Which speakers are "on" when listening to music on a 7.1 Home Theater Speaker System?

Onkyo HT-S5300 7.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver and Speaker Wrap with iPod Dock (Black)

• 130 watts/ch with 290W powered subwoofer
• HDMI (Version 1.4 to Support 3D Video Formats, Audio Return Channel), Deep Color , x.v.Color , LipSync, Dolby® TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio , DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD, Multichannel PCM, and CEC
• Audio and 1080p Video Processing via HDMI (4 Inputs and 1 Output)
• Powered Zone 2 and Zone 2 Line-Out for Playback of Separate Source in Another Room
• 4 DSP Modes for Making a bet: Rock, Sports, Action, and RPG (Role Playing Game)

Onkyo has built a reputation for making advanced features and routine more affordable for budget-conscious fans of home entertainment. Take, as a prime example, the HT-S5300 receiver and speaker wrap. At the heart of this 7.1-channel system, you have an A/V receiver sporting four of the latest HDMI 1.4 inputs—enough for all your high-def sources. HDMI 1.4 brings compatibility with 3D video—coming soon—and an Audio Return Channel. With the HT-S5300, you can also adjust settings on th

List Price: $ 599.00

Price: Too low to show

by Jordanhill School D&T Dept

Now I do not have a home theater setup in my house, but I was wondering, if I am listening to a CD or mp3 music, are all the speakers “on” or outputting music? or is it just the front 2 and possibly rear 2 speakers on? Or is this adjustable on what speakers could be on?

Answer by AVDADDY
It all depends upon what setting you have your receiver on.

Answer by doornobk
Most will have options. Some will be able to just do a left and right stereo for a classic Hi-Fi experience but most will have options (sometimes dozens) to get it to play through all the speakers. That is everywhere you can get the custom effects like ‘stadium’ to make it seem like you are in a stadium listening to your music.

Answer by bbt91945
Keep in mind CD are only in stereo, there are some CD’s that have Dolby Digital encoded to them at 5.1. Some receivers have an audio selector mode like stereo, and all channel stereo. Look at your owners manual for management. Blu Ray disc movies are the only source for 7.1 audio and there are only a handful of them out. Hope this will help you out.

Answer by Qusi Q
Kenwood speakers is the best…………………………………………………………………….
Kenwood KFC-1682IE 6.5-Inch 240-Watt Max Power Three-Way Speaker System
Technical Details
* 6-1/2″ three-way loudspeaker (pair)
* Polypropylene mica cone woofer with fiber texture and Urethane surround
* 92 dB sensitivity
* 240 Watts peak power handling
* 35 Hz-22 kHz frequency response

Give your answer to this question below!

Desktop Audio Upgrade


Image by Jordanhill School D&T Dept
I needed some new speakers for my desktop computer system at home. I’ve been tolerating JBL creature 2.1 system for a couple of being now and I’d finally had enough. The JBLs suffered from a depressing lack of critical midrange detail. This, coupled with the fact that the kids now hog the main system in the front room, means that I can’t get access to my iTunes library readily.

A few being ago I was doing some research into speakers and I came crosswise the Quad 11l actives. They were very well reviewed in a couple of Australian and New Zealand hi-fi publications. From what I could gather at the time they were not widely available in the UK. When I did eventually track them down their price tag was £600 for a pair. Prohibitively expensive for a desktop audio system. These things are marketed as pro-level near field monitors. They have their own build in amps. Two per speaker. 60W for the bass driver and 40W for the treble driver.

Anyway a couple of weeks ago I chose to have a casual squint at eBay and see if I could pick up a second hand pair at a vastly reduced price. There were none available. One seller was promotion individual speakers new for £250. apiece. Still too expensive. Crestfallen, I gave up. A couple of days later I had another look. Another seller was offering a pair of Quad actives for £229. Stunned, I had a closer look. Apart from a different badge, Quad Industrial, these looked like peas in a pod to the Quad 11l actives. Plus, they were groundbreaking new, in unopened boxes.

After a few hours of research I learned that IAG, Quad’s parent company, has an Industrial division that promote audio equipment for hotels, conference centres, address theatres, and the like. Hence the different branding. The speaker also goes by another name, the Quad QPM1. Other than that it is like peas in a pod in each way to the Quad 11l active monitor.

This was a game changer. Prior to this I was considering the Audioengine 2 model as my desktop speaker replacement. I phoned the supplier to check that there was no mistake in their pricing in the advert. They confirmed that they were on sale for £229 for the pair. I placed my order immediately.

I was very excited to hear these speakers given the reviews I’d read. I’m also a huge fan of the Quad signal. My front room consists of the Quad 12l2s as main speakers in my 5.1 kit, Quad Centre, Quad l-ite satellites for rear and Quad l-ite subwoofer. Now I could have the Quad signal as part of my desktop system at a part of the price.

Quad speakers are renowned for being extremely neutral. In other words they take nothing away from or add anything to the original recording or source. Although my Quads were all very well reviewed at the time of their release, around 2004-2007, there are other fantastic speakers out there. For me I liked the standing associated with being a Quad title-holder. I clearly liked the signal and most importantly I got all the kit at bargain prices. Most of it was ex-dem so I saved at least 20% on the normal retail price. Another vital factor was matching the speakers crosswise the whole 5.1 kit. All of them should work well together. The 5.1 kit is driven by an Arcam AVR 300 that again was ex-dem. The front speakers are bi-amped and bi-wired. This affords them 120 watts per channel and per driver.

Being a hi-fi enthusiast makes you a bit picky about what you'll listen to. So how do the Quad actives signal? Well place it this way… I’ve not stopped playing them since the minute they at home in the house. I’ve terrified everything at them. From Led Zepp to Beethoven. Alison Krauss through to Prokofiev. Unbelievable! If anything the Quad actives may signal better than the 12l2s in my front room due to the fact that their bi-amp design is impeccably matched to the drivers in a way that any other amp would struggle to better. There is plenty of power and the signal path is not compromised by additional cabling and junction points. So the signal could be characterised as being clean, clear with tight bass control and a surprising quantity of depth considering the cabinet size. Though being nearfield monitors they are very revealing! If the recording is poor it sounds poor through these. You are very conscious of it. Also after a few days I became very aware of the deficiencies of the iMac’s signal card. There was a constant low hum and other nasties such as buzzing and clicks. Hissing too. Another issue was that I wanted to run an ancient radio tuner through these. All I could lay my hands on at small notice was a phono switchbox. This worked but it was trying to control the volume of the tuner other than messing around at the back of the monitors. Not really ideal.

I realised I need to look for some kind of preamp. Nothing suitable for desktop audio seemed immediately available. Initially I started looking at pro audio solutions. Mixers and the like. Not only were these really expensive but they also took up a lot of desk space. The other thing that seemed clear was that some kind of external signal processing solution would improve on the signal the iMac was competent of producing. Looked like a DAC was vital. This took me into a whole new ballpark. It came down to two companies in the end. Cambridge Audio's Dacmagic or NuForce's uDac or Icon products. Necessarily it came down to my need to switch sources easily and the ability to control volume at the turn of a dial or via an installed remote app on an iPhone. The Dacmagic looked very tempting but there was no preamp function or headphone amplifier. This left me with the NuForce products.

NuForce's website information is confusing. Being new to the world of DACs and desktop audio I knew small about by USB as a means of feeding an external digital to analogue converter with a digital signal. I was familiar with toslink optical links from the Arcam processor but USB was new to me. So I started reading about jitter and the degrading effect is has on signal quality and the technology used by NuForce to take right these issues. I also read some astonishing reviews on their uDac, Icon 2 and Icon HDP products. Turns out NuForce are an American company that specialises in really high end digital amplifiers and DACs. We're talking thousands of pounds. Their 'desktop' range is much more affordable though. The uDac was offered to me for £55 for example. In the end I got a fantastic deal on the Icon HDP. I had to make a couple of phone calls at this point. I can't say how much I saved but I got a better bargain on this than I got on the Quads! The Icon HDP is a combined class A headphone, preamp and top quality DAC rolled into one. Perfect for my needs.

Now we have the combined effect of the iMac and its ability to feed a decently digital signal from iTunes or Spotify Premium to the NuForce Icon HDP via USB and then onto the Quad QPMs. The effect the Icon HDP had on the system was staggering. This truly is a phenomenal product. Undoubtedly the most accomplished, best sounding and most helpful piece of hi-fi equipment I've ever bought. The whole soundstage opened right up. Subtle nuances present in the recordings were revealed in extraordinary detail. A truly three dimensional space is open to the listener. Given I'm used to the full Quad/Arcam experience in the front room it's incredible how lifelike and articulate my bargain desktop audio solution really is. The Quads in themselves are remarkable for the price but the Icon HDP is literally a revelation.

As you'll see from the photos I've experimented with this system in all sorts of combinations. At one point I even hooked up the Quad sub to hear the difference it made. I concluded it's really not vital the system is already competent of producing nearly terrifying levels of deep controlled bass without it. Midrange too is superb. Treble crisp and smear free. I've been particularly enjoying the albums below. I've pretty much went into the backroom! All in all, a pretty excellent October week…

Trentemøller – The Very Last Resort
Mercan Dede – 800
Sergei Rachmaninoff – Rachmaninov
Alison Krauss – Lonely Runs Both Ways
John Hiatt – Hiatt Comes Alive At Budokan?
Booka Shade – Memento
Avishai Cohen – Aurora

By the way the Quads are still available on eBay, last few remaining. Other speakers shown for comparison.

Belkin F8V235-12 12-Foot Y Audio Cable

• Audio cable connects multimedia devices to your PC’s signal card
• Features 3.5mm, nickel-plated-connector plugs
• Connects mini-stereo components to stereo equipment
• Color-coded plugs for simple identification and attachment
• Lifetime warranty

This Y Audio Cable allows you to connect multimedia devices (such as stereo speakers and CD-ROMs) to your PC’s signal card. It is also ideal for connecting mini-stereo components to stereo equipment. Simply connect the mini-stereo plug to your mini-stereo signal card jack (or mini-stereo device). Then, slide the RCA plugs into apt jacks on your multimedia devices (or stereo equipment). Main FeaturesManufacturer: Belkin Corporation.Manufacturer Part Digit: F8V235-12Manufacturer Website Add

List Price: $ 8.99

Price: $ 2.10

Desktop Audio Upgrade


Image by Jordanhill School D&T Dept
I needed some new speakers for my desktop computer system at home. I’ve been tolerating JBL creature 2.1 system for a couple of being now and I’d finally had enough. The JBLs suffered from a depressing lack of critical midrange detail. This, coupled with the fact that the kids now hog the main system in the front room, means that I can’t get access to my iTunes library readily.

A few being ago I was doing some research into speakers and I came crosswise the Quad 11l actives. They were very well reviewed in a couple of Australian and New Zealand hi-fi publications. From what I could gather at the time they were not widely available in the UK. When I did eventually track them down their price tag was £600 for a pair. Prohibitively expensive for a desktop audio system. These things are marketed as pro-level near field monitors. They have their own build in amps. Two per speaker. 60W for the bass driver and 40W for the treble driver.

Anyway a couple of weeks ago I chose to have a casual squint at eBay and see if I could pick up a second hand pair at a vastly reduced price. There were none available. One seller was promotion individual speakers new for £250. apiece. Still too expensive. Crestfallen, I gave up. A couple of days later I had another look. Another seller was offering a pair of Quad actives for £229. Stunned, I had a closer look. Apart from a different badge, Quad Industrial, these looked like peas in a pod to the Quad 11l actives. Plus, they were groundbreaking new, in unopened boxes.

After a few hours of research I learned that IAG, Quad’s parent company, has an Industrial division that promote audio equipment for hotels, conference centres, address theatres, and the like. Hence the different branding. The speaker also goes by another name, the Quad QPM1. Other than that it is like peas in a pod in each way to the Quad 11l active monitor.

This was a game changer. Prior to this I was considering the Audioengine 2 model as my desktop speaker replacement. I phoned the supplier to check that there was no mistake in their pricing in the advert. They confirmed that they were on sale for £229 for the pair. I placed my order immediately.

I was very excited to hear these speakers given the reviews I’d read. I’m also a huge fan of the Quad signal. My front room consists of the Quad 12l2s as main speakers in my 5.1 kit, Quad Centre, Quad l-ite satellites for rear and Quad l-ite subwoofer. Now I could have the Quad signal as part of my desktop system at a part of the price.

Quad speakers are renowned for being extremely neutral. In other words they take nothing away from or add anything to the original recording or source. Although my Quads were all very well reviewed at the time of their release, around 2004-2007, there are other fantastic speakers out there. For me I liked the standing associated with being a Quad title-holder. I clearly liked the signal and most importantly I got all the kit at bargain prices. Most of it was ex-dem so I saved at least 20% on the normal retail price. Another vital factor was matching the speakers crosswise the whole 5.1 kit. All of them should work well together. The 5.1 kit is driven by an Arcam AVR 300 that again was ex-dem. The front speakers are bi-amped and bi-wired. This affords them 120 watts per channel and per driver.

Being a hi-fi enthusiast makes you a bit picky about what you'll listen to. So how do the Quad actives signal? Well place it this way… I’ve not stopped playing them since the minute they at home in the house. I’ve terrified everything at them. From Led Zepp to Beethoven. Alison Krauss through to Prokofiev. Unbelievable! If anything the Quad actives may signal better than the 12l2s in my front room due to the fact that their bi-amp design is impeccably matched to the drivers in a way that any other amp would struggle to better. There is plenty of power and the signal path is not compromised by additional cabling and junction points. So the signal could be characterised as being clean, clear with tight bass control and a surprising quantity of depth considering the cabinet size. Though being nearfield monitors they are very revealing! If the recording is poor it sounds poor through these. You are very conscious of it. Also after a few days I became very aware of the deficiencies of the iMac’s signal card. There was a constant low hum and other nasties such as buzzing and clicks. Hissing too. Another issue was that I wanted to run an ancient radio tuner through these. All I could lay my hands on at small notice was a phono switchbox. This worked but it was trying to control the volume of the tuner other than messing around at the back of the monitors. Not really ideal.

I realised I need to look for some kind of preamp. Nothing suitable for desktop audio seemed immediately available. Initially I started looking at pro audio solutions. Mixers and the like. Not only were these really expensive but they also took up a lot of desk space. The other thing that seemed clear was that some kind of external signal processing solution would improve on the signal the iMac was competent of producing. Looked like a DAC was vital. This took me into a whole new ballpark. It came down to two companies in the end. Cambridge Audio's Dacmagic or NuForce's uDac or Icon products. Necessarily it came down to my need to switch sources easily and the ability to control volume at the turn of a dial or via an installed remote app on an iPhone. The Dacmagic looked very tempting but there was no preamp function or headphone amplifier. This left me with the NuForce products.

NuForce's website information is confusing. Being new to the world of DACs and desktop audio I knew small about by USB as a means of feeding an external digital to analogue converter with a digital signal. I was familiar with toslink optical links from the Arcam processor but USB was new to me. So I started reading about jitter and the degrading effect is has on signal quality and the technology used by NuForce to take right these issues. I also read some astonishing reviews on their uDac, Icon 2 and Icon HDP products. Turns out NuForce are an American company that specialises in really high end digital amplifiers and DACs. We're talking thousands of pounds. Their 'desktop' range is much more affordable though. The uDac was offered to me for £55 for example. In the end I got a fantastic deal on the Icon HDP. I had to make a couple of phone calls at this point. I can't say how much I saved but I got a better bargain on this than I got on the Quads! The Icon HDP is a combined class A headphone, preamp and top quality DAC rolled into one. Perfect for my needs.

Now we have the combined effect of the iMac and its ability to feed a decently digital signal from iTunes or Spotify Premium to the NuForce Icon HDP via USB and then onto the Quad QPMs. The effect the Icon HDP had on the system was staggering. This truly is a phenomenal product. Undoubtedly the most accomplished, best sounding and most helpful piece of hi-fi equipment I've ever bought. The whole soundstage opened right up. Subtle nuances present in the recordings were revealed in extraordinary detail. A truly three dimensional space is open to the listener. Given I'm used to the full Quad/Arcam experience in the front room it's incredible how lifelike and articulate my bargain desktop audio solution really is. The Quads in themselves are remarkable for the price but the Icon HDP is literally a revelation.

As you'll see from the photos I've experimented with this system in all sorts of combinations. At one point I even hooked up the Quad sub to hear the difference it made. I concluded it's really not vital the system is already competent of producing nearly terrifying levels of deep controlled bass without it. Midrange too is superb. Treble crisp and smear free. I've been particularly enjoying the albums below. I've pretty much went into the backroom! All in all, a pretty excellent October week…

Trentemøller – The Very Last Resort
Mercan Dede – 800
Sergei Rachmaninoff – Rachmaninov
Alison Krauss – Lonely Runs Both Ways
John Hiatt – Hiatt Comes Alive At Budokan?
Booka Shade – Memento
Avishai Cohen – Aurora

By the way the Quads are still available on eBay, last few remaining. Other speakers shown for comparison.

Can i buy 6.1 channel home theater receiver? If not what do i need to buy? Thanks for your help

Answer by JP
yes you can buy that receiver and it will work.

Answer by fgokurules
I would hold off why do you need a 6.1 ? 5.1 gives you complete listening experience…. It covers all your sides..

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!