which 5.1 amplifier....

[SupermotoMX]

i have been given some sony home theatre speakers but sadly the amp / dvd player is completely dead, speakers work very well.

i dont know a lot about amplifiers, and im struggling to find anything suitable.

it doesnt need to be massively powerful as i dont watch TV loud but would love to try 5.1 surround (never used additional speakers for the TV before) all the speakers are pretty small minus the sub, and have quite a lot of weight to them, they are all rated for 3 ohms i have a front L + R surround L + R SUB + centre, what amplifier should i be looking at to power all of these ? my htpc does have a 5.1 asus soundcard.



TL;DR - looking for as cheap* as possible 5.1 amplifier for some 3 ohm sony speakers


*i know cheap and good don't belong in the same sentence, but im not looking for the best sound i can possibly get, just something to get it up and working to try 5.1 before i splash out on a proper set, and im sure anything would be better than the in built TV speakers

 

[Marsman]

Not sure what you can do to be honest, because the 3 Ohm speakers you get with these all in one DVD based systems, it's an odd rating. AV receivers (5.1 amplifiers) are intended for use with 4-8 Ohm speakers. Using 3 Ohm speakers might end up causing some problems.

This is the problem with these all in one DVD/BD based systems: They are self contained units, if that is such a way to put it. You can't just easily buy a replacement main unit, speakers, etc. This is why they are not recommended really, because it's better to spend the extra on an AV receiver and 5.1 speaker package.

 

[lucid]

Marsman is on the right lines here. Typical AV receivers which can be bought as standalone units are designed for 6-8 Ohm speakers, but that's not the only issue.

The subwoofer from your defunct kit has speaker wires for a connection. This is called a passive subwoofer. It doesn't have any amplification of its own; the main player/amp of an all-in-one system provides the power instead. This is the opposite of what happens with the vast majority of AV receivers. They're designed to work with active subwoofers; these are subs that have a built-in amplifier of their own. The AV receiver supplies a different kind of signal. What it boils down to is that you'll be banging your head against a brick wall trying to mate the all-in-one speakers to a proper AV receiver. There are solutions, but none that are cheap. The outcome will be that you'll spend a load more cash than you need to in trying to make it all work together when in reality you could spend >£40 for another all-in-one kit with speakers that just works. Punt out the Sony speakers on Ebay or donate them.

Have you thought about looking on Freecycle? All-in-one kits come up every now and again. For example, there was a Panasonic SC-BT735 Blu-ray system with tallboy speakers advertised free in Manchester recently.

 

[SupermotoMX]

thankyou all for your suggestions, i will probably drop them into a local charity shop for someone else to play with.

what budget side AIO's would you suggest?

 

[Smok3y]

Tannoy HTS-101