Advice on a 5.1 System

Oscar_The_Grouch

I've been looking for a (5.1) surround sound system for some time and think I may have settled on the one that would be best for me. What I'd appreciate from everyone is their views on the system:

Let's start with some basic facts first.
1. The room is approx 12' x 18' with open stairs leading up towards the back.
2. There is a through door to the kitchen at the back of the room.
3. TV is central on the 12' wall (on a cabinet) with windows (2) behind.
4. I don't want speaker cables running the length of the room.
5. I don't need a bluray player or TV
6. I want something that extras plug in to rather than running it all via the TV

What I've settled on is the Sony HTIS-100 with the S-Air WAHT-SA2 (not from that company) Wireless rear speaker kit.

I appreciate that the wireless rear speakers will mean a reduction in sound quality from the back of the room, but as that's where the stairs and doorway are I expect the sound to be a bit muffled anyway. I would appreciate feedback from anyone who's used the Sony S-Air system but in the main, I'm looking for views on the HTIS-100.

The best price I've achieved online is £349 for the HTIS and £128 for the WAHT. Does anyone know a (reliable) company that can beat that? Locally, my best price is £555 combined.

Thanks everyone.

trets77

I assume this is your first surround system .

have you considered the new Yamaha system that gives you virtual surround sound from a single speaker ( and 1 sub) .

have not heard it myself but all the home cinema mags are raving about it and how good it sounds .

http://www.whathifi.com/review/yamaha-ysp-2200

might stretch your budget a tad , but no nasty wires or ugly wall speakers for you ..ever . and you can plumb in your other equipment

http://www.richersounds.com/product/soundbars/yamaha/ysp2200/yama-ysp2200-blk

must be worth a audition .

Oscar_The_Grouch

Thanks Trets.

£800 is affordable but more than I want to spend. When I add in the bluray player later in the year (currently happy with the HD DVD I've got, as I have no bluray discs), I'll make sure it's able to pick up audio and video from my home network (router is next to the current setup so I can use an ethernet cable) so I need something that's able to cope with stereo sounds; the one thing they say the Yamaha is particularly bad at.

You're right that this is my first surround sound (currently 2.1) and as I'm happy with my Sony TV, I'd rather go with something that will integrate well with that. Do you have an opinion on the HTIS-100?

trets77

no sorry .

personally i have stopped ordering all Blu rays from Love Film and mix in a good proportion of DVD's . i only ever purchase DVD's ...usually for under a quid on Ebay .

yes the picture is hi def , but my Sony blu ray cannot get close (yet) to my 8 year old Arcam DVD player in sound terms . even with HD sound .

i have just purchased a new amp so i am planning on using Multi channel outputs to it , to see of that improves things . but i still think DVD format has years of life left in yet , cause the Blu Ray players and Disks are just too expensive at the moment . the great thing is they are pushing DVD prices down .

Blu Ray is the future for sure , but right now DVD still has plenty to offer .

Toxteth_OGrady

I can't see how any DVD player's lossy 5.1 audio codecs, 48 kHz/16bit at 10 Mbps max data rate PCM over analogue/optical/coax can possibly sound better than Bluray bit-for-bit, 100% lossless, 7.1 192 kHz/24bit at 54Mbps max data rate bitstream audio over HDMI.

I know at the end of the day it's what you hear that counts but, with my Yamaha DSP-Z7 AV amp, lossless DTS-MA and Tru-HD sound much better (to me).

trets77

Toxteth_OGrady wrote: »

I can't see how any DVD player's lossy 5.1 audio codecs, 48 kHz/16bit at 10 Mbps max data rate PCM over analogue/optical/coax can possibly sound better than Bluray bit-for-bit, 100% lossless, 7.1 192 kHz/24bps at 54Mbps max data rate bitstream audio over HDMI.

I know at the end of the day it's what you hear that counts but, with my Yamaha DSP-Z7 AV amp, lossless DTS-MA and Tru-HD sound much better (to me).

yeah i would agree but it was much better on the Arcam DVD player than the Sony Blu Ray .how that can be who knows

personally i think it was the Amp ( Onkyo 875) , let's see how my new Arcam AVR 280 handles Multi Channel HD audio . it does not have the ability to take audio over HDMI , but everything else i have plumbed in so far has sounded much superior