LG 360SE from Currys

Brianb8802

Hi guys i was looking in currys at this today and thought it was a good deal, but saying that Ive never bought a surround sound system before. So im lookin for you opinion on it

LG 360 SE €160 from currys

Im not looking for a super dooper setup, just basic enought really. Not really willing to pay too much more than this. It's mostly going to be used for my ps2 and watchin the odd DVD, i think it would be class to have surround sound while playing something like Socom.


Only thing that stopped me from buying it today was that it didnt have a optical input. Do you guys think its essential to get one with an optical input seeing what im going to be using it for? It only has scart and phono connections. Therefore i just bought one of these component cables off ebay. Im not really sure how it all connects up (TV,DVD & PS2 all at the same time). But im sure it be all easy enough if i end up getting it.

Ghost Train

Brianb8802 wrote:

Im not looking for a super dooper setup, just basic enought really. Not really willing to pay too much more than this. It's mostly going to be used for my ps2 and watchin the odd DVD, i think it would be class to have surround sound while playing something like Socom.

I think if you want proper surround sound from the ps2 you'll need a system with an optical input, also having a digital input of some kind would allow you to use the system with something like a hd-dvd player. So might be worth spending a bit extra so you won't need to upgrade again for a few years.

Brianb8802

eolhc wrote:

I think if you want proper surround sound from the ps2 you'll need a system with an optical input, also having a digital input of some kind would allow you to use the system with something like a hd-dvd player.

Thanks for the quick reply, does the phono connection really reduce the sound quality that much compared to the optical?

When you say digital input, does that mean the hdmi connection, because i'm getting a ps3 on release in march and thought id be able to use that with the phono leads aswell.

What kinda of system would you recomend to me if im on a budget of less than €200. Thanks again

TheDriver

was looking at same system and at the samsung htq20 but that seems to get poor enough reviews around.

Brianb8802

I went to Dixons the other day and was just about to buy that samsung one, money in my hand and everything, and the sales man said id be mad to buy one this side of crimbo.

He said after christmas that all the systems will be going down in price because alll the shops will start stocking the wireless surround sound and that the top end wired ones will tumble in prices.

Sound of him to say it

Hope you havent bought it yet The Driver

Ghost Train

Brianb8802 wrote:

Thanks for the quick reply, does the phono connection really reduce the sound quality that much compared to the optical?

When you say digital input, does that mean the hdmi connection, because i'm getting a ps3 on release in march and thought id be able to use that with the phono leads aswell.

What kinda of system would you recomend to me if im on a budget of less than €200. Thanks again

The problem is most devices will output stereo sound on two phono connections and 5.1 digital on either one optical or phono type connection.

The playstation2 only outputs surround sound on a digital optical connection, so in order to get proper surround sound you need a system with optical input. It's probably the same situation with ps2 xbox360 etc

The other thing is most cheap home cinema systems don't have digital inputs or even 5.1 analog inputs, only stereo analog inputs, so you can't feed in a 5.1 signal. You can hook up the playstation with the phono connections, but your only going to get stereo or upmixed stereo

I think you'll struggle to find many systems with digital inputs in that price range, usually a seperate amp and speakers offers much better inputs but thats not for everyone. Home cinema systems havn't dropped much in price in recent times, theres more choice but you normally get what you pay for, a high wattage system with good quality speaker will always cost more and I don't think the price will drop like it has for dvd player/tvs . Wireless speakers are handy, but you need extra plug socket for the rear speakers, and wired will always be better quality sound. Probably best to wait for the sales. You might be able to find some reviews of the systems your looking at at www.homecinemachoice.com