Advice for playing music through my TV

[xrrr]

I am looking for some AV advice for playing music through my TV.

I found that using my iPhone in my living room iPod speaker dock was a pain as my phone was no longer usable as an iPhone when listening to music! So I recently bought an Apple TV and now use it to stream music to my iPod dock in the living room (via the TV headphone socket and AUX line in to the speakers)

This is all good but it has now highlighted a slight deficiency in the sound quality of the speakers when playing music through the TV.

I have set it up so that the speaker volume is fixed (so that I can retire the speaker remote) so I can control the sound of the TV just using my Sky+ remote as the master. This means that 90% of the time I can use the Sky+ remote for anything TV related and the Apple TV or Blue-Ray remotes if I am using those. All good.

However I noticed that the sound quality of the speakers is a little distorted when playing music through the TV. I still need to do some more experimentation to check that it is not that the TV volume too high because the speaker volume is too low.

My house is quite small and I don't want surround sound as my wife doesn't want the clutter of extra speakers, power cables etc. (nor do I to be honest). I also don't want the faff of a universal remote as I am happy with the Sky+ remote. I don't want to spend a fortune but I would like to consider alternative setups.

So:

1. Can anyone recommend some good (<£200) book shelf speakers seeing as I now don't need the iPod dock and just need a line in
2. Would an alternative setup to mine (see picture) offer any advantages? For instance would an AV Receiver offer any advantages where I will just have a basic stereo setup and no 2.1/5.1/7.1 setup (and probably never will!). Would there be any disadvantages? (e.g. another remote just for volume? More complex setup?)
3. I am not a massive audiophile and I am not after sound perfection from the TV but I would like the music to sound better - what reasons could be causing the distortion? (TV volume too high? Crap cable? The speakers sound good when the iPhone is connected so I know they are capable of 'good enough' sound)

Here is a picture of my current setup:


The advantages of my current set up are:

• TV volume is the master that works regardless of the AV device currently being used
• All sound TV/AppleTV/Blue-Ray comes through the speakers without me having to do anything special
• It works and it doesn't involve a lot of faffing to switch between video sources

[Output Flange]

Stick an AV amp in, run the HDMI leads to that, then a single HDMI to the TV. That then becomes the master for volume control (you turn the TV down to zero/mute it), and get better sound.

TV speakers, particularly in slim TVs, are crap.

Even if you're just using a stereo setup it'll still sound a lot better.

[bigdom]

Much the same advice as above, at that price point, I would suggest a trip to your local Richer Sounds, they will be able to offer a solution to match your budget. The current issue will be due to the input signal being to low.

[xrrr]

Thanks guys. Good suggestions, I think a chat with the bloke in Richer Sounds is a good next step. Ta.