Here is the english link: (TX-55CX700B 4K TV | Ultra HD TV | Panasonic UK & Ireland). The thing is, mine is the TX-55CXW704, which is only available in Germany. I can only assume that the TX-55CX700B is an equivalent, but I can’t swear on it.
Now my idea is the following:
Put a 3D Blu-Ray in the Blu-Ray player of my PC.
Connect the PC via HDMI to my new TV.
Use the Panasonic 3D glasses.
Connect a 5.1 system to the TV.
Enjoy my own cinema at home.
The question I have is: Will this all work. Like, will the TV use his own speakers (or the ones I have connected) and not the ones connected to the PC (source of image)… Like, I am really new to this whole topic and have no idea if that all works.
If it does, I would like to know if there is anything I have to pay attention to, when buying a 5.1 system, or if they will all work on my TV. Because I think it’s unnecessary for example to buy a system with a Blu-Ray player, since I have one in my computer. Because if I were to connect the 5.1 system to the Blu-Ray player of the 5.1 system, then I would have no sound, if I watch something from my computer on my TV through HDMI. This would (hopefully) only work via HDMI.
I am not sure if you can follow me. If so, please feel free to throw all noob advices at me that you got. If I missexplained something, feel free to ask. I will try my very best to explain everything to you guys!
1) You CANNOT do 4k and 3D at the same time due to bandwidth limitations of HDMI 2.0 (or even Display Port). It is impossible unless the TV will take two HDMI connections (or 1 HDMI 1 display port) from your video card at once.
2) You will need an HDMI 2.0 port on your video card to do either 3D at 1080p or 4k. Anything less than HDMI 2.0 won't have the bandwidth to do either.
3) You will need to ask either Nvidia or AMD (depending which graphics card you have) if their 3D software supports your model of TV.
For audio: On your computer you will select the audio device to use as default in your operating system OR most programs will be able to select which device to use. Devices would be:
(sound card) analogue out (video card) HDMI out etc
That being said, you should be able to select one program to use PC speakers, and another to use the HDMI out for whatever that is worth.
*Generally you would hook your PC up to a 5.1 AV receiver (with 4k and 3D pass through) via HDMI which would take the audio signal to the speakers, and then transfer the video signal via another HDMI cable to your TV. You will need the amplifier in the receiver to powered a set of 5.1 speakers. It also would have outputs for a set of self powered speakers. Generally TVs won't have a 5.1 output that could be used to hook up a self powered 5.1 set.
**Note 4k blu ray players just started coming out a few months ago. If I were you, I would wait for 4k Blu Ray PC internal drives to come out, and get one that can also play 3D blu rays.
Wireless speakers are a thing, but I don't know much other than bluetooth. Bluetooth speakers can be hit and miss depending how old the technology that they use is. However the latest blue tooth technology hardly degrades the sound quality.
Teksyndicate may have reviewed some 5.1 systems, but they seem to only cover stuff suitable for PC in the $500 or less range.
Without an AV receiver you will have to shop specifically for a Blu Ray player with 5.1 outputs and a self powered set of speakers (since they need a power source). The best bet, especially for a GOOD set of 5.1 speakers, is to get an av receiver.
If you want to go surround sound, it would be best to look at smaller home theatre speaker sets and get a 5.1 av receiver. If you intend to use these speakers on your computer desk then I recommend looking at the Yamaha 5.1 receivers since many will come with "virtual cinema front" which allows you to place the surround speakers in front of you. I personally use this and it does a great job. The speakers sound like they are slightly behind me and to the side. The only failing is that sounds "behind you" sound fairly quiet.
If entry level home theatre setups (which are suitable for PC) interest you, you can go to audioholics.com and their youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF9cWy6zaWsgdAy-kv2q4VQ for some reviews and lots of tutorials and setup guides.
Which are perfectly fine for me when playing video games or listening to music/movies, but I wouldn't say no to a nice 5.1 system, because I really like the cinema 3d feeling, when the arrow is flying from behind your head, all the way to the front, so you can really feel it, in the sound, if it's 3d aswell then, you can also see it fly, so yes, I love that.
And I also saw that you can easily pay 1000€+ for a 5.1 system, but that's not my goal, I compared hundreds of TV's and found "the best" for me, at 1300€ for a 55". Which propably isn't cheap, but isn't OLED or anything fancy either.
So now I would just like to buff the system with some nice stuff.
This is what I came up with on my own. Just filtering for 3D and 5.1 on Amazon, then delete everything above 300€ and rank it by rating.
Obviously I have no idea what is good and what not.
By the way, do you think it's possible to implement the speaker/ghetto blaster I already have in a sound system? Like for example buy a 3D Blu Ray AV Receiver, plug my Ghetto Blaster in to function as 2.1 system (2 speakers + Subwoofer) and add two back speakers? Because it's quality is actually pretty damn good, even tho it's easily 5 years old, propably older.
But yes, those are my thoughts... maybe, if you pick something up while reading, respond to me :)
I will check out the Youtube channel. Thank you.
Btw: While checking my Blu-Rays for their sound quality, I found both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1. If I buy a 5.1 audio system, it can support both, right? Or am I screwed and it only supports either of those?
Honestly, I wouldn't recommend getting those all in one packages. You will essentially be paying the equivalent of $100-200 US for the speakers and the amp to drive them which is very little. Speakers are old and simple technology and their quality will scale fairly evenly with price. In other words you get what you pay for.
This is what I would say would be the minimum amount of money for each piece of equipment you are looking to get, for a 'decent' experience (this is far from being fancy gear):
-$100us for a 3D capable Blu Ray player from a decent brand
-$250us for a 4k/3D pass through entry level 5.1 Av receiver from a decent brand
-$200us for a set of entry level 5.1 speakers (e.g. Monoprice 10565)
*about 400-500 Euros considering things will probably be more expensive over there aside from exchange rate (due to shipping costs, etc).
**I give US dollars since that is the base currency for electronics. As a Canadian, I have found that prices fluctuate on certain items more than just from the exchange rate, and thus Canadian prices (and I assume Euros as well) are not reliable to go off of.
You can hook up your existing stereo to a Blu Ray player or AV receiver. In order to do this, the player or receiver will need left/right channel analogue outputs (generally RCA connections). This would be two RCA cables (one for each channel). You would then need a "2 RCA" to "1 3.5mm male" adapter (1 3.5mm jack transmits two channels). You would then plug the 3.5mm into the 'aux' jack at the back of your stereo.
This would only be 2.0 channel, not 2.1. Technically the .1 is a separate channel specifically for a subwoofer. In order for the '0.1' you would need a subwoofer. AV receivers will have separate subwoofer out connections, but Blu Ray players will not have this for the most part. That being said, subwoofers are only there to give a better reproduction of frequencies below 80hz. Your stereo will still produce those frequencies with the 2.0 channel setup as long as the device they are connected to does not 'cross over' the bass frequencies. Bass crossover is easily setup or dissabled on an AV receiver, but a Blu Ray player may not be as easy.
As for dolby digital, dts, etc:
Those are proprietary sound formats that the media (i.e. movie on the Blu Ray disk) may have purchased the license for. Also the player must purchase the license (i.e. have it listed as a feature). Speakers do not care about this, only the decoder on the player.
Here is how that works:
Digital audio (in any form) is processed and turned into a signal usable by speakers by a 'digital to analogue converter' (DAC). The DAC is what deals with the proprietary formats such as Dolby or DTS. Once the DAC turns that into an analogue signal, speakers don't care.
Put another way:
An analogue sound signal is essentially a variable power supply which varies the power so that the speaker drivers move back and forth in a specific way. These signals need to be amplified by a stronger power supply (amplifier or av receiver) in order to be strong enough to move the speakers though (if you touch a bare speaker wire you will get a shock). The RCA outputs wouldn't be strong enough to move a pair of speakers, but would be for a pair of headphones. The wires running from an amplifier to a set of speakers is powering them, essentially like the power cord from your computer plugging into the wall.
The DAC is the computer that determines in what way the speakers should be moving, and it determines this from the 'quality' of the digital source. The Dolby or DTS formats give a 'better' sound experience by having different or added information for the DAC to use to produce the sound signal.
Long story short:
You want to get a Blu Ray player or AV receiver that supports Dolby Digital or DTS. Your speakers don't care.
If you want good sound, don't bother with those "5.1" home "theaters". If you don't care then just go ahead and buy whatever you want and skip the rest of this post.
Doesn't really matter what you choose, all of them just have cheap small, satellite speakers with a boomy "extra bass", a bird house rattling away in the corner of your room, producing the low end that the satellites can't do. (and if you have neighbours they'll hate you because of that "extra bass") Also, 200 USD for 5.1 speakers? You've got to be kidding me. A 3" down to 110Hz? Probably not, maybe with -10-15dB rolloff depending on the exact element being used. ~200Hz I might have believed. Btw, the fundamental frequency of mens voice is 85-180Hz, with women somewhere between 150-250Hz (idk). Fun times listening those through the "subwoofer" in the corner.
This is what subwoofers look like. They're not supposed to be producing the ~60-75Hz to 200Hz range these satellites are missing. Their job is to produce the explosions and low end rumble which can be felt but "not heard".
So...
buy a separate 3D bluray player, research this yourself
buy a 5.1/whatever receiver, this is a long time investment. See that it has the connectivity you want, inputs and features. This will be the A/V hub of your media consumption. Everything goes in to the receiver, from there video goes to TV and audio to speakers. At this point in time if I'm buying a new receiver I'd want one with HDMI 2.0 and since you want 3D I have that selected as well (well HDMI 2.0 is the prerequisite for 3D so..yeah).. http://geizhals.eu/?cat=hifirec&xf=327_3D-Ready~327_HDMI+2.0&asuch=&bpmax=&v=e&hloc=de&plz=&dist=&mail=&sort=p&togglecountry=set
buy two floor standing or bookshelf (/compact) speakers depending on what your home setup can accommodate. Two proper speakers in stereo will sound heck of a lot better than those shitty things linked in this thread.
With floor standing speakers look at 2.5 way or 3 way speakers. Since the floor standing speakers have multiple woofers/midrange elements, you can get away with the smaller 5" woofers. Where as with bookshelfs you're pretty much limited to 2 way speakers and I'd stick with the ones that have a 6.5" woofers/midrange elements. A bit more low end. You'll also need stands for them or you have to fit them somewhere on a desk/bookshelf or whatever.
What speakers to buy? Grab some music or movie soundtrack with you, go to a HiFi store and LISTEN TO THE SPEAKERS. I mean it. Get a feel how they sound, different brands have a different "signature" sound. And here comes the pro tip: buy used speakers. You'll save a fuck load of money. Buying used speakers you get so much more for your money.
In the future, when budget allows, add a center speaker if you want. You're done. If you want the swooshy swiishy whistley surround effects then maybe add some small cheap surround speakers. Want that couch rattling low end rumble? Buy a subwoofer. Proper ones start at ~400-500€ and go up from there in quality.
Unlike other PC hardware, speakers don't go obsolete. They should be a one off investment that lasts at least 10 years if not 20 (where a video card might last 3-5 years at best).
Also PC gaming can leverage home theatre equipment better than a blu ray can. Surround sound in a well made RPG such as the Witcher 3 makes for an amazing experience, that adds almost as much as the video experience does.
I personally recommend that gamers figure out what they spend on video cards in 10 years, and match that on their speakers. Thus buying GTX970 equivalents ($330usd) every 3 years, is about $1000 in 10 years. Also $1000 is entry level for home theatre equipment, and diminishing returns kicks in probably around the $10000 mark just to put that price in context.
That being said, this should explain the prices I gave before (~$600us which includes a Blu Ray player) being minimum for something 'decent'. Keep in mind that what I am calling 'decent' falls far short of what many would use that word on. Hearing: $1000 or more on speakers is overwhelming at first, but find a friend or family member with even a $3000 home theatre and bring your computer over there sometime and hook it up. I GUARANTEE that you will be RUINED for ever getting the typical 'pc solutions' ever again ;)
Okay guys. I must admit, 50% of what you saying sounds like Chinese to me, but I get your idea.
Thank you very much for your concerns and truthful words.
At this point, I won't buy a 5.1 "home cinema", cause you guys say it's a bunch of crap, so I will rather save that money. Right now for me it's interesting of how much I would have to pay for the whole setup and then think about if that's worth it for me or not.
I would actually be interested in connecting the Receiver to my PC aswell as my TV, I don't know if that works. Also, I need a Blu Ray player AND a AV receiver, right? Because those home cinemas only had the player and I was wondering if the player has inputs for a 5.1 system.
Regarding Lagittaja, I also thank you for your knowledge, but I won't buy a 2.0 system, when I already have one. Sure, I understand that yours would make way better sound, but I am used to mine over the last 5+ years and I am still quite satisfied. So either I upgrade for a full surround system or not at all.
I will start searching on Geizhalz now, for the products you listed Lord_Tao and try to come up with a number and some links, if anyone of you already has built such a "low budget" surround system, sharing links or article numbers would go a long way :)
Also I will try and check out 2-3 Hifi stores today (never have been to one, gotta google some) and check out what they got for me, what the price would be... etcetera
First, when I filtered Blu Ray players for HDMI 2.0, I got 5 results total, all starting at 400€. I don't know about that... But you said you would want HDMI 2.0 in the receiver, so I thought it should be in the player aswell.
Regardsless of HDMI 2.0 on the player, those seemed decent:
Please tell me what you'd think about such a soundsolution and I was wondering, if its "normal" to pay 35% for the speakers. I thought it would be like 70% speakers, 20% receiver, 10% blu ray player. But, like I said, I have no clue whatsoever.
BTW: Regarding Subwoofer & Ingame experience. The only game I've played since 2011 is League of Legends. I play no Witcher, Diablo, Battlefield or anything. I doubt I will feel the difference of a soundsystem, when playing League of Legends. So the main usage of this thing is to support me while watching Netflix/3D Blu Ray in my bed.
FYI: I wear Beats Studio Wireless headphones & consider the quality nice. I also listen to Youtube a lot or use Pandora, I am not used to fancy audio files with 1gb quality for one track.
AV Receivers will generally have 4 or so HDMI inputs, plus analogue inputs. You would use 1 HDMI input to connect your computer.
The Blu Ray 'home theatre" may or may not have inputs. The Samsung didnt even list the connectivity on its web page, and the Philips listed only one input. Either way they are not the way to go, even putting the crappy speakers they come with to the side.
He is suggesting a 2.0 system because it is common advice to people on a budget to build a 5.1 system over time. The advice is to buy the best left and right channels you can get. Then later on buy a decent centre chanel, and surround left and right. Later on get a sub.
I see your other post, but I don't have time to go into it right now. Will get back to it after work.
It should be like that. You should be spending most of your money on the speakers when you're buying them new because they are the most important part of the equation. Those 180€ "5.1 speakers" still have the same problems I outlined earlier. They are crap. Especially that "subwoofer". You're far better off with a good stereo setup.
Those good speakers will be able to play back stuff all the way down to say 75Hz with ease, and even without a subwoofer they'll sound amazing with movies. Even if you don't have a center channel, the vocals will be very nice because the good speakers are able to reproduce all the required frequencies for vocal stuff (remember, male vocals get well below 100Hz) and if you're listening to Clint Eastwood or anyone with a low voice, Jason Statham(?), it doesn't sound nice. Btw, what is your current stereo system? If they're nice speakers you can always use them with the receiver. Unless you're talking about some 2.0 PC speakers.
Regarding the receiver. The reason I say I'd want HDMI 2.0 is just simple, it's the newest thing and supports much higher bandwidth than HDMI 1.4. Bandwidth being resolution + refresh rate. Do you want 4K from your computer at 60Hz? You need HDMI 2.0 for that. You say you want 3D. Do you want 3D with FullHD@60Hz or 4K@24Hz? You need HDMI 2.0 for that.
With HDMI 1.4, 3D is limited to FullHD@24Hz. With HDMI 1.4, 4K from your computer is limited to 24Hz. Read 24Hz bad, 60Hz good. Mmmkay? And like I said. The receiver is a long term investment. Do you want to be upgrading from a HDMI 1.4 receiver to HDMI 2.0 receiver in two to three years after you realize you want HDMI 2.0? Probably not. You're probably going to be using this receiver you buy now for the next 10 years.
Also yes, you can plug your computer to the receiver as well. The idea behind the receiver is that it's the central hub of your home/living room. It's called the receiver after all. Whatever HDMI output you have, you can plug it to the receiver and if it has audio, it will grab the audio and passthrough the video to the TV. (TV is connected to HDMI OUT) Or if you have something that outputs optical audio (SPDIF), receivers usually have optical inputs as well. Or coaxial from say some random DVD player. Receivers also have analog inputs with RCA IN connections. These days the amount of RCA inputs is quite small because everything is HDMI nowadays but they still have some amount of RCA inputs nevertheless for that random CD player or turntable and so on.
And regarding "subwoofer + ingame experience". Who's talking about games? Have a look at what the subwoofers are doing when you're watching a movie. Here's Tron Legacy (which in my opinion has a nice LFE soundtrack) on a PB1000. (the guy filming is all over the place and it's a bit low light but you can still see the cone movement..)
Or Iron Man 2 on PB13 Ultra which is a pretty nice example of the dynamics required (especially 0:25-0:30)
And then realize that you're trying achieve something with a less than 200€ total price where that first sub is SVS's entry level 500$ 10" ported model which is the bare minimum I'd look at and that second one is a 2000$ top end 13.5" ported model. Then I'd remind you that movies have low end frequencies well below 10Hz. I've seen 5-7Hz stuff from movies. Generally they have 10-20Hz stuff. Now do tell me, what games have that kind of frequency content where the average gamer either has gaming headphones or some 2.0/2.1/5.1 computer speaker setup with a sad little 5-7" woofer. I don't know exactly what kind of low end stuff games have but I'd wager a guess that it's much closer to 40-50Hz than 10Hz.
tl;dr: Start with a stereo system. You can always expand. Go to a hifi store and listen to the speakers. Speakers reproduce audio. Buying online you don't know what you're getting unless you've listened to them first. Tell the guy (or girl) in the store that you're researching what to buy for your home theater and that you're starting off with two front speakers. Listen to the speakers they have and see what you like. Did I already mention you should listen to the speakers?
After that head on over to Ebay.de or some other marketplaces (you probably know the German marketplaces, I don't) and see what is available on the used market. Or hifi forums for sale sections, idk if hifi-forum.de has one. And generally the people who sell used speakers are really nice so you can listen to them since they're usually still hooked up as they're waiting for them to be sold so they can buy new stuff to replace them.. The thing is you need to look around. You'll save a fuck load of money buying the speakers used. You can end up spending say 200€ for a pair of nice speakers. Those used speakers might have cost 500€+ new. Buying new pair of good floor standing speakers will cost you in the neighbourhood of 500-600€.
Okay. I am on my way to the biggest Hifi studio we have in the city. The guy on the phone already mentioned that a pair of speakers start a 500€, but he said that he could set up a room for me, to listen to them, so I am definetly open minded, but the total price of 5 speakers * 250 + 500 for the Subwoofer and the Receiver + the Blu Ray player still scares me. That's 2000+. Almost double my TV... I doubt that I will ever pay that much money on speakers without driving a Ferrarri, but maybe he can blow my mind.
I will report back after my visit.
BTW: if i am settling for 2.0 anyway, didn't TekS do those speaker reviews under 100$ & under 250$? They propably have decent quality then, while still being under 100$. Otherwise they propably wouldn't have featured them. Well, gotta check those out later.
You guys think it's rude to ask for used stuff in the store? Or do stores sometimes sell used speakers? I am kinda not a fan of buying XXX€ speakers of a stranger, since I am a complete idiot and could easily be scammed. Maybe they remove the inside of the speakers & put crap in or wahtever... Not sure I would notice
Okay. He started trying to sell me a set of 4000€, but shortly afterwards he noticed what I want/need. He then did a nice show for me, where I did watch smth like 30min of a James Bond movie and I liked the surround factor. Those were still all small speakers & a fairly small Subwoofer. It kinda lacked power when James Bond blew up a whole house. Then he exchanged the front speakers with standing speakers & chose a bigger Center. I gotta admit that those speakers did sound reall nice & enhanced the viewing experience. They were nice in like action scenes, car driving, plane landing... Cause they made it more "intense"? Problem is, I am not sure if I can handle those speakers. I will make some pictures of my room, maybe you can recommend me something. Because the only way I see, is hanging the speakers on the wall. And I have no idea what to do with backgroundspeakers. Because those small ones were pretty decent and only responsible for like small effects, I imagine ones for 50€ could be easily enough. I gotta admit, this whole experince kinda made me more willing to spend money. But 1000€ would be a shitton for me. And I gotta be honest, I don't wanna buy just 2, I either get 6 or none. If 6 decent ones cost 2000+ including an AVR & Blu Ray player, then I will just buy a Blu Ray player for 100 buxx and live with the TV speakers, cause that is just too much. I will definetly check out TekS speaker videos when I get home and I am open to receiver recommendations. But considering at least 300 for the front speakers (2 pieces), 100 back speakers (2 pieces), 100 center, 100 blu ray player, 200 subwoofer would leave only 2-300 for a receiver.
Well there you go. If the total price scares you, remember, you can always expand. That's why I've been saying that start with 2.0. And then work your way up from there if you want to expand.
Yeah, they have done some speaker reviews. Look them up :)
No it is not rude. They have sample speakers in the shop and they cannot sell them as new. They won't sell any, like recently put up for show speakers to you but they might have some older models that are soon not on the market anymore. You could frame your question something like "do you have any older sample models you're looking to get rid of?" or something like that. Or if they for some miraculous reason have multiple samples of the same speaker for show, they might want to sell those. But don't expect huge discounts, they're still rather "fresh" even if they've been up for show for a long time.
That's my room guys. The TV will be at the wall on the black bar (wall mount) once it arrives (during this week). Behind my bed are the curtains, which kinda make it impossible to mount surround speakers behind me. Any ideas? I could maybe use standing speakers and try fit them between wall and bed, but still, they will be right behind my ear. Will this be a problem? In the test room today, the surround speakers were like 5ft behind me. Also I don't know where to fit standinding main speakers. That's why I considered small ones and mount them left & right of the TV. This would result in having the main speakers about 2-3ft above my head (not on a straight line/height). I could then think of removing my old ghetto blaster (which is on a shelf above my monitor right now) and put the center speaker there. Then I could think of putting both the Receiver and the Blu Ray player on the shelf in the corner on top of my pc table, and put the lamp on top of those.
What you guys think? Any ideas. My room aint big. 8,2 square meter or 26,8 square foot, whichever you prefer. So I don't wanna stuff it tooo full with sound. The room I tested the sound in today, was a bit more than 20 square meter. So 2,5x my room size.
/edit: I am currently checking used offers. Sometimes they have really nice speakers, but they are 10+ years old (produced in 2002 i.e.), is that something u meant, or do you mean "new" speakers, produced like 2015? Also, if you meant "old" systems, the Receiver is propably waste of money, cause I need HDMI 2.0, Blu Ray 3D... etc. right?
Apologies in advance for this long and messy post. Been typing this for a while and edited as you've provided more information. Also I do not have any personal experience with Magnat speakers, the brand just kind of popped up while I was browsing speakers and the price point is probably of interest to you. As always, listen to the speakers. I would never buy speakers online without first listening to them.
Wall mounts aren't that expensive, they start from below 10€ per piece and go up in price for better build quality/materials and/or features and/or weight capacity. Or you could move your table to the center of that wall and put floorstanders left and right. Unless the table is fixed to the wall? :D (I would do this) With proper, bigger floorstanding speakers, especially in a room of that size you don't even need a subwoofer. Well you wouldn't even have space for a proper subwoofer with floor standing speakers.
About the rear surround speakers and mounting them. If you really want the surround effects, then you could mount the small satellites to the side walls and higher up to get a little more distance. And point them down towards you of course. They don't have to be behind you, as long as they're not in front of you. Some would probably argue that they'd need to be behind you but it's ok. The surround effects work even if they're not behind you.
But anyway, about the actual speakers. (bookshelfs, I talk about floorstanders below the next dividing line)
You could go for the more budget oriented speaker models if you want to get the full blown surround setup all at once with or without a subwoofer. Have you looked at Magnat speakers?
They have the Monitor Supreme (MS xxx or MS xxxx) line up and the Monitor Supreme II (MS xx2 or MS xxx2). See which has better availability/pricing. Is there any local store you could go and have a listen to these? Probably though because Magnat is a german company (iirc?). These Monitor Supremes are their "basic", entry level speakers with no bells and whistles. But still rather decent looking from the specs.
For example the MS series has two "main speaker" models in bookshelf size, MS100 and MS200. Supreme 100 has a 0.5" tweeter and a 4.5" midrange. Supreme 200 has a 1" tweeter and a 6.5" midrange.
I'd personally go for the 200's because reasons. Well, because it has the 6.5" midrange which is going be able to go much lower than the 4.5" element the 100's have. Even more reason being that if you end up going for a really good subwoofer in the future, you'd want your main speakers to be able to match the subwoofer.
With the Supreme 200's you can use a crossover frequency of 75Hz (heck, maybe even 50hz). Crossover frequency in this case meaning the dividing line between what the subwoofer and main speakers output. Generally you want this to be as low as possible.
For example:
2x Monitor Supreme 200 (or 202) (wall mounted left/right of the TV)
1x Monitor Supreme 250 (or 252) (in place of the ghetto blaster + I'd pick the larger 252 with 2x5" midrange, blends better with the other speakers)
2x Magnat Needle Alu Sat (wall mounted on the side walls above you pointing towards you)
According to Geizhals the lowest prices of these without shipping are, in order
100-120€ per pair
55-62€ per piece
60-77€ per pair
So these would total 215-259€. About half of what you estimated above. Plus of course the wall mounts. They're certainly not the best of the best but more than likely much better than those tiny tin cans in all in one speaker sets.
WIth those savings you could still look at the same price subwoofer as you estimated or go for something better. SVS for example has plenty of outlet stores in Germany where you could go look at them if you want to check them live before you buy online. Here's the list: http://www.sv-sound.de/outlet-stores/index.php
OR, you could forget the subwoofer all together and go with the floor standing speakers and put them left and right of your desk. I'd look at the Monitor Supreme 2000 (or 2002) model. This is a 3 way* speaker with 2x8" woofers for bass, 6.5" woofer for mids and a 1" tweeter for highs. Pair of these would be about 360€. Along with the center speaker and the Needle satellites it would total 475-499€. So about what you estimated above. But no need whatsoever for a subwoofer. And you only need the wall mounts for the two satellites (if you want them.).
Or if you want to save some money, you could go for the Monitor Supreme 1000 (not the Supreme 1002 because it's price is just too close to the 2000 and 2002) A pair of Supreme 1000's would be 260€. And total would be 380-400€ + wall mounts for the satellites.
The difference between the 2000 and 1000 is that the 1000 is physically smaller and has 1" tweeter, 6.5" midrange and 2x6.5" woofers. Still a 3 way speaker though. Will not go quite as low as the 2000 but should work just fine for you.
*if you don't know what a 3 way speaker means and wish to know, go ahead and read the spoiler. If you already know then you don't need to bother reading it :D
You've heard this number + way thingy for a few times, do you know what it means?
I'll try to keep it short:
1 way speaker has one element. It could be a full range element trying to produce all the highs, mids and bass. Or it could just be compact speaker with a different kind of fullrange element only trying to produce highs and mids.
2 way speaker has two elements. One tweeter for highs, one midrange for mids/bass. There's a crossover which separate the two. Simple right?
2.5 way speaker has three elements. One tweeter for highs, one midrange for mids/bass and one woofer for bass. Typically the midrange and woofer are of same size (example 2x6.5") because a 2.5 way speaker doesn't have to crossover to properly separate mids and lows.
3 way speaker has three or four elements. One tweeter for highs, one midrange for mids, and one or two woofers for bass. There's more than one crossover inside to separate highs/mids/bass. There's also such things as 3.5 way, 4 way, 5 way and 6 way speakers. But I'm not gonna talk about these. They're just.. Yeah.. Story for another time..
By used I meant more about the speakers, not the receiver since you want modern features. Old receivers don't tend to have HDMI 2.0. Doh.
In case of asking the shop dude about used speakers, I meant about the ones they have in the store as samples. If for example the guy in the store has some sample speakers that are no longer being produced (=discontinued) then you could get a small discount. In case of buying used speakers from a individual person, well old or new. The age doesn't really matter all that much, just make sure they're in good condition. One thing to check besides the obvious damage in used (really old) speakers is the surround of the midrange/woofer. Some older or cheaper drivers/elements have foam surrounds which can kind of crack or get damaged. Nowadays they tend to be rubber but it can get fatigued as well and break. But this doesn't really apply to 5-10 year old speakers. More like those 15-20 year old speakers.
Okay, that actually sounds great. The table isn't mounted to the wall, so I can easily move it. I couldn't open the door anymore for 100%, but that's not an issue in my opinion. It still works just fine. I took the size of the M2000 and it's width is 10,5 inches. So if I move my table 10,5 inches to the left, I can put one on the left and one on the right. This would have 2 upgrades I think. 1) The Main Speakers would be way more in line with me, then hanging them up the wall would do and 2) those big speakers make for way better quality (at least the ones I tested in the studio today).
I like that idea. A lot actually. Thanks for that great advice. I have just 2 questions. The right box would be right next to a wall (on the right) and have a big shelf to the left (which is located underneath my table on the very right) you can see it in the last two pictures under the very right of my table. My question now is, if that lowers the quality of the speakers, cause they are surrounded by walls on every single side, but the one facing me. If not, then it would be great. Because my table is 5.5 feet long. So if I move it 10,5 inches to the left, the middle of the table (which is also the middle of the two speakers, cause they are located at each end) would be almost the position I fulfil while watching movies in my bed. Which is propably nice for the quality, that they are 50/50 apart from you and not 70/30, I could imagine.
Moving on to the Center Speaker. I would relocate the shelf of the Ghetto Blaster and also move it to the middle of the table/speakers, so it would fit the "perfect" system. I actually don't know if it influences the sound quality at all, but I am a person that needs to do this all by the book, so yeah, I will also relocated the wall mount, to fit my TV right above the center speaker.
Moving on to the Surround Speakers. Like I mentioned above, everything has to be perfect. From the middle of the TV/Speakers while in bed, there are 29inches to the left (while laying in it, looking at the TV) wall. So if I could mount the speaker on the wall behind me and lay the curtain around it, I could do the very same on the other side, and have both speakers being the same distance from each other, when laying in the bed. Obviously this is all screwed over by my girlfriend, who wants to "share" the middle, so none of us actually gets it. Whatever. My point is, if you'd know a small wall mount for the Sattelites, that has like a small thin arm, I could easily wrap the curtain around it (behind the speaker) and don't have to all around the whole speaker, which could maybe bring light in the room (:OO). On the other side, it wouldn't be a problem. since there is no curtain in that position.
Do you need any more pictures of me holding paper or glueing paper to the wall to illustrate what I mean, or is it clear? I am not sure, because I often speak in mysterious ways (being told).
This whole setup got me really hooked up. This sounds like an affordable system and I doubt I would need a Subwoofer actually because the 2way speakers in the store, already made a good job, sure, the Subwoofer was working aswell, but I think I heard them doing most of the work, because we only exchanged them and not the Subwoofer, and afterwards it was way better. Also, doing it this way, I already have decent speakers and don't have to upgrade them so fast, because the wall mounted ones suck.
That would be 2 Front Speakers, 1 Center, 2 Surround speakers then?
What receiver would you recommend? One of the same brand? I don't know if that's necessary for better "flow". When I check Geizhals for them, I came up with 58 results, filtering for HDMI 2.0, 3D and all the common 5.1 audio versions (DTS..). Also I noticed, that it's only "3D-ready", is that "full" 3D? Because I remember "HD ready" TV's.... Another thing I saw, was that some come with 4K Upscaling. First I thought that it's unnecessary, if the Blu Ray player does it allready, second I thought a receiver does only audio stuff, not video? This is the link btw to my Geizhalz results, let me know what else I should filter for:
Also I need to buy a Blu Ray player (no matter if I get the speakers or not) so can you recommend something there? I will obviously pay attention to 3D, but anything else? Maybe 4K upscaling since I have a 4K TV? Or is 4K upscaling too bad? Maybe the Blu Ray player should support 4K, if one day there will be 4K Blu Rays?
I just searched for a Blu Ray player and just turned on every single feature there was here:
The only ones I left ticked off were either Color/Weight/Size... and 2D-3D converter (I don't know what that is) + it has no 1080p Upscaling, even tho it has 2160p Upscaling. I don't know if that makes any sense. If you click on the link above, you will get two blu ray players. One for 100€, one for 130€. They are both priced just fine, but the LG only has HDMI 1.4 (at least it only shows him when I tick HDMI 1.4). But the Samsung only has "HDMI" it is not specified as HDMI 1.4 or 2.0.. so I don't know what I should do with that. Also checked their website, just stating that it "has" HDMI, not which version.
Thank you very much for sharing all your knowledge, it wasn't messy at all, I loved reading through. I actually still have the TekS speaker videos on my to do list, only finished the "below 100$" one yet, but since they are only speaking about "Main Speakers" I doubt they are comptetive to the ones you researched for me. I will also search their youtube profile for Home Cinema & Surround, maybe they've done something else already and I am just searching the wrong way. Appreciate all your time spent!!
/edit: Well, their Speaker videos only cover desktop speakers, like bookshell ones. I am just wondering, how you recommended your speakers to me. Like, how did you search for them. Cause I analyze esport matches, I love analyzing and researching, so I'd love to help, I just have no idea at all what we are looking for. :( Having said that, I will go ahead now and research some of the popular/good rated/whatever brands I find online and go check them out. Maybe I come up with smth to present to you, just to get crushed :D
Your room is fairly small and that can cause some problems with reflections, etc. In which case I wouldn't get too expensive of a system. But as Lagittaja suggested, you could get a decent system for 500euros. You would want your desk centred on the wall rather off to one side for the best sound. Here is a setup guide you can watch to plan ahead before you buy anything:
The 500 euro idea seems good though. The only alternative I could recommend is getting a good 2.0 system which you can turn to the surround sound speakers later on when/if you get a larger room for your entertainment setup. However for the price, the 5.1 setup looks like a good way to go, even for your room.
To answer your question earlier: yes you generally want to spend the majority on the speakers. The examples I gave didn't follow that rule primarily because AV receivers start at $250, and I was outlining a bare minimum option.
Also Denon is a good brand. There are many good brands for receivers, but I prefer Yamaha. They make good sound equipment all around and I like the Yamaha receiver I have.
For a blu ray player get a (true) 4k player. Not a 4k 'upscaling' player. These only came out withing the last 3(?) months or so.
Note it ALSO says upscaling. Upscaling means that it will turn a 1080p blue ray into a 4k image. However this particular one will play 'native' 4k blu ray disks (i.e. 3840 x2160 resolution).
*Note that a player that can upscale to 4k does NOT mean necessarily that it can play 4k blu rays at 4k. Most modern players will 'upscale', but only the very newest ones will play 'true' 4k blu rays.
Hey there! I checked your youtube video. It was really helpful. Tomorrow I will clean my table and move it around, to see what settings could be possible without having the main speakers stand right next to a wall. I will put of some pictures. Also I will check the average size of a subwoofer (if u like, provide one, otherwise I will use the yamaha rxa 850 as reference). Then I will see how I could open the door etc. Also, after watching this video, I will most likely put the Surround speakers on the walls on the left & right of me and pick the middle between them as the new mid. I will try adjust everything from there. If it won't work with those standing speakers, we can still try the bookshell ones. But first let me try move everything around a bit, maybe we can make something work.
/edit: Also thx for the blu-ray reference, I definetly will want to get a 4K player, gotta check a model that's available in Germany in maybe a couple euros cheaper. Time to sleep now, close to 3am.
/edit 2: Also, like I said, I have been researching on geizhalz, filtering for Standing Speakers, 2-Ways (for adding a Subwoofer), 1"+ Highs, 7"+ Lows.
So, that's too expensive. If I remove the 2-way filter, I get a bunch of 3-way speakers that are 150€+ each, I kinda thought a 2-way would be better quality, but maybe I am just wrong. I will search through all the 2-way ones tomorrow and try find some affordable set ups, I will link them here again. And I will check my room for setup possibilities. Already past 3am now, and I am addicted to Orphan Black so I will propably be back in about 12 hours, where you guys will most likely sleep? :D
