Another noob av receiver/surround sound question

[dmiller]

I'm wanting to get an AV receiver so i can have HD sound through my PS3 and Sky HD. Currently I just have an all in one out of the box 5.1 Panasonic DVD surround sound thingy.

My question is, If I buy an AV receiver such as this http://www.richersounds.com/product/av- ... y-strdh500 or this
http://www.richersounds.com/product/av- ... y-strdh800 or this
http://www.richersounds.com/product/av- ... -strdn1000

can I still use the current speakers and sub that I've got or will that be ****. And do they connect with the same wires.

Also, will i notice much difference with the above 3 av receivers.

any help much appreciated...

 

[Gaspode_TWD]

In theory you can start with your existing speakers. However, some of the all in one systems use very specific powering and crossover set ups that force the use of the whole set together or not at all. This being the case we'll need to know which all in one it is to give the final confirmation.

The other issue is that the speakers tend to be lower impedance. This can mean that it makes the amp work harder. Again, knowing the specific model will help identify any potential problems.

 

[dmiller]

cheers gaspode,

The all in one is a Panasonic SA-HT885 if that is any help.

 

[Gaspode_TWD]

OK, I downloaded the manual & it does have an unconventional connection set up. Normally each speaker wil connect separately to the amp. With your system everything goes to the sub. My guess is that you probably can get away with using the speakers but not the sub.

Possible problems are that the speakers (as predicted) have a low impedance. This makes the amps job harder as its like trying to fill a leaky bucket. In addition, as they expect to be connected to the sub, it is possible that there is some bass filtering of the signal in the system that would not apply with an av amp. This may cause the speakers to distort when they try to cope with the extra information.

But this isn't somthing that is likely to cause damage to your new amp straight off provided you treat the volume control with respect. In other words don't jump straight in with the big bang effects at high volume.

You will likely want to change the speakers fairly quickly any way. Without the sub they'll probably sound a bit thin.

 

[PSM1]

I have not seen the impedance but if they are under 4ohms I would not use them with an AV reciever as the load on it will be too haigh and could cause damage.
Without a sub the speakers are going to sound rubbish. A new sub is £120 so you are better off getting a full 5.1 speaker system (start from £150) and knowing your amp will not get damaged.
On the recievers the 500 will not give you HD audio with PS3/bluray player. This is because it does not do audio over HDMI. Both the 800 and 1000 are basically the same reciever underneath (so will sound the same) but the 1000 has a few extra features. If you do not need the extra features the save the money and go for the 800.

 

[dmiller]

cheers guys. getting a bit techy for me but i think i get the jist of it.

I did see on the back of one of teh front speakers it said 6ohms.

Sounds like it might not be worth getting if the sub won't work. i'll have to shell out for a new speaker set.

 

[Gaspode_TWD]

Yeah, the front are 6 and the rear and centre are 4. As indicated by PSM1, 4 is the lowest you should use and isn't recommended.

 

[dmiller]

yeah, think i've decided to sell the all in one and get myself a cheap all in one speaker system for about £150 to start me off.

Seems i could cause more problems than it's worth trying to use the old system.

think i should probably get maybe 50 quid for my dvd all in one.....

cheers for all your help guys.