First Post - Looking for a speaker solution (1 Viewer)

First post!

I am currently looking into speaker options for my HDTV. I have a 50" Samsung plasma mounted to the wall. It has a great picture for the money, but there are (of course) trade-offs. The thing is basically a glorified monitor. It only has a couple inputs, a single optical audio output, and a lousy on-board speaker. I am not an audiophile, but even I can tell that the speaker isn't great.

Last time I was visiting my parents, I found some old AV equipment in their basement. I brought home a receiver and about 5 speakers. The speakers all work great, but the receiver had a couple issues. First, I could never get it to broadcast in surround sound (it only could do stereo; this is possibly related to the fact that I can't find the remote control) and, because it's old, it has no optical audio input.

I'm looking for the cheapest way to give myself an upgrade from the TV's on-board speaker. I'm guessing that my best options are to buy a sound bar or to buy a cheap receiver to attach my current speakers to.

Any advice is much appreciated!

P.S. Why the heck are receivers so expensive? It seems like they take one audio signal and split it up into multiple signals while adding some power. Does that need to cost $250?

Why are speakers so expensive?

Cause, all told. If you buy them right...you buy them once a lifetime. But, I digress.

There are numerous

As a side note...

Here is the "equation" that has been accepted over the years...

Your sources added together(anything you plan to connect, even your phone)...and whatever that total is...is your AVR budget.

The speaker budget is...

Add everything else up...TV, AVR, sources(even laptop/phones)...and there is your minimum budget.

How cheap are you looking to go? You mentioned that you're not a audiophile but what exactly are you looking for? Are you looking for a 5.1 surround system or would you be satisfied with a soundbar?

If you want to go cheap a soundbar would be one way to go. Another option would be to get a stereo receiver and use just two of the speakers that you have now. You can find stereo only receivers much less than a 5.1 unit probably $150 or less in most cases (Sony example). Even cheaper would be to get a small stereo amp (lepai 2020a+) and hook that to those same speakers. However, you would probably want to check to see if your TV has a variable audio output feature. This way you could use the volume control of the TV to change the volume as those little amps don't have a remote control.

Thanks to all of you for the quick replies.

I have two larger (maybe a foot high by 5" wide) white speakers made by Advent. I believe these were the rear speakers, because they have wall mounts attached to them. Then I have 3 black Sony speakers which I think were the front speakers. And I probably have a subwoofer somewhere.

Right now, I have my DirecTV box and my PS3 both going into the TV via HDMI.

I'm not sure how I could use the lepai option (small stereo amp) because I don't know how I would connect to its inputs (either red/white speaker cables or the MP3 option that I'm guessing is a headphone jack) - the only output my TV has is the optical out; are there easy ways to convert from optical out to the red/white speaker cables or other formats?

Oh, and I completely understand why speakers would be expensive - high-quality speakers sound better, and that seems like something that should be expensive to create. The receiver just seems like a relatively low-tech piece of equipment. But that has nothing to do with anything.

The AVR is not "low-tech"...

The premise of the AVR(since its inception back in, oh...1987??? I've slept a few times since then) is to be the brains of the operation.

Meaning, your TV is not the hub. It, as you even point out, is merely "a glorified monitor".

Even if your Samsung is smart...your PS3 probably has every app it does...and handles them better anyway.

So, all you "need" is 2 HDMI inputs. Modern AVR have at least 3. Great, you'll have an extra.

You don't mention 3D...which you means you can buy old(er).

Here is my opinion...if you can handle used...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Integra-DTR-5-8-Reciever-7-1-Audio-/281291760806?pt=Receivers_Tuners&hash=item417e4ba4a6

I would take that over any new $200 AVR. Has the 2 HDMI you need and way more "other" features you will not find in any new $200 AVR....and without anything your PS3 is going to cover anyway(there are two of them on Ebay right now...the other has a laughable BIN of $300...but the opening bid is only $100...didn't look to see if there is a reserve)

The Integra I linked, it does not have the factory remote. But the remote the guy is including is one from a higher up Integra from the same era.

I should note...I have a 5.8 and 7.8. And no, neither of those 5.8 are mine.

The small stereo amp was just a thought if you wanted something really cheap since you already have some speakers. You probably could use the headphone jack out of your TV if your TV has one. If your TV does have a headphone out then you would just need either a 3.5mm to RCA or just a 3.5mm to 3.5mm. This is not the best setup but probably the cheapest as you would be out less than $30 if you used the existing speakers. I don't know of any optical to analogue converter and to be honest that would just complicate the setup beyond what I think you would want.

If you're looking for easiest/cheapest route the best way to go would probably be the soundbar considering the TV is optical out only. Most of them have the optical input that you would need which would make hookup so simple. Power plug and the optical cable is all you would need to get everything up and running. My only suggestion is to look for a soundbar with a sub of some kind or the ability to add a sub in the future. How much you spend is up to you but I've heard some decent soundbars for around $100.