Sound system recommendation

[Subressor]

Hey all,

Looking for some sound nerds opinions on what sound setup I should have.

My cheap surround-sound Panasonic system has just died on me so I need something new. A quick look on amazon and there's sound bars, dual speakers and full surround sound systems. Has anyone tried all 3 and can make a recommendation?

My setup is a 55' TV next to my monitor and a couch behind my computer chair.

I will be using them for listening to music, movies and shows. I'm a big gamer but I've got some steelseries siberia 800 headphones which serve that purpose.

Thanks in advanced.

N.B. Once I know what system I'll be using I'll just ebay a half-decent model.

 

[Max1s]

Can you give us a rough budget?

I think most of the Logitech surround systems you see people buying aren't really that great in terms of quality. I use two decent bookshelf speakers powered by an amp getting input from a USB DAC, and they sound very good. Of course, that's just two bookshelf speakers, so not "surround," but if you do your research and not just buy a box kit, you could make yourself a very high-quality system. Maybe search some audio forums?

 

[ssddx]

i have not used a soundbar personally, though i have previewed them enough i would say to get an idea how they sound in comparison. in one room we have two bookshelves hooked up to a tv, in the other two floorstanders and in yet another we have a home theater system in 5.1. i can also say how they compare to the tv speakers.

what max1s states is true, we need an approximate budget . i also agree that buying a HTIB set is not ideal and will normally give you trouble.

once you list a budget i could give you a few ideas on what kind of system might work for you. also, you may want to mention what kind of soundcard/onboard audio you have, if you have any other devices which need to connect as well as any other needs/wants you may have.

 

[Subressor]

Thanks guys 🙂

No budget, just looking for good value for money (think RX480 vs GTX 1080).

The reason I ask is because I've never heard a soundbar before, I was happy with my medicore surround sound system, so I'm no audiophile but I dont like using my sony TV's inbuilt horrible sound haha.

 

[jsmithepa]

sound bars, dual speakers and full surround sound systems. Has anyone tried all 3

Soundbars are purpose-specific. You have TV+equipment1+equipment2 etc (things that you want to hookup are known), and you want something SIMPLE and budget friendly to play them all. Start your search. You may or may not find what you need after the search. The big drawback about SB is, as many people do, at a later time you want to hook up another component to it, because why not, it can play from source-1, why are you not allowed to plug in source-2 and play? Alas, SB don't have enough input or type of input for future expansion, and now you are wondering whether you should throw that into the trash and start from zero. SB, IMO, are good for the bedroom, the kitchen etc, where you just want to do 1 thing and unlikely to add anything to it.

Dual speaker vs full surround? Am assuming you mean stereo vs surround? Are you really asking this question? SURELY you want to listen to AVATAR in all its surround glory? even though you may not be a huge movie buff. So that's all I have to say about that. You don't have to buy all speakers all at once, but at least build your system around surround. Surround equipment can play stereo just fine.

Which brings me to my religion. A modern surround AV Receiver is the center of an expandable, flexible, audio/video entertainment environment. Many price points.

 

[Max1s]

Which brings me to my religion. A modern surround AV Receiver is the center of an expandable, flexible, audio/video entertainment environment. Many price points.

😛 You'll find that the audio-world can be full of strong opinions... Many issues are hotly debated. (Does an expensive DAC make a difference, do expensive cables make a difference, etc.)

But I think this is good advice. Once you have a "do it all" amp, you can start looking for bookshelf speakers and just buy a bunch of copper cable and get to work! You can start with 2 speakers and later add more, or you can get everything right away. I don't know much about building surround systems - I only have a 2-speaker amp at home - but if I were going to move to a surround system I think this is how I would do it.

 

[Subressor]

Which brings me to my religion. A modern surround AV Receiver is the center of an expandable, flexible, audio/video entertainment environment. Many price points.

Yea. You lost me.

I bought a Panasonic £50 'surround sound system', which was a box and 5 speakers and a subwoofer. I placed them around and connected everything and it worked. Is that what you're talking about?

SB, IMO, are good for the bedroom, the kitchen etc, where you just want to do 1 thing and unlikely to add anything to it.

Thanks for this, this is kinda what I'm looking for. A generic 'this type of technology'. I loved the surround sound, but is it still worth it?

 

[Max1s]

Your Panasonic system is a "HTIB" (Home Theater In a Box) system, similar to the Logitec ones I mentioned earlier. These are usually low in price, but the sound and build quality is low. (As you discovered when yours broke)

We are recommending basically building your own system by choosing your own reciever/amp, then separately buying the copper cables, speakers, and subwoofer. This will be significantly more expensive, but will allow you to be flexible (you can run any number of speakers, with or without the sub) and future proof (you can upgrade speakers later very easily).

You never gave us a budget, it is also unclear whether you actually want to go with a surround setup. We can assist you with the information you give us, but you'll still have to make these decisions for yourself. 🙂

Give "surround receiver" and "bookshelf speakers" a google to see what we're recommending.

 

[ssddx]

an avr (audio video receiver) is a the center of any "real" surround system. basically it is a dac, amp and source switch in one. the benefit of these over one of those htib (home theater in a box) setups with the dvd player as part of the speaker amp is that you have much more flexibility and you will not run into many of the problems (like not being able to get 5.1 input on a 5.1 output system!) that htibs may have.

soundbars have come a long way. originally they were meant as more of a replacement for tv speakers (which are mostly awful) yet not a true replacement for a decent home theater setup. nowadays there are some rather high quality soundbars on the market (as well as much mediocre stuff as well.. its not all great) and some even emulates (to a certain degree, its not perfect) a surround sound sytem. what they are good at would be fitting into a situation where normal speakers are not possible as they get mounted just below a tv and require nothing else.

surround vs stereo? that is your decision. either will work depending on preferences getting a nice pair of bookshelves from a big brand and an amplifier might fit your needs perfectly (klipsch icon's, pioneer bs22, etc..) or perhaps getting active speakers (micca pb42x, rokkit 5, mackie cr3/cr4, etc) would work for you as well. you can always add an active subwoofer to such a setup (dayton makes low priced yet fair sounding subs for people on a budget). some people who have more than one or two sources pair such a system up with a stereo receiver instead for more connectivity and greater output power (its hard to finda good cheap yet powerful amp other than a stereo receiver).

my personal setups...

5.0 klipsch quintet iv satellite system, 450w klipsch subwoofer, pioneer vsx-30 receiver. i use this on the main pc which gets used for movies, music, light gaming and general use. very crisp sound and i greatly enjoy it. not all sources of audio are 5.1 (music, windows sounds, youtube are not) but it certainly is enjoyable for those that are. since its multi-source (ps2, ps3, pc, ipod, laptop, etc) a receiver helps with that.

2.0 hk thirty tall bookshelf speakers, dta120 amplifier. this gets used on a secondary pc. simple setup with one source so just an amplifier works well. no subwoofer needed as the big bookshelves have enough bass on their own.

2.0 sony floorstanders, sony 5.2 receiver. these get used on the main living room tv. while not as 'crisp' sounding on treble as my klipsch, the bookshelves were a great buy (i picked up a pair for under $150/pr). the sony receiver was also cheap yet has worked well to power them.

so, why avrs? quite simply you will not find many amps better than the dta120 for any reasonable price. there are some 'junk' brand amps you can buy (you cannot believe their rated specs) that advertise more but those arent worth buying. any 'good' amplifier with the rated power or greater of many receivers will cost much more than just buying a receiver. it seems separate amps are more a part of the 'high end' audio world.

i'm not sure about europe, but the monoprice 10565 knockoff or the original energy take 5.1 classic take sets with a budget receiver are a decent entry level system. (set $250-300+/-, receiver $100-150+/-)

for only 50gbp however i think your choices will be very much limited and you often get what you pay for. if you are more than happy with budget products than that is your own choice and you are lucky. my ears can not stand budget level products anymore after hearing better.

 

[jsmithepa]

I bought a Panasonic £50 'surround sound system', which was a box and 5 speakers and a subwoofer. I placed them around and connected everything and it worked.

Your Panasonic is what the guys here refer to as an HTIB, read their replies.

An AV Receiver starts about £250 and up, typically has 4 or more HDMI ports on the back, has no built-in optical (DVD/BluRay). Oftentimes speakers are separate purchase.

I loved the surround sound, but is it still worth it?

If you have to ask this question, you don't want it bad enough.