Basic questions from a very basic user

Don
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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Notts
First things first , I know nothing about home cinema :rolleyes:

My brothers other half has asked me to sort a low end surround sytem for him .

I got her to drop in the manula for his dvd player so I could see hwt its got .

It has 2 outputs on the back labelled "digital audio out coaxial" and "digital audio out optical"

Parts of the manual say it can connect to "A/V equipment with a DTS decoder" and also "A/V equipment with a dolby digital decoder " 5.1 ?

So any pointers on what I need to look for , either specific equipment or just what the equipment I need will be sold as , as I say she is looking a low end type stuff

Sorry for the daft questions but we all have to start somewhere
 
Soldato
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18 Oct 2002
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6,648
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Chillin' on the Boat
OK m8, you've got 2 options. Either get seperates bits and pieces to suit the budget or go for an all-in-one amp and speaker kit. It's all down to personal taste and ease of use/setup.

If your bro isn't into his hi-fi/home cinema in big way then an all-in-one kit will probably do. This will consist of an amp and 5 (normally smallish) speakers and a sub. If he's a little more fussy then buying an amp and the speakers separately will allow him to fine tune it to what he wants, maybe buying some of the kit now and then getting the rest at a later date. I always go the later route and get seperates.

All you basically need is a DD/DTS amp. This will decode the signal from the DVD player. Every half decent amp out there will have the coax/optical connection you mentioned. Then it's a case of buying the speakers. You'll need front left, front right, centre, rear left, rear right. You may also want a sub although this is not necessary and is dependent on the budget.

Try and get speakers of the same make/model, you'll find they work together better.

I'm not up to date on all the latest equipment as I'm all sorted myself and if I keep looking I keep buying :)

I've tried to keep it fairly simple at the moment. Treat this thread as a learning experience and ask away.
 
Associate
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18 Oct 2002
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118
Location
Paisley
I would highly recomend the Videologic Digitheatre as an entry system.

Costs £200ish does dolby digital and is simple to set up and for around £50 more you can get a DTS version.

Not the loudest of systems but it has done me well for about 2 year now and im only starting to phase it out now (did the speakers earlier on in the year and i am going to do the sub and amp next year when i can get some more cash.:) )

but as Desmo said its all about how fussy he is about the sound.

Sorry im not totaly clued up myself but im sure there are loads of other people on here who can recommend you other good starting systems.
 
Soldato
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Location
Ashburton Grove
With your money, go to Harrods and ask them to sort you out.:D

Separates are best, as you can update a single unit a lot easier and they're better quality.

The place to get your gear is www.richersounds.co.uk you won't beat their price or customer service.

The first thing to sort out is the price he's prepared to fork out, but don't forget, decent interconnects aren't that cheap, but there's no point buying a decent amp, then using the cheap leads they provide, get a proper coaxial etc.

You can, if you so wish, pop into Richer Sounds and they will sort you out there and then, even setting everything up in their music room for you to listen to, best to pre-book this if you can.

I'm not an expert in Hi-fi and can't recommend the latest and greatest hardware, but there are plenty in here who can advise you, Jez etc.
 
Last edited:
Don
OP
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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Location
Notts
Kev not really sure what she wants and she has no idea at all , the videologic system above (ta) looks good but £299 is best I can find it for
 
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