Home Cinema - Confused!!!

[Disaster]

Alright chaps!

 

I have a Samsung LED TV that I want to get nice surround sound for.

Scenario: I have a media PC and a PC going into the TV via HDMI, lovely stuff.

So now I need decent sound. I assume I should use the optical out from TV to an Amp with some nice speakers?

Been looking at Home Cinema Systems that come with Blue Ray players also but many don't have optical, they have HDMI instead, but mine are being used for PS3 and PC...

So what really should I be looking for?

 

I like this but sure if I can connect everything? HT-E4550 3D Blu-ray 5.1 Channel Home Entertainment System - Samsung UK - TECH SPECS

[Disaster]

and cheers for any info

[pcstru]

Budget? Room size?

 

An AV amp should be able to deal with multiple HDMI sources and spit out HDMI to the TV. So BR/DVD, Sat, Audio, PC etc into AV Amp which spits out a nice sound and feeds whatever signal the TV requires via HDMI.

Edited December 12, 2012 by pcstru

[hardtailstar]

do you need a blu-ray player as your Ps3 has one?

[Disaster]

£200-£300 I reckon. It's my brothers PS3 and I;m not sure how long he's sticking around, I'm not particularly fussed about the Blu Ray, some have them just as part of the bundle....

 

Edit: here's the spec of my TVhttp://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/tv-audio-video/television/led-tv/UE40EH5000KXXU-spec

 

Ta!!!

[Disaster]

Budget? Room size?

 

An AV amp should be able to deal with multiple HDMI sources and spit out HDMI to the TV. So BR/DVD, Sat, Audio, PC etc into AV Amp which spits out a nice sound and feeds whatever signal the TV requires via HDMI.

 

So I shall look for an AV amp with a few HDMI Ports?

[Disaster]

ala :AUNA AV2-H388 HOME CINEMA RECEIVER AMPLIFIER TUNER 1200W HDMI MIC IN RADIO AMP | eBay

???

[LosOjos]

AI assume I should use the optical out from TV to an Amp with some nice speakers?

 

Unlikely to work I'm afraid - the optical out on TV's only tends to be stereo, even with a surround capable input (such as HDMI).

 

As for the home entertainment systems, many of those drive the surround themselves but don't have any inputs for other devices (the one you linked to has a single optical input. You can get splitters, but having gone that route I'd say just do it right from the start for an easy life)

 

Ideally, you want a home cinema amp with enough HDMI inputs for all your gear. These will have a single HDMI output to your TV and will handle all the switching between sources themselves, as well as being capable of receiving the surround signal from your devices. Usually this will involve buying an amp and speakers separate. Onkyo are well rated but expensive, Sony are also good and fairly priced.

 

The real question is, how much do you want to spend? As with just about anything in audio, you really do get what you pay for. You can do what I did and buy a cheapo surround system and various splitters (and suffer audible hiss and unconvincing surround sound), or go the whole hog and get a proper home cinema amp and decent speakers. The latter would be my choice in hind sight.

[pcstru]

I think for £200-£300 you are in the territory of either integrated systems such as the one you linked to, or scrounging around for second hand AV amp, speakers and sub. The latter would be more flexible if you want to upgrade it over time.

[chazzy2501]

May I recommend a reputable seller and brand for £139 (a bargain) Denon HDMI AV Reciever.

 

Denon AVR1513 Black | AV Receiver | Richer Sounds

 

I havent heard this reciever but Denon is a good make, and Richersounds is a good seller.

[tmcd35]

Personally I like Logitechs -

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004MY4PU6/?tag=hydra0b-21&hvadid=9550949709&ref=asc_df_B004MY4PU6

 

My brother had a set of these and they were very good. I'm currently using some very similar old Yamaha PC speakers.

[LosOjos]

May I recommend a reputable seller and brand for £139 (a bargain) Denon HDMI AV Reciever.

 

Denon AVR1513 Black | AV Receiver | Richer Sounds

 

I havent heard this reciever but Denon is a good make, and Richersounds is a good seller.

 

Good find, just be aware that one has only 3 HDMI - fine for now with your PC, Media Centre and PS3, but no room for expansion...

 

If your budget can stretch, this looks to be a fantastic bundle to get you started: Creative Audio CA-HC1-BB Home Cinema System (Onkyo TX-NR414 Black + Boston SoundWare XS 5.1 SE Gloss Black + Free £110 cable bundle + Free 9 page Creative Audio Quickstart Guide). 2 Year Guarantee + Free next working day delivery (most mainland UK ad

[Dos_Box]

+1 For Richer Sounds. I would add that the advantage of an AV amp is that you:

 

a. Get to use far less cables (HDMI all the way) - apart from the speakers of course and...

b. You can not only output sound to your speakers, but will have the option to just use the TV speakers if need be.

 

A quick point to when looking for an AV amp as well. Just be sure it have been reported as having decent music playback as some can be very video/movie sound orientated and have 'flat' music playback.

[LosOjos]

No need to be scrounging around for second hand with that budget.

 

Sony PAH01844 | 5.1 Package System inc Speakers including Blu-ray Player | Richer Sounds

 

+1 - that looks to be a fantastic little set up for the money

[Disaster]

Cheers guys. Great advice and information as usual!

I think I'll go down the amp route and get a couple of floor speakers to start. Home Alone at christmas is going to rock even harder!!!

[LosOjos]

No need to be scrounging around for second hand with that budget.

 

Sony PAH01844 | 5.1 Package System inc Speakers including Blu-ray Player | Richer Sounds

 

If you don't need a bluray player, that Yamaha kit is going for £180: Yamaha YHT196 Black | 5.1 Package System inc Speakers excluding DVD Player | Richer Sounds

[chazzy2501]

Cheers guys. Great advice and information as usual!

I think I'll go down the amp route and get a couple of floor speakers to start. Home Alone at christmas is going to rock even harder!!!

 

I was going to mention this. This is the very best way of getting in to decent sound. Buy the Receiver and some floor standers enjoy your games in a full stereo sound then buy additional speakers when budget allows. A decent stereo setup will blow away most 5.1 sub sat combo.

[Earthling]

I bypass my TV audio completely and plug my Virgin box straight into my cinema system with an SP/DIF optical cable. The amp is a Sherwood RD6102 (I think, ages since I looked at it, it's about 12 years old now), it looks like this, http://ec1.images-amazon.com/media/i3d/01/A/man-migrate/MANUAL000022881.pdf from the front, but probably got lots less on the back.

[sted]

Good find, just be aware that one has only 3 HDMI - fine for now with your PC, Media Centre and PS3, but no room for expansion...

 

If your budget can stretch, this looks to be a fantastic bundle to get you started: Creative Audio CA-HC1-BB Home Cinema System (Onkyo TX-NR414 Black + Boston SoundWare XS 5.1 SE Gloss Black + Free £110 cable bundle + Free 9 page Creative Audio Quickstart Guide). 2 Year Guarantee + Free next working day delivery (most mainland UK ad

 

depending on the device you can cheat that one ive gt he digibox/wii plugged direct to tv and still use the amp for speakers (but ps3/xbox/laptop as for some reason flash wont play if i direct hdmi to tv will if i go via amp) might help its all sont which also means esp with the ps3 one remote to rule them all lol

[Disaster]

Would having 4 decent floor standing speaker mean that there's no need for a sub woofer?

[chazzy2501]

You're better off having Dipole Speakers at the rear as that audio is designed to be non-directional. I which case I would recommend a sub.

 

btw Sub placement trick! Put your subwoofer where you sit and walk around until you get the best sound then trade places.

 

I bought bookself speakers for the rear and they're good but my dads dipoles work much better.

[sted]

Would having 4 decent floor standing speaker mean that there's no need for a sub woofer?

 

depends on the speakers and how much base you like. Ive done without for years relying on the front/centre speakers for base

[pcstru]

Would having 4 decent floor standing speaker mean that there's no need for a sub woofer?

 

Yes and no! It's probably a bit of a waste to have floor standers as rears. Regardless of anything else, it will also be more of a load for the amp to drive. A 5.1 soundtrack may be sending a dedicated track to the sub, and a decent sub will go lower than most floor standers and have it's own amp (they can be difficult loads to drive). That said, an AV processor may mix it in and spit it out to whatever you have plugged in.

[gpjt]

I think that you may need a bit more in terms of your budget as i found i used to have a 5:1 surround sound Sony HT setup and thought it was the dogs until i discovered doing it properly. I have the Sony STRDH520 Black | AV Receiver | Richer Sounds Av reciever and spent another £100 on an active sub and WOW! what a difference that made!

I'm now able to rattle the whole house when Batman is on rather than a few glasses in the same room.

I'm still using the poor old tall boys for the surrounds, but they do the job until i can afford better ones.

[Earthling]

I've got floor-standing front and bookshelf rear speakers. There's a huge difference if I switch the sub off, although I never noticed the lack of a sub until I got one, if you know what I mean.

 

Another +1 for Richer Sounds, got it all from there in 2001.