New To Surround Sound..Help!

[chrisprice12]

Hey!

I'm looking into getting a surround sound system (finally) but its the first time I've done so. I've quickly become accustomed to the same questions that seemed to be asked, but never full answers. I was wondering if people could help.

 

First off, LPCM vs Bitstream. I've read that PCM is better for individual tracks, but Bitstream is recommended for things like the PS4. So which is better? This brings me to my next question.

 

I've only got a cheap budget as of now, so I'm looking at a relatively cheap system thats around $300, had good reviews, however, doesn't have HDMI in, so I have to turn to optical, and apparently optical only supports 2 channels of LPCM. (Its a 5.1 system). Is it possible to throw out the receiver in a system and buy a new one down the road, keeping the speakers, which, in theory, should allow to me then turn to HDMI later on?

 

The reason for this post, I don't want to end up buying a system, that I soon realise wont meet my needs. I'll be using it for mostly movies, however some PS4 gaming will come into play (see what I did there?). The system I'm looking at is the BDV E2100 from Sony. I left this until last because, unless someone can recommend a system thats within my budget, I'd prefer people to not tell me that its not good enough. I've read reviews

 

Any advice which you feel would be valuable to a newbie buyer would be appreciated! 

 

Thanks for all your help, means a lot!

 

Chris

 

 

[JefferyD90]

10 minutes ago, chrisprice12 said:

Hey!

I'm looking into getting a surround sound system (finally) but its the first time I've done so. I've quickly become accustomed to the same questions that seemed to be asked, but never full answers. I was wondering if people could help.

 

First off, LPCM vs Bitstream. I've read that PCM is better for individual tracks, but Bitstream is recommended for things like the PS4. So which is better? This brings me to my next question.

 

I've only got a cheap budget as of now, so I'm looking at a relatively cheap system thats around $300, had good reviews, however, doesn't have HDMI in, so I have to turn to optical, and apparently optical only supports 2 channels of LPCM. (Its a 5.1 system). Is it possible to throw out the receiver in a system and buy a new one down the road, keeping the speakers, which, in theory, should allow to me then turn to HDMI later on?

 

The reason for this post, I don't want to end up buying a system, that I soon realise wont meet my needs. I'll be using it for mostly movies, however some PS4 gaming will come into play (see what I did there?). The system I'm looking at is the BDV E2100 from Sony. I left this until last because, unless someone can recommend a system thats within my budget, I'd prefer people to not tell me that its not good enough. I've read reviews

 

Any advice which you feel would be valuable to a newbie buyer would be appreciated! 

 

Thanks for all your help, means a lot!

 

Chris

 

 

So you want a Home theater system for you television, not your PC?

[chrisprice12]

4 minutes ago, JefferyD90 said:

So you want a Home theater system for you television, not your PC?

Yeah

[JefferyD90]

Just now, chrisprice12 said:

Yeah

Okay, are you going to be listening to music on it much?

[chrisprice12]

Just now, JefferyD90 said:

Okay, are you going to be listening to music on it much?

Hm, I may do, but I do have a music system for that. If its good then yeah I will, depends really.

 

[JefferyD90]

34 minutes ago, chrisprice12 said:

Hm, I may do, but I do have a music system for that. If its good then yeah I will, depends really.

 

Reciever: http://amzn.com/B0141JVEHS

Center: http://amzn.com/B008NCD2EI

Front: http://amzn.com/B008NCD2S4

Surround: http://amzn.com/B008NCD2LG

Sub: http://amzn.com/B008NCD2PC

Wire: http://amzn.com/B006LW0W5Y

 

This is a REALLY good entry level setup with TONS of room for expansion.  You'll get great sound, matching components, with a sexy finish to them.  Not only that, with this setup you'll find your money is WELL spent.  Although I will admit it is over your budget.

 

[Qrtrmstr2k]

Dude, I'll sell you my old one for $100. It's a Sony Dream System in near perfect condition (just normal wear and tear on the top of the receiver/5disc changer. 

 

http://www.cnet.com/products/sony-dav-fx10-series/

[Norman]

Buy used if you look around long enough you will find a good deal.  With such a low budget anything new will be junk.  Stay away from any boxed sets.  Online reveiws can be so miss leading some times people may have nothing to compare it to.  Remember you get what you pay for.

[Steve.604]

I honestly can't tell the difference between bitstream and LPCM, I do prefer to use bitstream for a reason.

It's the same reason I let my TV control the picture instead of the receiver.

I want to spread the load out if that makes sense. I don't think it really makes a difference but it's part of the reason why I do it.

The receiver is designed to play audio so let it decode the audio, TV is designed to display picture so let it tune the picture.

 

Now back to the setup you are looking at, I generally buy all high end equipment because I'm generally in it for the long term and I like quality.

If I were is your position I would do exactly what I've done over the years, I would buy a small set of quality 5.1 speakers and a separate receiver.

 

You'll probably need to save a bit of cash but long term you are way better off.

Buying a set of speakers, I'm partial to klipsch and currently have Klipsch HD 300 set in my living room I picked up for $250 maybe less on sale.

Those speakers are compatible with all standard receivers so you aren't stuck with your $300 setup that only works with each other and doesn't sound good.

 

Now you can buy what ever receiver you want which will likely be higher quality and holds reasonable value to sell later.

I use my old media room receiver to power those speakers in my living room.

 

With this setup you now have options, you can expand and upgrade and not be out cash cause you bought some cheap setup that's worth nothing the day after you open the box. You can sell it and get money back, you can add a set of quality towers and turn it to a decent 7.1 or 5.1 + 2 setup with good stereo audio. Which is exactly what I do with a set of RF-82's for stereo audio, the small setup for watching TV

You can buy a new receiver down the road as quality speakers generally tend to last for ever if you don't abuse them

 

The sound quality will also be far superior. I'm a long term buyer now, I bought one of those cheap setups and was less than impressed, went to real gear shortly after.

 

 

[MarcWolfe]

You can replace the reciever down the road in most cases. Many surround sound recievers can use stereo RCA (with digital encoding carried over the same RCA wires) to produce 5.1 surround. If your music system has a subwoofer, you ought to be able to use it with most recievers, that leaves you needing 3 speakers and a reciever. Then you could just use the surround sound for music too. Hope that helped. I don't know what it costs, but i have a Samsung AV-R720 reciever and sub, it sounds good (to me atleast) and has speaker leveling, low pass adjustment (for the subwoofer), an HDMI switch built in, and the front has a look you would expect to see on a smart phone.

Only have it hooked up to shitty stereo speakers (plus sub of course) for now. I got it from a dumpster and the surround speakers weren't with it. When i first turn it on it makes crackling noises until it warms up (probably why it was thrown out), which is probably a result of over heating from being installed in a entertainment center with inadequate ventilation. I'd recommend larger surround speakers (mostly my personal preference as i enjoy bass) but it can be set up for large or small surround speakers, like many others. The model i have makes you decide on whitch ports you want to use, meaning you can't plug something into every port at once and simply flip through inputs with the remote. I hope all that helps.

[d3sl91]

On 3/16/2016 at 4:08 AM, JefferyD90 said:

Reciever: http://amzn.com/B0141JVEHS

Center: http://amzn.com/B008NCD2EI

Front: http://amzn.com/B008NCD2S4

Surround: http://amzn.com/B008NCD2LG

Sub: http://amzn.com/B008NCD2PC

Wire: http://amzn.com/B006LW0W5Y

 

This is a REALLY good entry level setup with TONS of room for expansion.  You'll get great sound, matching components, with a sexy finish to them.  Not only that, with this setup you'll find your money is WELL spent.  Although I will admit it is over your budget.

 

+1

 

The only difference that is generally recommended, is a different Sub. Dayton 1000 is the usual recommendation for the price range. 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Dayton-Audio-SUB-1000-10-Inch-Subwoofer/dp/B0063NU3AA/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1458675063&sr=1-2&keywords=dayton+subwoofer

 

While I cannot speak for the sub directly, I do enjoy the center and bookshelf speakers. 

Also, shop around. these were ALL just on sale. Fo rexample, the Floor standing units were selling for $90 a week ago most places. Looks  like walmart still is:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/24491103?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=203&adid=22222222227029288601&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=49182676592&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=99770608352&veh=sem

[JefferyD90]

37 minutes ago, d3sl91 said:

+1

 

The only difference that is generally recommended, is a different Sub. Dayton 1000 is the usual recommendation for the price range. 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Dayton-Audio-SUB-1000-10-Inch-Subwoofer/dp/B0063NU3AA/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1458675063&sr=1-2&keywords=dayton+subwoofer

 

While I cannot speak for the sub directly, I do enjoy the center and bookshelf speakers. 

Also, shop around. these were ALL just on sale. Fo rexample, the Floor standing units were selling for $90 a week ago most places. Looks  like walmart still is:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/24491103?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=203&adid=22222222227029288601&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=49182676592&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=99770608352&veh=sem

I chose the sub I chose because it is a matching set.  These speakers are all meant to work together with that amp.

[Steve.604]

On 3/18/2016 at 3:06 PM, MarcWolfe said:

You can replace the reciever down the road in most cases. Many surround sound recievers can use stereo RCA (with digital encoding carried over the same RCA wires) to produce 5.1 surround. If your music system has a subwoofer, you ought to be able to use it with most recievers, that leaves you needing 3 speakers and a reciever. Then you could just use the surround sound for music too. Hope that helped. I don't know what it costs, but i have a Samsung AV-R720 reciever and sub, it sounds good (to me atleast) and has speaker leveling, low pass adjustment (for the subwoofer), an HDMI switch built in, and the front has a look you would expect to see on a smart phone.

Only have it hooked up to shitty stereo speakers (plus sub of course) for now. I got it from a dumpster and the surround speakers weren't with it. When i first turn it on it makes crackling noises until it warms up (probably why it was thrown out), which is probably a result of over heating from being installed in a entertainment center with inadequate ventilation. I'd recommend larger surround speakers (mostly my personal preference as i enjoy bass) but it can be set up for large or small surround speakers, like many others. The model i have makes you decide on whitch ports you want to use, meaning you can't plug something into every port at once and simply flip through inputs with the remote. I hope all that helps.

I've never heard of digital encoding over stereo RCA's, the only 5.1 you will get out of that is Pro-logic or some other processed audio(fake 5.1) which sounds horrible IMO, better off to stick with stereo.

 

You need to be careful with HTIB setups he is looking for a couple of reasons,

Often the sub is not self powered and you won't find a receiver to power it doing an upgrade.

Also speaker impedance can vary a lot from 2-3 ohms to over 30 ohms, most receivers are limited to 6-8 ohms and can cause damage if you drive out side of it's range.

I know from personal experience.

 

[MarcWolfe]

5 hours ago, Steve.604 said:

I've never heard of digital encoding over stereo RCA's, the only 5.1 you will get out of that is Pro-logic or some other processed audio(fake 5.1) which sounds horrible IMO, better off to stick with stereo.

 

You need to be careful with HTIB setups he is looking for a couple of reasons,

Often the sub is not self powered and you won't find a receiver to power it doing an upgrade.

Also speaker impedance can vary a lot from 2-3 ohms to over 30 ohms, most receivers are limited to 6-8 ohms and can cause damage if you drive out side of it's range.

I know from personal experience.

 

I don't remember what the digital over RCA was, read about it a few years ago. It's ppssible that the artical was wrongly worded and it was just "fake" up mixing or something. Not worth going into detail or any thing. Most surround sounds i see have a self powered subwoofer that just uses a single rca cable from the reciever. Even if the reciever is integrated into the sub box, like some are, it could still be used as just a stand alone sub. Lol Hell i just watched a video where some guy used 2 cheap 5.1 systems as a 7.1 system (with dual subs, since the sub box had all the reciver components in it) for his home theater PC. Yes, you make a good point about making sure the speakers have the correct ohm rating. I plugged a 2 ohm sub into a car amp once..... once, for about half a second before the amp died. I had a 15" rockford fosgate sub with dual voice coils, one coil was dead. I hoped for the best, didn't work. Sounded great or that half second......