Amp recommendation

oreillykm

Hi Folks,
I was given an LG all in one home cinema system about 2 years ago and it has 5 decent speakers and a subwoofer. The amp seems to be built into the hard disk dvd recorder thingy. I recently bought an LED (thanks guys) and I am using a mac mini for a entertainment centre - and the dvd recording isn't being used (and is huge). My question is - can I replace the dvd recorder thingy with an amp - one with an optical input for the mac mini - it has a 3.5 mill headphone/optical socket - and hook up the TV and the wii too? Any recommendations?

Cheers!
oreillykm

Richersounds.ie: John

oreillykm wrote: »

Hi Folks,
I was given an LG all in one home cinema system about 2 years ago and it has 5 decent speakers and a subwoofer. The amp seems to be built into the hard disk dvd recorder thingy. I recently bought an LED (thanks guys) and I am using a mac mini for a entertainment centre - and the dvd recording isn't being used (and is huge). My question is - can I replace the dvd recorder thingy with an amp - one with an optical input for the mac mini - it has a 3.5 mill headphone/optical socket - and hook up the TV and the wii too? Any recommendations?

Cheers!
oreillykm

OReilly,

Thanks for the post and apologies for the delay getting back to you - yep we have a dedicated opti lead available for the Mac Mini no problem ( I think we are selling them at a crazy £6.99!) so any AV receiver with an optical input can be used.

So with that in mind -I cannot see any issue popping a decent AV AMP/receiver into the system and it should radically, seriously improve your AV quality .

If it was me and you were a Mac/Apple fan I would go for the Pioneer VSX920 which I really love - 1. Because it sounds great and 2. Because it has a really sexy iPhone/ITouch App 3. Internet radio - we can do it on a Boardie special at just £479.95 http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/pioneer/vsx920/pion-vsx920 it is the dogs dangly bits!

If you need any other recs just drop me a line and I'll quote for other options!

ATB,

John Mc & Crew

oreillykm

Hi John,

I was thinking this out over the weekend. I also need a Blu-Ray player, so maybe I might be better getting a decent 1-box solution home cinema package and forget reusing the older speakers etc. Can you give me some suggestions for a 5.1 home cinema deal?

Cheers,
oreillykm

Richersounds.ie: Dave

Hi O'Reilly.

There are a few 5.1 systems out there but before I send you a few alternatives, I would need to check to see what other equipment you would want to connect as most 5.1 systems don't provide the connections for other equipment.

Let me know what else you want to connect and I'll send you a few options.

Cheers



Dave

oreillykm

Hi Dave,

Thanks for coming back on this. I want to connect my mac mini (as a home theatre) and it has optical audio out and I also want to connect my Philips 37PFL7605. The only other yoke to connect is a rarely used wii. Down the road I would like to be able to connect a PS3 or Xbox - but not straight away.

Cheers, oreillykm

Richersounds.ie: Dave

Hi O'Reilly.

The system you will need will need to have optical x 2, coaxial x 1 or HDMI input x 1 with HD decoding, 1 optical and 1 x coaxial.

Given these connections, you are going to be best looking at a separate receiver as the price of the systems that will give you the optical and HDMI inputs can be cost restrictive and you won't be able to connect the TV via the digital output on the TV.

If you are restricted for space, the Marantz NR1501 would be a good option for you as it's a slimline receiver.

Alternatively, don't ignore that Pioneer VSX920 that John recommended. It's a bit of a cracker too.

Let me know what you think.

Cheers


Dave

oreillykm

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the recommendations! Just so I'm clear - in both of these examples you basically just get the unit itself. I would then need to buy both a set of decent speakers and a seperate Blu-Ray unit - so the total cost could be pretty significant?

What do you mean when you say "you won't be able to connect the TV via the digital output on the TV"? - do you mean that all in one units won't have more than one optical in?

Am getting scared now that the potential money overall could be pretty steep!

oreillykm

Richersounds.ie: Dave

Hi O'Reilly.

Didn't mean to frighten you ! John recommended that Pioneer because he loves the ipod app and it's a brilliant receiver. I recommended the Marantz because it's really good value and it's slim.

There are other more cost effective receivers available and there are packs that may suit your budget also, like the Onkyo HTS5305. This would just need a blu-ray added which you could buy for £79.95.

In the case of A/V receivers, the blu-ray, speakers and amp are all sold separately. This provides much better sound, connectivity and flexibility when it comes to upgrading or changing further down the line.

The Philips TV has a coaxial output which is a digital output, so to get the best sound from the TV, ideally you will have a coaxial input on the surround system. Combined with the opticals that you need and a possible wii connection, there are very few that will give you these options unless you go very high up the range.

If you can PM me a number or maybe even give me a guide on what budget your're looking at, I can recommend a few options.

ATB


Dave