Very first 5.1 setup, need help and advice (1 Viewer)

[Obaldius]

Hi guys. This is my very first 5.1 setup, total newbie. I want something really small. something that adds some bass and surround to the experience. My budget is 200€. I found this on Amazon and I like them, will this live up to my low expectations?

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Sony HT-S20R

See on Amazon

besides of that, my TV placement is not the best. The long red line and the cube are the soundbar and the subwoofer. The other two red dots are the satellites. Main problem I find is I have a wall in the left side of the theater zone but I have no wall on the right side.

How should I adjust my setup taking that into account? thanks in advanced for any help.

 

[kalm_traveler]

Minding that I'm by no means an expert here, I have been fiddling with surround sound since the late 1990's.

As far as your space - with the open area on the right side there's not really anything which can be done positionally. As far as sound immersion, you still want the speakers in some sort of recommended positions relative to the seating position - I do not think this changes at all with sub-optimal room shapes though you might need to get creative if you're unable to put speakers in the recommended configuration.

That being said, I also am not a big fan of sound bars - while I hear that they can simulate some surroundish sound... even with that low budget personally I wouldn't recommend them. Since you said you'd like to add some bass and 'surround experience' I might instead look for a used full 5.1 setup or if you can save a little more something like this Klipsch 5.1 set would be worlds better than that Sony sound bar kit:

https://www.costco.com/klipsch-reference-theater-pack-5.1-channel-surround-sound-system.product.100492734.html

I'm not sure if Costco has that in Spain but I'm sure you could find something similar - again at least used. The price it shows me logged in is ~ 300 Euro. You would still need a receiver, but again if you're just going for a basic 5.1 surround setup you can probably pick up a decent used 5.1 AVR for pretty low cost. On my local area Facebook marketplace for example I see many 5.1 or 7.1 used receivers for around $150 to $200 depending on age, brand, and model.

You did not share which sources you'll be using to enjoy 5.1 sound, but assuming your TV has an ARC HDMI port, and/or you'll be watching from a blu ray player or streaming device like a Roku, Amazon Fire, etc you'd just need to pick up a receiver which has an HDMI input.

While brand new Klipsch speakers and a used receiver are definitely more than your 200 Euro budget, it's not tremendously more but I'm certain you'll love the true 5.1 experience.

 

[Obaldius]

I appreciate your advice! I just realizer a few things I wasn't aware of. My tv does have HDMI arc and optical out too. I was hoping to connect that setup via HDMI to my HDMIarc output and be able to watch mainly Netflix, Prime Video and whatever other content 5.1 capable.

If that didn't work I was hoping to connect the system to my TV via the optical.

Do I need that receiver 100%?

 

[kalm_traveler]

I appreciate your advice! I just realizer a few things I wasn't aware of. My tv does have HDMI arc and optical out too. I was hoping to connect that setup via HDMI to my HDMIarc output and be able to watch mainly Netflix, Prime Video and whatever other content 5.1 capable.

If that didn't work I was hoping to connect the system to my TV via the optical.

Do I need that receiver 100%?

If the sound bar has HDMI ARC support as well you could still use it (again I just strongly suggest looking for separate 5.1 speakers + receiver rather than a sound bar).

Assuming your TV has those Netflix, Prime Video etc apps - HDMI ARC will do what you want. I use it myself for Prime video streaming occasionally.

For true 5.1, you will definitely need a receiver yes - as it serves 2 functions: first it has all the inputs/outputs for your sources and processes any multi-channel sound signals from them and second it is an amplifier for the speakers.