I'm just a girl...so what do I need for great sound for my TV, Wii, and PS3? Help! (1 Viewer)

Hi, I want to get a nice sounding speaker system for my living room to hook up to the TV.
I have a 50" Panasonic Plasma, a DVD/VHS (which I never use), a PS2, a Wii, and a PS3 that I DO use. I'm totally NOT a movie person, so I don't care to get a speaker system with a DVD player, esp. since I already have a DVD player that I don't use. I like the theater sound with the bass, and killer video game sound/picture. I have satellite TV, but I don't subscribe to the Hi Def channels, so that's not an issue. I'm mostly looking to have great sound. Which setup would I need that will accept the connections for my TV and PS3/Wii?
All I'm seeing in stores are full systems with DVD players and I'm guessing that what I'm needing is just a receiver w/ speakers. (The kind we all had in our early 20's that would blow our apartment neighbors away, but we usually ended up selling to pay the rent.)
Where can I get a good setup for around $300? I don't know anything about the HDMI, upconverting, or what the diff. between 5.1 and 7.1 is.
Can you guys give me an idea of what I should get or any systems you know of that sound really good?
Thank you so much for your help!

 

[TheBat]

welcome to chat.
I started off with a home theatre in the box.. it certainly was a good start being a beginner about the home theatre. you can get a good receiver for 300 or so.. speakers will cost more.
plan out what type of room that you have? can you do 5.1 or 7.1? most likey want to start with 5.1
I own an onkyo 605 receiver. there are other receivers out there to choose from.
I kept the speakers from my home theatre in the box. they still work more then 10 years later.
Jacob

 

What specifics do I need to look for? I see receivers and speakers and entire systems everywhere, but I don't know what to look for that will do what I need.

 

[TheBat]

I would research on what you want? and your needs for the right receiver.
have you looked online for it? most receiver have the HDMI imputs.. more then 2 imputs would be good. because you will be hooking up your stuff to the receiver. it should have trueHD/DTSHD.

www.onkyousa.com

you can start there.

Jacob

 

[AudioENG]

Step one would be laying out all of the inputs and outputs and how you want the system to work:

So you have PS2, Wii, PS3, Satellite Box, and DVD/VCR.
Right off the bat you know you need a receiver that has inputs for this many devices (5).
Then we have to decide what type of connections each require for the best sound and picture. Does your TV have HDMI? I'm assuming it does but I'll ask just in case because some older tvs don't.

Then we have to decide if you want to run your video cables separate from your audio cables.
example (PS3 Video goes to TV via HDMI, and Audio goes to receiver via optical output) It would be most convenient to have all the wires go to the receiver and then have the receiver hook up to the tv with one cable (however this option can be more expensive)

It's completely up to you. Here are a few good ones to start taking a look at.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Yamaha+-+500W+5.1-Ch.+A/V+Home+Theater+Receiver/9245435.p?id=1218066770015&skuId=9245435

This receiver would have plenty of hookups for your system. Now you just need to add speakers.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Klipsch+-+HD+Theater+300+5.1-Channel+Home+Theater+Speaker+System+with+Powered+Subwoofer/9388879.p?id=1218096958747&skuId=9388879

I know I doubled your budget but you definitely don't want to cheap out on speakers, here are other ones maybe closer to your price range but these will in no way shake the house. There aren't really any cheaper receiver solutions that are worthwhile unless you don't go with a receiver capable of surround sound.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Insignia%26%23174%3B+-+5.1-Channel+Home+Theater+Speaker+System+-+Black/8761208.p?id=1202650703861&skuId=8761208

Hope this is a good start, and it's starting to make some sense. You can also start piecing together a system, like just get the receiver and maybe 2 front speakers and overtime add more speakers that way you aren't going overbudget right now and are still getting good quality.