Pyro Paper Planes Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Okay, so I'm really confused about setting up an environment for surround sound. I have quite a few stupid questions. Anyway, here goes. I'm hoping to setup an overall entertainment/music production room, but I'm starting to think that this is a bad idea. I have the following right now: Mac Pro (early 2008 model), with Optical Out.* Playstation 3 & Xbox 360, HDMI Out or Optical Out x2 Yamaha HSM50s, with TRS or XLR. Now, I was considering completing the Yamaha setup by purchasing two more HSM50s and the subwoofer. I am not looking for a 7.1 surround setup, nor am I looking for a DTS setup (unless you consider it to be important). The problem is... well, how would I go about hooking everything together? With a sound card? Receiver? Preamplifier? Is it even possible? What I'm trying to ask is... what should I be looking for? That, or should I just give up, and separate my entertainment purposes with my monitoring purposes? I'm also very likely going to purchase a TV sometime soon. I don't know if that should affect anything... Anyway, hope I don't sound like too much of a clown asking all of this. I really wish surround sound was an easier ordeal... Edit: I'd also just like to say, I'm not looking to "boost" the signal in any way. I just want the most natural sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcana Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 I'm not a huge audiophile person but... It doesn't look like you're producing with this setup, so I would question the need of buying two more studio monitors for surround sound (unless you're tight on space or something but then I'd question the need for a multiple point surround sound system!) How are your monitors currently connected to your audio production system? The Mac Pro does not have TRS or XLR outputs so you probably have it connected to a mixer using the 1/8" jack, or use a breakout box/sound card of some kind. That means that the optical out is not in use. It seems to me that an ordinary stereo receiver with a bunch of optical inputs would be a good option. Your Mac Pro and your game consoles will hook up to it just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyro Paper Planes Posted February 1, 2011 Author Share Posted February 1, 2011 Actually, for the most part, I've got a great stereo setup right now. You would be correct in assuming that I have two TRS cables connected to the analog 1/8 jack. Not exactly desirable, but it's been fine so far... for the Mac. Right now, the PS3 and X360 are connected to a separate entertainment unit that I will not have access to in the new house. While I won't be tight on space in the room I'm setting up in, I only have one room for everything to fit in. My main problem is that the speakers are all ready pre-amplified. Is there a preamplifier that can... well, bypass the amplifier? I'm pretty much looking for a box that has multiple HDMI/Optical Inputs, one (or two) HDMI Outputs, and x5 XLR/TRS outputs, all while transmitting the natural signal without any amplifications until it reaches the speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyro Paper Planes Posted February 1, 2011 Author Share Posted February 1, 2011 So I've been searching on the net, and it would seem an unbalanced signal is not really a problem for home setup / beginner studios. I would have to spend up to $2000, which is ludicrous. From what I can gather, my best option would be to purchase a set of TRS to Banana cables for each speaker, connecting them to a preamplifier, and bypass the amplifier itself. Would this be correct? Edit: I'm starting to feel like that isn't an option either, as I'm not finding anything... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 you're really trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. why not buy, say, a set of Logitech Z5500s? that supports coax, optical, 3x 1/8", and represents a set of high-quality speakers with good bass response. the woofer's got 275w on it, too, and the other five speakers bring the total to 505w. got mine two years ago for 275$ with free shipping. there's always a deal somewhere for them. if you want to do music production, and you want to use speakers, use a 2.1 setup (surround sound is a waste of time unless you're doing foley audio). but then you've gotta think about room noise and the acoustics of the space you're in. use discrete systems for discrete applications. if you're REALLY desperate about getting audiophile sound in a 5.1 setup, then you can't use pre-amplified speakers unless they've got a way to switch to passive. you'd be looking for something like the NHT M-00 monitors, but they're stupid expensive and need an expensive amp to run the way you want them to run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyro Paper Planes Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share Posted February 5, 2011 You know, you're absolutely right dude. Those will do me just fine. Thanks. Edit: Actually, I'm going to look into a standard home theatre setup. I'll keep my Mac to stereo for mixing with my Yamahas, and everything else surround sound for entertainment purposes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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