5.1 alternatives

1922

i've seen some 2.1 systems that claim to be as good as 5.1

any thoughts on these...the wires associated with 5.1 are certainly off putting

Mountjoy Mugger

I never heard of a 2.1 that could claim that. The nearest would be a "soundbar", such as those made by Yamaha or Phillips. Some aren't too bad and there's certainly less wiring.

Idleater

1922 wrote: »

i've seen some 2.1 systems that claim to be as good as 5.1

any thoughts on these...the wires associated with 5.1 are certainly off putting

Any links to said systems? Just to get an idea of what you are thinking "as good as" refers to as a benchmark.

I would be inclined to say that any proper stereo setup, say €1000 speakers and €1000 amplification would be better than any 5.1 system found in curries etc.

1922

Mountjoy Mugger wrote: »

I never heard of a 2.1 that could claim that. The nearest would be a "soundbar", such as those made by Yamaha or Phillips. Some aren't too bad and there's certainly less wiring.

do these just wire into the bluray/dvd player or what?

Mountjoy Mugger

I stand corrected. It's called a sound projector, not a sound bar.

There's an article here about one specific Yamaha model.

Note: Only the more recent models have HDMI if that's important to you.

You can use optical or HDMI to feed the DVD, it depends on the connections of the specific model. Have a google on sound projectors - I know the Phillips shop on the corner of Dame Street did sell the Phillips branded ones at one stage, not sure if they still do. DID also sold some.

I'd recommend auditioning them first.

Idleater

Mountjoy Mugger wrote: »

I stand corrected. It's called a sound projector, not a sound bar.
.

Same thing. These can be very finicky to set up, and can depend on the shape of your room as they bounce the surround sounds around the walls to appear behind you.

OP, What is your budget? With that in mind, people could recommend a stereo setup that would probably outdo the sound bars.

1922

nereid wrote: »

Same thing. These can be very finicky to set up, and can depend on the shape of your room as they bounce the surround sounds around the walls to appear behind you.

OP, What is your budget? With that in mind, people could recommend a stereo setup that would probably outdo the sound bars.

i've no budget set aside really...the room isn't finished so there is time to wire for 5.1 if i wish

Idleater

1922 wrote: »

i've no budget set aside really...the room isn't finished so there is time to wire for 5.1 if i wish

The only reason I said was because you can get a decent B&W soundbar for €1500 or a cheaper yamaha one, but given the preference I'd go for the B&W one.

However, for €1500, you could get started on a pretty decent stereo system.

Now, if you said your budget was more like €400 then that is a whole different ball game.

Mountjoy Mugger

I was thinking that the OP was more interested in 5.1 effect for films, etc; not just for music. He'd get more of an ooomph going 5.1 than even the best 2.1. Stereo is all well and good for music, but not for TrueHD, etc.

Of course, I might have picked him up wrong.

Then again, I'm more of a film guy than music.

Idleater

Mountjoy Mugger wrote: »

I was thinking that the OP was more interested in 5.1 effect for films, etc; not just for music. He'd get more of an ooomph going 5.1 than even the best 2.1. Stereo is all well and good for music, but not for TrueHD, etc.

Of course, I might have picked him up wrong.

Then again, I'm more of a film guy than music.

In my opinion the added effects given by a sub standard 5.1 setup is nothing compared to the overall audio quality from a proper stereo setup. The compromise of budget removed from the front left and right speakers in 5.1 systems in the sub €1000 bracket will never be able to reproduce any HD-Audio track effectively in my opinion.

I wouldn't even stand over the HD-Audio quality of my €250 a speaker in-ceiling surrounds. And I'm fairly sure my amplification is reasonable too.

1922

mine is for film mainly alright

someone has suggested to me having the cable under the floor...which is what i'll go for i think....the celining in the room is vaulted so under floor is probably the best option

andy1249

In my opinion the added effects given by a sub standard 5.1 setup is nothing compared to the overall audio quality from a proper stereo setup. The compromise of budget removed from the front left and right speakers in 5.1 systems in the sub €1000 bracket will never be able to reproduce any HD-Audio track effectively in my opinion.

For Music , receivers are weak , but this depends entirely on expectations , if you have a good stereo , chances are no receiver is going to match it for stereo music.

This works both ways however , no stereo amp can accurately reproduce an HD audio soundtrack , you need a receiver for this.
Even DD5.1 and DTS are actually six discreet tracks , and to get any kind of reproduction out of two speakers you would have to either throw away 3 of these tracks or downmix.
Now you wouldnt consider modifying stereo music in any way from its source , why would you consider modifying a soundtrack from its source.

To get the best of both worlds , you can always have a decent stereo amp driving the front two channels , most receivers these days have pre outs and most stereo amps have a power amp or unity gain mode to facilitate working with a receiver in this way.

That way when your listening to stereo sources you can just use your stereo amp , and when watching a movie you can fire up both with the stereo amp in its correct mode and get the best from your movie soundtracks.

Such a set up requires full range decent speakers as front left and right though , dont bother trying such a setup with one of those boxed speakers sets , the speakers are too small and dont have the range for stereo music and will sound rubbish.