5.1 Sound setup for a HDTV

[PintOfKittens]

As the title says, iv got myself a 32" HDTV (SWMBO forebode (sp?) me from getting anything bigger) - need a decent 5.1 setup for it ideally for the likes of movies and Xb360.

Last time I had to look for a 5.1 setup, you plugged front right, front left, back right etc into their own plugs into the TV, this one however dosent have that - only 2 HDMI ports and a optical audio out.

Ideally don't want to spend over 150-200 queen's heads. What do I get? How does it all work?

Am I looking for something like this - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002WG244A/ref=... or am I looking at completely the wrong product?

Damn this new fangled technology!

EDIT: Can someone plz move to the Home cinema & hifi forum please. Me an idiot.

Edited by PintOfKittens on Thursday 21st October 14:13

[youngsyr]

What make is your TV? Generally if you get the same make surround sound system that it comes with some trick little features, for instance a Samsung DVD/Surround system enables you to control your TV and surround sound from one remote and if everything is turned off and you press the eject button on the dvd player, it will turn on the surround sound sytem, turn the TV on and change it to the correct channel for the DVD player.

Obviously those are just nice things to have and not really essential, but you aren't going to get a great surround sound system for under £200 anyway, so they're worth considering.

I went with this one, and it's good value for the money:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-HT-C450-5-1-Theatr...

[Bullett]

What you linked to is a home cinema system, most of these have a built in DVD.

Will it be any good, well look for reviews. It will probably be ok for your budget (I used to have a Panasonic all-in-one and it was pretty good) but that was 5+ years ago and at double the budget.

Decent is relative.

I'd suggest watch tv via the built in speakers and dvd's via the HCS, the HCS might have an input for the xbox360 so plug that into the HCS and then the HCS hdmi output to the TV. You will need a unit with HDMI passthorough.

[dave_s13]

Spend a hundred quid more and get a "proper" AV receiver and some speakers.

[PintOfKittens]

dave_s13 said:

Spend a hundred quid more and get a "proper" AV receiver and some speakers.

Can you recommend any? I have no idea what to look for, what to get, what works with what, how it goes together etc...

[PintOfKittens]

Bullett said:

What you linked to is a home cinema system, most of these have a built in DVD.

Will it be any good, well look for reviews. It will probably be ok for your budget (I used to have a Panasonic all-in-one and it was pretty good) but that was 5+ years ago and at double the budget.

Decent is relative.

I'd suggest watch tv via the built in speakers and dvd's via the HCS, the HCS might have an input for the xbox360 so plug that into the HCS and then the HCS hdmi output to the TV. You will need a unit with HDMI passthorough.

Its the closest I can find to what I think how it should go - ie. HDMI goes into it, it does hte fancy 5.1 stuff then outputs to the TV, unless I want something to work off the audio feed from the tele?

No TV, everything is either from Laptop (Movies and bluray player), or from the xb360.

[dave_s13]

I'm no expert given I'm not that obsessed about this sort of thing but I think you might have to spend a tiny bit more actually.

These are good for a casual listener (a mate has one)

http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/o...

Just a case of getting the speakers.

Richer sounds do packages with the cheapest matching branded one being £150. My mate also has these and they are adequate/good enough.

Second hand for this stuff is always a good bet.

Have alook/post on Avforums.....supernerds on there.

This threads is in the wrong place BTW....should be in the Hifi section!!

[Original Poster]

I highly recommend the Onkyo HTS3305 or HTS5305 models, it will suit your needs perfectly, has it's own receiver and sounds absolutely incredible, although you would have to stretch to £300.

[DeputyDawg]

inkiboo said:

If you only want to spend £150-200, personally I wouldn't bother. All you will get is a slightly louder system and crappy 5.1.

Either save up or buy 2nd hand; avforums.com is excellent for 2nd hand AV gear.

Sound advice. (no pun intended)

[youngsyr]

DeputyDawg said:

inkiboo said:

If you only want to spend £150-200, personally I wouldn't bother. All you will get is a slightly louder system and crappy 5.1.

Either save up or buy 2nd hand; avforums.com is excellent for 2nd hand AV gear.

Sound advice. (no pun intended)

I beg to differ. Perhaps it's not for the audiophiles, but I recently purchased this system:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-HT-C450-5-1-Theatr...

... and it has transformed watching films, HDTV broadcasts etc. compared to just using my standard Samsung LCD TV speakers.

Sure, a £500+ system will probably sound better, but then it would have to be amazing to be as much as an improvement as going from inbuilt TV stereo speakers to a standalone 5.1 system, even if it is a cheap one.

Thankfully at least 11 people agree with me if you read the reviews on Amazon.

[mrmr96]

^ to be fair, it's not hard to beat the in-built speakers on Samsung LCD TV's. I have the LE40R74BD from a couple of years ago. The speakers were AWFUL but fortunately I already had a Sony 6.1 system which I've used from Day1 with the samsung, so I never had to endure it's awful sound. (Internal mute FTW!)

[youngsyr]

mrmr96 said:

^ to be fair, it's not hard to beat the in-built speakers on Samsung LCD TV's. I have the LE40R74BD from a couple of years ago. The speakers were AWFUL but fortunately I already had a Sony 6.1 system which I've used from Day1 with the samsung, so I never had to endure it's awful sound. (Internal mute FTW!)

My TV is a three year old 32" LCD version, the sound was fine beforehand, but obviously was just stereo. I also have a 22" LCD Samsung monitor/TV and the sound on that is woeful.

My point is though that spending £150 on a surround sound system isn't a waste of money if it's your first step into that arena. Some systems definitely are worth the money. Sure, you can get better if you pay more, but that's nearly always the case.

[The Trig]

A friend of mine just picked up an Onkyo amp from Fleabay, cost him about £120.

Onkyo Amp

You then need to just get the speakers to suit your home decor to keep SWMBO happy?

[mrmr96]

youngsyr said:

mrmr96 said:

^ to be fair, it's not hard to beat the in-built speakers on Samsung LCD TV's. I have the LE40R74BD from a couple of years ago. The speakers were AWFUL but fortunately I already had a Sony 6.1 system which I've used from Day1 with the samsung, so I never had to endure it's awful sound. (Internal mute FTW!)

My TV is a three year old 32" LCD version, the sound was fine beforehand, but obviously was just stereo. I also have a 22" LCD Samsung monitor/TV and the sound on that is woeful.

My point is though that spending £150 on a surround sound system isn't a waste of money if it's your first step into that arena. Some systems definitely are worth the money. Sure, you can get better if you pay more, but that's nearly always the case.

For what it's worth, I do agree with your point; that a £150 system will sound a lot nicer than an in built system (generally). But that the above about £300 or so you're into diminishing returns. (Exponential amounts of money for smaller and smaller degrees of improvement.)