New HTPC motherboard technology vs. old school HIFI

[AlexBennett]

Hello
I have built a HTPC for a review here:
We build a fab Intel Media PC | Desktops | Reviews | TechEye

I would like to now connect it to various peripherals like a TV and speaker system. As you may have now gathered I know nothing about these peripherals though my computer knowledge is good. Since building the PC, I have put it in a HTPC case here:
Buy a Home theatre pc case online at X-case
Bought a better Windows Media Centre 7 IR Remote and have silenced the case. I have downloaded and installed codecs for fun and have streamed internet TV better than my old telly (a Sony Stereo TV) by far already with just a good monitor and Cambridge Audio PC Speakers. Now I have a few questions:

1. Do I really need to buy an AV Receiver when there is the Logitech Z906 Speaker system (having Toslink in x 2) and my motherboard (DH67BL) and most LED TVs have Toslink out?

2. Again my Motherboard has HDMI (to TV) out so I can talk to my TV and setup Windows Media Centre 7 so what do I need all this old fashioned technology for?

3. I may be pissing off a few audiophiles here but I have not had a hifi since the 90s when they became worthless (I threw 2 away down the city dump). Since then everything has been PC but perhaps it is now time to think about making the speaker system better after all. My motherboards is Realtek Dolby HD 7.1 +2 (10 channels). How can I take full advantage of this without wasting lots of money on old school amplifiers?

4. Any suggestions please?

I am sorry if this is a wind-up to this forum, please feel free to lay into me Im tough enough. The problem as I see it is that I have an HTPC with i5 and a Blue Ray writer that Ive made near as good as silent, what on Earth do I need all this extra old school technology for? I can add a AM FAM DAB radio receiver as well as the FreeSat Card I intend an then with an HD Freeview TV I would have difficulty exhausting media with MCE Zone - Media Center Plugins - Media Center Addons - Media Center Development what else would I need? OK maybe when Im rich a turntable, but then only a maybe?

Alex

 

[ukjeyaraj]

Welcome to HFV and congratulations on your HTPC build

1) If you find Z906 sweet enough to your ears there is no need to change the same. However AVR does much more than those speakers. Toslink cannot handle more than 5.1 and can support only Dobly 5.1 and DTS. High definition loseless audio formats such as Dolby True-HD / DTS HD-MA is not supported by TOSLINK. So you are not going to get the best audio quality from Blu-Ray

2) AVR with HDMI and 3D support is not old fashioned technology.

3) Having not dumped your so called worthless hifi or investing in old school amplifiers is not going to help you in taking full advantage of your HTPC

First thing modern AVRs are not old school amplifiers. Modern AVR is required if, multiple devices need to be played (HTPC/Cable/PS3/DVD/Blu-ray Player) with loseless high quality audio.

 

[corElement]

1. Do I really need to buy an AV Receiver when there is the Logitech Z906 Speaker system (having Toslink in x 2) and my motherboard (DH67BL) and most LED TVs have Toslink out?

Welcome to HFV

Do you really need to buy an AVR? This depends on your priorities.

For example

- Do you want an audio setup for music or for games or for HT
- Do you give value to quality sound or prefer inter-connectivity or a budget setup.
- Do you feel sound affects you mentally to the extent you can't be at peace if you hear something not to your liking or true to it's original content.

So, tell us what is your priority?

2. Again my Motherboard has HDMI (to TV) out so I can talk to my TV and setup Windows Media Centre 7 so what do I need all this old fashioned technology for?

Which technology are you finding old?

3. I may be pissing off a few audiophiles here but I have not had a hifi since the 90s when they became worthless (I threw 2 away down the city dump). Since then everything has been PC but perhaps it is now time to think about making the speaker system better after all. My motherboards is Realtek Dolby HD 7.1 +2 (10 channels). How can I take full advantage of this without wasting lots of money on old school amplifiers?

Well, like I said we need to know your priorities. For the majority of the HTPC users on this forum including myself, we have a dolby hd soundcard on our motherboards. However sound is very much like drug addiction, once you get an idea of what good sound is, you can never, ever go back to bad sound. To get a 7.1 output from a motherboard or soundcard is just a technical aspect of presentation. Note the word, presentation. A greater number of channels does not ensure good sound. Neither does connectivity solutions such as HDMI.

Understand the broken the bridge here.

In the last 10 years, connectivity options and presentation of sound have overtaken the PRODUCTION of sound in the budget consumer market. However just because there is more connectivity options and channels of sound does not mean it's GOOD SOUND.

Are you able to understand what I'm trying to loosely word out here?

4. Any suggestions please?

I am sorry if this is a wind-up to this forum, please feel free to lay into me Im tough enough. The problem as I see it is that I have an HTPC with i5 and a Blue Ray writer that Ive made near as good as silent, what on Earth do I need all this extra old school technology for? I can add a AM FAM DAB radio receiver as well as the FreeSat Card I intend an then with an HD Freeview TV I would have difficulty exhausting media with MCE Zone - Media Center Plugins - Media Center Addons - Media Center Development what else would I need? OK maybe when Im rich a turntable, but then only a maybe?

Alex

It's fine, everyone is in a learning process.

I'm still confused, which part are you finding old school technology?
Right now as I see it, you seem to find the connectivity and channels of sound the gauge of measuring good sound.

In reality, they are completely separate entities from good sound.

Understanding sound is very much like understanding video.

For example, if I were to loosely compare some terms across the two fields..

Number of channels = Number of screens.
Wattage = Resolution of a screen.

Since you're in the reviewing business you will also know a resolution of a tv or monitor or megapixels on a camera basically mean complete and utter squat without a proper pixel pitch and viewing angle coupled with non ghosted high static contrast ratio blacks and whites and Gamut ratios.

Similarly I'm sure you are familiar with Radeon Infinity setups with multiple screens. Now compare having say 6 screens to a 5.1 setup. 6 $150 TN panel monitors can sure show you 6 different applications at the same time, however all 6 of them are a complete and utter failure compared to a 4k 55" Full Array LED Screen in picture quality, clarity, size, detail, resolution.

The number of channels and hdmi connectivity similarly are just solutions for a requirement, they are not sound production itself.

Sound production is equally as ambiguous as sound perception. It takes a lot of patience, calm, understanding and attention to understand, and appreciate good sound. Good in this case is a constantly evolving creature because the chemicals in our brains are at a constant state of flux. What sounds good to us today might sound like crap tomorrow but what sounds like crap yesterday will continue to sound like crap tomorrow.

Tell us more about yourself and what kind of sound appeals to you.

Forget everything else for now, forget hdmi, forget i5 or dolby, unlearn everything. Your glass needs to be empty before you can fill it again.:licklips:

 

[AlexBennett]

Thank you for replies. I am glad to hear that what I perceived, being a HIFI world who fear and despise the new world of computers, to not to be ringing true. My problem is this; I talk to PC people about HTPCs and they Know Nothing, I talk to HiFi people about HTPCs and they too Know Nothing. I started to perceive a war of attrition between the two even. Perhaps this is just ignorance and I have finally found the right place.
You see it is obvious HTPC is the future due to codecs alone even. Im sorry but iPhone/iPod or a few competitors equivalents will be out of date in a week or two, OK a small exaggeration perhaps but not really. In future everything will have to go through a central processor.
There has been historically quite a lot of antithesis between PC and HiFi due to digital errors, in particular Interupt sound interference and the like. PCs have moved on and so have HiFis to the extent of the AVR but there is still little communication between the two (at least in terms of how it looks or interacts even). As you may realise for a front room experience FORM OVER FUNCTION is paramount. Meaning I dont want an HTPC that looks like a PC and the very last thing I want is a AVR that clashes with my HTPC looking like a Blue Ray Player (by the way I would put the amplifier in the cupboard not the PC). I may have made a mistake and bought a HTPC case that suits old HiFi dimensions (36cm width) like modern Blue Ray Players (which my on board silent Blue Ray Writer is going to be far better than or if not I can replace for a fraction of the cost of what PCWorld is ripping poor people off for at the moment).
I hope you are starting to get my frustration. If I would buy an AVR it would have to be black and/or 36 cm wide or I would want it in a cupboard to hide it. I really dont want anything that busy to look at. Yes I would want the very best sound but as a human vision is by far the best sense so I will spend accordingly. Again this is only a wind up in the sense that I think we now have TV and PC integration but AVR is still trying to avoid being consumed by the PC future.

Alex