[NIGHTFALL1970]

I am not a surround sound guy, so I am totally new to this. I want to get my mother a GR-Research LGK 2.2 center channel speaker to use with an Oppo 103 blu-ray player that I gave her.


The Oppo has an RCA Center channel out on the back (green).


I assume that this is line level and will need to be amplified.
Emotiva makes a 3 channel amp for $650. The back looks like this:



Later I may get her the LGK 2.1 left and right speakers.






Am I on the right path here? Or is there something else I should do?

[WGH]

Am I on the right path here? Or is there something else I should do?

You are off trail, turn around and start over.

Home theater sound is transmitted over HDMI. When a HDMI cable is plugged into the Oppo and into a home theater receiver you will have the best sound. I have the Oppo BDP-103, the video section is awesome, the audio section is below average. The RCA audio output is barely listenable.

Home theater sound is steered to the speakers by the receiver's processor. In a surround setup, even with only three speakers, all the dialog is steered to the center channel. The L&R speakers handle the music and sound effects, that way the dialog stays clearer. Usually all the speakers are rolled off at 80 Hz and all the bass below 80 Hz goes to the sub. There are a couple of reasons for this arrangement:

• Speakers usually have small drivers and can't reproduce low bass at home theater levels, GR Research speakers are great but they roll off at 70 Hz, for all practical purposes they have no bass whatsoever.
  
  
• Affordable receivers are not designed to pump out 200 watts to 7 channels at the same time, they would need massive transformers and heroic heat sinks. But if every speaker rolled off at 80 Hz then reaching home theater levels without distortion is easy. All bass is handed off to a powered sub, a win - win.

A second HDMI cable is plugged into the TV and into the HDMI ACR (audio return channel) input in the receiver. The TV gets the video from the receiver PLUS when the TV is used to watch a broadcast or streaming the sound goes back into the reciever (HDMI ARC is 2-way) so broadcast and streaming can have big sound too.

Best Buy and other stores have home theater receiver starting at $400. I have no recommendations, they all pretty much sound the same. Buy whatever looks the best to your Mom. Crutchfield has home theater primers.
https://www.crutchfield.com/g_10420/Home-Theater-Receivers.html?&o=p

[NIGHTFALL1970]

Thanks for the info WGH! I think I’ll check out that Marantz NR1510.

[yamaha626]

Hey Nightfall 1970, sorry but WGH is wrong. You can use that player as an analog surround preamp which means that you can use that emotiva amp for a 3.0 system.  Seach Oppo bdd-103 user manual, page 27.
The hook-up is pretty easy...3 rca cables go from the oppo into the emotiva. Run the rca cables from FL (front left), FR (front right), and C (center). Then you just use the volume controls on the oppo remote to control volume.
Also, in my opinion I would stay away from the slim line marantz reveivers...they sound nice but they have no power and you have to work them pretty hard to get any volume. I previously owned a NR1604. It was nice for playing jazz but not very effective as a surround amplifier.

[NIGHTFALL1970]

Thanks for the advice!

[WGH]

...sorry but WGH is wrong. You can use that player as an analog surround preamp which means that you can use that emotiva amp for a 3.0 system.

I didn't say it wouldn't work, I said it would sound like crap compared to a good quality AV receiver. And the Emotiva will only power the speakers when playing a disk. The Emotiva is really the wrong tool for a job. Does your Mom dream of owning a mini home theater with all it's speakers, electronic boxes, complexity and wires? Or will a soundbar placed under the TV work just as well? Or do you live with Mom and this is really for you?


The Oppo 103 DOES NOT have any audio inputs (RCA, HDMI or Optical) so the Oppo cannot be uses as a control center. The speakers will only work when playing a disk, NOT when watching broadcast, cable, or streaming TV. The Oppo does have a menu with 12 selections to select for internet streaming. I have never used it, the selections may work for your Mom but I doubt it.

When your Mom watches a blockbuster movie on Amazon the sound will come out of the TV speakers instead of the GR Research speakers because the TV cannot move the sound into the Oppo/Emotiva combo. If your Mom only watches movies, the Emotiva will work just fine but if she is like me and watches TV and streaming shows too then the expensive LGK 2.2 and Emotiva combo will not be used 99% of the time.
 
When my Outlaw processor died I researched and read a lot of reviews before replacing it. The only product that got zero negative reviews were made by Anthem. I wasn't planning on spending that much but I did and happy I did. I read reviews on any product before buying, if it has 50% good and 50% bad reviews I pass. All the receivers and processors I looked at were 50/50 except Anthem (which is above almost everyone's budget).

Emotiva sells the BasX A3+ as the "Perfect upgrade for the front three channels of your AVR." First you will need a low powered AVR with line out (not all AVR's have line outs) and then add the BasX A3+ to add more power.
https://emotiva.com/products/basx-a3-plus-three-channel-power-amplifier

[NIGHTFALL1970]

I don’t live near her but when I do go over there we watch some blu-ray tv shows. I have some trouble understanding some dialogue and she has even more trouble understanding it. She doesn’t seem to have any trouble understanding regular tv dialogue. So I figured that a center channel speaker may help. I am only a two channel guy and don’t ever use surround sound. I have GR research bully’s with Van Alstine’s mono blocks. I only watch tv when I put in a disk as I don’t have cable tv channels. My cable is only for internet. I don’t think that my mother would like surround sound for movies. I do want to make dialogue easier for her to understand. Maybe a sound bar would be perfect for her? I will have to look into that. Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

[Glady86]

I have the oppo 105 and it sounds fine to me, cant believe the 103 wouldn’t be plenty good enough for the average person. Also, the 103 has two HDMI inputs and one optical input. You can use it as limited control center and probably sound pretty good with nice speakers. Good speakers are the most important part.
 
For just tv and discs it would be worthwhile to try before buying an AVR. I’d rather have a decent amp instead of a cheap AVR with stuff I’d never need.

I have a separate preamplifier so I don’t use mine this way, but I know some people do.

[WGH]

Dialog is getting harder to understand, I watch a lot of British and Irish films, subtitles are a required. "The Wheel of Time" with all those similar sounding names also require subtitles.

Here's Why Movie Dialogue Has Gotten More Difficult To Understand (And Three Ways To Fix It)
https://www.slashfilm.com/673162/heres-why-movie-dialogue-has-gotten-more-difficult-to-understand-and-three-ways-to-fix-it/


The Oppo BDP -103 has two HDMI inputs. I haven't tried them. The rear input may work from a TV, I dunno. You have to experiment. This is rarefied territory that not many people have explored.




I haven't found the optical input Glady86 mentioned, maybe he can circle it. I only see the Optical Out.




This is getting a lot more complicated than turning the TV on and off, hope your Mom is OK with that. I have to turn on 8 separate units to get my 7.1.4 surround system working, good thing I live alone.

[nlitworld]

Dialog is getting harder to understand, I watch a lot of British and Irish films, subtitles are a required.

If you watch the movie Snatch, Brad Pitt's pikey accent definitely requires subtitles. 

[Glady86]

I thought the optical was an input, doesn’t matter anyway you only need to use the HDMI input. I use the HDMI inputs in front for fire stick, and the back one connects with Direct tv. You just have to use the 103 and an amp when watching tv and want to hear the separate speakers.

Honestly, the easiest and probably good enough solution for the OP is get a decent sound bar.

[WGH]

Honestly, the easiest and probably good enough solution for the OP is get a decent sound bar.

I agree. A friend just got a new Samsung soundbar, it is much better than her old one. We watched a couple episodes of "North of North" on Netflix last night and the beginning of "Mickey 17" on a hi-rez streaming this afternoon so I could double check what I heard the night before. Clear dialog with a natural sound without tubby or boomy overtones. She likes it a lot more than her old soundbar too.

Samsung HW-B73CD/ZA 5.1 Channel Soundbar with DTS Virtual:X and Wireless Subwoofer - $299.99 at Costco
https://www.costco.com/samsung-hw-b73cdza-51-channel-soundbar-with-dts-virtualx-and-wireless-subwoofer.product.4000280108.html


The Costco Samsung HW-B73CD soundbar is unique to them. The closest match is the Samsung HW-B750D for $372.99 open box at Crutchfield and $449.99 at Best Buy.

[NIGHTFALL1970]

Thanks for the info. I’ll check them out.