Reply to: Speakers

[blacjac]

Thanks mate, will take a look

[gingerjedi]

Yes but you'll need an amp and speakers rather than an all-in-one cinema package as these tend to have limited connectivity.

I have Sky+ (SD), Xbox360, and an old DVD player and they are all hooked up to a Sony amp via 'Toslink' optical cables, a lot of modern amps come with HDMI pass through so I guess you should be looking at one of these.

I'd have a look on here if I were you.

Avoid currys etc, go to richersounds for cheap or any other specialist if you dont mind paying through the nose!

[blacjac]

OK, I'm a complete noob when it comes to this.


I already have a DVD recorder, it's not brilliant, but it's new enough that I don't really want to replace it yet.
Sony RDR-GX120.
It has a digital audio out port.

I also have a Thompson Sky+ box (not HD), an XBox360, a Wii and a laptop with a HD DVD and HDMI port.

All this is hooked up to a JVC LCD HD TV, that only has left and right audio out.


Can I just get the home cinema system without a DVD player and route everything through the DVD recorder via it's digital audio out? If so, are there any recomendations on systems?
Or would I be better off sticking the DVD recorder on ebay and buying a home cinema with DVD recorder built in?


Are there any retail park shops (Curry's, Comet etc..) that I could go to to have a look at them, or would you avoid them like the plague?


TIA

[gingerjedi]

I am no expert but am not convinced of that. Have a look here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...e-21/ref=nosim

http://news.sel.sony.com/en/press_ro...ease/8946.html

I meant most 5.1 systems have 2 wireless rear speakers and the rest are wired, or at least that’s what I found when I was looking 18 months ago? The only reason wireless may be beneficial is if you don’t have carpet to hide the wires and you have power sockets in the right places.

[oracleslave]

No matter how much sound processing they throw at you, it still won't sound as good as having speakers all around the room.

Thats what I figured. The question is though is the loss in performance so significant that the benefit of no wires and only having 2 speakers cluttering the lounge moot.

[DiscoStu]

I can't get the Sony link to work, but if you want proper surround sound stay away from a 2.1 system. No matter how much sound processing they throw at you, it still won't sound as good as having speakers all around the room.

[oracleslave]

Why? Most systems only have 2 (rear) wireless speakers .

I am no expert but am not convinced of that. Have a look here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...e-21/ref=nosim

http://news.sel.sony.com/en/press_ro...ease/8946.html

[gingerjedi]

I do want convenience and am keen on wireless as it just looks so much better.

Why? Most systems only have 2 (rear) wireless speakers and they still need power, the wires feeding my rears are hidden in the stand pole.

Bose have spread themselves too thinly and lost focus by using cheap manufacturing techniques yet still charge premium prices.

[oracleslave]

If you want convenience.

I do want convenience and am keen on wireless as it just looks so much better.

[DiscoStu]

Nooooo! Don't buy Bose. Please see google for a million reasons why!

[Clippy]

If you want convenience, maybe a Bose system would be worth looking at.

[DiscoStu]

System 3 on this page looks good value for money, the Onkyo amp seems to be very popular and as the owner of a couple of pairs of Kef speakers I can testify to how good they are

[Ardesco]

Not wireless i'm afraid.

I have a Yamaha Amp and 5 wired Mission speakers and a wired Mission Sub which knocks out DTS quite nicely. Don't intend on upgrading for quite some time, there are still very few DVDs that take advantage of DTS, I haven't seen any taking advantage of 7.1.

My experiance with Yamaha and Mission is that they are a decent sound quality without paying stupidly high prices, however YMMV

[gingerjedi]

It is worth getting a demo of some kit but make sure you know what you want to listen to before you visit a retailer, I know it may be hard to believe but some are driven by profit margins and like nothing better than a 'noob' with money to burn turning up at their shop an a Saturday morning!

[oracleslave]

I'm a bit out of date but Yamaha have always been decently prices amps that put out a very good sound quality. Whatever you do go to your local hi-fi shop and get them to demo the kit you are thinking of buying for you, and also listen to some other stuff in a simalr price range to get an idea of the sound quality. Don't need to buy it there, but the demo is well worthwhile.

I agree that is worthwhile but was hoping some of you have some of this kit at home that you have tried and tested and could recommend.