[Wodgy]

I thought I'd point this out for the budget-minded. Parts Express, as part of their holiday promotion, is selling 5 speakers and a powered subwoofer for $25, including free shipping:
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...55&dotd=121306
The deal ends some time tomorrow.

Obviously these are not going to be the most fantastic speakers, but if anyone is looking for an extremely value priced home theatre rig or a few small Bose-style cube speakers as surrounds (maybe to go with the Insignias as mains), it looks like a pretty fair deal to me.

 

[xluben]

pe site is very slow.

seems like a good deal, though.

did you just add the pic?

does the subwoofer power the speakers?

EDIT: got the site to work. looks like the speakers do need an amp.

 

[PYROphonez]

Wow. That site is absolutely crawling. It did end up loading, though.
By the way, amazon has it from the same dealer, and the site isn't crawling.
Link
Seems like the speakers are powered by the subwoofer, xluben.

Oh, and people also seem to think they sound great for the price.
*edit*
Seems like one guy thinks that they are awful, but considering the price, it isn't too bad.

 

[Wodgy]

PE isn't usually this slow. They just posted the deal a couple of hours ago... I wonder if it's been picked up by some of the "deal of the day" Internet sites. Also worth mentioning, the free shipping seems to extend to other items in your cart, so if you've been needing a couple $0.70 port tubes or some $0.55 cent capacitors or something like that, you can throw them in.

 

[trains are bad]

I just bought a set for a gift. PE was really slow yesterday when I bought some stuff too.

Does anyone know of a very cheap surround receiver I could buy? Maybe I'll just cruise Wallyworld and see if they have anything. I'm really out of tune with the HT scene.

I actually have a bunch of random stereo amps, is there such a thing as a line-level surround decoder, that just outputs line level rcas?

 

[Wodgy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trains are bad /img/forum/go_quote.gif I actually have a bunch of random stereo amps, is there such a thing as a line-level surround decoder, that just outputs line level rcas?

There used to be boxes like this. They were popular in the early to mid-90s. There are ones that only do pro-logic and there are ones that do Dolby Digital (ones that do DTS are very rare). You can find them on eBay, but they don't make a lot of sense because DVD players with DD decoders and 5 channel outs are available for under $50 these days (probably under $30 at Wal-Mart, though I'm just guessing). What you really would need is a multichannel preamp/processor (so you can control the volume). It's probably cheaper just to buy a cheap receiver, unless you're willing to DIY some kind of passive preamp.

 

[trains are bad]

You can buy DVD players that have surround, RCA outputs? Meaning two front, two rear, a center and sub? I though they all had SPDIF and you had to have a reciever.

I'd still need something to decode SPDIF because of the game console issue.

 

[Wodgy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trains are bad /img/forum/go_quote.gif You can buy DVD players that have surround, RCA outputs? Meaning two front, two rear, a center and sub? I though they all had SPDIF and you had to have a reciever.

Yes, only the very low end DVD players have stereo only RCA outputs. The majority have front, rear, center, sub, plus the necessary on-board bass management. Of course, when you get into audiophile land (NAD, Denon), there are plenty of stereo-only DVD players, but if you stick to consumer stuff like Sony, it's easy to find a DVD player with 5.1 channel outputs. The Sony NS500V that was popular here a couple years ago had that feature and probably sells for $60 or so on eBay now.

 

[trains are bad]

Just keeping this great deal bumped

Next question, is there any such thing as a DVD player that can decode SPDIF like a surround reciever? If I had a DVD player that output line level outputs, and could do that, I could potentially snag DVD-A capability, SACD capability, ability to play movies in surround without messing with my HTPC, and the ability to play PS2 in surround as well, making it a very powerful purchase.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882116059

That DVD player says something about a 'decoder', but I'm not sure what that means.

 

[xluben]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PYROphonez /img/forum/go_quote.gif By the way, amazon has it from the same dealer, and the site isn't crawling. Link Seems like the speakers are powered by the subwoofer, xluben.

looks like high level input and pass through:

passive circuitry only, i assume.

 

[Wodgy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trains are bad /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just keeping this great deal bumped Next question, is there any such thing as a DVD player that can decode SPDIF like a surround reciever? If I had a DVD player that output line level outputs, and could do that, I could potentially snag DVD-A capability, SACD capability, ability to play movies in surround without messing with my HTPC, and the ability to play PS2 in surround as well, making it a very powerful purchase.

At that point, the product would be sold as an integrated DVD receiver, not as a DVD player. There are products like this, e.g. the Sharp SD-SH111 is one example. (Well, it doesn't play DVD-A or SACD but meets your other requirements. Also, don't be fooled by the MSRP on that unit; the street price was around $140.) That's a discontinued model; I'm sure Sharp sells updated versions of the same thing. They will all include some form of amplification, since there is no market for a strict pre/pro with an integrated DVD player, but many (like the Sharp unit) are not any larger than a regular old DVD player, and as long as they come with line-level outputs, you can ignore the amp section if you want.

 

[trains are bad]

Eh, I have a very, very small apartment and I don't want a DVD player that doesn't play DVD-A and SACD (because I have a HTPC w/surround outputs for just DVDS).

It was looking good there, but since I'm drowning in stereo amps, my motivation was for something that could play DVDs (w/line level surround), add DVD-A and SACD playback, AND allow me to play my PS2 in surround. I could justify the space for that. But if I just ignore my PS2 I don't have to buy anything to set up surround for movies.

Do you think I could get my computer (DFI RS482) to decode my PS2 sound?

I suppose I could get a cheap surround reciever with line level outputs (assuming those exist), but that is a lot of messing around just to process PS2 fake-surround. If there was just cheap surround processing gadget, I would be set.

 

[Wodgy]

Do you think I could get my computer (DFI RS482) to decode my PS2 sound?[/quotes]

I'd imagine you might. It would probably be a good question for the computer as source forum.

Quote:

I suppose I could get a cheap surround reciever with line level outputs (assuming those exist), but that is a lot of messing around just to process PS2 fake-surround. If there was just cheap surround processing gadget, I would be set.

Hunt around on eBay for a standalone "AC3 Decoder" from the early to mid 90s. Sometimes they're labeled as a "Dolby Digital Decoder". It's the same thing. Wait until one comes around at a good price. There isn't much demand for these type of devices nowadays.