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Purchased new speakers - did I make a mistake?
Hello, I just purchased the yamaha ns-777's.
http://www.yamaha.co.jp/english/prod.../ht/ns777.html
I get them home, and I find out my receiver cant handle them. (distorted over any highs)
So I replaced my cheesy HT in a box receiver, with a nice yamaha htr-5940.
Once I powered up the speakers, I was blown away. So I decided to replace my center and surrounds with the matching speaker pieces.
Well I thought the ns-555's were supposed to be the surrounds.
http://www.yamaha.co.jp/english/prod.../ht/ns555.html
So i purchased a pair of these. They were mailed out yesterday, so there really isnt any going back.
Then I read the instructions, and it said the ns555 and ns777's were supposed to be the main speakers, with a smaller matching bookshelf type speaker for surrounds.
Will this screw up my HT if I use the NS555's as left and right rear surrounds? Will I be missing anything audio wise? Is this ok that I use em like that?
Any help you could shed would be greatly appreciated.
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Keep in mind Im married, so my wife needs to accept any purchases. While I got lucky with the wife acceptance factor on the ns777's - Im afraid my wife will quickly shut down my upgrade-itis very quickly if I made such an expensive mistake. However if they can provide an equally nice surround experience (as opposed to a smaller speaker) Ill be thrilled.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluforever
Will this screw up my HT if I use the NS555's as left and right rear surrounds? Will I be missing anything audio wise? Is this ok that I use em like that?
Nope. Nope. Yep.
Alot of people use four towers like your going to do. The only real consideration is bass management. Having all four towers going can potentially create some nasty bass humps. But, playing with various settings on your receiver will help smooth everything out.
Also, a word of caution. Alot of boneheads will pipe up and say that buying Yamaha speakers was a mistake. I would not let them get to you. They will suggest that Yamaha is good at alot of things but, speaker design is not one of them. They will suggest that dedicated speaker companies could give you more bang for the buck. Whether or not they are right (and I don't necessarily think they are) the speakers are already purchase, it sounds like you can't return them, so you might as well enjoythem. FWIW, I've heard those speakers and thought they were a very good bargain.
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for a complete speaker cost (NS777 NS555 c444 center) of $800 delivered (A stock, new sealed), and the performance provided, Im quite happy.
But being such an audio noob - I may be missing out with better similar priced bargains. No worries though - if you heard my cheesy sony home theatre in a box speakers prior too these, you would probably agree crap TR would have been an upgrade. The sony's were that bad.
Thank you so very much for your help and response, I feel worlds better that they can be used in that configuration.
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No, that is definately a good looking, good sounding suite of speakers for that price. You can tell your wife that "SlumpBuster has approved." Actually, that propably won't add any credibility.
If you haven't considered it already. A subwoofer will help too. Recommendations in this price range include:
The Titanic Kits: http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage....up_ID=536&SO=2
SVS: http://www.svsound.com/products-sub.cfm
Hsu: http://www.hsuresearch.com/subwoofers.html
and
Rocket: http://www.av123.com/products_produc...rs&product=6.1
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Im still using the crap sony sub from the HTIB - that was my next purchase lined up this week.
The yamaha receiver definitely hits it a lot harder than the sony receiver - but if the woofer is turned up any more than 1/4 of the way - mega distortion.
That VTF-1 from HSU is calling me. Love the look, and like variable tuning. Price fits me too. 2 year electronics 7 year woofer warranty appeals to me too. I think Ill do a blind buy on this one.
FWIW - while many Im sure know this - let me repeat it for potential readers. Avoid sony HT speakers like the plague. While Im sure a great receiver and flawless placement would improve the sony's sound, I have heard white van speakers that sound better than these.
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Quote:
Nope Nope & Yuppers
What he said. There's nothing wrong with using full-range speakers for surrounds. Just think -- you'll be able to listen to that Blue Man Group full blast! (Or any other "aggressive" surround mix, where they put a lot of material in the rears.)
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I agree totally with Slump Buster. Its strange though. If you look at the yamaha link that you supplied, it clearly states that the NS-555 are to be used as surrounds.
Just a word of advice, when it comes to speakers, as long as you are happy with the sound then they are good speakers no matter what other people say.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blackraven
Just a word of advice, when it comes to speakers, as long as you are happy with the sound then they are good speakers no matter what other people say.
I couldn't have said it better myself. If some of us say a speaker sounds crappy, doesn't make it so. For example some of us really like B&W while others think that are over hyped speakers. Whether you take it or leave its totally up to you, as long as your happy then you made a good purchase.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dusty Chalk
What he said. There's nothing wrong with using full-range speakers for surrounds. Just think -- you'll be able to listen to that Blue Man Group full blast! (Or any other "aggressive" surround mix, where they put a lot of material in the rears.)
or a big explosion in the rear...
or anything else where the rear speakers get alot of signal.
there's nothing wrong with using big speakers everywhere...
heck, I've even seen people who used 2 more big floorstanders as a center...
Rock on,
Bert.
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double ditto
Quote:
Originally Posted by blackraven
Just a word of advice, when it comes to speakers, as long as you are happy with the sound then they are good speakers no matter what other people say.
Also, with full range units in the back you're well set for multi-channel music which generally puts more demands on the rear surrounds more than HT does.
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Hey Bluforever, you mentioned your old receiver could not power the new speakers. What kind of speaker wire do you have? You might want to consider upgrading to a heavier gauge wire if your using cheap small gauge wire. Even upgrading to the cheap monstercable xp or something similar will make a big difference. Or check out www.bluejeancable.com. Their speaker wire is 10g belden wire. It's not fancy, but its cheap and does the job and will not add or take away anything from your music. Higher quality wire will put less of a strain on your receiver.
Also, check out the subwoofers from www.outlawaudio.com
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That's probably the least of his problems.
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have you purchased a matching center yet?
I have 4 of the same towers and a matching center... I specifically did this because I wanted to get into multichannel sacd's.... I am very happy with the results...
how much are these yamaha's typically... they are sharp looking imo
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluforever
FWIW - while many Im sure know this - let me repeat it for potential readers. Avoid sony HT speakers like the plague. While Im sure a great receiver and flawless placement would improve the sony's sound, I have heard white van speakers that sound better than these.
I'm not a big fan of speakers made by non-speaker manufacturer, but there are some Sony speakers which sound very good (SSM7, SSM9, etc..) and received good reviews. Being a noob try to avoid generalities. Judging a company's entire speaker line by listening to their HTIB speakers does them and yourself an injustice. It's like saying all Chinese food is bad because you didn't like one bite.
I don't consider Yamaha a high-end speaker manufacturer. I've heard several of their towers and subs and felt they sounded anemic with very little true low-end. But, I wouldn't judge their entire line from my limited experience. They've manufactured music and sound reinforcement systems for decades, they must be doing something right. Comparing Sony speakers to "white van" speakers isn't fair. Sony doesn't claim their $200-$300 HTIB speakers retail for $1500+/each or try to mislead the consumer by trying to make their speakers look almost identical to high-end lines. Try to keep an open mind, you may get surprised.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bfalls
I'm not a big fan of speakers made by non-speaker manufacturer, but there are some Sony speakers which sound very good (SSM7, SSM9, etc..) and received good reviews. Being a noob try to avoid generalities. Judging a company's entire speaker line by listening to their HTIB speakers does them and yourself an injustice. It's like saying all Chinese food is bad because you didn't like one bite.
I don't consider Yamaha a high-end speaker manufacturer. I've heard several of their towers and subs and felt they sounded anemic with very little true low-end. But, I wouldn't judge their entire line from my limited experience. They've manufactured music and sound reinforcement systems for decades, they must be doing something right. Comparing Sony speakers to "white van" speakers isn't fair. Sony doesn't claim their $200-$300 HTIB speakers retail for $1500+/each or try to mislead the consumer by trying to make their speakers look almost identical to high-end lines. Try to keep an open mind, you may get surprised.
My apologies then about sony speakers. I planned on buying the speakers only, and using the current receiver. I was a tad upset having to run to BB to pick up a yammy receiver. But being I spent $250 for a receiver, powered sub, and 5 speakers, I guess they performed well for the price. I should restate my opinion-
Do not buy into Sony's sub $300 home theater packages. I feel that a $100-200 receiver and $200 on some ok speakers would go much further. I apologize for any emotions that I had at that moment making into that blanket statement, I shouldnt have done that.
That being said -
Allow me to say everyone here could really teach a thing or two to the other AV forums.
I tried getting some help with this issue and the only responses I got were -
Doesnt matter if you can use towers as surrounds, return em and get (fill preferred name in here) for $xxx only $xxx more than you wanted to spend.
So I thank everyone here for responding about my question, and not turning it into a "so and so is better than xxx"
I think I found a new home to learn about audio. (got the video part down, but Im a complete noob when it comes to audio, receivers, ohm's, etc)
On another note - I am quite pleased with the ns-777's. I cant wait till the 555's get here (should be mid week next week). Yamaha is definitely not known for being a speaker company - I agree whole heartedly on that one. But I didnt exactly blind buy them. I went to quite a few listening rooms, and previewed quite a few brands.
I was thrilled with both the looks and performance for the price. Are they the best? No. But better than anything Ive ever owned. The wow factor alone (when people see them) is quite a tickler for me. Add good performance at $320 for the 777's and $250 for the 555's, and $120 for the c444 center, and well Im sure you could see where a college student like myself could scream "DEAL!!!!"
Im also finding out that the receiver plays a large part as well. I was shocked at the level of customization that a real receiver includes. You can change just about anything.
On another note - does anyone have any good links to read up on ohm's and the like? I know zero about this and would like to learn. Im not asking for someone to spoon feed, but if you have a link you could share, I would be most grateful.
And once again - this is one of the best, down to earth AV sites Ive been on yet. The members here make it that way - you guys r great.
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Um...just for the record, Sony is a speaker manufacturer. NS10's are ubiquitous in studios.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dusty Chalk
Um...just for the record, Sony is a speaker manufacturer. NS10's are ubiquitous in studios.
You mean Yamaha.
rw
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Quote:
Originally Posted by E-Stat
You mean Yamaha.
rw
Thanks. I was lost and started reading back from the begining.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by E-Stat
You mean Yamaha.
I don't know -- do I? I thought he was referring to Sony. If he was referring to Yamaha...well, they make pianos. I have no idea what that has to do with the current discussion, but just thought I'd throw that out there.
EDIT: Unholy carp, I did mean Yamaha. Yamaha NS10's -- I thought they were Sony NS10's all this time...
Thanks for the catch.
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I am admittedly a Yamaha fanboy, so you have to take my opinion with a grain of salt.
Yamaha is definately a speaker manufacturer. Dusty is right about the 10s being a studio standard. Thrity year old 1000 and 500 series monitors regularly go for more than a $1000 on ebay and audiogon. Of current products, their SW-1500 sub is a monster.
But, the real money shot is kilo dollar Soavo line that you can't get in the States:http://www.yamaha.co.jp/product/av/t...eup/index.html
So, just keep that in mind before you want to go and say something ignorant after purusing the local Best Buy and concluding "Yamaha doesn't make good speakers, heee-yuck!"
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yeah, Yamaha definately is a speaker manufucterer too!
but now they're too much HT centered...
but Yamaha once was a high end (I mean, real high end) brand.
and they made stuff that puts all their modern speakers to shame...
like this one...
http://www.thevintageknob.org/YAMAHA/GF1/GF1.html#
... which cost about $ 33k...
Keep them spinning,
Bert.
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Its unfortunate that there are some manufacturers that dont sell their high end equipment in the US. JBL sells high end speakers that are not available here.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blackraven
Its unfortunate that there are some manufacturers that dont sell their high end equipment in the US. JBL sells high end speakers that are not available here.
A lot of that has to do with the image of the brand and the distribution setup for individual countries. JBL used to be carried by a lot of independent audio dealer showrooms, but they made a play for the mass market starting around the early-80s by adding mass merchandisers to their dealer network and putting the JBL brand on everything from car audio systems to mini systems. That move led to most of their dealers dropping JBL from their product lineup, which means that JBL high end offerings have virtually no dealer support in the U.S. since JBL's larger chain store partners like Best Buy won't carry those speakers. JBL's play for the mass market also damaged JBL's image, since the high end dealers that formerly carried JBL products won't have a lot of positive things to say about the company.
Conversely, it works in the opposite way as well. For example, Paradigm is only sold through independent audio dealers in the U.S. -- no regional chain stores or mass merchandisers. While in Canada, Paradigm is indeed sold through chain stores similar to Best Buy.
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The issue with using tower speakers for surrounds is more about the positioning and alignment than anything. As a practical matter, it's a lot more difficult to elevate tower speakers above ear level (which is what Dolby recommends), and the furniture in the back of the room will block, absorb, and/or redirect the sound if they're in the way. Bookshelf speakers are just easier to position properly and they're small enough such that they won't be obstructed by furniture or other items common to the back of a typical room.
On the plus side, you can run all of your speakers (except for the center speaker) at full range, and I tend to prefer listening to multichannel music with all of the speakers at the same level (with most movies though, you're probably better off with the surrounds elevated -- Dolby recommends 2' above ear level, and in my experience I think about 1' above is fine).
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