Is it worth adding AV just for rear speakers and Sub-woofer?

pannymad

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Hi
I just bought a Panasonic PD30 which has great sound (it weighs a ton which must be all those speakers in it) so I am a bit loathe to spend another £300 - £500 quid on an AV receiver and 5/6 speakers .

So my idea is to buy an AV receiver and rear speakers plus sub woofer speakers and use the Panasonic centre and front speakers (i.e the built in ones).

Then the sound (for DVD's) will come from the TV speakers for front & centre and through the AV receiver for rears and sub.

The advantages for me is:
-slightly cheaper, as I don't have to buy new front and centre speakers
-less cables and no unsightly front speakers cluttering up my lounge
-easy to use as my Panny auto switches to the DVD when I put a disc in and I can switch to DVD without fiddling around with the TV sound.

Disadvantages???

-I'm not sure, but maybe a sound delay?

-any comments?
 
I'm intrigued to know how you intend to connect it so that the TV speakers act as the front yet a seperate amplifier handles the rear speakers only.
 
Hi and welcome to the forums:)

I feel that you'd be defeating the whole object of an av receiver if you were only going to use it to drive some rear speakers.
The signal from a source (dvd, sky, cd etc) is decoded by the receiver (dolby digital, DTS, pro logic 2 etc) and split up into the 5.1/6.1/7.1 channels respectively. The fronts tend to carry the weight of a movie sound track and the rears are usually purely for effects and to emerse you in surround sound. The whole synergy would be interupted and not be effective as you wouldn't get the whole functionality the av receiver brings you. The sound coming from the tv would be full range and not reflect the true front sound stage the av receiver would be sending to descreat front channels (front left, right and centre) if you were to use it properly.
I feel you have two options here either stick to what the tv can give you or just use it as a monitor and buy a complete surround sound system. I'd personally go for the later as even a budget system would offer better sound than any TV.
It often puzzles me how some people spend £1000's on a plasma or uber TV only to pair it with a sound system on a shoe string budget:confused: Surely to get the best possible movie experience the sound is off equal importance?
 
thanks for the input, and I can see your point.

It was just that I had spent £1,500 on the tv (including all the internal speakers - which sound great for normal telewest programmes)

Any ideas on the sort of budget for an av receiver plus speakers ? which will sound better than my current set up?

I already have a dvd player - with 5.1 outputs.
 
If your looking for an entry level system then I would suggest a budget of around £150 - £250 for the receiver and £250+ for a speaker package. You can get cheaper speaker packages (£80+) but these wouldn't be much of an improvement over your existing TV speakers imo.
I'd still advise going to your local dealer to have a listen to what's available in different styles/prices to get an idea what the pros and cons of each are. You can go two ways generally either get a small sub sat system or a more conventional speaker package.
Sub sat systems have small descreat speakers and a subwoofer that do a good job of filling a room with surround sound. Because of the size of the satelites often these systems are fairly limited and aren't too good with music but often offer a more wife freindly solution. The more conventional speaker packages offer much better sound reproduction because of the larger cabinate sizes they tend to have but are less descreat and not as wife freindly. Some conventional packages come without subwoofers which you can buy seperately at a later date (if required) and easily integrated with existing speakers.
You need to find what best suits your own environment and gives you the best possible sound at the price your prepared to pay.

I'll give you an idea of some usual entry level systems if you like:-

receivers £150-£250 (shop around these are examples you CAN possibly find cheaper elsewhere):-

http://www.qed-uk.com/?i=10FtXi2LyYmi&vp=6&bg=212&bp=495s&bi=0

http://www.richersounds.co.uk/index.php?f=itemdetl.php&p=301579

http://www.richersounds.co.uk/index.php?f=itemdetl.php&p=301738

http://www.qed-uk.com/?i=10Fu403cUj2w&vp=6&bg=212&bp=495s&bi=0

Speaker packages:-
http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/1313

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/1581

http://www.richersounds.co.uk/index.php?f=itemdetl.php&p=301719

http://www.qed-uk.com/?i=10FtXi2LyYmi&vp=6&bg=216&bp=d8s36&bi=0

http://www.qed-uk.com/?i=10FtXi2LyYmi&vp=6&bg=216&bp=cin726&bi=0

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/1845

This is just the tip of the iceburg but will give you an idea of what's available:)


Enjoy your hunt:devil:
 
To be honest if you want to upgrade your sound I'd just buy some new front speakers. That'll give a much larger sonic upgrade than adding rears and a sub. You could add to it over time.
 
Thanks Hawklord
that Yamaha receiver looks the Dog's!

I had already seen some of the Elac's and they also look very nice.

Do you think if I put the two fronts and the centre under the TV it will be OK?

-i.e. not on separate stands?
 
pannymad said:
Thanks Hawklord
that Yamaha receiver looks the Dog's!

I had already seen some of the Elac's and they also look very nice.

Do you think if I put the two fronts and the centre under the TV it will be OK?

-i.e. not on separate stands?

I'd certainly advise you actually go and have a listen to some receivers and speaker combo's to get a feel for what is available and not buy blind.
Yamaha imo are the budget receiver kings and any of their amps would be a good choice.
The front left and right speakers would be better suited if you were to have some distance between themselves (at least 3-4 ft)and the centre to get the full effect.
I'd thoroughly recomend getting the more conventional sized speakers and putting them on good stands over a sub sat system as they are much better sounding especially if music is important.
 
Yes, the problem with the suggested 3ft gap between front speakers is that it would interfere with the eternal triangle:

Man:Television:Wife
 
For what it's worth: Simply adding stereo speakers and a decent subwoofer will lift satellite TV watching to a whole new level of enjoyment. It's amazing the difference it makes to quite ordinary programmes on TV. It also adds reality and excitement to films of course. You really don't know what you're missing using "just" the TV speakers. :)

Nimby
 
pannymad said:
Yes, the problem with the suggested 3ft gap between front speakers is that it would interfere with the eternal triangle:

Man:Television:Wife

Why don't you get your wife to go and audition with you. If she's involved in the whole process and hears the much improved sound larger speakers give she may be more willing to compromise. Not all speakers are ugly take these for instamce:-
 

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Yes, whereas Mrs Pannymad is looking for a speaker that looks more like this...


roses-pink-vase.jpg
 
Hawklord said:
That's a rather large boiler you have in your lounge :p

That's no boiler! That's my wxxx! Boom, Boom? :devil:

I keep my boiler in the attic. :rolleyes:

But it keeps furring up. Boom, Boom! :devil:


Nimby


I know, I know. Don't give up the day job. :D
 

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