[Malacite]

I've been looking into upgrading my home theater (splitting the costs with my parents) and I'd love to have 7.1 audio to go along with my new PS3 and 1080p TV...



Now there are two problems I've run into. One is the price; I'm not really sure what the average 7.1 audio system costs.

Second is how to set it all up. I was browsing Sony's website and it only confused me further. The PS3 only has 1 HDMI port, but it says you can do both 1080p Video and 7.1 Audio through that port.... but how? Do you need to run a 2nd HDMI cable through the audio system or use a splitter of some kind or what? I'm at a complete loss here and don't want to waste my money.

[InuTrunks]

PS3 > Audio Amp/receiver/distributer > TV

PS3 can do 7.1? AFAIK no games even support it yet, 5.1 is all I've seen, but I could be wrong.

Edit:

In all honesty, a 7.1 system is useless, as not very much stuff supports it, I'd go with a decent/high end 5.1 receiver/amp right now, you can always upgrade later and just add on.

A good 6.1 system (I know I said 5.1), not including speakers will cost you about 400-600$ depending on what you want it to do (they can even range in the several thousands of dollars just for the amp).

[Malacite]

Lair and MGS4 (probably heavenly sword too) all support 7.1

[Feba]

I never really saw the point in 7.1... A well setup 5.1 system should be almost exactly the same.

Then again, I have an extremely pricey Bose, so a cheaper 7.1 system might be better for you. Really though, sound depends on so many things... Once you're at surround sound, there's about a dizillion other things to change that will improve the sound besides more speakers.

[InuTrunks]

Exactly, you can spend the same money amount of money on a mediocre 7.1, as you could on an AMAZING 5.1 (and see better results).

And, unless the game's audio is encoded in 7.1 (it may support 7.1, hell, everythign supports 7.1, but that dosn't mean it's designed for it), then you're not going to see any increase in sound quality, Hell, I can't tell the diffenece between 5.1 and 7.1 anyway, but that's just me.

[Raydeus]

Originally Posted by Malacite

Second is how to set it all up. I was browsing Sony's website and it only confused me further. The PS3 only has 1 HDMI port, but it says you can do both 1080p Video and 7.1 Audio through that port.... but how?

Optical supports 8 channels (7.1) I think.

You can use that port, and most audio systems have Optical support so I don't think it'll be hard to find something you like.

[InuTrunks]

Raydeus, it's not about the number of channels being supported, it's about weither or not the games are ENCODED to use 7.1 (7 audio tracks)

[Raydeus]

So optical does or doesn't support 7.1?

Edit > Wether games use or don't use 7.1 is not much of an issue here, a 7.1 system can create virtual 7.1 sound from a 5.1 signal anyway. But I'm interested on if it would work using optical for the use Malachite wants for it.

[InuTrunks]

It does, but it's also outdated from 1983

[Raydeus]

Details. As long as it works with 7.1 without losing much audio quality.

[Malacite]

Well according to Sony's support page you need an HDMI cable for 7.1 sound.

From what I've gathered you connect the HDMI to the audio device then use another HDMI to connect that to your TV... assuming I'm reading this right. It's all so damn confusing.

I just want to get the most out of my PS3 without spending thousands and thousands of dollars (at least not upfront > _ <)

[Feba]

I just want to get the most out of my PS3 without spending thousands and thousands of dollars

Sell it, and use the money to buy a wii and games.

[Raydeus]

Originally Posted by Malacite

Well according to Sony's support page you need an HDMI cable for 7.1 sound.

Ouch that's true, Optical only supports up to 5.1 according to the online manual.

Yeah, you'd have to use 2 HDMI cables with that setup, unless your TV has another kind of 7.1 compatible sound output.

[InuTrunks]

Any TV that has 7.1 in it, well... yea...

Plus, if you don't want to spend a good amount of money on an audio system, you need to not be shopping for one. coming from a strong electronics background, to get any sort of decent quality you're going to be spending some money (and there are exceptions to this rule, but for the most part, it's true).

Raydeus, I'm going to try one more time to make you understand.

Just because a device supports 7.1, dosn't mean you're getting 7.1 There's a difference between real 7.1 (where each audio track is encoded in 7 different channels. Front Left, Front Center, Front Right, Rear Right, Rear Center, Rear Left), as apposed to simulated 7.1 (where you actually only get 2.1, with the other channels being filled in for you automatically).

Does that make sense now?

[Raydeus]

Originally Posted by Raydeus

Edit > Wether games use or don't use 7.1 is not much of an issue here, a 7.1 system can create virtual 7.1 sound from a 5.1 signal anyway. But I'm interested on if it would work using optical for the use Malachite wants for it.

Guess you didn't read this part.