5.1 compatible sound systems

[ian_tycoon]

Could we help get a list together of 5.1 systems which are compatible with the 360.

Optical input needed I understand no?

:s

[dikiminster]

Well, I have mine connected up to some generic cheapy 5.1s, via the RCA cables and the sound is great. Wish I could afford a new set with optical input.......lucky for you you're a tycoon, eh? ;)

[seal santana]

I have the sound blaster Extigy external from creative, that I use for the 360, and it works great.
connected with optical cable....perfect DD sound 5.1

http://www.cheapcomputer.com/images/extigy.jpg

[RiLu@]

I have one my self but is not connect yet, and maybe ill use a old creative surround setup still have a nice sound.
I had the extigy with the PS2 and a Zalman surround headphones with 3 speakers on each side that's what you can call a MONSTER SOUND!

[mjmaskrey]

Tbh the list would be huge..I'm guessing every 5.1 system now has optical inputs as well as digital co-ax inputs.

You can use the RCA connectors (red & white) but that won't give you true 5.1, best you'd get is Dolby Pro Logic...which would still sound good but you do lose some of the sound placement that you'd get from true 5.1 surround.

:)

[Mant]

It would depend on your room setup and your budget mainly. You could cut it down to two types of setups. 1) a full bundle setup from the likes of creative, bose, etc. This will give you whats needed at a resonable budget, there are some real cheap ones out there that you need to avoid and upgradeability is very limited. 2) is to get a 5.1 home cinema setup of an 5.1 Amp and a set of surround package speakers or buy specific ones to suit your budget (with the ability to upgrade them in the future).

Personaly I would go with (2) and check out www.richersounds.com for good bundles on 5.1 setups, in the homecinema section. The most money would be spent on a decent amp for around (£150-250 for a Sony or Yamaha) then you can get decent speaker bundles for around the same price range or shop for cheaper speakers for the front stage (stereo) and get the center and rears at a later date when your wallet revives. This kind of setup is good for a medium/large room, so if you have a small room then a cheap full system like creatives will work just as well.

[Ryan]

I bought a complete home cinema set.

£150 JVC - Has Optical in which is what you need for true surround sound.

Dvd player has to be on though for me... which aint a problem.

[padds78]

I bought acoustic solutions DS 222 5.1 dolby home theatre system off ebay and i cant set it up to my 360 a friend said i need a 5.1 decoder can anyone help?

[Dcontrol]

Here is my LG sound system. Its 5.1 dolby digital surround and theres an optical input too. Well worth the £130 I paid in Argos for it this time last year in the end of season sale.

http://img479.imageshack.us/img479/5317/avhlgfap30000lz.th.jpg (http://img479.imageshack.us/my.php?image=avhlgfap30000lz.jpg)

[Mant]

I bought acoustic solutions DS 222 5.1 dolby home theatre system off ebay and i cant set it up to my 360 a friend said i need a 5.1 decoder can anyone help?

The decoding should be done via either a DVD player with the appropriate connections at the back of it. The 360 should do the same, does it have a optical in socket at the back of the system. If its just a set of speakers and a sub then you will need to get a 5.1 compatible amp.

Some 5.1 systems have this all built into it, some dont.

[padds78]

No its got no optical in socket. But its got a buit in amp in the sub. So will i need to have another amp with a optical in or something else. The tv im running it through is really old and has only got one scart socket.?

[Mant]

Hey padds78, does the built in amp have any connections on the back, it must do but im guessing its only 5.1 Dolby Surround and not 5.1 Dolby Digital. So im guessing it will have red and white ports on the built in amp and like you said no optical in port. In that case you could still make do with using the red and white RCA plugs of the audio leads that come with the 360 and have 5.1 Dolby Surround (the rear channels will not be stereo).

If you wanted a pure digital signal and rear stereo sound channels then you will have to get yourself a Digital Digital amp that has optical in ports. You wouldn't be able to plug this into the unit you currently have, as going by the sounds of what it is, its just going to convert the dolby digital signal back to dolby surround (hope i haven't lost you already at this point).

If the speakers are ingreated into the unit, this isn't good. If they are spearate cables running into binding posts or spring clips on the unit then you could use the same speakers and run this into a new amp and rule out the current unit alltogether.

Hope all that made sense :s

[padds78]

Thanks for all the help biglime. Yeah ive got two sets of red and white ports and one set of black and green ports. All the speakers are separate with spring clips apart from the sub. can i ask one more thing if i get a new hi-def tv will that have all the ports on the back or does it depend on what tv i get? If so ill wait till i get a new one.

[Mant]

Personaly I wouldn't have a TV with a integrated Audio setup, nothing beats a deadicated amp & speaker setup IMO. So go for a digi amp that has optical in for the 360 and as many other ports for future use such as TV/DVD Players etc and use the speakers you got with ebay bid, hopefully the amp you may get will have a sub Phono port on it so that will still work ok. Then when money allows upgrade your speakers should you wish to do so. Any other questions, happy to help mate.

[padds78]

Im going to give that a go mate thanks again!!!!!!!!!

[RiLu@]

does any of you have seen this surround from YAMAHA YST 800/1000, a one all surround speaker I WANT ONE, but a friend told me that its not that good the living room has to be, like, simetric.just wondering if any of you have seen one.

[Mant]

After a google I found this http://www.hifibitz.co.uk/Yamaha/ysp800/ysp800.asp is this the same thing? Sound from a single unit IMO isn't good and for price it sells for, I'd rather put that money into a decent Dolby Digital amp and speaker package and save yourself self some money and give you the chance to position your speakers around the your room correctly. The only drawback is laying speaker cables around the room.

That said, it does say its won awards. If you can I would take a listen at your nearest supplier before parting with that kind of money.

[RiLu@]

its because of the cables i want it so bad, but i cannot use it in my living room.