Surround Sound

tred

Lads I know there are lots of threads and this, and i did see the pioneer system made for xbox. I have an older panasonic system, that doesnt have the correct connections for Xbox. I was wondering, Would I be as well to remove this Unit, and keep my speakers and buy and AMP. Then use the XBOX for playing DVDS only. The speakers i have are 5 panasonic 60 Watts,
plus a 200 watt subwoofer. Can anyone recommend an amp, that is relativly future proof?. Or do people think i should replace the lot?

tred

Would you guys buy this
http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/550604/art/sony/ht-ddw790-home-cinema-sys.html?itag=9698#fichetechnique


or this
http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/3272363/Pioneer-HTPGS1-Xbox-360-Surround-Sound-System/Product.html?cur=258

for surround sound for xbox 360?

Riesen_Meal

Out of the pair of them, id go Pioneer, all my dj epuipment is pioneer and it never let me down, Sony stuff (audio) has a tendency to break/speakers blow etc, my mate bought a sony SS system just before xmas and one of the speakers went within a month or two, he did get it replaced though....

I have these, do the job nicely.....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-970180-0120-Z-5400-Digital-Speakers/dp/customer-reviews/B000BSVAFA

mcgovern

tred wrote: »

Would you guys buy this
http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/550604/art/sony/ht-ddw790-home-cinema-sys.html?itag=9698#fichetechnique


or this
http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/3272363/Pioneer-HTPGS1-Xbox-360-Surround-Sound-System/Product.html?cur=258

for surround sound for xbox 360?

A little bit more expensive but I have these and find them great. Not sure how they would fit in with your existing setup though as I only have the 360 connected to them.

tred

mcgovern wrote: »

A little bit more expensive but I have these and find them great. Not sure how they would fit in with your existing setup though as I only have the 360 connected to them.

Intersting
this peice of kit keeps getting mentioned as being the business.
Would it look out of place in a sitting room. ? I use xbox for DVDS as well as the odd game now and then, and use it for media player. My old panasonic system, doesnt have the connections for Toslink..

stereo_steve

I have the 5500's. Got them in mid December last year and I love them. Great sound. I read online about someone having issues with fuses blowing in them. I've had one blow since I got them. Don't think its anything too worrying though. Takes about 20seconds to change. Just keep a few spare!

If you have any specific questions about them feel free to ask.

Steve

tred

stereo_steve wrote: »

I have the 5500's. Got them in mid December last year and I love them. Great sound. I read online about someone having issues with fuses blowing in them. I've had one blow since I got them. Don't think its anything too worrying though. Takes about 20seconds to change. Just keep a few spare!

If you have any specific questions about them feel free to ask.

Steve

Future proof wise, would they be a wiser investment than the Pioneer XBOX made system. CAn you fix those speakers to a wall if needed? I am putting them into a normal sized sitting room. Is the amplifier unit, that small unit at the front, its nice and tidy isnt it.

stereo_steve

Well if you want to try and future proof them, you should get ones that suport True HD or DD+ which is what is being used by HD-DVD and Blu-ray. None of the speakers on this page qualify for that.

But to be honest, I would go for the 5500's because for what what you pay, its great value for money. The sound out of them sounds great and you'll be paying alot more for an amp that supports the two new audio codecs I listed above. I listen to my HD-DVD's through these speakers and they sound fantastic.

By the way, just be warned that the sub woofer is monstrous! It really sticks out. So factor that into your decision, they are definitely not wife/girlfriend friendly :-)

Also there is no optical cable provided with these speakers and you also need the xbox HD cable aswell. These are a few hidden costs that need to be factored into your decision.

The speakers do come with brackets to mount them to the wall. I don't remember there being any screws included. The amp is inside the subwoofer. That little part that you though was the amp is infact just controller for the speakers. Adjusts the input source, centre volume, sub volume and surround volume.


Steve

tred

stereo_steve wrote: »

Well if you want to try and future proof them, you should get ones that suport True HD or DD+ which is what is being used by HD-DVD and Blu-ray. None of the speakers on this page qualify for that.

But to be honest, I would go for the 5500's because for what what you pay, its great value for money. The sound out of them sounds great and you'll be paying alot more for an amp that supports the two new audio codecs I listed above. I listen to my HD-DVD's through these speakers and they sound fantastic.

By the way, just be warned that the sub woofer is monstrous! It really sticks out. So factor that into your decision, they are definitely not wife/girlfriend friendly :-)

Also there is no optical cable provided with these speakers and you also need the xbox HD cable aswell. These are a few hidden costs that need to be factored into your decision.

Steve

Thanks Steve. Good point. Regarding the SUb, are the dimensions anywhere listed, so i can measure will they fit...:)

xanthor

tred wrote: »

Regarding the SUb, are the dimensions anywhere listed, so i can measure will they fit...:)

Don't have a tape to hand, but it's about 1ft X 1ft X 1ft. I've been happy enough with mine. Had it about 18 months and no blown fuses (yet anyway)

god's toy

Try not do put a too high load on your speakers, that Pioneer has 100W per channel and your speakers are rated at 60W so be careful.

mathias

Just my opinion Tred ,
But of all the systems listed here , the Sony one is by far the most versatile , having two HDMI's and 2 Digital inputs , So you could hook more than just your Xbox up to it if you needed too.

If I was choosing between the systems , thats the one I'd go for , Pioneer generally do make quality stuff , but that system seems limited to Xbox use only with less inputs than the Sony. The Sony certainly gives more for you money when you look at the specs.

The 5500's are indeed another class act for the money , but again , nowhere near as versatile as the Sony.

MayoForSam

tred wrote: »

Would you guys buy this
http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/550604/art/sony/ht-ddw790-home-cinema-sys.html?itag=9698#fichetechnique


for surround sound for xbox 360?

I have the big brother (http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/541205/art/sony/ht-ddw890-home-cinema-sys.html) of the Sony system mentioned above, I find it excellent. I have my 360, DVD player and plasma all linked to the amp (plenty of digital inputs). Also I can hook up my laptop to play HD stuff using VGA on the TV and the amp can virtually create a surround sound effect from a stereo input. The sub-woofer is a bit of a beast (in a nice way ). Good sound for music also. I've had it for the past 9 months, no problems to report. Plenty of discussion at http://www.avforums.com/ on this and other options.

tred

god's toy wrote: »

Try not do put a too high load on your speakers, that Pioneer has 100W per channel and your speakers are rated at 60W so be careful.

cheers, i am thinking now, of just replacing it all speakers and all.

tred

MayoForSam wrote: »

I have the big brother (http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/541205/art/sony/ht-ddw890-home-cinema-sys.html) of the Sony system mentioned above, I find it excellent. I have my 360, DVD player and plasma all linked to the amp (plenty of digital inputs). Also I can hook up my laptop to play HD stuff using VGA on the TV and the amp can virtually create a surround sound effect from a stereo input. The sub-woofer is a bit of a beast (in a nice way ). Good sound for music also. I've had it for the past 9 months, no problems to report. Plenty of discussion at http://www.avforums.com/ on this and other options.

Wow, this looks the business. almost same money as well.
Any reason the toslink cable isnt available as an ad don for 360.

MayoForSam

tred wrote: »

Wow, this looks the business. almost same money as well.
Any reason the toslink cable isnt available as an ad don for 360.

No official toslink cable for the 360 AFAIK, however you can pick one up very cheaply from Ebay or somewhere else which plugs in at the back of the AV cable on your 360. Make sure you select digital output in system settings on the 360.