audiophile newb needs help with laptop home theater

[JTrix]

Ok I must first apologize if I ask any dumb questions as I decided about 10 minutes ago that I would like to be an audiophile. My uncle has a great home theater system that I envy but being as a college student, I knew I couldn't afford let alone have room for that so I decided to see if it was possible to improve the sound quality from my laptop.

What I'm working with...

-Lenovo U330 laptop
(Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T6400 ( 2GHz 800MHz 2MB )
3 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz
13.3 " WXGA TFT with integrated camera AntiGlare 1280x800
Hard Drive 320GB 5400
(not sure what other specs would help)

-Philips amBX Premium Kit (2.1 PC sound system with ambient light technology)
160 W music power. Two 40 W satellites and 80W subwoofer
Frequency range 35 Hz ~ 20 KHz


I have had my days with Philips as an audio brand and I know they aren't the best but I got the system for such a steal. Is it possible to upgrade the individual speakers/subwoofer speaker or possibly the amplifier to improve sound quality of the existing sound system? Is it hard to do? Would it be cheaper to start from scratch and get the amplifier and speaker components separately? what is the cheapest way to improve sound quality? Does the ambient lighting of the Philips sound system going to increase the difficulty of upgrading the components of the system?

thanks for your patience and help.

 

[skers_54]

Most PC sound systems are designed to be used as a complete set, ie you can't upgrade the individual components. I think that you might have to chalk the Phillips system up as a loss. The best way to get a good system started is to set a budget and buy quality components that fit it piecemail. I'd start with a good set of bookshelves like the Behringer B2030P and a refurb multichannel receiver from accessories4less or similar site. Refurb receivers that have been factory reconditioned work just like new and can be had at a significant savings. Multichannel receivers will give you more bang for your buck than similarly priced 2-channel receivers at low budget prices, especially with regards to features and future expandability. Next look into a good subwoofer and afterwards expanding to a 5.1 or 7.1 setup.

What were you looking to spend? How big is the room you will have the speakers in? This info will help us provide more specific suggestions. You can get a good system for pretty cheap (which is important to students like you and me) if you know which products provide high value at your price point or don't mind used or refurb components.

Also, what AV outputs does your laptop have?

 

[JTrix]

As far as price goes, I'm not sure since I'm really new to this and I don't know how much it is going to costs for a build. The room that would be used for this is a bedroom is about 12ftx10ft The A/V outputs I have are HDMI, DVI, and standard headphone jack. what type of multichannel receiver should I be looking at? Am I looking at a standard multichannel receiver like for a TV home theater system? Any other websites you suggest I look at?

 

[jinjuku]

As far as price goes, I'm not sure since I'm really new to this and I don't know how much it is going to costs for a build. The room that would be used for this is a bedroom is about 12ftx10ft The A/V outputs I have are HDMI, DVI, and standard headphone jack. what type of multichannel receiver should I be looking at? Am I looking at a standard multichannel receiver like for a TV home theater system? Any other websites you suggest I look at?

Depending on budget:

You will need to replace the Phillips system in it's entirety.

Get a 2.1 system (Left and Right front speakers plus a sub).

For L/R speakers the Behringer 2030p mentioned is your best bet. They go for ~$130 on Amazon.

Check out accessories4less Onkyo TX-SR506 $190

Sub 1 is a Parts Express 15" Sealed for $285 shipped

Sub 2 is a Parts Express 12" ported for $170 shipped

You will need (obviously) an HDMI cable and sub-woofer cable

 

[jinjuku]

I am assuming a minimized budget for your build btw...

 

[JTrix]

yes a minimized build cost should be assumed.

thank you for the help jinjuku.

 

[jinjuku]

yes a minimized build cost should be assumed.

thank you for the help jinjuku.

then hit the thanks button

I think you will have a nice setup for the $$ that will be easily expandable as funds permit.

 

[skers_54]

The setup Jinjuku recommended is really similar (same except the sub) to what I used in my bedroom for the past year or so. The only downside to the 506 is that it won't accept audio over HDMI so you'll have to run a seperate optical audio cable to get sound. Receivers that offer the other features of the 506 and will accept audio over HDMI are $80-100 more unless you find a deal on a used one. There are other receivers in that price range that will accept HDMI audio, but they generally don't come with Audyssey. Personally, I'd rather have Audyssey, especially in a near-field bedroom setup without any high-def sources.

 

[jinjuku]

The setup Jinjuku recommended is really similar (same except the sub) to what I used in my bedroom for the past year or so. The only downside to the 506 is that it won't accept audio over HDMI so you'll have to run a seperate optical audio cable to get sound. Receivers that offer the other features of the 506 and will accept audio over HDMI are $80-100 more unless you find a deal on a used one. There are other receivers in that price range that will accept HDMI audio, but they generally don't come with Audyssey. Personally, I'd rather have Audyssey, especially in a near-field bedroom setup without any high-def sources.

Crap, didn't know the 506 didn't do audio over HDMI. That is messed up.

The OP is going to want audio over HDMI for surround sound when he gets to that point.

 

[skers_54]

Crap, didn't know the 506 didn't do audio over HDMI. That is messed up.

The OP is going to want audio over HDMI for surround sound when he gets to that point.

Yeah, that's the big step up for the 507. Since the OP is going to use his laptop as his primary source, I don't think it will be a big deal as long as he doesn't mind the extra cable. I actually use the optical out on my laptop more than the HDMI even though my Marantz accepts audio over HDMI. The optical has a much nicer form factor with a right-angle adaptor and it doesn't have any delay or output idiosynchracies when using iTunes.

 

[jinjuku]

Yeah, that's the big step up for the 507. Since the OP is going to use his laptop as his primary source, I don't think it will be a big deal as long as he doesn't mind the extra cable. I actually use the optical out on my laptop more than the HDMI even though my Marantz accepts audio over HDMI. The optical has a much nicer form factor with a right-angle adaptor and it doesn't have any delay or output idiosynchracies when using iTunes.

I don't believe his laptop has native optical out.

 

[JTrix]

I'm with Jinjuku. I don't think my laptop has native optical out. What are my other options?

 

[skers_54]

I'm with Jinjuku. I don't think my laptop has native optical out. What are my other options?

I see two options for you

1. Get a receiver that will accept audio over HDMI
2. Get a USB soundcard that has an optical output

The first option will allow you to use a single cable to connect your laptop and take advantage of hi-def audio codecs if you get a Blu-Ray player in the future. It will also make it easier to integrate into a home theater system if you move to a larger space.

The second option will be compatible with pretty much any receiver on the market (especially the cheaper/older refurbs), but could limit the receiver's usability in the future. You would have to run a second cable for audio, however.

A quick glance around at some of the cheaper receivers seems to show that most receivers that can accept audio over HDMI will run you $60-100 more. They will be more "future-proof" which is important if you intend to expand the system over time. However, a usb audio card will run you about $30, making the difference almost negligible unless you find a killer deal on an older model.

shoponkyo.com has a deal on a refurb Onkyo 507 for $240 w/ free shipping if you register (which is free). It will accept audio over HDMI and has all the latest decoders on board, as well as Audyssey 2EQ, Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume (not sure about the last one). This receiver will meet all your needs and should be able to power most of the speakers on the market as long as the room isn't too large.

 

[lsiberian]

I see two options for you

1. Get a receiver that will accept audio over HDMI
2. Get a USB soundcard that has an optical output

The first option will allow you to use a single cable to connect your laptop and take advantage of hi-def audio codecs if you get a Blu-Ray player in the future. It will also make it easier to integrate into a home theater system if you move to a larger space.

The second option will be compatible with pretty much any receiver on the market (especially the cheaper/older refurbs), but could limit the receiver's usability in the future. You would have to run a second cable for audio, however.

A quick glance around at some of the cheaper receivers seems to show that most receivers that can accept audio over HDMI will run you $60-100 more. They will be more "future-proof" which is important if you intend to expand the system over time. However, a usb audio card will run you about $30, making the difference almost negligible unless you find a killer deal on an older model.

shoponkyo.com has a deal on a refurb Onkyo 507 for $240 w/ free shipping if you register (which is free). It will accept audio over HDMI and has all the latest decoders on board, as well as Audyssey 2EQ, Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume (not sure about the last one). This receiver will meet all your needs and should be able to power most of the speakers on the market as long as the room isn't too large.

I've got an external sound card I may not be needing anymore. I need to verify this before I move it, but I just got an HDMI laptop. So I might be out of need for it.

 

[audiohonic65]

Upgrade the complete system with Bose you can not go wrong.