Guest Kennorthen Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Hello everyone, This is my first post on the forum, I am a 27 year old student and live in Holland. Over the years I have owned 2 Klipsch ifi's and 1 Promedia GMX 5.1D. Falling in love with klipsch speakers I bought two RSX-5 sats, an RCX-4 center and an RW-8 sub and two rsx-3's as rears. I am looking to buy a receiver that can get everthing out of this setup. I am aiming at a medium receiver. I have read alot about home theater setup, receivers, internal wiring and gauge for ur speaker cables, spent hours, days, weeks of seacrhing and reading. I was wondering if somebody on the forum could help me out or at least point me in the right direction. My questions are what would be a good 5.1 receiver for this set, right now im looking at a yamaha, RXV 665? And what kind of speaker cables should I use to get the best out of this set and keep it at an afordable price? Since the internal wiring is monster cable I'd like to have monster cable, the standard cables you get with the IFI for the rsx-3's is 18 gauge, at this point im looking at basic 12 gauge monster cable. With regards, Kennorthen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted January 31, 2012 Moderators Share Posted January 31, 2012 I think the Yamaha 665 would be fine and I would not get Monster cable, Just plain 14 Gage copper will work just fine. save the money, Monster cable is just a brand name, to me it's no better than plain wire, maby prettier but at a much higher price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Welcome to the forum! I agree with dtel. Do not waste money on name brand speaker wire. This has been discussed to death on every audio type forum known. I am not a fan of Yamaha receivers though. Others may chime in with opinion like I did. It is just an opinion... I don't know what brands are readily available where you live, but the big names I like are Onkyo, Pioneer, Denon, and Marantz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted January 31, 2012 Moderators Share Posted January 31, 2012 I too recommend against Monster...not because of quality, just way overpriced. Wire is wire. Not sure if www.monoprice.com ships to Holland but worth checking. I am actually a great fan of Yamaha for home theater. I loved my Yamaha RX-V1800 receiver for Home Theater. If you listen to a lot of music, IMO, there are better receivers out there that are more "musical". But for home theater, in my book, Yamaha is a worthy contender. I've also owned Onkyo and Harman Kardon, both are fantastic for HT as well. The HK was the most "musical" of the three for 2ch music listening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBXeRo Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 to me, wire is usually just wire but as i have sampld different brands i have come to learn that there are certain things i am looking for in wire. I like a jacket that is semi-thick but pliable and i also like to have a high strand count which also adds to the overall pliability of a wire. I had some monster cable wire, one line in particular that ran an annoying plastic piece down the center of the strand and it had some purpose. All it served to me was to annoy the shit out of me everytime i had to strip wires, especially when connecting to banana plugs. Monster makes good quality products in my opinion but they can be far too overprice in the grand scheme of things. Thicker wire is also better because of less resistance thats encountered as more power is shoved through the wire. By no means am i sayin go out and purchase 0 gauage wire for your speakers but is just something to be aware of, especially with longer runs. I picked up some 12 gauge for my rf-7's and for the most part is as thick as most of us get. You could get away with 14gauge but i wouldnt go any smaller than that. Just my .02 cents on the subject Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holtrp Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Please go to Monoprice.com and buy your wire and cables. Monster Cable is a total rip-off in my opinion. Copper wire is copper wire. You are paying an insane amount of money for the little tiny letters that say 'Monster Cable' on the plastic shielding on the wire / cable. Do some cost comparison. I bet you could afford four or more mono-price wires / cables to the cost of just one Monster Cable and for any honest side by side comparison, there is no way you could tell which cable is which once they are hooked up. If you really really really want Monster Cable, at least buy it used and don't pay full MSRP for it. I had an old Yamaha for my first AV receiver, it was a great product that worked great. I think you will be pleased with Yamaha. It probably isn't necessary, but I would stick with 12 ga wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kennorthen Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Thank you everyone! What a warm welcome. Each of your posts have really taught and helped me a bit forward. I now know what to do and what to look for. Everyone thank you for your time and effort! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted February 1, 2012 Moderators Share Posted February 1, 2012 You are quite welcome. Ask all the questions you want, that's what the forums are for. Just a word of caution....we won't always offer ways for you to save money....many times, we will help you spend your money on new toys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kennorthen Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I have another question I am considering two receivers the Harman/Kardon avr 165 vs Yamaha 665 the 165 is a 5.1 receiver the 665 is a 7.1 receiver. Also if I have understood correctly the 165 is an entry level 5.1 receiver the yamaha is a a lower echelon medium level receiver, is this correct? I prefer a more "musical" receiver but if the yamaha 665 truly is a medium level receiver i'd have to consider it. What would be the better pick for me? And what would I have to take into consideration? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted February 1, 2012 Moderators Share Posted February 1, 2012 Others will probably answer as well. I like Yamaha but I think I might try that HK 165, if 5.1 is ok with you. 5.1 or 6.1 is fine for me, I think it's plenty enough considering there is very little media out there with more than that with discrete channels, when they just blend to make up more channels it's not really better to make me want to change, TO ME at least. The HK has HDMI and can handle the new BluRay signals, just think about how it's going to be all connected ahead of time to make sure you have enough of the right kind of connections for what you want to hook up. I say this because with the lower end of a line usually has less of each connection without extras. To me I would be happy with that HK, from what it seems most of the time the biggest difference is the higher you go up the line of receivers the more power they have and more connections. But you get the most important features needed in models like the 165 without paying for things you may not use. imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kennorthen Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Thank you dtel, Post helped me alot. Basically the receiver is going to be hooked up on the soundcard of my pc, im only using 5.1. As for features I wont really use any of them. The pc and soundcard with the software wil do most of the work. I have no need for 7.1, not for features and its going to be connected to my pc and my television I solely use as a monitor nothing more. But here is the thing I can pickup the Yamaha RXV 665 for 250 euro's (with a discount) the H/K AVR 165 for 378 euro. With the insight you have provided the scales have tipped more to the HK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nezff Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 did i hear "speaker wire"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kennorthen Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 hahah, I think you did, my native language is not english it should be cables right? Any more pointers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted February 1, 2012 Moderators Share Posted February 1, 2012 I have a Yamaha and I like it, I also use it as a pre-amp for 2 ch music, the only reason I thought about the HK was I have also read they tend to do a little better for music. I have not heard the two together to compare but HK is a respectable brand also but tend to be a little more expensive. I would guess either would work great for what your wanting to do. Why would you use the soundcard from the computer, is it where you get the movies, games and music from? You can get internet radio from the computer which does sound good, but I have no experience with soundcards and computers feeding a receiver. I was just wondering if the receiver would do a better job handling the sound instead of the computer ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holtrp Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 did i hear "speaker wire"? Indeed you did. What is wrong with "speaker wire"? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_wire If Wikipedia is wrong, I don't wanna be right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted February 1, 2012 Moderators Share Posted February 1, 2012 hahah, I think you did, my native language is not english it should be cables right? Any more pointers? Cables, wires, lampcord, whatever you want to call it, as long as it gets the signal to the speakers it's all good. Pointers...... YES have fun.......and listen to more music.....all kinds.... [Y] Your doing good, i'm still working my first language and doubt I will ever get it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holtrp Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Basically the receiver is going to be hooked up on the soundcard of my pc, im only using 5.1. As for features I wont really use any of them. If I were in your shoes, I would look for an older (5 - 10 years) 5.1 capable receiver that has been taken care of off the internet. Many of these things come up for sale all the time as people upgrade to the latest and greatest inputs, outputs and audio decoding, even though the receiver itself is in excellent working condition. Why buy new entry or mid tier equipment and pay for HDMI, video up scaling, DTS Master Audio decoding and elaborate inputs and outputs that will never get used when I would venture to guess you could easily find a top tier 5.1 capable receiver used for a fraction of the cost of a new one. At least look on Audiogon, Ebay, Craigslist, pawn shops, thrift stores just to check. If on the internet, find somebody that has kept all the original packaging and manuals, that will be a good indication they have taken good care of the equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kennorthen Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 @ dtel indeed i have read and heard the same things about HK, also Youthman pointed out the more musical biass of the HK. Yes, the computer is the source of music, movies and games. From what I have heard a good receiver is better at handling the sound unless you have a real nice soundcard like the creative x-fi champion edition or better, which i dont have by the way, also a receiver is way more efficient in proccesing the audio and video, it is designed solely to do this. A modern pc with good software, good sound and videocard can do the same even better but it will draw main cpu power and memory so in this aspect a pc is so much less efficient compared to a dedicated receiver. I could hook up a digital output from my soundcard to the receiver and let it handle it, I dont have a digital output yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kennorthen Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 @ holtrp Thanks! I still have some time left I will look into it right away and keep the HK as a an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nezff Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 did i hear "speaker wire"? Indeed you did. What is wrong with "speaker wire"?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_wire If Wikipedia is wrong, I don't wanna be right. that was a joke. look at my sig, or CLICK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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