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    5.1 audio setup help, story included

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by masterchef341, May 29, 2011.

  1. masterchef341

    masterchef341 The guy from The Notebook

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    End goal is high quality audio reproduction in music, movies, and games.

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    Collection information:

    I have a large high quality mp3 collection (v0). I have some flac rips, and some of that is from surround sound music sources: DVD-a, SACD, Blu ray.

    I'm also making x264 blu ray rips for a movie collection, which all have surround sound- still experimenting with formats, kind of settling on AAC dolby pro logic ii compatibility track + AC3 audio 6 channel so I can put it in an mp4 container for wider software / hardware support, as outlined in the handbrake wiki. If someone can explain to me how mkv is not only better (I already know this) but also more convenient for me (I am not convinced of this), then I might revisit this.

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    Now, my audio situation:

    PC: 5.1 onboard sound, hdmi+audio through the graphics card
    Laptop: line-out (stereo), optical digital 3.5mm, hdmi+audio

    I originally had a simple analog 5.1 sound system. The setup was 3x 3.5 mm stereo lines straight from the PC built in sound card into a subwoofer/hub, which sent out 5 lines via RCA to the surround speakers. There was a lot I didn't like about this setup, basically the large number of wires and the fact that there was no good way to get my laptop to control the speakers. There was a line in adapter that could play stereo, but some of this content I may want to stream from my laptop (which has hdmi out w/ audio). My PC also has hdmi out w/ audio through the graphics card.

    Eventually, the electronics in the sub failed. That left me with 5 surround speakers, only. I have thought about it and I'm thinking the best bet is to get a subwoofer and a DAC / receiver with hdmi inputs. This is what I've settled on. Thoughts are much appreciated:

    Subwoofer: Polk Audio PSW10
    DAC / receiver: Sony STRDH520 7.1
    Surround Speakers: (leftover from a decent analog 5.1 system)
     
    masterchef341, May 29, 2011
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  2. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    check out jr media center, payware and worth every cent.

    J. River Media Center software

    There is a pretty large and active topic/form for it on avsforum. JR also has a large and involved under community running on their own forums including a topic for home theater audio and video setups.

    Why, it will manage just about any audio/video source into just about any output device. It is very friendly to 5.1/7.1 output, native or emulated/converted.
     
    newsposter, May 29, 2011
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