Home cinema systems

benjammin

if you pop along to richer sounds you may well be able to get a bargain. they often have cheap home cinema systems and especially in their clearance section you can often pick up open box returned items for a bargain price

T4i

Goodmans HEC10 System

Plays DVD, standard audio CDs and MP3 discs . On screen display. 4:3 and 16:9 playback functions. Zoom. Slow motion/high speed and still picture facility. Search play. 2.1 channels with 2 x 10 watts rms surround and 50 watts rms subwoofer speakers. Dolby digital/DTS/MPEG2 output. Comes complete with pair of adjustable height surround speakers and a subwoofer. Scart socket, RGB and S-Video outputs. Remote control. DVD: H3¾ x W15 9/10 x D12¾ins. Surround speakers: H3 3/10 x W7 x D4 1/10ins. Subwoofer: H7¾ x W14 2/10 x D12¾ins. Additional features: 5.1 Dolby Pro Logic. 5 + 10 watts rms surround and 50 watts rms subwoofer. Comes complete with 2 surround speakers with stands, centre and subwoofer.

-Dolby Digital
-DTS
-MPEG2

I'd go with it! Its got DTS!! :j

T4i

Link >> http://www.dealtime.co.uk/xPF-Goodmans_HEC10

Anya

T4i wrote:

Goodmans HEC10 System
I'd go with it! Its got DTS!! :j

I actually ordered it last night! Seemed like too good a deal to miss. £80 used 10% code to take it to £72 will get about £3 of advantage points and about £1.80 worth of RPoints cashback! Just hope we can work out the wiring now!!!

Thanks for the link T4i - I couldn't find it on the Shopbots last night!

simes

Don't believe anything on that dealtime link..
It says only 2:1 surround ( this is not DTS or Dolby digital - both are 5:1 surround )

If its got the amplifier in the player then its likely it can decode pro-logic ( this is a 4 channel surround decoded from a stereo broadcast ) from stereo inputs from your cable/sky/Freeview or TV.. These type usually have 1 or two sets of stereo input phono sockets , and it decodes from these to pro-logic ( or if you are lucky pro-logic2 which is even better as its a 5:1 suround system).. My cheap Minato ( it was £89 from Netto last year) does this . I get pro-logic2 surround sound from anything thats playing on the TV ( i have linked audio out on the TV to the home cinema unit). Of course if i am playing a DVD i let it use the superior Dolby digital or DTS soundtrack.

If its got the amplifier in the subwoofer , then this usually means the DVD player decodes what it is playing into Dolby Digital 5:1 sound and the individual sound channels go to the amp in the subwoofer via 3 sets of twin phono cables ( i.e 6 channels ). You generally cannot get proper surround from other sources with these set ups. This is because there is no sound decoder in the subwoofer to split the stereo sound into its correct surround-sound position. The DVD player generally only does Dolby digital decoding too ( if it says DTS , then this is only with a separate ecoder via the digital sound output socket )..

Anya

Ok...completely baffled by that simes, sorry, I'm a surround sound novice!!! Have I got a decent system for £70? and will it do the surround sound bit for the tv, Sky as well? Could I use a different dvd player or just the one it came with? I think...the amp is in the subwoofer! Too late to concentrate now, I'll have a go in the morning!

Quonous

Anya wrote:

Ok...completely baffled by that simes, sorry, I'm a surround sound novice!!! Have I got a decent system for £70? and will it do the surround sound bit for the tv, Sky as well? Could I use a different dvd player or just the one it came with? I think...the amp is in the subwoofer! Too late to concentrate now, I'll have a go in the morning!

For £70, I'd say it's adequate to decent. Of course if you haven't heard a Home cinema before you may be more impressed, I'm sitting with 550W of dedicated speaker equipment so to my ears it probably wouldn't sound that great - of course, this setup cost about £70 a speaker so...

To answer your questions:

No, this setup will only do 5.1 from the DVD player. No SKY, TV or games consoles.

You could use a different DVD player but you'd need to find one with Analogue 5.1 outputs which, trust me, are rather thin on the ground nowadays. Anyway, The stumbling block of this system, from the reviews on the web, would appear to be the speakers as they buzz and the dialogue (centre speaker) can be heard from the sub.

This player has DTS and PLL output, but no decoding, meaning it's Dolby Digital or nothing I'm afraid. The Amp and decoding circuity is indeed in the sub so it would be a nightmare to replace.

So I'll reiterate: It'll do it's job, but don't expect to be amazed. Considering the player is 2 years old now, the £230 price quoted in the reviews seems accurate, and I'd imagine their content is even more pertinent now as technology has developed a lot in those 28 months (Review dated Jan 2003). It may be a good way to test the waters of Home Cinema and deciding if it's something you'd like to invest in. Amazon sell a decent entry level Sony for £140, which is probably worth it's price. Also, eBuyer sell a couple of systems for less than £100 which would appear to have more features and are able to take additional inputs. I'd also recommend Samsung systems as they use re-branded Klipsch speakers, which are absolutely superb.

Anya

Are there any wires etc available to allow us to put the TV,Sky etc. through it? My OH wanted it mainly for watching matches with!!!!

Quonous

Anya wrote:

Are there any wires etc available to allow us to put the TV,Sky etc. through it? My OH wanted it mainly for watching matches with!!!!

You could fudge it, I suppose. Provided your TV has composite audio outputs (usually on the back, They'll be red and white) you'd need enough cable to reach the sub (All subs should always be placed into the corner, so 3M should be enough unless you have a big room) and 2 Phono splitters. You can get that from Maplin for about £11, but it would be an incredibly bodged solution, and might not work. Even if it does, you'll just get a widened stereo sound stage lacking in bass. The remaining 3.1 speakers will go unused.

Quonous

Mr_Skint wrote:

Er never try to bodge any kind of electrical kit, as for stereo equipment always try to do the best as the sound resolution will be greatly enhanced, ie. I always go for gold connectors and high density speaker cable with top notch shielding over the cable, then youll get a sound thats really brill, as my old amp still pumps out 1 gigawatt no probs.

I agree completely, but it would appear budget is a factor for the parent poster. I would personally prefer separates but finance is always nipping at my heels (why else would I be here? ). Increasing sound quality is addictive, but somehow I'm pretty sure even the highest quality speaker cable would be useless with the system in question. I should probably added a disclaimer to my OP: I really wouldn't recommend fudging it, but it could probably be done. But since my brief search of the net reveals the cheapest amp / receiver at £70 (richer sounds) that's already doubling the cost of the system. Doesn't seem worth it.