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Budget level 5.1 speakers with optical and coaxial inputs - anyone able to recommend?


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Old 17-01-2010, 12:34
t_gme50
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We've upgraded in recent times to Sky HD and an LG BD350 Blu-Ray player. Only thing I'm missing now is a set of speakers to which I can connect both.

Ideally I want something at the cheaper end of the market, 5.1, with both coaxial and optical inputs. I had found These but it seems to be a dead link nowadays.

So, anyone got any good suggestions for a decent enough set? They don't need to be massively high-powered, it's not the biggest room in the world, but something that I can just plumb into both Sky and BD would be nice!

Thanks in advance!
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Old 17-01-2010, 17:40
Chris Frost
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Looks like the company doesn't make that sort of product any more. There's still Acoustic Solutions product on the Argos web site, but it's musical instruments and CD boom boxes.

Sub £100 I think you're really going to struggle to find something with coax and Toslink. In fact, just finding something with a digital input will be a tall order I bet. Have you considered a second-hand AV receiver and speakers?
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Old 17-01-2010, 18:49
t_gme50
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Wouldn't rule out a decent condition one, no...

The other problem I'm having is that the ones I HAVE seen all seem to come with some form of DVD player, which I really don't need...
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Old 17-01-2010, 20:02
Chris Frost
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I think you should forget the home-cinema-in-a-box kits - they're the ones that come with DVD players. They aren't likely to have the sort of inputs you want unless you go for an upmarket one - say £300+.

Speaker kits like the Acoustic Solutions product you linked to have some sort of amp and decoder built in to the subwoofer. Check out Amazon and search for "surround sound" or "home theatre" and you'll find stuff from Logitec, Creative, Sony and others. The catch is that the budget stuff doesn't have digital inputs, and they have cabled remotes rather than wireless so you'd have to get up every time you want to change the volume. That's a pain in the ass. To get the sort of features you want then you might be looking at the Logitec Z5500 which is around £250.

What all this tells you is the sort of minimum budget you need to spend to get what you want. Is that a realistic budget for you or is it way out of your price league?
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Old 17-01-2010, 20:15
t_gme50
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Given a couple of months to save, perfectly reasonable. Thanks for your help!
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Old 19-01-2010, 12:36
DaddyFrag
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Try this sony HT-ddwg790 from pixmania pro, at £117 + vat its pretty cheap.
http://www.pixmania-pro.co.uk/uk/uk/...inema-sys.html
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Old 19-01-2010, 20:12
t_gme50
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If that comes into stock soon, could just be perfect!
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Old 20-01-2010, 14:03
Tekkytyke
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Sorry for hijacking the thread but im looking for something similar.
Ive just ordered a new Panny Plasma TV and am now looking for any help in improvement of sound particularly for movies.
I have PS3 and a basic dvd player. I also have an old Acoustic Solutions set of seperates (cd player/amp/dab/subwoofer). This will be replaced by another music system soon but im just wondering if i would be able to use these and hook them up to the TV/PS3/DVD?

Or will they have to be confined to the loft?

Can anyone tell me if they might come in handy? Which inupts/outputs do i need? How do i hook them up?

Any advice much appreciated
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Old 20-01-2010, 14:10
john_locke
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If you're getting BluRay, one of those cheap one-box systems is a sure fire way to not get the best out of it. First of all, no TrueHD or uncompressed audio.

You've spent a lot of money on your TV and the source, why confine yourself to crap speakers? Acoustic Solutions is dreadful cheap rubbish.

Get to Richer Sounds when you've saved up £400 and you'll get something that will do justice to your other components.
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Old 20-01-2010, 15:43
spannersatcx
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Just got an Onkyo HT-S3200 from comet £285 (with voucher code), so far very good.
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Old 21-01-2010, 13:34
Tekkytyke
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So the acoustic solutions units wouldnt be any good?
I was just looking for a stop gap until i can afford a quality set up.
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Old 21-01-2010, 15:02
gemma-the-husky
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try them and see

it depends whether you can get a signal from the PS3/blu-ray into the amp.


i've never tried to connect my PS3 to other equipment - but it just has an optical out, and a multi-AV out.

The blu-ray probably has similar outputs


if your amp has an optical in, just try it, and see what happens.
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Old 21-01-2010, 15:18
john_locke
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So the acoustic solutions units wouldnt be any good?
I was just looking for a stop gap until i can afford a quality set up.
No, they're terrible. Just put the money towards something better, you'll thank yourself in the end.
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