Best budget route to 5.1 surround
#1
Music 
A recent incident involving a small child means that I'm having to replace the telly... *sigh*

So a shiny new Samsung UE40F5000 is arriving shortly, and it occurs to me that it might be a good time to think about going surround sound, while I'm at it.

XBMC is running on a reasonably swift Intel i5 based computer with 8gb RAM and an AMD4800 gpu and will connect to the TV by HDMI. The motherboard has a RealtekALC889 HD 7.1 sound chip.

Up to now, I've been happy with the stereo sound from the old telly, but it'd be nice to be able to benefit from the surround sound on my DVDs, recorded shows, and other video files. I do some gaming on the PC, too, and there's a Sony BluRay player knocking about too (possibly to be replaced with a BluRay drive in the PC one day...)

From a position of almost total ignorance, it seems to me that I have two options: HDMI out to a Home Cinema AV receiver, or some computer multimedia 5.1 speakers running of the PC's sound card. I'm guessing XBMC would support both methods?

I'm on a tight budget, and would probably rather wait for something reasonable, than shell out for something totally rubbish.

The AV reciever route seems expensive (for example a Yamaha RX-V475 and a set of Yamaha NS-P40 speakers will set me back about 500€) but I'm guessing that it'd be highher quality and would leave room for expansion.

The Multimedia Speakers route seems significantly cheaper (Logitech Z506 5.1 speaker system is about 75€, or Hercules XPS 5.1 70 Slim is 130€), but I guess would be of lesser quality and harder to route the BluRay?

Has anyone gone down the latter route happily?

Would I be much better off waiting for a 'proper' AV reciever?

Any other advice?
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#2
I love my logitech z5500s and they are connected via s/pdif to my xbmc machine. Of course they don't do hd audio.

Passing through your tv may or may not wotk, depending on your tv. Some only pass stereo through.
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#3
(2014-01-24, 21:02)charliek Wrote: Has anyone gone down the latter route happily?
I converted to home theater surround sound system since late 90's. I'm very happy with my mid-range surround sound systems . There are two 3.1 systems in the den and master bedroom and another 7.2 system is in the theater room. My surround sound speakers are Andrew Jones, Energy and Klipsch, and my receivers are Onkyo NR809, RC270 and NR515. I used to own Bose 7.1 in the mid 00's, and it is replaced by the speakers in the list. It sounds 100% time better and cheaper too.

I posts it here- Alienware X51- the ultimate multipurpose HTPC and Excellent low budget 3.1 surround sound speakers for XBMC!
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
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#4
(2014-01-24, 21:15)nickr Wrote: I love my logitech z5500s and they are connected via s/pdif to my xbmc machine. Of course they don't do hd audio.

Passing through your tv may or may not work, depending on your tv. Some only pass stereo through.

Those have been replaced by Logitech Speaker System Z906, I believe. I'd thought about them as a kind of hybrid compromise, but at 300€ they're more than halfway to the price of an AV Receiver based system... or, a lot less than one depending on how you want to look at it Smile
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#5
(2014-01-24, 21:58)charliek Wrote:
(2014-01-24, 21:15)nickr Wrote: I love my logitech z5500s and they are connected via s/pdif to my xbmc machine. Of course they don't do hd audio.

Passing through your tv may or may not work, depending on your tv. Some only pass stereo through.

Those have been replaced by Logitech Speaker System Z906, I believe. I'd thought about them as a kind of hybrid compromise, but at 300€ they're more than halfway to the price of an AV Receiver based system... or, a lot less than one depending on how you want to look at it Smile

It is hard to get through the logitech jargon but it seems the z906, like the z5500 decodes digital spdif inputs, whereas the 506 is analogue only. The 5500s are very nice and the 906s should be too. For the 506s you'll be reliant solely on your soundcard to decode, and most computer soundcards are pure crap.
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#6
This is NOT a scientific conclusion; but something that I noticed: Current sound bars w/ sub-woofer (properly placed at the back of the room) do a pretty decent job at "virtualizing" Surround sound. I got a cheap VIZIO unit w/ sub-wooffer and sometimes (remember: it all goes back to the source media) it freaks the hell out of me for the realism of the sound reproduction. Many times I thought the door bell was ringing; or the phone was buzzing...far out!!!
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#7
(2014-01-24, 23:06)jacintech.fire Wrote: I got a cheap VIZIO unit w/ sub-wooffer and sometimes (remember: it all goes back to the source media) it freaks the hell out of me for the realism of the sound reproduction.
If the soundbar speakers freaks you out, you'll be jumping out of your seat with the real 5.1 or 7.1 surround speakers then.....
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
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#8
Get an entry level AVR, and some nice 2.1 or 3.1 speakers (Left Right Center + Sub, or just LR+Sub) and buy rears down the road.

But (maybe its in your post) how much space do you have for this? Are you mounting the TV to the wall, do you wnat little speakers, or do you have space for large floor standers? (since you had a small child ruin a TV, i'll assume large floor standing speakers will have a large bullseye on them?)

how about getting a yamaha 375 instead, and a nice simple 5.1 speaker set?
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-receiver/
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/a-good-...#monoprice

Just some suggestions?

I also think the soundbar suggestion has merit, its NOT 5.1, but its often MUCH better than TV speakers.
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#9
@bluray,

Not to start a flaming war; but keep in mind that technology is not static; there has been great advancements the field of sound engineering and signal processing...I don't think you can make a blanket statement such as "...you'll be jumping out of your seat with the real 5.1 or 7.1 surround speakers then...' which implies there currently isn't nor there will soon be a comparable technology (i.e sound bars, Bose Systems, etc) that could reproduce "real 5.1 or 7.1 surround" effect within a sound bar setup...kinda like saying there is no technology better than RAID{nn} for volume aggregation, availability and redundancy...
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#10
No highs no lows, must be a bose.
If I have helped you or increased your knowledge, click the 'thumbs up' button to give thanks :) (People with less than 20 posts won't see the "thumbs up" button.)
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#11
(2014-01-24, 23:59)00b5 Wrote: Get an entry level AVR, and some nice 2.1 or 3.1 speakers (Left Right Center + Sub, or just LR+Sub) and buy rears down the road.

But (maybe its in your post) how much space do you have for this? Are you mounting the TV to the wall, do you wnat little speakers, or do you have space for large floor standers? (since you had a small child ruin a TV, i'll assume large floor standing speakers will have a large bullseye on them?)

how about getting a yamaha 375 instead, and a nice simple 5.1 speaker set?
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-receiver/
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/a-good-...#monoprice

Just some suggestions?

I also think the soundbar suggestion has merit, its NOT 5.1, but its often MUCH better than TV speakers.

Actually, I'd not even thought of starting out with 2.1 or 3.1.... that's kind of a groovy idea - thanks.

I was kind of aiming for wall-mountable speakers for now so that, just as you surmised, they'd be out of reach Smile

(I may even have some old Cambridge Soundworks satellites from an ancient analogue Creative surround sound PC system that could stand in until I can afford 'proper' speakers)

Fortunately, space is something I do have... it's messy, but it's space: the room with the TV in is about 45-50m^2
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#12
(2014-01-25, 00:16)jacintech.fire Wrote: I don't think you can make a blanket statement such as "...you'll be jumping out of your seat with the real 5.1 or 7.1 surround speakers then...' which implies there currently isn't nor there will soon be a comparable technology (i.e sound bars, Bose Systems, etc) that could reproduce "real 5.1 or 7.1 surround" effect within a sound bar setup...
Here is another blanket statement- "no soundbar will ever comparable to the real 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound speakers". Soundbar will never have rear and side speakers to produce complete surround sound, especially in larger theater room.

Since soundbar have bigger speakers, it will produce better "virtual sound" than the very tiny speakers in LEDTV. For sure, soundbar will looks neater under/over LEDTV than the real 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound speakers. If you are lack of space or you want to keep thing very neat, soundbar is a good supplemental to LEDTV speakers.

Since OP have bigger room, he might want to go with at least these speakers "Pioneer 5.1 500W Surround Sound Package Designed by Andrew Jones or Energy 5.1 Take Classic Home Theater System (Set of Six, Black)". I'm using Energy Take Classic surround speaker with Klipsch floor standing and center speakers now, and these speakers produces very good surround sound for its small size...
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
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#13
@bluray,
Of course...and computers will never need more than 512KB of ram...
...the SR 71 would never fly...
...and nobody will buy a computer without a physical keyboard...
...and....and...and...you get my point...
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#14
(2014-01-25, 04:01)bluray Wrote: Here is another blanket statement- "no soundbar will ever comparable to the real 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound speakers". Soundbar will never have rear and side speakers to produce complete surround sound, especially in larger theater room.


Uh...

http://reviews.cnet.com/surround-speaker...60754.html

http://reviews.cnet.com/surround-speaker...33918.html

I don't think it is looking good for your blanket statements.
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#15
(2014-01-25, 09:19)drew_willy Wrote:
(2014-01-25, 04:01)bluray Wrote: Here is another blanket statement- "no soundbar will ever comparable to the real 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound speakers". Soundbar will never have rear and side speakers to produce complete surround sound, especially in larger theater room.


Uh...

http://reviews.cnet.com/surround-speaker...60754.html

http://reviews.cnet.com/surround-speaker...33918.html

I don't think it is looking good for your blanket statements.

Darn!!! You beat me to it, LOL!
...you will find such attitude (absolutism) very common on this (and other) list. Where people would assume that because a technique or technology worked flawlessly 20 years ago, research and development has stood still ever since and no improvement/replacement have come to market...

Case in point: RAID{nn} was developed decades ago, when disk drives were notoriously unreliable, while drives still fail today, by and large their reliability has improved to the point that it is possible to do things today that would seem crazy/impossible years ago (which is why google, facebook, amazon, racksapce) use commodity hardware (including HDD) in their data center...
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