All-in one "cheap" 5.1 setup, or high-end PC kit for home cinema?

Pug · 28 Sep 2007 at 12:31

got a small budget (like £150) for 5.1 setup.

The options i have are: low-end home cinema setup, with 5.1 and a DVD player (possibly without digital in for the 360) or a set of Logitech Z-5400s.

These are really PC speakers imo, but good PC speakers, and i can use the 360 to play DVDs. These have a better range of inputs too, tho truthfully i only really need inputs for the 360 (suppose i could pro-logic my Virgn cable).

Opinions?

Metallifux · 28 Sep 2007 at 12:42

I run the Z5450's or something like that in my sitting room, the ones with the wireless rears. Sound better than my Yamaha amp with Kef speakers did.

pinkacidbootson · 28 Sep 2007 at 12:45

I have the Z-5500s, they are fine for my games consoles and PC and only cost me £130.

denon · 28 Sep 2007 at 14:02

go second hand and get a proper setup, then you can always add more kit or change it around

Fr0dders · 28 Sep 2007 at 16:03

for that sort of price you're only option really is to go for a PC setup.

you just wont get anything better from a hifi setup for that money.

DragonWoLf · 30 Sep 2007 at 01:05

simon50 said:
I have the Z-5500s, they are fine for my games consoles and PC and only cost me £130.

hopefully get them soon for my pc once i get my student loan through! They're some speakers!!

dbmzk1 · 30 Sep 2007 at 01:22

A decent set of PC speakers will be a hell of a lot better than most of the cheaper all-in-one setups. A few of my mates have some and while they are ok, they are no match for even my 5 year old Creative speaker set.

doopydug · 30 Sep 2007 at 09:39

Another vote for z 5500s.

Second hand, they go for about £130 and they are tremendous

Syph · 30 Sep 2007 at 16:23

Would the Z-5400/5500s be any good to connect the following (at once):

1x phono to 3.5mm (MP3 player/laptop etc)
1x coax digital from DVD player to speakers
1x Wii phono (split off the component cable) to speakers

... And that's it, I think!

Metallifux · 1 Oct 2007 at 12:18

They have connections for, 1 coax, 2 optical and 1 set of 5.1 inputs which are split between 3 stereo headphone jack connectors. These can be split to form 3 seperate stereo inputs so in short yes.

Syph · 1 Oct 2007 at 12:54

Excellent. So I could even add a 360 or PS3 (or both) in future.

ubern00b · 1 Oct 2007 at 14:44

For all the people with Z5400/Z5450/Z5500 have you ever tried to output Full Bitrate DTS (1.5mbps) via optical or coaxial?

Reality Bites · 2 Oct 2007 at 17:08

you can get a full 5.1 setup from yamaha for around that budget and that includes a DTS amp!

this is a 6.1 setup for a little more, but the 5.1 setups are available for a little less. I paid around £170 for mine 2 years ago.

http://www.soundandvisiononline.co.uk/moreinfo/index.asp?product_id=13011

Pug · 2 Oct 2007 at 17:40

Reality Bites said:
you can get a full 5.1 setup from yamaha for around that budget and that includes a DTS amp!

this is a 6.1 setup for a little more, but the 5.1 setups are available for a little less. I paid around £170 for mine 2 years ago.

http://www.soundandvisiononline.co.uk/moreinfo/index.asp?product_id=13011

good spot. I did notice that myself too, which confused me a little...

not sure which way to go.

My mate has that setup, and tbh it sounds pretty good. And it has HDTV Component inputs, so i could use it as a switcher (tho this would be pretty pointless as only my 360 is component lol!) Uness there is a PS2 component cable?

Reality Bites · 3 Oct 2007 at 09:13

it will be much better than any PC setup.....

it has all the inputs i would need for my PC setup anyway. I'm considering moving my Xbox360 up to the study soon aswell......

Corasik · 3 Oct 2007 at 10:28

Metallifux said:
I run the Z5450's or something like that in my sitting room, the ones with the wireless rears. Sound better than my Yamaha amp with Kef speakers did.

Guess you either have a very small sitting room, or there was something wrong with your Yamaha/Kef setup.

PC speakers are not very high quality, often designed for looks more than sound quality, and their 'spec' sheets are about as much use as school toilet paper.

When a PC speaker says '500W' it never backs it up, so its probably 500W 'DIN' at 50% distortion, with just the sub making any sounds. Real hi-fi gear is normal rated as watts RMS, 20-20000hz 0.1% (or lower) THD etc etc etc... If you took a proper piece of hifi, and allowed it to perform as badly as the PC speaker specs, a typical 100 watt hifi amp, probably kicks out a 1000W of logitech power

I wouldnt by an all in one setup too. Just like the PC speakers their specs are written to 'look good' in the shops, but in reality are completely meaningless. Better off looking at second had separates. Also be carefull with those amp+speaker packages as well. Sometimes they look good on paper, but have some problems when it comes to upgrade time.... Friend of mine has a sony one, and it's ok... Except there is no way to change the crossover frequency's. So when she tried to upgrade the front speakers (to make better music), there was no way to stop 90% of the bass being redirected to the sub

, So the sound was hardly upgraded at all.

doopydug · 3 Oct 2007 at 10:31

The logitech reviews at the time were very good indeed and many reviewers claimed they would put hi fi gear selling at a £1000 to shame funnily enough.