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Honestly, for the price of the Sony HTIB that Poofy posted... why not go with that?!
For $200 you can have a Sony system much more capable (ships from Vanns). I know you are in Canada, so I am not sure how much this would cost you.
To be honest, I strongly believe that you get what you pay for with hardware. I think it is better to go for the best quality you can afford for your budget. The better brands and technology will last longer into the future and will provide the best bang for your buck in the long run. Especially with home theater audio, why buy a POS system and have crappy sound?!
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maxinc
Your not entirely correct you still need a DTS and Dolby decoder to process the DTS or AC3 this has nothing to do with the DAC
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maxinc
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You're perfectly right! I probably left it out since most amps / speaker sets with a digital input that I can think of can usually decode DD and DTS, except of course, most of the TV's that can only handle DD.
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eskro
Posting Freak
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2011-01-17, 23:29
(This post was last modified: 2011-01-18, 00:04 by eskro.)
thanks for all your replied guys!
that Logitech Z5500 looks interesting, but here in Canada,
things are always pricier... would cost me $325 + Shipping...
Far away from the $200 you guys pay in the US....
I've never been an audiophile...
meaning, i barely know stuff about Audio and how it works..
but now i understand better...
Speakers need an ANALOGUE signal to be able to make you hear the sound
which means you need a DigitalAnalogueConverter to do exactly that...
i believe pc audio cards and Audio/Video Receivers have that by default....
But not all Surround Sound System Packages have that....
Now the best way i understand is to avoid doing the conversion
using a motherboards built-in audio card
and buy a Audio/Video Receiver to do the job instead...
for many reasons like better connectivity and avoid interference....
Now i have to be careful when buying an A/V Receiver
because it must be able to convert/decode DolbyDigital and DTS signals to ANALOGUE...
probably most do by now but, gotta keep that in mind...
That being said, i can't buy a sound system with A/V Receiver right now i guess...
my wallet cant afford paying $325+ just for the sound....
sucks... life is hard...
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maxinc
Senior Member
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An A/V Receiver + nice set of speakers is the ultimate goal in home entertainment but as you may guess, it will be a lot pricier than a Home Theatre package like the one Poofy sugested or the Z5500. These later options are great as a stepping stone on the AV ladder.
Once you get into the realm of A/V Receivers, there is a whole new dimension and lots of things to consider like channels and inputs, HD audio, video upscaling, HDMI version and many more.
A final word on the Z5500 is that I've bought mine 5 years ago for the same amount it sells today, so it holds it's value pretty well over time. Personally I love it so much that I decided to keep it as a 2.1 desktop system after I upgraded my speaker package.
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SpIcEz
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BTW, I bought the Sony HT-SS370 system over the holidays at Best Buy in Canada for 250$. (during boxing week).
Its well worth it.
Its currently going for 299$ at Best Buy and 279$ at Futurshop.
You might even find it cheaper else where if you dig a little.
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eskro
Posting Freak
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2011-01-18, 04:35
(This post was last modified: 2011-01-18, 05:12 by eskro.)
but the Sony 5.1 HTSS370 doesn't decode DTS-HD MASTER nor DOLBY TRUE-HD...
* checks if MediaPlayerClassic can send it to the HTSS3370 already decoded
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Torroa
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No, but if you can send 5.1/7.1 PCM to the Sony and it will play those fine. You will loose some of the dynamics, but it will still be a lot better than compressed Dolby or DTS.
