Surround sound with HD TV

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Carl White

#1
#1
Hi guys,
I just bought a new HDTV which I love and am now going to add surround sound.

I'd like to stay under $400. The wife doesn't want big speakers so I'm not looking for the "tower" type speakers or a big sub-woofer. The smaller the better.

Any advice?
 
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Scott68

#2
#2
For $400, you won't get the best quality, but I saw these tiny little speakers from Sony at the SonyStyle store in Roosevelt Field mall. I can't remember the price.
 
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Ozzy

#4
#4
If your TV comes with a L/R and Center channel speakers then all you really need is a decent set of surround speakers and a subwoofer. A good set could be gotten for under $200. If you need all 5 speakers and a subpick up a Crutchfield catalog and pick from there. For $400 you should have no problem finding something more than adequate (Polk and Yamaha are decent quality, best bang for the buck). Anything more is overkill unless you have a ballroom sized living room.
 
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superwoman01

#5
#5
PC Richards has them and they are pretty reasonable for 200-descent subwoofer and small speakers. You can hang the speakers or they come with stands and extra wire.
 
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Carl White

#6
#6
Surround sound

Ozzy,
Are you saying I don't need an additional reciever/amp to power the speakers? I have a $1000 Vizio HDTV with lots of audio outputs and 3 HDMI outlets. On the side of the TV there are 3 outlets (1 red, 1 yellow, 1 white) labeled "AV 2". Maybe these are the "left, right and center" you are talking about?

Is it better to use an HDMI cable for surround sound? They cost $60 a piece.
 
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canthelpit

#7
#7
You'll only need HDMI for the surround if you are running a blu-ray, or upconvert DVD player along with the surround. When i redid my den, i purchased a Samsung Surround 5.1 1000 watts with built in blu-ray hooked up with hdmi to the TV, but it was $800. For $400 or less you can get a 1000W system with upconvert DVD player, and it'll be a good one.

Don't just get the speakers, you'll need something with an amp to provide the power for the sub, and provide you with surround.

I have also seen some built in blu-ray theatre systems for around $600.

You will not use the AV2. You will use HDMI 1 for your HD cable/Sat reciever and HDMI 2 for your surround w/DVD upconvert/Blu-ray and HDMI 3 for playstation 3 or xbox.
 
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Carl White

#8
#8
Surround

Thanks Canthelpit,

So, I should get one of those "Home Theatre in a Box" from Sony or Sansung with 5 or 6 small speakers, 1000W and Upconvert DiscPlayer.

I will also need 2 HDMI cables and some extra speaker wire.

I've seen those in Walmart for $200-300.

Is that right?
 
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canthelpit

#9
#9
Yes, get a home theatre in a box, unless you have a HUGE room. Mine is 1000W and shakes the house if i want it to. You need one hdmi for the home theatre system and one for the tv. The unit should come with plently of speaker wire. It's be a 5.1 which is 2 front, 1 center, 2 rear, and 1 subwoofer. You may need to buy stands or brackets for the rears, those are not usually included.
 
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Carl White

#10
#10
Surround sound

Thanks to all. I'm on the right track now.
One more question. I'm going to have to bring speaker wire almost all the way around the living room. It has wall-to wall carpet. Whats the best way to hide the wire as much as possible?
 
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canthelpit

#11
#11
Thats always the tough one. I was able to push the wire under the molding (between the carpet and the molding), then under a baseboard and then behind a couch. I also use stands for the rear, and the wires go inside the stands.

Best bet is to push the wire into the very end of the carpet, stick it in there with a pen or something that won't cut it.
 
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Ozzy

#12
#12
Carl White said:
Ozzy,
Are you saying I don't need an additional reciever/amp to power the speakers? I have a $1000 Vizio HDTV with lots of audio outputs and 3 HDMI outlets. On the side of the TV there are 3 outlets (1 red, 1 yellow, 1 white) labeled "AV 2". Maybe these are the "left, right and center" you are talking about?

Is it better to use an HDMI cable for surround sound? They cost $60 a piece.
Click to expand...
R,Y and W are your right and left speakers (R&Y) and white is for video. AV 2... That sounds like an input for a video camera or something being it's located on the side. You won't get true HD without HDMI. You can fuck around with composites and opiticals but why bother when HDMI packages it all in one easy to hook up wire. Let me be clear... if you don't use one of those two options, you won't have HDTV.

I meant if you have a R/L and Center channel on your TV it's probably surround ready and would just need a powered sub and a pair of surrounds. Being it's a Vizio it's probably a stripped down model without the extras. So a theater in a box which usually comes with a powered sub and some form of Dolby Surround amp built in, would be your best option. I would never get a non powered sub I couldn't care who said different or what brand they were hawking. Only get a powered sub. Just make sure it's not a theater in a box made for PC's cause you won't have much power. You'll want at least 100w across the front and 50-65w in the rear for a 12x10 room. Anything bigger or if you want the walls to shake during action scenes you're gonna need more power (200w fronts/100 rears). If you want different DSP modes (theater, arena, concert hall, rock etc...) you may need to pop for a Dolby Surround receiver if a theater in a box doesn't give it to you. Cheapest Dolby receivers with best bang are Pioneers and Yamahas... you could probably get a base Dolby receiver for under $200 and $200 more would get you a nice set of Yamaha speakers with a powered sub. Buy all Yamaha and you can't go wrong.
 
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Ozzy

#13
#13
I read the order in your post and listed them as such...


It should be....... Red and White (R&W) are your right and left speakers and Yellow (Y) is for video.... Always.
 
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elmo16

#15
#15
Carl White said:
Thanks to all. I'm on the right track now.
One more question. I'm going to have to bring speaker wire almost all the way around the living room. It has wall-to wall carpet. Whats the best way to hide the wire as much as possible?
Click to expand...
There are wireless speakers on the market. You might want to look into those.
 
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