[doctorR]

The more i read around about surround sound systems, the more confused i get so, i thought i would try a nice simple question. Assuming i have £300 to spend and am looking to link up a tv, xbox and ps3, what should i be looking for?

[tom 2000]

Originally Posted by doctorR

The more i read around about surround sound systems, the more confused i get so, i thought i would try a nice simple question. Assuming i have £300 to spend and am looking to link up a tv, xbox and ps3, what should i be looking for?

Connectivity.

Some all in ones are extremely limited in their ability to cope with external components. Your PS3 connects to sound system by HDMI. As far as I know the XBox connects to your sound system via HDMI also. I assume your tv has more than one HDMI input should you decide to add Sky HD which also connect to sound system via optical audio speakers.
A Sony amp with separate speakers will stretch your budget but is flexible.
You dont need a traditional all in one as you have all players required.

[doctorR]

thanks for the reply Tom

You are correct, the ps3 and xbox are both connected to the tv by hdmi.

I had assumed an all in one system would have been the way to go as i thought they would be easier to set up than seperates. Apart from that, i guessed i would be needing some sort of optical input to the amp from both the ps3 and xbox. Do some amps have more than one optical input, or is a switch the way to go?

[tom 2000]

Originally Posted by doctorR

thanks for the reply Tom

You are correct, the ps3 and xbox are both connected to the tv by hdmi.

I had assumed an all in one system would have been the way to go as i thought they would be easier to set up than seperates. Apart from that, i guessed i would be needing some sort of optical input to the amp from both the ps3 and xbox. Do some amps have more than one optical input, or is a switch the way to go?

You dont need optical from PS3 and I guess not from XBox but I cant speak for that. Some have two inputs but I think Sky is is the main requirement for one. Most other devices transmit full sound by HDMI.

[cols]

For all in ones, look at amp & speakers systems - ie no dvd player.

For ps3, to get hd audio from blu rays, look at systems which accept decoded uncompressed audio (linear pcm) over hdmi.

You don't need a system which decodes hd audio with ps3, as it decodes it internally and outputs uncompressed over hdmi.

Amp & speakers systems generally have good connectivity too - a few hdmi inputs, a couple optical, digital coax, a few rca phono.

To meet the above criteria, look at systems such as av63+, htddwg800, htss1300, htsf1300.