What's your 360 hooked up to for sound?

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JackB1
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What's your 360 hooked up to for sound?

Post by JackB1 »

We talk a lot here about TV's and flat screens, but not much about audio.
I am in the market for a new sound system for my 360 and was wondering what you all have your 360 hooked up to, sound wise?

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Slumberland
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Post by Slumberland »

Hooked up to a stereo, baby! I am such not the audiophile. I hear things coming from left and right and I'm like 'WOW'. I do have 5.1 headphones that I could use as a decoder to a crappy set of surround speakers I somehow acquired, but the thought of all those wires makes me nervous.

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Post by JackB1 »

Slumberland wrote:Hooked up to a stereo, baby! I am such not the audiophile. I hear things coming from left and right and I'm like 'WOW'. I do have 5.1 headphones that I could use as a decoder to a crappy set of surround speakers I somehow acquired, but the thought of all those wires makes me nervous.
funny you should say that. I have a pretty powerful stereo receiver that is just sitting in a box in my basement doing nothing, but instead I am currently using a less powerful Sony 100 Watt per channel surround system that is about 6 years old. The stereo would probably sound better, but I am "convinced" I need surround sound for some reason. I don't know why, but my Sony surround system has no power. Even at almost maximum volume, it's barely loud enough. I have it hooked up with a optical audio cable connected to my 360/VGA connector, but never tried the analog connection. I am considering selling both the stereo and the Sony system and getting one pretty good surround system for my 360.

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Post by DivotMaker »

Logitech 5500 5.1 Digital sound system for PC using the Optical connection. Flawless performance.

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Post by warnerwlf98 »

SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS sound card for PC with a large breakout box that has an optical input and supports Dolby Digital decoding. I also have Logitech Z530 5.1 Speakers. I suppose my speakers could be better but it's good enough for me.

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Post by JackB1 »

DivotMaker wrote:Logitech 5500 5.1 Digital sound system for PC using the Optical connection. Flawless performance.
$278 on Amazon.com. Not bad. I do want something I can use with my PC also and this would be good for that. I currently have a crappy, standard sound card that came with my PC, but I will eventually upgrade that to one that will give me surround sound also for my PC games.

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Post by Boltman »

I have my 360 connected via Toslink optical digital audio input. It goes right from my 360 into my Yamaha receiver 5.1 surround sound setup.

The connection looks like this.


Image

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Post by Jimmydeicide »

My set up was the same as warners but with the Cambridge soundworks 6.1 speakers megaworks if i remember right, but have recently just changed over to a more traditional setup thru a reciever , the reason was the sound for movies from both ps3 or 360 sounded weird had sort of a real high tinny pitch to it which you could hear in voices at times, for pc use and games they are brilliant but were lacking for movies and im no means an audiophile it must have been noticeable if it bothered me.
Now if i want pc sound its just the reverse of what i was doing before .

My new speakers i bought on sale last year are Klipsch quintet III sound awsome in my office /gameroom/movieroom/pornsurfingroom/occasionalworkroom... Hey it is an office.

You can get an all in one setup like i have now and have the best of both worlds for pc and 360/movies the only problem then is speaker placement for both. My pc monitor is next to the tv so it works fine for me if you pc is on another wall then you have a problem.

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Post by MizzouRah »

I use my Dell speakers from my pc - it also has a subwoofer hooked to it.. sounds great.

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Post by Spooky »

HDMI into a Denon 3808ci receiver. Definitive Technology speakers (large floor standing fronts, large center and bi-polar rears) and a Hsu 12 inch subwoofer. 5.1 all the way!
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Post by DivotMaker »

JackB1 wrote:
DivotMaker wrote:Logitech 5500 5.1 Digital sound system for PC using the Optical connection. Flawless performance.
$278 on Amazon.com. Not bad. I do want something I can use with my PC also and this would be good for that. I currently have a crappy, standard sound card that came with my PC, but I will eventually upgrade that to one that will give me surround sound also for my PC games.
I could not recommend them more highly. I have had mine for over 3 years and they are simply the best PC speakers I have ever owned. Plus, I paid $399 for mine....$278 is a steal!

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Post by jondiehl »

Yamaha 770 watt THX certified 7.1 receiver

For my 7.1 speaker setup, I use Athena speakers (Audition series):

http://www.athenaspeakers.com/auditionS ... eakers.htm

2 floor standing AS-F2's for the L/R up front
1 center channel AS-C1
4 bookshelf AS-B2's for sides and back surrounds
1 10" subwoofer AS-P400

These babies will rattle your fillings. 8)
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Post by JackB1 »

Some good ideas so far.....

I should add a couple of things.
-I don't care about movies or TV. This will be only for 360 and PC games.
-My price range is $100-$300.

One more consideration: Since I already have my not so great Sony 100W per channel 5.1 system, should I just get a better receiver and use it with the existing speakers?

Playing Rock Band really made me want to upgrade my sound system. Will all that great music on that game, you HAVE to have a nice sound system to play that game that way it should be played.

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Post by Brando70 »

An Onkyo receiver and a Polk 5.1 satellite system that I've had for 8 years. I am hoping to upgrade to something more like what Jon and Spooky have, but for gaming it works pretty well.

My personal advice: Put off the purchase and save up a bit for something outside of the $100-300 range. You will get something better than your TV and maybe better than your Sony, but probably not by much. If you can get to $500 your options get much better.

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Post by jondiehl »

Brando70 wrote: My personal advice: Put off the purchase and save up a bit for something outside of the $100-300 range.
+1

Complete 5.1 systems in that price range aren't going to sound very good other than maybe for PC use only (when you're sitting right on top of them). In a typical family room setup though, those small speakers just won't fill the room with sound. The speakers will likely be made 100% of plastic, cardboard and fiber board.

Wait until you can spend at least $500, if not $1000 (if we're talking about a decent stand-alone A/V receiver and quality speakers).

The thing about a sound system, is unlike video, the technology isn't going to get better by leaps and bounds from year to year, or even 5yrs to 5yrs. Save up until you can get some higher quality speakers and they'll sound good for decades.

The A/V receivers will change, as input types improve and new devices come out (HDMI switching, 1080p pass-through, and iPod docking were unheard of 5yrs ago in the A/V receiver world), and it's easy to just upgrade that from time to time and keep the existing speakers in place.

I have the Logitech 5500 5.1 setup for my PC, and it is very nice for what it does. That would be in your price range, but don't expect home theater performance... not even close. They're great for PC use when you're sitting right on top of it, but not from 10ft away.
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Post by Zeppo »

JackB1 wrote:One more consideration: Since I already have my not so great Sony 100W per channel 5.1 system, should I just get a better receiver and use it with the existing speakers?
Jack, what is the nature of this Sony 'system' that you have? Is it a separate audio receiver/ amplifier, with small satellite speakers and a subwoofer? Or is it one of those things where the DD decoder et al is built into the subwoofer and the satellite speakers connect to that?

If it's the first thing, you may have good success by simply upgrading your speakers. Several years ago, I helped a friend select a 5.1 system for her TV set up, and we got a Sony all-in-one that included a pretty decent Sony 5.1 receiver along with some pretty poor, small Sony satellite speakers. The thinking from my end was that with this receiver, she could always upgrade the speakers and improve the system immensely, whereas with one of those decoder-in-the-subwoofer all-in-ones, there wouldn't really be any way to upgrade.

I guess I'm saying that if you have a 100W per channel 5.1 receiver, the best bet is to get some decent speakers and you should be pretty happy. I find it hard to believe a 100W per channel 5.1 system wouldn't be able to push enough sound to fill up a normal sized room unless the speakers are not up to snuff. Or unless it isn't really 100W per, and they are using 'marketing math' with the advertised specs and it's only 100W per in stereo mode, etc. etc.

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Post by Airdog »

I used to have it hooked up to a fairly sub-par RCA surround system via optical and it was pretty cool. Now it's just hooked up straight to my Sony 32XBR2, mostly because I game in my room.
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Post by JackB1 »

Zeppo wrote:
JackB1 wrote:One more consideration: Since I already have my not so great Sony 100W per channel 5.1 system, should I just get a better receiver and use it with the existing speakers?
Jack, what is the nature of this Sony 'system' that you have? Is it a separate audio receiver/ amplifier, with small satellite speakers and a subwoofer? Or is it one of those things where the DD decoder et al is built into the subwoofer and the satellite speakers connect to that?

If it's the first thing, you may have good success by simply upgrading your speakers. Several years ago, I helped a friend select a 5.1 system for her TV set up, and we got a Sony all-in-one that included a pretty decent Sony 5.1 receiver along with some pretty poor, small Sony satellite speakers. The thinking from my end was that with this receiver, she could always upgrade the speakers and improve the system immensely, whereas with one of those decoder-in-the-subwoofer all-in-ones, there wouldn't really be any way to upgrade.
Zeppo....I think you are onto something my friend. Yes, it is the 1st kind (separate receiver/amp and 5 tiny sony satellite speakers + 1 Subwoofer. It's not real powerful, but it's enough for my purpose. It may even be the same system that your friend had, as I got it around 5 years ago. It has 5 of the little silver, box shaped satellite speakers, which appear pretty crappy.

this is it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-HT-DDW660-Ho ... dogpile-20

I also found out it's only 70 watts per channel. When I bought it new over 5 yrs ago, I think it was over $200. Should I upgrade the speakers AND the subwoofer? Or try just the speakers 1st? I suppose in the future I can always get a better reciever to go with the new speakers if it's still not sufficient. Thanks for the help Zep!

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Post by FatPitcher »

warnerwlf98 wrote:SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS sound card for PC with a large breakout box that has an optical input and supports Dolby Digital decoding. I also have Logitech Z530 5.1 Speakers. I suppose my speakers could be better but it's good enough for me.
I'm using the same thing, minus the breakout box.

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Post by MUTTS »

Jondiehl:

What do you think of the pioneer Elite receivers?

Tony

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Post by jondiehl »

MUTTS wrote:Jondiehl:

What do you think of the pioneer Elite receivers?

Tony
I've always been a Yamaha guy, I've had 3 of their A/V receivers in the last 20yrs.

However, Pioneer is well respected, especially the Elite line (more so with displays, but their components are good too). I think you might find more bang for your buck with some of the Yamaha higher end stuff, especially if you can find a previous year's model on close out.

I got mine, that retailed for $799 for only $299 with an open box type of deal (because they had just come out with a new model number and were closing out the old stuff).
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Post by countzero2k5 »

Toslink to Onkyo 5.1 reciever here.

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Post by vader29 »

I have mine hooked up with optical audio through a 100watts per channel Pioneer 5.1 home theater system that I just bought for 100 bucks last month, cheap price but it sounds very good to me. :)

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Post by JackB1 »

vader29 wrote:I have mine hooked up with optical audio through a 100watts per channel Pioneer 5.1 home theater system that I just bought for 100 bucks last month, cheap price but it sounds very good to me. :)
Is that the one designed for the 360? The exterior color and design matches
the 360 console? Does that have a separate receiver or is it built into the woofer?

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Post by vader29 »

Yeah it's the one made for the 360, the receiver attaches to the subwoofer separately and all the connections plug into the subwoofer, it has 2 optical inputs, 1 coax optical audio input and a basic red and white audio input.

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