Help with picking new surround sound
Discussion
Watching a movie tonight and realised my old faithful LG 5.1 surround sound receiver/blu-ray player is starting to die, so I’m trying to find a replacement. It’s lasted 14 years and owes me nothing but trying to find a similar device is proving difficult. It’s was an all-in-one-box sort of a setup so has wired speakers and subwoofer. Do such things exist now?
It looks like the alternative is a soundbar set or a receiver and a separate blu-ray player. Wireless/bluetooth satellite speakers seem to be a thing now but won’t they just chew through batteries?
Ideally I’d like:
Easy to use (for rest of family).
Volume controlled from Apple TV remote - see easy to use.
Use existing speakers/wiring - they do the job, though could replace later. Though happy to modernise if the tech supports.
Still have a subwoofer - I’d miss it.
Blu-ray player - daughter has lots of dvds and blu-rays and likes to play them (I do too occasionally). I know, streaming is the thing now.
Budget is £300-£400 - we’re not an audiophile household, just like it crisp, clear and with a bit of rumble.
Any suggestions gratefully received.
It looks like the alternative is a soundbar set or a receiver and a separate blu-ray player. Wireless/bluetooth satellite speakers seem to be a thing now but won’t they just chew through batteries?
Ideally I’d like:
Easy to use (for rest of family).
Volume controlled from Apple TV remote - see easy to use.
Use existing speakers/wiring - they do the job, though could replace later. Though happy to modernise if the tech supports.
Still have a subwoofer - I’d miss it.
Blu-ray player - daughter has lots of dvds and blu-rays and likes to play them (I do too occasionally). I know, streaming is the thing now.
Budget is £300-£400 - we’re not an audiophile household, just like it crisp, clear and with a bit of rumble.
Any suggestions gratefully received.
The sort of all-in-one home cinema systems like your LG haven't been made in a few years. A couple of things happened. The arrival of sound bars, and then the big take-up in streaming. The result was a shift in buying habits away from physical media, and that further cemented sound bars as the entry-level in 'better audio for my TV / home surround sound' solutions that systems such as your LG used to occupy.
Okay, if a like-for-like replacement isn't available then the next step is to look at the alternatives.
The step-up from all-in-ones (A-i-Os) was the separate AV receiver with a speaker package. There was no built-in Blu-ray player. That was a standalone device, as were the games consoles, streaming sticks, turntables, smartphones and other devices that could be connected.
One of the practical difference between typical A-i-O systems and AV receivers is the speaker impedance (Ohms). A-i-Os often have speakers in the 3-4 Ohm range. For AV receiver systems it's 6~8 Ohms.The catch with lower Ohms is that the speakers suck a lot more current. This is okay at lower volumes, but when the action kicks in there's a real risk that the receiver will shut down and go into protection mode. For this reason, you should avoid running one with the speakers from an A-i-O system unless they're 6 Ohms or higher. The sub from your A-i-O won't work with the AV receiver though. You will need a proper powered sub. That probably puts a system well over your max budget
Get an AV receiver with the ARC feature, and as long as your TV has ARC, then any remote that would normally control the TV volume will control the surround volume as well. This also works with soundbars that support ARC, and that's probably the best fit for your budget.
Okay, if a like-for-like replacement isn't available then the next step is to look at the alternatives.
The step-up from all-in-ones (A-i-Os) was the separate AV receiver with a speaker package. There was no built-in Blu-ray player. That was a standalone device, as were the games consoles, streaming sticks, turntables, smartphones and other devices that could be connected.
One of the practical difference between typical A-i-O systems and AV receivers is the speaker impedance (Ohms). A-i-Os often have speakers in the 3-4 Ohm range. For AV receiver systems it's 6~8 Ohms.The catch with lower Ohms is that the speakers suck a lot more current. This is okay at lower volumes, but when the action kicks in there's a real risk that the receiver will shut down and go into protection mode. For this reason, you should avoid running one with the speakers from an A-i-O system unless they're 6 Ohms or higher. The sub from your A-i-O won't work with the AV receiver though. You will need a proper powered sub. That probably puts a system well over your max budget
Get an AV receiver with the ARC feature, and as long as your TV has ARC, then any remote that would normally control the TV volume will control the surround volume as well. This also works with soundbars that support ARC, and that's probably the best fit for your budget.
At that budget I would be looking at second hand. Something like this would work well, I had those eggs years ago and they are very good.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/127287895484?_skw=kef+e...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/127287895484?_skw=kef+e...
If it were me, I'd just get a used sound bar with Arc, probably a Sonos playbar or early generation beam, then connect via Arc to the TV. Trying to coblle together a system with lack of budget will only give you a clunky experience when you have a few different uses. You could also see what life is like without a sub and add one at a later date.
spaceship said:
Thank you for all the replies and suggestions. Thinking a soundbar is the way-ahead for us. Will look at buying a cheap Blu-ray player to go with it.
Once the BR player is plugged into the TV via HDMI, you'll get the benefit of the apps plus if you get a BR same brand as the TV, you could potentially cut down on the number of remotes you need to use. Go second-hand and you will find lots of very good kit for not much money.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285508632081?_skw=surro...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285508632081?_skw=surro...
Sonos soundbar, sub woofer, a couple of sonos one thingies.
Works for me but I am not a hifi buff - probably find I spent too much money getting a mid range solution and could have been better served by something else.
However it was easy to set up and works consistently for the whole family.
Works for me but I am not a hifi buff - probably find I spent too much money getting a mid range solution and could have been better served by something else.
However it was easy to set up and works consistently for the whole family.
Stuart70 said:
Sonos soundbar, sub woofer, a couple of sonos one thingies.
Works for me but I am not a hifi buff - probably find I spent too much money getting a mid range solution and could have been better served by something else.
However it was easy to set up and works consistently for the whole family.
Works for me but I am not a hifi buff - probably find I spent too much money getting a mid range solution and could have been better served by something else.
However it was easy to set up and works consistently for the whole family.
Reminder: OPs budget is £400
I tried to find a 7.1 reciever but getting the look and features I wanted wasn't achievable without spending more than I wanted, in the end I went for a separates cheapo approach.
I already had a second hand Ebay Eltax Symphony 5.1 speakers and two Eltax Monitor IIIs and two mini stereo amps
To this I added a £40 HMDI to 7.1 rca analogue converter and then separate additional mini amps to control the various channels up to 7.1
2x SMSL Stereo DA1 amps one for the for SR/SL and SBR/SBL channnels, via the 4x Symphony Mini bookshelfs
1x Fosi TB10A Stereo amp for the R/L main channels through the 2x Monitor IIIs
1x Fosi W04 mono set to full freq for the Symphony center
Atomic 8.2 Active Sub direct rca in
Source is the Xbox for 7.1 games and bluray via atmos down coding and passthrough HDMI, most streaming services seem to be limited at 5.1 though.
Had the Monitor IIIs and two of the amps already but that would cost around £200, the 5.1 speaker system was £60 of ebay and the additional 2 amps added another £100. another £50 for the speaker wire, banana plugs and rca cables. £40 for the DAC to Analogue
I'm no audiophile but sound is crisp and clear and immersive, exactly what I was after for movies & games.
Editted: this is the garden room // outdoor movie setup... I have the sonos Ultra ARC sound bar and surrounds in the house (no sub) and this set up is better dynamically than that.
I already had a second hand Ebay Eltax Symphony 5.1 speakers and two Eltax Monitor IIIs and two mini stereo amps
To this I added a £40 HMDI to 7.1 rca analogue converter and then separate additional mini amps to control the various channels up to 7.1
2x SMSL Stereo DA1 amps one for the for SR/SL and SBR/SBL channnels, via the 4x Symphony Mini bookshelfs
1x Fosi TB10A Stereo amp for the R/L main channels through the 2x Monitor IIIs
1x Fosi W04 mono set to full freq for the Symphony center
Atomic 8.2 Active Sub direct rca in
Source is the Xbox for 7.1 games and bluray via atmos down coding and passthrough HDMI, most streaming services seem to be limited at 5.1 though.
Had the Monitor IIIs and two of the amps already but that would cost around £200, the 5.1 speaker system was £60 of ebay and the additional 2 amps added another £100. another £50 for the speaker wire, banana plugs and rca cables. £40 for the DAC to Analogue
I'm no audiophile but sound is crisp and clear and immersive, exactly what I was after for movies & games.
Editted: this is the garden room // outdoor movie setup... I have the sonos Ultra ARC sound bar and surrounds in the house (no sub) and this set up is better dynamically than that.
Edited by TWODs on Thursday 21st August 11:29
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