Thread: TV sound systems?

Finally joined the modern world and bought a 50 inch Samsung LED. Nice, if a little big. Now, I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a sound set up for it. Right now I have my old school analog receiver hooked into it, like my old TV, but I need a new digital friendly setup, right? I've seen entire packages in Best Buy for 350 - 600 that seem to do the trick, except for one thing - no outputs for an extra set of speakers I have in another room when I play music out of my Airport express. Do I need to spend a lot of money and do separate components? How much will that cost me? I already have a nice pair of small bookshelf speakers to start. Can I use them? Or, should I just keep the old system for music, and use the new one for TV only?

I need a new couch for this, too. This is ridiculous. Major first world problem.

Are you looking to have it so your second set of speakers can play music while your TV is also on? Or do you just want a receiver that can power two sets of speakers?

Why don't you just take your old receiver and hook it up to your airport, and then buy a new receiver that'll do whatever you want it to for the TV?

Originally Posted by toast2266

Are you looking to have it so your second set of speakers can play music while your TV is also on? Or do you just want a receiver that can power two sets of speakers?

Why don't you just take your old receiver and hook it up to your airport, and then buy a new receiver that'll do whatever you want it to for the TV?

Well, yeah, that I could do, but, I'd like to simplify things with one receiver for all. Less room taken up, too.

If you're looking to play both the airport and the TV at the same time (i.e. different sound coming out of two sets of speakers, but amplified by the same receiver) you'll need something with zones. I have an Onkyo that works well for this, vaguely similar to this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._Surround.html

Although there are a FEW decent ones, I'm not a fan of all-in-one packages. Typically a manufacturer can put out a fantastic receiver, but their speakers may blow. I like to piece my stuff together. It doesn't have to cost too much if you shop around, and can stand to be a bit patient.

There are other great receivers out there, but if I was shopping today, I'd be looking at Onkyo and Yamaha. It is easy to get the multi-zone setup like you want with both of those brands for a reasonable price, but never seen that in any theatre-in-a-box setup. I'm with you. That is a deal-breaker for me when shopping, as I want to be able to run a movie on the main tv and have some outdoor speakers playing off the ipod at the same time.

Once you compare features, quality, power and such, and pick your receiver, then I'd move on to shopping for speakers. What's your budget? That will determine what to be looking for. You can totally get some great speakers that will do the trick, but if you're into classical music or if you're anything of an audiophile, I'm dreaming of some B&W speakers I played with a couple years ago. Everybody's ears work differently, though, and what may sound awesome to me, might sound like crap to you and vice-versa, so speakers are 100% personal preference. Stay away from most jap brands for speakers, though. They may make great receivers and components, but their speakers are often junk (I'm looking at you, Sony!) I have a Yamaha center-channel, which I can't wait to replace. It sucks, but came free with my old Cerwin-Vega towers, so good for free I guess.

I guess my biggest advice would be to stay away from Best Buy and the big box stores, and go to a high-end home-theatre store in your area. Every one I've dealt with has had incredibly patient and knowledgable salesmen, who let me play with EVERYTHING before deciding. They've always been good about price-matching, too. So before you purchase, see if BB, Frys, or whoever has it cheaper, then get the good store to pricematch. They'll usually knock a bit more off, too. I got my tv way cheap from a nice home theatre store in Dallas by telling them I was paying cash and wanted the best deal possible. They gave me the lowest price Sony would authorize. Ended up being like $1000 cheaper than BB's "sale" price! A big misnomer is that those high-end stores cost a fortune, so too many people sadly avoid them. The truth is that yeah, they DO have tv's and stereo systems that can cost you over $100,000+, but they also have cheaper stuff too, and will be competitive. Nice to have a salesman that actually knows what the heck he's talking about!

Yeah, thanks. I'm a recovered audiophile who had quite a system at one time, but now, I don't give too much of a fuck because, first, CDs kinda suck as far as sound quality, and now I'm playing a massive library of digital music, which is awful sound quality, compared to good vinyl. But, love the convenience, and, what the hell, it's only R&R. It is what it is. I'm off to whatever is left of the good audio stores to bug a salesman, I guess.

Originally Posted by Benny Profane

Yeah, thanks. I'm a recovered audiophile who had quite a system at one time, but now, I don't give too much of a fuck because, first, CDs kinda suck as far as sound quality, and now I'm playing a massive library of digital music, which is awful sound quality, compared to good vinyl. But, love the convenience, and, what the hell, it's only R&R. It is what it is. I'm off to whatever is left of the good audio stores to bug a salesman, I guess.

Haha. I gotcha. Well, I guess the main thing to tell them is that you want something with true Multi-Zone capability, ie no extra amp required.
Have you ever been to this site? http://www.avsforum.com/ LOTS of good information here.

Easy:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/JBL-AN0117-0...item4165ec6708

Originally Posted by 4matic

Easy:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/JBL-AN0117-0...item4165ec6708

Only 70 watts per channel on what seems to be a fairly dated receiver, only 5.1, no multi-zone, and a very limited amount of inputs? $560? I don't think so, bub. You can get WAY more for your money.

Even Crutchfield has some good deals too. I really like MultiZone where I can listen to my iPod outside and let someone watch TV inside. There are some multi zone receivers can be had in the $500 range. www.homenetworksupply.com is a great source for wire, connectors and plates.

Originally Posted by Flexon Phil

Even Crutchfield has some good deals too.

Definitely. You can usually count on them for great reviews and an insanely big selection.

Originally Posted by Flexon Phil

www.homenetworksupply.com is a great source for wire, connectors and plates.

Nice! I've never been to that site. Will def need to bookmark it. I usually buy my HDMI and misc cables from www.monoprice.com. Dirt cheap prices. Whatever you do, Benny, do not be suckered into the WAY overpriced cables at your local BB. The cheap-o hdmi cables you can buy online are great.

Let us know how the search goes! I'm curious to see what you end up deciding on.

How big of a room is the TV in? If it's a smallish bedroom then a home theater in a box (HTIB) system that includes the receiver and speakers is probably fine. If it's a reasonably-sized living room (which is what I'm guessing), then you're going to want something more powerful than an HTIB can deliver. Take a look at the mid-priced Onkyo and Denon receivers (like $300-$500 street price); that seems to be the sweet spot for features, price and performance. Both brands sound great (better than Sony, Pioneer and Yamaha, IMHO) - Onkyo is a little more home-theater oriented (louder, more impact) and Denon is a little more music-oriented (better dynamic range and timbre) but both work great overall. They also come with built-in room tuning software, which helps you set up the relative speaker volumes and such for balanced sound. Figure out what features you need and which ones you don't, and then get the cheapest model that has the features you need (the difference in price among models in a given brand is mostly about features, not performance).

As far as speakers, stereo (2 speakers) is fine for music but once you go 5.1 for TV/movies you'll never go back. It's best to buy a matched 5.1 set from the same manufacturer so that the tonal balance is the same all around. At least buy the front three speakers (left, center, right) from the same company. First rule: all other things being equal, bigger speakers sound better, so don't get tiny little satellite speakers and expect them to fill a room. A big subwoofer does NOT make up for small main speakers; you'll end up with tinny high end, a massive thump in the low end, and nothing in between. Second rule: for home theater the center speaker is the most important, since most dialogue and effects come from there, so don't skimp - the center should be as big as the left and right (just laid on its side). Hide it in a cabinet if you have to, but don't get a little one or you'll always be straining to hear the dialogue in movies. Third rule: speakers are probably the most important element in terms of sound quality and a good set will last you for decades (my Vandersteens have been blowing me away since 1993), so don't cheap out. Get the most speaker you can afford. One example: Aperion makes some good systems for relatively cheap, meaning around $1000 for a set.

Shop Best Buy and your local hifi shop, listen and see what you like. But DO NOT buy your cables from them - the markup on cables is huge and pretty much entirely unwarranted (especially digital cables like HDMI). Monoprice.com has good cables for cheap.

Disclaimer: this advice is all assuming that you give a shit about things sounding good. All in, you'll probably spend $1500 to $2000 to get a solid quality 5.1 home theater setup that will last you for at least a decade if you take care of it. You can go cheaper, but the quality drops off pretty dramatically. On the other side, you can spend a LOT more to start getting into audiophile systems, but I think most folks will be very happy at the price point I'm advocating.

Vandersteens, huh? I have a pair of 2CEs sitting in storage, because I have no room for them in my shack - that's the space limiting situation I'm in. I mean, 50 inch was overkill, sort of, but, boy, movies look cool.

I want to keep this simple. How about the soundbar/subwoofer combo I see around? Yeah, I know, but, it's a small room. Do those things just plug into the TV, bypassing any need for a receiver or amp? It's all built in, right?

Originally Posted by Benny Profane

I want to keep this simple. How about the soundbar/subwoofer combo I see around? Yeah, I know, but, it's a small room. Do those things just plug into the TV, bypassing any need for a receiver or amp? It's all built in, right?

I actually bought one for a furnished rental house I was stuck in for a while. Had a bluetooth sub, which was nice. It doesn't even remotely compare to a real theater system, BUT it certainly did the trick for me being on the road. No way you'll get any cool features like multi-zone, though. At least not that I'm aware of. At the bare minimum, at least find one with a couple optical inputs like mine has. Most don't even have that, but a few of them do. And yeah, it's all in one, built in amp. It's very simple and I actually quite liked it for what I was using it for, but again, don't be expecting anything remotely close to a real receiver, ie Onkyo/Yamaha/Denon et al.

There MIGHT be some high-end ones, but I haven't seen any. Maybe your home-theater store has some?

Check out Axiom for speakers. I think they have in- wall options and should sound pretty good. Especially for the price. I've got a pair of their bookshelf speakers paired with surrounds and a center channel that I really like.

Spend about $300 on a cheap but decent (i like sony, denon, onkyo at this price point) hdmi switching reciever, a polk soundbar and a sub.

If you aren't an audiophile, it's a great small home theater setup. Our family room has a bunch of factors that made speaker placement for a 'real' ht setup too difficult, so I did this as a 'temporary' fix 6 years ago & still use it today.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_158STDH...20.html?tp=179
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_107CHT4...e-Theater.html
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_107PSW1...125-Black.html

Under $1500, sounds pretty decent, close to zero footprint & will take you about 30 seconds to hook up. You could do better for the money if you did some shopping and whatnot, but I have provided you the easy way out.

Oh, and buy your cables @ monoprice.com unless you like getting ripped off.

I just upgraded my surround system. Energy Take Classic 5.1 speakers. Takes up almost no space and sounds really good for a compact system. Actually got Cnets highest rating for a compact system. $399.99 at Crutchfield.

For a receiver I went with a Denon AVR-1613 75watts and some nice features, especially the auto-calibrate. $219.99 on sale from Crutchfield. No dual room function though. For that feature you're going to have to spend considerably more at least for Denon. The Denon AVR-2312CI has outputs for 2 speakers on a separate channel 2x 95watts for $599.99 on Crutchfield.

FWIW, I still have an old Optonica 85w x 2 reciver and infinity Qe bookshelfs (what would now be considered loudspeakers, circa 1977) and turntable hooked up to my computer for my "B" system. If you've still got all the old gear, it's probably cheaper to go that route, but probably more convenient to have it all go through the same receiver.

The Denon A/V receiver solved a lot of problems I didn't even realize were problems. More convenience than anything else. My only regret is waiting so long to upgrade.

Don't know much about sound bars, but they aren't going to compare to a real 5.1 system. That said, they're better than the TV speakers, so if that's your goal then it could work. Research systems at cnet.com; their reviews are pretty good and unbiased.

I just always remember this ski house I rented with some friends in Tahoe that had top-end everything, including a big living room with a 52" TV. But the owners had cheaped out on a HTIB - a decent one, but it was just way too small for the room. It would distort before you even got to comfortable movie-viewing volume, because it just wasn't big enough to fill that much space. I imagine this is pretty common and people just don't realize that they're not getting anywhere near the sound they could for a little more dough.

But if your room is really that small, then yeah - a soundbar or HTIB would probably work fine. I'd probably prefer a good HTIB since then you'd at least be getting the surround speakers (which add a lot to the movie experience), instead of all sound coming from the TV's direction.

If the room is that small, and especially if your viewing from off center and against a wall, a 5.1 system isn't going to provide much in the way of channel separation. A sound bar is probably a better option.

Originally Posted by Chowda

If the room is that small, and especially if your viewing from off center and against a wall, a 5.1 system isn't going to provide much in the way of channel separation. A sound bar is probably a better option.

Gotta disagree with this. Even in a tiny room, having the main speaker(s) in the front and those surround speakers behind you (even slightly behind, for example mounted on/in the wall behind a couch that's pushed up against the wall) makes a big difference in the immersive quality of a film soundtrack to me. It really improves the illusion of being "in" the film if all the sound isn't coming from the same place, at least for me.

Yes samsung this model LCD is good for using . But here a big problem need extra sound system. Sound system actually need to your choice. Here many system in different price. Now its going good out put maximum speak. Then i refer you F8D Brand. It's low price but out put awesome

Awesome. Fifth Avenue or Chinatown?

Disregarding space savings, if you're happy with what you got for music, just get a crappy little 5.1 system for the TV and be done with it.


Unless things have gotten better in the past few years, very few DVD's even have decent 5.1 sound, like maybe one out ten or less. Mostly what you get is a bunch of noise blaring at you so you can't hear the dialog. Dish and Direct are a complete joke for 5.1 on the PPV movies.

Yeah, so, another duh question. How often will I actually use 5.1, or, surround sound on the TV? Does anybody broadcast surround sound? Any sports? (I have Verizon Fios) will this just be a movie thing, and, not many movies at that?

Originally Posted by Benny Profane

Yeah, so, another duh question. How often will I actually use 5.1, or, surround sound on the TV? Does anybody broadcast surround sound? Any sports? (I have Verizon Fios) will this just be a movie thing, and, not many movies at that?

Pretty much everything on TV is in 5.1. Doesn't mean it's always well done, but there's 5.1 content coming out of almost every show, movie, and sports event. With movies, they're all mastered in surround now (since that's how theaters play them) so if you're not listening in surround, you're not getting all the original content (the stereo downmix combines elements that were originally spread out and just puts it all into the left and right speakers). Same for higher quality TV (like Breaking Bad, Mad Men, etc.). I personally think sports might be the best use of surround - they usually put crowd noise in the surround speakers and the game sounds/announcers up front, so it really feels like you're sitting in the crowd looking at the field/court. Good stuff.