AMP or a/v reciever

toothe

toothe

toothe

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Joined
19 Nov 2007
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228
Hi, im thinking of getting new soround sound kit, will be used for my 2 pc's xbox and ps3.

Just thinking about options. i know i can wire things into a pc sound card or get an amp. what you all think?
 
A stereo integrated ampflier is just 2 channel, analogue- but will sound the best. For a 2 channel "Hi-Fi"

A av amplifier is a amplifier with 5 channels, video switching, bass managment, pro-logic, dolby digital & dts processing, digital inputs. a av receiver is the same except it has a tuner built in.

You cannot wire speakers directly into your soundcard, there is no poweramps. Since you want multi-channel I'd get a av amplifier/av receiver.
 
okies ive seen an offer on at a local shop. basically its hdmi dvd player with av reciver. it doesnt support hd stuff for video though but thats not really an issue. just unsure whether i need the dvd player an go for better av reciver.
 
toothe said:
jesus you seen the size of some of the av recievers. they huge
Click to expand...

Looks at 4' stack of poweramps av pre-amp :D

Your PS3/Xbox can play DVD's however they're a bit loud so a DVD player might be a good purchase. Although in your situation I would skip the DVD player for now, put that extra £50-£200 into your audio system. You'll need speakers as well.

I wouldn't look into multi-channel system unless you've got around £700. If it's a couple of hundred quid I'd just buy some second hand stereo integrated amplifier & stereo Hi-Fi speakers.
 
well the offer is on some yamaha suround speakers and a Onkyo TXSR505 with 1080p hdmi. so id be able use my new monitor with ps3 and xbox on high res. i can also play dvd's through one of the pcs thats not a problem. anyone know much about onkyo and this is for my bedroom so speakers will be fine i think. total cost is £320 or £280 with TXSR508 amp. not sure what do yet. might just get a set of pc 5.1 and run ps3 and xbox into optical input on pc. what would be best/
 
I'd get the Onkyo, as for speakers rather than buying a Yamaha speaker set spend the money on just stereo speakers for now- you can always add the remaining speakers/subwoofer later. It'll sound better.

Don't buy a DVD player then.

A av amplifer has far more connectivity than a set of PC 5.1 speakers. Look at the back of a av amp, compared to a PC system- two inputs at the most.
 
Video/Audio inputs & outputs: REAR:
2 x HDMI in (input assignable)
3 x video in (component video, S-video, composite video and stereo line in)
1 x video record out (S-video, composite video & stereo line out)
HDMI, component video, S-Video & composite video monitor outputs
RI interface, for use with remote-switchable devices such as an Onkyo iPod dock
Independent video and audio record switching
HDMI and component video switching is HD compatible

FRONT:
Composite video & stereo line in (via 3 x RCA/phono sockets)
6.3mm (1/4") headphones jack
Video format conversion: No
Analogue audio: REAR:
5.1 input for multi-channel SACD/DVD-Audio or use with a source (eg DVD player) with a built-in multi-channel decoder (6 x RCA/phono)
Subwoofer pre-output (RCA/phono)
Tape loop (2 pairs of RCA/phono stereo line in and out)
CD in (2 x RCA/phono)

FRONT:
6.3mm (1/4") headphones jack
Digital audio: 2 x coaxial digital inputs (via RCA/phono)
2 x optical digital inputs (via Toslink)
All digital connections are input assignable
Speaker outputs: 5 channel amplifiers on board.

5 speaker outputs via 4mm banana plug/binding post connections.


thats the cheaper amp. looks impressive. ill be able connect pc by hdmi and ps3 by hdmi and xbox360 by component. as i said its only for bedroom so size is an issue. and depending on how much dosh i have spare (booking holiday) will depend on path i take. would the sound qual on onkyo be good never heard of em .
 
the amp model numbers are :
Onkyo - HT-R508 HDMI or onkyo TX-SR505. there are others but wanted hdmi or equivilent if possible.
 
yep:) just make sure you realise that you wont have access to any of the hd audio formats like DD: trueHD or DTS: Master Audio, or lossless 7.1 pcm (such as the ps3 uses) as spdif cant do it.


if you want to future proof yourself (if thats really possible) for those formats, you'd need to be looking at the tx-sr605 or an equivalent amp from the likes from one of hte other comapnies (denon, marantz, yamaha, sony ect) that can process audio over hdmi:)
 
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okies, would i notice any advantage though because i'll only be using a 5.1 kit. is hdmi the only *** to process DTS (sorry im a bit of a n00b to this stuff)
 
no, no regular DD/DTS can be done over spdif just fine (optical or coax). its only the Hd audio formats that you cant do :)

if you have no interest in the hd formats, or audio over hdmi in general, then you could do much worse than the 505:)


the best advice i could give you is to go and ask on avforums. im not that up to speed on that sector of the market. i know i lot about the 705 and upwards and their competitors, but thats because i was after a new amp and did looooooads of research lol
 
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