Surround Sound system?

[admin_exported]

Hi all I've recently purchased a Panny 37px80, Sony S350 blu-ray player and Sky HD on its way today.

Next on my list was a 'surround sound' system, but I have wooden floorboards in my lounge and therefore dont want to have wires running across the floor...no way the wife will go for that.

Does anyone have any suggestions on either a wireless surround sound system OR a sound bar (is that what they are called?) which would complement things? A guy in Hughes recommended Denon for these, but not a specific type.

Just to ease things, I dont really have a price in mind apart from <£500 if possible....same old question of the cheapest one which is still decent!

many thanks

 

[Andrew Everard]

For your circumstances I think either a soundbar or a system with wireless rear speakers would be best.

A soundbar has several speaker units built-in, plus digital signal processing to create the impression of sound coming from behind you. They work pretty well - not quite in the 'real' surround class, but very good considering what they are.

To make the most of your set-up, you really need one able to take HD sound in via HDMI from the Blu-ray player, and also accept an optical digital input from the Sky HD box.

Something like the Yamaha YSP-30D would do the trick, as it has all the inputs required, and would fit your budget very well indeed. It has two HDMI inputs and one output, so you only need one cable connecting it to your TV.

The 'wireless rears' system I'd suggest would be the Sony DAV-IS50, but unfortunately this can't handle the HD audio from your BD player, and the fact it contains a DVD player might be seen as duplicating components.