Surround sound help needed

Biggins

I have a 42 inch Samsung Series 6 LED HD-TV and am looking to incorporate 5.1 sound.
I know a little about some systems but want to be sure about what I get will work and will come with the right connections.

Here is the reverse of the TV and its sockets:



What would you or anyone recommend available that would work for this TV and its connections?

M00lers

Are you after an amp and speakers? Budget?
What sources do you intend to use?

A bit more info would be required for a proper answer?

Biggins

Budget not a primary concern. If under €1,000 even better.
As long as good bass and 4 speakers I'd be happy.
Sources? The tv!

By the way, HDMI 1 is taken up by a pc. HDMI 2 is taken up by the PS3.

M00lers

Biggins wrote: »

Budget not a primary concern. If under €1,000 even better.
As long as good bass and 4 speakers I'd be happy.
Sources? The tv!

By the way, HDMI 1 is taken up by a pc. HDMI 2 is taken up by the PS3.

Why only 4 speakers?

Biggins

moolers2000 wrote: »

Why only 4 speakers?

Sorry, I meant the full standard set-up of a 5.1 system

ronaneire

Have you got HD TV (sky or UPC)? Blue ray? By buying an av reciever you can plug your PS3 through it.

M00lers

Biggins wrote: »

Sorry, I meant the full standard set-up of a 5.1 system

Are you after floorstanders, standmount or a small compact speakers?

Biggins

ronaneire wrote: »

Have you got HD TV (sky or UPC)? Blue ray? By buying an av receiver you can plug your PS3 through it.

Have a full Series 6 FULL HD 1080 DPI TV. Its one of the best of the best!
Have Sky box and film package (why is that info necessary to me buying speakers!!!)
Ps3 (with Blu-ray ability) is ALREADY plugged into TV via the HDMI slot 2 - already mentioned above!

moolers2000 wrote: »

Are you after floorstanders, standmount or a small compact speakers?

Looking to get speakers that can be wall mounted at ceiling corners if possible, if not - open to others.

M00lers

Biggins wrote: »

Have a full Series 6 FULL HD 1080 DPI TV. Its one of the best of the best!
Have Sky box and film package (why is that info necessary to me buying speakers!!!)
Ps3 (with Blu-ray ability) is ALREADY plugged into TV via the HDMI slot 2 - already mentioned above!



Looking to get speakers that can be wall mounted at ceiling corners if possible, if not - open to others.

You're an ass.....!
I'm finished with this thread.

eman66

Before mooler's rude departure he was asking what you had as this will influence what setup you could be looking at.

I am no home entertainment expert. I do think that you will most likely need an AV amp/receiver into which your sources (Sky box, PS3, DVD player etc.) will plug. The amp will then provide the sound to your speakers instead of your TV, i.e., surround sound.

To get the best from your sources, esp. your PS3 with BluRay, you should check out amps that can process TrueHD, and Master Audio if possible. The difference in quality between these high definition audio formats and standard Dolby Digital is substantial. It's a whole different audio experience entirely. For me at least, high definition entertainment is as much about sound as it is about video.

I hesitate to recommend any particular speakers as you really have to go along and listen to various sets yourself before you buy. These are my speakers. They have a fantastic sound and I'm very happy with them. Think they are great value and look great, esp. if your setup is in a living room and not a dedicated home cinema space. This is my amp. Again I am very happy with it's features and performance. Onkyo have a newer range of amps since I purchased mine. Features and performance that were only available at a premium price when I bought my amp are now mostly available as standard at entry level.

I'm sure richersounds will have plenty of recommendations and options for your situation. Maybe ask over at the Home Entertainment forum also?

MAJJ

Hi Biggins,

You mention budget - this really means your choice is an all in one system or seperates. As you have a PS3 for blueray I would go the separate route especially with your budget you can get a great sounding system.

Perhaps take a look at these, I am selling these KEF 3005SE http://adverts.ie/140726 They come, as new, with all the brackets and a set of stands. (mods hope that's ok to do?)

Just to add to eman66 comments you will also need and amp and I too recommend the Onkyo 607 which would be ample. In addition you will need interconnects and speaker cable. Your 2 main sources seem to HDMI so your ok there and if buying a system like the KEFs or similair you will need a lead from the sub to the amp.

MAJJ

Biggins

Thank you eman66 and majj for being helpful.
(Just because I don't know as much as some in this section and/or not understand, there was no need for moolers2000 to get insulting and personal.) I'm still learning about this area of tech.

Where I am lost in knowledge also, is in the area of the lead connections I will need.
Forgive my stupidity but I thought it would be a fairly straight forwards job of plugging in one cable/lead into the TV to export the sound out.
This sound (if I am learning right) then goes into an amp (does this amp be the sub-woofer too or is that seperate? Sorry if thats a stupid question.) The sound from the amp then does to the speakers (and sub-woofer if thats separate from the amp).
Additionally, does an amp come with enough ports on its back (I presume) for importing the sound from my PS3, etc?

I'm still trying to get me head around all this to be honest. I thought it would be more straight forward than this!
Again, it's down to lack of knowledge in this field, on my part.

Do 5.1 surround systems come with the capability to plug direct into one of the two HDMI sockets or do I need to get additional leads for the alternative ports below the HDMI sockets as in the graph above?

I grateful for your help on this so far. Much appreciated.

Biggins.

Sleipnir

Biggins wrote: »

Where I am lost in knowledge also, is in the area of the lead connections I will need.
Forgive my stupidity but I thought it would be a fairly straight forwards job of plugging in one cable/lead into the TV to export the sound out.

No, the T.V. doesn't produce the sound, it outputs the sound from the device you plug into it only.

Biggins wrote: »

This sound (if I am learning right) then goes into an amp (does this amp be the sub-woofer too or is that seperate? Sorry if thats a stupid question.) The sound from the amp then does to the speakers (and sub-woofer if thats separate from the amp).

Again, no. It goes (for example) blu-ray to amplifier and amplifier to speakers. You don't use the T.V. for sound at all in a surround sound system.
The subwoofer is a separate speaker. 2 speakers up front, two at the rear, one in the centre (under your T.V) and a sub in a corner somewhere.

Biggins wrote: »

I'm still trying to get me head around all this to be honest. I thought it would be more straight forward than this!

Do 5.1 surround systems come with the capability to plug direct into one of the two HDMI sockets or do I need to get additional leads for the alternative ports below the HDMI sockets as in the graph above?

I grateful for your help on this so far. Much appreciated.

Biggins.

What devices do you have and which ones have HDMI ports. Don't mind the HDMI ports on the T.V. In a surround sound system you usually only need to connect one from the amp to the T.V.

It works like this;

Blu-ray (or whatever) connects to the amplifier via HDMI.
There's a HDMI out port on the amp and this connects to the T.V.
Your 5.1 speakers are also connected to the amp.
Sound and video are sent from the blu-ray to the amp, the amp sends the video to the T.V. and the audio to the 5.1 speakers.

What devices to you have exactly and which ones have HDMI?

Sleipnir

You will need an amp as well as speakers, by the way.
http://www.richersounds.ie/asp/product.asp?ObjectID=938&Mode=0&CategoryID=3&SUB=24&ProductID=883

MAJJ

Hi Biggins,

Sleipnir beat me to it and is spot on. Hope it's making more sense.

He has mentioned how your devices go into the amp and then the amp will usually have one lead (HDMI) to your TV.

The other cabling needed for a separates system is all the speakers cables that will end up in the back of your amp. Also, as mentioned you will often have a sub woofer cable going into the amp. Note that he subwoofer often has a separate power cable too.

It all just hooks togther and frankly isn't complex once you see it, it's part of the fun ! I knew nothing before I started posting lot of questions and many folks helped me out, this is karma.

The real 'fun' starts making your decision about your amp,speakers and cables/interconnects. The term interconnect usually refers not to the speaker cables but the cables used to link your devices (sources) to the amp. If the HDMI from SKY doesn't send sound then you will need a interconnect probably a digital coax cable or optical cable to go from your SKY box to your AMP.

Don't sweat the small stuff, it's all been done before and almost any decent amp you get will have more than enough connections.

Majj

Biggins

Sleipnir wrote: »

...Blu-ray (or whatever) connects to the amplifier via HDMI.
There's a HDMI out port on the amp and this connects to the T.V.
Your 5.1 speakers are also connected to the amp.
Sound and video are sent from the blu-ray to the amp, the amp sends the video to the T.V. and the audio to the 5.1 speakers.

What devices to you have exactly and which ones have HDMI?

I have a PS3 (which is playing my Blu-rays) with HDMI capability.

1 PC which has a sound card in it with DVI socket on the back.
The DVI output is converted to HDMI via a converting lead I have.

I have the standard SKY box.

---

All the above is great help. Thanks for taking the time (and patience).

Sleipnir

So, no HDMI on the sky box then, correct?

In that case, you would need an optical cable between the Sky box and the amplifier. It will carry 5.1 surround from your Sky box to your Amp.

You PS3 is easier; HDMI from it to the amp.
Here's what an optical port looks like and here's what an optical cable looks like.

Have you considered upgrading to Sky HD? May not be worth it unless you have Sky Movies and/or Sports but you have the HD T.V. Would make the connections easier too as you'd just need 3 HDMI cables. One each from the PS3 and SkyHD box to the amp and one from the amp to the T.V.

eddiem74

Just to interject, I believe Sky HD does only stereo via the HDMI, and you still need the optical to get DD, so an upgrade might not be worth it, although some say the picture quality is improved via HDMI/HD box.

I would also add, if you are going the receiver route, add in a universal remote, so you can control all devices from one remote. You'll be lost without one. I use one from the Harmony range.

Sleipnir

eddiem74 wrote: »

Just to interject, I believe Sky HD does only stereo via the HDMI, and you still need the optical to get DD, so an upgrade might not be worth it, although some say the picture quality is improved via HDMI/HD box.

I would also add, if you are going the receiver route, add in a universal remote, so you can control all devices from one remote. You'll be lost without one. I use one from the Harmony range.

True, but according to my latest copy of "What Hi-Fi"

Sky has divulged that it is looking into the possibility of enabling Dolby Digital 5.1 to pass across the company's Sky HD set-top-box

They've also announced a 3D-TV channel for 2010 and a 'pull' Video On Demand service.

Biggins

Thanks for all the above. Its a lot to take on board when your starting out with this stuff.
Once again, I've very grateful for the time and advice you've all given.
Ye boys (and girls?) certainly know your stuff. I bow to ye all in admiration.

eman66

It can be a head wrecker starting out. It goes without saying, but don't rush into it, and spend time reading the reviews and if possible listening to some systems wherever you can. Visit the main AV websites and forums (avforums.co.uk is a good one but be careful as it is heavily dealer influenced). You really could spend silly money if you wanted but I think as you go up in price it becomes a case of diminishing returns. €1500 to €2000 should get you a very nice system. Set up correctly and pop in a BluRay and your grin will be as wide as your LCD.

Then, as soon as you have developed into a good little AV fanboy, as we all do, you can upgrade your sub, or satellites, or receiver, or cabling, or player, or the whole lot if you want!! But, actually I don't think you will want to. Good luck.

Richersounds.ie: John

Biggins,

Thanks for the posts and apologies that I am coming in late to the party - that's what I get when I take a weekend off!

EddieM/Majj/Sleipnr/Eman66 - thanks for all the assistance and if you ever need a Saturday job - give me a shout!!!

Firstly - I think that if you posted this query in the main HE Forum you will get a wider range of opinion.

OK if you have a €1000 budget you will get a great 5.1 system now including all the cables you need - Majj' Kef 3005se is not a bad buy at €1000 but unfortunately will blow your budget a bit - but as it also includes stands - it does represent a decent discount and Majj is known to us so I'm sure his kit will be in perfect condition!

Anyway - if I were to recommend a system here are a few options:

Under (way) €1000
Onkyo TXSR307 5.1 AV ReceiverMonitor Audio Vector 5.1 System
Sparta HDMi lead * 2 (PS3 & PC to Amp)
Panasonic HDMi 3 Mtr lead * 1 (Amp to TV)
SWA6360 Optical Cable * 1 (Sky Audio to Amp)
SWA6632 Scart - Video * 1 (Sky Video to Amp)
Gale Symphony 100 speaker cable * 25 mtrs

Total system price = €719.99

On budget(ish)
Onkyo TXSR307 AV receiver
Kef KHT2005.3 Black 5.1 system
Sparta HDMi lead * 2 (PS3 & PC to Amp)
Panasonic HDMi 3 Mtr lead * 1 (Amp to TV)
SWA6360 Optical Cable * 1 (Sky Audio to Amp)
SWA6632 Scart - Video * 1 (Sky Video to Amp)
Gale Symphony 100 speaker cable * 25 mtrs

Total system price = €1029.99

Let's get it sorted and do it properly and blow the budget at the same time...

Denon AVR1910
Monitor Audio Radius 90HD * 2 pairs (AV Satellites)
Monitor Audio Radius 180HD AV Centre * 1Monitor AUdio Radius 360 Subwoofer *1
Sparta HDMi lead * 2 (PS3 & PC to Amp)
Panasonic HDMi 3 Mtr lead * 1 (Amp to TV)
SWA6360 Optical Cable * 1 (Sky Audio to Amp)
SWA6632 Scart - Video * 1 (Sky Video to Amp)
Gale Symphony 100 speaker cable * 25 mtrs
Brackets for Monitor Audio Radius satellites * 4

Total system price = €1299.99

There are 3 options for you to have a browse over - of course if I can assist om any way please don't hesitate to drop me a line!

Thanks again,

ATB,

John Mc