[pancakeplease]

What started as a venture into good headphones turned into a complete audio revamp.. Or a desire to. 
 
I would like to unify my tv, computer into 1 nice stereo system and am not sure if I should go by a home theater system for $200 on Black Friday and just call it a day. Plug in my computer and tv into the receiver and that's that. Or if I should "custom" build a setup. 
 
I'm broke and it's only for my room so it will be a budget build for $200 or less. Source will be my computer mostly, my Android phone and tv.
 
So far all I have is onboard soundcard from my motherboard and Shure SRH840s. I've been told to invest in a DAC (+amp) as a priority.
 
 
Question:
Should I get top of the line computer speakers such as the z5500? Or should I get my own speakers, amp and put together something that can run both my tv and computer? 
 
If you could choose ANY item or any combination of items for your room setup from www.newegg.com, what would you choose? Try to keep the budget under $300. Has to be Newegg cause I have a $100 credit there. 
 
 
 
 
I don't know enough about audio yet to know which ones are deemed "exceptional" and hifi, and what's mid fi or lowfi. It would be easier to just buy an all-in-one home theater or computer speaker set but if it means garbage quality, I'd rather get FEWER, QUALITY products and save up and buy more later on and build my collection. 
 
 
 
 

 

[pancakeplease]

I have been reading all day. My current bottleneck for this learning now is not so much the model names, functions but the electrical stuff. Ohms, watts, that stuff. I don't know what's compatible with what. It's like, I know what a transmission is but I don't know that a 6 speed 350z tranny will go with Minivan. lol 
 
 
Here is my setup. Please advise if I need to consider things such as compatibility or if there are cheaper better units out there. This is just for my room and 99% for music listening and some tv/xbox and I am leaning towards selling my Shure SRH840s. As much as i absolutely LOVE those headphones, I don't see myself listening to them over speakers because I love to be drowned and engulfed in my music And I also bought Klipsch x10s today for portability so the headphones just kind of fall out of place. 
 
 
Speakers: Polk Audio Monitor 30 Series II bookshelves
 
Comments - How are these or the Polk Audio Monitor series?? Are these better than the cheaper Sony SS-b1000s on amazon for $45?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290034
 
 
 
Subwoofer: Polk Audio PSW Series PSW10
 
Comments - Are there any CHEAPER ones of the same quality? If not, this seems like a good deal. I'm not sure if the watts or ohms all match up though.
 
 
 
Receiver/Amp: Lepai Tripath TA2020 or Sherwood Rx-4105 100w Stereo Receiver or Sherwood Rx-4109 or Audiosource AMP100
 
Comments: This is the part I'm still trying to learn. I know amps do just that, they amplify sound. But I'm not sure if a receiver also is an amp/has a built-in amp, or if I need to get an amp AND a receiver. Right now, I need something that might allow multiple inputs like my tv, then my computer and my phone. 2 would be good, any more would be even better. And I want a remote. Not really planning on 5.1 or whatever at this point. 
 
 
Is that all? Do I need anything else? Out of those components, if there's anything that is better and cheaper, I'd love to hear it. And if any audio experts can let me know if all those things add up in terms of electrical watts/ohms/voltage/amperage and what not, please let me know. I'd like to buy those before Newegg jacks the prices back up on those speakers to $130. 
 
Thanks
 

 

[trog]

Ya the M30IIs are better and at that price i'd nabbed those hehe Also if u want multiple inputs i would go for either the Sherwood or Audiosource as the Lepai is more for micro set ups where size is an issue and only had one RCA and one 3.5mm input (and no selectable input function) You would need speaker cables and audio cables if u dun have any on hand 

 

[Roseval]

In the past you had amps , 2 channel audio (stereo)
Then one day you had the receiver, again an amp but integrated with a tuner.
Today a receiver is in general a AV receiver accepting inputs from all kind of sources.
 
As you plan to buy 2 speakers + sub you go for a 2.1 setup.
So you need something not only driving the 2 speakers but also a sub.
Amps in general don’t have a sub out, receivers do.
 

 

[JRG1990]

The polks are good speakers, either amp should be fine with these speakers you will need a receiver with a sub out to connect up the sub or a different sub 1 with a low level pass-thru.

 

[pancakeplease]

Thanks. 
 
I ended up buying the Polk Audio Monitor 30's yesterday but also got a deal from a member here for Insignia NS-B2111s. Could use surround or something.
So I have Polk Audio Monitor 30s, Insignia NS-B2111s, a Denon AVR-2800 Receiver, Polk Audio PSW10 subs. 
 
I'm not exactly sure how to hook everything up though. The speakers I know how to.. Red/black for the left and right speakers into the receiver. 
 
Questions about setup and how to get the most out of my setup:
 
How do I hook up my source to the receiver to get the best audio quality? Preferably FLAC or something high quality. My source is my computer. I did a test run and put a 3.5mm (male)-to-Audio splitter cables into my computer's onboard sound card and into the receiver's CD input. The sound plays fine, nothing spectacular though. 
 
Should I have a different type of connection going on? Would getting a sound card affect the sound quality in any way? I'm using the onboard sound and pushing it to the receiver which supposedly as a D/A converter.  
 
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

If the computer's motherboard's built in sound comes with an digital optical or coaxial output, run that into the back of the Denon (12 year old receiver?).
That will give you great sound for speakers, headphones might even sound better plugged into the Denon
Should be Ok without having to add a separate sound card.
 
 

 

[pancakeplease]

Hmm im not sure when the Denon came out but I dont think it's 12 years. Could b wrong though...
 
 
Okay my sub has speaker in and speaker out. So I put my left/right speakers into the sub and then somehow use the audio line out to my receiver? Or should I use the receiver for everything, as in left speaker, right speaker and sub all to the receiver? 
 
If the sub is able to power the speakers, why do I need a receiver? Kind of getting confused with the wiring. 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hmm im not sure when the Denon came out but I dont think it's 12 years. Could b wrong though...
Okay my sub has speaker in and speaker out. So I put my left/right speakers into the sub and then somehow use the audio line out to my receiver? Or should I use the receiver for everything, as in left speaker, right speaker and sub all to the receiver? 
If the sub is able to power the speakers, why do I need a receiver? Kind of getting confused with the wiring. 

The Denon was first introduced in 1999, price $800
I'm sure the Denon can provide better powering of the speakers over that Polk Audio.
I found a picture of the Denon's back panel, wow, thats an old design
It might be too outdated to use.
Might be better to use the Polk stuff only
 
 
 

 

[pancakeplease]

Quote:

The Denon was first introduced in 1999, price $800
I'm sure the Denon can provide better powering of the speakers over that Polk Audio.
I found a picture of the Denon's back panel, wow, thats an old design
It might be too outdated to use.
Might be better to use the Polk stuff only
 
 
 

Oh youre right it is 1999. For some reason 12 years sounds longer. 
 
Wait, are you saying I should or should not use the Denon receiver to power the Polk Sub/speakers? I dont have any other receivers :/
 

 

[alv4426]

You can use it as an amp but I think you may need a DAC
 
Quote:

Oh youre right it is 1999. For some reason 12 years sounds longer. 
 
Wait, are you saying I should or should not use the Denon receiver to power the Polk Sub/speakers? I dont have any other receivers :/
 

 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Oh youre right it is 1999. For some reason 12 years sounds longer. 
Wait, are you saying I should or should not use the Denon receiver to power the Polk Sub/speakers? I dont have any other receivers :/

Trying to figure out if the Denon and Polk Audio can even be connected, The Polk Audio PSW10 uses stereo RCA inputs (red/white), normaly there is just a single mono RCA input on sub-woofers.
The Denon has a single RCA mono sub-woofer output, but no RCA stereo sub-woofer output.
So it's not really workable to have the Polk Audio 30 speakers hook up to the Denon, because the Denon and PSW10 have no way to communicate.
So the Denon can not be used.
 
 
 

 

[pancakeplease]

ugh this is not good news for me. Heres a picture of the back of the sub. http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B0002KVQBA/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_0?ie=UTF8&index=0
 
It says Line In (L/R). Does line in mean the source, like CD player, DVD, etc? That would bypass a receiver entirely and just use the sub and the speakers through the "speaker in" on the sub right?
 
 
If I connect the Polk Monitor 30s into the "Speaker In" on the Polk PSW10 sub, and then have the "Speaker out" go to the receiver, wouldn't that work? I dont get what Line In on the sub means.
 
If this Denon Receiver is not compatible, what should I be looking at for running this setup?
 
 
 
Edit: Can someone read the 3RD paragraph of Step 3 and tell me if that would work with my subwoofer and receiver? I blew all my money on these parts lol so .. hopefuly they are compatible. 
 
http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/get-good-bass/subwoofer-connection-guide

It says that if a sub has stereo L/R out, then usually the L is the one to use? Not sure though..
 
Edit 2: 
 
The PSW10 manual shows Hookup option #1 and option #2. #1 being that there is no connection between the amp and the sub, since the speaker outs from the amp are going to the sub and the subs are sending speaker out to the Left and right front speakers. #2 uses a sub out from a receiver. 
Sounds like Im good no?

 

[alv4426]

I actually had that sub and the way I hooked it up was using one of these http://www.amazon.com/Monster-ILJRY-1-Single-Female-Y-Adapter/dp/B00006346W/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&qid=1322388404&sr=8-22 I think that is all you need.

 

[pancakeplease]

Quote:

I actually had that sub and the way I hooked it up was using one of these http://www.amazon.com/Monster-ILJRY-1-Single-Female-Y-Adapter/dp/B00006346W/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&qid=1322388404&sr=8-22 I think that is all you need.

Oh cool thanks. Yeah they were talking about a Y-splitter. So the split L/R end goes into the Subwoofer L/R and then you need just a regular RCA cable to go into the female end of that splitter cable right? and the other end into the receiver's sub out? 
 
How did you like the sub btw?