[valuemkt]

Just installed one in front room: KEF speakers.. two towers and center, two rears in ceiling, two sub woofers.. 120" Stewart fixed screen, SONY 4k ceiling mount projector. remote controlled black out screen. Just starting to enjoy

[NatureBoy]

Originally Posted by valuemkt

Just installed one in front room: KEF speakers.. two towers and center, two rears in ceiling, two sub woofers.. 120" Stewart fixed screen, SONY 4k ceiling mount projector. remote controlled black out screen. Just starting to enjoy

Can you post a picture or drawing of the layout? I have a Saginaw/Gardenia. The cable jacks are installed to put the TV in the alcove next to the sliders. Either on the wall between two windows - which puts your back to the open room, or along a side wall - which puts your back to the rear wall and probably makes installing surrounds easier, but then the right side is open to the large room.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by JerryLBell

I had Tom from Villages Audio hang my rear channel speakers and mount two TVs on walls with hiding the wiring for them in wall. He also repurposed my phone wiring to give me gigabit hard-wired networking throughout the house (much faster and far more secure than WiFi). He isn't cheap but he isn't outrageous either.

If you have a home theatre with real, dedicated speakers and amplification (not a sound bar) in The Villages, you are in a tiny minority. Most folks can't see the difference between standard definition from high definition, much less 4K with Dolby Vision HDR and most can't hear the difference between a sound bar and a 5.1 sound system with actual separate speakers much less 7.1 or object-oriented sound like Dolby ATMOS or DTS:X. Good for them; it saves them a ton of money in the long run. I sold Hifi equipment once upon a time and became a bit of an audio snob (and later video snob). A poorly calibrated TV, especially one with video smoothing turned on, just bugs me half to death. I can hear the difference between lossless audio soundtracks like Dolby True HD and DTS Home Theater Master and lossy soundtracks like Dolby Digital and DTS just like I can tell the difference between a standard resolution CD and an SACD or high-resolution, 24-bit audio file. My neighbors (heck, even my wife) think I'm crazy but when I watch a movie, I want to WATCH the movie. When I listen to music, I want to LISTEN to it.

I've wondered when a home theater enthusiast club would open in The Villages as there are clubs for bloody everything else, but am not sure what we would do in one. Go to each others houses and drool over who has the best equipment? Even that would be difficult as few if any of us have home theaters than can fit more than 3 or 4 people.

Question about receivers. I have a 5.1 surround system with Definitive Technology tower speakers, and a Pioneer Elite receiver, and it sounds fine. I have never understood what the receiver does other than provide enough power to operate the speakers. I read about these fancy new Denon or Marantz receivers for $5,000 or so. But, would they make any difference in the sound from my speakers?

[NatureBoy]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Question about receivers. I have a 5.1 surround system with Definitive Technology tower speakers, and a Pioneer Elite receiver, and it sounds fine. I have never understood what the receiver does other than provide enough power to operate the speakers. I read about these fancy new Denon or Marantz receivers for $5,000 or so. But, would they make any difference in the sound from my speakers?

The very high priced receivers typically drive a lot of channels - 11.2 or so - for full Dolby Atmos. They also include a lot of room correction processing, connectivity for lots of inputs, support for multiple video outputs, RS-232 control, and other esoteric things that most people don't need.

But, different receivers do sound different. Their amplifier and processing sections have differences that you might find "better" or "worse". The Pioneer Elite series is pretty decent brand so if it sounds fine to you, and you aren't missing any features (like streaming services such a Spotify) then stay with what makes you happy.

I currently have a Harman/Kardon receiver from the early 2000s. It doesn't have HDMI inputs. But it has good amplifiers, drives my speakers fine, and has Dolby Digital. I plan to replace it with a receiver with HDMI support and more bells & whistles very soon.

[valuemkt]

Originally Posted by NatureBoy

Can you post a picture or drawing of the layout? I have a Saginaw/Gardenia. The cable jacks are installed to put the TV in the alcove next to the sliders. Either on the wall between two windows - which puts your back to the open room, or along a side wall - which puts your back to the rear wall and probably makes installing surrounds easier, but then the right side is open to the large room.

this is installed in the front bedroom of an IVY 10. The equipment shown is on the front outside wall. To the left of that is the front bump-out containing two large double hung windows plus an arch.. The room brightness / darkness is controlled by up and down shades and left to right knock out curtains. The receiver and all main connections are located in the hallway closet.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by NatureBoy

The very high priced receivers typically drive a lot of channels - 11.2 or so - for full Dolby Atmos. They also include a lot of room correction processing, connectivity for lots of inputs, support for multiple video outputs, RS-232 control, and other esoteric things that most people don't need.

But, different receivers do sound different. Their amplifier and processing sections have differences that you might find "better" or "worse". The Pioneer Elite series is pretty decent brand so if it sounds fine to you, and you aren't missing any features (like streaming services such a Spotify) then stay with what makes you happy.

I currently have a Harman/Kardon receiver from the early 2000s. It doesn't have HDMI inputs. But it has good amplifiers, drives my speakers fine, and has Dolby Digital. I plan to replace it with a receiver with HDMI support and more bells & whistles very soon.

Thanks. My receiver does have several HDMI inputs, but I don't see any reason to use them. I found that connecting the HDMI cables directing from the cable box to the TV and from the DVD player to the TV provides a better picture. I get the digital surround sound by connecting the TV optical audio output back to the receiver. I could use the HDMI(ARC) TV connection to the receiver for audio, but it didn't seem to provide any better sound than the optical cable.