Home theatre audio experts: help please
 

I bought myself a 55" Samsung TV on Black Friday for cheapish and Im happy with the screen and unhappy with the sound. I'm just now getting around to plugging in my 1 year old Vizio soundbar with a red and white component cable to the TV when I realize it doesn't even have any audio out like my old 42" does. Just 1 set of component inputs (empty) and 2 HDMI (which are taken up by my xbox 360 and cable box). What can I do to get my sound bar running through both the cable box for normal TV viewing and Xbox play. Don't plan on hooking anything else up I just like a little bass (wireless subwoofer + soundbar) to match the action on screen.

All else fails I'll look into getting a budget receiver and start building a real sound system. I really don't wanna do that until the FR-S is riding on coilovers and 18's though.

Thanks!

That new Bose All in one is great and simple. I have one sounds great and works great with all plugged components
http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/...ater/index.jsp

any chance you could find a link for me??

seems to require audio out, so this would not work for me. Seems like a good deal from Bose no less though!

Any advice on the actual hookup process?

That's a hell of a lot more than I would know how to do. Thanks! If anyone can chime in and guarantee that 1 of those 2 systems he posted will work for my needs I'll probably jump on this week.

Does the Vizio soundbar have an optical input? It'd really help here if you gave us model numbers for what you've got, otherwise we have nothing to look at. You may be set to go already, but just missing a cable.

edit: I just looked at the Vizio site, and I'm pretty sure every single soundbar has optical input. /edit

If you're even considering any of the above, stop now. Bose is decent but far overpriced for what it is, and there are really no worthwhile theater in a box systems anymore. Especially when the blu ray player is the amplifier, and part of it dies, so then you're stuck with a dead amp or a dead blu ray player. And the reported wattage can be fudged, so don't trust those either. I actually downgraded a couple months ago from an Onkyo receiver I was running in 2.1 with some old Onkyo bookshelf speakers and an 8" subwoofer. Ended up with a Sony HT-CT660 soundbar, and I'm pleased enough that I could recommend it. Do demo it in a store first though, if you're interested. Got mine from Best Buy during a 250 dollar one day sale. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Sony-HT-CT660-46-Inch-Wireless-Subwoofer/dp/B00C25I5TE"]Amazon.com: Sony HT-CT660 46-Inch Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer: Electronics[/ame]

I like it, it does its job fairly well, and sounds nearly equally good for my purposes, compared to my previous set up. I have a toddler and another on the way and I was tired of finding Hot Wheels that had been stuffed into the port hole of the subwoofer. I also wasn't going to invest a grand into new tower speakers because the kids will trash them. Maybe in the future when they'll leave my stuff alone. I was really close to getting the new Andrew Jones engineered Pioneer sound bar ([ame="http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-SP-SB23W-Andrew-Soundbar-System/dp/B00EHBPF6W"]Amazon.com: Pioneer SP-SB23W Andrew Jones Soundbar System: Electronics[/ame]), but it only has optical in, and not HDMI. Not all, but a lot of TVs will convert a 5.1 signal into 2.1 when going out through optical, so to get that "fake, kinda sorta, but not really, because it's still all in the front" surround from a soundbar, I went with the Sony. Both should be on display at Best Buy if you want to demo them. I can tell you right off the bat though, the Pioneer has a better cabinet (wood vs plastic and metal) and a warmer sound, and is better for music. But I use my TV for gaming, TV shows, and movies.. not music.

Right now my setup is HDMI from the TV into to the soundbar, and then my PS4, Wii U, and Xbox 360 all HDMI into the sound bar. Very easy to set up.

Any audiophile will tell you to steer clear from any integrated tv speakers or soundbars. Invest in decent sound system imo.

Yeah, and that's why I almost just kept my mouth shut and didn't say anything.. Because it really makes me sound like an ass when someone recommends something and then I say "no, don't do that." In the end, if you're happy with what you're spent your money on, that's all that matters.

Of course, but that's audiophiles. Not everyone has the room, capacity, budget, or even the need for a really nice system. Judging by OP's response to Monogram, I'm not sure he qualifies as audiophile. :D

But hey, if he's got about 650 bucks to burn, he can get a decent 5.1 Denon or Onkyo receiver, a couple of Pioneer SP-FS52 floor standing speakers, and a Pioneer SW-8MK2 subwoofer.

Pffft not even close to being an audiophile. I will post model numbers when I get home AMD see how far we get.

Soundbar: VIZIO VSB210WS
TV: Samsung UN55FH6003

Wow. Much as I hate to say it, looks like you own the first modern television I've ever come across that has no audio output whatsoever.

So here's how to make it all work.

Video:
HDMI from the Xbox to TV
HDMI from cable box into the TV

Audio:
You have a choice to make here. Your soundbar has optical (SPDIF) and RCA inputs. Optical is higher quality (digital instead of analog) and while I'm not sure about your cable box, I know your Xbox supports optical out. If you have the first gen HDMI Xbox, you may need this cable unless you want to modify the stock cable: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Toslink-Audio-Adapter-Xbox-Slim/dp/B009GUO15K/ref=pd_cp_vg_1"]Amazon.com: Monoprice RCA and Toslink Audio Adapter for Xbox 360 and Xbox 360 Slim: Video Games[/ame]
If you have the S or newer Xbox, it has a built-in optical out so nothing else is needed.
Option 1:
a. Xbox optical out into soundbar SPDIF in.
b. Cable box RCA out into soundbar RCA in.
Option 2.
Both devices RCA out into soundbar RCA in.

There's a third option as well. If your cable box has optical out you can purchase an optical switcher and go from the xbox and cable box into the switch, and then the switch into the soundbar. But unless you have room for another small box, they're all going to be manual switches which can get to be a pain.

Hope this helps.

It's the gen xbox that became shiny black with internal 250gb harddrive and internal WiFi with motion sense power button rather than press button.
The cable box is Comcasts HD DVR and its only about 6 months old so I'm sure its top of the line.

Will the tv just have no sound going to it with these options or what? The sound settings on the tv itself are a joke. But you already knew that lol

Ok so it's the S model, cool. Then run your optical cable from the Xbox into the soundbar (or a switch, if you're wanting to do the cable box too) and HDMI into the TV.

That's correct though, the TV will just have no sound going to it. If there isn't an option in the menu to disable the TV speakers, just turn the sound to zero and use your soundbar to control volume.

I am all about Stereo.

Good Stereo = best performance.

Why ? Because we have 2 ears. Most of the time you hear Left to Right, and your brain will some what interpret it as behind you. This effect can be recreated with a good Stereo system

Surround sounds are Fake.

Got the TV hooked up! now just need to go get a digital cable for the xbox. Thanks for the help guys

<--- has about $15 grand in his home theatre, and is shuddering at this thread.

The best advice I've seen here though, was that Bose is junk. Sony is also overpriced.

Op, what you're looking for is a system that will allow you to run all of your components through it. The end result will be that you'll always need to have the "stereo" on while you're watching tv or anything on your tv. The stereo will be used to select which component is displayed and heard, not the tv anymore. The wiring will be very similar to how you wired your old tv. The difference being that you will wiring everything to the stereo instead of the tv, and then run one additional wire from the stereo to the tv for video only.

There are other ways to do it so that you can still get sound from your tv, but without knowing the capabilities of your components I can't describe the process fully.

When looking for a home theater system ignore the wattage ratings and pretty well every sticker you see. There are so many ways to fudge those numbers that they are useless without knowing exactly how the tests were conducted.

Instead, find a system with; enough hdmi inputs for the number of components you have plus a couple exta for future expansion, one that sounds good to YOU, and is in your price range. This should hopefully leave you with a few options, **this is the most critical part of the selection process** pick the one with the remote that's easiest to use and find the buttons on. People always give me the stink eye when I say this because they expect a much more technical answere, but it really is the most important part. I'm sure we've all had a remote that was nothing but a sea of buttons. It's frustrating to no end and you'll quickly begin to hate whatever that remote controls.

You're not wrong, but the way most movies a are mastered is with rear speakers in mind. The center is easy enough to just send a mono signal to the fronts but integrating the rear signals after the fact will be equally as fake. I run my system 2.0 and bypass everything but the volume knob when listening to music, but movies I run it 5.1.

Sent from my GT-S7560M using Tapatalk

I wish I had fifteen grand. I'd buy.. uh... maybe one B&W speaker. Just to have it and admire it, you know. :D I don't know what they go for now.
http://audioonline.free.fr/images/bw_nautilus_6.jpg

For the record, I wasn't about to buy my Sony soundbar for MSRP, but for half off it was a great price IMO.

I think I've got him pretty much set in the right direction. Doesn't really care about sound other than wanting something better than TV audio (isn't that how it always starts for all of us? ;)) and I looked up the manuals and pictures of his components to make sure everything will connect properly.

<3 my Harmony. I just don't know what will happen when Logitech finally dumps them.

Well this thread has all but been wrapped up. But I don't plan to spend anymore money on this system because the picture is gorgeous and the soundbar is good enough, its a small room. Maybe once I get a nice place I'll invest but right now this is it.

If you don't mind spending the time to set it up, the MX 450 from Universal remote control is outstanding and fairly cost effective. Logitech has them on ease of setup, but for ease of everyday use the URC has them beat to a pulp.

And I didn't spend all that money in one shot, that took over ten years as I waited for funds to come in and technology to get to a point that I wanted to buy. I had thought about waiting for decent 3d to come to projectors, but the setup in the theatres doesn't really work for me, so I took the plunge and bought a Mitsubishi projector. I kept the screen relatively small at 92 inches, this allowed me to maintain a 20 degree viewing angle while keeping my couch in the middle of the room. (Any bigger and my wife gets nauseous.) The room BTW is a 15x23 foot room that I had framed with sound damping techniques when I built the house. I ran all of the in wall wiring for the projector, rack, and speakers long before I had everything assembled. I still haven't properly sound deadened the room to prevent reflections, but the dimensions alone helps to stop standing waves, as does the couch in the middle and the exposed steel beam in the ceiling.

I'd love to be able to afford B&W, they have truly awe inspiring sound quality. But I just can't justify that much cost. Instead I just do my best with positioning my honestly modest (on the grand scale) speakers.

The best part though, is the theatre style popcorn maker. I just completes the whole experience.

Not a problem, I didn't realize it so wrapped up when I started typing.

Enjoying what you have is more important then bragging rights.

1+

AMen to that

The same goes for car and performance. Enjoy it to the way it best serve you, not bragging rights

Now that the OP has his help for his setup, I'll just say 2 channel is great for 2 channel CDs...but is still a front only soundstage. But a nicely mixed 4 or 5.1 multichannel SACD disc or Blu-Ray concert disc [like Jeff Beck - Live at Ronnie Scott's], that really envelopes you and puts you in the center of the experience (rather than having the experience happen in front of you, which is okay for music because you are listening to the music as an audience member with it being performed in front of you.) A side/rear multichannel setup playing audio signals at each location replicates discreet sound sources much like real life because what you hear in is physically coming from different locations. And for gaming (first person shooters) this difference is absolutely critical.

There is a big difference when I'm playing Halo or World of Tanks Beta using my reference stereo headphones verses my HT system speakers (5.2 for gaming)...much more detail and information from the HT system speakers because you can pinpoint instantly where a distance firefight is versus taking the time to pan side to side to get your precise information with the headphones. It also helps when you are in the middle of a fight and have to bug out due to hearing a Mantis gunning on you from ~195 degrees heading, his buddy with the machine gun turret on your other flank at ~150 degrees, some guy trying to snipe you from 270 degrees, all with grenades and enemy fire incoming directly ahead of you.

Headphones loose out big time and lead to more deaths due to less precise information - you have to know exactly what is going on in a 360 degree plane around you every moment of a match and physical speakers giving discreet information excel at that. Gaming in stereo is like being a horse with blinders put on.

I listened to a pair of these quad amped to 8 Krell 800 watt mono block amps. It was at a "Steriophile" show at Dorall in a hotel where they took the furniture out of the rooms to set up listening rooms.

The sound was amazing. They are the Nautilus Series and in the 90s they sold for $35,000 a pair. The manufacture set up the room and the total was $130,000. Today, there are actually speakers that cost that much, but my ears can't hear the difference. I have been using Onkyo receivers for the past 20 years they are about the best bang for the buck. They have receivers ranging from $199 to $3,000

John

Yeah my next step would be to buy a good reciever and then piece he rest of the system together. My dad built his setup piece by piece and not as a package and it sounds amazing! I don't think he spent more than $3k either.