Home surround sound advice please.

[Dover Nige]

Hi all,

I'm happy with my Toshiba telly and I've got sky+ (hence typing this while TG is on!).

I've also got a really cheap Acoustic Solutions surround sound that sounds ok-ish (though it does turn my TV over when I point the remote the wrong way!), but I fancy something a bit better. I nearly bought the Sony DAV-IS10 surround sound, but read reviews of it lacking volume, so didn't go for it. I watch lots of films, so really fancy a decent surround sound system.

I'd also like the replacement to work with my iPod. I'm detached and I like loud music, so a powerful system would be nice. I can't fit a decent micro hifi system on the designated shelf, hence my continuing investigation of the surround sound option...

As much as you'll suggest it, I DON'T want separates. My budget tops out at £300 very max.

I've spotted THIS which I rather like and seems to fit the bill as I don't want some huge "tallboy" speakers taking over my cosy 12'x12' lounge.

Any ideas how I would connect my iPod to the surround sound? Would I have to get a designated Pioneer dock? I've got the ipod currently going from a 3.5mm headphone jack to RCA's and I have to put both the ipod and the little stereo I play it on at full volume to get a decent level of volume. I'd definitely like the new system to have more "oomph" than that...!!

Any better ideas than the Pioneer system (NOT separates!)....?

Does Deristrictor who I've heard mentioned lots in these matters advise on and sell these systems or is he more high end..?

Thanks in advance gents.

[SS HSV]

We have a Panasonic 5.1 system in our master bedroom which is very similar to that but its quite old.. about 3 years IRC. The sound is great for what it is, its sleek and looks good and it has AUX input which gives you a 2-channel output. You can use a Surround mode and it comes through all speakers but it sounds digitised and not as good as 2.1. Our is rated at 50WPC RMS for the satelites, and the sub is rated at 80WPC, which is plenty. There is no option for adding extra speakers though because the amp has a hard enough problem dealing with the load it already has.

You might also want to see if the DVD is Multiregion or can be hacked. Ours cannot and that was a problem. As for DeR, I would send him a PM and go from there, plenty on here have good things to say

[Bonnie and Clyde]

SS HSV said:

We have a Panasonic 5.1 system in our master bedroom which is very similar to that but its quite old.. about 3 years IRC. The sound is great for what it is, its sleek and looks good and it has AUX input which gives you a 2-channel output. You can use a Surround mode and it comes through all speakers but it sounds digitised and not as good as 2.1. Our is rated at 50WPC RMS for the satelites, and the sub is rated at 80WPC, which is plenty. There is no option for adding extra speakers though because the amp has a hard enough problem dealing with the load it already has.

You might also want to see if the DVD is Multiregion or can be hacked. Ours cannot and that was a problem. As for DeR, I would send him a PM and go from there, plenty on here have good things to say

Sorry for the hijack SS HSV. Have you been on HSV.org recently. Look at thread http://www.hsv.org.uk/topic.asp?t=602472&f=69&... Dont know if it was you

[SS HSV]

Bonnie and Clyde said:

SS HSV said:

We have a Panasonic 5.1 system in our master bedroom which is very similar to that but its quite old.. about 3 years IRC. The sound is great for what it is, its sleek and looks good and it has AUX input which gives you a 2-channel output. You can use a Surround mode and it comes through all speakers but it sounds digitised and not as good as 2.1. Our is rated at 50WPC RMS for the satelites, and the sub is rated at 80WPC, which is plenty. There is no option for adding extra speakers though because the amp has a hard enough problem dealing with the load it already has.

You might also want to see if the DVD is Multiregion or can be hacked. Ours cannot and that was a problem. As for DeR, I would send him a PM and go from there, plenty on here have good things to say

Sorry for the hijack SS HSV. Have you been on HSV.org recently. Look at thread http://www.hsv.org.uk/topic.asp?t=602472&f=69&... Dont know if it was you

No sold that car over eight months ago. The little st didn't register the car in his name despite me sending off my part of the V5, and I got a "You haven't paid your road tax" notice from the DVLA.

Thanks for the heads up I will follow this up. Oh BTW, I kept my old screen name because everyone new who I was.

[Bonnie and Clyde]

SS HSV said:

Bonnie and Clyde said:

SS HSV said:

We have a Panasonic 5.1 system in our master bedroom which is very similar to that but its quite old.. about 3 years IRC. The sound is great for what it is, its sleek and looks good and it has AUX input which gives you a 2-channel output. You can use a Surround mode and it comes through all speakers but it sounds digitised and not as good as 2.1. Our is rated at 50WPC RMS for the satelites, and the sub is rated at 80WPC, which is plenty. There is no option for adding extra speakers though because the amp has a hard enough problem dealing with the load it already has.

You might also want to see if the DVD is Multiregion or can be hacked. Ours cannot and that was a problem. As for DeR, I would send him a PM and go from there, plenty on here have good things to say

Sorry for the hijack SS HSV. Have you been on HSV.org recently. Look at thread http://www.hsv.org.uk/topic.asp?t=602472&f=69&... Dont know if it was you

No sold that car over eight months ago. The little st didn't register the car in his name despite me sending off my part of the V5, and I got a "You haven't paid your road tax" notice from the DVLA.

Thanks for the heads up I will follow this up. Oh BTW, I kept my old screen name because everyone new who I was.

Oh ok. Was waiting to see you on here so that i could forward on the message. However nevermind. Sorry Did you leave that plate on the car? Its a great motor, do you miss it?

[MrV]

I will other a bit of a different route to go, one of these



http://www.intl.onkyo.com/products/system_componen...

£250 from here but you might find it cheaper

http://www.hifigear.co.uk/site/scripts/product_bro...

That still gives you £50 for a DVD player

[Dover Nige]

[Dover Nige]

MrV said:

I will other a bit of a different route to go, one of these



http://www.intl.onkyo.com/products/system_componen...

£250 from here but you might find it cheaper

http://www.hifigear.co.uk/site/scripts/product_bro...

That still gives you £50 for a DVD player

Interesting option MrV, that's the sort of input (ha ha) I'm after. I already have a tidy DVD player, so something like that could be an option.....

[Bee_Jay]

Have you had a look at the Yamaha Soundbars? I gave one (YSP-900) a try a few months ago and still have it - it's awesome for a system which has no other speakers than just the bar (and the subwoofer) - excellent in a small room and no nasty wires and speakers everywhere (very wife-friendly).

[SS HSV]

Bonnie and Clyde said:

Did you leave that plate on the car? Its a great motor, do you miss it?

Sorry OP, this is my last post on the car subject..

I didn't have that plate. My plate started with a 'W'. I called myself SS HSV because my Commodore SS had so many HSV bits on it it wasn't far behind

I do miss it, I put a deposit down on a black VXR8 six months ago with whats now become NowVauhxall then they cocked the order up and couldn't find one in the right colour and spec, so I took my deposit back. Business ventures swalloped up the capitol and next year I'm going looking for another toy, but probably going to do a HarryOz but with a classic car and an LS6 or similar. Can't beat those chevy engines

[Bonnie and Clyde]

SS HSV said:

Bonnie and Clyde said:

Did you leave that plate on the car? Its a great motor, do you miss it?

Sorry OP, this is my last post on the car subject..

I didn't have that plate. My plate started with a 'W'. I called myself SS HSV because my Commodore SS had so many HSV bits on it it wasn't far behind

I do miss it, I put a deposit down on a black VXR8 six months ago with whats now become NowVauhxall then they cocked the order up and couldn't find one in the right colour and spec, so I took my deposit back. Business ventures swalloped up the capitol and next year I'm going looking for another toy, but probably going to do a HarryOz but with a classic car and an LS6 or similar. Can't beat those chevy engines

Brilliant A HarryOz. You better be putting in some hours to go along those lines. That things awesome. Keep us posted on your old site when you do it.
Mel
Also sorry OP i'll piss off now

[Dover Nige]

Bonnie and Clyde said:

...sorry OP i'll piss off now ....

Blinking typical small block owners...lol!!

Little bump for today to get the topic back on track.....

[BigBen]

Dover Nige said:

Hi all,
Any ideas how I would connect my iPod to the surround sound? Would I have to get a designated Pioneer dock? I've got the ipod currently going from a 3.5mm headphone jack to RCA's and I have to put both the ipod and the little stereo I play it on at full volume to get a decent level of volume. I'd definitely like the new system to have more "oomph" than that...!!

Well the iPod would not give you surround sound unless the music on it was suitably encoded which it won't be. Therefore you can connect it in the same way as you have now. Or for a better connection buy one of the myriad docking stations on sale (such as the excellent http://www.sieben-technology.com/uk/home.htm which my mate makes/sells), these have the advantage of using the iPods line out signal instead of headphone out so will sound better than your current set up and will also charge your iPod.

Ben

[thehawk]

The All in One systems from Pioneer and Panasonic are generally very reasonable for the price. Not worth looking at any other manufacturers IMO at that level.

[Plotloss]

BigBen said:

Dover Nige said:

Hi all,
Any ideas how I would connect my iPod to the surround sound? Would I have to get a designated Pioneer dock? I've got the ipod currently going from a 3.5mm headphone jack to RCA's and I have to put both the ipod and the little stereo I play it on at full volume to get a decent level of volume. I'd definitely like the new system to have more "oomph" than that...!!

Well the iPod would not give you surround sound unless the music on it was suitably encoded which it won't be. Therefore you can connect it in the same way as you have now. Or for a better connection buy one of the myriad docking stations on sale (such as the excellent http://www.sieben-technology.com/uk/home.htm which my mate makes/sells), these have the advantage of using the iPods line out signal instead of headphone out so will sound better than your current set up and will also charge your iPod.

Ben

Even if the iPod had an AC3 decoder, it doesnt have a digital output so couldnt do multichannel

[Dover Nige]

Plotloss said:

Even if the iPod had an AC3 decoder, it doesnt have a digital output so couldnt do multichannel

I don't mind if the iPod didn't go through all the speakers, but would I be able to turn it up loud...?

When I run it through my old Teac SL-D90 into the RCA's from the headphone jack, both units have got to be on pretty much full volume to get the music anywhere near loud.

I'll settle for just two channels, but will it have the volume...?

[BigBen]

Plotloss said:

BigBen said:

Dover Nige said:

Hi all,
Any ideas how I would connect my iPod to the surround sound? Would I have to get a designated Pioneer dock? I've got the ipod currently going from a 3.5mm headphone jack to RCA's and I have to put both the ipod and the little stereo I play it on at full volume to get a decent level of volume. I'd definitely like the new system to have more "oomph" than that...!!

Well the iPod would not give you surround sound unless the music on it was suitably encoded which it won't be. Therefore you can connect it in the same way as you have now. Or for a better connection buy one of the myriad docking stations on sale (such as the excellent http://www.sieben-technology.com/uk/home.htm which my mate makes/sells), these have the advantage of using the iPods line out signal instead of headphone out so will sound better than your current set up and will also charge your iPod.

Ben

Even if the iPod had an AC3 decoder, it doesnt have a digital output so couldnt do multichannel

True, best you could expect would be pro-logic I suppose.

To answer the OP yes you could turn it up loud

Ben

[Matt_N]

Panasonic do a couple of 5.1 systems with ipod connections, that fall well under the £300 bracket.

Digital Direct list them.

[Dover Nige]

I've done a bit more research on this and have spoken to a few shops.

I think the best route for me is NOT to go for one of the "all in one" systems and to just go for the surround sound (A/V?) set up without the built in dvd player. Reason being, I may decide to upgrade to blueray or similar in the future and don't want a redundant surround system at the same time.

It still has to be able to play my ipod, it must connect to my sky+ box (and give surround sound from it) and my current dvd player. It needs to be reasonably future proof. Budget >£300.

With that rethink in mind, any new suggestions..?

ETA: Would there be a big difference between 2:1 and 5:1 systems in a 12' square room..?

Edited by Dover Nige on Tuesday 4th November 20:05

Edited by Dover Nige on Tuesday 4th November 20:16

[Dover Nige]

Another question: Why wouldn't the systems with the built in DVD players give surround sound from my Sky+ box in addition to the dvd player..? Seems strange that one.