Home Theater Sound

[Kyle Hyde]

I just bought myself a new 32" hd tv for my bedroom along with a ps3. Now, I'd like to get a basic surround sound set-up. However, I know absolutely nothing about sound set-ups nor do I really want to. I just want the basics to make playing video games and watching blu-rays a little more fun. I'd like it to be surround sound, but maybe a sound bar is better or more practical.

I'd like to keep it cheap as it's just for my bedroom. It would be great if it could be upgraded later when I move out of the house.

Or since it's just my bedroom. Is a type of surround sound theater type set-up able to be reproduced with quality headphones?

Any suggestions are appreciated, as I really don't feel like becoming an audiophile.

 

[GJI]

Hi, I bought my son some xbox 360 Turtle Beach headphones from http://www.limexb360.co.uk. The sound quality is quite spectacular. You can hear every single detail whilst playing games. Watching DVD''s is also equally as good. They are a little isolating so if you don't like that feeling maybe not for you. It also means it doesn't sound like world war 3 or aliens have invaded all the time.

 

[Z3ke]

If you want something that will be upgradeable make sure you get a standalone receiver. Many of the home theaters in a box deals use the dvd player to act as the receiver, which limits your inputs and you wont be able to upgrade your speakers. As long as you stick with a ps3 as your main media center you don't need to worry about the decoders because the playstation will decode the high def audio formats before it sends the signal. Check out the different home entertainment forums on the net to try and find a great starter set up.

FWIW here is the link to the set up I started with (actually its the updated model). I still use the receiver just with some upgraded speakers.

http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=HT-S6200&class=Systems&p=i

One more word of advice: Make sure your receiver doesn't have HDMI audio pass through, this will require you to use a separate audio connection. (only HDMI will carry the high def sound.)

* If I missed something or have given any misinformation, please, feel free to correct me

 

[betat]

Since it is a bedroom and you want to keep it simple, ZVOX makes some nice sound bars that fit under the LCD. I have one of their smaller speakers in my office attached to an XM receiver and the sound is excellent.
If you really wanted to go whole hog, then I would suggest an inexpensive AV receiver matched with five Gallo or Orb speakers and a subwoofer. The Orbs can be purchased in a package and can be found online. Not sure if the Gallos can be found online or you need to visit a bricks and mortar for them. Good luck and have fun.

 

[xpavar]

Just don't get anything made by Bose. They are the Gillette of the audio world. All marketing hype.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Headphones can do an excellent job, but you're not going to get the surround experiencd. All the good ones are two channel and the surround headphones are poor-sounding gimmicks with some rather pricey exceptions.

Stay away from Bose... it's junk. It's the equivalent of Gillette spending a nickle on making a Fusion cart and then selling it for $4. All cheap junk inside, godawful specs (there's a reason Bose never includes measurements in their sales lit) and it stacks up poorly against good equipment that sounds the same.

Anyhow, one of my favorite speaker companies is Magnepan. You might not have heard of them, but they make some of the finest speakers at any price. They have surround packages, but you could simply start with a pair of the MMG speakers, then you could add a center and rear speakers later.

If you've never experienced good speakers before, prepare for a shock. Magnepans are dipoles (radiating sound front and back) like a real instrument or singer does.

It's a shame that the audiophile field has become overrun with snakeoil. There really is terrific stuff out there at low prices, but you have to get around all the BS to find it.

 

[Spacegeezer]

It really depends how intense you want your system to be and how much room you have. For a basic bedroom system with reasonable audio (lightyears ahead of any BOSE system) I'd get something like an Energy TAKE speaker setup and match it with, probably, a Yamaha receiver.

If you've got the room and interest for more, I'd make sure the receiver had pre-outs, get a solid power amplifier for the front channels and get some big '80s speakers with a good reputation like a Yamaha NS-1000 or similar and try to get a '90s center channel from the company's equivalent '90s lineup, unless they went through a major change. (soft-dome tweets to metal dome or ownership changes or something). Then I'd start looking at HSU subs, or maybe and Axiom EP 800 or something.