Help Stuck with Bose system

[parthtrivedi]

Hey guys,
First and foremost thanks to Toms for providing a wonderful platform for newbies like me to post questions and get professional answers for my problems

Now to begin with my problem,

I was fortunate enough(or not) to get a Bose acoustimass 10 or 15 ( I dont know which one) without the Bass module and with a Yamaha RXV-795 AMP from my dad.

I want to hook this up to my TV. So I have connected the TV to the amp with optical cable, and connected the sats directly to the amp. I have not started using this system because of two reasons.
1) I dont have anything to play the lower freqs.
2) I have read a bit on this where it says if I use the bose sats without its bass module then there is a chance that I will end up with a dead amp.

My question to you guys is.

a) Can I use any other sub(suggest some model pls) and connect the sats directly to the amp.( I read something about setting a High crossover though I have no idea what that is or if my amp supports that setting).

b) If not that then how do I get this system up and running?

c) How good is my amp in today's world? (can you relate this to any computer component so I can understand where it stands, eg. its like an i7 5820X or gtx 780)?

d) Any noob friendly guide where I can learn about audio basics?

Please note, any help on this matter is highly appreciated.
I thank you guys for taking out the time to read this.
Thanking you pros in anticipation.

 

[shaqblogs2011]

2) I have read a bit on this where it says if I use the bose sats without its bass module then there is a chance that I will end up with a dead amp.
I wonder how??


a) Can I use any other sub(suggest some model pls) and connect the sats directly to the amp.( I read something about setting a High crossover though I have no idea what that is or if my amp supports that setting).
Do you have a working budget for a subwoofer? I would suggest if you have a good budget to ditch those bose speakers and get a god pair of front speakers first. You simply wont regret!
And, dont worry.. you can play without a subwoofer!
If you are so concerned set the crossover in the receiver/amp @ 80 or 100Hz. Even if you dont set the crossover, I would be surprised if those crappy bose speakers can play anything below 100Hz.

c) How good is my amp in today's world? (can you relate this to any computer component so I can understand where it stands, eg. its like an i7 5820X or gtx 780)?
You are comparing an amp to a computer???????

d) Any noob friendly guide where I can learn about audio basics?
Start with google with the questions you have.


Note that the Yamaha receiver is a pretty good one. The bose speakers are pretty much on the lower side of average at best. You should consider getting a pair of good front speakers. You can use the bose speakers as surround speakers.

 

[parthtrivedi]

I will purchase a new system and use my existing receiver.
Till then I was thinking to connect my old aiwa speakers to this amp. they are 2 front big speakers about 15"(450mm) and 2 small rear speakers. the only problem is that I dont have any old Sub, except a standalone system like this , so can i connect only the sub to the receiver ?

 

[shaqblogs2011]

I will purchase a new system and use my existing receiver.
Till then I was thinking to connect my old aiwa speakers to this amp. they are 2 front big speakers about 15"(450mm) and 2 small rear speakers. the only problem is that I dont have any old Sub, except a standalone system like this , so can i connect only the sub to the receiver ?

You want to connect only the sub to the receiver? What on earth are you trying to achieve???

 

[ssddx]

stepping in here... shaq, tone it down a bit. perhaps misreading but your tone seems rude to me.

--

the so called amp you listed is a receiver.

a) you should be able to use pretty much any powered subwoofer yes. it looks to take a standard rca subwoofer cable. monoprice or dayton subwoofers would be cheap and would work. for $99 the dayton sub-800 is a stellar low budget choice.
b) shouldnt have any issue running without a sub but you would want one for low frequencies.
c) given that your receiver does not have hdmi support, it would be like running a pc on something from the c2d age as hdmi inputs are standard nowadays.
d) there are various guides on the internet you can find on many of the questions you might find. reading home theater related posts or browsing a forum such as this (or better yet an audio home theater specific forum) will also help. i'm not aware of a one-stop solution to learn everything. an example of a good guide (this one on surround modes and # speakers) http/www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/ultimate-surround-sound-guide-different-formats-explained/ but you can find similar on other topics.

the receiver you have has fairly high output so should be able to handle speakers up to floorstanding size perfectly fine.

i would not hook up computer speakers to your receiver. while entirely possible to do so (with the right 3.5mm/rca adapter) computer subwoofers are very underpowered and will not work well at all. your aiwa speakers are bookshelf sized (at 15") so should have more bass output than that weak computer subwoofer on their own. adding the pc sub would only make sound worse.

while i personally agree the acoustimas (and bose in general) systems are highly overrated, free is also free. you could use it until you can upgrade to something better. you might even like the sound and only need to invest a little bit of money into a subwoofer. dont let anyone on here tell you what you should and should not like - make the choice yourself. we are here to help give you options and not tell you what to like.

if you did want to upgrade to something better, you could list a budget. given that your receiver is not hdmi input you might also want to think about upgrading the receiver along with the rest of it. while optical is capable of carrying compressed 5.1 signals, not all devices support that and most will be 2.0 stereo only. you do have the option of using your analog inputs but might need to buy an external box to decode a hdmi signal into rca outputs (about $30-40ish) if you wanted 5.1 over them as most tvs only have 2.0 headphone outputs not 5.1 analog jacks.

 

[parthtrivedi]

Wow. Thanks a lot. Your answer is highly descriptive and very helpful. Will keep the bookshelf speakers as of now without the sub.

Will upgrade/ buy new system in 3 parts.
1st the sub ( I have a 200-250$ budget) for the sub alone
2nd the speakers
3rd the amp

My TV has composite , optical and digital out which should I use to connect it to the amp?

Again many thanks to both of you for the taking the pains to write such a lengthy answer, highly appreciated

 

[ssddx]

does your tv have hdmi? does it support arc?

also, will you be needing to play surround sound content from the tv or do you only need that from other sources?

polk, klipsch and dayton make decent affordable subwoofers although there are quite a few brands and models recommended for your budget that i'm not familiar with which you could find with a "best subwoofer 250" search. i have a klipsch sub myself and i have no complaints.

as far as speakers are concerned, you might want to listen to them in person as audio is a very fickle thing and opinions differ quite significantly depending on who is doing the listening. i like the klipsch sound myself (the tractrix horn tweeters are pretty bright and energetic) although some people prefer more mellow and smooth sounding speakers over detailed and acute.

 

[parthtrivedi]

does your tv have hdmi? does it support arc?

also, will you be needing to play surround sound content from the tv or do you only need that from other sources?

polk, klipsch and dayton make decent affordable subwoofers although there are quite a few brands and models recommended for your budget that i'm not familiar with which you could find with a "best subwoofer 250" search. i have a klipsch sub myself and i have no complaints.

as far as speakers are concerned, you might want to listen to them in person as audio is a very fickle thing and opinions differ quite significantly depending on who is doing the listening. i like the klipsch sound myself (the tractrix horn tweeters are pretty bright and energetic) although some people prefer more mellow and smooth sounding speakers over detailed and acute.

Yes my TV supports HDMI , its a lg 55lh50 55" LCD hdcp compliant. And I don't know what's arc?

Surround sound from TV only.

I don't get Dayton where I live otherwise I was eyeing the sub1500
However I have these options as of now.
Paradigm cinema sub 100watt (300wat peak) for 27k inr ~ 420$

Jamo about the same price but down firing.

Wharfedale out of my budget.
Klipsch above 700$
Currently these are the only one local shop had.

Online options include Yamaha yst sw030 for 220$ Boston acoustics for 320$+ .

 

[ssddx]

http/www.cnet.com/news/what-is-audio-return-channel-arc/

hdmi arc is a feature that lets you use the audio channel pathways on hdmi cords in the reverse direction. for instance a hdmi input to a tv which is ARC capable can send audio back through the line and into a receiver that is also ARC enabled (on its output).

paradigm is a good speaker company. not sure about their subwoofers but might be worth a look. while it doesnt get alot of attention here, i've also heard jamo makes good speakers and their subwoofers seem to get some rave reviews as well. another company worth looking into.

 

[parthtrivedi]

http/www.cnet.com/news/what-is-audio-return-channel-arc/

hdmi arc is a feature that lets you use the audio channel pathways on hdmi cords in the reverse direction. for instance a hdmi input to a tv which is ARC capable can send audio back through the line and into a receiver that is also ARC enabled (on its output).

paradigm is a good speaker company. not sure about their subwoofers but might be worth a look. while it doesnt get alot of attention here, i've also heard jamo makes good speakers and their subwoofers seem to get some rave reviews as well. another company worth looking into.

I've been looking at woofers day in day out. Its like you first said , its a subjective thing just go for what you like. One last thing though , my room size is 36' x 24' x 11' (height).
Placing the sub in one corner. So how much power do I need. I was thinking 200w rms.

And front fire or down fire?

 

[ssddx]

given that huge room size, you might be better suited by dual subs to help even out the sound in the room. otherwise you would want the subwoofer to be reasonably close as you might not get the bass response you want. your room is a bit large in terms of what most people use as a theater room.

watts rms is not the only factor in determining correct subwoofer sizing. you might want to give this one a read as they explained it a bit http/www.avsforum.com/forum/113-subwoofers-bass-transducers/795654-watts-required-room-size.html