Hey all,

I have been looking for some advice on a beginner home theatre system. I want to keep the HT separate from my 2.1 stereo system. I don't have a great TV, yet, but I recently got an amazing deal on two pairs of Michaura speakers (M55 and M66, built by Axiom). So I would only really need a sub and a centre in order to have 5.1 on a dedicated HT system. What I don't have is a clue about HT receivers. I would like to get a Sony 40" LCD HDTV (after some serious footwork, I have decided that's the best one out there for the money. And I don't want any bigger). I really only want to spend around $300-$500 on something for now that I will be able to live with when I get the TV. I'm not sure I need HDMI, or whether I fully understand how sound works with HDMI. I'm totally open to looking for something used too.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks very much!

Zoë

Zoe, keeping well within your budget, a very good deal at the moment(these things sometimes change daily)is the Onkyo 605 factory refurb from Accessories4less for about $350 with free shipping.

One thing I noticed when my brother was looking for a Rx was that none of the stuff under $700 at Future Shop/Best Buy (Denon, HK, Yamaha, Pioneer, Sony) accepted audio over HDMI, despite being HDMI v1.3. I think the Denon 788 (1908) was the cheapest at $699. Mind you, you have probably noticed that A/V Rx are about half the price down south.

I would concour that for around $350 the Onkyo 605 is a good value.

Thanks everyone! I guess I've got a real newbie question here, which is do I have to use the HDMI for audio? Can I just use it for video? Will I really notice that big of a difference in video from RCA cables?

Zoe, since I don't have an HDMI compatible receiver, I hook my HD DVD player directly to my TV. I use the analog connections from the DVD player to my receiver for audio. The only problem I have is that I have to turn the volume all the way down on my TV because the HDMI carries both audio and video to the TV and I don't have any way to turn the audio portion off.

I run the hdmi to my tv from my dvd player but I run the audio via optical to the receiver. It works great as far as I can tell.

There's really no way to turn the TV speaker off? What about a mute button instead of dialing down the volume? Or does that make it say mute on the TV the whole time? Just curious about your TV, I suppose.

It says "mute" the entire time.

On the off chance, is there something like a Display button, and would that affect the Mute message appearing on the screen? I imagine it wouldn't affect that, but shots in the dark pass the time.

Nope--I checked again. It's alright, I'm used to manually turning the volume down.

All right, all right. Kind of annoying, but as long as you're used to it, I suppose. I'm sure I have my share of things like that I have to do, which I don't even think about anymore.

Believe me, I was kinda mad at first, but then realized my anger wasn't going to change the electronics--well, in a good way, at least. Maybe if I bought a more expensive TV it would have that function.

I thought all newer TV's had a setting to turn off the in set speakers, the last two sets I purchased have this setting.

Another question, do I have to use HDMI? Can I hook everything up with RCA cables? What would I have to use to connect an LCD TV? I was looking up some reviews on the Onkyo 605 and there seems to be intermittent problems with the HDMI ports. Since I'm not totally convinced that HDMI sound is the best option, I'd really like to just hook everything up with RCA cables. I've heard conflicting info that I might be compromising video quality. I'm confused about that. Any advice? Sorry for the totally newbie questions. All responses very much appreciated!

Zoë

Yes, but I don't use my HT speakers when watching TV--just the built-in speakers. I don't do that much serious TV watching to warrant turning my system on all the time.

You don't have to use HDMI, although, theoretically it's supposed to simplify matters--video and audio through one cable. No, using RCA cables is okay, too.

For audio, the easiest solution is to go toslink or digital coax. If you have an HD DVD player or Blu Ray, you might want to use analog connections--meaning one cable for each speaker--left, center, right, left rear, right rear, and sub. Go this route if you want to get into the new HD audio formats and have a player that can decode and pass the signal along.

For video, component cable hook-up is fine. As far as quality between HDMI and component, well, it's personal preference and system dependent. I had a 34" Sony CRT that I preferred component over HDMI. On my Sony LCD that I have now, there was little to no difference between the two.

I just found this link where Alan Lofft demystified HDMI for me. I'll do some more digging on that Onkyo 605 to find out if those HDMI issues are universal with that machine or not. The deal is on a refurb, so chances are it had issues at some point. I am usually looking for a deal like that and have bought refurbed stuff from well known manufacturers (Apple, JBL, etc.). I just want to be sure that this will perform well for me and not require a few trips back to Onkyo first.

Thanks!

Zoë

The Michaura M55 and M66 speakers are excellent. I have four of the Michaura M55s in a 7.1 system. You will be very happy with them. They will definitely need a sub. If you need to choose between a sub vs center speaker for the short term, I would recommend getting the sub first as you can phantom the center as an interim solution.

I have noticed a subtle improvement in sound quality when I use HDMI vs Toslink feed off the Toshiba XA2 into the integra DTC-9.8 when listening to CDs. I have not compared decoded 5.1a out vs uncompressed PCM (or HBR bitstream) over HDMI for high rez audio though most don't find a difference. The only drawback (a minor one at present) to using 5.1a out from a player is that you will not be able to listen to DTS-HD High Resolution Audio or DTS-HD Master Audio since no current player can internally decode these formats (save for Denon's upcoming DVD-3800BDCI Blu-ray player); instead, you will hear the "core DTS" for these two formats with 5.1a. For video, maximum resolution with component will be 720p/1080i for BR or HD-DVD; you cannot upconvert S-DVD over component to 720p/1080i (because Hollywood won't allow it) unless you have a player that disables Macrovision copyright protection . So, if you like to watch S-DVDs upconverted to 720p or higher, you may want to use HDMI for video.

John

Umm how easy to get in there and pull the wire off the speaker? I joke, but really... Don't kill your warranty over it though.