Some direction on my setup please

Wookie

Moved into a new house a couple of months back (do'er up'er)

Needed to be re-wired, so while the floor boards were up I ran speaker cable (and some geeky network cable too)

Anyway I now have the following wired up... – wires hanging from ceilings

5 speakers in sitting room
2 in kitchen
2 in dinning room
2 in bathroom
2 in bedroom

I have done the rounds with google etc... had a read on this forum too.

But I just don't know where to start. I want a fairly simple setup.

I think something like this.

Amp with a/b channels

“a” will be surround sound for tv (can it also cover 2ch for music) in sitting room (5 speakers)
“b” will be 2ch for 4 other rooms (8 speakers)

Switch box for the 4 rooms.

Have a newish dvd player/recorder and I don't mind getting a tuner later on.

Questions.

1. For the sitting rooms should I go for 'in' ceiling speakers or just ceiling mounted.

2. How do I figure out what size amp I need or what whatt/ohm speakers should I get?

3. Do all amps output 5.1 surround sound? (or what ever is the norm 5.1, DTS etc...)

4. Could this all be bought for under 2k?

5. Because I am a novice should I just wander into Peats etc... or should I persevere and try and buy over the web (more choice, possibly cheaper)?

Have made one feck up already I think, put in 5 speakers in the ceiling, but I was told that the centre speaker normally goes on the TV... oops. Maybe I will just hide that one :-)

mossym

Wookie wrote:

Moved into a new house a couple of months back (do'er up'er)

Needed to be re-wired, so while the floor boards were up I ran speaker cable (and some geeky network cable too)

Anyway I now have the following wired up... – wires hanging from ceilings

5 speakers in sitting room
2 in kitchen
2 in dinning room
2 in bathroom
2 in bedroom

I have done the rounds with google etc... had a read on this forum too.

But I just don't know where to start. I want a fairly simple setup.

I think something like this.

Amp with a/b channels

“a” will be surround sound for tv (can it also cover 2ch for music) in sitting room (5 speakers)
“b” will be 2ch for 4 other rooms (8 speakers)

Switch box for the 4 rooms.

Have a newish dvd player/recorder and I don't mind getting a tuner later on.

1. For the sitting rooms should I go for 'in' ceiling speakers or just ceiling mounted.

i prefer the fronts and center not to be in-wall/ceiling, but the backs would be fine..so you could get two decent bookshelfs and wall mount them for th efronts, not sure how it would sound with them that high up though, you generally want them level with the picture

2. How do I figure out what size amp I need or what whatt/ohm speakers should I get?

any modern amp will be able to drive 8ohm speakers, and probably 4 ohm speakers..4ohm will just be harder to drive, you might get less volume, but manuls should state what they can be used with

3. Do all amps output 5.1 surround sound? (or what ever is the norm 5.1, DTS etc...)

amps don't put out dolby digital or dts, they decode it, they will put out 5.1 if they are able to decode dts5.1 or dolbydigital5.1 into seperate streams..if they have some flavor of dolby pro logicII they will be able to take a 2 channel input and output a processed 5.1 sound.

4. Could this all be bought for under 2k?
tough, you definitely won't be getting the best of equipment, i'm basing this answer on assuming you need speakers for all those locations as well


5. Because I am a novice should I just wander into Peats etc... or should I persevere and try and buy over the web (more choice, possibly cheaper)?

don't ever go into a store until you knwo what you need...you'll end up with whatever the salesguy wants to sell you..more if he is any way good..

Wookie

amps don't put out dolby digital or dts, they decode it, they will put out 5.1 if they are able to decode dts5.1 or dolbydigital5.1 into seperate streams..if they have some flavor of dolby pro logicII they will be able to take a 2 channel input and output a processed 5.1 sound.

If I have a dvd player that outputs from an optical digital yoke does that mean it is sending 5.1 to an amp, which the amp must send off to the five suroundsound speakers. Or does it mean digital 2ch sound is sent to the amp which in turn must be decoded/processed to 5.1 and then sent to the speakers?

mossym

Wookie wrote:

If I have a dvd player that outputs from an optical digital yoke does that mean it is sending 5.1 to an amp, which the amp must send off to the five suroundsound speakers. Or does it mean digital 2ch sound is sent to the amp which in turn must be decoded/processed to 5.1 and then sent to the speakers?

optical is only a connection, it doesn't mean it is sending either..it depends on the source, if you put in a normal cd, it will pass 2ch, if you put in a dvd iwth dd5.1, it will pass dd5.1, or if it has dts it will pass dts if you tell it to..most dvds have at least a 5.1 and a stereo(2ch mix) , whichever you pick will be passed on the optical connection..optical does not mean everything is 5.1..

one correction to my above post, i said amps decode 5.1, not all do, i was referring to reveivers more tham amps..amps take a signal and amplify it, if you want something to do that 5.1 decoding for you you need a processor before your amp, or else jsut get a receiver, which has the processor and the amps..

TommyGun

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/surround-sound.htm/printable

This may help you.