joeyd
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Posts: 307
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Post by joeyd on Dec 7, 2013 17:27:55 GMT -5
Friend is looking for a very simple setup for his parents house. What are your thoughts concerning the ZVOX 580 (http://www.amazon.com/ZVOX-580-Low-Profile-Single-Cabinet-Surround/dp/B0055FZIX4) vs using Air Motivs. The TV is Samsung UN46F6300AF. It has an 3.5mm audio out that I could convert to RCAs.
If I was to go the air motiv route, how would I adjust the volume? Will the TV volume adjust the audio out volume?
Thoughts?
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Post by garbulky on Dec 7, 2013 19:04:00 GMT -5
Here's what I think about soundbars... You cannot consider most of them quality sources. They are convenience devices at best. It depends on the type of airmotiv you get. The larger ones put out more volume. Also....and this is important. The audio output from either your tv and cable box is rather poor at best. You want a DAC of some sort to produce the sound. The best bet is to get an XDA-1 and hook it up to airmotivs. This will allow you to control the volume via remote control. If you plan on just taking the audio out from the tv, I would just stick with a soundbar. You would use the digital output on your cable box to the XDA-1 and then connect the xda-1 to the airmotivs. Then to adjust the sound you would just use the XDA-1 remote. Here is an XDA-1 for $150. Shipping is probably around $15-30. Speak to the seller to get the warranty transferred. emotivalounge.proboards.com/thread/34443/emotiva-xda-1-clean-150 |
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Post by garbulky on Dec 8, 2013 0:50:16 GMT -5
Friend is looking for a very simple setup for his parents house. What are your thoughts concerning the ZVOX 580 (http://www.amazon.com/ZVOX-580-Low-Profile-Single-Cabinet-Surround/dp/B0055FZIX4) vs using Air Motivs. The TV is Samsung UN46F6300AF. It has an 3.5mm audio out that I could convert to RCAs. If I was to go the air motiv route, how would I adjust the volume? Will the TV volume adjust the audio out volume? Thoughts? Okay Joey. I just hooked up a pair of airmotiv 4's for the first time in my room. It took me just a few minutes to make my mind up. These airmotivs will absolutely demolish any soundbars under $1000. It's not even close. It's really good. However the airmotiv 4's are likely not loud enough for a large living room. So I suggest the largest model you could possibly afford (plus a DAC). |
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joeyd
Emo VIPs
Posts: 307
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Post by joeyd on Dec 8, 2013 1:43:58 GMT -5
Looking at the Airmotiv 5's. The budget isn't large enough for a DAC also. So option A: only Airmotiv 5; option B: only soundbar
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Post by garbulky on Dec 8, 2013 2:02:54 GMT -5
Looking at the Airmotiv 5's. The budget isn't large enough for a DAC also. So option A: only Airmotiv 5; option B: only soundbar Well your issue is the volume control. Unless the TV output has a volume control then you won't get it with the airmotiv 5 unless you are comfortable adjusting the volume of each speaker. You will likely get it with the soundbar. I think that's the main issue. I can't stress the important of a DAC. It's the difference between ho-hum sound and good sound. Best of luck  So it looks to me like the soundbar is the only choice without an XDA-1 DAC. If you still wanted the airmotivs without using the XDA-1 dac. It will still cost you about $70 over the airmotivs and it will not allow the volume to be controlled by remote. You would buy This $25 DAC www.amazon.com/FiiO-Digital-Analog-Audio-Converter/dp/B005PWPUW6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386485214&sr=8-1&keywords=SPDIF+DACand this (currently not released) - Emotiva control freak $40 (volume control - no remote ). I doubt it would be the ideal solution as your parents would have to get up and walk to the volume control everytime they wanted to change the volume. |
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Post by jlafrenz on Dec 8, 2013 12:32:54 GMT -5
Friend is looking for a very simple setup for his parents house. What are your thoughts concerning the ZVOX 580 (http://www.amazon.com/ZVOX-580-Low-Profile-Single-Cabinet-Surround/dp/B0055FZIX4) vs using Air Motivs. The TV is Samsung UN46F6300AF. It has an 3.5mm audio out that I could convert to RCAs. If I was to go the air motiv route, how would I adjust the volume? Will the TV volume adjust the audio out volume? Thoughts? This really depends on the TV. Some TV's will have a variable audio output that will let you adjust the volume of an external speaker connected to it. You would have to go into the menu and see if that is an option. If you know the model of the TV you could always look it up in the manual. I have seen this feature on Sony and JVC TV's. I have seen a few mention that Panasonic can do it, but I have never verified that personally. Samsung and LG don't have any current models that can do it. You may still check the model as some TV's in the past did have this as an option. |
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joeyd
Emo VIPs
Posts: 307
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Post by joeyd on Dec 8, 2013 12:38:16 GMT -5
The TV is Samsung UN46F6300AF. I've read the manual but can't determine if the 3.5mm out is variable with the tv volume.
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Post by jlafrenz on Dec 8, 2013 13:45:57 GMT -5
The TV is Samsung UN46F6300AF. I've read the manual but can't determine if the 3.5mm out is variable with the tv volume. I'm pretty sure it is not variable. I was reading the manual for another model a while back and it specifically states that the volume was fixed when using the audio out. |
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