Home Theatre Question...Possibly Stupid...

[MoreCowbell]

I have a Sony Home Theatre system, 5.1 dolby, about 5 years old. The surround sound, at least to my ear, is pretty good, I am happy with it. I have a center channel, two fronts and two sats + the sub.

I just purchased a 60 inch Pioneer Plasma TV. The Plasma comes with 3 speakers, a left, right and center. What I would like to do is simply connect these speakers(they have the proper speaker cables) to my receiver instead of the left, right and center channel I have now. I would continue to use the old Sats and Sub.

What do I need to look out for? Would this work? What problems might I face?

My wife is really behind this one, as it will look MUCH better with the matching speakers than the hideous gray ones I have mounted now.

[///Matt]

Just make sure that the new speakers are same ohm rating as the ones you are replacing. Then there are no other problems, assuming the connectors are the same.

[MoreCowbell]

Ok...where might I find the OHM rating of the speakers???

[Simmad555]

Most home theater speakers are 8 ohm. There should be no reason why you could not use the speakers that came with the plasma. You may have to make minor adjustments in the amp settings to accommodate the fact that the speakers may be less or more powerful than the existing ones.

[MoreCowbell]

Looks Like all are 8 ohms...

Anything else to look for?

[MoreCowbell]

From a sound quality perspective...is this a dumb idea???

Thanks again for all of your help...

[Josh49]

Wattage of old and new??

Eh, screw it. Assuming the plugs are compatible, go for it. I would try both real fast. Listen to the sound out of each speaker, choose the best sounding ones. Or, if they're not much of a difference, choose the ones that look best. And post pics..

[mayanh8]

Originally Posted by MoreCowbell

From a sound quality perspective...is this a dumb idea???

Thanks again for all of your help...

That's not the question you should be asking. You should be asking yourself, "How important is sound to me?"

The answer, considering you have had the same surround sound speakers for the past 5 years, is that it's not so important to you. You will be fine with the TV speakers. Just don't lose the sub.

But an audio guru would probably tell you that using tv speakers is bad for quality, and they wouldn't be wrong.

[MoreCowbell]

Originally Posted by mayanh8

That's not the question you should be asking. You should be asking yourself, "How important is sound to me?"

The answer, considering you have had the same surround sound speakers for the past 5 years, is that it's not so important to you. You will be fine with the TV speakers. Just don't lose the sub.

But an audio guru would probably tell you that using tv speakers is bad for quality, and they wouldn't be wrong.

Excellent points. I just want a good crisp sound. When I buy a home, i'll get excellent sounds to match the TV.

[Neurorad]

+1
Try both, and see how much of a differnce there is.

I don't see any problems hooking up the TV speakers to the AVR.

[Dmitriy@AUTOcouture]

Dude, you need a small home theatre system for now, at the very least get a BOSE surround sound. When you find the house, I'll roll the AV system into the closing costs

[Nyulak]

TV speakers normally suck and I would never spend money on anything made by Bose.

The problem with using different types of speakers is the type of response they have, not just the nominal impedance. If you have an efficient set of speakers matched to an inefficient set, you aren't going to get a nice balance throughout your system. You may have something as little as the same type of response with a constant amplitude difference everywhere in the audio or it could be full-blown levels off at all sorts of frequencies. The latter will be extremely difficult to account for when trying to make everything sound the same.

Many speakers have colorization to them, which is reduced or eliminated in the best speakers. If you have different speaker types, than this will also be introduced. The fronts may sound in one way, while the sides have a different sound. For most music, this won't be a problem as long as everything you listen to is in stereo. High definition audio formats that feature multiple surround channels will be affected by this.

The big thing with audio is that it is really subjective, so if you like what you have, you are good. If, on the other hand, you hear a really musical system, you may spend too much time obsessing about the apparent inadequacy of what you have.

[speedgod]

Originally Posted by shpuntik

Dude, you need a small home theatre system for now, at the very least get a BOSE surround sound. When you find the house, I'll roll the AV system into the closing costs

OMG could you possibly do anything worse in a theatre?.......

That is the laughing stock of any theatre. Anyone who says it is good has obviously never heard a real system.

Go check out a real A/V store not Circuit City or Best Buy. See and hear the difference. That is why there are specialty places.

[FirstClass]

Originally Posted by speedgod

OMG could you possibly do anything worse in a theatre?.......

That is the laughing stock of any theatre. Anyone who says it is good has obviously never heard a real system.

Go check out a real A/V store not Circuit City or Best Buy. See and hear the difference. That is why there are specialty places.

+1

Bose has a big name but their products are actually pretty shitty. Get real speakers and not that overpriced (relatively) low quality Bose stuff.

[Neurorad]

Try the TV speakers wired into the setup for a few months. If you find that you don't like it, change it.

You may end up changing the rears to match the R, L, and center.

[Dmitriy@AUTOcouture]

Originally Posted by speedgod

OMG could you possibly do anything worse in a theatre?.......

That is the laughing stock of any theatre. Anyone who says it is good has obviously never heard a real system.

Go check out a real A/V store not Circuit City or Best Buy. See and hear the difference. That is why there are specialty places.

If you re-read the post, you would see that wrote "at the very least get a BOSE system", keyword here bieng "at the very least". I don't even own a BOSE system, I was just saying that he should get something decent to go along with his sweet ass TV. Although I must say for the price, BOSE is not terrible, it is definetly better than any other Samsung or JVC "instant home theatre" out there. However, I do have a Pioneer Elite AVR with KEF speakers and Velodyne Sub... Just in case you haven't heard of KEF, they are amongst the worlds best makers of loud speakers, http://www.kef.com/

Carry on.

[TurboFan]

Originally Posted by MoreCowbell

From a sound quality perspective...is this a dumb idea???

Thanks again for all of your help...

It's all what sounds good to you. I've heard $20k systems that sound like they belong in a titty bar, and $5k systems that sound like you're really there.

For most people, price is a serious consideration. The speakers that came with the TV aren't going to be as good as something that you go out and purchase for the purpose of home theater. Just like car audio - you don't usualy buy a car for the stereo. You go upgrade that later if it's important to you. So, try both sets, and let the asthetics be a consideration.

BTW, as you get deeper into the Home Theater world, you may need to learn a new term: WAF - Wife Acceptance Factor! I was truly amazed that my wife didn't think the 58" plasma and 5 foot tall towers in my living room were the most beautiful furniture and decorations she's ever seen!

There's nothing wrong with upgrading a little at a time. Sounds like you have an excellent video display, now you can work on audio over time. The receiver is just as important as the speakers, but it doesn't matter what you do first. Just make sure that the receiver or pre/pro and amp you buy has the ass to push the speakers. BTW, nothing you buy at CCity or BBuy is going to do that display justice AND be worth the money. Check out Outlaw.com and www.av123.com. When the time comes, they have outstanding equipment for the money.

Just remember the three rules of home audio:
1. Bose Blowz
2. No highs, no lows, it's Bose
3. Buy stuff that sounds good to you, and try it in your own home to make sure it sounds good to you.

[ZBMW]

You will have to do some disassembly to get at the connections, I would think. When you do get your set opened up take a look at those speakers.They are cheap, cheap cheap!
Go to Parts Express.com or, better yet, call them and tell the tech what you want to do. I'll bet he can find you a pair that will fit and sound so much better for really not a lot of money.

[txusa03]

also, sounds will vary from room to room because each room has different shape, size, and wall texture.

[speedgod]

Originally Posted by shpuntik

If you re-read the post, you would see that wrote "at the very least get a BOSE system", keyword here bieng "at the very least". I don't even own a BOSE system, I was just saying that he should get something decent to go along with his sweet ass TV. Although I must say for the price, BOSE is not terrible, it is definetly better than any other Samsung or JVC "instant home theatre" out there. However, I do have a Pioneer Elite AVR with KEF speakers and Velodyne Sub... Just in case you haven't heard of KEF, they are amongst the worlds best makers of loud speakers, http://www.kef.com/

Carry on.

WOW jeez.... where to begin. Oh ya I have heard of KEF I used to work for a top a/v company in the west. Working with the likes of Mark Levinson, B&W, Wilson speakers and Revel just to NAME a few big names if you know any of those. Oh and my www.revelspeakers.com Revel F50 system and a Revel B15 sub with ADA amp and receiver.
Anyhow I don't care that it was said at least get BOSE... bottom line is it blows for the price. There is much better for the same price or a tich more. Try Definitive Technologies. Great stuff for the money.