Surround Sound....?

R

r2d2

Guest
Hi All,

Does anyone have one of those single speaker surround sound gizmos ? Are they any good ? I was at at a party about a year ago and had a quick demo but didn't pay massive attention because it was over a thousand yokies but Power City are now doing a Yamaha version for €695 and I'm starting to think....maybe...!!??

r2d2
 
no, i got a 7.1 receiver and 7 speakers. ok not too many films available yet in 7.1 but when it is i'll be ready and my 5.1 is fine for the mo.

is it not billed as "virtual" surrond and not the real thing ???

plus wouldn't touch yamaha ( personally)
 
Don't listen to Ron about buying yamaha. I have a 6.1 yamaha receiver and it is very good. Although i would agree with him on the "virtual" thing.
 
Yeah it has to be "virtual" because if you are not actually surrounded by the sound ( speakers ) then it can only be virtual.

"Cant believe its not surround sound" :D
 
Stevo2006 said:
Don't listen to Ron about buying yamaha. I have a 6.1 yamaha receiver and it is very good.
Click to expand...

i work in the sound industry and personally i wouldn't use yamaha. its a personal thing as i say. i went for pioneer receiver and mission speakers and i is rather rather rather happy:)

but eash to there own, but i think we all agree on the "vrtual thing "
 
The [broken link removed], [broken link removed] and [broken link removed], both get good reviews.

They are of course virtual surround speakers. They have an array of 21 and 40 "sound beams" respectively which bounce signals of the walls to surround you with sound (i.e. they bounce of the rear walls to "get behind you" in the case of the rear signals). (Similar technology I suppose to the Bose 3-2-1 system, with similar pros and cons.)

The consensus on AV magazines such as Home Cinema Choice and What Hi Fi seems to be that they are good at what they do, and work well in certain room layouts. Glass windows, non-square rooms, furniture positioning etc. can all mean the rear sounds in particular become less than impressive.

However, they are cheaper than a full 5.1 speaker set and do not require wiring.

My advice - as ever with hi-fi - is to listen to it first. With something like this, you would really need to set it up on your living room and audition it here before committing to buying (or at least be able to return it to your supplier if it doesn't work well in your room).

Despite comments to the contrary in this thread, Yamaha are a renowned name in the AV industry. Their DSP AV amps are held in high-esteem.

Preferred brand is course a very subjective thing.
 
All, thanks for your comments,

I actually have a Kenwood receiver, 1 x Mordaunt Short centre and 2 x Mordaunt Short rears and 2 x Mission Cyrus front speakers (no sub woofer)....I bought them about 12 years ago but they haven't been used (well, not for surround sound stuff anyway) in about 7/8 years.....Rather than just using these (We've converted the garage and put a 40 inch LCD HD ready Samsung in there) my wife was keener on the systems you can now buy with the small speakers (Sonys et al for about €200 - €300)....She wanted small speakers when I bought this stuff originally but I'd have had to sell the car to buy those Bose speakers at the time ! Before the plasterer came in I had wired for rear speakers and the donkey pushed the cables back in and plastered over them !! So, before I went fishing them out I thought I'd ask about the Yamaha.

What are your views on the 'Home Cinema' systems for the €250 mark ? I'd need to be able to connect up a DVD, STB (HD when ntl launch it, rumoured to be Q1 next year) CD player and PS2 if at all possible....Would I be better of getting new speakers (to satisfy Mrs d2's requirements) and using my current Kenwood 5:1 or do I go shopping ?

Ta,

r2d2
 
r2d2 said:
All, thanks for your comments,
...
What are your views on the 'Home Cinema' systems for the €250 mark ? I'd need to be able to connect up a DVD, STB (HD when ntl launch it, rumoured to be Q1 next year) ...

Ta,

r2d2
Click to expand...

I imagine this is NTL in the UK which has nothing to do with NTL in Ireland.
I would love to be wrong on this, though, as I want HD buy "'er indoors" doesn't want Sky. :(

You can get some decent virtual surround all in one systems for this type of money. Won't be as good as the kit you already own, though...
 
MonsieurBond said:
I imagine this is NTL in the UK which has nothing to do with NTL in Ireland.
I would love to be wrong on this, though, as I want HD buy "'er indoors" doesn't want Sky. :(

You can get some decent virtual surround all in one systems for this type of money. Won't be as good as the kit you already own, though...
Click to expand...
My wife loves Sky+. Can pause Corrie. If you don't have Sky+, you pass this SKY HD under her radar as Sky ++:)
 
MonsieurBond,

It was ntl Ireland that I was referring to....A close friend of mine, C3PO, was at a product roadmap meeting recently and Q1 is the plan ! I will try and find out if that's still the case (the other good news is that it was due to be 'at no additional cost')...but sshhh...Keep that to yourself !

r2d2
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top