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Thread: new stereo.. hmmmm

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    Senior Member j1979's Avatar
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    new stereo.. hmmmm

    Ok so ive not purchased a stereo since i was about 15. and have only just got my own place, so am looking at a full integrated sound/vision/pc network. not really sure where to start tho, i have got a 1080p 37" for the front room and already have a desktop and net book. i intend to add a atom based file server that i can stream video to my destop/netbook and TV, as well as buying a new stereo. all of my big HDD's will be hooked upto the home server and contain all my media files.

    ive also managed to flac all of my CDs (mostly metal) on to 2 big hard drives, and want to be able to use winamp to play them through my stereo (not yet purchased). im not sure what the best solution is tho, and is there any way of controling Winamp without having a screen attached to the file server (IE from the netbook via wireless)... or from a stereo directly..

    also what would be the best way to hook up the tv/pc to the stereo, would it just be on an AUX channel or have things moved on since, like do new stereos have an Ethernet port specificly for this? is optical out (S/PDIF) the best way forward?

    basicly i know i could just hookup the TV to the file server and play video directly, and this is fine, but when im listening to music i really dont want to turn the power hungry TV on just so i can pick the tunes i want to play. i want a stereo that can communicate with software on the atom server and play my music without turning on the TV. or a way i can chose tracks on the server to stream to the stereo by using the netbook via winamp or similar software, but the sound to come out via the stereo not the netbook. is this possible?

    also i dont want to spend mega shillings on this as im on a tight budget. thanks in advance people

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    Formerly known as Andehh Andeh13's Avatar
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    Re: new stereo.. hmmmm

    Can't really advise on what hifi to buy, I use a Sony DG820 A/V receiver and some hefty Floortanding speakers (Q acoustic 1050i). Bit of a price setup but a stonking one at that. I can select which input i want for the receiver from the remote, so TV, computer, CD player etc.


    As for hooking it up, looking into optical cables - Toslink sort of things!
    http://www.tvcables.co.uk/cgi-bin/tv...les/op=eq.html

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    Seething Cauldron of Hatred TheAnimus's Avatar
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    Re: new stereo.. hmmmm

    The question is do you want surround sound?

    Lots of people i know have gone for it, but unless you design the room round it, it just sounds wrong, and if your anything like obsessive old me here, it drives you nuts.

    If your wanting good sounding music, go for two good high end speakers, but also if you share accomodation, remeber your flatmates. This is why I've not upgraded the B&W 603s in the lounge.... They are loud enough as it is. (my flatmate is sweet n all, but she does sometimes forget that i have to be at work before her, and i can't just pull a sickie).

    If your going for two speakers, you can also get HiFi speakers, and no sub. Most people with subs distort the sound so badly, all i can describe it as is essex boy car syndrome, whilst i mainly listen to drum n base when out, i can't stand poorly balanced sound.


    So on that point something like an 804S from B&W again is good, but probably the wrong end of the price scale, a friend of mine has one, and after listen to it at a dinner party for a fair few hours, they are simply wounderful. The 684 is a good compromise thou, it is what i was thinking of putting in the lounge.

    Then to drive it, because its a TV set up, recivers spring to mind. Recivers switch audio + video, so it makes manage the xbox/wii/ps3/sky/mediapc/future console/snes a breaze. However the raw quality of the audio amp is often said to suffer. In your case i wouldn't worry to much. You can get cheap analouge amps that are rather decent (NAD is what i use in my bedroom), but you risk so much going wrong on way from the sound card (ie nasty analogue cable gets interference, espesually if there is any length) and you rely on the sound card been any good.

    A reciver will let you use the spdif optical or coax interface.
    throw new ArgumentException (String, String, Exception)

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