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Advice for complete newcomer to surround sound
carol_s
15-10-2007
I have a Toshiba 42X3030 TV and a Toshiba HD-E1 HD-DVD player. The TV has 2 x HDMI inputs, one of which connects to my Virgin V+ STB, the other to the DVD player.

I am wanting to add a low to mid price range set of 5.1 speakers to get surround sound.

1. Do I need a receiver with this set up
2. If I don't need a receiver, how do I set the system up
3. Any recommendations for surround sound systems (£150 to £300 budget - but could be stretched if I really, really have to)

Thanks in advance.
TommyW
15-10-2007
1) With your current setup you will need a receiver/speakers.

2) ^

3) I always point members to Richer Sounds as a good place to start, they have a wide range of home cinema equipment, more often than not quite a bit cheaper than most other online stores, but always worth checking, you can sometimes find a better price once you know what you are looking for.

Basically you will need an surround sound AV Receiver, this will have onboard amps and all the circuitry need for surround sound, then you will need a 5.1 speaker setup.

£300 budget should get you a reasonable system.

A few receivers you may want to look at....

Denon AVR1507

Yamaha RXV361

Sony SRTDE400

Sony STRDG510

Speaker packages...

Yamaha NSP110 - These would partner the Yamaha RXV361 very nicely

Tannoy FX5.1 - The Tannoy's would go with any receiver, but would push you slightly over budget with a couple of the receivers mentioned.
carol_s
15-10-2007
Thanks Tommy.

I notice that it is only the Sony's which have HDMI inputs (2x) and an HDMI output. Are these preferable??

I presume I would connect the STB to one input and the HD DVD player to the other and then just one connection up to the TV???

I have found the STRDG510 (a black version which I would prefer) at £150 + £6 delivery at Hughes Direct (or Priceless Electronics).

I already have Tannoy speakers for my hifi system so I know the quality of them so I'll also go for the Tannoy FX5.1 speakers, this will take me slightly over my £300 budget but the few extra pounds should be worth it.

Thanks for your help
TommyW
15-10-2007
Originally Posted by carol_s:
“
I notice that it is only the Sony's which have HDMI inputs (2x) and an HDMI output. Are these preferable??”

OK for future proofing, especially if you are going to connect additional HDMI devices at a later date.
Originally Posted by carol_s:
“I presume I would connect the STB to one input and the HD DVD player to the other and then just one connection up to the TV???”

At this moment in time your TV covers you for the HDMI connections, IMO it is better to connect directly to source (the way you are connected now), however, if you decide to connect another piece of equipment that uses HDMI in the future, then you would connect 2 devices to the receiver freeing up one of the connections on the TV allowing the additional device to be connect.
Originally Posted by carol_s:
“I have found the STRDG510 (a black version which I would prefer) at £150 + £6 delivery at Hughes Direct (or Priceless Electronics).”

Not heard of the company myself, but looks like a very good saving.
Originally Posted by carol_s:
“I already have Tannoy speakers for my hifi system so I know the quality of them so I'll also go for the Tannoy FX5.1 speakers, this will take me slightly over my £300 budget but the few extra pounds should be worth it.”

I have installed the Tannoy FX5.1 speaker package for a friend and they were very pleased with how they performed.

Worth looking around as there are some dealers either offering a pair of dedicated stands free of charge with this package or stands at half price.
carol_s
28-10-2007
I meant to come back a while ago and thank you for your help Tommy. In the end I ended up with the Sony 5 Channel High Definition Receiver - STRDG510 from Priceless Electronics for £150 (inc delivery) and the Tannoy EFX5.1 AV Speaker System for £199 from Amazon. I went for the later version of the FX system as I read a couple of reports that it was a better system - so for the extra £50 I sprung for it.

Couldn't get it to work at first and had all sorts of joy pulling the telly on and off the wall - and finally realised I needed some optical cables. Shows you how much of a novice I am.

Anyway, it's all working fine now and getting terrific sound from the system (although I did have to play around with the speaker settings - auto calibration didn't suit me so well as there was far to much bass coming from the sub-woofer, it really did rattle the room).

So thanks once again.
TommyW
28-10-2007
Originally Posted by carol_s:
“I meant to come back a while ago and thank you for your help Tommy. In the end I ended up with the Sony 5 Channel High Definition Receiver - STRDG510 from Priceless Electronics for £150 (inc delivery) and the Tannoy EFX5.1 AV Speaker System for £199 from Amazon. I went for the later version of the FX system as I read a couple of reports that it was a better system - so for the extra £50 I sprung for it.

Couldn't get it to work at first and had all sorts of joy pulling the telly on and off the wall - and finally realised I needed some optical cables. Shows you how much of a novice I am.

Anyway, it's all working fine now and getting terrific sound from the system (although I did have to play around with the speaker settings - auto calibration didn't suit me so well as there was far to much bass coming from the sub-woofer, it really did rattle the room).

So thanks once again.”

Yes, an optical cable makes all the difference, glad you got it sorted in the end.

The £50 extra spent on the Tannoy EFX5.1 package will make all the difference. Tannoy made a few changes/upgrades to this package over the FX5.1 system, tweeters, centre channel and sub I believe.

Anyway, glad my assistance was of some help, hope the system gives you hours of enjoyment.
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