2.1 speaker system with optical input?

[MrCynical]

My current speaker system is a set of Acoustic Energy Aego Ms. I love the sound, but having to change the RCA plugs (it only has one set of inputs) any time I change device is a pain - and will only get worse if I add a Wii to my current X360 and DVD player.

I'm already likely to be getting a new TV in the next couple of weeks (22" LG, this is all for my bedroom), so I thought a good course of action would be connect my devices to the two HDMI sockets on that (with a Wii, if I decide to go for one, connected via component) and then use the TV's optical out to deliver sound to a new 2.1 set.

Can anyone recommend a suitable set of speakers? I don't want a full 5.1 setup (don't have the room), but would prefer the sound to (at least) equal my current speakers (the Aego Ms). I've also already discounted the idea of using one of the HDMI based AV-receiver-with-speakers packages (of which the Onkyo HT-X22HDX is the standard bearer, I believe) firstly because not all of my devices use HDMI and secondly because they're more than I want to spend.

Essentially my budget is £100-150 for something equivalent in sound quality to my Aego Ms but with an optical input - I'd be very grateful for any suggestions!

PS: Should add that the Aego Ms aren't being put out to pasture - I'm planning to use them in a music system.

 

[davepuma]

Why don't you simply connect your TV up to the Aego Ms? This way, whatever is playing on the TV will output through the speakers. If your TV lacks an analogue output, it might have TV out via SCART, in which case you would need a switchable SCART adapter (TVcables.co.uk sell 'em) and a phono cable. Set the SCART adapter to Out and that should be it.

The only speakers that I know of that might have optical in would be Logitech. The Onkyo you mention are well regarded on the forum.

 

[MrCynical]

The reason I'm doing this (which perhaps I should have explained) is that like most small LG TVs the one I'm looking at doesn't have very good builtin sound: at the moment I bypass this issue on my current model by using the RCA output from DVD/Xbox etc.

I was under the impression that if I use any of the analogue outs on the TV, I would be subject to the (sound quality) limitations of its builtin audio whereas if I used optical out it wouldn't - but I know less than nothing about electronics so that could be nonsense

I had actually been taking a semi-serious look at the Onkyo, but aside from the price I was also put off by the reports of lipsync issues and the fact that I might have at least one non-HDMI device (a Wii) which I'd want to connect to the speakers.

 

[davepuma]

Have you tried the analogue out on the TV?

The latest version, which I believe is the HTX-22HDX. Are these lip sync issues not able to be solved by applying audio delay? The wii will continue to be connected to the TV via video cable e.g. composite video (yellow) or component video (green/blue/red). The red/white analogue audio will connect to the amp.

 

[MrCynical]

Being a fool, I hadn't considered the possibility that this highly-regarded Onkyo speaker set had an analogue input

Xbox to the TV over HDMI, via the Onkyo
Upscaling DVD the same
Wii to the TV over component, audio to the Onkyo over RCA

I now have the beginnings of a plan - from reading elsewhere on the forum (mainly the 23-page Omega Thread discussing the Onkyo set ) I've established that the Onkyo has (per-input?) audio delay settings so sync shouldn't be an insurmountable problem.

Of course, if the TV I'm looking at has a usable analogue audio out, then that would be a much simpler and cheaper solution to the whole thing! (Will post re: that on the appropriate forum to avoid going offtopic)

EDIT: I've discovered (or at least I guess, based on a thread about an older model) that the TV I'm looking at - the LG M227WDP - might be able to output audio via Scart which can then be converted to RCA. Is this likely to provide equivalent quality compared to connecting whatever external device to the Aego Ms directly via their own RCA cables?