Let's talk about home studio speakers

[CringeFest]

me and my shout box buddies were talking about stuff, and i want to know if this is even something you care about...whatcha got?

I had a bose speaker bar with a sub-woofer, which i had originally bought for a record player. I tried to hook them up to my TV screen with an RCA cable, but it didn't work. Long story short...i sold the speakers since the sub-woofer was un-attachable from the bar and i didn't have a good place to put the subwoofer. Would it have worked with every medium (DVD player, chromecast, VHS) if i had used the optical output? I threw it away not knowing what to do with it, but it would have been too short :(

[John McClane]

I use a speaker bar because lack of space, and they honestly do everything well enough. But if I had my choice I’d have my 2.1 stereo setup back in my hands.

Surround sound will get you specification chasing down a money pit.

Most TV brands have a corresponding speak bar that plays well out the box. That’s what I’m rocking. Cheap Black Friday sales from 2019.

EDIT: And there are other speaker threads, but I can never remember their titles because their old 💀

[CringeFest]

I use a speaker bar because lack of space, and they honestly do everything well enough. But if I had my choice I’d have my 2.1 stereo setup back in my hands.

Surround sound will get you specification chasing down a money pit.

Most TV brands have a corresponding speak bar that plays well out the box. That’s what I’m rocking. Cheap Black Friday sales from 2019.

EDIT: And there are other speaker threads, but I can never remember their titles because their old 💀

from my understanding, speakers now adays use an ARC output (HDMI out), optical output, or bluetooth. Bluetooth is such a great/simple technology IMO, ideal for music.

[ynwtf]

I got an LG bar and subwoofer pair. it's enough but now that I've had it for a few years I wish it provided more control over each setting. I know now that I will be getting something with a dedicated center channel speaker whenever I stop watching movies in my office space. My hearing seems to be degrading and with dialogue blended into a 2.1 system, I can't turn up just the dialogue center channel without bumping everything else up with it. Kinda defeats the purpose.

RCA eh? I think even with my older DVD player and TV that used RCA there was still an HDMI input option on the TV. Not sure about a TV-out to speakers via HDMI, though. I'll have to look. There are RCA-to-HDMI adapters available but I've never used one. My setup then was DVD player to speakers-in and tv-in. I don't remember having optical on anything at that time. My guess, I probably had RCA cables from the TV to the speaker hub for TV audio and the DVD player acting like a selector switch to either play DVD audio or incoming TV audio. I just can't remember. My DVD player WAS the speak hub/amp in one unit so it might have been an easier configuration than having each piece its own unit.

My current soundbar does use the 2-way ARC port which is convenient I guess. I have a PS4 and TV audio going through it with the PC connecting via bluetooth. kinda cheating. Pretty sure I have an unnecessary optical cable in there somewhere too.

[CringeFest]

I've decided my SCEPTRE Model:E32 actually is fine with me for the moment, i don't think a sound bar would actually make me anymore comfortable. However, it would be a fun project to install surround sound speakers into the cabinet flaps :D I believe I would need some sort of a receiver in order to make that work.

Even silent forms are cool and all, part of the reason i posted this is re-realizing how important the music is in anything I watch. Also, full dialogue understanding is important, but it's secondary to a lot of the other aspects of viewing pleasure.

[Stirchley]

I don’t know why I think we already have a thread on this topic. Could be wrong.

[ScarletLion]

Having young children puts me off getting expensive speakers that can be damaged but I do have a Vizio Soundbar with wireless rears and sub.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31TrspS5vhL._AC_.jpg

Sounds fantastic with 5.1, 7.1 and Dolby Atmos which bounces of the ceiling.

[CringeFest]

Having young children puts me off getting expensive speakers that can be damaged but I do have a Vizio Soundbar with wireless rears and sub.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31TrspS5vhL._AC_.jpg

Sounds fantastic with 5.1, 7.1 and Dolby Atmos which bounces of the ceiling.

sorry i'm kinda dumb, how do you feed this into your TV?

[ynwtf]

I don’t know why I think we already have a thread on this topic. Could be wrong.


There is a "home theater showcase thread" thread floating from a few years back but that may be a broader topic. iderno.

[John McClane]

It's old and a lot of the images are broke.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=11652

[Stirchley]

It's old and a lot of the images are broke.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=11652

12 pages though. Might be some good stuff buried in there.

[CringeFest]

i guess a bluetooth speaker with an optical jack is my best option...but the fun thing about tech is you never know whether it's going to work or not until you buy it:D

[John McClane]

I stay behind the times. It’s cheaper and smarter to stay 4-5 years behind whatever is current/bleeding edge.

[CringeFest]

I stay behind the times. It’s cheaper and smarter to stay 4-5 years behind whatever is current/bleeding edge.

im certainly further behind in terms of my home studio than that with the exception of my chromecast...my phone is over 5 years old, my computer is a little more modern. It's certainly not a good idea to be the first set of people who buy a new product.

[ScarletLion]

sorry i'm kinda dumb, how do you feed this into your TV?

An HDMI cable. Which is (ARC). So Everything plays through it from your TV. There is also an HDMI input which I stick my media player / Blu Ray player into for the best sound possible.

[iamwhatiseem]

I have a Yamaha 6 speaker system with amplifier/receiver.
Bought it with the home theatre projector about 6 years ago. Which I no longer use (the projector) May father passed 4 years ago, my mother moved in and lives in the basement (a walk out basement completely finished) which is where we use to watch movies. Upstairs we don't really have a spot to set everything up.
Tried to sell it on Facebook market, but that was a joke.

[Sedai]

Home studio or home theater?

My studio speakers are still my Event Tria system from about a million years ago. Still fine for what I need it for, which is sitting around playing guitar and on occasion, mixing some vinyl. I mix vinyl on two Technics MK3D 1200s with a Numark Pro SM1 mixer.

[John Dumbear]

Very content with my Polk Audio sound bar w/base speaker. $150 from Best Buy and sounds great.

[The Rodent]

Panasonic stereo speakers :D
I used to have them tied into a surround sound system in place of the poxy little speakers the system came with.
Had to ditch the surround though as I could never get it perfect with the livingroom layout and having surround sound even slightly off-set gave me OCD cramps.

https://i.imgur.com/uUJuE1t.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/WVjhjDJ.jpg

First pic ^^ you can see the basic stereo in the background... no idea the make and model... but when I watch movies with the system going, the neighbours might as well be watching with me :D

Think the set-up cost about £30 and has ever faltered once.

[Sedai]

Home theater, on the other hand, since that seems to be what people are posting...

Polk Audio RTi floor standing R/L, along with a Polk RTi center channel and surrounds, and a Velodyne subwoofer completes the sound reinforcement.

As for the other components, I still have my Samsung 50" Plasma, which will remain until my daughter stops putting her mac and cheese covered hands on the screen. A Denon AVR, and a couple other small components like a Roku Premiere and a Bluray player round out the rest.

[The Rodent]

... which will remain until my daughter stops putting her mac and cheese covered hands on the screen...

Give her peanut butter and jelly sammiches instead, it'll stop the mac & cheese problem.

[Sedai]

Give her peanut butter and jelly sammiches instead, it'll stop the mac & cheese problem.

Those go in the VCR instead!

[The Rodent]

Those go in the VCR instead!

Aaah, memories of childhood.

Mum standing over me shouting, Dad raking mash out of the player firing out every swear word imaginable, and even managing to find some new ones...

And me just wondering why nobody else wanted to feed the machine.