Sorround Sound Question?

[bigal40]

I am looking at buying a sorround sound system for christmas and eventually want to hook it up to a HTPC. Right now i will be using it with a Sony Wega and a Samsung DVD player neither of which have the 5.1 audio out. I also have an old Denin stereo receiver.(no 5.1 out). So heres what i am looking at getting either option1 or option2 . Option1 has a surround sound reciever and option2 doesn't. I don't under stand how I would get sorround sound from my DVD player becasue it only has stereo out. Does the surround sound reciever convert the stereo input into sorround sound? i'm kind of confused on that. I also heard that the sub has sourround sound inputs and outputs on it or something but I am not sure. And one more question is what would you buy. I am leaning toward option 1 because it has a reciver. but if i do not need a reciver i will go for option 2 because it think is newer. Also when I get them hooked up to my HTPC I cna just hook them up to the out out from my sound card right?
Thanks
Big Al

 

[Entropy007]

I would and already have buy the Onkyo 770. I got it for 339 from the refurbished section at Onkyo Store . Just sign up to get the club price. Yes it will take a stereo source and make it surround with Dolby ProLogic.

 

[bigal40]

Originally posted by: Entropy007
I would and already have buy the Onkyo 770. I got it for 339 from the refurbished section at Onkyo Store . Just sign up to get the club price. Yes it will take a stereo source and make it surround with Dolby ProLogic.

I've always like Bose's sound quality but that looks like a pretty good deal. Does the Onkyo have pretty good sound quality. This is form the onkyo website. Does the reciver on this convert stereo sound to 5.1 or do I need to get the Dolby ProLogic that you mentioned.
THanks for the help.

 

[Entropy007]

The receiver supports ProLogic already. n I'm not an audiophile but there are several threads on the system Here

To my ears tehy sound great in movies, games, and music.

 

[dc5]

1) you can get better speakers than bose for the same price.

2) you will need the receiver the decode dolby digital and dts. i recomend denon and yamaha receivers.

3) analog stereo does not get converted to surround sound. there are 2 digital outputs on your dvd player, a coxial and a optical. you plug either one into your receiver and the receiver should decode dolby digital and dts signals.

 

[HombrePequeno]

I would go with a Yamaha or a Denon. You can also find better speakers for the price of those Boses.

Do you have an Nforce 2 with Soundstorm? If you do you can hook it up to the receiver using an optical cable or digital coax. That will get you surround sound in movies and games.

If you don't have Soundstorm, then you have to separate out the channels.

Regarding your stereo issue on your DVD player...pretty much every DVD player I've seen will have an optical out or digital coaxial out. Both of those will allow at least 5.1 surround for you.

 

[oneshot47]

Dont even think about bose. You can do so much better for much less money. See the article in my sig for details.

 

[dc5]

" bose = buy other sound equipment"

 

[bigal40]

Thanks for the replies. I see alot of you saying I can get better sound than Bose for less. Any recomandations on what company? Sony? Onkyo? I took a look at my DVD Player and i see it does have optical and digital coaxial out. I don't think digital coaxial on the DVD palyer is the same as the coaxial cable that is used for cable T.V. Am I right? ANy suggestion on a sub 400 dollar system or is something that cheap not even worth it?
Thanks Again
Big Al

 

[oneshot47]

Correct on the coax question. Digital coax for audio just uses a standard rca cable. To do a sub $400 system right, i would suggest going to your local high end store and taking a look at the used equipment. Generally the sales people are pretty knowledgeable too. I stress the word Generally there. Most importantly though, make sure you give whatever you buy a good listen with a couple of your favorite cd's.

 

[dc5]

try to avoid speakers from mass producing electronic companies eg. sony, panasonic etc. and look into companies are dedicated in the sound field eg. klipsch, acoustic research, b&w etc. do you have ultimate electronics (aka audio king) in your area? they sell reputable sound equipment, unlike bestbuy.

edit; use an optical cable instead of a coxial cable. they sound the same and usually the optical cable is cheaper. only difference is the optical is a little more fragile because it uses glass inside to transmit light.

 

[oneshot47]

Originally posted by: dc5

edit; use an optical cable instead of a coxial cable. they sound the same and usually the optical cable is cheaper. only difference is the optical is a little more fragile because it uses glass inside to transmit light.

I would tend to find that a coax cable is cheaper since you can use any old rca cable to hook it up. Id imagine most people even have one sitting around. Also, optical is more expensive if you go over about 6 feet or so.

Edit: I agree on the suggestions for the speakers and such though.

 

[dc5]

Originally posted by: oneshot47

Originally posted by: dc5

edit; use an optical cable instead of a coxial cable. they sound the same and usually the optical cable is cheaper. only difference is the optical is a little more fragile because it uses glass inside to transmit light.

I would tend to find that a coax cable is cheaper since you can use any old rca cable to hook it up. Id imagine most people even have one sitting around. Also, optical is more expensive if you go over about 6 feet or so.

Edit: I agree on the suggestions for the speakers and such though.

i am almost possitive you can't use an ordinary rca cable to substitue the digital coxial cable. even if it does work, you won't get the optimal sound quality. this idea goes the same for subwoofer cable and a rca cable.

 

[oneshot47]

Originally posted by: dc5

Originally posted by: oneshot47

Originally posted by: dc5

edit; use an optical cable instead of a coxial cable. they sound the same and usually the optical cable is cheaper. only difference is the optical is a little more fragile because it uses glass inside to transmit light.

I would tend to find that a coax cable is cheaper since you can use any old rca cable to hook it up. Id imagine most people even have one sitting around. Also, optical is more expensive if you go over about 6 feet or so.

Edit: I agree on the suggestions for the speakers and such though.

i am almost possitive you can't use an ordinary rca cable to substitue the digital coxial cable. even if it does work, you won't get the optimal sound quality. this idea goes the same for subwoofer cable and a rca cable.

I do it, and i have compared it with an $80 acoustic research coax cable....no difference at all. If there is a difference, then it will take significantly more expensive gear to be able to hear that difference than what the op is talking about, or even what i have. The difference for the most part is the label, so the salesman can sell you a more expensive cable. They usually do have more sheilding or whatever, but thats too small a difference to notice at this price level.

 

[sharkeeper]

You're talking about the SPDIF cable and yes any RCA will work. If you're running longer than two meters, I suggest making your own using quad shield RG-6 and either compression RCA's or Compression F connectors and F to RCA adapters.

Cheers!

 

[dc5]

also note that coxial cables are more prone to RF interference. so if you have a snake's den behind your machines, i'd suggest a fiber optic cable. but like how everything are made, there are drawbacks. fiber optics can't be bended as much.

 

[IEC]

Originally posted by: dc5
also note that coxial cables are more prone to RF interference. so if you have a snake's den behind your machines, i'd suggest a fiber optic cable. but like how everything are made, there are drawbacks. fiber optics can't be bended as much.

What he said.