Some questions about audio wiring, hdmi, etc..

[Arkitech]

I'm still in the process of turning my home office into a mini theatre for after work hours and I have a few questions about wiring and audio connections.

If I want the best possible sound should I go with 12 gauge speaker wires or is there a lower gauge I should consider?

If I'm using a PC as my audio and video source does it make sense to use hdmi 1.3? I'm assuming there are'nt any audio or video cards that can output video and sound over the same connection, so there's probably no need to go with hdmi 1.3 right?

As far as sound cards go these days, which one should I consider using if I want the best sound? Also since computers are typically a lot noisier than dedicated audio components, will I hear a lot of hiss and other noise when playing music through the PC to the receiver?

Another question I have, do HDMI to DVI cables support 1080p?

I've decided to take Yoyo's advice and skip the HTiB route. I'm looking to find speakers to compliment a Dayton 8" sub (got it for 80 bucks at Parts Express). The speakers will need to be small and they will also be placed on a desk, so I need something for near field listening for about 60-70% of the time. Should I go with monitors or will a pair of decent bookshelf speakers work in my situation? The room I'm in is somewhat small, its roughly about 8x10. When I'm working at my desk the speakers will be about 3-1/2 feet away. When I'm sitting on the couch I'm about 6 1/2 feet away.

Finally my last question is about surround speakers (rear). Should the rear speakers be on par with my fronts? Or can I get away with a less expensive set of rears since they won't work nearly as much as the fronts?

My budget is somewhat limited so here are some of the choices I'm looking at for fronts and surrounds. (still looking for a sale on centers)


Polk r150 - 49.99 pair @ Frys - Text

Cambridge Soundworks MC100 - 39.99 each - http://www.cambridgesoundworks...ontmain&item=c1mc10zzz

Insignia NS-B2111 - 70.38 pair @ Best Buy - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...oduct&id=1138085354138 (oddly enough Best Buy's house brand speakers have the best reviews out of the 3 speakers I have listed. However the price on these have went up in recent months, hopefully there will be a sale on them before the year is out.)



If anyone cares here is the 1080p set I'm going with for my monitor (JVC LT-37x688). The reviews I'v read are very good and it appears to be a cost effective alternative to the Sharp lcds in this size. http://tv.jvc.com/product.jsp?...191&pathId=138&page=10

I'm also considering going with an Onkyo reciever sr505 or 605 when it shows up on sale again. Those models don't do hdmi audio pass through, but if anyone is using a computer as an audio/video source this may not be a concern.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Arkitech
I'm still in the process of turning my home office into a mini theatre for after work hours and I have a fe

What's a fe?

If that's going to be a few questions, did you take a look at the sticky post I made at the top of this subforum?

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Arkitech
I'm still in the process of turning my home office into a mini theatre for after work hours and I have a fe

What's a fe?

If that's going to be a few questions, did you take a look at the sticky post I made at the top of this subforum?

Edit: excellent post man, did'nt have time read through everything but from what I've browsed it looks like some of my answers are in the post. thanks dude



hit the enter button by accident. I did'nt see your sticky, I'll take a look at it now.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

12 gauge is a good bet.

With PC as source, you're probably looking at DVI --> HDMI for the video and either
Digital audio (coaxial / optical)
or
Multichannel analog

Are you doing any gaming? Your gaming usage is probably the biggest factor you should use to determine what you're going to end up doing for a sound card.

DVI --> HDMI should do 1080p just fine

Monitors would be a good way to go for near field listening. There are some strong opinions on either side as to whether that's a better way to go than regular passive speakers for something like this. Monitors will tend to be very accurate and let you hear a lot of detail with hopefully very little coloration. These may or may not be the characteristics you're looking for in your usage to enjoy your system the most with all sources.

I'm using a pair of regular bookshelf speakers which works well enough for me, and I'm closer than you'd be listening. How small do they need to be? My moderately sized bookshelf speakers take up a decent portion of my desk at work.
https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/sp...LS%20grilles%20off.JPG

Surrounds / Rears are not very important to match as closely with a HT orientation to usage.

In certain cases like multichannel music and possibly gaming, then having surrounds / rears that are comparable to your other speakers would be more important.

Something to keep in mind for your center selection is you'd want to get one that matches your front two speakers at least. This might get difficult using powered monitors if you don't want to use a regular one as a center (or if you can even get one).

Also if you're using powered monitors, it would be more difficult to integrate other sources into the mix.

If you were to run them off a receiver, you'd need one with pre-outs to get them an unamplified signal to run off of.

For the Onkyo 605, it actually does do audio off HDMI.

For the computer source you're right though, the audio HDMI options don't really matter for you at this point.