Home Theatre equipment quandary

[Slothead56]

First, as I said in a recent thread, I’m pretty much a technology nincompoop. I don’t get how a lot of this stuff works. I’m not proud about it but I do have other gifts.

My current home theatre set-up is old school I guess. Receiver (Yamaha-probably 10-12 years old), front speakers, center speaker, rear speakers and sub (all Klipsch). Have a 5 disc CD player and Blu-Ray player hooked up that only get used at Christmas.

I have an Xfinity box in the mix and just got an Apple TV converter as well hooked up to the TV which is probably 5-7 years old.

All three of the TV HDMI slots are now plugged into something.

I can’t figure out how to how to get Theatre sound out of the receiver without having to physically change there output on the receiver. Certainly not a big deal, and I don’t mean to be disparaging, but my wife (the smartest person I know) knows less about this stuff than I do and doesn’t want to be bothered with it. (You should have seen what happened when I converted the TV in our bedroom to Roku!)

Anyway, I‘m thinking of keeping the old school receiver/speaker set up for the DVD and CD players and getting a sound bar/sub combo I just for cable and Apple TV….if I can figure it out.

Can the A/V geniuses here give me any advice? If I go the sound bar route what can I get for under $500 that will be better than adequate? Or are there newer receivers for less money that I can plug everything into??

[Mandobart]

I'm no genius, and I have older gear. My Technics audio receiver was made for home stereo systems decades ago, before home theater and 5.1 or 7.1 sound systems existed.

I still have a dubbing cassette deck, phono turntable, CD player, VHS, bluray TV and computer connected up to play through my stereo. I use a Chromecast dongle on the TV (pretty old Hitachi plasma) as well.

I didn't have enough separate audio inputs to my stereo for all this, so I have a couple pairs of RCA piggyback cables.

All the video inputs go the the TV with HDMI, S video or RCA cables depending on what was "high tech" when that component was bought. The TV audio goes into the stereo receiver. The biggest problem I had was latency between the sound coming out of the small TV speakers and my stereo speakers. I fixed this with an optical converter. My TV has an optical cable out for audio but my receiver had no such input. The converter (little standalone box) takes the optical input and provides an audio out on an RCA cable which plugs into the stereo receiver.

So if your multiple AV inputs are going to your TV, you should be able to send a single audio out to your sound system that wouldn't require unplugging/replugging anything.

[Mak2525]

Slothead: There are several ways to tackle your issues, from utilizing all your current equipment and re-wiring the equipment setup to just buying a new modern receiver that has automatic AV switching built in. These can be had for a somewhat budget friendly price around $300.

Full disclosure: I'm a network engineer who owned a custom A/V business for 20 plus years before selling the company. We designed and installed everything from dedicated Home Theaters and whole house audio systems to lighting controls and security for multi million dollar homes. So, I've been around the block a few times and seen just about every type of system and work arounds out there through trial and error.

With your current set-up, as you have discovered, you can only get sound with changing the inputs on the receiver and TV. One cheap work around would be a manual HDMI switcher ($30-$40). This would allow you to plug all your HDMI sources into the box and have only one cable to TV. The audio output of each device would then go to the receiver audio input. This route means your TV would always be on the right input and you would only have to switch audio input on the receiver.

If you go the new receiver route, you would only need to run one HDMI cable to your TV. All the source HDMIs now running to the TV would run directly to the source inputs on your receiver (the receiver acts as your video switcher. If your TV has an ARC (Audio Return Channel) HDMI, then both audio and video would be sent over the single HDMI receiver to TV input. Note: since you stated your tv is 5-7 years old, you may not have an ARC input. If your TV does not, you would need an optical cable to send audio back to receiver for all sources.

A soundbar is about the simplest option, and while many years ago, I thought of them as a gimmick for better sound from a bedroom tv. Now, you can get REALLY good sound out of some of the $300 - $500 sound bars. The hookup for a Soundbar will be pretty much the same as a new receiver depending on having an ARC input or not. Most of the new mid-price Soundbars have the ARC capability, but again, your TV may not.
Sonos makes a really good $400 soundbar (Beam) and the Yamaha YAS-209 at $300 with an included subwoofer is another favorite of mine.

For the record, I have retired my high end Lexicon and B&W theater system to my man cave for audio only. I have gone to a full house SONOS streaming platform in all my rooms and outdoors. All three TV rooms have either a Sonos Beam (two bedrooms) or a Sonos Arc for my main home theater room. The beauty of this is the soundbars work for both Home Theater as well as whole house audio streaming applications.

Hopefully this helps you through the different options. Glad to answer any questions that you have. Good Luck!

[imwjl]

If you are going to make a new purchase consider the Dolby Atmos spatial audio growing in popularity including lots of great old recordings being remixed. For simplicity, I noticed there are sound bars that do it now.

Don't ask me how the simple sound bars or ear phones/buds achieve the extra height channel in spatial audio, but it works.

The point on Sonos is worth considering and there are less expensive smart home options.

Full disclosure. I'm studying this stuff but haven't budged from older gear yet. I spend more time watching video and listening to music at my iMac on the Aeron chair than hanging out in our living room.

[Bob Womack]

I am a recording engineer and work quite a bit in audio for film and video, so I understand some of this.

Reinforcing what Mike said, I run a Denon 7.1 receiver to my 5.1 speakers. I use the HDMI input on my TV with ARC to feed. The receiver auto-selects the mode based upon what is presented down the HDMI inuts. It also allows you to memorize four configurations including routing, EQ, digital compression, etc., so I have cable box, Bluray player, Media player (AppleTV), and a preset for when I take my DAW home for work. In order to make it easier for my lovely wifeling, I've got the receiver set so that the TV speakers are used when the receiver is off and the 5.1 array is used when the receiver is on. Don't want to mess with the stereo to get the news? Just don't turn it on!

I can't imagine doing movie night with a sound bar, though. Now, I do have an amazing 5.1 array based around studio monitors and subwoofers that shakes the room. I see that your array is pretty nice as well.

You will have to deal with the "housewife acceptance factor" on your own. My wife has a little hearing loss going on so she has welcomed our huge and ugly 5.1 array into the house as it allows her to watch movies with subtitles. Yours may be itching to get the surround poop out of the family room or living room and might welcome a sound bar. You'll notice that 7.1 isn't exactly selling like hotcakes: the housewife acceptance factor for seven speakers hasn't been... tremendous.

All the best and enjoy the ride.

Bob

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

I am a recording engineer and work quite a bit in audio for film and video, so I understand some of this.

Reinforcing what Mike said, I run a Denon 7.1 receiver to my 5.1 speakers. I use the HDMI input on my TV with ARC to feed. The receiver auto-selects the mode based upon what is presented down the HDMI inuts. It also allows you to memorize four configurations including routing, EQ, digital compression, etc., so I have cable box, Bluray player, Media player (AppleTV), and a preset for when I take my DAW home for work. In order to make it easier for my lovely wifeling, I've got the receiver set so that the TV speakers are used when the receiver is off and the 5.1 array is used when the receiver is on. Don't want to mess with the stereo to get the news? Just don't turn it on!

I can't imagine doing movie night with a sound bar, though. Now, I do have an amazing 5.1 array based around studio monitors and subwoofers that shakes the room. I see that your array is pretty nice as well.

You will have to deal with the "housewife acceptance factor" on your own. My wife has a little hearing loss going on so she has welcomed our huge and ugly 5.1 array into the house as it allows her to watch movies with subtitles. Yours may be itching to get the surround poop out of the family room or living room and might welcome a sound bar. You'll notice that 7.1 isn't exactly selling like hotcakes: the housewife acceptance factor for seven speakers hasn't been... tremendous.

All the best and enjoy the ride.

Bob

My take on the sound bars with Dolby Atmos is exactly the "housewife acceptance factor" you mentioned. My impression though in a store, was it is a nice or best yet iteration for a scenario like ours where move to new house never allowed the multi-speaker system I had to go into the new room.

Understanding how the Dolby Atmos is in essence another channel I believe considered hight, I've been fascinated by how well it works with the AirPods Pro.

A tangent from that and worthy news for Android users is the new Beats Fit Pro brings AirPods Pro features outside of the Apple only product.

I'm not with the purists against remastered albums and like the sound impression. To me it's still the original recording but same tracks mixed for modern output. Some of the albums were mixed for quadraphonic in the 1970s anyway.

[Tnfiddler]

I’ve went to wireless home theater setups and they work perfect for me. I’ve relegated my “old” home Theater stuff to “Garage” sound systems for when I’m working on things or the wife is tired of me being in the house!!

[Mak2525]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

I can't imagine doing movie night with a sound bar, though. Now, I do have an amazing 5.1 array based around studio monitors and subwoofers that shakes the room. I see that your array is pretty nice as well.

You will have to deal with the "housewife acceptance factor" on your own. My wife has a little hearing loss going on so she has welcomed our huge and ugly 5.1 array into the house as it allows her to watch movies with subtitles. Yours may be itching to get the surround poop out of the family room or living room and might welcome a sound bar. You'll notice that 7.1 isn't exactly selling like hotcakes: the housewife acceptance factor for seven speakers hasn't been... tremendous.

All the best and enjoy the ride.

Bob

Hey Bob: Definitely agree that there is no substitute for a powerful full surround system with wall shaking subwoofers for the true movie experience! The soundbar option just might make his wife happy, though.

Until 3 years ago, I had a dedicated home theater room consisting of a 7.2 Lexicon / B&W system with individual channel amps, bi-amped Left & Right fronts, and Dual individually amped Subs. The room was set-up with acoustic panels to deflect or diffuse accordingly, with Sound matt in between all the drywall and studs, 110 inch screen, etc. Movie night was a blast.

Well, as we all know, life sometimes throws you a curve when you are sitting on a fastball. I had to take in my 89 year old father with Alzheimers and my 88 year old mother with Cancer. So Sadly, my screening room was converted to a garage apartment for them.

I will say though, even though it is not quite up to the high standards my clients used to demand, the Sonos Arc Soundbar, Surround Ones, and Sonos Sub make a pretty good case for minimalism! Granted, you are talking about a $2000 soundbar system, but it will give a midrange 5.1 system a run for the money. The wife acceptance factor is also very high for this type of setup!

For the record, if I was advising him, I would recommend going with a new receiver with switching capabilities to go with an already nice setup, and keep all his existing gear. Then save money for a new 4k TV with ARC / eARC!

[Slothead56]

Originally Posted by Mak2525

Hey Bob: Definitely agree that there is no substitute for a powerful full surround system with wall shaking subwoofers for the true movie experience! The soundbar option just might make his wife happy, though.

Until 3 years ago, I had a dedicated home theater room consisting of a 7.2 Lexicon / B&W system with individual channel amps, bi-amped Left & Right fronts, and Dual individually amped Subs. The room was set-up with acoustic panels to deflect or diffuse accordingly, with Sound matt in between all the drywall and studs, 110 inch screen, etc. Movie night was a blast.

Well, as we all know, life sometimes throws you a curve when you are sitting on a fastball. I had to take in my 89 year old father with Alzheimers and my 88 year old mother with Cancer. So Sadly, my screening room was converted to a garage apartment for them.

I will say though, even though it is not quite up to the high standards my clients used to demand, the Sonos Arc Soundbar, Surround Ones, and Sonos Sub make a pretty good case for minimalism! Granted, you are talking about a $2000 soundbar system, but it will give a midrange 5.1 system a run for the money. The wife acceptance factor is also very high for this type of setup!

For the record, if I was advising him, I would recommend going with a new receiver with switching capabilities to go with an already nice setup, and keep all his existing gear. Then save money for a new 4k TV with ARC / eARC!

I really appreciate all the input and am only replying to the most recent post (no favoritism!).

If I understand the concept a new receiver would enable me to plug the cable box, CD player, Blu Ray and Apple TV unit into the receiver and then one connection to the TV which would dictate to the receiver the component to go to?

My Samsung TV has an ARC HDMI slot….maybe it’s not as old as I remember.

Is that anywhere near correct?

BTW-Mrs. Slot has no issue with the set-up. The speakers are smallish and mounted high. They’ve been in the room like that for nearly 15 years.

[Craig Wilson]

You just need to get an HDMI switching A/V receiver that has enough inputs for your components. I run my cable box, Blu Ray and Android box through my Yamaha receiver.
The receiver sends video only to the TV and all audio is directed to my Paradigm 5.1 speakers.
I use a Harmony Elite universal remote that is super easy to program and has a high WAF (wife approval factor). One touch for TV, Netflix, Blu Ray, music CD, Spotify, whatever.

[Mak2525]

Originally Posted by Slothead56

I really appreciate all the input and am only replying to the most recent post (no favoritism!).

If I understand the concept a new receiver would enable me to plug the cable box, CD player, Blu Ray and Apple TV unit into the receiver and then one connection to the TV which would dictate to the receiver the component to go to?

My Samsung TV has an ARC HDMI slot….maybe it’s not as old as I remember.

Is that anywhere near correct?

BTW-Mrs. Slot has no issue with the set-up. The speakers are smallish and mounted high. They’ve been in the room like that for nearly 15 years.

Yep, that is pretty much all you would need. Most of the lower to mid price new receivers have at least 4 source inputs and one output (ARC) to TV. You will find receivers with as many as 8 inputs, but usually they are the larger pricier units. Denon, Yamaha, Sony, Onkyo, etc all make really good units in the $300 - $400 range that have plenty of power and pretty straight forward to use. Hope this helps!

EDIT: The only thing you may have an issue with via ARC is an annoying thing called HDCP (High Definition Copyright Protection) if you plan to watch 4K content via Blu Ray or Apple TV. The latest standard is HDCP2.3, though the older versions are backward compatible. If your TV is HDCP compatible, there should be no problems. If it's not, the 4K video will be down res to 1080P (cable). If your TV is a 1080P, then it won't matter either way.

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by Mak2525

Hey Bob: Definitely agree that there is no substitute for a powerful full surround system with wall shaking subwoofers for the true movie experience! The soundbar option just might make his wife happy, though.

Until 3 years ago, I had a dedicated home theater room consisting of a 7.2 Lexicon / B&W system with individual channel amps, bi-amped Left & Right fronts, and Dual individually amped Subs. The room was set-up with acoustic panels to deflect or diffuse accordingly, with Sound matt in between all the drywall and studs, 110 inch screen, etc. Movie night was a blast.

Well, as we all know, life sometimes throws you a curve when you are sitting on a fastball. I had to take in my 89 year old father with Alzheimers and my 88 year old mother with Cancer. So Sadly, my screening room was converted to a garage apartment for them.

I will say though, even though it is not quite up to the high standards my clients used to demand, the Sonos Arc Soundbar, Surround Ones, and Sonos Sub make a pretty good case for minimalism! Granted, you are talking about a $2000 soundbar system, but it will give a midrange 5.1 system a run for the money. The wife acceptance factor is also very high for this type of setup!

For the record, if I was advising him, I would recommend going with a new receiver with switching capabilities to go with an already nice setup, and keep all his existing gear. Then save money for a new 4k TV with ARC / eARC!

Hey, Mike. I may have mis-stated my intentions. I was trying to sort of think out loud and balance the two, not favoring one above the other. We've got a massive pair of black UREI 811c monitors as the fronts in our living room. They kill any hope of a Williamsburg feeling n the room. The point I was fumbling to make was that the only reason my wife puts up with it is a) it allows me to work in near-parity with my studio monitoring array and b) it allows her to enjoy movies at home when theaters make it hard for her to hear and the noise levels are too high for her. She's got migraine headache (continual) that prevents us listening at 95db levels, such as you find in the theaters.


As I said, I was agreeing with you. Sorry if I gave the wrong impression.

Bob

[Mak2525]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Hey, Mike. I may have mis-stated my intentions. I was trying to sort of think out loud and balance the two, not favoring one above the other. We've got a massive pair of black UREI 811c monitors as the fronts in our living room. They kill any hope of a Williamsburg feeling n the room. The point I was fumbling to make was that the only reason my wife puts up with it is a) it allows me to work in near-parity with my studio monitoring array and b) it allows her to enjoy movies at home when theaters make it hard for her to hear and the noise levels are too high for her. She's got migraine headache (continual) that prevents us listening at 95db levels, such as you find in the theaters.


As I said, I was agreeing with you. Sorry if I gave the wrong impression.

Bob

Hey Bob - No worries, and I didn't read it at all as a dissenting point of view. It's good to have options and alternate ways to help a fellow AGF'er through the ever changing world of A/V Tech. Hopefully, we got him some useful information to make an informed decision. Sorry your wife has Migraines and glad that you were able to find a solution that works for your situation to enjoy movies!

[Slothead56]

Originally Posted by Slothead56

First, as I said in a recent thread, I’m pretty much a technology nincompoop. I don’t get how a lot of this stuff works. I’m not proud about it but I do have other gifts.

My current home theatre set-up is old school I guess. Receiver (Yamaha-probably 10-12 years old), front speakers, center speaker, rear speakers and sub (all Klipsch). Have a 5 disc CD player and Blu-Ray player hooked up that only get used at Christmas.

I have an Xfinity box in the mix and just got an Apple TV converter as well hooked up to the TV which is probably 5-7 years old.

All three of the TV HDMI slots are now plugged into something.

I can’t figure out how to how to get Theatre sound out of the receiver without having to physically change there output on the receiver. Certainly not a big deal, and I don’t mean to be disparaging, but my wife (the smartest person I know) knows less about this stuff than I do and doesn’t want to be bothered with it. (You should have seen what happened when I converted the TV in our bedroom to Roku!)

Anyway, I‘m thinking of keeping the old school receiver/speaker set up for the DVD and CD players and getting a sound bar/sub combo I just for cable and Apple TV….if I can figure it out.

Can the A/V geniuses here give me any advice? If I go the sound bar route what can I get for under $500 that will be better than adequate? Or are there newer receivers for less money that I can plug everything into??

Thanks everybody for the feedback and advice.

I purchased a new 750W 7.2 Sony receiver last night and got it all set up. The HDMI in/out is very logical. All the hook ups work exactly as several of you suggested. Cable box, Blu-Ray, 5 disc CD, Apple TV+ all working perfectly. The sound is also much, much better than it had been. So much so that I decided to upgrade my Center Channel speaker to a new Klipsch model.

Love all the help one can get on AGF!!

[Mak2525]

Originally Posted by Slothead56

Thanks everybody for the feedback and advice.

I purchased a new 750W 7.2 Sony receiver last night and got it all set up. The HDMI in/out is very logical. All the hook ups work exactly as several of you suggested. Cable box, Blu-Ray, 5 disc CD, Apple TV+ all working perfectly. The sound is also much, much better than it had been. So much so that I decided to upgrade my Center Channel speaker to a new Klipsch model.

Love all the help one can get on AGF!!

Great choice - love it when a plan comes together and works the way it should. See you on the next movie night - I'll bring the popcorn!