I want true 5.1 surround.?

Question

OK i am a little confused about this.I have a little aiwa home theater"going to be replaced soon"it has 5.1 but the hookup for it has 6 rca inputs?Is this how all 5.1 hookups are?The reason i ask is because my toshiba lcd tv only has 1 set of rca audio outputs.And what would be a decent surround sound system?I was thinking of the rca rt2770 they sell at walmart for around 150,I already have speakers from my aiwa so should i just get a receiver or go with a whole package?

Answer 1

5.1 surround means you have 3 speakers up front (left, right, and center) and 2 rear speakers.  That's 5.  On top of that you have a subwoofer.  That's the ".1".

To get the best sound it is better to get a whole system.

Answer 2

On the Dolby website you can get and idea what you need for a 5.1 setup..

http://www.dolby.com/consumer/home_enter...

Left- Front -Speaker ------Center - Speaker------- Right Front

Active Subwoofer (has it own amp)

Left-- Rear- Speaker --------------------------------------Ri...

Need to get a Pioneer Component Amp with 5.1 those are either 500watts per channel or higher.

There are integrated systems that give you 1000w and everything you need to get 5.1 with all the speakers. The above you would have to buy everything for it.

Answer 3

Well, 5.1 is 5 channels + 1 = 6 channels of analog sound.

But most dvd player output one (or both):

- Coaxial digital (RCA jack colored orange)

- Toslink optical (square connector)

This gives you a single wire, but carries 5.1 sound.

Please avoid the cheap Aiwa, RCA, Samsung, Philips systems. These tend to come with a built-in DVD player and no ability to attach your TV, CATV, Sat, Game system.

Get a brand name receiver used from Craigslist. Stick with Yamaha, Onkyo, Kenwood, and the better Pioneer or Sony receivers.

Answer 4

To answer the main question< No you do not need a tv with 6 outputs ( as far as I know they dont even make one), you only need the left and right audio outputs on the tv. Also it depends on what you are hooking it up to --- satellite, antenna, or cable. If its satellite hook the red & white outputs of the satellite to the receiver. Same if you have an hd cable box. Antenna or basic cable --just the red & white output of the tv. I personally as an installer  dislike the all in one units. It might cost more but by buying the units seperate you'll be much happier.