Sony HT-SF1200 My review (Amp packaged with HTD-870RSF)

Lol! Yes that was quite a moment! But if you think that's good seriously try R.E.C. for some 'full bitrate' DTS audio bliss. Just wait to you here the 'Running to the Penthouse' scene Holy Cr*p!!! :eek:

I have that already but not watched it with surround sound. Didnt really rate the film that much, didnt find it that scary.
 
Checked the speakers and have found out that they are labelled sl and sr. so thank you

On another note when watching dvd's blue rays how do you chose the correct surround sound, i.e from dolby, PL11, multi sec etc?

You leave it set to AFD auto, then select a soundfield (Movie button) during playback.
 
...........everything seems ok except for an annoying problem when I power-up......

.......I've had the amp on SAT, and switched-off. When I switch-on again it starts-up in SAT mode but almost immediately switches to TV.......?

Sorry to keep on, but does anyone have any ideas why this is happening?
 
Sorry to keep on, but does anyone have any ideas why this is happening?

This is very difficult to help with unless the person has the exact same setup and equipment. I see your also using HDMI control (Bravia theatre sync) with a Pioneer TV when it was designed exclusively for Sony Bravia equipment. This could well cause communication problems, but in general this is a difficult question to help out with I'm afraid, hence the quiet response.
 
Hmmm strange problem... First thing I would suggest is switch the PS3's audio output settings to 'Auto' and let the system itself decide on the suitable audio output, this works fine for me.

Second thing is maybe reset everything on your 1200 by holding the power button on the amp for more than 5 seconds, auto cal again and start from scratch.

Let us know. :thumbsup:

All sorted now, amp sound was set to tv+amp for some reason, even though i mute the tv when the amp is in use. Changed it to amp only and works fine now :)
 
afternoon

The speaker base are slightly too big where I need to put them so I have attached my fromt speakers to the side of my tv with strong self-adhesive pads. I was just wondering if the tv could cause any defect to the speakers

Dom
 
not really the tv causing issues with the speakers,more the other way round.
taping them to the side of the tv isnt the best move, as with the heat an lcd produces,chances are,they might weaken and fall off.
if the tv is an lcd/plasma,there shouldnt be any issues with them as to performance, as lcd/plasma arent really affected by speakers,unlike crt was.
 
they are attached to a plasma tv side panel.

They are attcahed firmly but with air space between, the pads are very strong and even with force they stay on once attached.

I may have to rethink the situation, maybe screw them into the wall but then they will be further back than the tv.
 
that really wont matter,if they are further back,just up the levels/redo the settings.
safer though i would think,and for tv warranty purposes,possibly also, as the pads might make a bit of a mess of the tv casing.
 
Apologies if it's already been asked/answered, but i have my 360 plugged in with hdmi, and on the amp it says dolby digital 3/2.1. I have sound from the rear speakers, but something tells me im not getting 5.1 surround sound, if that makes sense?
 
no, thats right, thats what you should get...3 front speakers, 2 rears,and 1 subwoofer..its fine,dont worry.
 
Cool :smashin:

Seems an odd way to put it though :confused: Why not just say 5.1?
 
Cool :smashin:

Seems an odd way to put it though :confused: Why not just say 5.1?

I thought that at first lol. But if your getting sound out of your rears then it must be working:rotfl:.

Quick question, can you save settings and have different settings if that makes sence. Because when i play games i sit on my chair which is about 3-4 feet from the tele and the rears are quite but when i watch films i lie on my bed and the rears sound very clear.
 
I have this system and all is great apart from a few times when watching a blu-ray through my ps3 the sound doesn't come out correctly.
The music and background sounds seems fine but when the actors talk the speech is very distant and hard to hear. I have to turn the ps3 and sound system of for it to work normally, any suggestions on why this it like this?
Dom
 
Check your settings in both ps3 and htsf1200 for "dynamic range control" - ensure they are both off.

It applies compression to the audio, supposedly for late night viewing. Basically it screws it up!

It's off by default on the htsf1200 i think, but with ps3 it's on "auto" by default.
 
first of all sorry about my english. I have home HTPC with msi k9agm3-fih mainboard and sf1200 receiver. when I play dts or ddigital mkv films receiver accepts only pcm 48 khz sound 2 channels.if I activate spdif out in ac3 codec settings no sound comes from receiver. please help:(
 
problem solved with new ati hdmi drivers from realtek's web site. msi web site has older version of ati hdmi driver.
 
hi peeps,

Welsh Whirlwind, over a year ago since you´ve started this beast is it? simply amazing and still going strong!
to u and all the other guys/girls contributing I :clap: you.
You´ve all been very, very helpfull!

while i´m waiting for my, HT-SS1300 to arrive I´ve had a blast reading every single post in this thread.
hopefully the auto-calibration will work fine @ my place. ;)
(though with my luck I wouldn´t count on it...)

anyways, this will be my first post @ this forum but also my first home theater sound system ever, so please bare with my newbie questions regarding speaker placement. Like everyone else, I want to squeeze this system to the max.

for you consideration, i have a small living room aprox. 9.5 X 14.5 feet and distance from main seating position to TV is aprox. 6.5 feet.
I´ve also added some pics of my room, just to make it easier for you guys.


for best performance (movies and music), where in that room would you place fronts, center, surrounds and sub?
i´m aware of the importance of room acoustics and how different the sound image can be from room to room.
just looking for initial recommendations, before I start wall-mounting, tweaking etc etc. :D

I´ve also read the guidelines at,
A Guide to Home Theater Speaker Placement:

...though i find it difficult following parts of those guidelines considering the size of my living room and furnitures...

excerpts from the above mentioned site:
"The center speaker should be precisely the same distance from your listening position as your front left and front right main speakers."

"Avoid having the center speaker closer to your main viewing position than the left and right speakers; this will unbalance the inter-mix between the different sound channels."

"As far as possible, the main front speakers should be set with their tweeters at approximately the same height, as the tweeter on the center channel. All three tweeters should be at or near ear level when seated; differences in this respect should not exceed 12 inches (30 cm)."

now, I was thinking of putting the center speaker in front of my TV and wall-mount the front speakers at ear level on either side of TV. Doing this will not follow the mentioned guidelines regarding same height for front speakers and center. also by doing this the center speaker will be closer to viewing position.
an alternative might be to not wall-mount the front speakers and place them by the side of the center speaker, though thats not near ear level... ideas?
(see pictures 1 and 5.)

also, how importent is the distance between the front speakers, how far apart for best performance in my room?
by the way, that peace of furniture is about 4.5 feet wide...


regarding the surround speakers (SL, SR) i was thinking of wall-mounting them, though I´m not sure on which wall/walls... :confused:
alternative 1: on each side of the couch (picture 2),

alternative 2: as recommended in the SS1300-manual a sidewall placement (picture 3) and (picture 6 - between clock and aquarium).

if alternative 2, the distance between SL speaker and seating pos. and SR and seating pos. will differ as much as 3 feet, if thats of any importance?


finally, the sub i was thinking of putting on the floor to the left of the TV. what do you guys think?


also, if i´m wall-mounting front- and surround speakers i´m not going to be able to toe-in the speakers when using the mic for auto-calibration for best results as mentioned in previous posts... solutions?


"correct" speaker placement is very important for a great experience, that much i know.
and of course the most important thing is that it sounds good to my ears.
i hope you guys can give me your suggestions and experiences on this matter.
the more alternatives the better...well sometimes anyway... :rolleyes:


ps:
what sizes are your rooms?
anyone willing to add some pictures of your home theater rooms for inspiration and admiration?
 

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to begin with, take a deep breath, and relax..first things first,and thats to get it out of the box..:rotfl:

if i were you, i would get it out, connect it up,and to begin with, place a front speaker on each side of the tv/tv unit,the sub on the floor to the left of the tv unit(doesnt look like theres room on the right?), and the centre under the tv.
next place a surround speaker on each side of the sofa.
toe the rears towards you,and point the fronts straight out.

put something on,like a movie, or test tone, then begin to experiment..forget the auto cal just now..

move the speakers to how you like,and to where you want, then do the test tone..when it gives the impression that it is surrounding you, test again.

even though you provide pics, we're still not in your room, so trial and error is the best bet.
even getting the speakers to a rough wall mount height,with a helper can aid you.

but yes as a rough rule, ear height when seated is the correct position, but dont put too much into the positions yet, as you can alter the speaker levels for any inconsistency.
 
Yeah as fox said - calibrating the levels will take into account any differences in speaker positions.

I'll attach some basic guides on speaker placement.

Hope that helps and welcome to the forums! :smashin:
 
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Do you have to do auto cal? Because i did it like 3 times and the sound was awful!! Eventually i just reset the amp, manually entered the speaker distance and put behind/lo. Sound is alot better now. Only difference is that the speaker distance measurments go in .0 rather than .00

To PriPPs i dont think you should stress that much over your centre speaker being at the same level. I have wall mounted all four tallboys, with my centre approx 30cm in front, in the fron of my tv and sound is not distorted at all. Hope you enjoy your new system mate, get wanted on blu-ray if you can, that was my first watch and loved it at the start.
 
:rotfl:

RottenFox, really i´m like a child on christmas eve!!
my first home theater system dude...can you imagine what i´m feeling right know, knowing I´ll get the box tomorrow!!

thanx for your advices guys, i´ll let you know how it goes.


how am i supposed to get some sleep tonight? ;)
 
The auto cal can be hit and miss - try it a few times, ensure speakers are toed in towards the mic, there's minimum ambient noise, nothing between the mic and the speakers, and the mic is at ear level in the listening position.

Give it a couple of goes and if you're still not happy, make a note of the speaker distances, select "load off" in the auto cal menu to cancel the set up, and input them manually. You'll then need to do a bit of tweaking to get your levels right. Most people find they need to turn the sub down a bit and the centre up a bit.

Also ensure the surround position is right - it's on "side low" by default - getting it right makes a big difference.
 

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