5.1 surround sound.
 

hello cable forum.

ive recently purchased a 5.1 surround sound, this includes the front, rear, subwoofer, however im wanting to connect this to my TV, altho i only have the usual connections, scart, and the yellow and red, white thing, each of the wires on the surround sound have a white and red adaptor, so im only able to plug one in but i get no sound,

what kind of wire do i need to get this to work with my tv.
( im not bothered about true 5.1 sound ) just all speakers to work :)

thanks if u can help.

richy

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

Unless the 5.1 has a surround sound emulation then the normal stereo output from a TV will only drive the Left and right speaker (and sometimes the bass)

5.1 systems really are designed to accept either 5.1 co-axial/optical inputs or seperate channels per input (which is what you seem to describe) which are supplied via a 5.1 source (satellite/DVD coax/optical output) where as TV's tend to work purely in Stereo on thier scart or audio out connectors

Kymmy

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

so mine is useless unless i buy a dvd player that can use it?

is there no wires that can transform it all into 1 wire were all speakers will work giveing the same sound, ( sorry complete noOb at this)

what would be the easiest way to get it to work with the tv? as i dont tend to watch dvds or satellite tv,

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

Have you got a Amplifier (aka: AMP)? Just the speakers wont work. You need something to sit between the 5.1 & TV/DVD/PS3

I have my Denon AMP connected to my 5.1 & Sony 40" TV.

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

think your best idea would be to buy a cheap surround sound amp , it may be possible to connect all the wires as one (with a complete botch job) but you would still probably need an amp as there would not be enough power , could you run it through your stereo?

damn ^^ beaten to it :)

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

no, can you explain,

would the 5.1 connect to the amp? and then the amp to the tv?

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

all the speakers plug into the amp , then the amp is connected to the tv via optical or co-ax connection :)

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

OK, before you even think about an AMP you'll probably find that the 5.1 system has an AMP built in...

My 5.1 system as well as the 5.1 seperate inputs has also a stereo input that allows a 2 speaker system to come through all the speakers which I use for standard TV, my SAT and DVD goes through a Cambridge Audio V500 to convert the optical/co-axial to seperate outputs, but not all have stereo input or emulation. Not much you can do about it if yours hasn;t unless there is such a thing as a 2 to 5.1 convertor which would take your stereo system and emulate a 5.1 signal from it.

Kymmy

---------- Post added at 18:40 ---------- Previous post was at 18:40 ----------

From the OP's first post sounds like it's just a stereo TV with NO co-ax/optical

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

would a picture of the back of the 5.1 surround be easier to show?

how much is a cheap amp as it was only a cheap 5.1 as its nothing fancy just for bedroom,

and yeah i dont think there is a co-ax/optical ( what ever that is) on the tv.

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

What make & model is your surround sound system?

What's your TV?


If you don't tend to watch DVDs though, I'm not sure there's much point in it really?

What do you watch?

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

surround sound is this one here : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mikomi-5.1-Hom...07030922a30819

was only cheap as its just bedroom,

tv is old, wharfedale dont no the model for it, but its not got none of the new hightech stuff on it,

have a freeview box pluged in by scart lead, so just watch the basic channels on that with film 4/ music channels most,

and thought of getting 5.1 as the sound was tinny :) and well.. was a bargain, .... well if i get it working lol

---------- Post added at 20:43 ---------- Previous post was at 20:41 ----------

this forum is helpful :)

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

Hi, I can't find any information on what sound input sockets are available on the subwoofer, to which, presumably, the speakers are connected?

If there is only a digital connector, either coax or optical (or both), then the speakers are designed to only work with a decoded digital signal. This will not work with either the tv or the freeview box.

If, however, there are 3.5mm 'front & back' sound inputs, or phono jacks for 2 channel stereo, you may have better luck, as you will be able to get leads to connect either the headphone socket on the TV, or the stereo sound output jacks on the freeview box.

The best you can hope for with that kind of setup is a front & back mirrored stereo sound, with the low frequencies downmixed to the subwoofer.

- however a decent set of powered stereo speakers would probably be just as good & a lot easier to connect.

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

Very much doubt that Mikomi thing is a proper DD 5.1 system.

Looks like a cheap PC-type surround sound system, so probably has either phono or 3.5mm inputs as Homealone said. Probably just gives something like Dolby Pro Logic (or maybe DPL II as it claims to be "5.1").

But, having said that, that's probably better for you as Homealone said, as a DD system using optical or coax inputs would be rather pointless for you. You should be able to hook your Mikomi thing up. Can you post a pic of the inputs on the back

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

i've attached the picture of the back as requested :)

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

Erm, that's a bit blurry! ;) :)

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

sorry will retake now :)


added :)

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

still a bit blurry, but I'm assuming that the 3 x 3.5mm jack sockets at the top right are for input from a PC & the 5 phono sockets below are for the speaker connections.

I can't tell if the left hand side has any other kind of audio socket, though ??

- afaik the 'line in', 'line out' & 'microphone ' sockets on a compatible sound card can act as 6 single channels - giving the 5:1 connectivity using 3 stereo jacks - clever, but no good for anyone wanting to connect an ordinary freeview decoder - does one connector say 'center & sub'? - try plugging the headphone socket from the tv into that with a suitable lead & connect the center (sic) speaker to the appropriate phono socket on the sub.

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

By the look of it it's purely a speaker system designed to take the 5.1 outputs from a PC soundcard and amplify them to the 5.1 speakers, it does NOT have a 5.1 decoder in it and will not take a Stereo output, optical outpu or co-axial output.

Sorry but you have bought the wrong setup, though saying that no system will give you true 5.1 from a simple stereo TV output. Best to by a simple 2.1 speaker system for the setup you have.

Kymmy

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

bummer :( , looks like its useless then,

thanks for the help tho guys,

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

thanks :)

- I get confused because my ancient cambridge soundworks 'desktop theater 5.1' system has a built in decoder & will do 'real' dolby 5.1 via a coax/rca connector - but also has 'front/back' 3.5mm speaker input jacks, and the facility to do the 'pro-logic' stuff, as MattD said ..

- well my one used to, but it seems to have broken & the centre channel keeps dropping - I've been looking at the lovely Logitech Z5500 set, lately ;)

---------- Post added at 23:22 ---------- Previous post was at 23:19 ----------

not useless - just worth what you can get for Argos stuff on ebay ;)

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

My V500 is a Cambridge audio as well, though has a full 6.1 channel DTS individual inputs I tend to use the coax or optical 5.1 inputs attached to my dvd/sat

It though does not have any 3.5mm inputs, pity as although a now defunct company it's an amazing bit of kit which I paid 50UKP for from richie sounds about 7 years ago ;)

Kymmy

PS..weird homealone, your post came up twice for me, deleted one and it deleted both so restored it...weird :p:

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

agreed is weird - let me know if it happens again, please, kymmy :erm:

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

full specs on the mikomi -
so yes, it would need a dolby decoder to feed it seperate front, rear, and sub channels, but not bad for 24.99

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

Phew, that's a relief. Thought I'd overdosed on cider again..

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

I am having issues with my 5.1 as well. It has the larger jack, not the headphone one the next one up.

This is the one: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/126903
I can only get 2.1 one to work through my tell, Samsung LE32R74BDX - 32"
Also, id liek to be able to get everything working through it, Sky, Wii, PS3, Xbox360.

Can anyone offer any advice?

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

What do you mean "next one up"? Is it a Phono socket (look at the 3 sockets at the right of this picture)?

http://www.rfconcepts.co.uk/av.jpg

However, looking at the rather limited description on ebuyer and Amazon, it looks like the speakers do not include a Dolby 5.1 decoder. You will need one of those to get 5.1 surround sound from the Sky box, the Xbox 360 and PS3. Not sure if any Wii titles support Dolby Digital.

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

Yep its those ones, red and white, can you name a good place to get a "Dolby 5.1 decoder"

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

Try a search on ebay for AV RECIEVER if you want a truly dedicated one, but it would be cheaper/easier to just sell the 5.1 speakers and go for a fully intergrated 5.1 speaker/decoder system unless you;re looking for fantastic quality.

Kymmy

Re: 5.1 surround sound.
 

Take a look at Richer Sounds or similar type of Audio site. Normally cheaper than eBay sellers & they can advise you & help with aftersales. These are all 5.1 Setup Systems http://www.richersounds.com/informat...ecinemasystems

The AMP's are at http://www.richersounds.com/productl...oup=AMPLIFIERS (try not getting a 5.1 system with built in DVD Player) that way if you upgrade to BluRay or anything your AMP will work with it all. If its a All in One system you can be tied to limitations of unit.

I had a Denon AMP off them. Works a treat (my first entry AMP). I have Keff 2005.2 Egg Speakers