Newbie - help with Surround Sound system for new TV

[kazaam]

I have purchased my first proper modern TV- Samsung UE55ES8000.

I am wanting to get a home cinema set up. I have a Sky HD+ Box and PS3 at present, so don't require a blu-ray player afaik the PS3 can handle 3D.

My budget is £300 and I don't want huge ass chunky speakers but haven't come across anything online that makes me go "oh they look huge", something reasonable.

I am not too keen on wall mounting so something on stands maybe?

My TV stand is white, so white speakers may be a bonus. I don't funny understand how the input system works for these systems so help would be greatly appreciated.

Ideally, an "easy" setup would be easy where anything on the TV comes through the speakers without having to change inputs, etc.

I quite like these but its a tad out of my budget lol

this seems to have good reviews and is within my budget?

 

[davepuma]

I don't know of any all-in-one home cinema systems or setups in white. You can obviously buy separate speakers in white e.g. Boston XS and Jamo HCS6 so add a budget HDMI v1.4 AV receiver and you would have a nice sounding system with sufficient inputs for your sources.

Boston Acoustics SoundWare XS Special Edition 5.1 Surround Sound System - Bundles - Audiovisual Online - Home Cinema and Hifi Specialists

Onkyo AVX690 Black | 5.1 Package System inc Speakers excl DVD player | Richer Sounds (not white though)

The Sony system you linked to has 1 x optical input and 2 HDMI inputs. The optimum connection setup would be Sky+HD to TV via HDMI and to the home cinema via optical. The PS3 would connect via HDMI with a further HDMI going from the home cinema to the TV to carry the PS3 picture. Sky boxes only output stereo over HDMI so the separate optical cable is required. All-in-ones don't tend to allow you to assign inputs i.e. HDMI 1/optical so the video and audio match up. You would need an AV receiver to achieve that.

You will need to change inputs though.

 

[kazaam]

I don't know of any all-in-one home cinema systems or setups in white. You can obviously buy separate speakers in white e.g. Boston XS and Jamo HCS6 so add a budget HDMI v1.4 AV receiver and you would have a nice sounding system with sufficient inputs for your sources.

Boston Acoustics SoundWare XS Special Edition 5.1 Surround Sound System - Bundles - Audiovisual Online - Home Cinema and Hifi Specialists

Onkyo AVX690 Black | 5.1 Package System inc Speakers excl DVD player | Richer Sounds (not white though)

The Sony system you linked to has 1 x optical input and 2 HDMI inputs. The optimum connection setup would be Sky+HD to TV via HDMI and to the home cinema via optical. The PS3 would connect via HDMI with a further HDMI going from the home cinema to the TV to carry the PS3 picture. Sky boxes only output stereo over HDMI so the separate optical cable is required. All-in-ones don't tend to allow you to assign inputs i.e. HDMI 1/optical so the video and audio match up. You would need an AV receiver to achieve that.

You will need to change inputs though.

Thanks Will I need to change the inputs no matter what? Also, I don't get your point about the optical cable for the sky :/

 

[davepuma]

Thanks Will I need to change the inputs no matter what? Also, I don't get your point about the optical cable for the sky :/

Sky outputs stereo over HDMI. If you want to hear the best possible audio from Sky you need to use optical.

With that Sony system you linked to (and others like it) the inputs are HDMI1, HDMI2, OPT, AUX. You cannot pair the optical with HDMI so that the audio (optical) and video (HDMI) match up. AV Receivers allow you to take the audio from one connection and the video from another and these are assigned in the setup menu.

Therefore you would connect HDMI to the TV and optical to the home cinema. With an AV receiver you would connect both HDMI and optical to the AV receiver. The AV receiver would process the audio (optical) and pass through the picture via HDMI to the TV.

Does that clear it up?

 

[Broadz]

Will I need to change the inputs no matter what?

You could have your TV audio output feeding your home cinema audio input - and leave it on that. But you wouldn't get surround sound doing it that way, as your TV will only output a stereo signal.

Both your PS3 and your Sky HD box are capable of outputting DD5.1 (and in the PS3's case, DTS5.1) but you will need to connect them directly to your home cinema to get the surround sound. Your telly isn't clever enough to pass the surround sound on from the PS3 and the Sky box out to your home cinema. And your Sky box isn't clever enough to pass surround sound to the telly in the first place, so even if the TV could pass on the same audio it receives from Sky, it wouldn't be getting surround to pass it on.

Therefore, you connect the PS3 and Sky box (and telly if you want) directly to the home cinema via different inputs. Then select whichever input you want to listen to - optical input if you want to hear the sound from Sky, HDMI input if you want to hear the sound from PS3, whichever third input you use if you want to hear the sound from the telly.

 

[kazaam]

Thanks, makes sense now. So I have decided to go for something like the Boston XS 5.1 system but maybe a bit bigger?, i like that system, only thing is i dont want to wallmount the satellite speakers, and dont know how to get them high enough at ear level otherwise :/y ps3 and sky and TV have optical output so do AV receivers usually have 2 that many optical inputs?


any recommendations? Sorry i know im pretty much clueless

 

[davepuma]

Q-acoustics are available in white. You could just put them on stands eg Atacama Nexus 10. You will use HDMI with the PS3 and optical with Sky+HD. Even budget AV receivers have 2 optical inputs.

 

[kazaam]

Q-acoustics are available in white. You could just put them on stands eg Atacama Nexus 10. You will use HDMI with the PS3 and optical with Sky+HD. Even budget AV receivers have 2 optical inputs.

Those stand are quite expensive :/ Ahh sorry im being really picky. ANy affordable systems like this without the blu-ray player/dvd but just with an AV box?

The ONKYOAVX690 system recommended above looks pretty decent with enough inputs. Only thing is I don't know what I'd do about the speakers. Does the center speaker have to go in front of the TV because it will look out of place in front of my TV on a white tv stand :/

Right, opinions please, the onkyo system and these stands. See the speakers with the ONKYO package, will they be decent? I can't see what brand they are? and will it be loud enough - living room is about 6x6 metres.

does this yamaha system seem any good?

 

[kazaam]

this system seems decent and comes in silver which is awesome! At £589 it is over my budget but I could maybe stretch to it if its going to last me several years

There's the HT-S4504 AND HT-S3505. Anyone got any opinion on whether its worth going with one of these older cheaper models?

Opinions please guys? Appreciate the help, and patience

I like these Harmon Kardon Speakers but how much will a decent AV receiver cost?