what to look for in suround speakers?

RMH03

Now I not what you'd call an audiophile but i can definatly appreciate ggod sound quality. I am now in the market for a reasonable quality suround sound setup for use with my pc/360/TV and PS3 if I get one in the future. Wireless(at least rear) speakers would be nice but not critical.

PC wise I have the ASUS P5B mobo which has onboard 8-channel HD audio, so i should be good to go there right?

as for the TV i have a 20" bravia KDL20S2030U(also used as 2nd monitor/360 screen) could i hook a set of speakers up to that easily enough?

Basically I just need a starting point, what to look for etc.

I like the look of these Logitech Z-5450's and they seem to be in the rough price range i'll be looking at
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/GB/EN,CRID=2177,CONTENTID=10928

btw I am in the UK

EDIT: it just occured to me that something i could hook my bass amp into would be very nice indeed not sure if thats possible though

Djeet

Once you've settled on price range, which usually determines the quality of the drivers used, speaker placement is going to determine the performance of your audio setup.

Assuming that logitech device has a surround sound processor, then you ought not need to buy anything else. You would connect the digital audio OUT on your PC (or game system) to the audio IN on the sound processor. The sound processor then decodes the signal and sends the discrete audio channel to each monitor (speaker).

You will want to check to see if it has sufficient audio inputs for your application (it may only have one, in which case you'd need to invest in an audio switch, or plug in the right audio connection when you change your audio source).

If you want to go higher sound quality, you will likely have to pay significantly more as you'd probably move to a DTS receiver, and then get a full set of 5 speakers with matched drivers plus a sub. The nice thing about the logitech option is the drivers should all match, though they're going to sound a bit tinny in comparison to higher-priced setups. When I built my system, I spent a bit more on the Center Channel and the Sub, and made do with my LR mains and LR surrounds. Later I upgraded the LR mains and surrounds with speakers that had same drivers as the Center.

avsforum.com is a good source of too much information.

RMH03

I'm looking to spend a few hundred £'s max £500, would i be best off buying a decent reciever and making do with crappy everything else untill i can afford to upgrade?

Is it one of those 'system is only as strong as the weakest part situatiopns?'

If i were to spend say £3/400 on a reciever and buy crap speakers with an eye to upgrade later, would that be a good route to go?

Also I've been recomended a place called richer sounds, any thoughts/experience anybody?
http://www.richersounds.co.uk/splashpage.php{/url]

Djeet

Well, a solid DTS receiver should give you some upgrade protection in that you will get more inputs, and probably at least a component video switch (possibly an HDMI switch). The video switch is real handy when plugging in multiple A/V inputs (e.g. having a XBox360, a PS3, and a computer all jacked in via component/Optical cables simultaneously), then you can switch between the 3 with just your receiver remote and not have to unplug and re-plug, or invest in a separate A/V switch. Yamaha gets you very good value (tho I've heard the same about JVC). Get the cheapest thing that has the video switching capabilities you want.

You can cheap out on the powered sub (I think) unless your listening area is very large, in movies and games it's used mainly for emphasis. I overbought my sub, I can't turn it past 2 without shaking the windows. If you have an old set of speakers to use as surrounds, you can economize a bit that way. And with the savings buy a better center (all the dialogue comes out here), with matched LR front speakers.

Don't buy expensive cables, it's pretty cheap to make them yourself with 14 guage speaker wire. Your cable runs are always longer than you think cause it's not a direct line, usually runs to the wall then along it. And it's easy and expensive to fall into the trap of isolating "weaknesses" in your system. If you start to get that way, just remember you did this to listen to stuff, not buy and assemble gear.

I have no experience with the store you referred, though it has brands I recognize so if you like the prices... Right now, since you haven't bought anything and you're considering buying separates, go to your audio store (taking cd's/movies/games with which you are familiar) and test out their gear. It's pretty fun.