Why is this so hard? I'm looking for a home theatre set...

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DarKWateR

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I've been looking so hard but with no luck....I've check out the LG, Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, etc. websites but nothing so far.

My Logitech Z-5400 is requiring replacement so I was thinking of getting a home theatre based setup. I had a look at the Z-5500 Logitech but it actually lacks the extra optical port of the Z-5400 (3 optical in total) and in a way I want to move away from Logitech.

So these are my requirements....

Speaker type: Small form factor / satellites (my room is very small)
Output: Err...anything between 350W to 800W or whatever.
Connectivity: It MUST have atleast 3 digital inputs (HDMI, Coax, SPDIF or SP+SP+Coax, etc.)
Audio Modes: Err...the usual...Dolby Dig, Pro Logic, DTS.
Price: No too high...let's say R2000 - R4000

Please help
 
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dotVIBE

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Hmmmm, speakers are ok, much better than logitechs anyway. Nice thing is that it comes with a receiver, so speakers are upgradable, receiver also offers good connectivity, including HDMI switching. I see DionWired is selling it R4k which includes DVD player.
 
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DarKWateR

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CRAP! Seems like the Sony thing is not gonna work :(

I'm using an LCD screen only equipped with DVI-D (HDCP). So the plan was to run a HDMI to DVI cable from the reciever to the LCD but according to the manual and a forum this will cause the AMP not to display or have sound :(
 
Dolby

Dolby

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dotVIBE said:
If you buy a bose system (not that it's within your budget), i swear to god i'll find you, kick your ass for being an idiot, and then pee all over your crappy overpriced speakers.
Click to expand...

+1

Bose is laughed at by just about every audio company and audio lover out there. They sell way overpriced gear and their target market is the uninformed :p

Regarding power, people tend to underestimate true power and because of the marketing bull****, people don't really know what the system puts out unless they hear it for themselves. 50w RMS is actually reasonably potent - especially in a small room! NAD make a 40w RMS that'll blow any mini system out the water.

This is how the marketing and power quoting works :

As as example, assume a 2ch amplifier is made and the same amp is badged by various makes.

NAD would quote it as 40w RMS per channel with 0.001 percent distorion.

Sony would quote the same amp at 80w RMS with 0.1 percent distortion

AIM would quote it as 120w RMS with 10 percent distortion

Brand XYZ would quote 2000W PMPO at 10 percent while another company may say total power 4000W PMPO, meaning they're quietly adding the channels together.

Basically the same amp can be anything from 40w to 4000w
 
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mic_y

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dotVIBE said:
Hmmmm, speakers are ok, much better than logitechs anyway.
Click to expand...

BWAHAHA, since when has Sony ever made any speakers that come even close to any of the Logitech Z series? come now? honestly? Yes Logitechs are not the clearest sounding, but in the price range, they outperform anything from Sony, Samsung etc... If not for the input requirements, I would definitly say, go for the Z-5500.

Personally, I am still not giving up on finding a set of Z-5450's somewhere... but hope does seem to be fading away. I really dont want to run speaker cabling...
 
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dotVIBE

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DarKWateR said:
CRAP! Seems like the Sony thing is not gonna work :(

I'm using an LCD screen only equipped with DVI-D (HDCP). So the plan was to run a HDMI to DVI cable from the reciever to the LCD but according to the manual and a forum this will cause the AMP not to display or have sound :(
Click to expand...

That amp is a HDMI switcher only anyway, you were never going to get audio of it. You are looking at a significant increase in price if you start looking for proper HDMI decoding receivers. So, in this case, if the HDMI-DVI cable doesn't work, just run the cable straight from the source to the TV and route the audio through the amp via optical or digital coax.
 
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dotVIBE

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mic_y said:
BWAHAHA, since when has Sony ever made any speakers that come even close to any of the Logitech Z series? come now? honestly? Yes Logitechs are not the clearest sounding, but in the price range, they outperform anything from Sony, Samsung etc... If not for the input requirements, I would definitly say, go for the Z-5500.

Personally, I am still not giving up on finding a set of Z-5450's somewhere... but hope does seem to be fading away. I really dont want to run speaker cabling...
Click to expand...

So, you base this on what? Have you heard the set we are discussing?
 
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DarKWateR

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dotVIBE said:
That amp is a HDMI switcher only anyway, you were never going to get audio of it. You are looking at a significant increase in price if you start looking for proper HDMI decoding receivers. So, in this case, if the HDMI-DVI cable doesn't work, just run the cable straight from the source to the TV and route the audio through the amp via optical or digital coax.
Click to expand...

I think you misunderstood. The HDMI-DVI cable is from the receiver to the LCD. My LCD does not have HDMI. For example:

Connect PS3 via HDMI to Sony AMP and from AMP to TV via HDMI = Fine
Connect PS3 via HDMI to Sony AMP and from AMP to LCD via HDMI-DVI = No go
 
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