I need to consolidate and sort out the sound setup in my room. I think I posted some time ago about getting a home theater surround sound system etc. But I'm thinking now I'll go for something less while maintaining high quality.
Here's my situation. I'm in a smallish room. 13'x11'. I have a fair number of sound sources; my PC, a dvd player, PS2/Xbox/GC. I'd like to pipe them all through the same set of speakers. Like I mentioned above, I was first thinking of going for a 5.1 setup, but given the setup in my room at the moment and its size, I'm thinking of foregoing the surrounds, and instead getting a nice 2.1 setup. Or a centre speaker with 2 side speakers (possible?). However, I would like the ability to decode surround sound as I may end up getting a pair of surround sound headphones so I can watch movies with "private" surround sound and not bother anyone etc.
So, what do I need..? Do I need an amp? I've heard about receivers too..what are they, and what's the difference between it and an amp? If I wanted a 3 speaker set up (one centre, and two sides), would I get 3 speakers of the same type? What about a subwoofer - is it pointless if I'm not going fully surround? And specific recommendations as well as general ones would be really greatly appreciated - I'd like to nail down exactly what I want to get ASAP. My budget is limited..I'd like to hit a nice quality/price sweetspot for a couple of hundred euro. say $300-400 or less (the smaller the figure the better!) - if that's possible! Many thanks for the help..
(I have considered just getting one of the Creative amps and one of their speaker packages, but a lot of people seem to think they're bad quality...?)
Here's my situation. I'm in a smallish room. 13'x11'. I have a fair number of sound sources; my PC, a dvd player, PS2/Xbox/GC. I'd like to pipe them all through the same set of speakers. Like I mentioned above, I was first thinking of going for a 5.1 setup, but given the setup in my room at the moment and its size, I'm thinking of foregoing the surrounds, and instead getting a nice 2.1 setup. Or a centre speaker with 2 side speakers (possible?). However, I would like the ability to decode surround sound as I may end up getting a pair of surround sound headphones so I can watch movies with "private" surround sound and not bother anyone etc.
So, what do I need..? Do I need an amp? I've heard about receivers too..what are they, and what's the difference between it and an amp? If I wanted a 3 speaker set up (one centre, and two sides), would I get 3 speakers of the same type? What about a subwoofer - is it pointless if I'm not going fully surround? And specific recommendations as well as general ones would be really greatly appreciated - I'd like to nail down exactly what I want to get ASAP. My budget is limited..I'd like to hit a nice quality/price sweetspot for a couple of hundred euro. say $300-400 or less (the smaller the figure the better!) - if that's possible! Many thanks for the help..
(I have considered just getting one of the Creative amps and one of their speaker packages, but a lot of people seem to think they're bad quality...?)