*Home Theatre Newbie* Decisions about Audio Setup/Config

Rudeboy

Rudeboy

Rudeboy

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Melbourne Australia
So I want to give home theatre sound a go and have been looking at my options, but having never ventured down this path before I'm a little unsure on what I should be considering.

I have a Samsung LE40M86/7 TV, a PS3 and the Australian equivalent of Sky HD (Foxtel HD), all of which I use HDMI to connect.

Originally I was looking for an all-in-one 5.1 package that I could connect the devices too and that would be that, but on closer inspection and after speaking to sales guys in some shops, I've been informed that the all-in-one setups don't provide HDMI inputs and as such only work on their own content i.e. DVD/Blu-ray etc.

My next option was to look at seperates and as such I've been looking at Onkyo and Yamaha amps and different 5.1/7.1 speaker packages, but this really inflates the cost compared to the all-in-one setup.

Then it occured to me that my TV has an optical out connection on the back of it and I wondered if I could use this to connect into an all-in-one audio setup and allow the TV to do the hard work with the video and just pass the audio out? Would this even work as I'm expecting it to?

Hopefully someone can give me an idea as to what I should be looking at. Budget is approx 1000 pounds for the right system and if anyone knows any UK hifi vendors that ship internationally even better (weak pound and strong Aussie $ make UK prices very attractive at the moment)

Thanks.
 
The audio out on the TV is probably just for the TVs tuner. I doubt that it passes out audio that has come in via another source. (HDMI for instance).

It's always possible though.
 
Not sure if this helps, but i was in the same boat..budget £1000 after much research i was advised to go with the Onyko SR507 and the Q 1010i 5.1 speakers with all cables and a bit of haggleing i got the lot with 5 year insurance for £640. Set it up last night pluged the SKy HD,xbox360 and ps3 and its fantastic will never ever buy all in one system again worth every penny. Goodluck mate :D
 
Engram said:
The audio out on the TV is probably just for the TVs tuner. I doubt that it passes out audio that has come in via another source. (HDMI for instance).

It's always possible though.
Click to expand...

My Samsung LE40M87 audio out passes out the audio for whatever is currently on the screen, so is ideal for feeding my Naim amp.
*edit - Reread the first post, I am talking about the Phono out, havent tried with the optical.

:)

Sam
 
Opticals on tv's will pass audio out for whatevers coming in generally, but some are limited to stereo so check your spec first.

Your better off with an entry/mid range onkyo/yamaha/denon AVR and a 5.1 package.
 
Ok, so I've decided that amp and speakers is the way to go.

I've just bought one of these;

http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/products/42/98/VSX-919AH-K/review.html

Happened to be in a shop and they were doing 30% off Pioneer gear for the day. Looked at the next model up, but decided I didn't need the scaling engine, so opted for this model. Cost 300 quid (in AU$), so now I just need to find some speakers. Have been looking at the Sony SA-VS350H 7.1 speakers, but am stuggling to find them at less than 700 quid (converted), so am open to suggestion on anything similar that's black and about the same size (girlfriend won't allow anything resembling full size floor standing speakers unfortunately).

I will have a look at the Q1010i's that you've listed above and see what I think, thanks.
 
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