surround sound

[connor]

just wondering if anyone knows much about them or can adivse of any?

mr and the mrs splashed out on a new tv today ready for when we move into our new house and fancy a fairly good sound to go with it.

My current set up is a cambridge audio amp and standalone speakers but we was thinking of ditching it for the more traditional surround sound set up with smaller satelite speakers etc..

 

[RGDave]

I use a 5:1 system powered by a Yamaha amp, KEF speakers and a Gale centre/speech speaker.

Small speakers are OK, but I wouldn't ditch my current set-up.

 

[brendy]

Yamaha 5.1 surround and sub powered by an Onkyo TX SR506, not massively expensive but does a great job.

One thing to remember is that sky does not transmit sound down the HDMI cable so make sure whatever reciever you buy, it has an optical port. Ebay has loads of guys selling the leads for a quid or two so not expensive.

 

[splashtryagain]

The use of sats and sub can be very effective however if you have a medium to large room then full size speakers are the way to go. If possible spend relatively more on the center speaker as it handles one hell of a lot.

 

[Phil2511]

Denon 1912 Amp and Bouston Acoustics 5.1 speakers, very small but the sound is awesome. Should pick the lot up for between £550 and £600

 

[GeeTee]

another one for yamaha amp and kef speakers here

 

[Ethan]

Yamaha AVR and Anthony Gallo speakers (satellites about the size of a grapefruit) here.

It is worth spending a bit of time researching what kit you need, can afford and suits your setup. What HiFi Sound and Vision is a good source for info. Beware some of the cheaper amps which are set up to sound 'bright' and become quite tiresome once you have it a while. You also need to set up the sound and vision separately. The AV receiver may well come with an auto-set up sensor, and you can find some good vision setup stuff for the TV on any DVD/BluRay that has THX available. Doesn't matter if you have THX or not, it works well for any plasma/LCD.

 

[McLee]

I'm a big Onkyo fan. Get yourself down to Richer Sounds and demo some set ups.

 

[DappaDonDave]

Bose....

 

[connor]

Got a new DVD player today so the lot is coming along nicely. Started reading about sound stuff last night... Tempted to keep my same amp and just change the speakers?? Or would I be better off getting some kind of package deal?

 

[GreiginFife]

Onkyo amp and full Gale Audio 5.1 set up. Floor stand fronts, centre, active sub and bi-polar surrounds.
Awesome sound from them.
I have HDMI ARC set up from my Sky+HD box so not sure what Brendy is talking about.

 

[Phil2511]

I got my set up mentioned earlier for £550 as the place price matched Richer Sounds.
I had intended to spend more but had heard this system set up in the shop with a few different movies and music. It has AirPlay so you can stream music from your iPhone without need to connect cables plus there's an iPhone app which turns your iPhone into a second remote control.
So you don't need to ask for the remote to change from 1 input to another or adjust volume. Or like my house when the kids lose the remote. Or my favourite when the kids turn it up too loud and I'm in bed I can turn it down myself from the bedroom lol
Speakers are small as well about 4inX4in diamond shaped. But loud.

 

[kev_off_the_tee]

Sony 7.1 av receiver with wharfedale 9.1 speaker setup. Small enough so not overbearing but bit enough for a cracking sound. The only thing I would do if my living room was bigger would be to upgrade the front speakers