Audio home cinema help please!

[Jebus]

I have a 5.1 setup at home right now, but I need to update the amp because it doesn't do DTS or Optical audio, and I wanna get sweet 5.1 out of my 360 really.

Bear in mind I have the following to go into it :

Sky HD
Xbox 360

Possibly : Wii and DVD player (but the 360 is the dvd player so not essential).

Help? What do I need? I already have the bass box and 5 speakers but the amp is outdated...still have a "VCR" input on it and only 1 x 5.1 input (which is all phono cables).

Will my current speakers work with this unit : (looks like they will)

http://www.digitaldirect.co.uk/produ...10749&ff=&ffi= which looks like it'll service me with all my needs...

Are there any better reccommendations in that price range?

[Crisp_Rapper]

ah you seem a little confused! that's basically a bit of kit you can plug several consoles into to save you pissing about with plugging/unplugging. the amp goes AFTER this but will still need to be a DTS capable amp.

as for which amp i can't help you as i only run a stereo setup. the boys will be here soon, failing that go take a look at recommendations over on avforums.com.

[Jebus]

Thanks Crisp, Yeah I was VERY confused, sorry...got all mixed up, I feel really out of sorts at the moment. The Yamaha I've listed has :

Advanced Facilities
? 3 digital inputs (2 optical and 1 coaxial)

So the Sky HD and 360 can both be digital, so that'd be pefect wouldn't it?

So, more clearly put (have edited original post) :

I need to replace JUST the amp I already have. I have an old Sony amp with 4 inputs, but ONLY phono cables, I need something that will take digital inputs (360/Sky HD mainly) and output to 5.1 with my existing 5 speakers and bass box.



Has the correct outputs for my speakers/bass box and has 2 digital inputs that would be suitable for the 360 and Sky HD. Is that right?

It also has several component inputs and an output, meaning I could get rid of my component switcher!

Oh and if any mods can resize the image to fit, please do...never worked out how to do that on this forum.

[Nijo]

I know I'm a bit of a Denon fanboy but check the Denon amps to whatever your price range is.. the 1507?.

http://www.petertyson.co.uk/ebuttonz/ebz_product_pages/denon_avr1507-denonavr1507.shtml

[Jebus]

Price range...well I'd like to keep under ?150 if possible, so they are all a bit expensive.

The yamaha I've pictured is ?150 (?160 including delivery) from digital direct. But is it any good or will I be terribly disappointed?

[Jebus]

Nobody about that can tell me if that Yamaha is any good...or one similar price wise is?

[Nijo]

Looks fine to me though of course I've not tried it. Hard to tell whether your speakers will be in balance with it without actually trying it out, but as a rule of thumb if they're in the same price range you should be fine.
There's no HDMI switching but as far as I know that's still only on the higher end models. You shouldn't need it anyway: SkyHD on optical, 360 on coax, Wii on component, DVD on component if you get one. PS3 on the other optical if it has that output.

Check the magazines to see whether they have a group review: keep in mind that they might be talking rubbish ... but then for all I know so might I.

[Jebus]

Looks fine to me though of course I've not tried it. Hard to tell whether your speakers will be in balance with it without actually trying it out, but as a rule of thumb if they're in the same price range you should be fine.
There's no HDMI switching but as far as I know that's still only on the higher end models. You shouldn't need it anyway: SkyHD on optical, 360 on coax, Wii on component, DVD on component if you get one. PS3 on the other optical if it has that output.

Check the magazines to see whether they have a group review: keep in mind that they might be talking rubbish ... but then for all I know so might I.

I was gonna use the other optical for the 360, I don't plan on getting a PS3 to be honest. I don't really know a lot about my speakers, they came with the Sony 5.1 system I got for a gift about 5 years ago and I've always felt they were good quality speakers. Is there any other way of telling? I really don't want to go buy 5 new speakers and a bass box...What did you mean by "balance" though?

My panel has 1 x HDMI input which is taken by the Sky HD and the 360 doesn't do HDMI, and as I have no plans on getting a PS3 I don't see the lack of HDMI output on the unit as a problem.

If I ever do get a ps3 or something else that uses HDMI, by that time I'd imagine HDMI switch-boxes will be out/reasonably priced. The 360 will DEFINITELY be optical though because it's one of the main reasons I'm upgrading, now I have a HDTV I want the quality sound to match, I'm hoping to order/decide/have this delivered before Gears of War arrives.

I should have mentioned, I also have a laptop going into the TV via the VGA input, the sound going into my current amp via (the shame of it) the headphones output into a stereo slot on my current sony amp.

[Jebus]

I'm leaning toward ordering that Yamaha unit but I need to ask one final question:

If I buy that and 2 x optical audio cables, that's all I'd need to get 5.1 out of my 360 and SkyHD...is that correct? (Obviously I already have the speakers and speaker cables).