Home Cinema Help

[tdubz]

I was given a set of speakers for a home cinema system for free by a mate

there are:

4 tall speakers

1 small speaker

1 sub

the reason he gave them to me was because the dvd player which came with them broke and could not be fixed.

i run my pc through my tv, so no need for a dvd/blueray player at the moment because i play all my media through there

i want to still run the sorround sound through the telly though.

there is no special connections to the speakers they just have 2 wire clamping points.

does anybody know what type of amplifier to get in order to do this?

my budget is pretty small so does anybody know where to obtain a suitable on to power all these speakers in sorround sound mode

it doesnt have to be all singing all dancing just needs to accept audio signals from the tv and power the speakers

if anybody has such a device for sale i may be interested also

many thanks

[MadManMike]

Yes, you need a 5.1 Surround Amplifer. Whack that into Google and see what you get.

Post up results that are in your budget and I'll tell you if they're any good.

[tdubz]

http://www.hifi-tower.co.uk/HI_FI_EQUIPMENT/Amplifiers/5_channel_Home_Theatre_Surround_Sound_HiFi_Amplifier_Black_i30_826_0.htm?campaign=pricesearch/google/10001674

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=227609&OrderCode=B10LZ#helpfaq

this is my kind of budget range

any suggestions would be great

thanks mike

[Endohopper]

...just needs to accept audio signals from the tv and power the speakers...

Be aware that T.V signal will be 2 channel , so what your receiver / surround amp does with won't be true 5.1 surround sound , like Dolby Digital or DTS that is encoded on DVD / Blu Rays . When a receiver gets a signal from T.V , regardless of which type of cable is used it'll just do 2x left and 2x right , with dialogue from the centre channel . It may attempt to mimic true surround by offering Pro Logic , but it ain't surround sound . Does your PC have a half decent sound card oferring an optical output ? If so , presuming your files / media are fully encoded you can feed the receiver Dolby Digital or DTS and the receiver will decode that into proper discrete channels .

Quick edit ; your candidates ain't terribly sexy , if you can stretch to an entry level Yamaha or even Sony's STR range you'll have a decent amp and they offer enough inputs for your TV / I Pod / games console etc simultaneously .

[tdubz]

Be aware that T.V signal will be 2 channel , so what your receiver / surround amp does with won't be true 5.1 surround sound , like Dolby Digital or DTS that is encoded on DVD / Blu Rays . When a receiver gets a signal from T.V , regardless of which type of cable is used it'll just do 2x left and 2x right , with dialogue from the centre channel . It may attempt to mimic true surround by offering Pro Logic , but it ain't surround sound . Does your PC have a half decent sound card oferring an optical output ? If so , presuming your files / media are fully encoded you can feed the receiver Dolby Digital or DTS and the receiver will decode that into proper discrete channels .

Quick edit ; your candidates ain't terribly sexy , if you can stretch to an entry level Yamaha or even Sony's STR range you'll have a decent amp and they offer enough inputs for your TV / I Pod / games console etc simultaneously .

if you could recommend me one mate and a location to find one i will definatly look into it

forgive me im a complete novice when it comes to this

my sound card has a number of jack plugs into it but to be honest im not sure if thatll do the trick

many thanks for your help

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290500369687&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

what about that?

[Endohopper]

That looks superb - it'll accept any signal you can offer it . If you get that receiver or one like it , you're good to go , just get plenty of speaker cable and of course a way to get sound from your TV to it .

^ those will do for TV and PC . What brand are the speakers you've been given , and is the sub active ( has a power cord ? )

[tdubz]

That looks superb - it'll accept any signal you can offer it . If you get that receiver or one like it , you're good to go , just get plenty of speaker cable and of course a way to get sound from your TV to it .

^ those will do for TV and PC . What brand are the speakers you've been given , and is the sub active ( has a power cord ? )

no the sub does not have its own power cord from what i can see. they are samsung ones.

also came accross this one and looking at getting it if suitable

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230549164770&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

thanks for your help mate

tom

Edited November 20, 2010 by tdubz

[tomturd]

no the sub does not have its own power cord from what i can see. they are samsung ones.

also came accross this one and looking at getting it if suitable

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230549164770&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

thanks for your help mate

tom

Its suitable but very old... I would not buy. Pioneer is better or something like this

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Yamaha-AV595a-Amplifier-5-1-Dolby-DTS-DSP-/110613021011?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item19c10cc153