Need advice with surround sound - Printable Version
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Need advice with surround sound by absorbation on 07-03-2008 at 05:28 PM
I know nothing about surround sound! There I said it, I want it, but I don't know where to start so I'm seeking your help, as you know, you guys know everything.
So, I have a HDTV and a PS3. I plan to watch any DVDs on my console, but I want to also have it hooked up to surround sound along with my TV. I want a surround sound system that has wireless speakers too. I don't really need a DVD player with it, I just need something to connect my TV and PS3 and maybe my Wii to surround sound. Do you know of any products and is this product right for me?:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0015S394U/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
Thanks for your help 
RE: Need advice with surround sound by Nathan on 07-03-2008 at 06:27 PM
Like i've told you before. It depends on what you want, if you want loudness, quality, durability etc.
If you want loudness/quality then sony is the way to go - but their stuff can be cheaply built - especially on the cheaper products.
I personally don't like all-in-one kits with speakers supplied because they're usually cheaply made and sound fairly poor. I know the 5.1 I had sucked the speakers were terrible. It's better to mix and match. If you hear these and then compare them to someone else's equivalent system with their own speaker choice then you will see what I mean.
Otherwise it doesn't seem to bad - so yeah go for it.
RE: Need advice with surround sound by ipab on 07-03-2008 at 08:20 PM
I agree with what Nathan said, mixing and matching is the way to go. The only problem with mixing and matching is that you have to: A) Spend more on the setup and B) Tweak it a lot to get it right.
The other thing you have to consider is: does your house have the right spacing to experience 5.1.
Last but not least, wireless speakers suck... Nothing comes to mind when I think of wireless speakers that have a good output.
My setup at home:
Speakers: BoseŽ Acoustimass 6 series II
Receiver: Harman Kardon AVR 340
And I love it. It just took forever to get it right 
.
RE: Need advice with surround sound by foaly on 07-03-2008 at 08:48 PM
quote:I heard that the Logitech 5450 has good wireless speakers...
Originally posted by ipab
Nothing comes to mind when I think of wireless speakers that have a good output.
Using the 5500 myself and really happy with it...
RE: Need advice with surround sound by Nathan on 07-03-2008 at 08:51 PM
Very nice receiver you have their ipab 
RE: RE: Need advice with surround sound by ipab on 07-03-2008 at 09:07 PM
quote:
Originally posted by foaly
quote:I heard that the Logitech 5450 has good wireless speakers...
Originally posted by ipab
Nothing comes to mind when I think of wireless speakers that have a good output.
Using the 5500 myself and really happy with it...
With most 5.1 systems that claim to be wireless, the rear ones are the ones that are wireless, and essentially that doesn't really deteriorate the quality of sound since, if you have ever watched a movie in true 5.1, you'll realize that the back 2 speakers are pretty much there for extra sound effects and such, nothing too major. Most of the speech comes from the front 2 and the center speaker.
Those logitech speakers do look nice, but I personally have an issue with using speakers meant for a Computer in a home theater setting.
quote:
Originally posted by Nathan
Very nice receiver you have their ipab
I'm at school so I cannot verify that it is the exact model, but as far as I can remember, that is my receiver
... I will update when I get home though 
...
RE: Need advice with surround sound by absorbation on 07-03-2008 at 09:51 PM
Just a note, I want a small system for my bedroom, so nothing pricey or outstanding quality .
RE: Need advice with surround sound by CookieRevised on 07-04-2008 at 01:27 AM
quote:Actually I wouldn't do that if you want proper sound, unless you know what you're doing.
Originally posted by Nathan
It's better to mix and match. If you hear these and then compare them to someone else's equivalent system with their own speaker choice then you will see what I mean.
Sometimes certain speakers need a special driver to get the most out of them. Mix-n-matching will work in such cases, you will hear sound, but you will have better sound if you stay with the brand and, even better, with the devices which are compatible with eachother.
Of course, it all depends on what brands you want, what types of speakers, etc, etc... Some can be mix-n-matched without any problem, but some not, so read the specs before you buy something to 'match' in your 'mix'...
Also, it is certainly not so that all complete systems (amp/reciever + speakers) are cheaply build. In fact, I wouldn't know any complete system like that. I mean, cheaply build in such a way that it breaks in no time, or is just rubbish. Especially if you're talking about the well established home brands like Sony, Philips, etc. and the higher range brands like Bose, etc...
But also note that many brands outsource their stuff (inlcuding well established names). So actually it doesn't realy matter what well known brand you pick. Audio is a very very matured technology and most stuff is already 'good' (for the home user), even in the lower budget brands.
If you find a nice complete system to your likings I would buy it instead of mix-n-matching.
But go hear it in action, preferable in a similar room as yours(!), otherwise in the store... This is very important! And pay special attention to the lower and higher frequencies at high volumes, and to normal speech (because the human ear can very easly detect if some speech is/sounds live or if it is recorded); the sound should be played without any distortion or without sounding strange or off.
Especially if you want something budget-friendly system, but still some quality...
If you don't find anything to your (hearing) taste or the decent speakers you want are too expensive, then you could go for a slightly cheaper system and buy a graphic equalizer with it. With that you can shape the sound like you want. Of course you can't make quality sound out of poor sound, but you can change the sound curve like you want which is quite often all you need for a home setup.
If you go mix-n-matching then make absolute sure that you buy speakers with an impedance which matches the impedance of the output channels of your amplifier/reciever.
eg: if your amp output is rated 8 ohm, you must use speakers which are also 8 ohm, thus:
1 speaker of 8 ohm per channel, or
2 speakers of 4 ohm in series per channel, or
2 speakers of 16 ohm in parallel per channel.
Also pay attention that you connect to plus with the plus and the minus with the minus, both on your speakers as on your amp!
--
Also something about wireless: don't... really... please... DON'T
Not only _will_ it interfear with stuff, other stuff _will_ also interfear with the system. This is something for certain! It might not happen directly, but it will sooner or later. eg: even your lights in the room can interfear with it.
And another ("insiders") note: be carefull with _anything_ you buy these days which is wireless. The world of wireless devices is majorly going to change in a few years (around the entire world) and a lot of stuff which will work now, will stop working in a few years time (starting in 2009) when a lot of the frequencies used in todays devices are going to change. (if not all, since all those things work on permit-free frequencies on the UHF and VHF bands, and it are those which are going to change mostly).....
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quote:Actually, that is a very good point. It is of no use to buy a surround sound system if you do not have the room for it.
Originally posted by ipab
The other thing you have to consider is: does your house have the right spacing to experience 5.1.
Remember that, in order to experience good surround sound, you need to have certain distances between your speakers and you need to sit in the middle.
If you can't do that, then it is better do invest in some decent 'normal' speakers (thus stereo) and a good amplifier/reciever and graphic equalizer.
quote:Then you haven't much watch decent movies with utalize all channels properly. The rear ones aren't just to fill up the soundscape. In good surround sound movies they do a lot more and are used a lot more. Most movies which indicate 5.1 are quite often not realy mastered for surround but just tuned up and mixed a bit so they use the different channels a bit more, but that's it.
Originally posted by ipab
if you have ever watched a movie in true 5.1, you'll realize that the back 2 speakers are pretty much there for extra sound effects and such, nothing too major.
Unfortunatly there isn't a label or something which indicates "this movie uses the back channels properly to let you experience a stampede of bizons behind your left side, or a guy shouting in your back passing from right to left, or a car running you over", or whatever.
RE: Need advice with surround sound by ipab on 07-04-2008 at 03:17 AM
quote:
Originally posted by CookieRevised
In good surround sound movies they do a lot more and are used a lot more. Most movies which indicate 5.1 are quite often not realy mastered for surround but just tuned up and mixed a bit so they use the different channels a bit more, but that's it.
That is a really good point you make, the fact that most of the stuff is really just poorly mixed 5.1. I do acutally own a couple of movies that do use them properly, and it does sound awesome
.You seem to know a fair bit about sound systems... is this what you work on as a profession, or just something you are really interested in?
On a side note to absorbation, like I mentioned earlier and as cookie also said... wireless=no
RE: Need advice with surround sound by Kenji on 07-04-2008 at 03:51 AM
Go to Richersounds with a CD/DVD/BR and have a listen to setups that are in your price range. Wireless speakers fail, they aren't wireless.
quote:
Bose suck
Originally posted by ipab
Speakers: BoseŽ Acoustimass 6 series II
RE: Need advice with surround sound by ipab on 07-04-2008 at 04:31 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Dazzy
Bose suck
That = brand opinon
... notice how I never commented about brand ...As with anything, there are some good and some bad... same with brands, and even with brands, some models are good, some aren't, so choosing something based on brand might not be a good idea.
Making comments like the one you made above doesn't really help either.
How can you truly say Bose sucks? Have you used every single one of their products and come to that conclusion or are you basing that on the "popular" opinon.
This is the same issue as I see with people talking about how Vista sucks the very same elitest mentaily that overules the internet. People have different requirements and for those requirements, different solutions are available. Something "sucking" for you, might be the perfect fit for someone else. Thinking otherwise is foolish.
By you saying that so and so sucks, doesn't really add value to the situation, what would have been better is, if it was the case, you saying something along the lines of: "my experience with Bose is that it didn't really live up to the hype" etc.
RE: Need advice with surround sound by vaccination on 07-04-2008 at 08:05 AM
We have an Arcam DiVA(AVR250) system (+Arcam dvd player)for our living room with Monitor Audio surround speakers + sub, that pwns. IIRC the people we bought it from came and set it up for us(and then we tweaked it a bit) and the experience is awesome.
Now I'm not really an expert on the subject, but I know that it delivers awesome sound, but it is expensive and probably not the sort of thing you want.
However for my bedroom I use some Logitech 5.1 surround speakers and they do just fine, they're loud, the sub is awesome and they're not expensive ;p