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#1
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Seeking advice on home theater systems
I am looking at two inexpensive HTSs -- the Onkyo HT-S580 and the
Panasonic SC-HT15. My main reason for wanting a sound system is because I find the sound from my TV (Westinghouse LCD) unsatisfactory for watching movies from the TV or my DVD/VCR player. I have difficulty hearing the dialog at normal volume, but with the volume turned up, dramatic music and sound effects, such as explosions, are too loud (regular TV broadcasts are fine). (My difficulty hearing dialog could partly because I am deaf in one ear, although as I said, I only notice the problem with movies.) So what I am after specifically is clarity of sound, particularly dialog. I have a small living room so I am not looking for huge volume and bass output and I need something compact. I like to listen to rock and classical music too, but nothing too loud. The two systems I am looking at are on sale for around the same price at Circuit City and the customer ratings are similar. The Onkyo has a 24-month warranty as opposed to 12 months for the Panasonic, but what I like about the Panasonic is that the speakers are on stands and I that my DVD/VCR player is Panasonic, so can be controlled with the same remote. However, I am confused about the specifications -- they are quite different for the two systems. Can anybody advise me on whether one or the other would be better for my requirements? Onkyo Panasonic Front power 100 Watts x 2 70 Watts x 2 Center power (watts) 100 x 1 260 Surround power 100 Watts x 2 70 Watts x 2 Subwoofer power 100 Watts 260 Watts THD @ rated power .08 Bandwidth @ rated power 20Hz - 20kHz 120Hz - 20Khz The Circuit City site from where I got this info says that the power should be about equal for all speakers. It is for the Onkyo, but is quite different for the Panasonic. However, the reviewers have not said anything detrimental about the sound for either system. Thanks for some advice on this. Please let me know if there is a better discussion group for this topic. |
#2
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"Ros2004" wrote in message ups.com... I am looking at two inexpensive HTSs -- the Onkyo HT-S580 and the Panasonic SC-HT15. My main reason for wanting a sound system is because I find the sound from my TV (Westinghouse LCD) unsatisfactory for watching movies from the TV or my DVD/VCR player. I have difficulty hearing the dialog at normal volume, but with the volume turned up, dramatic music and sound effects, such as explosions, are too loud (regular TV broadcasts are fine). (My difficulty hearing dialog could partly because I am deaf in one ear, although as I said, I only notice the problem with movies.) So what I am after specifically is clarity of sound, particularly dialog. I have a small living room so I am not looking for huge volume and bass output and I need something compact. I like to listen to rock and classical music too, but nothing too loud. The two systems I am looking at are on sale for around the same price at Circuit City and the customer ratings are similar. The Onkyo has a 24-month warranty as opposed to 12 months for the Panasonic, but what I like about the Panasonic is that the speakers are on stands and I that my DVD/VCR player is Panasonic, so can be controlled with the same remote. However, I am confused about the specifications -- they are quite different for the two systems. Can anybody advise me on whether one or the other would be better for my requirements? Onkyo Panasonic Front power 100 Watts x 2 70 Watts x 2 Center power (watts) 100 x 1 260 Surround power 100 Watts x 2 70 Watts x 2 Subwoofer power 100 Watts 260 Watts THD @ rated power .08 Bandwidth @ rated power 20Hz - 20kHz 120Hz - 20Khz The Circuit City site from where I got this info says that the power should be about equal for all speakers. It is for the Onkyo, but is quite different for the Panasonic. However, the reviewers have not said anything detrimental about the sound for either system. Thanks for some advice on this. The best solution to the problem of poor hearing is to buy a receiver with a "midnight" listening mode. This will compress the signal, bringing up the volume of the soft parts and damping it down in the loud parts. Second is to use headphones of the closed type, which will reduce reflected sound from around the room. I recommend Sony 7506 (V6). The combination of compression and headphone listening can make a tremendous improvement in intelligibility. Norm Strong |
#3
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Thanks for the suggestions. I had heard about compressing the sound,
but not the term "midnight." I'll check that out. Headphones do improve clarity but I wouldn't want to be tethered to the set though. |
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