MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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Looking to fiddle with my tv/sound set-up (as previously posted about). I had been thinking about getting a Samsung Soundbar and a separate Bluray player but got to thinking - I have a very good Sony amp with optical input so I could tether that from the optical out on the TV so if we want extra sound (irrespective of source - Bluray, tv, PS3 etc) I can simply switch the amp on and enjoy better sound. Not too bothered about 5.1 as the amp is only stereo and I think that is enough for me really but what speakers? I want something small and hard-wearing (little fingers poking speaker cones will annoy me) and I can get a free set of Control 1s. Would they be any good or should I spend a little and get something more like the Soundbar (something with a separate sub-woofer). Is there anything out there like that? I really have no idea about the current state of affairs with all things tv/hifi and am struggling to work out what my best options will be....
very few tvs do hdmi passthrough. you'll probably find the optical out will only pass stereo to your amp, not dolby digital\dts from your blu-ray\whatever input.
To get round this, you can either get an amp which will change channels based on what is on the tv (usually labled hdmi-control, viera link, bravia link or whatever).
or, get an amp with standby hdmi passthrough - my amp has this so I always change source on the amp (between blu-ray, ps3, virgin digital box etc), the tv gets the signal regardless of if the amp is on or off
But as the amp is stereo only anyway does that matter?
as above, modern AV amps are not too dear at all:
[url= http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/sony/strdh510/sony-strdh510 ]Sony STRDH510 £119.00[/url]
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and a couple of speakers to start with [url= http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/yamaha/nsp285/yama-nsp285-blk ]Yamaha NSP285 £99[/url]
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All in just over £200.00
oh - sorry I missed that bit. If you only want stereo than your setup as described will work fine
Yeah there is that but I was just wondering if I could utilise the (very good) amp I have currently sat gathering dust rather than buying something else.
Sure you could use the stereo amp, I missed that bit too.
So if I did what my OP says, would a set of Control Ones do the job? I know they will be bombproof enough to not be damaged by the kids but I also know (as I used to have a set years ago) the sound can be bettered - ie, when I bought a set of Sony Brooklands to replace the ones I had years ago but they are way too big to use now unfortunately so being saved for when we move house and I can have a man den.
For the stereo amp, I'd take an analogue output from the TV - then you'll be certain of lip sync. I'd also use whatever speakers you can lay your hands on to test whether you like it.
I used a £12 computer speaker set from Tesco fed from the Samsung headphone output for our TV and even that improved the sound (until SWMBO disapproved of the cables). Modern flat TV's don't have the internal volume for good sound reproduction. For my other room I have a Sonus Faber 5.1 set up, with 96" projector screen, so from ridiculous to sublime 😉
Control I's look good, for sure you can get better.
Its all about what you want, a speaker package as above will give you a sub as well.
[i]Modern flat TV's don't have the internal volume for good sound reproduction[/i]
Yeah - my wife struggles with the sound reproduction for most of the time and it is that I am trying to solve.
[i]Modern flat TV's don't have the internal volume for good sound reproduction[/i]
Yeah - my wife struggles with the sound reproduction for most of the time and it is that I am trying to solve.
[i]Modern flat TV's don't have the internal volume for good sound reproduction[/i]
Yeah - my wife struggles with the sound reproduction for most of the time and it is that I am trying to solve.
Depends on what you are after and your budget, IMO best sound for pound is SH on ebay, AVI Neutrons, Rega Kytes etc, not huge, enough bass for me at least, fantastic sound, not sure if your amp would be up to them though.
Not sure what the amp spec is, but it was a £500 amp about 15 years ago and was perfectly suited to the 100w Sony Brookland floorstanders - it would pretty much deal with anything thrown at it I would guess.
If you want to improve the sound of a TV with little fuss and little money, buy a pair of active monitors like Fostex PM0.4's and plug them into the headphone jack. You don't need any additional remote controls / switching and they will sound loads better than the built in speakers.
Ive done exactly this. Set of small bookshelf speakers (Dreamcatchers). Optical to amp. Setup the delay on your sky box and tv works fine. Sound from our tv is shocking so this helps a lot