5.1 surround for my MP3's from iPod am i dreaming?

[krazineurons]

I have been meaning to buy an excellent sounding home theater but my sole purpose is to wireless control the music i play on my iPod and listen it in the best possible sound. To achieve this i think this is what i need:

iPod with Songs (they are MP3 128 Kbps bitrate) ----Transfer Via AirPlay to retain Digital Path --> Apple TV --- Connect to the System with HDMI To retain Digital Path --> A System which has DAC and AMP --> (5.1 Surround) Speakers

from what i have read so far:

• MP3s are lossy which means they are stereo only and do not have any of the surround sound details encoded into the files.
• Bypassing the iPod DAC would make the sound better
• a nice DAC would do a good justice to 128 Kbps bitrate MP3 and convert it into 5.1 Channel audio
• a nice AMP would pump up the volume nicely
• Videos from BlueRay and DVD's sound better since they are encoded with 5.1 audio tracks and sometimes more
• i need to spend in speakers as well for the song to sound nicely

So now the questions i have is:
- Can i buy an Onkyo 626 or Sony DH1040 which is a hometheater and has a DAC and AMP integrated, hook it up with Big Speakers in front, decent ones in rear and center and a subwoofer and it would sound better?
- Should i buy a complete hometheater like Bose Lifestyle v25 or Onkyo SH3500 which has everything, will that sound better?
- Should i buy a separate AMP and a DAC and Speakers to achieve this?
- How can i identify the performance of a Receiver for audio purposes,

My budget is ~ $2500 for everything and i already have iPod, Apple TV. Would be happy if it plays videos just fine and they sound as good but music is my aim. Please help me!

 

[markw]

Your MP3's aren't recorded in 5,1. They are, at best, two channel stereo.

Blue-rays and DVD's ARE recorded in 5.1 (or more) and use better recording techniques.

The best you can do is use plain ole stereo and feed it through one of the DSP functions to "simulate" a multi-channel effect. DPL and Neo are the most common ways to try to accomplish this,

 

[j_garcia]

Digital path really isn't offering you massive benefits in that chain to be honest. Yes, at the point of HDMI in your list, you would have a receiver which IS the processing (DAC) and amp in one.

Any stereo track can be processed into multichannel via any number of post processing features (DTS:NEO, Dolby ProLogic, etc...) and some of them even do a decent job, but it will NOT sound like true multichannel audio.

Choose speakers first, which means you'll need to go listen to some. Speakers are the most important aspect of the system. Once that is done, choose a receiver that can adequately power them in your room. Stay FAR away from Bose.

 

[BMXTRIX]

You already have the basics.

Now, you know your MP3s are lossy. Lossy is a relative term. Digital, by nature, is 'lossy'. CDs are more lossy than SACD or DVD-A. Some sound better than others, and different recordings have different audio properties. Some will swear by vinyl (records) while others swear by CDs, and others by the better formats like SACD, DVD-A, or audio Blu-ray Discs. Understand that your lossy audio is not going to sound as good as a one-for-one copy of a CD no matter what.

Now, that said, for best quality from an iOS device, you should copy your CDs using ALAC (Apple Lossless) and then to an AirPlay device you should get full CD quality audio from the system quite nicely.

The follow up to all of this is WHY do you think you need 5.1? Stereo audio generally should be listened to as stereo audio. Not surround. Surround sound is for movies and such which are recorded from day one as surround sound mixes. Music is, generally speaking, meant to be listened to in stereo. I'm a big fan of surround sound, but my music comes out in stereo, and stays in stereo.

With that said, your money will also deliver better sound if you stick to stereo.

If you don't intend to ever connect this to a TV, then it changes things some as many A/V receivers these days basically require a TV to set them up properly using fancy on-screen displays. A lack of a TV will impact your purchasing decision.

It all comes down to a good pre-amp, which I would pair with a decent amplifier, and then some nice speakers. I don't track it that closely, but something like an Emotiva UMC-200 and pair it to a decent amplifier. No specific recommendation from me.

Leaving $1,500 or so for the speakers and going stereo would certainly be my recommendation considering your source of music.

 

[ImcLoud]

I have tried a bunch of ways to listen to my ipods, phone and ipad for music.. The best sound I have come across is using a dock, a dac and an amplifier...
As far as a home theater I don't believe in mixing the two, a decent system for stereo and music listening and a decent home theater system....

The most important thing to figure out is what speakers you want, if you are going to be crossing to subs and using this system for both music and movies this is what I would buy, as a HT and music system...

$300 DENON AVR-1913 7.1ch Home Theater Receiver w/AirPlay 3D ready | Accessories4less
$25 Amazon.com: FiiO D3 Digital to Analog Audio Converter - 192kHz/24bit Optical and Coaxial DAC: Musical Instruments
$100 Amazon.com: Pure i-20 30-Pin iPod/iPhone Speaker Dock: MP3 Players & Accessories
$950 https://www.svsound.com/dual-subwoofers/dual-sb-1000#.UjuN-MaURD0
that leaves $1125 for speakers..

I would pick some decent bookshelfs with a matching center for the front and then something simple for the surrounds...
surrounds Amazon.com: Fluance AVBP2 Home Theater Bipolar Surround Sound Satellite Speakers: Electronics
fronts- maybe a pair of csb-1's and a cst-1 for the center Affordable Audiophile Speakers - CARNEGIE ACOUSTICS they are onsale for $750 for all 3 speakers, you have to call to order them, the number is in another post...
Or CMT-340 SE Mini-Tower Loudspeaker 3 340s for up front {what I use and love} comes to around $900

or focals with the center comes to $1200 FOCAL Chorus 717V (716V) Dual 6-1/2" Tower Speaker PAIR Havana | Accessories4less FOCAL Chorus CC701 (CC700) Dual 6-1/2" Drivers Center Speaker Havana | Accessories4less

I will be getting a pair of the carnegie bookshelfs with in a week or so to test them out, usually I wont recommend something I haven't heard.... But I love my 340s it makes a really strong front end and they are good with music too....

The speakers are going to be the hard part, they have to fit your room and your ears...