Riyazi
Prominent Member
I am a total newbie at this so actually not sure whether I am posting in the right board - forgive me if I am not. I have a few questions about setting up a surround sound system but all my research and reading is only getting me even more confused
1. I have a dell with a (supposedly) 5.1 Sigmatel surround sound card (for which I can't even find a new driver other than the 2006 driver it came with) which might limit the sound quality but I am not fussed as long as I get 5.1 output. I usually play dvds or downloaded movies on my computer and view them on my Samsung LCD tv. At the moment I am sending the sound from my computer to the tv speakers using a 3.5" jack male to male cable from the "line out" (green) socket. Sound is not great and I have to put the TV volume to almost 100 to hear speech (BTW sound when playing normal freeview channels is fine even at 20). I suppose by getting a 5.1 speaker set I can plug directly in to the computer sockets and get better sound? If yes, I get on to my next issue
2. If I do get a 5.1 system I would like to connect my TV (Samsung LE40B530) to it as well. I only have freeview at the moment so would plugging a 5.1 system be overkill as freeview broadcasts only in stereo (I think). I am considering getting Sky HD but even then I have read that not many programs are broadcast with 5.1 so again might not be worth it? If there is a case for connecting the TV to a surround system, how can I connect the computer (as above) and the tv to the same system and switch when needed? I presume this is where a Amp will come in? If so do I connect the TV to the amp using a HDMI cable and get 5.1 sound? And how will the 5.1 sound from the computer be connected to the amp?
If the solution to the above is to get an amp and 5.1 speakers, I would like to get some recommendations if possible. I am no audiophile and am not fussed about the "best" sound quality but I would like to get a compromise between quality and cost. If possible, the config should be able to do the following as well
a) Stream audio to a bluetooth head set - I like to be able to listen and watch tv while my wife works on the computer. At the moment I use a headphone extension which is fiddly with wires running across the hall. I know there are radio signal wireless headphones but if I have to get an amp and it has this functionality then that saves me the cost / trouble of getting another piece of equipment. And yes I know I wont get 5.1 through the head phones
b) Quite a long shot and maybe even impossible, but is it possible to configure the setup in such a way that I listen to the audio from a dvd through tv/amp and/or bluetooth while my wife is able to listen another audio stream (eg: youtube) through the computer speakers?
c) Preferable if I can get wireless speakers as I live in a flat at the moment so wiring speakers will be difficult. I am planning to move to our own house quite soon so the setup should be able to handle that as well
My priorities at the moment are the 1st two points. The rest are add ons which would be "nice to haves" depending on the cost. I am just looking at the cheapest possible solution which will give me a compromise between quality and cost.
Very sorry about the long long post with so many questions. If you have read so far I would be thankful and if you are able to answer any question above I would be very grateful
1. I have a dell with a (supposedly) 5.1 Sigmatel surround sound card (for which I can't even find a new driver other than the 2006 driver it came with) which might limit the sound quality but I am not fussed as long as I get 5.1 output. I usually play dvds or downloaded movies on my computer and view them on my Samsung LCD tv. At the moment I am sending the sound from my computer to the tv speakers using a 3.5" jack male to male cable from the "line out" (green) socket. Sound is not great and I have to put the TV volume to almost 100 to hear speech (BTW sound when playing normal freeview channels is fine even at 20). I suppose by getting a 5.1 speaker set I can plug directly in to the computer sockets and get better sound? If yes, I get on to my next issue
2. If I do get a 5.1 system I would like to connect my TV (Samsung LE40B530) to it as well. I only have freeview at the moment so would plugging a 5.1 system be overkill as freeview broadcasts only in stereo (I think). I am considering getting Sky HD but even then I have read that not many programs are broadcast with 5.1 so again might not be worth it? If there is a case for connecting the TV to a surround system, how can I connect the computer (as above) and the tv to the same system and switch when needed? I presume this is where a Amp will come in? If so do I connect the TV to the amp using a HDMI cable and get 5.1 sound? And how will the 5.1 sound from the computer be connected to the amp?
If the solution to the above is to get an amp and 5.1 speakers, I would like to get some recommendations if possible. I am no audiophile and am not fussed about the "best" sound quality but I would like to get a compromise between quality and cost. If possible, the config should be able to do the following as well
a) Stream audio to a bluetooth head set - I like to be able to listen and watch tv while my wife works on the computer. At the moment I use a headphone extension which is fiddly with wires running across the hall. I know there are radio signal wireless headphones but if I have to get an amp and it has this functionality then that saves me the cost / trouble of getting another piece of equipment. And yes I know I wont get 5.1 through the head phones
b) Quite a long shot and maybe even impossible, but is it possible to configure the setup in such a way that I listen to the audio from a dvd through tv/amp and/or bluetooth while my wife is able to listen another audio stream (eg: youtube) through the computer speakers?
c) Preferable if I can get wireless speakers as I live in a flat at the moment so wiring speakers will be difficult. I am planning to move to our own house quite soon so the setup should be able to handle that as well
My priorities at the moment are the 1st two points. The rest are add ons which would be "nice to haves" depending on the cost. I am just looking at the cheapest possible solution which will give me a compromise between quality and cost.
Very sorry about the long long post with so many questions. If you have read so far I would be thankful and if you are able to answer any question above I would be very grateful
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