Surround sound 5.1 question?

Hey orgers,

My dad's tasked me with finding some 5.1 surround sound for our TV in the living room.

Some initial superficial browsing has led me to these two.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-DAV-DZ2...2143938&sr=8-8

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-HT-T...2143938&sr=8-3

Our price range is in the £200 - £250 region. I really dont know anything about surround sound stuff. Are these good for their price? Anything to look out for or that I should know about surround sound and speakers in general? We're planning on hooking it up to the TV/HD box and DVD player.

So how do these things work? Do all the inputs (TV/DVD etc) feed into some sort of central control which then feeds all the speakers?

Thanks

[L3nny]

My mate has the Sony one, he says it's quality although the bass is a bit too loud if you are trying to watch something quietly.

The Sony one has a built in DVD player so no need to connect another one to it.

Download the manual from here to get more info on the other connections.

[L3nny]

Dont get the Z260 though, the Z280 is a newer model, and cheaper

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-DAVDZ28...2160317&sr=1-1

I've got the Z260 and agree the bass is a little to loud if watching quietly but there is a 'night' mode which overcomes this. I also found the treble isnt loud enough, even though there is about 6 options for which speakers are used.

Good points are it looks pretty good, speakers are small (other than the sub) it calibrates itself within about 3 minutes, has usb and audio in connections on the front and supposedly burns music from an mp3 player straight to cd, although I've not tried it.

Any I agree, the Z280 is the newer version so get that if you go with Sony.

Must check http://www.richersounds.com/ to see if you have a local store.

Yeah thats the firs place I tried. They didnt have any of the Sony one (which I wanted) and basically said all in one packages are basic and that I should get separates; amp, speakers and dvd player - would have been nice but couldn't afford it!

[L3nny]

What exactly are you going to use it for?

Just playing DVDs or will you also connect a games console or anything else.

After reading this I deceded it's time I need to get a surround sound system for my PS3 and after a bit of research came across these.

http://www.richersounds.com/product/...ky-txsr507-sil

and

http://www.richersounds.com/product/...y-sksht528-blk

Bit above your budget but has HDMI audio inputs

Thanks guys. Yeh there is a richer sounds about a mile away from my house. Mite pop down there now, but sounds like it may be out of our price range.

More good reviews for the sony. I like the idea of night mode as well. Off to town to look around.

[Bibio]

all in ones are quite a good solution if you are only into watching telly and the occasional movie. but make sure that what ever you get has enough inputs for all your gear. video, dvd, tv, sky/cable.

its also nice to have a remote that you can use on all your appliances or you will be swapping remotes a lot, this i find confuses the 'old codgers'.

what make of telly may help in your choice ?

there are some really good panasonic home theatre's about and at reasonable cost (dont let the size of the satelite speakers fool you these puppys can be very very loud , comet are doing some cracking deals on them at the mo.

they have either a bluray or a dvd built in depending on your price point ( looking like being DVD by what you posted)

http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/cat...858+4294966826