Stereo/TV Question.....Help

  • Thread starter Thread starter Pek2
  • 5 comments
  • 338 views
P

Pek2

Messages
11
Right , first I hope this is the right forum.

I am in the process of getting a home cinema set up, but first of all I need to know if my existing hi-fi speakers are suitable to be part of it.

Now bear with me because I am a complete dummy when it comes to this stuff.

I want to connect my hi-fi to the TV to see what the sound is like through them. All my TV and stereo have in common connection wise is a white and yellow coloured sockets. The sterro is labelled AUX INPUT. Do I just need to connect these two things and if so what is the connection lead called because I dont want to go through looking like an idiot when I go to the shop (don't mind looking like one here ;) )

I am not looking for any special set up, I just want to hear what the sound is like.

Any answers would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
OK, you're on the right track here.

You need to buy a "stereo phono lead" to connect them together. Hi fi shops will sell these, but they are expensive, starting (in UK prices) at £10 for a 1m cable. However, if you go to an electronics store (Tandy/Radio Shack/RS/Maplin etc), you'll be able to get cables for less.

I would suggest trying to achieve this as cheaply as possible based upon the fact that you're experimenting. Just make sure that you match the colours, and you should be fine.

You'll notice that the sound is clearer and cleaner, and the stereo sound separation will really hit you. Just try and make sure that your speakers are equally separated from the TV, and preferably in line with it.

This is close enough to the right forum, and you've got an answer! :)
 
Thanks very much for that....

Still feel like an idiot for asking what the lead was called ("Doh!") but now I shall dazzle the man in the Sony Shop with my technical knowledge ;)
 
Is your TV stereo?

Yellow = Video Signal
White = Audio

Presence of a red jack would be the other audio channel if you have a stereo TV (Left and Right side)..in that case, white to white, yellow to yellow, red to red.

You can still connect your TV's audio out (the white one I presume) to your stereo's audio in (which should have the white and red, since it's a stereo ) but you may have to split the cable to the 2 audio channels. You won't get stereo sound, but you'll get the same (mono) sound thru both speakers.

Best way to figure it out is to start plugging crap in and see what happens ;)

Oh and this type of cable/lead is sometimes called an RCA jack or RCA type plug.

Hope this helps! You will definitely have better, clearer, and louder sound :D
 
Yep my mistake Macka.

The sockets are red and white (not yellow) on both the TV and the stereo. I have just got one of those cables and am now waiting till I get home so I can see if this is actually going to make any difference.

Then I just got to covince the lady that surround sound/home cinema is worth all the money I want to shell out.

Not to keep this thread going or anything but where and how would a Playstation 2 fit into the whole home cinema package.It is connected at the moment via the three coloured jacks that came with it into a scart adaptor. I have no doubt that someone will tell me this gives me a cack picture and I should connect via something else.

Thanks again :)
 
Originally posted by Pek2
Yep my mistake Macka.

The sockets are red and white (not yellow) on both the TV and the stereo. I have just got one of those cables and am now waiting till I get home so I can see if this is actually going to make any difference.

Then I just got to covince the lady that surround sound/home cinema is worth all the money I want to shell out.

Not to keep this thread going or anything but where and how would a Playstation 2 fit into the whole home cinema package.It is connected at the moment via the three coloured jacks that came with it into a scart adaptor. I have no doubt that someone will tell me this gives me a cack picture and I should connect via something else.

Thanks again :)
Click to expand...

Hello again!

Right, What you want to try and do is sneakily buy a separate Dolby Digital amplifier. These start at not-very-much, and go up to ohmygodhowmuch?????, but you can start down at the lower end. Make sure your choice of amp has at least an optical digital input and a coaxial digital input, as you'll need these later.

If your existing stereo is not a separates system, buy a "headphones to two phonos" cable, and connect your headphones socket on your stereo to an input on the amp. This will allow you to play your CDs and stuff through the new amp. Be careful not to set the output volume too high on the stereo.

Connect your TV straight to the amp using you today-bought lead.

Connect your PS2 to the amp using an optical digital cable, which can be obtained for about £15. This will give you a superb sound connection, and you'll really notice the difference. If your amp is autosensing (i.e. it has in-built Dolby Digital decoding) it will work out what signal is going to it and behave accordingly, so you can play games or movies in the appropriate sound configuration. My Sony amp (STR-DB940 - £400) does this very nicely.

But, of course, you're still in stereo at this point. What I would suggest is that you buy a cheap-ish pair of floor-standing speakers (which will give you enough power to not have to buy a subwoofer immediately). You can get them for £80 - £130, which are reasonable quality and price. Then buy a centre speaker, which would start at about £40. You can then use your existing stereo's speakers as your rear speakers.

So, costs:
Your biggest expense will be the amplifier, but this is also the place where at the moment you want to spend the most money. It's worth putting your eggs into this basket, so I would recommend models from Yamaha or Sony. If money's tight, Sherwood do good stuff for the cash. There's a Sony and a Yamaha in Richer Sounds for £120.

Speakers: Richers are offering the commended Mission 702e floorstanders at £79, which is something like £120 off list. Difficult to recommend anything else with bargains like that around! As for a centre, go for the Mission 70C1 (£50) which will balance your floorstanders nicely. If you go into Richers and buy all of that in a one-er they should give you the cables you need, but otherwise, don't swallow their nonsense about buying more expensive cables - buy the 79p/m stuff! (it is worth spending money on interconnect cables though!).

The standard SCART cable you get with the PS2 isn't the best, but it will do you for now, and you've much more scope to enhance your pleasure by investing in the sound system.

Hope that helps! Good luck in convincing she who needs to be convinced! It is well worth it, as I'm sure you know!

G
 

Latest Posts

Back