Hooking up z-680 speakers to AVR receiver?

[DukeN]

Thinking of buying a pair of these speakers ( for they user speaker wire) from a local shop who has them brand new.

Also thinking of buying a Pioneer 5.1 Receiver with a built in Amp to use with these. Wanted to ask you guys, since the speakers use regular speaker cable, is it possible to hook the entire system upto the receiver?

Thanks

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Are you buying just the speakers or a whole z-680 set?

The satellites will work just fine connected to a regular receiver but the sub hookup is going to be a little trickier.

If you don't have any of this yet though, instead of buying a z-680 set and a receiver to go with it, you'd probably be better off just getting a HTIB like an Onkyo 780 set.

Are you getting a really good deal on these items making you want to do it?

Why do you want to add a receiver to the z-680 set rather than just using the z-680s?

 

[Excelsior]

Or a receiver and the fluance htib sets.

 

[alcoholbob]

It's kind of tricky because in straight analog pass-through mode, the subwoofer will not normally be active. (since the receiver in 6 channel direct will send the full signal to the speakers, and send nothing to the subwoofer).

The only way your receiver can set a crossover and thus send a subwoofer signal (assuming you are playing mp3s from your computer) is if you plug it into one of the non-direct outs. But those are only 2-channel modes.

There are only two solutions to this.

1) get a stereo-mini Y-splitter and plug it into the front left/right outputs, this way sound card outputs the front left/right to both the receiver and the Z-680 subwoofer, which has its own internal crossover (around 160hz) and play below that. This will, however, result in "double bass" from around 160hz to 130hz (about as low as the Z-680 satellites extend).

2) Use a media player DSP like Winamp 5.1 matrixing. It will naturally produce an LFE channel, so you can have the receiver normally output to the subwoofer with mono RCA cable. Of course it's something you will have to turn off when actually listening to real 5.1 material, otherwise you will get discrete 5.1 on 5.1 matrixing...

As you can see...the problems are sort of a minor hindrance, although to tell you truth, the second option is probably better since the nature of the Z-680 sats...you might not tell the diff between regular 5.1 and 5.1 matrixed over 5.1.

Good luck.

If you aren't using the subwoofer...then there should be no problem.

Hmm...I just read about the NHT Xds...damn. I wish I was rich...a a pair of bookshelves that measures 40-20KHz at +/- 0.5db...O_O

Phase corrected, reduced distortion, reduced spectral decay, and insane crossovers for minimal overlap... Oh damn.

 

[DukeN]

Ah that sucks, I was hoping I'd be able to buy the whole set and just plug it into a receiver. I love the sound quality on the speakers, and they seem priced well. The other option may be to price out speakers in pairs, and buy a sub seperately but that adds up (especially the sub) compared to the z680 price.

Thanks for your info guys, wow you guys know your stuff.

The reason I wanted to use a receiver, is for consolidating my audio and video inputs/outputs.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

You can get a good bang for your buck sub at partsexpress.
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-634

Add in a $150-ish refurb receiver and the speakers of your choice and you'd have a pretty nice system going.

Some possibilities:
Fluance AV-HTB
SX-HTB

Three pairs Polk R15s

Three pairs Infinity Primus 150s

etc.

 

[beatle]

I have a set of all 5 sats if you're interested - cheap. I used them for a while with my old Denon receiver until I swapped them out for my Cambridge Soundworks Ensembles.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: beatle
I have a set of all 5 sats if you're interested - cheap. I used them for a while with my old Denon receiver until I swapped them out for my Cambridge Soundworks Ensembles.

Another source for the logitech satellites is Justdeals if you want to get them.
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/justdeals/spkset3680.html (only 3 speakers in that package... so 2 sets would give you a 6.0 set)

I wouldn't really recommend these as a speaker set for a HT set though. I'm not sure how low they can really go but logitech sets their crossover pretty high 120hz? so you'd probably have to set something similar in your receiver. At that point the sub is going to be easier to localize that you'd ideally want.

 

[DukeN]

Ah thanks for the info again guys - now I'm really thinking of what to get if I'm gonna splurge a bit. Want a receiver with good component vid (HD DVD player plus HD Tv receiver going to HD projector) and clear sound (not too loud - smaller basement) and clean bass. I'm thinking the pioneer 915 receiver (or is there something equivalent for less) + three pairs of the speakers Yoyoyo recommended (whatever's better I guess..)

 

[DukeN]

Anyone have any thoughts on these ones on sale at worstbuy:
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetai...10045921&catid=20322&logon=&langid=EN#

Not much variety available to us Canadians but for the price those look decent (two of them)

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: DukeN
Ah thanks for the info again guys - now I'm really thinking of what to get if I'm gonna splurge a bit. Want a receiver with good component vid (HD DVD player plus HD Tv receiver going to HD projector) and clear sound (not too loud - smaller basement) and clean bass. I'm thinking the pioneer 915 receiver (or is there something equivalent for less) + three pairs of the speakers Yoyoyo recommended (whatever's better I guess..)

Just to be clear here... are you saying you're going to get an HD DVD player once those come out or are you talking about a standard DVD player with upconversion?

Overall I think it's a better plan to invest more in speakers than receiver.

I'm not too familiar with canadian prices to give you specifics.

I think Fluance is Canadian if you want to check them out. I think they're based in Ontario actually.

Paradigm might be Canadian too (bad memory for this sort of thing). You might be able to get a good package discount. Paradigm atoms are $199US/pair and a good deal.

If you're going to start spending more on this, I would suggest trying to go out an audition some of these products so you can see if you like them. If you can, find a local AV store and bring in a CD of music you're familiar with. You should be able to demo some different brands and decide what kind of sound you like.

Check out AVSforum and Hometheaterforum if you haven't already.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: DukeN
Anyone have any thoughts on these ones on sale at worstbuy:
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetai...10045921&catid=20322&logon=&langid=EN#

Not much variety available to us Canadians but for the price those look decent (two of them)

Never heard of those...

Is this more for music or hometheater?

If it's for music I would suggest concentrating your funds on a 2.0 or 2.1 set and possibly building up 5.1 over time.

If HT, then get a 5.1 set making sure you get a nice center channel or you can still build it up over time if you want to spend incrementally.

 

[DukeN]

never heard of those myself lol.

Yeah, already checked out AVSforum after you mentioned - man some of those guys have crazy stuff!

Want it for home theatre - I really want clean sound and clean bass - not that high volume.

If I were to buy those floor speakers - do I buy four of em and add a centre channel? or those two in the front, smaller ones in the back + centre chan + sub?

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: DukeN
Anyone have any thoughts on these ones on sale at worstbuy:
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetai...10045921&catid=20322&logon=&langid=EN#

Not much variety available to us Canadians but for the price those look decent (two of them)

Never heard of those...

Is this more for music or hometheater?

If it's for music I would suggest concentrating your funds on a 2.0 or 2.1 set and possibly building up 5.1 over time.

If HT, then get a 5.1 set making sure you get a nice center channel or you can still build it up over time if you want to spend incrementally.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: DukeN
never heard of those myself lol.

Yeah, already checked out AVSforum after you mentioned - man some of those guys have crazy stuff!

Want it for home theatre - I really want clean sound and clean bass - not that high volume.

If I were to buy those floor speakers - do I buy four of em and add a centre channel? or those two in the front, smaller ones in the back + centre chan + sub?

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: DukeN
Anyone have any thoughts on these ones on sale at worstbuy:
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetai...10045921&catid=20322&logon=&langid=EN#

Not much variety available to us Canadians but for the price those look decent (two of them)

Never heard of those...

Is this more for music or hometheater?

If it's for music I would suggest concentrating your funds on a 2.0 or 2.1 set and possibly building up 5.1 over time.

If HT, then get a 5.1 set making sure you get a nice center channel or you can still build it up over time if you want to spend incrementally.

I tend not to go over there much myself anymore... I'm pretty satisfied with what I have now, but if I go over there I pretty much have an entry level system

You can buy whatever kind of system you want really. I have 4 floorstanders a center and a sub, but you can do whatever. I've seen 5 center channels as a setup even.

If this is HT, concentrate most on center, then sub and front speakers. The surrounds really don't do a whole lot. If you're going to skimp somewhere that's the place to do it.

You're probably going to want a sub no matter what unless you get some really nice floorstanders with great bass extension. My floorstanders go down to 40hz at the -3dB point, but I still need a sub to get the really low stuff.

If you're going to get stuff at retail stores like Best Buy, one of the best things you can do is actually go in and demo them. Bring in a CD you're familiar with and see what it sounds like. Generally a system that's good for music is going to be good for HT. It doesn't always work the other way around.

Sorry if I've said any of this before or if anything didn't make sense... I've been up all night writing a paper

 

[DukeN]

Thanks for the help again man, I've made my decision

HK 230 receiver
Fluance SX 5.1 setup (what is the benefit of 7.1, is it significant?)
Dayton 12" sub from partsexpress
12 gauge speaker wire from Fluance

Question I had for you, was what type of audio cable should I use to hookup my LG 418 DVD player to the receiver to make sure the surround sound info gets through)? And to connect the sub to the receiver is it regular speaker wire thats needed or is it a special subwoofer cable going into a subwoofer (LFE?) port? and wth are banana plugs?

thanks a bazillion!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Looks a lot like my first set

HK 325
Fluance SX-HTB
Fluance SV-6
Dayton 10"
12 gauge from Fluance

I went with 7.1 originally but now I'm back at 5.1
I miss the immersion of 7.1 a little bit in some circumstances... but overall I'm much happier with my current speakers naturally

Addind a couple SX-HTB surrounds isn't a good idea at $100. The $120/pair SV-6s are nicer if you want to add a pair.

I'm not sure if I'd do 7.1 over 5.1 if I had to do it over again. If you have a really large room that's you're trying to fill it's a good idea, but if it's a pretty normal sized room it's not going to make a huge difference. I hadn't originally planned on it, but when I found out that my speakers were backordered and not going to ship for another month after my receiver and sub I felt the need to get some 2.1 action going until I could get the main speakers.

For your DVD player to your receiver you can use a digital coaxial cable or a digital optical cable.
These will work just fine.
If you want something a little sturdier (wont improve sound performance, just the cable itself will be of higher quality) you can get something like a dayton cable from partsexpress. I'm not sure what shipping is on either of these places for you.
Dayton 3'
Dayton 6'

You could also go with a digital coaxial cable. If you have a yellow 75ohm RCA cable around your house, that will work perfectly well.

Optical vs Coaxial shouldn't make any difference in sound.

For the sub you just need a single RCA cable. Run it from the subwoofer pre-out on your receiver to either the L or R RCA input on your sub. You can get a special subwoofer cable if you want. It will tend to be thicker and sturdier for putting under rugs etc.

Banana plugs are used to put on the end of speaker wire so it's easy to plug them in and out of binding posts.
If you don't have banana plugs or something similar, you're going to need to unscrew 20 connections every time you want to unattach or reattach your system (If you're only setting this up once and it's going to stay there, then it doesn't really matter since putting the banana plugs on was initially as much work as stripping and screwing in new wires was).

I've connected/disconnected my system 3 times since I got the banana plugs and I already consider them paid for.

 

[DukeN]

Thanks a ton for your help man, I owe you one.

I'm gonna stick with the 5.1 for I have a smaller room, and will go with Banana plugs as well (might as well).

Will let you know how it works out.

Cheers!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: DukeN
Thanks a ton for your help man, I owe you one.

I'm gonna stick with the 5.1 for I have a smaller room, and will go with Banana plugs as well (might as well).

Will let you know how it works out.

Cheers!

You might want to check out somewhere else for banana plugs. It looks like Fluance limits your options for how many you can order?

If you want banana plugs for each speaker and each connection to your receiver, that's going to be

4 x 5speakers for 20 total...

You might want to get single plugs rather than "dual" ones since someday you might be connecting speakers that don't have the same spacing as the fluance connecitons. I'm not really sure how much of an issue that is, but I read that as a possible complaint for my own speakers.

I ordered 20 of these with my speakers.

EDIT: I'd only bother with spending $30 or whatever on this if you think you're going to be taking apart and setting your system up multiple times.

Those crimp on ones I got would be more of a pain to connect for a one time job than bare wire.

 

[DukeN]

worth replacing the SV-HTBs with the SV-6s for the 5.1 setup? Thx again.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: DukeN
worth replacing the SV-HTBs with the SV-6s for the 5.1 setup? Thx again.

Sorry, you lost me.

What's the SV-HTB and what would you be replacing with the SV-6s?

 

[DukeN]

The SV-HTB are the satellites that come iwth the SX 5.1 speaker package.

I'm getting temptations to go with the JBL E60s (2) + E30 (2) + EC35 instead.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: DukeN
The SV-HTB are the satellites that come iwth the SX 5.1 speaker package.

I'm getting temptations to go with the JBL E60s (2) + E30 (2) + EC35 instead.

Oh, I thought everything in the SX-HTB set was different than the "SV" series.

On their own it looks like they're called SX-SS

When you say replace do you mean buy the SX-HTB set and then order additionsl SV-6 speakers, or do they do substitutions now?

For HT applications I think the center is a much bigger issue than the surrounds.

If I was going to replace something it would be replacing the center channel with an SV-6 or something.

Fluance told me about a year ago that they were coming out with a new SV center channel "some time in the next year" but I don't know when that's happening. As of this summer when I was thinking about replacing my center channel they still had no info on an SV-center.

JBL is a good bet too.

If you're ok with refurb, you can get JBL through the ebay seller harmanaudio. They put a new warranty back on them.

Looks like E60s go for roughly $200 shipped/pair
E30s for about $100 shipped/pair
EC35 about $160 for the only completed listing I see

About $460 shipped for the system?

Buying from J&R
E60s = $260/pair shipped

Looks like EC35 can be had for about $160 new also
$180 @ J&R

E30s from J&R = $120/pair shipped

So, about $560 from J&R or potentially a little cheaper if you shop around.

EDIT: whoops, forgot you were in Canada

 

[DukeN]

Yeah I was going to buy from JR for harmanaudio's ebay store does'nt ship up here. Just going to research this a tad more, may go with the E80s, E30s and EC35. gotta love how my potential budget just double overnight. Thanks again.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: DukeN
Yeah I was going to buy from JR for harmanaudio's ebay store does'nt ship up here. Just going to research this a tad more, may go with the E80s, E30s and EC35. gotta love how my potential budget just double overnight. Thanks again.

:evil: That tends to happen.

You don't need to spend more than originally planned though. You can always go back to something like a higher end computer speaker set of something.

 

[DukeN]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: DukeN
Yeah I was going to buy from JR for harmanaudio's ebay store does'nt ship up here. Just going to research this a tad more, may go with the E80s, E30s and EC35. gotta love how my potential budget just double overnight. Thanks again.

:evil: That tends to happen.

You don't need to spend more than originally planned though. You can always go back to something like a higher end computer speaker set of something.

Heh I know, the high end logitech Z series are kinda nice but they just don't have the slick factor something like that JBL's do