Rip" menu, enter on "format" and you should see it as an option there. It also shows mp3, Lossless and some other options. From what I'm told "variable bitrate" more intelligently uses the space in the file, like not dedicating a bit to silence. So even though it may be a mp3 it should sound better than typical.

[cgibsong002]

Well, figured I'd stop back in to give an update. With the sony receiver, everything sounded great. Only problem was, if I wanted to hook up my Energy's, the BA, and the EV, I couldn't really get a great sound. The Energy's sounded fantastic on their own, the BA's sounded great on their own, and the EV sounds good... but all together through the Sony I couldn't get the sound I wanted. The problem is that it's a surround sound receiver and it wants to push the EV (center channel) as the main speaker. I'm not sure if it's the receiver or not, but as the main speaker, the EV doesn't sound great. It's got everything but the low end. I have a feeling it needs an amp. Also, since the receiver is surround, and music isn't really, the rear speakers don't get much sound. So I ended up taking out the EV for now and just using my four speakers with the energy's being the mains.

Anyway, I just got the go-ahead to go into my grandparents storage garage and found that receiver I was talking about. It's a Sherwood S-9180 CP. Couldn't find anything about it online. Looks cool, haven't tried it yet. I'm not quite sure how to hook it up. It only has front and rear spots. So I'm thinking maybe I should put the Energy's and EV through the higher powered Sony, and putting my BA's through the Sherwood, then splitting my cpu's output and running both receivers at once. How's this sound?

Also, is there any risk of my receiver being overpowered by the giant EV? Should I get an amp to safely run it?

and last question... I'd like to stack both receiver on top of each other with one of my BA speakers on top. About how much space should be in between each receiver to safely get it enough air?

EDIT: Got a cool little surprise when turning the receiver on. Look at that vintage glow!

[JoeE SP9]

Let me see if I've got this straight. You want to use two receivers to run three different sets of speakers to play two channel music. I'm guessing you mean in the same room.

The question that comes to mind is, why?

[cgibsong002]

Let me see if I've got this straight. You want to use two receivers to run three different sets of speakers to play two channel music. I'm guessing you mean in the same room.

The question that comes to mind is, why?

because I can? I don't know. I've got two sets of speakers, and a corner speaker. I've got two receivers. One receiver alone isn't setup right to be able to run a full setup, hence the thought to use both receivers. Realistically I'm most likely going to just hook one set of speakers up to my E-drum kit and have the other set for music... But since everything is right next to each other why not see what kind of possibilities I can try right?

[poppachubby]

Nice Sherwood, looks great! Usually when a vintage lights up, it's a sign that it's been cared for.

Anyhow, I think the problem is your Sony receiver just doesn't have the jam or features to do what you want. A more modern/powerful receiver will deliver proper 5.1 and will bypass for your 2-channel.

I know you're on a budget, but maybe consider some B stock/refurbished amps from a credible source.

Dakmart are a great authorized dealer of Denon factory refurbs. Something like this amp might help your problem. Have a look around, for $150 - 200 you would get a decent receiver.

http://www.dakmart.com/product_info....oducts_id=6502

[Mr Peabody]

The Sony is probably fine. The EV is way more efficient than the other speakers, it actually takes much less power, that's why it's louder. You need to go into the receiver's set up menu and adjust all the levels until the speakers sound like they are at the same volume. If you want to get serious go to Radio Shack and buy an SPL meter. The EV will not play as low. This may be made worse depending on whether the receiver's internal setting is "small" or "large" for the center. If no sub set it to "large". It still won't shake the ground but that is the best setting. I agree, one receiver or the other. I think your issues are with the Sony's set up. A bit of tweaking should improve things some. Also, if listening in surround the center will get the most energy. If the Sony has a "party" mode or multichannel stero mode, try that. Sometimes the multichannel stereo may be called 5 or 7 channel stereo. If only listening to stereo you may just want to use the Sherwood and forget the Sony. There is a lot to setting up an HT receiver and it may be more of a pain than it's worth for you.

[poppachubby]

Hey Peabody, this Sony doesn't even have a DVD option on it. It has "Video". It has no features to program, he needs a better amp. Aren't you a Denon guy? Perhaps you could rec an amp from Dakmart for him...

[JoeE SP9]

because I can? I don't know. I've got two sets of speakers, and a corner speaker. I've got two receivers. One receiver alone isn't setup right to be able to run a full setup, hence the thought to use both receivers. Realistically I'm most likely going to just hook one set of speakers up to my E-drum kit and have the other set for music... But since everything is right next to each other why not see what kind of possibilities I can try right?

Please excuse my not remembering you are new to this.

Although there are instances where more than one pair of speakers (stacked Advents for example) can sound better than the sum of their parts this is not the case with dissimilar pairs. You can have lot's of sound or good sound. The options you have mentioned will give lots of sound. However, if good sound is what you want get rid of the receiver you like the least. Get rid of all three(?) pairs of speakers along with the single. Buy one pair of decent speakers to build a system around. Your first upgrade from that point would be a better receiver or separates

[poppachubby]

Please excuse my not remembering you are new to this.

Although there are instances where more than one pair of speakers (stacked Advents for example) can sound better than the sum of their parts this is not the case with dissimilar pairs. You can have lot's of sound or good sound. The options you have mentioned will give lots of sound. However, if good sound is what you want get rid of the receiver you like the least. Get rid of all three(?) pairs of speakers along with the single. Buy one pair of decent speakers to build a system around. Your first upgrade from that point would be a better receiver or separates

I may as well ask you here. You get those files??!?!?!? Dude I've been PM'n and emailing you like mad tryin to find out. What gives?

Sorry about the O.T. people, resume...

[Mr Peabody]

Is the Sony a surround sound? I thought it was because he was mentioning a center channel. If it's an old Pro Logic surround he wouldn't want anything hooked to the rear as they were mono and only a narrow frequency response. You're talking amp, does either receiver have preamp outs?

The EV would be your best drum speaker.

[poppachubby]

Is the Sony a surround sound? I thought it was because he was mentioning a center channel. If it's an old Pro Logic surround he wouldn't want anything hooked to the rear as they were mono and only a narrow frequency response. You're talking amp, does either receiver have preamp outs?

The EV would be your best drum speaker.

Here's a link to the manual. Scroll down and download, it will bring another window with a pdf. I was using amp loosely...receiver.

http://www.manualshark.org/p/sony-4/sony-str-v200-4051/

[JoeE SP9]

I may as well ask you here. You get those files??!?!?!? Dude I've been PM'n and emailing you like mad tryin to find out. What gives?

Sorry about the O.T. people, resume...

See my PM to you.

[cgibsong002]

Is the Sony a surround sound? I thought it was because he was mentioning a center channel. If it's an old Pro Logic surround he wouldn't want anything hooked to the rear as they were mono and only a narrow frequency response. You're talking amp, does either receiver have preamp outs?

The EV would be your best drum speaker.

The Sony is a surround sound, and when I hook up rear's to it, as you say, only a small range of sounds come out. That was my logic for using both receivers to individually power the speaker sets. I figured two sets of speakers acting as fronts would give me a much fuller sound than my current setup. But maybe you guys are right, maybe that's just more sound and not necessarily better sound.

Again, I'm not really looking to buy too much more to get better sound... I'm way more than satisfied with the Energy's and Sony alone, but now that I've got the other stuff I was just wondering what options I had.

You mentioned the EV being good for drums... Do you think I should also have a pair of fronts to go along with that? Maybe since the Sherwood doesn't have a center channel I'll try the Sony using the BA's and EV for my drumming and just keep it simple and go Sherwood + Energy's for my music.

How's that sound?

[poppachubby]

and just keep it simple and go Sherwood + Energy's for my music.

How's that sound?

Great. Probably the best combo of everything you have. It's a shame about the Sony. Did you have a peek at Dakmart?

I think you will enjoy the output of the Sherwood for your music. I definitely see a DAC in your future. Start saving some money...the Denon that I linked you would be able to handle your H/T and 2 channel needs.

[Mr Peabody]

That sounds like a plan. It never hurts to experiment to see what works best.

[cgibsong002]

Well to simplify things further, it sounds like my dad's gonna steal his Sony back now that I've got the Sherwood. Since the Sherwood is dual stereo rather than surround, I'm gonna hook up both the sets of speakers to that for music. I'll keep an eye out on craigslist and just get an amp to run the EV for my drumset.

A DAC is in my future. I still want to get an interface for my recording needs as well as a higher quality dac... but for now I think I've got things covered. I'll give an update once I get my Sherwood hooked up.