all for one, one for all - even possible??? (Audio setup, starting from almost 0)

[harakiwi]

Hey guys!

 

add stupid chris pratt meme - i'm afraid to ask something something.

 

I am living in a small apartment. PC, TV and Consoles all in one room.

 

A couch and my PC desk parallel to each other. So i can turn my TV (on a very small cabinet with my file server and consoles on wheels) to watch on the couch and/or entertain my friends while able to run some games on my secondary monitor.

 

Is it even possible to get a single setup to get good 5.1 or 7.1 sound on my couch and maybe able to get a modern sound setup on my PC?

 

I like bassy music, but i'm not an audiophile ripping CDs in FLAC and owning gigantic headphones, carrying around a preamp, etc.

Had a cheap 2.0 stereo setup prior to my 5.1 and oh boy, that difference was spectacular!

 

My current usage:

gaming on PC; sitting at my desk 

or

gaming on my couch, either PC and wireless Xbox controller or Playstation 3/4 Pro/Xbox 360 and maybe soonish a OneX

watching offline content either via PC / Raspberry Pi / FireTV while on my couch.

 

descriptive image:

 

 

orange: my couch

grey: a coffee table

blue: my movable TV setup

red/yellow/green: my desk/chair/monitor/5.1 setup

The whole room is ~3,90m by 4,60m, 2,30m height.

Wooden floor, wooden ceiling. An open kitchen on the left, 2 windows on the right side. A wooden door behind the TV to the top wall.

Hardware:

55'' Philips TV as my primary everything monitor; Stereo speakers at the back, not really effective as the TV is standing in my room.

( 2x 1080p Acer monitors, nothing special, no sound, no VESA. cheap. )

My old PC with SPDIF ( CA0132 chipset ) and 5.1 via RCA(?) cables connected to my

Creative Inspire 5.1 5300. Yes!, still working. Got those for my 16th birthday.

Raspberry Pi3 running LibreELEC / kodi

FireTV Stick 2nd Gen. Mainly Netflx and Prime TV

 

No additional speakers, monitors or sub woofers around to use; no amps, AVR etc.

 

Thanks for any advice on my setup. 

Edited November 12, 2018 by harakiwi
Forgot the floor plan

[TheFlyingTraut]

Budget?

[harakiwi]

No idea. As i don't know what i need exactly.

 

Roughly:

 

>4 speakers,

ca. 1 sub woofer,

I think some kind of audio system to feed my HDMI sources into and from there to the speakers.

Last time i had to buy (or help my dad upgrade his old setup) some audio equipment i visited 2 or 3 big retail stores, got some idea and my dad said: "Okay if you will help me plug it in, he decides the budget."

 

I have no idea how a good 5.1 system sounds with gaming.

 

My dad is using his to listen to music and sometimes watch a good movie with 5.1 sound enabled. Usually he doesn't feel like turning the stuff on and forgets what button activates the surround sound etc etc.

[circeseye]

if the game supports surround, and you have your set up set right, 5.1 sounds awesome in games. even if the game doesnt support surround it will still sound good coming from the front 3.
but it all depends on the set up
your room set up is a little challenging, to switch the sound system from one to the other, you'd have to actually move and adjust speakers. i would almost have to say the tv gets the main system (movies, shows and some gaming from couch) but your comp area considering the small area, a second, small set up or just keep it with headphones.
 

[harakiwi]

Can't do headphones anymore. Grand parents live in the same house. 

I hear something loud next door i have to run ASAP. Got some nice wireless Steelseries H headphones but i can't risk to wear them

 

 

A single well balanced 5.1 setup; built to fit my couch area.

Then "moving over the PC" (USB hub with keyboard, mouse and mic) to play on my couch.

Those "couch master" desk things are still a thing / saw those on LTT years ago.

 

Around 5-7 speakers. a sub woofer and a "box" - i still don't know how those are called - to combine multiple HDMI, maybe bluetooth or AUX inputs and output/upmix them to my x.1 setup.

 

3-6 HDMI inputs: Xbox, PS, PC, Fire Stick, a RasPi, maybe my sisters old BluRay player.

I don't own any 4k TV yet. Might change in the future. 4k on PC is still a weird thing. 

So it needs HDMI 2.0-ish?

 

Let's say some arbitrary numbers: 

 

250€, 500€, 750€ or 1000€ budget?:

 

I want "1080p 60fps Ultra details" isn't a thing with sound. So i can't tell what i need. i'm a pleb with cheap in-ear headphones. My latest speakers are a pair of Google Home (not Mini or Max, the medium speakers). My best speakers are my Creative 5.1 set.

[TheFlyingTraut]

"enclosure" is the word you're looking for.

 

How "loud" do you want this system to be? Do you want clarity? Do you listen to a lot of music with instrumentals? Vocals?

[harakiwi]

Would love to be able to watch a movie with a quiet part (whispering) and action / car chase / explosions without turning the volume up and down. That's the main problem of my current TV and i'm pretty sure the next TV won't have the screen-as-a-speaker thing i saw on CES.

 

It's 50% gaming, 40% TV / movies via streaming and some offline, 10% music, usually via Spotify Free, sometimes offline via my old CD collection (might re-rip them to FLAC if i like the difference in sound)

 

AFAIK this happens because most TVs only do 2.0 and the voices usually use a separate center speaker.

On my Raspberry / Kodi setup i'm able to fix this by turning up the center speaker channel.

 

I don't have many neighbors around me, but one above me. I don't plan to move to a bigger house/apartment. Possibly a smaller room, who knows.

 

I might have luck getting something decent on this years Cyber Black week sales. Wish me luck!