AV Chat

Scrat said:
I have great respect for those who take audio seriously. I can't persuade my scratlets to accept old speakers rather than use the TV ones or a soundbar. It transforms viewing. What a shame terrestrial uses 2.0 DD on HD rather than even 5.1.

Is anything on terrestrial broadcast in 5.1?
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Agreed. In a small room we use a pair of Kef speakers developed from BBC LS3/5a monitors.
Forget soundbars, the improvement is amazing except for some programmes where the sound seems to be doctored to favour tiny TV speakers.

Most feature films on the HD channels of CH4 and CH5, also quite a few films in recent months on BBC channels are broadcast in 5.1
 
Owen Smith said:
I sincerely doubt a £300 AV amp would match it for sound quality. I'd have to spend considerably more than that
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Surely not 900. And I would eat my hat if he can tell the difference in a blind test with Denon AVR-X2700H. In fact the Denon will outperform his Arcam. But as several have said, you can't shite on people's choices.
 
I see someone's clone account has been let out.

Thanks for the info, alanofcleeves, I have my amp permanently on surround, so forget to look to see if it is receiving DD 2.0 or 5.1 and converting to 7.1.
 
Scrat said:
I have great respect for those who take audio seriously. I can't persuade my scratlets to accept old speakers rather than use the TV ones or a soundbar. It transforms viewing. What a shame terrestrial uses 2.0 DD on HD rather than even 5.1.

Is anything on terrestrial broadcast in 5.1?
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Plenty of stuff on Freeview HD on the BBC channels and C4 are broadcast in 5.1. Films in particular are nearly always in 5.1 on those channels if they were made in 5.1 (or more) in the first place. All new era Doctor Who are in 5.1, and there is other homegrown BBC content with 5.1 audio.

ITV1 HD are sticking rigidly to broadcastong everything with 2.0 sound. Typical "lowest common denominator" approach from ITV.

I haven't watched enough on C5 HD to know whether they ever broadcast 5.1 audio on Freeview HD.
 
Black Hole said:
Mine don't even do that. I suspect OS wouldn't want to take up residence here!
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I think he was replying more the Sine24's post who seemed to be implying it was wiser to buy cheaper products, I was just being facetious as I support buying an expensive superior product that will last many years over inferior ones that will be replaced frequently. I suspect that Owen has spent even more on his speakers which are an even wiser investment as advances in formats and technology make them less likely to become obsolete.
PS The News ghoul has Sine24 also on his ignore list :) and still thinks we are the same person and will continue to do so even though my contempt for the troll is more than obvious :roflmao:.
 
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Black Hole said:
Frankly, I'm with OS here. I doubt I would be able to hear a difference, or care very much even if I could, but if that's what floats his boat - why not? I might raise my eyebrows a bit if large amounts were being spent on always having the latest and greatest on a six-month cycle, but again that's none of my business, and if he can afford it why not?
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Actually I tend to spend a hefty amount on good quality equipment, and then use it for as long as reasonably possible. My main left/right stereo speakers are Castle Harlech floorstanders, mine are approaching their 25th birthday this year. My AV amp is close to 15 years old. I drive a Mini Cooper S which I bought brand new 18 years ago. The HDR Fox T2 is worth keeping anyway because of the customised firmware and there being nothing newer any better, but keeping it this long suits my normal tendencies.

My Blu Ray player is one of my newer pieces of gear, for obvious reasons (Blu Ray didn't exist earlier). As for features, the Oppo 95 plays DVD-Audio and SACD multi channel audio native, and has built in DTS HD Master Audio and Dolby Tru HD multi channnel audio decoders. Most blu ray players don't have those or mult channel audio outputs.
 
Owen Smith said:
Actually I tend to spend a hefty amount on good quality equipment, and then use it for as long as reasonably possible.
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I go for the sweet-spot compromise where you get what you pay for by law of diminishing returns, and then run it into the ground (whatever it is).
 
alanofcleeves said:
Agreed. In a small room we use a pair of Kef speakers developed from BBC LS3/5a monitors.
Forget soundbars, the improvement is amazing except for some programmes where the sound seems to be doctored to favour tiny TV speakers.

Most feature films on the HD channels of CH4 and CH5, also quite a few films in recent months on BBC channels are broadcast in 5.1
Click to expand...
Kef here too though I opted for Kef 3001 eggs with their cube sub, getting on for 18 years old now and still going strong.
 
trog said:
I suspect that Owen has spent even more on his speakers which are an even wiser investment as advances in formats and technology make them less likely to become obsolete.
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It's that long since I bought any of my Castle speakers in my 5.0 system that their price would have to be inflation adjusted to be meaningful. Replacement would be difficult as no-one makes anything similar these days.
 
I had a pair of Wharfdales years ago, but with my lifestyle at the time I wasn't using them and they went to an uncle who has since died... dunno what happened to them (can't remember how or why I acquired them either).
 
sine24 said:
Surely not 900. And I would eat my hat if he can tell the difference in a blind test with Denon AVR-X2700H. In fact the Denon will outperform his Arcam. But as several have said, you can't shite on people's choices.
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Maths is not your strong point is it? 3x£300 would leave no change from £900 and 3x£600 (The price of a Denon AVR-X2700H) would just leave you looking stupid.
 
alanofcleeves said:
In a small room we use a pair of Kef speakers developed from BBC LS3/5a monitors.
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45ish years ago my then gf and I were seeking a pair of small speakers for her. We'd read all the reviews in the mags (long before t'internet) and went to a hi-fi shop to listen to a shortlist in the £50/pair ballpark. After 15 minutes or so we'd pretty much decided on a pair but noticed a pair of KEFs on the same row at £150. Just for a laugh we asked to hear them to see if we could tell much difference.

After about 15 seconds of music we looked at each other for a moment, and then she bought the KEFs.
 
And these days you have to run speakers in. Back then, it was new cars.
 
MikeSh said:
After about 15 seconds of music we looked at each other for a moment, and then she bought the KEFs.
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She had good taste. I bought mine in early 1980's so they're coming up to 40 years old. Beautifully made cabinets.
Crappy sound from flat panel TVs has given them a new purpose in life.
 
alanofcleeves said:
Crappy sound from flat panel TVs has given them a new purpose in life.
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TV speakers have never been good. As long as it has been possible to receive good quality audio from terrestrial or satellite, or to play back DVD or BD content, there has been a need for good speakers. Or headphones!

But it doesn't stop there. Many sound effects rely upon deep bass, so you need a subwoofer or large floor standing speakers to reproduce that. It is as much of a difference as moving from transistor radio to stereo system. Good quality headphones can also give you that.

Then there is the flatness of the sound stage, like watching from a distance. Add side and/or rear speakers and you get the same sort of magnitude difference again. With headphones, some can do surround, but the sources of sound are limited. Some of the effects that are possible are not really appropriate to anything short of VR viewing, though.
 
alanofcleeves said:
Crappy sound from flat panel TVs has given them a new purpose in life.
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SWMBO won't have extra speakers cluttering the place up ... and for once I agree. Plus it's a faff.

So that's something I always deal with by spending on a set with decent audio ... previously a Panasonic plasma with the 'upgraded' sound and currently a Sony with the screen used for high and mid-range and a sub-woofer at the back.

The picture isn't bad either :cool:
 
It is a pity flat panel televisions these days don't offer a simple method of adding loudspeakers.
I'm sure I had a Panasonic CRT telly TX-28W3 which had 'external speakers' sockets (the 'flat blade and pin' DIN style). Not that that set really needed such a feature, as the built in speakers were actually rather good.

I thought the idea was to have reasonable separation between left and right speakers, to give a decent stereo sound field? With some of these modern soundbars and soundbases, the speakers are far too close together.
 
Yes, however good speakers may sound in the TV, plug in an external surround system and it is a revelation.

You can't just plug in external speakers because the terminals are not there, and nor are the amplifiers. The feed has to be via either the headphone socket, optical, or a dedicated two way hdmi socket. I have had no luck with the final solution, it is hit and miss whether I get sound out or not, even with everything set up correctly.
 
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