5.1 speaker recommendations?

[GaryRW]

Hi all,

I'm trying to beef up the sound coming from my HTPC in the lounge - at the moment we are just using the tv speakers which has 2 drawbacks. Firstly they are built in tv speakers so not very good. But it also means if we just want to listen to music or radio from the HTPC, we have to leave the tv on. (possibly relevant but probably off topic - a major irritation is that even if the pc is set to turn the screen off and/or go to sleep, the tv stays fully powered up just saying can't find a signal )

Anyway, I am by no means an audiophile, as evidenced by the fact we've just been using the tv speakers for 2 years. As another indication of my/our standards, I did put a blu-ray drive in the HTPC by my other half and I basically agreed that on our 32" tv, it wasn't that big a difference so the blu-ray drive has pretty much gone unused.

At the moment, it is just the HTPC and the TV, nothing else involved. Most of our stuff is our DVD's ripped to the Hard Drive, so I could go back and re-rip them to make sure they have the full surround sound if they haven't. So I think I'm looking for a 5.1 system but to be honest, I'm struggling to work out for sure whether I need an amp or not If it's any help, this is the motherboard in the HTPC: http://uk.msi.com/product/mb/785GTM-...l#/?div=Detail

Budget is probably as low as possible to get a reasonable result, but finding reviews of cheaper stuff is quite difficult. Basically I'm looking for the sweet spot!

So what would people recommend and/or can anyone point me in the direction of any noddy's guides to what I'd need? thanks

Edit: Oh, and TV is in one corner of the room and my very, very basic understanding is that will probably make a big negative impact on sound quality if I can't arrange the speakers properly??

[GaryRW]

I've done quite a bit more reading/frustrated browsing and I've come to the conclusion that what I really want isn't really out there. The mid-range 5.1 audio systems seem to be covered by the all-in-one DVD/blu-ray + integrated 5.1 surround sound, and obviously I don't need the DVD or Blu-ray bit as I want to use the HTPC for that.

These are the only possibilities I've come up with so far:

1. A low end PC aimed 5.1 system, e.g. Logitech Z506 - about £70 (http://www.logitech.com/en-gb/speake...s/devices/7191)
   
2. The only serious/non-pc audio only set-up I can find without a separate amp is the Onkyo HTX-22HDX (http://www.richersounds.com/product/...y-htx22hdx-blk) + the extra speaker package (http://www.richersounds.com/product/...nky-sks22x-blk) which turns it into a 5.1 set-up. Cost is about £220 + £80.
   
3. A fully fledged Amp + 5.1 speaker package e.g. ONKYO HTS3405 (http://www.richersounds.com/product/...ky-hts3405-blk). That would be about £300, but I don't think I'd fit the amp anywhere easily!
   
4. A 4.0 system comprising of a pair of Creative Gigaworks T40 Series 2 for the front speakers and a pair of Creative Gigaworks T20 Series 2 for the rear speakers. Cost about £70 + £50

With 2 or 3, it would be able to do full HD audio, though I'd need to buy an audio card as my motherboard doesn't have digital audio out. Not plucked up the courage to look at costs of a sound card that can deal with HD audio yet, and suspect it would make HD audio a no go.

I am really tempted by the simplicity of option 4 and the cost of that would be roughly in line with the vague unformed figure of £100 - £150 I think I had in mind. Negatives would be adjusting the volume on them and wall mounting them as they are clearly designed for desktop use. (For turning on/off I could get an Intelliplug to turn them on/off with the HTPC)

So can anyone offer any advice or opinions?

[shaithis]

This is one area where I don't like compromise....so from me....amp + speakers (probably on a deal from Richer Sounds).

The sound difference can be staggering.

Others will say things like the BOSE single-speaker systems.

Others will say an all-in-one system like the logitechs.

At the end of the day the decision is driven by your needs. Wiring, budget, space, room shape, sound quality, noise level, neighbours, wife etc all have to be taken into account.

[g8ina]

Onkyo 5.1 for me, my son has one and its pretty nice.

[Dareos]

Have an Onkyo 608 and Q2000 speaker kit, love it loads.

Kinda bulky tho, and may not suit everyone, but as Shaithis says, its a matter of personal choice.

Most recentish mobo's have the facility to do 5.1 and 7.1 with onboard sound, but it would be a PC speaker package you would then be looking at, from the likes of Logitech, rather than a dedicated system (unless you go the amp router)

[Smudger]

You could go amp + speakers route and pick up speakers as and when you can afford them. So for instance start with Amp + 2 small speakers, then get floor standers and move small speakers to back, then centre speaker, then sub.
Most TV is broadcast in stereo, so for the majority of the time, you'll only be listening through the front two anyway...
I think I saw an Onkyo TXNR-609 in Richer Holborn for c£300, but I may have been imagining that...

[shaithis]

Most TV is broadcast in stereo, so for the majority of the time, you'll only be listening through the front two anyway...

Most HD channels are transmitting 5.1 on the majority of their programming.

[Smudger]

There's no mention of watching HDTV...

And I guess my point is, you can still enjoy HD TV with stereo output, until you can afford more speakers, but if you go all-in-one, you're likely to end up with a set of speakers which are OK, but you can't change them bit-by-bit when you want to improve things...

[shaithis]

Well, talk of BluRay and HD Audio formats......for me that means the OP is savvy enough to be watching HD where available.

[Smudger]

Yeah, but do you go in with something which is a bit rubbish, just to get 5.1, then start again when you want to improve, or build a decent system as and when you can afford. Seeing as the OP has been using TV speakers up til now, even watching through an amp with shelf speakers is going to be an improvement.

[GaryRW]

cheers chaps

The clear impression I get is the Onkyo stuff is worth it if I can, and I have surprisingly just received the ok for the £300 onkyo kit . So I will probably go for the HTX-22HDX + extra speakers - I think that's probably less upgradeable/future proof than a separate amp/receiver, but tbh I think it will last us a loooong time. The most practical issue with the other Onkyo option is that the amp/receiver won't fit in the old tv cupboard that my wife's quite attached too.

On some of the points you've all mentioned, although I count myself as reasonably savvy, the current kit is pretty low end - I put in an extra dual satellite tuner in just before xmas (just moved house and there was an old sky dish begging to be used...) - but then I realised that only spending £30 on an AMD Sempron for the HTPC meant it wasn't quite up to BBC HD. oops.

So on more current practicalities, I would assume it's worth shelling out £20 for something like this http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-...e-ampifier-oem to get the optical out? As guessed, I probably won't be using true HD audio or anything for some time, so will it make a big difference on e.g. normal DVD soundtracks or would analogue leads be good enough?

Alternatively, would a motherboard with an optical out be good enough? As above, I'm thinking about replacing the CPU anyway, so could maybe convince myself a change of mobo is in order as well.

[Smudger]

If you've got HDMI on the graphics card on your HTPC, you don't need optical out. HDMI should carry pic and sound, as long as the GPU can output it.

By the looks of it, that Onkyo set has 3xHDMI and 1 out, so you could add 2 more boxes (HD Freesat/PS3) and it would cope with them all...

[GoNz0]

onkyo 609 and qacoustics 2000 5.1 with the fronts upgraded to 2020's

[GaryRW]

If you've got HDMI on the graphics card on your HTPC, you don't need optical out. HDMI should carry pic and sound, as long as the GPU can output it.

No GPU, but the onboard Gfx does have HDMI out, so that would be the first option to try - cheers!

onkyo 609 and qacoustics 2000 5.1 with the fronts upgraded to 2020's

On a very quick google, doesn't that add up to > £1k ?

[GoNz0]

google a bit longer and it can be had for £800

[GaryRW]

oh - so only about 150-200% more than the ones I'm looking at then

That'll probably have to wait till I've got something bigger than a 32" tv to match it with. My dream is still a decent HD projector in the attic bedroom...