I'm looking to buy one of these new-fangled surround-sound systems.

I'm trying to choose between two Pioneer systems. There is about £80 difference in price, and the only real specification difference I can see is that the more expensive one has "MP3 playback" capability.

Although I've heard the term many times, I actually haven't a clue what MP3 is. Can someone explain it for me, and give me a clue whether it is worth spending an extra £80 to provide this capability?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002

Answers

What do you mean by "system"?

Is it an all in one, DVD, amp and speakers kit?

MP3 is basically a file format. It will let you compress normal music (or sound) files to a much smaller size with very little loss of quality that is noticable on a normal hifi. If the system has this capability, you can copy mp3's to a cd, perhaps 300 or 400 songs and play them in it.

Basically, if you don't know what MP3 is already then I would say it's not worth paying extra for it. I have a canny few mp3 file on the computer but I wouldn't pay £80 just to make my DVD player recognise them.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002

Clarky, I know quite about this sort of thing but I've just got in a bit worse for wear - send me an email tomorrow and I'll explain all!

Tim

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002

Paul - the systems I'm looking at are the Pioneer NS-DV55 & 77. They are extremely compact units (important for me), principally because the amplifier is located in the sub-woofer (60 watt).

TJC - I've e- mailed you a little more background info. Thanks for the kind offer.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002

This is actually my job, Clarky. Given that any advice will be from a North American perspective - tell me what it is that you want to achieve & what options you're looking at! Paul pretty well hit the nail on the head there though, when he said that if you don't know what it is - you probably don't need it. I'm assuming that it was the DVD that will play MP3 & other formats for the extra smackers? Do you have a separate CD player?

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002

Iain - Thanks. I presently have pretty decent but separate audio components that I don't use very often (turntable, stereo-amp, tuner and CD player).

I'm hoping to buy a surround-sound system that adds stereo+ sound to my Sony nicam/digital telly, provide DVD capability, and ideally replace all the audio components, naturally excepting the turntable (weep, weep!).

I'm hoping to locate the main unit in the TV cabinet in addition to my video-recorder and cable TV box, so a really compact unit seems to be required.

I've been looking closely at the newish Pioneer NS-DV77 (c/w multi-region DVD) which seems to have a reasonable spec. with a 65w sub-woofer that also includes the 5.1 channel amp, and 5x40w speakers. My living room is only ca. 16ft x 32ft.

I have noticed today that the NS-DV55 is about £80 cheaper (£460 vs £540), and the only major difference I can see is the lack of MP3 playback capability.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002

there's a new product from a company called eXterity due out at the end of the year which is supposed to link all your media requirements (DVD, CD, TV recording) , and connect to the internet too, could be worth looking out for

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002

I have to go out right now, so I can't give it my full attention. Can you not just replace the amp with a 5.1 Receiver? Pay particular attention to the centre channel - it is the most important in any of the surround sound formats. And don't worry about placing the sub anywhere visible - I usually tuck them away in a back corner of the room. 15' x 30' is a nice size. What size is the Sony? And please, please, please only use the TV as a screen - do try & avoid using any kind of audio functions it may have. Any chance of using in-wall, or in-ceiling speakers?

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002

£500 is quite a lot for something that is essentially an all in one.

Perhaps you might get better quality gear if you buy separate stuff, like Iain says, a receiver if you need the radio and then buy your speakers and DVD player.

From looking at some reviews of the 55, a weakness is that the cable for the subwoofer is only 1m long which basically limits you as to where you place it. Other reviews suggest that the bass doesn't go deep enough to let you fully enjoy an action movie full of explosions. It apparently distorts with anything with a lot of bass like rock or jazz.

Also mentioned is it's poor CD playback. I can't imagine it being that bad but my mate has a similar type of system (a Sony one though) and the sound doesn't compare to my stereo separates system. "Flat" and "not so natural" were two phrases used to describe CD and radio audio on the system.

The main thing for me is the lack of RGB output. This is basically a way of getting the picture to the TV. It's a matter of personal opinion, but I prefer RGB over S-video which is what you are stuck with in an all in one package as the SCART socket is physically too large to fit on the back.

On the plus side, the machine will handle rewritable and recordable CD's, it supports DTS for those discs that carry a DTS track (mostly R1 and R3). It looks very nice from the pictures I've seen and is very compact, which is what you are looking for.

The 77 model is basically the 55 with mp3. This has now been replaced by th 88 model which doesn't add any features as such.

However, I may be a bit picky after spending months researching and listening before we bought our kit, but it is basically an opinion.

I urge you to have a good listen to a few systems and watch a clip from a DVD on a few systems. Find out how they are connected up and what wires they are using etc. Basically ask a lot of questions, as it's a lot of money to spend on one bit of electronics so you must make sure you make the right choice.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002

Apparently all three Pioneer models (55, 77, 88) have 30W speakers with a 60W sub. At 40W they suffer from a lot of distortion.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002

What's your lass think about this Clarky ?

No doubt she'll take not a blind bit of notice of all the boy toy crap and just listen and watch.

That's the one I'd go for. :-{E}

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002

Paul you seem to be my answer guy for some background info - we don't have the Scart system over here - what other options do you have for video? Do you have component video? It's the best we have here for NTSC (not-so-affectionately known as Never The Same Colour) Pretty well all DVD's & TV's now come with it and it's started to trickle down to the everyday AV Receivers for switching. The 1m cord for the sub.... that's just a single RCA that can be changed for a longer one isn't it? Clarky, 30W amp (I hope it's 5 x 30) is kinda low - especially for that size of room. For surround sound to be worth the money its gotta be loud - If you can get them to demo the system for you, try watching "Hell Unleashed" on the Gladiator DVD. If you can't feel arrows & horses behind you, keep looking!

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

I'd avoid anything that was advertised with ML3 playback - you'll only get upset :-)

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

Iain - the proposed Pioneer amp will drive 5 x 40watt speakers (max output ca. 30w) plus a 65w sub-woofer (max output ca.50w). This doesn't seem too bad for a 16x32ft room, does it?

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

That IS pretty lightweight, Clarky. What size screen do you have? What is in the rest of the room in the way of reflective/soft surfaces? Like windows, drapes etc. How much of the room do you use for TV? Questions, questions. Inquiring minds want to know, dammit!

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

If you feel it may be 'lightweight' I better think again Iain - I like 'volume' when I'm watching action movies. I had thought that 200 watts in total would have been more than adequate for our living room which has lots of absorbant surfaces - curtains, carpet, two sofas etc. Our telly is a 32" model Sony flatscreen.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

The stuff we have got downstairs is 100W per channel with a 150W subwoofer.

The whole kit cost about £600 I think which is only a little more than the all in one thingies about now.

Iain, only Toshiba TV's at the moment have component inputs, every telly has a scart socket now.

Basically, the scart can take in standard composite, s-video or RGB (all three components) as well as stereo sound.

Most new TV's also have front sockets for S-video and composite.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

Thanks for the info, Paul. I guess it all depends on the budget, Clarky but I would recommend going & listening to a few different types of systems. If you are going to have to incorporate your digital or cable box into the system, then is that not going to negate the all-in-one approach that it seems would be the Pioneer's main attraction? What kind of prices are say Yamaha or JVC receivers over there? (AND if you went with something like that, there's a chance you wouldn't have to sacrifice your vinyl!!!)

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

Iain - could you explain what you mean about the digital box? Would that not just sit in parallel with the new unit? I'm confused.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

Iain, have a look at
-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002