Protoplasm
Novice Member
I fear this is the most retarded (and possible long) question ever, but my reading and searches still leave me uncertain so apologies in advance for my stupidity.
While I can twist the wife's arm into a 42" TV, the wiring necessary for a proper 5.1 setup is a no go, at least in the short to medium term.
With that in mind, I figure I need a 2.0/2.1 setup or something else that doesn't require the wires. To that end, I have looked at the Yamaha and Marantz soundbars as a substitute for proper 5.1 surround. They get good reviews but seem very expensive, and the position of both TV and viewer in our living room puts me off.
Can I buy a 5.1/6.1/7.1 receiver/amplifier (such as the Onkyo SR605) and use it with only 2.0 or 2.1? I'm assuming it will work, as in sound will come out, but will I be losing out on a lot of extra detail because the amp will be assuming the presence of all the speakers (as opposed to missing out on the full full surround sound experience, which I know I obviously will be)?
I would prefer to spend less than £500 in total, though I can stretch a bit if needs be. I have been looking at amps which provide HDMI audio support thinking that would be good to have, but that's just my gut feeling from what I've read -- ie I'm probably wrong and don't mind being told so.
Any advice is much appreciated.
PS. My setup: I have the TV itself, Sky+, Apple TV and PS3 and I want to add a CD player (or a DVD player to cover both instead).
While I can twist the wife's arm into a 42" TV, the wiring necessary for a proper 5.1 setup is a no go, at least in the short to medium term.
With that in mind, I figure I need a 2.0/2.1 setup or something else that doesn't require the wires. To that end, I have looked at the Yamaha and Marantz soundbars as a substitute for proper 5.1 surround. They get good reviews but seem very expensive, and the position of both TV and viewer in our living room puts me off.
Can I buy a 5.1/6.1/7.1 receiver/amplifier (such as the Onkyo SR605) and use it with only 2.0 or 2.1? I'm assuming it will work, as in sound will come out, but will I be losing out on a lot of extra detail because the amp will be assuming the presence of all the speakers (as opposed to missing out on the full full surround sound experience, which I know I obviously will be)?
I would prefer to spend less than £500 in total, though I can stretch a bit if needs be. I have been looking at amps which provide HDMI audio support thinking that would be good to have, but that's just my gut feeling from what I've read -- ie I'm probably wrong and don't mind being told so.
Any advice is much appreciated.
PS. My setup: I have the TV itself, Sky+, Apple TV and PS3 and I want to add a CD player (or a DVD player to cover both instead).