Stereo + home theatre advice please

[Winston001]

I must be getting old. I went to buy a ghetto blaster at the weekend only to discover some shops don't even sell them anymore. Eventually picked up a JVC at Hardly Normal - just wanted to play CDS, tapes, and radio in the kitchen. Ipods and MP3 players are all the rage....

Anyway, I need a sound system for the lounge which I'd like to plug my TV and/or DVD player into. How hard can that be....?

Well, it appears that home theatre and the bog standard stereo system have yet to meet - at least at anything below $1500.

To be honest I don't understand home theatre and whether I really need it. Surely the sound linked through a stereo would also be good even if it isn't split 5 ways??

I'm prepared to spend $1000 more or less.

I'd also like to know whether having my pc linked would be worthwhile - more cables - wireless?

Finally, I saw a JVC system at Hardly Normal for $500 which had USB, video, ipod, mp3 ports but no dvd/cd player - just attach what you like. Is this the new way to go?? It still requires a system with cd, tape, radio, record player to be any use.

Cheers
Winston

[MyGSXF:Me]

lols.. I scored a surround sound system from our local Op Shop!! for $50.00

It plugged straight into the tv, & now anything played on the tv, video, dvd & ps2 players, all goes through the speakers!

It sure makes watching movies a better & more enjoyable experience, having the sound coming at you from all directions!

[vifferman]

Sounds like you need to borrow the vifferbabe. She'll find summat for you to buy.

A couple of years back, I wanted to go window-shopping for some new speakers. Just looking, mind, to see what was available - no real intentions.
We came home with a 5-speaker surround-sound system and subwoofer (B&W), wall brackets, cables, etc etc and a 135W/channel receiver (Onkyo).

Then a year or so after that, we went window-shopping to look at helmets, and came home with a $12k bike.

[Jimmy B]

I know this is 2x what you wanted to pay but it’s a really good piece of kit:

http://www.easternhifi.co.nz/default,1198.sm

or

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Electronics...554958.htm?p=3

5.1 or 7.2 home theatre is cool but needs to be partnered with a reasonable panel (TV) and speakers for the best effect. Setup correctly it can be stunning. Stereo set up for TV and Movies with a sub is a great compromise.

PC connection can be useful for downloading movies, TV programs/series and internet radio. Most modern amps have direct internet connectivity for radio. Personally I don’t use this feature.

If you want to stay within your budget then keep an eye on trade me. Some very high quality equipment to be found at a fraction of what they cost new. I recently moved on a 10 year old Denon AMP that cost 7K new for $300. It had a minor fault that would have been very easy to rectify

Eg:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Electronics...799656.htm?p=2

or better:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Electronics...66616.htm?p=20

[DMNTD:Me]

Sorry mate I can't help re that stuff but bling sent for saying ghetto blaster...what a freaking flash back!

[Ewan Oozarmy]

Sorry mate I can't help re that stuff but bling sent for saying ghetto blaster...what a freaking flash back!

Definitely! Or "wog box" when I was a lad.

[Teflon]

You wont get much for $1500..

Your best bet is to go with a good 2-channel amp. Depending on the size of your room, bookshelf speakers is the cheapest option.

I'm a huge fan of Klipsch Reference speakers, high sensitivity which takes fuck all watts to go loud. These speakers maybe in your price range..

http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/rb-10.aspx

[Slingshot]

IMHO, an AV Receiver is the way to go. The basic idea is that everything plugs into the AV Receiver, it sends the image signal onto the TV and it does some fancy decoding stuff with the audio signal then sends that onto the speakers.

The beauty of this type of system is that you can add to it as you can afford it. So you could start off with the AV Receiver and 2 speakers, later on you could add the center and surround speakers and then the sub and a plasma or LCD if you haven't already got one.

I couldn't live without my computer hooked up to the TV, if you're keen to do this...look for an AV Receiver that has HDMI in (or DVI at the least). Even if your computer doesn't have this type of output you're future proofing it.

When looking for a unit, think about all of the components that you're going to want to plug in and make sure the unit has all of those inputs on the back + a few, there's nothing worse than running out of inputs.

Last piece of advice...don't skimp on cabling. Cheap cabling can make a good sounding system sound like shit.

or better:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Electronics...66616.htm?p=20

This type of set-up looks like it would be a good place to start.

[Indiana_Jones]

All I can say is make sure you get a turntable for the system

-Indy

[HTFU]

Anyway, I need a sound system for the lounge which I'd like to plug my TV and/or DVD player into. How hard can that be....?

Well, it appears that home theatre and the bog standard stereo system have yet to meet - at least at anything below $1500.

To be honest I don't understand home theatre and whether I really need it. Surely the sound linked through a stereo would also be good even if it isn't split 5 ways??

I'm prepared to spend $1000 more or less.

I'd also like to know whether having my pc linked would be worthwhile - more cables - wireless?


Cheers
Winston

Personally I think that if you have gone this long without one then a basic system will be fine. (then again I have always been one for doing things on a budget)

I love listening to music but can't see the point in forking out big coin. For the last 10 years have had a basic Sharp 40watts rms stereo system. Cost me $500 back then and sounds great hooked up via the AV cords to my TV. I can also plug my computer into it to play my music on my itunes and music folders. Heaps of wireless options that can be hooked up to the stereo at a later date.

My flatmates back then spent big money on amps and speakers and yeah it did sound good but to be honest I can't really tell a big difference from my system when it comes to watching a movie. I am just running 2 channel not surround sound but my brother got a good pioneer system for less than $1000 new with 5.1 and a DVD player included in the system. Again not a big deal with the actual sound given out.

Any system with multiply AV inputs and AV outputs would be enough to future proof it. Something like this maybe

http://www.dse.co.nz/cgi-bin/dse.sto...ct/View/AE7951

[Headbanger]

bear in mind it will cost a fair bit of coin to ship a full system down to the bottom of the world.

this one is a bit closer to home

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Electronics...-149193473.htm

I have bought some stunning audio gear off trademe for very little money.

[BIGBOSSMAN]

If 2 channel sound is your priority then you can't really go past companies like NAD for bang for buck.
Add a pair of Wharfedale Diamond bookshelves (seen 'em on TM new for $299) and you'll be impressed.
Much much better than those 'all in one' JVC'c and Philips type mini systems.

http://nadelectronics.com/products/h...ated-Amplifier
http://nadelectronics.com/products/c...5BEE-CD-Player

[Winston001]

Thanks for the replies everyone, very helpful. I had a Technics system for years but it is no more. However I do have a couple of speakers so I'm part-way ontrack.

Hadn't thought of Trademe, so that is worth a look. Got to get a turntable too for all the big black CDs I still have LOL.

[Teflon]

If 2 channel sound is your priority then you can't really go past companies like NAD for bang for buck.
Add a pair of Wharfedale Diamond bookshelves (seen 'em on TM new for $299) and you'll be impressed.
Much much better than those 'all in one' JVC'c and Philips type mini systems.

http://nadelectronics.com/products/h...ated-Amplifier
http://nadelectronics.com/products/c...5BEE-CD-Player

Yeah, NAD is the way to go..

Those Wharfedale diamond speakers are rubbish.. i've got the 9.5's boxed away in the garage.. they have no highs, low and mids sound 'muddy'. Chuck a thick blanket over my RF3's (Klipsch), thats how Wharfedales sound to me.

[kiwifruit]

i recently spent under 1000 on a stereo set up,

big set of cerwin vega floor speakers (400 trademe)
medium yamaha amp with digital fathoms (450 trademe)
all plugged up to the computer, works really well