Speakers for TV

Humphrey10

I'm thinking about getting some surround sound speakers for my TV, but I have no idea where to start, I know nothing about speakers.

1. Do the speakers need to be symmetrically placed?

2. If they need to be symmetrically placed then I don't think surround sound ones would work, would speakers that could be placed near the TV sound better than the TV speakers?

3. Would the speakers need to be plugged into the TV, or to the cable box/PS3?

fwor

Humphrey10 wrote: »

1. Do the speakers need to be symmetrically placed?

Ideally yes, but most surround sound processors can compensate - many can do this automatically with a microphone at the normal viewing position.

Humphrey10 wrote: »

2. If they need to be symmetrically placed then I don't think surround sound ones would work, would speakers that could be placed near the TV sound better than the TV speakers?

Almost certainly they would.

Humphrey10 wrote: »

3. Would the speakers need to be plugged into the TV, or to the cable box/PS3?

It depends on what outputs the TV has. Best results are generally from the digital out on the source, to an input on the surround sound processor, and from there to the speakers.

As a compromise, have you considered a soundbar?

Humphrey10

fwor wrote: »

As a compromise, have you considered a soundbar?

They look like they might be a good idea. It would be easy to find space for one of those.

I really have no idea of how much I would need to spend to improve the sound (TV is a Panasonic plasma TX-P42V20B), or would any speakers + subwoofer be an improvement?

wba31

I think any decent soundbar with sub would suit. I have the Orbitsound T10 soundbar, which for £300 is phenominal, it was tested on the Gadget Show a few weeks back against a £600 and £1200 soundbar, so didnt do too great in that test, but it is a snip of the price. You don't need to spend £300 though, as fwor has offered you a link to, Richer sounds have some great soundbars cheaper still. I would recommend visiting your local store if you have one, speaking to one of the guys who work there and asking for their suggestions.

I bought a soundbar instead of surround sound because I couldnt be doing with the hassle of feeding wiring all over my living room and having random speakers in random spots. The bar just sits in front of the TV, with an optical cable to the TV, a wire to the subwoofer (behind TV) and power cable to plug socket. simple...