What is more ideal for my situation? Stereo speakers or surround sound

jamieslucky7

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Currently all my audio is output by my flatscreen Panasonic. I use it for TV, DVD, Blu-ray, AVI and music played from my PS3, and PS3 gaming

I don't feel I'm getting the best experience in any respects due to the TV's standard speakers and I'm looking to upgrade.

I wish to spend £150 max. Currently my options are:
- Speakers (soundbar or 2 seperate stereo speakers)
- One box cinema system

My living room is fairly small (4.5m x 5m).

I was hoping for some input so I make the best decision and get the ideal setup for my situation.

Thanks
 
£150 is extremely lean. I think the best you can do it get a pair Stuido or Studio-like Monitor speakers, and connect them to the headphone out of the TV.

Your Panasonic might have analog Audio Out on it, we would have to know the exact model number to check. And if by some miracle that Audio Out was selectable in the menus between Fixed and Variable, that would be a real plus.

But, short of that, the headphone out, if you have one, is a good place to start.

Just a suggestions, but as general speakers, these are worth a look -

Google-UK - Shopping - Audioengine A2

There are probably a few others if these don't appeal to you.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Given the very limited budget, I'd suggest that a soundbar is likely to yield the most bang for the buck.

Otherwise I'd recommend seeing if you can't get all of your Christmas presents as cash towards a surround sound setup, then profiting from the after Christmas sales to get an all-in-one surround sound setup on special offer
 
You could use the optical output of the PS3 in to some used Logitech z5500 -if you have the space for them, which will give you surround sound as well.

I've never heard them but there's plenty of information about them online.
 
Looking in the classified on here should be able to get you a stereo amp and pair of speakers whihc will give you the best overall sound. Or you could look in Richer Sounds as you should be able to get something like a Cambridge Audio stereo amp and pair of standmount speakers for your budget too.
Since you have a low budget I would avoid a 5.1 system as you are spreading the money too thinly over too many items IMHO. You would be better focusing your money on a less items i.e. stereo but better quality.
 
£150 is extremely lean. I think the best you can do it get a pair Stuido or Studio-like Monitor speakers, and connect them to the headphone out of the TV.

Your Panasonic might have analog Audio Out on it, we would have to know the exact model number to check. And if by some miracle that Audio Out was selectable in the menus between Fixed and Variable, that would be a real plus.

But, short of that, the headphone out, if you have one, is a good place to start.

Just a suggestions, but as general speakers, these are worth a look -

Google-UK - Shopping - Audioengine A2

There are probably a few others if these don't appeal to you.

Steve/bluewizard

My mistake, I have an LG:
LG 42LG3000 Television - 42" HD Ready LCD TV - LG Electronics UK

Looking in the classified on here should be able to get you a stereo amp and pair of speakers whihc will give you the best overall sound. Or you could look in Richer Sounds as you should be able to get something like a Cambridge Audio stereo amp and pair of standmount speakers for your budget too.
Since you have a low budget I would avoid a 5.1 system as you are spreading the money too thinly over too many items IMHO. You would be better focusing your money on a less items i.e. stereo but better quality.

Thanks for the advice.

So something like this with some bookshelf speakers would do me well? What do I need the amp for? Will the speakers connected directly to the TV (if that's possible) not yield a good enough output?
Cambridge Audio TOPAZ AM1 Black | Stereo Amplifier | Richer Sounds
 
That amp would be fine although it does not have a remote control so that could be an issue. Speakers need some form of amp to drive them. Your TV does not have an inbuilt amp that can drive external speakers so you will need some for of external amplification. If you get active speakers like mentioned above then these have an amp built in to them otherwise you will need to get an amp like the one you mention. The external stereo amp and pair of speakers should give the best overall sound for your money IMHO.
 
All in one systems and active speakers of the type you could get with your budget will have limited connectivity options with often only one or two additional inputs. The Cambridge has 4 or 5 inputs and with the later addition of a cheapish dac on one of the inputs you could also get better 'quality' stereo audio from the PS3, a PC, the TV and another device (a lot of modern DACs seem to have three to four inputs these days).
 
I've just been to Richer Sounds.

Other than the guy speaking at 100mph, he mentioned using an amp. + speakers may cause some syncing issues between audio and visual due to the visual being digital and the audio being analog.

LG 42LG3000 Television - 42" HD Ready LCD TV - LG Electronics UK

I've checked my TV and can't tell what audio output it offers from the spec (I'm in work so can't check my TV).

If my TV doesn't have an analog output, can I not use an amp. + speakers?
 
I got an old Denon 3802 7.1 amp for like 50 quid... It's amazing... Only drawback is it doesn't do the HD Audio as it doesn't have hdmi... But at the budget you mentioned I think you wouldn't get HD Audio anyway...

Then get 4 Wharfedale Diamond 9 speakers for 29 or 39 quid a pair... Or get a 5.1 starter set of speakers for about 100 quid...

That's hat I old do with 150 quid budget...
 

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