computer 5.1/7.1 or cheap home system?

[Haopengyou]

I am putting my p4 (don't laugh, it is still quite useful!) to work as the heart of a home theater system. It will be in a room that is about 170 sq ft, with ceiling that is a little vaulted. This system is going to have multiple uses - as a computer online, as a game machine (not much use here), as a music player and as a dvd player. (Playing DVDs = 40%, Music + 40%) I also want to hook up a vcr to it or possibly even a stand alone dvd player.

My questions:
I am looking at a set of lower end altec lansing or creative (I would like to stay under US$100 for the speaker/amplifier package) Am I better of with a computer setup or a low end home set up? The computer speakers are appealing because they are smaller than home setups.

In what applications is a 7.1 system more useful than a 5.1?

[yoda313]

7.1 is suitable for newer games (the last 3 years or so I guess?) and of course BLURAY. However not all releases do 7.1 audio. It seems to be hit or miss right now for 7.1 on bluray. It might be overkill for now until all new releases do 7.1. (edit - dvd maxes out at 6.1, no 7.1 support on dvds).

I would recommend a low end "real" system rather than a computer system. My reasoning is that unless you have computer speakers with individual on speaker volume controls you can't really get the same balancing that you can on a component system. What I mean is that the home system is a little "louder" than a computer system. Also you can use it without the computer (i.e. a normal dvd player instead of the pc).

Of course the choice is yours.

One other note you can get cheap packages in your range though the speakers may not be red hot. If you have regular speakers from a previous system I'd incorporate those into a dedicated system.

Edit - also be careful on the cheap surround system - look out for the input connections. On the cheaper systems you may only get coaxial input instead of a fiber optic input or vice versa. Either way you'll probably only get one of each and not have multiple input connections. You should get a multiple input adapter for multiple sources (like a gaming console like a 360 or ps3).

[Haopengyou]

I appreciate the advice given - it seems logical that a home type system would produce better results. Most home systems include an amplifier, speakers and dvd player, while the computer systems only include the amplifier and speakers. Is it likely then that, given a home system and computer system of equal cost, that the computer sound system is going to be a little better - because there is no expense for the dvd player?

Also, what happens if there is not enough power in the system? My room is under 200 sq. ft. Most of the computer systems I have seen are about 50 watts.

[redwudz]

I use a ~100W/channel surround sound amplifier with a 5.1 speaker system. Two 10" subwoofers. I have two computers with Blu-ray ROM drives and a WDTV Live hooked to the surround amp using S/PDIF and a coaxial audio switch. I would never even consider computer speakers. The setup also works for TV playback and FM radio.

You can probably find a decent used 5.1 surround amp on something like Ebay, or just check the local newspaper ads. Someone is always upgrading. The front stereo speakers, the center channel speaker and the sub woofers are the most important. The rear speakers are just for ambiance. I wouldn't worry much about 7.1 unless you like a lot of speakers scattered around.

If you are considering powered computer speakers, be aware that the power output quoted is often vastly exaggerated. A 50W computer speaker might actually put out more like 10W. Listen to them before purchasing.

[Haopengyou]

Thanks! Good advice...i will go shopping. How does a computer hook up to a home stereo amplifier/speaker system? My sound card puts out 5.1 but I have never used it. Will there be 4 or 5 cables from the sound card to the amplifier?

[yoda313]

It depends on the card.

You may have 6 headphone size jacks on your card but most likely you have 3 (one will be front out, one will be rear out, one will be center/subwoofer). If this is the case (as is my guess) you will need headphone to rca out jacks. These are available at electronic stores or online. You're only trick is figuring out which is the center and subwoofer output but simply swapping the two will figure it out in a live test.

You're only requirement is that the home receiver has to have 6 or more analog input jacks (most always the larger rca type, not the headphone size ones). I have that on my older gen 5.1 sony amp.

The other option is that you have a digital output on your soundcard (or via a specific adapter you would need to purchase for the soundcard in question). In that case it would either be fiber optic (ie tos link) or digital coaxial). In this case it would be a single cable for either one. But you would have to a corresponding input on your receiver. The fiber optic is a special cable whereas the digital coaxial could use a normal rca cable to connect to the digital coaxial input on your home receiver.

You will need to determine which of the three connection choices you have on your soundcard. You will also need to ensure that you have the matching input connection on your home theater otherwise you will not get the surround sound.

Please also note on some older cheaper systems some home theater receivers did not have dts decoders, only ac3 dolby digital. In that case you will not get digital sound on the dts track. But those are only likely on really cheap knock offs and much older knock offs in that case. Just be careful if dts audio is important to you (which is a nice feature but not "absolutely" necessary). Unless you are doing a htpc for things like mkv files with dts audio in them, in which case you will obviously need a receiver capable of playing the dts audio.