I spent the whole morning the other day trying to get the best sound from my entertainment equipment. By the time I'd done and not without a little trial and error I had it, super-sound entertainment with no extra expense whatsoever.
So what did I do?
I already had a bog-standard TV with 2 scart sockets on the back, a standard 'Sky' receiver/digibox, a combined mini hi-fi cd/radio with built-in DVD player, and 4 speakers.
The most favourable piece of equipment which made it all eventually come together nicely was the mini hi-fi, which I purchased from the local 'Aldi' store last Autumn for the paltry sum of just £54. On first apperance it looks like a standard black-fronted mini hi-fi but the built-in disc player will play mp3 discs, DVDs, Xvid discs, and of course standard audio CDs, has a built-in radio, and will accept a USB connection and SD/MMC cards - plus it's remote control also. It also has a host of connections on the back to input external sources, and believe it or not it came with not a one year, but a three year warranty as standard; quite a lot of kit for the low price tag. It is by 'Tevion' - no, I've never heard of them either - but with a 3-year warranty who cares what it's called!
Up until now I only used it as a CD and radio player.
But regardless of any of this, almost any standard hi-fi can be used to get the desired results, as long as it will allow external connections so it can operate as an amplifier; and of course a normal amplifier will do the same job.
OK, here goes!
On the back of the 'Sky' receiver/digibox can be found two audio output connectors - left & right, usually coloured red & white - on the back of the hi-fi or amplifier can be found two connectors the same as on the receiver/digibox - a straight coupled standard audio connecting lead can be used to connect all four together - Voila! job done! - now whenever the TV is watched via the receiver/digibox the sound comes through the hi-fi or amplifier speakers - spread the speakers a distance apart and there you have it, wide supersound that you can adjust through the hi-fi or amplifier controls. Don't worry about the TV as it is already connected through the system via the scart which is needed to watch programs from the receiver/digibox on it.
That's just the basic set up. However I went a little over the top and I can now watch TV through 'Sky' and hear it on the hi-fi speakers (of which I have four in the four opposite corners of the room to simulate a surround-sound effect), of course I can play any audio or mp3 CD and hear it through all the speakers, watch a DVD and hear it all around the room, and I can also run the sound from my PC through the same kit. Awesome!
What's more it didn't cost me a penny as the 'Tevion' hi-fi/radio/DVD came with all the connecting leads.
This basic method can be applied to almost any digital receiver or TV as long as an audio output is available on it. You can also connect games consoles like our 'Nintendo WII' using a similar method which merely requires a fairly modern TV that has the audi out connectors (most HD, LCD and digital TVs have this). The majority of today's standard DVD players also have the audio out connectors.
To connect a PC using this method you will need a 3.5mm stereo jack to 2 x audios lead; you plug the 3.5mm stereo jack into your speaker output on the sound card of your PC or the headphone socket, and the audio connectors on the other end of the lead into the audi inputs on the hi-fi or amplifier. Please note however that you may need to switch your hi-fi control to auxiliary (aux) for it to work. You can pick one of these leads up from any decent supplier for a few quid, they're not expensive at all; fortunately for me I already had one spare as this is the one lead that didn't come with the hi-fi.
On a similar note: If your TV doesn't have any audio out connectors you can still connect up as above through the headphone socket, if it has one of course. However with the impending national analogue signal shutdown if you don't have at least a digital TV or some other digital receiver connected to the TV through scart you're doomed, because soon you will get no signal on the TV without the right equipment. A digital television or a television with a scart socket will be the minimum requirement, so you will be able to use the methods above anyway.
Who needs to buy a fancy telly when you can get great sound without the expense, just a simple hi-fi or amplifier and a connecting lead or two?
Go for it!
Let me know how you get on.
Thanks for reading!
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