Can I connect my old speakers to the new AV receiver?

fantasyvn

Dear all,

I want to buy the Onkyo TXSR309 . It is said to be a very good AV receiver, but does not include any speakers.

I already have this home theater system, the Philips HTS6515:

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/home-cinema-packages/philips-hts6515-review-49300102/

I can just connect my existing speakers (Philips) to the Onkyo or do I have to buy new speakers?

My sincere thanks,

fwor

It looks like the front speakers are 8ohm unpowered, and the sub is powered (i.e. has a built in amplifier). Both ~should~ be Ok with the Onkyo provided you use speaker outputs for the fronts and a line-level out for the sub.

Whether it will sound any good is impossible to say without actually trying it...

fantasyvn

Thank you for your kind advice, fwor. I will try. If it doesn't work, then I'll have to buy new speakers.

Thank you.

trets77

at £140 quid i doubt it will be a bad buy if you value your inputs, 3-D stuff and fancy THX logos on the front. It certainly will probably warrant better speaker than the link you posted (although they might do a job as the rears) .

I had the top of the range ( a few years back) SR 875 and while it was a definate step up from my previous sub £1000 amps i have to report the up scaling was naff. The HD modes sounded little different from plain old 5.1. You got the feeling half your money was going on pictures and logos rather than the main thing a Amp should do (amplify).

Cause they have found a new way to sell amps now , (3-D) people overlook some of the monster amps from a few years ago that don't have HDMI's , 3-D or HD sound. My current amp has none of them but it will IMO crucify anything sub £1000 in the current market in terms of sound. Not bad for £280 for what was a £1500 amp but 4 years ago (and £1300 of that was the amplification)

3-D will die soon and a lot of people will have spent a lot of money on tellys ect that have to have a lot of pointy things on screen to make use of all that extra cash. The future is NOT 3-D

googler

The current system appears to have 2 speakers and a sub. If you're going to use the Onkyo as a stereo system, wouldn't you be better off with a dedicated stereo amp...?

What do you think the Onkyo will do that the current system won't?

fantasyvn

Dear googler, the reason is my Philips home theater system cannot stream media (no internet connection). That is the main reason I want to buy a new blu-ray player which can connect to the web.

At the same time, a stand-alone blu-ray player apparently cannot have excellent sound. That is why I want to buy an AV receiver like the Onkyo. But then I was wondering if my old speakers (Philips) can still be used with the Onkyo.

Best regards,

fantasyvn

Dear trets77, I think you have much experience in this area. May I ask how you choose speakers for an AV receiver? How can you know if they match?

Thank you.

trets77

fantasyvn wrote: »

Dear trets77, I think you have much experience in this area. May I ask how you choose speakers for an AV receiver? How can you know if they match?

Thank you.

Nothing makes a better choice than your own ears.

Speakers and amps are not like computers and Televisions. A good Amp and speakers from 10 years ago are still good today IMO.

If you set up is going to be 5.1 set up I advise you spend around 80% - 85% of your speaker budget on the centre,surrounds and sub and cables for them. Cause around 90%- 95% of the sound of any normal movie will be through these. Rears really only should be heard when placing effects.


I have yet to hear a bad KEF speaker. The old KEF "eggs" come up regular on ebay for around £30 a speaker.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kef-2005-surround-speakers-/320893558863?pt=UK_AudioVideoElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_HiFiSpeakers&hash=item4ab6bf204f#ht_500wt_996

Mission are another company know for never producing duff products.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Three-3-Mission-70-Bookshelf-Cinema-Surround-Centre-Speakers-Black-/221006728920?pt=UK_AudioVideoElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_HiFiSpeakers&hash=item3375070ed8#ht_1120wt_981.

Wire them up with this cable. good connectors are also advised.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Three-3-Mission-70-Bookshelf-Cinema-Surround-Centre-Speakers-Black-/221006728920?pt=UK_AudioVideoElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_HiFiSpeakers&hash=item3375070ed8#ht_1120wt_981

For the rears you should not spend more than £1 a meter IMO. I use this so i can route and hid it under the skirting boards.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/25M-QED-MICRO-SPEAKER-CABLE-SURROUND-SOUND-CINEMA-NEW-/261009595166?pt=UK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item3cc5625b1e#ht_1119wt_981


If you want further advice let me know you budget and requirments.

googler

I think you'll need new speakers.

The subwoofer for the Philips appears to contain the power amplifier for the stereo speakers, and appears to use a Philips-specific connector to connect to the control unit.

The Onkyo won't have this connector for the sub.

You may be able to use the stereo speakers on their own with the Onkyo.

Again, there's no point in buying a 5.1 amp/receiver like the Onkyo if you're just going to connect 2 stereo speakers and a sub.

DVD/BluRay plus Stereo amp, plus Stereo Speakers would appear to be required.

fantasyvn

Dear trets77 and googler, your advice is very helpful. I'm a novice in this matter, so I'll need more time to do research to fully understand.

Our forum is the best.

almillar

HiFi seperates have used the same speaker connections for years - either bare wires or 'banana plugs'. If you can get ANY speaker, which has 2 wires on the end, positive and negative, you CAN connect it to your Onkyo, that's the joy of separates over packed stuff. Of course, different stuff might be different quality.
So if you have any old speakers lying around, you might save some money by using them as rear speakers. You want your best speakers to be the front left and front right, and you can even go without a centre speaker if you want. And have a look round for a good (KEF for one) subwoofer second hand for around £100 - look locally as they'll be v. expensive to post.
If you want the easy but good option, have a look at Richer Sounds' website to see what kind of speaker packages are in your budget...