Technology Home audio, and my choices

[da8s0859q]

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I've got a decently-sized plasma, and I was thinking about how I'd go about hooking up a 5.1 set to it.

Attached are:

- DVD player (via HDMI)
- XBox 360 (via HDMI)
- Cable box from cable company

Now, what I'd like to do is take the cleanest, simplest route to having a sound setup that would easily work with all of this, and be of solid quality to "most" ears without being too expensive. I don't have a set budget... just not too expensive.

Any audio buffs have any equipment suggestions? Using a PC 5.1 system was suggested to me, but I don't know if a receiver is an absolute must on this one or not, tbh.

 

[deleted87716]

I don't claim to be an audiophile, but I like a good-sounding system. Like you, I wanted to use the same setup for listening to music as well as watching movies and TV. My solution was to get a decent media receiver and CD/DVD player and some good-quality shielded speakers for the fronts. Together with the subwoofer, this forms the basic audio system for music and non-surround movies/TV. A center channel and rears round out the speaker setup for surround sound. I spent more on my fronts and center and went with lower-priced speakers for the sub and rears.

Stay away from Bose at all costs.

 

[plauto]

I don't even know where to start from....it's just too big of a field.
as blue said, stay away from Bose and, of course, all the Sony/Panasonic/whatever else stuff. I'd start by going to an audiophile shop around your house and see what they have and talk to them. Don't get intimidated by what you see. Some systems can cost upwards of $100,000. Take your time to get to know the field and what you actually want.
But there are excellent smaller speakers for good prices.
These are my current front channels:

http://www.martinlogan.com/products/ascenti

 

[deleted87716]

If you're looking for product recommendations, I like NAD for components and PSB for speakers. Excellent performance for the price, IMO, and there are deals to be had on the web if you look around.

Hmm...like this: http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=NAT587

I haven't ventured into Blu-Ray territory yet. Tempting...

 

[1UP]

...My solution was to get a decent media receiver...

I strongly support this.

Don't get something that has some kind of disc support built into it. Disc formats change way too often, but a good sound system can last much longer.

 

[deleted87716]

Don't get something that has some kind of disc support built into it. Disc formats change way too often, but a good sound system can last much longer.

Agreed. If you want that sort of thing, you can always hook up an iPod or Squeezebox.