[gonzus]

I have XBMC (love it!) installed on a small (but quite powerful) PC in my bedroom. The PC is directly connected to my screen with an HDMI - HDMI cable, so all audio and video go directly to the screen. All my movies (mostly DVDs, some Bluray) have been ripped and encoded into H.264 video with AC3 / AAC / DTS sound (using MKV as a container; praised be Handbrake!).

I would like to add a receiver to my setup, so I can enjoy better sound and even take advantage of the five audio channels most of my movies have. But I want to keep this as small and modular as possible. Also, I know jack about receivers, having never shopped for one; please bear this in mind when going through my questions:

1. How should I plug the PC into the receiver? Can I do that with the HDMI cable, or will I be loosing something by going that way (and what would happen to the video signal then)?
   
   
2. How should I plug the speakers into the receiver? Is this a standard kind of plug (RCA)?
   
   
3. I own an old stand-alone DVD system that has support for 5.1 sound; could / should I try to reuse the speakers from this DVD system?
   
   
4. How should I plug the receiver into the screen? Can I use an HDMI cable? If I do that, and the PC is plugged into the receiver with another HDMI cable, is the receiver simply passing the video signal through to the screen?
   
   
5. Can you recommend any specific receivers that I might want to look at? I would prefer small size, modular (with / without speakers) and affordable.
   

Thanks in advance for educating me. If these questions are more appropriate for other fora, I would appreciate being pointed there.

[gonzus]

Sorry to reply to myself; here are a couple of receivers that, from what little I know, might seem to fit the bill:

1. Onkyo TX-SR309 5.1 A/V Home Theater Receiver ($249)
   
2. Pioneer VSX-521K 5.1 Channel 3D Ready A/V Receiver ($198)
   

Or am I barking up the wrong tree?

[DDDamian]

1. How should I plug the PC into the receiver? Can I do that with the HDMI cable, or will I be loosing something by going that way (and what would happen to the video signal then)?
   
   
2. How should I plug the speakers into the receiver? Is this a standard kind of plug (RCA)?
   
   
3. I own an old stand-alone DVD system that has support for 5.1 sound; could / should I try to reuse the speakers from this DVD system?
   
   
4. How should I plug the receiver into the screen? Can I use an HDMI cable? If I do that, and the PC is plugged into the receiver with another HDMI cable, is the receiver simply passing the video signal through to the screen?
   
   
5. Can you recommend any specific receivers that I might want to look at? I would prefer small size, modular (with / without speakers) and affordable.
   

Without actually recommending a receiver (you should do a little research and then demo):

1. HDMI is THE way to go, especially when HD audio comes to XBMC. Ideally you go PC>AVR>TV with two HDMI cables, one from PC to receiver, one from receiver to TV. You must have an HDMI output on your PC. Ideally you have a recent ATI or nVidia g-card so you can bitstream HD audio. Generally the receiver (AVR) just passes on the video signal, although some can process it (sharpness, gamma, scaling, etc)

2 & 3. Probably not best to use the cheapie speakers. However, if you need to, just strip any custom connector off and either wire directly to the AVR terminals or spring for banana-connectors. Make sure your speakers are in phase (positive to positive, consistent all round). As with HDMI cables do not get ripped off at BestBuy with Monster stuff - find cheapies. They'll have you spend more on cables/connectors than the AVR lol.

4. See 1.

5. Must have HDMI and support TrueHD/DTS-MA. The rest is up to your budget, listening preference and any other features you want like IPod inputs, XM radio, etc. The AVR is the heart of your system - the better it is the better your sound/power. For my money I'd get a used but better one off EBay or Kijiji, but that;s up to you.

[deanmv]

I just bought the Onkyo one that gonzus posted (as a package with speakers, spec is in my sig) and it is incredible! ATV2 -> HDMI -> receiver -> HDMI -> TV. Have lots of blu-ray films with DD sound and they sound amazing with it. This one can also "upscale" normal 2.0 stereo sources to virtual 5.1 using either DTS Neo6 or Dolby Pro Logic II. No problems with it and XBMC at all once set up (had one option that needed to be changed with normal ATV2 software) but as you are using a PC you should be good there.

[gonzus]

Thanks for the information, it exactly answers my questions.

Probably not best to use the cheapie speakers. However, if you need to, just strip any custom connector off and either wire directly to the AVR terminals or spring for banana-connectors. Make sure your speakers are in phase (positive to positive, consistent all round). As with HDMI cables do not get ripped off at BestBuy with Monster stuff - find cheapies. They'll have you spend more on cables/connectors than the AVR lol.

More information about my old DVD system (and the speakers): it is a Philips MX2600. The speakers have these color-coded connectors:



When you say "in phase", you mean that I should respect the polarity of the two wires for each speaker, right?

Regarding HDMI cables (NOT the Monster stuff): how much should I expect to pay for a good quality, generic, 3 foot male-male HDMI cable?

Must have HDMI and support TrueHD/DTS-MA.

It seems the Onkyo AVR I linked to on my second post fits these requirements. Great!

I just bought the Onkyo one that gonzus posted (as a package with speakers, spec is in my sig) and it is incredible! ATV2 -> HDMI -> receiver -> HDMI -> TV.

Even better! Now, the specs in your signature talk about a different model (Onkyo HTS3405), which is not the one I linked to (Onkyo TX-SR309). Is the bundling the only difference, and the AVR itself is exactly the same?

Thanks again.

[bluray]

Here is the best system for a bedroom- Onkyo HTX-22HDX Ultra-Compact HD Home Theater System.

You can simple connects it this way- HTPC-->Onkyo-->HDTV via two HDMI cables!

[gonzus]

Here is the best system for a bedroom- Onkyo HTX-22HDX Ultra-Compact HD Home Theater System.

You can simple connects it this way- HTPC-->Onkyo-->HDTV via two HDMI cables!

Thanks for the pointer. Why would this AVR be better than the TX-SR309? It is more expensive ($216.59 vs. $184.99 in Amazon) and it seems to perform a tad worse. It does include three speakers, though.

[bluray]

Thanks for the pointer. Why would this AVR be better than the TX-SR309? It is more expensive ($216.59 vs. $184.99 in Amazon) and it seems to perform a tad worse. It does include three speakers, though.

It's a great system, because it is a complete system "3 speakers is included". The AVR is hidden inside subwoofer enclosure. It's small, which make it neat and perfect for the bedroom!

[Gr8rtek]

Regarding HDMI cables (NOT the Monster stuff): how much should I expect to pay for a good quality, generic, 3 foot male-male HDMI cable?

I have had extremely good luck with these cables from Outdoor Speaker Depot
http://www.outdoorspeakerdepot.com/hdmi-...value.html. I have bought at least 20 of these cables for various clients and myself over the last five months with excellent results for the price. Shipping is also very prompt and affordable.

[bluray]

I have had extremely good luck with these cables from Outdoor Speaker Depot
http://www.outdoorspeakerdepot.com/hdmi-...value.html. I have bought at least 20 of these cables for various clients and myself over the last five months with excellent results for the price. Shipping is also very prompt and affordable.

You bought all of it!

Any of these "BlueRigger High Speed HDMI Cable" should be fine, and it look and work as good as Monster!

[DDDamian]

When you say "in phase", you mean that I should respect the polarity of the two wires for each speaker, right?

Regarding HDMI cables (NOT the Monster stuff): how much should I expect to pay for a good quality, generic, 3 foot male-male HDMI cable?

Correct - just make sure all polarities match. I see you've had recommendations for cables, thst's great. Here in Canada a 3' HDMI can range from $7 to $50US/CAD. If you went to a box store and bought 2x HDMI and 10x banana jacks you could easily spend $200!! Sound quality difference is zero at that level of equipment, money better spent on your receiver or speakers IMO. For what it's worth just cut those existing connectors off and wire straight into your new receiver if you don't want to invest in banana jacks.

You don't mention your sound card / graphics card, but most newer ATI's will give you HD audio out of the box - I believe bluray has links for a $30 ATI HD6570 that will work fine if you need a card.

Best of luck with the build!

[Robotica]

I lik this one: Sony STR-DH520 (200 euro)

[grantd]

Not necessarily a receiver per se but it fits the small and cheap bill very well. This is small enough that you could likely slip it behind a mounted tv and control the sound through the output of your tv, out of sight and no extra remote to deal with.

http://www.amazon.com/Lepai-Tripath-TA20...583&sr=8-1

Then just take all your savings and put it towards a nice pair of full range bookshelf speakers which can be mounted too for nice, clean, wife approved setup.

[publicENEMY]

i would suggest (if youre on a budget) to go for 2.1 home theater system with high quality receiver that support the best audio(7.1 for dts-hd ma and dolby truehd) and best video (3d bluray). the reason for 2.1 is that the most important component in home theater system is the left/right speaker(main audio) and subwoofer (lfe output). although 2.1 htib usually packs mediocre speakers and subs, you can upgrade these speaker to better speaker along the way, and put existing speaker as surround speaker. example, you upgrade your 2.1 speaker to 4.1 speaker by placing the new better speaker as the left and right speaker and your old left and right speaker as left surround and right surround speaker. get the best cable for the left and right channel, use cheapest cable for surround speaker.

i just purchase Onkyo HT-S9300. while its not a bad product, it just doesnt overwhelmed me as i expected. my next buy would definitely a better left and right speaker, better subwoofer and better cable for left/right channel. as far as receiver is concern, this onkyo receiver is amazing. just make sure to follow the manual suggestion for leaving 20cm space above avr for air flow. this avr gets hot.

value for money brands are onkyo and pioneer. i heard that us made are often way overprice(dont know if this true).

hope this helps.

[gonzus]

It seems I will go for the Onkyo TX-SR309. Quick question for those who own one: does it come with a universal power source that can be plugged into 110 and 220 V electricity?