Help a newbie with Digital Audio! (1 Viewer)

[Gary_mm]

I recently got a shnazy DVD player and digital Tv with all the outs/ins i can think of (optical, coaxial, S-video, Component Video). I have no idea, however, how to set up a digital surround system. Is there an all-in-1 system that has a coaxial receiver and 5.1 output that anyone could recommend? Also, are there any that support dts and Dolby Digital? Please help...

 

[Dave Moritz]

If you are talking about a 5.1 receiver then here is my opinion. There are a number of receivers out on the market and you just need to decide on what you can afford to start off with. Denon, Yamaha, Marantz, Onkyo, Harman Kardon, Sony ES and Pioneer Elite all make nice gear that once set up will auto dectect Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1. You might even want to concider 6.1 especially since ultra THX2 and Pro Logic 2 is available. This is defenantly a great time to get a receiver with the improved quality that has been going on. I curently have a discontinued Yamaha RV-X 995 that has worked flawlessly and will continued to be used even when I upgrade to a Denon AVR5803 or Pioneer Elite 49TX. I would also recomend buying good quality cables if you do not already have them. I hope this helps.

 

[Mike Matheson]

Hi Gary, and welcome to the forum.
Your question opens up a range of possibilities, many of which are related to how many $$$ you're willing to spend.
Yes, there are "all-in-one" systems so to speak (sometimes called HTB systems for "Home Theater in a Box"). These are typically priced low (roughly $500+/-). Sound is suprising decent (given the cost) for movies, but music may not come off as well as with other options that don't cost much more money (IMHO).
So a couple questions:
- how much money are you willing to spend? (roughly)
- what size is your room?
- will you need bookshelf type speakers for your fronts, or are floorstanding OK?
- do you have any audio/HT shops in your area that you can visit?
- are you open to buying used gear?
Regards,
Mike

 

[Gary_mm]

Yes I am wiling to buy used gear, but would not mind new, since i plan on using htis for quite a hiel. Either type of speaker will work. It's an average sized room (I know that doesn't say anything, but I don't know the measurements), less than the size of a normal classroom. I am quite sure that I will be able to ge tot an audio shop, once I know what I watn, but I also know that the net has everything that I could want. For the PRo logic 2, I thought that 5.1 was better than pro logic because:

Pro lOgic encodes the channels into stereo, then decodes them into the several channels, while 5.1 (digital) actually uses 5 channels. Thanks for all the brand names. One that you did not mention that I saw was Teac. ¿are their products any good)? ALso, is there an advantage to Coaxial or Optical? I don't want to spend more than 600. Thanks.