Generally confused with what to buy! Help me... :)

[ehrobertss]

Hello there!

Thanks for clicking into my post.

Here's the thing, I'm really confused with how best to set up a home cinema system.

I've got a number of Sonos products , hoping they could be connected to the TV though I've no idea if thats possible.

Samsung TV (UE48JU6445 48" 4K) with a Bose sound bar (solo 5)

I've got a sonos connect amp which I've currently got just to power a turntable that's synced up wirelessly to use two sonos play 3 speakers

Any help much appreciated!

Thanks

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

First of all decide how manychannels you want.

A "basic" surround system, designated 5.1 comprises five speakers plus a subwoofer. The five speakers are front left, front right, centre, surround (not back) left, surround (not back) right.

Go to 7.1 and you add two back speakers.

From there on it gets more complicated, as you'll be adding "height" or "wide" fronts and / or overhead speakers for what is usally called "Dolby Atmos".

What Atoms and its competitor DTS:X do is add, subject to the right discs, an overhead effect to the sound field. So when, say, the Millenium Falcon flies into view from "behind", it sounds like its flying overhead. Not all Blu-Rays come with Atmos, mind you, so check the labels on the ones you buy, if you want to use Atmos. I only have three - Star Trek Beyond (beyond what? beyond even the most powerful drugs, that's what), 10 Cloverfield Land and Season Five of Game of Thrones, but there are others, often very expensive) "Special editions" like Gravity, The Martian, etc.

Most receivers come with Atmos nowadays, and they'll be designated X.Y.Z where X is the number of around-the-walls channels, Y is the number of subwoofers supported without recourse to splitter cables, and Z is the number of overhead channels. The more channels you have, the more the receiver will cost, naturally.

Now you have a basic shopping list for AV receivers. Decide if you want wifi, wired network, bluetooth, etc. to help with streaming. Now your shopping list got smaller. Then decide on a brand (or stable - Denon and Marantz are one stable, Pioneer and Onkyo another) and go look and listen at your local Currys, John Lewis, or hifi shoppe.

You should look for your receiver to have HDMI2.0, HDCP2.2, 4K and HDR pass-through (possibly uspcaling as well). These are the latest standards for TV signals and your receiver won't be usable in a couple of years, now even with a 4K TV, if it doesn't have them. Most 2015 onwards models shoudl be okay, but check ALL the HDMI inputs, not just one or two, have these capabilities. The latest audio codec list is as long as your arm, but if it has Dolby Digital, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X you're in good shape. DTS:X is a long-awaited firmware update for most receivers. Some of us think you've got more chance of seeing Lord Lucan riding Shergar through your local Currys than it ever showing up, but....

If you've got a good stereo setup, which you seem to have, you need to think about AV receivers with pre-amp outputs. That way, your stereo speakers double up as the front left and front right speakers in your surround sound system. That obviously saves money and means you don't have to have two pairs of big floorstanders or bookshelf speakers. But it does mean the stereo speakers have to be either side of the TV, as close as possible to equal distances. You use the pre-amp outputs from the receiver to feed into the "Aux" or "AV" inputs on your stereo amp and Robert's your father's brother.

 

[ehrobertss]

Thanks very much for the fast reply back! Much appreciated.

Good to hear I can still make use of the two Sonos speaker, Sonos are very overpriced! I'll move them to the front either side of my TV.

One question, could I still use my Bose sound bar or would that become redundant and with that I'd need to get a new central speaker? (currently sitting under the TV)

I'm keen to Google to find out more about Atom, likewise I'll be looking for an answer to where Star Trek was going beyond *smile*

Couple more question, sorry!

-- What AV receive/pre-amp would you recommend?

-- Would there be any use for my Sonos connect amp? I'm aware it has the ability to have 4 speakers connected to it.

-- What speakers would you recommend for the left/right back of the room

Thanks again!

 

[ehrobertss]

Thought I'd deleted my reply, ended up sending it twice... removing this one

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

I don't know your soundbar, but you might be able to use it as the centre speaker, but can't tell from here. Safest bet would be to assume you can still use it when watching "ordinary" TV, but that you'll need a separate centre speaker for surround sound.

Receivers? Denon AVR X2300W seems to be afavorite around here. USD800 here, GBP500 in the UK. It's a 7.2 (or 5.2.2 in Atmos parlance) receiver, so you can set it up with seven around-the-wall channels or fie-around-the-walls and two overheads or heights for Atmos. It has all the latest AV codecs, pass-trhoughs, etc. you'll need too, but it doesn't have pre-amp outputs to feed the front channels into your hifi amp.

Next up would be the Denon AVR X3300W, which has the pre-amp outputs you need. List price in the UK is GBP799.99, but you might be able to get it cheaper from the bigger on-line and high street retailers.

From Marantz (same stable as Denon), look at the AVR5010, 6010 or 7010. These should be available highly discounted at the moment, as Marantz has just released their successors, imaginately named the 5011, 6011, and 7011. They all have pre-amp outputs. The 5010 does 7.2 (or 5.2.2) period. The 6010 does 7.2 (or 5.2.2) using internal power amps, but with your stereo acting as the power amp for the front left and right, you can use its deconding of nine channels to get 9.2 (or 7.2.2 or 5.2.4) surround sound. Step up to the 7010 - I have one of these myself and I love it - and you get nine internally amplified channels, eleven decoded, so you can use your stereo to get up to 9.2.2 or 7.2.4. I paid USD2100 for my 7010 but three months later they're being flogged off for USD1100 to make way for the 7011.

Oh, and a lot of receivers also do seond or third room feeds, but you can expect to cut down on the number of surround sound channels accordingly.

Onkyo / Pioneer, Yamaha, and Sony should also be considered. It all depends on your budget and how many channels you want now, and might want in the future - better IMHO to push the boat out now rather than to regret it later and have to buy another new receiver later.

Surround speakers?

Purist would say match your mains for brand and model range, and I'd certainly agree for the centre if possible, but less so for the surrounds. Go for the largest ones you're comfortable with with similar frequency responses, impedances and sensitivites to your fronts. The sound equalization software built into receivers (kind of like gazillion-channel solid state graphic equalisers) should take care of the rest.

Avoid those Atmos modules that sit on top of speakers or those speakers with Atmos speakers built into their tops. They work to simulate proper overhead speakers by bouncing sounds off the ceiling and results can be very hit or miss. Better to put speakers high up where walls meet ceiling and angle them downwards if you can't have, or the wife won't let you have, proper in-ceiling speakers.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

I THINK it has an "Aux" connection that will accept a 3.5 mm stereo plug, the kind used with headphones, etc.

If so, you can get a 3.5 mm mono to RCA adaptor cable like this one :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/kenable-3-5mm-Single-Phono-Cable/dp/B005CR1LPY/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1481655446&sr=1-5&keywords=3.5+mm+to+RCA+mono+cable

(or better) to feed the centre channel pre-amp output of a receiver into both channels of your soundbar, making it put out twin mono sound. Then you probably CAN use the soundbar as your centre channel speaker, but it won't sound anywhere near as good as a matching proper Sonos centre channel speaker. It's a case of trying it and seeing how well it works for you, then deciding whether to buy the centre channel speaker.

 

[ehrobertss]

Thank you so much, you've been super helpful! Christmas coming up.. I better get my wist list sent quick

All the best and Merry Christmas