Topic: Audio Set Up

[Hij]

Hey guys.

Searched for quite a bit with different terms and couldn't find anything on google. Searched here and couldn't find anything either, apart from a guy just simply after speakers for his PC.

Basically, Im looking to replace my current sound system at the moment. Its an AIWA and 9 years old. The left speaker has blown, the 3 cd player changer doesn't work, and if you turn the volume up too quick it turns itself down

I need to find something that will allow me to plug in my TV/Computer or a Vinyl Player depending on what I want to listen to at the time and perhaps also play CD's, but Im not really arsed about that. The genre I listen to releases quite a bit on vinyl and I want to have a capacity to listen to it well.

I know for my PC I plug two leads into the back of the sound system, that comes out as a 3.5mm plug. Like what you use to plug in for a pair of headphones. This simply goes into the computer or the MP3 player depending on what I want to use. Thats easy enough and must be a standard slot on all music systems as long as you purchase the relevant wire from Currys or whatever.

But what am I looking for the sound system to have is a way of connecting up my Turntable or my TV? I don't want to invest in something that won't connect to all of the different ones.

Or will it simply be as easy as buying different leads from Curry's?

[Hij]

Just asked a guy at work.
Something about an Amplifier?

Clueless

[coct3au]

It's hard to give you an answer without knowing a bit more about what you're aiming for here.

Do you already have a separate turntable, or was it part of your AIWA system? ie do you need a new turntable too?

How much emphasis are you placing on watching TV/DVDs through your system, and how much emphasis on listening to your music?

Is this for a living room, or a bedroom, or somewhere else?

How important is sound quality to you?

And the crux of the matter; how much are you looking to spend? ;)

[RajR]

Get a Yamaha AV Amp.

[Hij]

Do you already have a separate turntable, or was it part of your AIWA system? ie do you need a new turntable too?

Am going to purchase a seperate turntable so yeah need a new one. I never owned one, although my dad does. But I dont fancy popping into his room to listen to music, I want my own one

How much emphasis are you placing on watching TV/DVDs through your system, and how much emphasis on listening to your music?

More on music really. But the TV I have is a 15 inch flat screen and isn't very loud, would be nice to have the option to plug it into an audio system which would be a bit louder.

Is this for a living room, or a bedroom, or somewhere else?

My bedroom. Over the last year Ive saved and bought my computer and TV and used my cousins old AIWA system, looking to get an audio system that will do all I need it to now and also work alongside my new turntable.

How important is sound quality to you?

Slightly. I want to have the option for a subwoofer perhaps at the very least some speakers that can handle some bass and a clear sound. But it doesn't need to be perfect by any means.

And the crux of the matter; how much are you looking to spend?

Not more than £300 for system and turntable. Is this unrealistic?

[Hij]

Get a Yamaha AV Amp.

This would go alongside a set of speakers and unit right?

[RajR]

Yes. You would need to get your main speakers, sub woofer and surround sound speakers as well. Most AV amps these days are also Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS and Dolby Pro Logic II decoding.

[Hij]

Yes. You would need to get your main speakers, sub woofer and surround sound speakers as well. Most AV amps these days are also Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS and Dolby Pro Logic II decoding.

So should I be looking to purchase a Yahama system and then add the AMP to the set up?

Then purchase the relevant wires to plug into the AMP and then into the turntable/pc/tv ?

[RajR]

No. The Yamaha AV amp, is an amp as well, just that it enables you to connect your DVD/Digital TV sound through it, as well as your other Hi Fi separates like CD Player, DAT player, turntable etc. You won't need two amps.

[Hij]

No. The Yamaha AV amp, is an amp as well, just that it enables you to connect your DVD/Digital TV sound through it, as well as your other Hi Fi separates like CD Player, DAT player, turntable etc. You won't need two amps.

Sorry I didnt make myself clear. What I meant is, I must buy a Yahama set up, e.g speakers/woofer etc and then purchase the AMP to go with it?

And then when stuff connects to the AMP they will come out the speakers (if the AMP is connected up)

right?

And that AMP is going to take up most of my budget! So I should look for an amp that can accept other 'Hi Fi Seperates' and purchase that?

[Barney_Rubble]

USB Turntable.

[RajR]

You don't need to buy Yamaha speakers.

My set up is a Yamaha amp, mission main L&R main speakers, Mordont Short Surround, sub woofer and main speaker.

I then have my CD player, DVD player, Sky system connected to the amp.

I have not purchased another amp. You can buy the home entertainment packages, but I'd rather set this up myself with the separates and speakers I wanted, not the ones that were 'forced' onto me by the manufacturer.

The reason I mentioned Yamaha AV's is that I think they are one of the best on the market at the moment.

Does this make sense?

[Hij]

Brilliant idea Barney thanks. Just googled one and it looks pretty decent. I assume Ill have the ability to just let the vinyls run and play through the PC than be forced to create MP3 versions of all the files?

http://www.firebox.com/index.html?dir=firebox&action=product&pid=1401&src_t=wnp

Therefore. I would only be looking for a system, where I can plug my TV and PC in which would be many times easier. Thanks.

You don't need to buy Yamaha speakers.

My set up is a Yamaha amp, mission main L&R main speakers, Mordont Short Surround, sub woofer and main speaker.

I then have my CD player, DVD player, Sky system connected to the amp.

I have not purchased another amp. You can buy the home entertainment packages, but I'd rather set this up myself with the separates and speakers I wanted, not the ones that were 'forced' onto me by the manufacturer.

The reason I mentioned Yamaha AV's is that I think they are one of the best on the market at the moment.

Does this make sense?

Ah ok. I understand what you are saying. Although I dont think Im quite as good at assembling different speakers etc. Although you havent used one would a home entertainment package suffice with it being connected to an amp?

Thanks for your time so far btw.

[Barney_Rubble]

Brilliant idea Barney thanks. Just googled one and it looks pretty decent. I assume Ill have the ability to just let the vinyls run and play through the PC than be forced to create MP3 versions of all the files?

Once it's hooked up you can do what you want with it. Simply play records and/or digitise your complete vinyl collection, stuff like that.

[RajR]

Once it's hooked up you can do what you want with it. Simply play records and/or digitise your complete vinyl collection, stuff like that.

Why would you want to do that? I love playing vinyl.

Hij, yes you can just buy a home entertainment package and the amp comes with it, but it's not as good. Not sure if the amps that come with it enable to connect separates into them. They never used to but not sure these days as I don't bother with them.

[Hij]

Ah ok. All excited now. N95 comes tomorrow and now I can sort this out.

Hopefully a home entertainment would be able to connect to the TV and to the PC. I'd hope it would have two inputs.

[coct3au]

Sorry I didnt make myself clear. What I meant is, I must buy a Yahama set up, e.g speakers/woofer etc and then purchase the AMP to go with it?

To a large degree, any amp will work with any speakers, they don't both have to be Yamaha. But you will need both an amp and some speakers, yeah.

And then when stuff connects to the AMP they will come out the speakers (if the AMP is connected up)

right?

Right!

And that AMP is going to take up most of my budget! So I should look for an amp that can accept other 'Hi Fi Seperates' and purchase that?

All amps will accept other hi-fi seperates, that's their job ;)

You could just about do it for 300 quid, with something like:

AV amp: http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=SONY-STRDE400 (£130)
Turntable: http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/1241 (£85)
Speakers: http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=TANG-EVO-BLK (£80)

= £295

Although I would personally be more tempted with a 'hi fi' amp rather than an AV amp, and as you seem to be a diligent saver, might stretch myself to something more like:

Amp: http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=CAMB-340A-SE-BLK  (£180)
Turntable: http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/1241 (£85)
Speakers: http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/3154  (£90)

= £355

I think you're getting more bang for your buck there. However, the 'AV amp v stereo amp' issue is a bit of a holy war - you'll just have to think about the pros and cons, and decide what you think is best for your needs.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/index.php is a good site for this sort of stuff, incidentally.

[Barney_Rubble]

Why would you want to do that? I love playing vinyl.

S'what I said.

Digitising is an option, and vinyl doesn't last forever, and why would you fuck around changing discs all the time rather than click the mouse or press play on yer ipod etc.

Hi-Fi Schmi-Fi. Just turn it up...

[SwedenRed]

Its useless if you dont know what your budget is. What is your budget? I will then be able to advise on which system you should go for, based on the colour of your money.

Edit... just saw you have £300 to spend... Thats not alot in this modern world. Amp, speakers and turn table. I suppose you only wish a pair of speakers for stereo sound, right? In all honesty, I doubt I can find a system for this amount that is half decent for my ears. This is gonna be a struggle.

[Hij]

Cheers coct3au. Based on what you and Barney and Raj have suggested I think I will purchase the following turntable because for 5 quid extra I will have the ability to record some of the tracks and instrumentals onto my pc which is a nice bonus but also just play them. Then it would involve playing the Turntable through my PC and into the sound system I would assume.

http://www.firebox.com/index.html?dir=firebox&action=product&pid=1401&src_t=wnp

The speakers at £90 look fine. Is there any difference with them having a wooden outer? A lot of the music I play is 'electro' so I rely on a nice bass and stuff, would there be any problems with those?

As for the AMP's, I think Ill probably go with the Sony one as it looks a lot like what Ive seen other amps with the options at the back to plug stuff into. Or are the other AMPs slowly replacing the AV ones?

Its useless if you dont know what your budget is. What is your budget? I will then be able to advise on which system you should go for, based on the colour of your money.

No more than £350 for Amp/Speakers/Turntable all in. Need to buy some car lessons and save a bit as well

[Hij]

S'what I said.

Digitising is an option, and vinyl doesn't last forever, and why would you fuck around changing discs all the time rather than click the mouse or press play on yer ipod etc.

Hi-Fi Schmi-Fi. Just turn it up...

When I've been on my mates decks, theres something great about putting the vinyl on and stuff. Ahhh

[coct3au]

AV amps/receivers will let you connect 5 speakers and a subwoofer (or more). They'll also take in video signals (eg Sky box, Playstation, DVD player) and output them to your TV. So all your audio and video goes through this one box, nice and convenient. They usually have lots of processing effects and settings and stuff.

Hifi amps usually only let you connect 2 speakers, no subwoofer. They just deal in audio. Rather than having loads of effects and settings, they tend to try and be as basic as possible - the idea being that all the other stuff interferes with the goal of amplifying the original sound source as perfectly as possible.

So, (in theory), you're looking at a trade-off between quality and versatility. Some people will tell you that there isn't really a noticeable difference in audio quality between amps and AV receivers; other people will insist that there is.

As this is a bedroom setup, I'm assuming you're not looking to go into the 5 speaker surround-sound route. And you said that music listening is a more important consideration that TV watching. So I'd probably suggest going down the hifi route. But I am biased that way myself, so don't pay too much attention to me. And you did also say that sound quality isn't massively important to you, so perhaps the flexibility of an AV receiver would be fine. But it probably won't sound as good for music, as the same amount of cash spent on hifi. And AV receivers date more quickly. So I'd consider getting a decent hifi amp now, and getting an AV receiver in the future, when you want to set up some proper HDMI 5.1 home cinema malarkey in your front room. But YMMV.

You could see if Richer Sounds will give you a deal on:

http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct/CAMB-340A-SE-BLK
http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=NUMA-TTUSB
http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=TANN-CUSTOM-F1
(It should handle your electro fine, BTW, yep).

Or if you want to go the AV route:

http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=YAMA-RXV361
http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=NUMA-TTUSB
http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=TANN-CUSTOM-F1

Of course, the ideal thing would be to try and find some acquaintances with each type of setup, and see which you prefer. Or try and pick a non-busy time of day and wander into a few friendly shops for a play around.

[Hij]

Just ordered the turntable. Need to select my choice of speakers and amp now.

Ill bear in mind what you say Coct3au and your information has been very helpful and insightful for a newbie like me, so thanks. Would I be able to plug both my TV and Computer into a HiFi amp you have suggested? If so, I think I may be sold

[Hij]

http://www.firebox.com/product/1401?src_t=t20

I ordered that Turntable. I hope the one I've ordered is as good Those speakers are out of stock online, so I'm going to google to find them somewhere else.

[coct3au]

Just ordered the turntable. Need to select my choice of speakers and amp now.

Ill bear in mind what you say Coct3au and your information has been very helpful and insightful for a newbie like me, so thanks. Would I be able to plug both my TV and Computer into a HiFi amp you have suggested? If so, I think I may be sold

No problem Hij.

Yes, you should be able to plug your TV and computer into either type of amp without any problems. You just need to keep in mind how many different inputs you're likely to need when buying your amp - you're on 3 so far, with your TV, computer and turntable. Obviously some amps have more available inputs than others.

Anyway, re your computer - from your earlier post, it sounds like you already have the correct cable for this - something like:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?TabID=1&ModuleNo=31700&doy=30m10

For your TV, it depends what type of audio outputs the TV has. Hopefully it will have two phono outputs, like the "L" and "R" here:

... in which case you'd need a cable like: http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?TabID=1&ModuleNo=1020&doy=30m10

If the TV just has a headphone output, you'd need another cable like the one for your computer.

[Hij]

Yeah thats the lead I already own, which goes into a 3.5mm plug and goes into the back of my pc (and removed and have my headphones put in if my parents or my brother want to go to sleep!).

I think I only need two inputs for now? My understanding of the USB Turntable is that it will be plugged into my PC and then the PC will play the audio out to the AMP adn the amp will play the sound into the speakers, correct?

E.G Turntable -> Through The USB to the PC -> Out The Pc To The Amp -> To the Speakers -> To My Ears (as long as there is sufficent volume )

correct

Also.
Unless I'm terribly mistaken (and quite possibly I am  ). Surely if I plug a DVD player or PS2 into the TV, the connection from the TV to the amp would suffice? Or do I need a direct connection for each to the amp, rather than to the TV and then to the AMP?

With the PS2, it has three leads like below. 2 are for picture I think and one for audio, would it be a case of plugging the audio one into the amp?

[RajR]

If you just plug in your TV into a normal amp, and it's via the SKy digital box, the sound coming from the speakers isn't synced with what's happening on the screen. The sound is delayed fractionally, which I would find very irritating. Normal amps don't allow you to adjust for this. AV amps do.

[Hij]

If you just plug in your TV into a normal amp, and it's via the SKy digital box, the sound coming from the speakers isn't synced with what's happening on the screen. The sound is delayed fractionally, which I would find very irritating. Normal amps don't allow you to adjust for this. AV amps do.

So thats the argument for an AV amp then? Sky I can worry about later, as its wired up the stairs and just plugs in in an aerial (you know the old school one with a metal thing in the middle

The one on the left of this picture. (I dont use this scart, just to illustrate the extension I used to plug in to watch Sky on my TV)


(so I watch whats on downstairs) so I'm quite possibly fucked with that either way. That contains all the sound/video, there arent different coloured wires for each one.

But for the PS2 Im getting, are you saying Raj I can I plug all audio/video and leads into an AV AMP and then connect the amp to the TV?

[WorldChampions]

Sorry to crash your thread mate but while all the audio buffs are here I might as well ask

Looking for a decent set of speakers (surround sound) to plug my xbox 360 into

I have the two cables what coct3au mentioned

Hopefully it will have two phono outputs, like the "L" and "R" here:

So anything I can plug those into which will sound good for gaming will do

Anyone any reccomendations? (I'm presuming they will be under £100)

[Hij]

As long as I get sorted and understand before I outlay my money this evening! 

[RajR]

Hij, that's not the only reason to get an AV amp, but like someone has said, it's a preference for some. For me, it makes sense, however, in another room I just have an amp!

When I used to play a PS2, I had a sony widescreen TV with a front panel on it. Think it had a RGB connector and two sockets that looked like phono jacks but weren't. I had to buy a lead that connected these three points and the other end of the lead just plugged into the back of the PS2. Improved the picture quality immensely but it wasn't for sound. The sound just came via the amp, surround sound as well.

[Hij]

Think Im gonna get an AV one after all. I think its one my Dad used to use a lot for his jazz band, so Ill go with that. And this one suggested is Sony, which is genuniely reputable in this area right?

http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=SONY-STRDE400

All thats left is the speakers.

[RajR]

Seems OK for your needs. Just find that the sound that comes from a Sony AV Amp can be a little 'tinny and hollow'. But I'm a fussy git.

As for surround sound speakers Tom, just have a look at richer sounds. I picked up my MS ones from there for about £90, but that was a few years ago and they weren't for an x-box.

[Hij]

Richer Sounds seems to be the only website bandied around so Ill probably get them from there yeah. Any advice on the specifications I should be looking for?

Gonna go and order the Sony ones in the next 10 minutes. If anyone has any major objections let me know

[WorldChampions]

Having a quick look on richer sounds, how do you know which ones accept the red and white xbox cables? Or will all of them?

[RajR]

Couldn't tell you Tom, don't own an xbox so not sure what you're talking about as regards to cables. I connect my speakers with proper insulated speaker wire.

[Hij]

Couldn't tell you Tom, don't own an xbox so not sure what you're talking about as regards to cables. I connect my speakers with proper insulated speaker wire.

Guess Im going to have to get a few of those wires then?

Just ordered the AMP.

139
109
----
248 so far.

Dont want to spend much more than 100 quid on these speakers.

[WorldChampions]

I'm talking about them red and white cables posted above mate

[Hij]

Just a quick query. Im after bookshelf speakers right?

[WorldChampions]

Hij have a look on www.ebuyer.com they have a decent sized collection of speakers