Totally out of my depth. Please help!

[admin_exported]

Hello everyone,

I've looked online for help, spoken to salespeople in Currys and John Lewis, and still haven't found a clear answer to my questions so I hope I've come to the right place!

I have a fairly old hifi separates system made up of:

Cd: marantz CD-48

Amp: Cambridge audio azur 340A

Speakers: Tannoy bookshelf (don't know what model).

I'd like to hook this up to a TV when I move into my new flat and am writing to ask... is this possible?? (is it even worth it, or will the sound not be much different??)

Do I need an AV receiver? I will probably get a DVD player too. So does that make my marantz redundant? Or is there a difference in sound?

I will upgrade where necessary, but don't want to spend any more than £350 in total...

Any advice is MOST gratefully received!!!

Many thanks

 

[professorhat]

No issues plugging both your TV and DVD player into the Cambridge and this will most probably give you a better sound than just TV speakers. If you want surround sound though, you will need to upgrade to an AV receiver. Personally, I would keep the CD player - it will almost certainly be better at spinning CDs than your DVD player (unless you're spending lots on the DVD player).

 

[Andrew Everard]

Best to look for a TV with a line audio output, on a pair of phono sockets - usually a red one and a white one, and make sure they're outputs not inputs - as these tend to sound better when run through an amp than the signal from the TV's headphone socket.

Other than that, heed the prof - he counsels wisely.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you both for your replies! Andrew, could you recommend some interconnecting cables? Or would the ones that come with the TV be suitable?

 

[Andrew Everard]

I wouldn't spend a fortune - how far will the TV be from the hi-fi amp? I doubt the TV will come with these cables as standard...

 

[Anonymous]

Probably less than a metre. Definitely no more than 2 metres...

Hopefully such cables exist...?

 

[Big Aura]

just a pair of normal RCA analogue interconnects? Cheapish Cambridge ones in Richer Sounds for about £15, or get some Chord Crimson ones for about £35 (try ebay - Analogue Seduction have an online ebay store).

 

[Andrew Everard]

to that