School Me On Surround Sound

Cherokeekid88

Cherokeekid88

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2007
Location
High Point, NC
Moving into our new apartment in 2 weeks and I really want to get surround sound. I don't want to spend alot...I am not looking for anything to rattle the walls, just something to let me know that I do have it and make me enjoy watching tv a little more. What would be a good wattage system to go with ? any places that you buy from? Anything from walmart will do?

School me.
 
Anything that comes as a package kit, is not much.
Wattage does not mean anything. Speaker quality and placement are everything.
A great system that. Is installed, balanced and aimed poorly will sound like Garbage.
 
Bose.....their moto should be better sound through marketing..or no highs no lows must be bose.
 
Also want to add that I will be hooking this up through my PS3 as well as my TV, So I would need something with multiple outputs right? I know nothing about electronics....
 
most will have 1 or 2 HDMI inputs. I don't have 5.1 or anything because I have two big honkin concert speakers next to the projector. This works just fine as they are true full range speakers. Only downfall is I don't have the "surround" experience by having the sound be three dimensional. Sound quality is phenomenal, and because they're full range speakers I don't need a subwoofer. That's not a cheap option though...

They mentioned speaker placement is everything, and it really is. You're not going to get a "cheap" surround sound system and have it sound really good, you just can't. You pay for good quality speakers, and there is an astronomical difference in meh speakers and good ones. If you're doing this in an apt its probably not prewired for speakers, so you're going to have to fight with that.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882120182
It's not a "cheap" surround system, but it's quality, so it will be well worth the investment. You spend almost that much for the PS3, more once you factor in games and stuff, well over that for a TV, so don't skimp on the sound.

That's like paying for a brand new JK and putting a high end suspension on it and putting el cheapo highway tires onto it, yeah it looks great and should function off road, and will move, but it won't perform like it's supposed to
 
Cherokeekid88 said:
Also want to add that I will be hooking this up through my PS3 as well as my TV, So I would need something with multiple outputs right? I know nothing about electronics....
Click to expand...
That's where your bar comes in.
Anything you buy will have more than 2 hdmi inputs....
I'm a Harmon kardan fanboy....dennon is good as well, avoid Sony like the plague.
 
Ron said:
That's where your bar comes in.
Anything you buy will have more than 2 hdmi inputs....
I'm a Harmon kardan fanboy....dennon is good as well, avoid Sony like the plague.
Click to expand...
by bar, you mean sound bar? I was looking at those as well. My Samsung TV that I current have has very good sound quality as is, but like I said....I love watching a good movie and feeling that rumble....
I just want something that will be me by, Like my current car audio setup....pioneer speakers all the way around with a kick comp 12 and kicker dx125 amp......not the best by far...but it does its job and I think it sounds amazing...
 
I'd put as much money as you can in your head unit and go from there.

I have an old,old, Denon Dolby head unit I just can't upgrade. Not pro logic, not DTS, just Dolby 5.1, but it sounds so awesome I just can't see replacing it. I also have a set of matched NHT speakers so that is also key.

Or do like my neighbors do, just get a huge giant big ass subwoofer and overpower EVERYTHING with bass, where everything sounds like it's exploding. ALL THE TIME.:shaking:
 
Yamaha is good stuff and klipsch is awsome. pioneer and denon are great but if I had my choice Nakamichi but this is high dollar :poop:
 
Sorry autocorrect turned avr into bar......
Klipsch makes badass towers no doubt.

For low end receivers a 300 yamaha can do almost anything a 1600 hk will though none quite as well
 
Tech11 said:
I'd put as much money as you can in your head unit and go from there.
Click to expand...

This is true. I used to do home theatre installs and the coin folks would drop would blow my mind.. But you can avoid spending all that money, you can go with the package systems which would probably be best for apartment life, but if you want long term, get a good receiver. I have a Harmon Karmon from probably 20yrs ago and it still kicks ass (outdated but works just like the day it was new). Speakers are your next investment. Get 5.1 surround shelf speakers and an 8" woofer. Anything more and your neighbors will hate you.

The only problem I have with those "all-in-one" systems is they arent good for hooking up multiple components or different speakers other than what it comes with. Youll have to usually splice the wire b/c they come prewired as an RCA so you have no +/- to insert into the receiver.

So for your application I would just get something cheap and simple. Heres a good example: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Coby+-+...ayer/9267385.p?id=1218077682250&skuId=9267385

Wattage is low on this particular one but again youre in an apartment so this will suffice.
 
Honestly, if you're "satisfied" or even "impressed" with the sound emanating from your TV, then likely a decent sound bar setup with a subwoofer will blow your socks off! It's not what I would consider a serious surround setup, but you sound pretty broke and unexposed to true hi-fi. You are exactly who the sound bars are made for! Samsung and Panasonic both make a good one, the Samsung might integrate in with your TV better as far as remote consolidation goes. Vizio gets good reviews, too. My Dad has one and it's a damn sight better than TV speakers. Most of them use processing to give you a surround feel without the extra speakers, and do an OK job with it.

And as far as your inputs are concerned, use your TV to do the switching. I'm assuming you're working with a modern LCD TV. It should have plenty of inputs for all you're using, then you just send the audio out from the TV to the sound bar via an optical cable. Get a cheap cable off Amazon, no sense in spending money for Monster here! Then make sure you turn off the internal speakers on the TV. It's an option in the menu.
 
I am by no means an audiophile, but I didnt want to settle for a $200 walmart system. I stepped up my game and bought some med-high end (priced) priced @Best Buy, a Yamaha reciever, and JBL surround speaker system (4 surround, 1 center, 1 subwoofer). Now I was real anal about speaker placement, and I think it sounds awesome. The surround aspect is so cool when watching movies, stuff flying from behind you, bass rumbling, etc. I also have a Samsung TV that sounded "decent", but honestly it sounds 1 dimensional. The only time the TV is used for sound is when visitors can't figure out to turn the reciever on too, and turn the TV voulme up. We use the reciever for everything...TV, DVD, Wii
 
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