Question about multiple speaker setup

[beanless]

Hi,

Sorry if this isn't the right forum, it kind of fits into several categories.

I'm looking for a good starting point for a home sound system, spending pretty much the minimal amount necessary. I recently bought an Insignia 200w 2.0 stereo reciever from BestBuy, but have a question.

On the back of the reciever, it says for A or B, speakers have to be 8ohms. For A+B, speakers have to be 16ohm. My problem is this- I want to hook up multiple speakers if possible, but most floor standing speakers are only 8ohms. I want floor standing speakers over 5.1 based solely on volume. Listening to movies would be secondary to blowing my ears out with metal.

I still can take the reciever back, and BB has a 500w 5.1 A/V home theatre reciever, would this work for me? I have two 2.1 satellite speakers that are 16ohm(not to use per se, just as a reference), so I'm guessing that the 5.1 system will require 16ohm speakers as well. I've seen posts on forums where people said they bought two recievers to hook up multiple speakers, is this my only option? Are there recievers that will power multiple(4) speakers?

Thanks for any help.

[yourgrandma]

Go for the surround receiver if you want to use multiple speakers. For what it's worth, though, I wouldn't worry a whole lot about blowing the amp running 2 pait of 8 ohm speakers unless you're really cranking on it.

Still, you'd be getting a lot more fun out of surround, rather than stereo, assuming of course you're into movies rather than music.

[beanless]

That was another question. I've heard people talking about 5.1 music, which is something I'm really not interested in. Would the 5.1 reciever distort the sound any? Front LR + Rear LR? It wouldn't make normal stereo music sound any different would it?

Thanks for the help, I tried calling BB today to ask some of these questions, and the guy was pretty much as clueless as me.

[salvasol]

beanless wrote:

That was another question. I've heard people talking about 5.1 music, which is something I'm really not interested in. Would the 5.1 reciever distort the sound any? Front LR + Rear LR? It wouldn't make normal stereo music sound any different would it?

Thanks for the help, I tried calling BB today to ask some of these questions, and the guy was pretty much as clueless as me.

Welcome to the forum

My question is: How much do you want to spend??? ... there is a lot of receivers that you can get, but it will depend if you want to use for movies and music or just music

If you decide to return the receiver (I suggest you do) ... you can get a better receiver at BB (Pioneer VSX517 or Sony DG510 for $206, or Yamaha RVX461 $300); they will perform better than the Insignia (specially Yamaha) ... all receiver can be used as 5.1 set up for movies, and if you want to hear music you can use it as 2.1

Good luck

I dont recommend Insignia 5.1 because it doesn't have the DTS decoder; there are some movies with DTS audio ... and believe me; you'll hear the difference between DTS and Dolby Digital

If you can wait for your receiver ... I suggest you to look online, you'll find better deals

You can start here at the forum ... http://www.hometheatershack.com/electronics-retailer/

[yourgrandma]

Wow. There are actually receivers without a DTS decoder? I had no idea.

As for multichannel music, I enjoy it personally, but many do not. The most accurate way to listen to music is still a well thought out stereo setup. Although, as David said, a 5.1 receiver will do stereo as well. A dual purpose system can present certain challenges, but if you can only have one setup, what other choice do you have? I'd say return your receiver and do some serious shopping. Try to sort out exactly what you think you'll want from your system and use that goal to help choos the receiver that will best suit your needs.

[tonyvdb]

There are some multi channel listening modes that now actually sound good. My Onkyo has some nice ones. Go with the 5.1 system for sure you wont look back.

[beanless]

...

[tonyvdb]

if you hook 8ohm speakers up in parallel you will get 4ohms but if you hook the same speakers up in series you will have 16ohms. Rarely will you find 16ohm speakers.
At low power levels (below 70db), many amplifiers will not be too fussy about the resistance they see. At high power levels (above 80db) like you would use listening to a movie, a mismatch will drastically reduce the capacity to produce audio power to the speakers and will cause damage to the amp due to heat caused by this. You generally can't hook up more than one speaker to each channel without problems.

[85FMGT]

[quote=beanless;86051]Hi,

On the back of the reciever, it says for A or B, speakers have to be 8ohms. For A+B, speakers have to be 16ohm. My problem is this- I want to hook up multiple speakers if possible, but most floor standing speakers are only 8ohms. I want floor standing speakers over 5.1 based solely on volume. Listening to movies would be secondary to blowing my ears out with metal.

I'm guessing that the 5.1 system will require 16ohm speakers as well.
/[quote]

A + B puts the 2 speakers in parallel that’s why they say to use 16 ohms speakers. The 2 16 ohm speakers will make 8 ohms which is what the amp wants to see. With a 5 channel receiver each amp is separate so 8 ohm speakers are fine. It’s like having 2 ½ stereo receivers. Floor standing speakers have nothing to do receivers with 2 or 5 amps. A lot of us have floor standing speakers for their full range capability. It’s what I prefer for two main channels. If you want them all around go for it. I think some one has confused you with Dolby Digital having something to do with a five channel receiver other than DD needs 5 channels.

I have a denon that has 5 channel stereo mode and it is better then using a/b since you can adjust the rear speaker levels, something you can't do with a/b. It’s very annoying if you can hear 1 speaker over the others. I would also suggest that you buy the same brand of speakers all around so the sensitivity matches. Having matching speakers makes balancing the four easier. If your in the mood for 2 channel stereo just hit the button on the remote.

I hate Dolby pro logic for music but love true 5.1 channel music, like from SACD’s or DVD-audio, 2 dead formats. I am hoping music will start using the high bit rate lossless compression on the Blue Ray disk.

Return it for one of the others mentioned and you can still use the a/b if you prefer 2 channels over 4 channels for stereo. Your best bet is to return the receiver and go to dedicated stereo store and speak to someone knowledgeable. The people at BB and stores alike know nothing about what their selling.

Ron