General Setup Question

[lildanbassman]

Hi,

I had the misfortune of recently purchasing a Theater Research TR-502 System off of Ebay recently. I've since come under the realization that they are a cheap rip-off company that puts unrealistic MSRP values (mine was $3000) and then sell them out of vans in parking lots for what seems like a great value, but is really a rip-off.

Anyway, I think the subwoofer will sound alright, and I'm going to use it to power some OEM In-Wall speakers. However, the setup on the TR-502 sub (it is also the receiver) is poorly designed, and as a result I am not sure how to set up my components.

Basically the problem is that my DVD has only 2 RCA outputs for audio, but the tr-502 has 6 rca inputs, one for each channel. I'm not sure how I can split the signal up without spending too much $$ or losing sound quality.

Here's the user manual if it helps give a clearer picture of whats going on:

http://www.trtheaterresearch.com/own...al/502/502.pdf

Thanks for your help!
->dan

[lildanbassman]

I just saw a Home Theater category in the Forum, so this should probably be moved there. Sorry bout that.

[L.J.]

What, your sub is the receiver...... . I never hearda that before. Seems like your gonna need a DVD player with 6 analog outputs in order to get 5.1 sound. Your DVD player must be really old.

[paul_pci]

Not only is trying to split two channels into six a bad idea, but that's exactly what Dolby Prologic DSP accomplishes. Also, two channel audio basically defeats the purpose of watching dvds encoded with 5.1 discreet channels of audio. Given that dvd players can be had for so cheap today, why not go buy a new player with a digital connection to hook up to your receiver.

[L.J.]

Given that dvd players can be had for so cheap today, why not go buy a new player with a digital connection to hook up to your receiver.

what digital connection I dont think his sub/recv does any processing

[SlumpBuster]

Wow. I hate to pile on, but you really got ripped off. Like, "That should be illegal" ripped off. I don't think you can fix this or make it usable without buying a new DVD player that does the 5.1 processing for you. Also, I think your opening another can of worms if your gonna try to power some inwalls with that piece of junk. That wattage rating is as fake a Pam Andersons boobs. Your going to fry your inwalls because of lack of power equalling distortion.

$299 on ebay. Wow. Dang. Ouch.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Theater-Research...QQcmdZViewItem

[SlumpBuster]

But, in your defense. The product description on ebay does not match the owners manual you linked to. I think the product they sent you is not accurately described. If you bought it on ebay, demand a return.

[lildanbassman]

Well fortunately I only spent $100 (it was an auction, not the store), so its really more of an annoyance than a big loss.

Also, I forgot to mention that the DVD player has Digital Audio outputs (coaxial/optical) as well, but since the subwoofer/receiver doesn't have them I didn't even mention them. Does that change anything?

Could you also explain the power equalling distortion problem? I do agree that the wattage rating is crap...there's no way it's putting out 850 Watts. My 60W Durabrand system was louder!

thanks for your help!
->dan

[paul_pci]

Well fortunately I only spent $100 (it was an auction, not the store), so its really more of an annoyance than a big loss.

Also, I forgot to mention that the DVD player has Digital Audio outputs (coaxial/optical) as well, but since the subwoofer/receiver doesn't have them I didn't even mention them. Does that change anything?

Could you also explain the power equalling distortion problem? I do agree that the wattage rating is crap...there's no way it's putting out 850 Watts. My 60W Durabrand system was louder!

thanks for your help!
->dan

If you can afford to, you should start from scratch by getting a decent receiver that will accept digital inputs (most all do). But as it stands, for you to playback 5.1 discreet audio channels encoded on most dvds, you would need a player that has the 6-analog outputs to connect to your sub thingie (and I use the term "thingie" loosely).