Help Me Build A Decent Audio Set Up

Ok, I hate the sound from my laptop and Tv and I am looking to do something about it

Now Im not too up on the audio side of things so thats why Im posting

My Setup:

Samsung Series 5 40" HDTV
Sagem D-Box2
PS3
Laptop

Right, I Basically want something that will give me good sound from the TV, preferably a surround sound set...But at times, I would like to plug the laptop into the amp and play music off my laptop

I have no idea if such a thing even exists or possible

Any ideas would be great, thanks

 

budget?.. by "decent" .. well in my world that starts with a 12K worth of stacked pairs of Qual ELS speakers and 2x 3k croft OTL tube amps..

depends what you have to spend and if you have ears to appreciate any more than modern "blare and fart" boxes.

 

a few hundred tops

its just for myself in my house, nothing prffessional

 

Having a ps3 for blu ray, I'd say this should be the minimum system to get. It will decode the HD audio from blu ray movies. They also give you a real receiver, so it's very upgradable, as funds allow:
http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-HT-S620...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1268356284&sr=1-1

 

will my series 5 samsung HDTV plug into this?

 

Your tv won't plug into the receiver, unless you're using an antenna for tv programming. If you use cable or satellite, the receiver plugs into the tv, not the other way around. Yes, it should hook up to the tv without a problem.......

 

I think your budget is way too low

 

ok im using cable

how do i know if my cable box will output to the amp?


also how do i know the tv will output to the amp?

 

Im after something for under $500 that will improve the sound from my tv...for use with my cable box, ps3 and if at all possible, laptop also

 

In the cable box's settings, set the audio to output Dolby Digital, when you get a surround receiver. Then, run a digital cable (HDMI, optical, or digital coax) from the cable box to the receiver, for the audio. That way, you'll get 5.1 surround from stations that broadcast that way. For stations that broadcast in stereo to be in surround, set the surround receiver to Dolby Pro Logic II. It's simulated surround, but better than plain stereo.

With no surround receiver, set the audio output of cable box to PCM (stereo).

It's best too to run video through the receiver. Makes for easier switching between sources. If you get a receiver that upconverts everything to HDMI, you'll just need that one cable going from receiver to tv. If you don't, you'll need to run the same type video cable from the receiver, to the tv, for each thing connected.