Any videophiles out there that can help with this question. I’ve got a TEAC receiver with the DVD toasted. Authorized Repair Center said it would cost about $225 to repair/replace unit. ARC suggested buying new system or receiver. Anyone know of existing receiver or point me in the right direction to find a DVD/VCR system compatible with my existing speakers?
Maybe I don’t understand the question, but I can’t imagine your existing TEAC speakers would be incompatible with any modern HT receiver or receiver/DVD combo. With low to mid end hi-fi equipment, speakers are speakers. As long as you take the time to set up the levels correctly, they’ll sound fine with whatever you buy to replace the broken unit. The only exception I can think of is how your existing setup handles the subwoofer. Some very low end HTB (Home theater in a Box) setups have passive subwoofers with the crossovers in the subwooofer itself.
Ok, Stan Doubt, what are we talking about. I’ve got an HT setup via TEAC, if I buy a new receiver, will I be able to hook up the 7 speaker system in the same configuration? I guess that’s the gist of the question. Are today’s HT systems compatible with each other, can I buy a receiver that will drive all 7 speakers in the same manner? Can I purchase a $100 receiver that will accommodate my speaker setup, or do I have to purchase a completely new HT setup? Which I am willing to do, since a completely new system from Costco will run about $300. With today’s throw away electronics, I’m just looking for a way not to throw away 7 perfectly good speakers.
I’m assuming that one of your 7 speakers is the subwoofer, and in that case any model of receiver that says “6.1 surround sound” will work with your 7 speakers.
Much more common are 5.1 systems, which use 3 front speakers, 2 rear speakers and a subwoofer, so be sure you check the specs before you buy.
Yep, you almost certainly can get something for ~$100 and hook it right up. The most important difference is how the TEAC was set up with regard to the front channels and the sub. Did it run each speaker directly from the receiver/DVD unit, or did it run the fronts first to the subwoofer module? I know nothing about TEAC units, but many other low-end setups did/do not really ship with a traditional full-featured receiver, as the subwoofer module contains the crossovers and sometimes the power amplifier. In other words, there is no separate dedicated subwoofer feed, all the “front” speaker output goes to the subwoofer & the subwoofer reproduces the low frequency portion and sends the mid and high frequency portion to the left and right front (small satellite) speakers. If this is your current setup, you’ll have to replicate the same thing with the new receiver by sending the front speaker output the same way. You would then make sure the settings on the new receiver are set up correctly for this configuration.
It could also be that the TEAC unit has special plugs, or a wiring harness. It could also be possible that the receiver has equalization circuitry designed to smooth the frequency response of those particular speakers, a la Bose. If that were the case, then the speakers won’t really work with other hardware, even if you cut the wiring harness up.
Is this a Home Theater-in-a-box type thing? Or are they all separate components? When you said the DVD player was in the receiver, it made me think this was an HTIB.
This is what I have, sorry about the 7 call.
Yes, it’s a complete HT system out of the box, speaker setup, etc., was all color coded directions. The back of the system has a separate connection for each speaker. The connections are standard speaker wire and clip pos/neg for each speaker, the subwoofer has an rca type jack to plug into.
In that case, just about any standalone receiver will work with your speakers. Make sure it says “5.1 surround sound.”
However, most standalone receivers do NOT have a self-contained DVD. You will probably need to buy one of those also.
Just another comment after re-reading the OP to make sure we’re talking the same language. There are two basic types of home entertainment systems–the “home theater in a box” type of system (which is what you’ve been using), and the component based system.
The component system is based around a central “receiver” which usually will have an AM-FM tuner built in, but has external video/audio inputs for DVD, VCR, cable/satellite decoder, etc. It will have video output(s) for the TV and speaker connections for the audio. Typically there will be extra video/audio outputs for other devices, such as recording to a VCR, etc.
Usually, the component system is more of a “high-end” solution and requires more of an investment in equipment and a little more technical know-how. Based on the OP, this may not be what you’re looking for.
I don’t know of any VCR/DVD/Receiver combos like your TEAC that come packaged without speakers, but there may be some out there.
So, the bottom line is this is what I should be looking for. An alternative would be to buy a separate receiver and DVD/VCR player wherein the DVD player and the TV would connect to the receiver. Got it, question answered. Thanks to all who’ve contributed to this thread.