Noob Surround Sound Question

Marakith · 19 Jul 2010 at 16:21

I've just gotten my mitts on a sexy Panasonic Plasma and a Panasonic BD85 Blu Ray player. Now I have had a taste of the good life, I'm thinking about surround sound for out very small lounge.

I'm totally confused by the various packages out there (a lot of them seem to bundle DVD or Blu Ray players). Thanks for the help!

Is it as simple as buying some amplified speakers connected to a sub woofer (possibly re-using the ones I have on my PC) and hooking these into the back of the Blu-Ray or TV?

Do I really need to buy a funky receiver? It seems the BD85 has good sound performance from the reviews.

Reality Bites · 19 Jul 2010 at 16:36

What's your budget and lounge size? do you want style type speakers or 'normal' bookshelf type?

I would prefer to go the seperates route as it gives you much more scale for the money imo.

Marakith · 19 Jul 2010 at 17:24

Nothing too pricey - £50 maybe?

I'm already on the beans and rice from buying the TV. Could I repurpose my subwoofer and 4 tweeters off my PC?

jellybeard999 · 19 Jul 2010 at 18:29

Marakith said:
Nothing too pricey - £50 maybe?

I'm already on the beans and rice from buying the TV. Could I repurpose my subwoofer and 4 tweeters off my PC?

Hook your PC speakers to the headphone out on your TV. That's the best you'd do for £50 IMO.

Stag · 19 Jul 2010 at 20:19

If you have a very small lounge surround sound is pointless. Invest in a pair of stereo speakers and a stereo amp, really no need for anything more.

SimonR · 19 Jul 2010 at 20:35

Stag said:
If you have a very small lounge surround sound is pointless. Invest in a pair of stereo speakers and a stereo amp, really no need for anything more.

I disagree. Just because the guy has a small living room, doesn't mean that he won't benefit from surround sound.

Stag · 19 Jul 2010 at 20:59

Disagree all you like. For the money he'll spend on a surround set up to get the "amazing" surround sound effects that add very little to a film, he could be enjoying a far superior sound stage produced from a decent stereo source.

rubberduck · 19 Jul 2010 at 22:31

With a budget of £50 you'll probably be best off sticking to the speakers in the TV for the time being

Reality Bites · 20 Jul 2010 at 08:31

Stag said:
If you have a very small lounge surround sound is pointless. Invest in a pair of stereo speakers and a stereo amp, really no need for anything more.

My lounge in small and my surround setup is great imo. You can get speakers the size of £2 coins which are very good a movies sounds and the sub can go anywhere.

pre1twa said:
With a budget of £50 you'll probably be best off sticking to the speakers in the TV for the time being

I agree with this.....£50 won't get you anything worth buying. I'm confused how you managed to get a panny plasma and a BD85 while living on beans and rice.....maybe you should have got the 65 and raised the budget a little! Or even the sony BD370 for £100 and raised even more spare budget.

mast3r · 20 Jul 2010 at 08:46

save some more and get a second hand set of z5500