Recommend a decent home cinema amplifier

[Jonesy]

Hey guys, got an LG 32" hdtv for my room and went out and bought a home cinema package, this one here Sony DAV-DZ230 http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000NVWCTS/?tag=cliospnet01-21

I thought at the time it was a good unit, until I looked at the back and saw the lack of rca ports. The upscaled dvds look wicked in 1080i and the speakers are pretty good too, but when I connected it to my TV and 360 it doesn’t do Dolby 5.1 so only the fronts work!!! Or the rears just play what the fronts play.

I’ve read that the only way to get surround with this unit is to buy an amp, now I haven’t got a clue about amps and wiring them up etc but I just need an amp that will connect to my tv and 360 and have enough wattage to power the speakers.

I really don’t want to spend much money cos im skint atm, but I dont want a crap one either. Been looking at ebay but I’m not sure about how many free ports im gonna need on the back. My tv has a spare hdmi port and that optical out if thats important?

Any ideas guys

Thx

 

[planetx]

check richer sounds out.
stick with DENON, ONKYO, SONY, YAMAHA...you can pick up a real good "do it all" amp for under £250.

 

[Jay]

I've got a Yamaha AV amp (couple of years old now) but it's mint!

 

[realnumber 1]

Have a Denon my self and cant go wrong, there always winning awards. optical is importent, I would recomend an amp with at least 3 opticals and a coax.

 

[MarkCup]

I bought one of these recently; Sony DDW-890

It's amazing. 1,000w. Lovely.

He also sells a slightly lower spec DDW-790 - this one doesn't have any component input/outputs though.

 

[A13EX F Trophy No70]

richer sounds do a half decent one for £100 at the moment, i've got a
Pioneer VSX417
and
Tannoy FX5.1 speaker package

here's the av page on richer sounds: http://www.richersounds.com/productlist.php?cda=productlist&sgroup=AVRECEIVERS

 

[bigmaddaz]

Got a denon one downstairs and its the dogs b****cks! Denon ftw!

 

[Moby]

I bought one of these recently; Sony DDW-890

It's amazing. 1,000w. Lovely.

He also sells a slightly lower spec DDW-790 - this one doesn't have any component input/outputs though.

There's a thread here about the first system - i got one for my dad and he's over the moon with it.

Shame it doesn't support audio over HDMI though - my only gripe.

 

[Moby]

Hey guys, got an LG 32" hdtv for my room and went out and bought a home cinema package, this one here Sony DAV-DZ230 http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000NVWCTS/?tag=cliospnet01-21

I thought at the time it was a good unit, until I looked at the back and saw the lack of rca ports. The upscaled dvds look wicked in 1080i and the speakers are pretty good too, but when I connected it to my TV and 360 it doesn’t do Dolby 5.1 so only the fronts work!!! Or the rears just play what the fronts play.

I’ve read that the only way to get surround with this unit is to buy an amp, now I haven’t got a clue about amps and wiring them up etc but I just need an amp that will connect to my tv and 360 and have enough wattage to power the speakers.

I really don’t want to spend much money cos im skint atm, but I dont want a crap one either. Been looking at ebay but I’m not sure about how many free ports im gonna need on the back. My tv has a spare hdmi port and that optical out if thats important?

Any ideas guys

Thx

Surely it does work with Dolby 5.1. You'll probably have to run an optical cable directly from the 360 (or any device) to the amp. My bet is your TV doesn't support 5.1 pass through even if it does have an optical output (my Bravia is exactly the same).

You need to mess with the sound field settings (of which there tend to be
a few with the sony kits) to make sure it's outputing to all channels.

Cheers.

 

[oska]

The amp doesn't have optical, I have the same unit and similar problem.

 

[Jonesy]

Hey guys, got an LG 32" hdtv for my room and went out and bought a home cinema package, this one here Sony DAV-DZ230 http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000NVWCTS/?tag=cliospnet01-21

I thought at the time it was a good unit, until I looked at the back and saw the lack of rca ports. The upscaled dvds look wicked in 1080i and the speakers are pretty good too, but when I connected it to my TV and 360 it doesn’t do Dolby 5.1 so only the fronts work!!! Or the rears just play what the fronts play.

I’ve read that the only way to get surround with this unit is to buy an amp, now I haven’t got a clue about amps and wiring them up etc but I just need an amp that will connect to my tv and 360 and have enough wattage to power the speakers.

I really don’t want to spend much money cos im skint atm, but I dont want a crap one either. Been looking at ebay but I’m not sure about how many free ports im gonna need on the back. My tv has a spare hdmi port and that optical out if thats important?

Any ideas guys

Thx

Surely it does work with Dolby 5.1. You'll probably have to run an optical cable directly from the 360 (or any device) to the amp. My bet is your TV doesn't support 5.1 pass through even if it does have an optical output (my Bravia is exactly the same).

You need to mess with the sound field settings (of which there tend to be
a few with the sony kits) to make sure it's outputing to all channels.

Cheers.

thats what i thought m8 until i read this page here http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=539521&page=2 im not too bothered about 5.1 on the tv just want it for the 360 and maybe the wii once i get my component cable.

those amps on richer sounds look tempting gonna read up on some reviews for them.

thx for the help guys

 

[McBunny]

if you want a good all in one package
http://www.eu.onkyo.com/package/package_en_4385512.html

 

[McBunny]

this is a great amp too
http://www.eu.onkyo.com/products/product_en_5748504.html

 

[Moby]

The amp doesn't have optical, I have the same unit and similar problem.

My bad!