[aznbladez]

I have a Onkyo HT-S6100.


I want to use a home theater system as computer speakers but would this cause the system to go really hot ? Maybe I can use the speakers even if its turned off somehow ?


Is there maybe a mode i can use on the system to let it run cooler 24/7 ?

 

[XanderMoser]

I don't get it. why do you think using it for a computer system would make heat a bigger problem than using it for home theater/music? Do you crank your computer sound system all the time?


If you're close to your computer speakers then it will be run lower, making even less heat.

 

[aznbladez]

the receiver will most likely be on all the time


i keep it at normal volume unless watching movies

 

[Aaron Gilbert]



Quote:
Originally Posted by aznbladez /forum/post/15492820


the receiver will most likely be on all the time


i keep it at normal volume unless watching movies

Should not be a problem as long as you have adequate ventilation (like any receiver). Although, I don't know why somebody would leave a receiver on all the time unless they were actually using it all the time.

 

[PatrickGSR94]

I have my computer connected to my AVR in my living room, via cables running through my attic and RCA wall plates behind the computer and the AVR. I'm having an issue right now, though, of some kind of high-pitched noise inside the computer case getting amplified by the AVR and coming out my center-channel speaker. It's pretty annoying.


But I really only use my living room speakers with the computer every now and then. I would probably only use it for things like watching movies or TV shows on the computer, or maybe for gaming, but I use regular computer speakers for general computer sounds or maybe the occasional YouTube vid.

 

[jwatte]

The problem with hooking computers to "real" sound systems is that there is noise in most computers, and pretty poor analog design in most built-in computer sound cards. Typically, you'll want to use an external sound card of some sort, or use the digital out of your computer and let the receiver do the D/A.


Other than that, go right ahead! I have a computer hooked to my receiver, and it works fine. The computer is on an always-on circuit with power backup; the receiver is not. Power backup means two things:

1) Your hard disk will be impacted less when there's a power outage.

2) The noise from the switching power supply in the computer will be somewhat filtered before going back out on the power circuit.

 

[XanderMoser]

I have used my computer with my HT receiver (Marantz SR4001) with both analog and digital sends. I am using the built-in soundcard on the motherboard. However, I custom built my computer with the help of a friend. The motherboard is a high-quality ASUS and the power supply is a 550 watt Cooler Master. A cheaper motherboard or powersupply may cause problems, but I had very very little noise running analog. I just had to do it because I didn't have a digital compatible cable long enough at the time. I never heard any noise unless I got within 6" of the tweeters.

 

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

What he said, onboard audio has gotten pretty good nowadays. The only factor that could cause annoying noise is the computer's power supply, a low ripple unit is a must not for sound quality alone, but for the health of all the components in your computer.

 

[MagicTK]

It shouldn't be a problem unless you cranked your computer games or whatever to higher volume than when you listen to movies.


The receiver should run very cool if there is no sound running through it. My Marantz SR5400 only heats up noticeably when I am actually playing music or movies.

 

[jarrod1937]

Take a look at the home theater computer section of these forums... They all use their computer for the source for their home theater, and so do i.

Word of warning, don't use onboard cards. Use a good card, i'm using an ht omega card. These have moderately clean analog outs, and their digital outs and in's are excellent.

Personally, i feel a home theater computer paired with a good sound card can be a better source than most of the components out there.

If you have good ventilation there is no problem with keeping it plugged in and turned on all the time.

 

[jwatte]



Quote:
It shouldn't be a problem unless you cranked your computer games or whatever to higher volume than when you listen to movies.

A lot of us run movies and music through the computer, too. In that case, it may matter more. Also, it matters what your reference is. My ASUS motherboard audio has noise at about -72 dBFS, which is "great" for onboard audio, but compared to -92 dB reference D/A, it's not that good (and I do hear the difference quite noticeably). Instead, I'm going digital out.


Note that if your built-in has digital out, then you don't need an external card. Just run the digital (coax or optical) into your receiver and be happy. Especially if your digital out can do bitstream (so you get Dolby Digital from movies).