Samsung home cinema specs and questions?

jubei

jubei

jubei

Soldato
Joined
3 Apr 2003
Posts
2,928
Hey guys,

Have had my LE40M87 40" 1080p tv for a good while now along with a ps3. However i am still just using the sound from this tv and although the tv is excellent its sound is not exactly earth shattering.

Now i was lookin for surround sound set to match and found this, does anyone have any experience with this and whether its a worthwhile purchase for £230?

Samsung HT-TX35R/XEU 800 Watt 5.1 Channel Home Cinema System With Tallboy Speakers HDMI And USB Host

Here are the specs followed by a couple of questions:

* Slim design in black to match modern flat panel TV designs for a desirable home AV experience
* 800 watts power output , 133 x 5 plus 135 sub
* Single tray type DVD player with HDMI pure digital output connectivity
* Anynet plus HDMI CEC technology
* DVD player compatability DVD , DVD-R , DVD-RW , VCD (without logo) , SVCD (without logo) , CD , CD-R , CD-RW , MP3 , JPEG , WMA , DIVX
* USB Host functionality to access portable devices such as Camcorder , MP3 player , Digital stills camera (given suitable connection on connecting device)
* Progressive scan output
* Preset EQ mode x 3
* Dolby Digital out , Dolby ProLogic II , DTS out
* Component video out
* Composite video out
* HDMI out
* Scart out x 1
* Audio in AUX 1, AUX2
* FM Tuner built in with RDS
* 15 station preset memory
* Wireless ready for wireless rear speaker connection (additional component available separately subject to availability)
* 4 Tallboy speakers in matching design
* Product dimensions DVD player H60mm W430mm D315mm Weight 3.4kg
* Speaker dimensions Subwoofer H320mm W180mm D390mm Weight 5.2kg
* Talboy speakers H1045mm W90mm D95mm Weight 3.1kg (each) Base diameter approx. 270mm
* Centre speaker H90mm W250mm D95mm Weight 0.76kg
* Total product weight 21.76kg
* Packaged dimensions (one box) H466mm W846mm D475mm Weight 25.0kg


1. Is it possible to connect sky+, tv, ps3, wii to this and them all make use of the speakers, not necessarily in surround when its not supported but i would still like the consoles and sky to make use of the unit? I am a total novice and have no idea what i should be lookin for on the specs.

The ps3 has hdmi and the wii a component cable. Sky i currently plug in with a scart to the tv. Would i need different cables?

2. Does it look like a good system and worth the money? Is surround sound all its cracked up to be or am i throwing money away?

3. There is a 600watt version, would the 200watts make a significant difference?

Thanks guys, any help appreciated
 
Ignore the specs, they mean nothing. Look at the back panel of that HTIB. I guess you need 3 inputs (sky, ps3, wii) and one output (tv) You need HDMI input and HDMI output, Component input and Component output. For £230 for a 5.1 HTIB, don't expect much. It'll do the job. As for wattage, for low end it means diddly squat. A Rotel 50W x 2 has more power than a HTIB.

Or you could just route all video straight to the TV, only sending audio to the HTIB. Ps3 has optical out I think, what about wii?
 
Last edited:
badbob said:
Ignore the specs, they mean nothing. Look at the back panel of that HTIB. I guess you need 3 inputs (sky, ps3, wii) and one output (tv) You need HDMI input and HDMI output, Component input and Component output. For £230 for a 5.1 HTIB, don't expect much. It'll do the job. As for wattage, for low end it means diddly squat. A Rotel 50W x 2 has more power than a HTIB.

Or you could just route all video straight to the TV, only sending audio to the HTIB. Ps3 has optical out I think, what about wii?
Click to expand...

no idea of a lot of what u just said lol :)

Not sure about the wii as only got that yesterday but i dont believe it has optical out just component.

If i buy the set would it run my normala tv and such through the speakers so it sounds a bit better when watching programs and films other than dvd/bluray?
 
jubei said:
Hey guys,

Have had my LE40M87 40" 1080p tv for a good while now along with a ps3. However i am still just using the sound from this tv and although the tv is excellent its sound is not exactly earth shattering.

Now i was lookin for surround sound set to match and found this, does anyone have any experience with this and whether its a worthwhile purchase for £230?

Samsung HT-TX35R/XEU 800 Watt 5.1 Channel Home Cinema System With Tallboy Speakers HDMI And USB Host

Here are the specs followed by a couple of questions:

* Slim design in black to match modern flat panel TV designs for a desirable home AV experience
* 800 watts power output , 133 x 5 plus 135 sub
* Single tray type DVD player with HDMI pure digital output connectivity
* Anynet plus HDMI CEC technology
* DVD player compatability DVD , DVD-R , DVD-RW , VCD (without logo) , SVCD (without logo) , CD , CD-R , CD-RW , MP3 , JPEG , WMA , DIVX
* USB Host functionality to access portable devices such as Camcorder , MP3 player , Digital stills camera (given suitable connection on connecting device)
* Progressive scan output
* Preset EQ mode x 3
* Dolby Digital out , Dolby ProLogic II , DTS out
* Component video out
* Composite video out
* HDMI out
* Scart out x 1
* Audio in AUX 1, AUX2
* FM Tuner built in with RDS
* 15 station preset memory
* Wireless ready for wireless rear speaker connection (additional component available separately subject to availability)
* 4 Tallboy speakers in matching design
* Product dimensions DVD player H60mm W430mm D315mm Weight 3.4kg
* Speaker dimensions Subwoofer H320mm W180mm D390mm Weight 5.2kg
* Talboy speakers H1045mm W90mm D95mm Weight 3.1kg (each) Base diameter approx. 270mm
* Centre speaker H90mm W250mm D95mm Weight 0.76kg
* Total product weight 21.76kg
* Packaged dimensions (one box) H466mm W846mm D475mm Weight 25.0kg


1. Is it possible to connect sky+, tv, ps3, wii to this and them all make use of the speakers, not necessarily in surround when its not supported but i would still like the consoles and sky to make use of the unit? I am a total novice and have no idea what i should be lookin for on the specs.

The ps3 has hdmi and the wii a component cable. Sky i currently plug in with a scart to the tv. Would i need different cables?

2. Does it look like a good system and worth the money? Is surround sound all its cracked up to be or am i throwing money away?

3. There is a 600watt version, would the 200watts make a significant difference?

Thanks guys, any help appreciated
Click to expand...

Your really just looking for this to output the audio so you need to look at how many optical inputs it has. If it doesn't have enough (you need 2, PS3 and Sky+), then you can buy a switching box for a few quid but this means you manually have to switch this over. For the Wii, you can connect this via the phono (aux) input (red/white connectors).

Then you need to enable the internal mute on your TV and just plug your Sky+ box in via SCART as usual. Plug your PS3 in via HDMI but tell it to output the sound via Optical.

EDIT: Just checked the spec on the Samsung site. It has no HDMI inputs (to be expected) and only 1 optical input, which is what I suspected. Which means if you buys this, you'll need to get 3 optical cables and one of these;

tos_switch.jpg
 
Last edited:
You'll only need two optical cables, the wii doesnt have optical out, just Dolby pro logic II over a the typical R&W phono RCA. If you dont have the movies package Im not sure how much Sky stuff is in 5.1 anyway so the PS3 becomes the onlu device where using the optical audio is essential.

Over on AV forums you seem to read a lot about the Samsung HTIB with lip sync issues though.
 
If he's hooking his PS3 and Sky+ up via the optical siwtcher to his Samsung Home Cinema, then he'll need 3. 1 for the PS3 to the switcher, 1 for the Sky+ to the switcher and 1 from the switcher to the Samsung Home Cinema system.
 
We have this system - it's a vast improvement over the built in speakers on our Samsung 50PQ96 Plasma. When connected to the TV, the anynet system works well and you there is only 1 overall volume control and they turn off together too.

The sound is loud and the amount of bass the sub can generate is impressive. The system lacks the finesse of a proper 5.1 setup with a proper home cinema amp and speakers - but for an all in one it's good value.

It looks good and the DVD player upscales well. The USB function is fairly limited but is useful for playing Divx stuff.

Assuming your TV has a digital optical out - you could just plug everything into the TV and then the TV will pass the signal digitally through to the Amp, although I found this made things ever so slightly out of sync (only noticeable on guitar hero though)

Another option (what I believe to be best) is to connect the PS3 via optical to the amp, and connect the TV to the amp via phono leads (into AUX2). This would allow Dolby Digital/DTS for the PS3 and Dolby Pro-Logic 2 for the Wii/Sky/TV. Only Sky supports Dolby Digital, and the difference between pro-logic and digital on sky is not worth the hassle of having a switcher in my opinion.
 
Some usefull stuff here guys thanks :)

Is there some other kit people would recommend then fora decent 5.1 setup that could incorporate wii/ps3/sky+ otherwise i think i will just go for this and use the suggestions given.

Not really lookin to spend over 300 though to be fair as dont tend to actually use the living room much anyway, nearly live on this pc :P
 
jubei said:
Some usefull stuff here guys thanks :)

Is there some other kit people would recommend then fora decent 5.1 setup that could incorporate wii/ps3/sky+ otherwise i think i will just go for this and use the suggestions given.

Not really lookin to spend over 300 though to be fair as dont tend to actually use the living room much anyway, nearly live on this pc :P
Click to expand...

I think you'll struggle to find a decent all-in-one with 2/3 optical inputs, hence why I went for the Samsung AV-R720 AMP, which cost me around £230 but it was another £250 for speakers, which is obviously over your budget.
 
mparter said:
I think you'll struggle to find a decent all-in-one with 2/3 optical inputs, hence why I went for the Samsung AV-R720 AMP, which cost me around £230 but it was another £250 for speakers, which is obviously over your budget.
Click to expand...

Yeah certainly not thinking to spend 500 purely on sound thats for sure :)

Its just that the TV doesnt really have great sound and i feel i am missing out a lot on some of my movies and games by not having a 5.1 setup...

I am not hardcore enough to be buying seperates and such as 1. No idea what to get and 2. I want something that matches the rest of my kit as dumb as it sounds :)

Well i guess i will keep looking then, though the wii defo doesnt have optical. Thing is i have seen a really nice samsung player with 1080p upscaling on its own but again that makes the home cinema set redundant again...argh.

Anyone got any tips or ideas on how to go about getting myself to some decent 5.1 sound without being overly complicated or expensive? :P
 
As said already, if you have quite a few sources, then a HTIB usually lacks the number of inputs compared to a seperates av amp. Browse the cheap box shifter audio retailer, looking at the back panel to see if it's suitable. There's little point buying a HTIB that lacks the required number of inputs, that'll mean adding a audio switching box, and ideally a learning remote with macro function (unless want to switch av amp and box all the time)

The cheapest av amp is £100- has two optical and one coaxial digital input, and the cheapest 5.1 system is £100.
 
Gonna have to look in to seperates it would seem. So if i were to buy the divx player i saw with 1080p upscaling. I would then need an av amp and speakers, am i missing anything?
 
That kinda thing looks good actually yeah, was really after tallboys tho as i am in a rented new build and cannot be sticking speakers on the walls :)
 
We use to have this system downstairs and ended up sending it back, my dad then replaced it with some Logitech Z5400s which have several optical connections and sounded far better than the Samsung, which we also seemed to have a few problems with.

The Logitechs sound a fair bit better and have more connectivity.

Hope this helps.
 
have you considered the yamaha amp and 5.1 speakers from richer sounds?

weighs in at a shade under £200 - has 2 x optical in, 1 x digital coaxial in and loads of aux in (for wii).

I would also thinnk it would sound as good (probably better) than this setup, with the added bonus of being able to upgrade when you get the extra cash?

just a thought :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom