Which surround sound system - HELP please!!!

Wilks · 23 Nov 2010 at 13:17

At least no-one has slated the system yet. That HAS to be a good thing lol.

MissChief · 24 Nov 2010 at 00:06

Wilks said:
So do I have this right:

1 x HDMI cable from the PS3 to the amp.
1 x optical lead from the SKY+ HD to the amp.
1 x HDMI cable from the Wii to the amp.
1 x HDMI cable from the amp to the tv.

Is this correct?

Where's the best place to get good quality otical and HDMI 1.4 cables - does anyone know? I can't imagine that they will come with the product.

You'll need HDMI to the TV from the Sky and the Wii doesn't support HDMI. The best connection is by a Wii Component cable which will give you 480p. The Wii also only does Dolby pro-logic I think so very little point in plugging it into the amp TBH. My Wii is direct to the TV via said component cables. About £10 for an unofficial set. As for HDMi cables pretty much any cable will do. There's no real advantage in paying through the nose for a better cable, it's all digital, either it gets there or it doesn't. That said, good quality cable can help for runs of 10m+. These would suffice quite happily.

TheVoice · 24 Nov 2010 at 01:07

peterattheboro said:
I've got my PS3 via HDMI to the TV and Optical to the amp.

Actually not at the moment because i've moved the PS3 to the PC desk for GT5!

Ohh and i'm very impressed with the Onkyo system for the price

You're better off connecting the console to the receiver with HDMI, more output options I believe.

Wilks · 24 Nov 2010 at 11:04

MissChief said:
You'll need HDMI to the TV from the Sky and the Wii doesn't support HDMI. The best connection is by a Wii Component cable which will give you 480p. The Wii also only does Dolby pro-logic I think so very little point in plugging it into the amp TBH. My Wii is direct to the TV via said component cables. About £10 for an unofficial set. As for HDMi cables pretty much any cable will do. There's no real advantage in paying through the nose for a better cable, it's all digital, either it gets there or it doesn't. That said, good quality cable can help for runs of 10m+. These would suffice quite happily.

Ta!

So the Wii direct to the TV with the supplied component cable.

Keep the Sky connected with HDMI and scart (top tip btw).

And I will need 1 x HDMI from the SKY to the TV, and an optical cable from the Sky to the amp.

I already have 2 HDMI cables but I don't think they are version 1.4. What does this (supposedly) support that other variants don't?

So in total I will need to possess:

1 x component cable
1 x optical cable
1 x scart cable
3 x HDMI cables (PS3 - amp, SKY - TV, and amp - TV)

Am I getting there yet?

MissChief · 24 Nov 2010 at 23:01

1.4 cables support 3D I believe and that's about it.

You say HDMI and Scart from the Sky box? is it a Sky+HD box? If so then you won't need Scart, just HDMI. You just called it Sky+ earlier in the thread.

Wilks · 25 Nov 2010 at 00:03

MissChief said:
1.4 cables support 3D I believe and that's about it.

You say HDMI and Scart from the Sky box? is it a Sky+HD box? If so then you won't need Scart, just HDMI. You just called it Sky+ earlier in the thread.

It's HD - just got lazy in my second mentioning of said box lol.

Wilks · 29 Nov 2010 at 16:31

I'm starting to doubt that the Onkyo system will ever come back into stock for the price I've seen it for £230 delivered.

Any comparable systems/prices folks? Recommendations much appreciated.

alx · 29 Nov 2010 at 19:00

Wilks said:
I'm starting to doubt that the Onkyo system will ever come back into stock for the price I've seen it for £230 delivered.

Any comparable systems/prices folks? Recommendations much appreciated.

I believe it will, there has just been a delay in the shipment - this is what another supplier who was out of stock said. Thing is though I think you'll be waiting for another 2 weeks at least before it comes back in stock.

The best price you can do apart from that is ~£280 from the jungle river website.

Richeh · 29 Nov 2010 at 19:29

I have the Sony DWG800, got it about 2 years ago so there is probably a newer model on the market, costs about £300 and is similar to the Onkyo setup. It has a seperate receiver so you can updgrade the speakers at a later date if need be, google it and see if it takes your fancy

GWillow · 29 Nov 2010 at 19:44

sh4rk said:
I believe it will, there has just been a delay in the shipment - this is what another supplier who was out of stock said. Thing is though I think you'll be waiting for another 2 weeks at least before it comes back in stock.

The best price you can do apart from that is ~£280 from the jungle river website.

I was going to suggest the Onkyo HT-S5305B from the same website but see that the price is now £329 (I paid £279 last night).

Wilks · 29 Nov 2010 at 20:03

Can't see the Jungle River website?

Wilks · 29 Nov 2010 at 20:04

Richeh said:
I have the Sony DWG800, got it about 2 years ago so there is probably a newer model on the market, costs about £300 and is similar to the Onkyo setup. It has a seperate receiver so you can updgrade the speakers at a later date if need be, google it and see if it takes your fancy

Thanks for the recommendation.

Wilks · 29 Nov 2010 at 20:05

sh4rk said:
I believe it will, there has just been a delay in the shipment - this is what another supplier who was out of stock said. Thing is though I think you'll be waiting for another 2 weeks at least before it comes back in stock.

The best price you can do apart from that is ~£280 from the jungle river website.

I'm not fussed about waiting as long as it comes back in stock lol.

Does that £280 include an iPod doc or is it the exact same set-up?

Aren't (EDIT) a certain website notorious for not getting stock in? They didn't give me a straight answer when I posed the question with regard to their expected restock of this Onkyo system.

alx · 29 Nov 2010 at 20:35

Wilks said:
I'm not fussed about waiting as long as it comes back in stock lol.

Does that £280 include an iPod doc or is it the exact same set-up?

Aren't Pixmania notorious for not getting stock in? They didn't give me a straight answer when I posed the question with regard to their expected restock of this Onkyo system.

I sent an email asking the same thing today, will let you know if I get a better response.

If not I'll just cancel my order and get it from The Jungle River (doesn't include ipod dock), or pop into Comet and get the AVX-380 (basically exactly the same but has Onkyo on the speakers) for the same price.

EDIT: The Jungle River website is doing the model above (S5305) for £279.99 which is an even better deal

alx · 29 Nov 2010 at 20:39

GWillow said:
I was going to suggest the Onkyo HT-S5305B from the same website but see that the price is now £329 (I paid £279 last night).

You can still get it for that price, just they are out of stock so are showing the next best price from other sellers

.

I am a bit wary of the S5305 though as I've heard about problems with the sub 'popping' (ie it keeps turning it's self off if it's not used for 10 secs) but they may have fixed that now.

Turbo-G · 29 Nov 2010 at 23:57

I purchased the HTS-3305B tonight from a well known highstreet store for £279.99 -excellent value for money. Yet to set it all up yet though

Jonnycoupe · 1 Dec 2010 at 16:57

What are the Yamaha AV kits like nowadays? AV63 was a pretty decent seperate starter avoiding HTIBs.

MissChief · 1 Dec 2010 at 17:17

The Yamaha Speakers were pretty cheap sounding and looking if I remember rightly. Denon used to do a good set but that was when DTS-MA and Dolby HD capable amps were £500+.

Wilks · 8 Dec 2010 at 20:53

Update

The other website faffed and faffed with stock, before the product vanished completely! I've ended up ordering (2 seconds ago lol), the Onkyo HT-S5305B - which I believe is very similar, but does not have a passive sub woofer.

Thanks for the advice - I'll let you know how it sounds

Sam · 8 Dec 2010 at 22:52

What do people think of -

MORDAUNT SHORT ALUMNI SYSTEM for £399

or

KEF KHT1005.2

or does the Onkyo HT-S5305B stonk the lot

Cheers