Hi guys , iam thinking of upgrading my sound system for my HTPC which is currently Sound Blaster x-fi platinum pro + logitech z-5500. its configured as follows:
1 - PC (connected directly to z-5500 via 6 CH Direct for EAX games)
2 - PC (connected via COAX for watching HD movies - SB X-FI external unit)
my TV : 55" SERIES 8 SAMSUNG LED - (the pc is connected via HDMI to this TV)
other : PS3,XBOX360 - (connected to TV via HDMI and both consoles audio go through Digital Optical Out directly to Z-5500).
now thing is, i am thinking of buying a DENON AVR-3310 A/V receiver since iam getting at a fairly cheap price from a relative of mine(less than $500). Since then i've been posting on different forums and asking people around to suggest me some nice speakers in 5.1 configuration to go along with it. Anyway to cut long story short , i have decided on the following speakers :
4 of these
TSB-525-2-Way-Bookshelf-Speaker (from thespeakercompany)
1 of these (center channel)
TC2-Center-Channel-Speaker (from the speakercompany as well)
havent decided on subwoofer yet.
so the questions i have are as follows, i'll try to be as descriptive as possible :
1 - First of all, suggest me a good 10-12" subwoofer, i was interested in those DAYTON subwoofers i saw on partsexpress but my only cheese with them is that they only go up to 120 VOLTS and since i live in India i can ONLY have electronics which are on 220 VOLTS, i know i can get a step-down transformer but i dont want to do that , too much of an effort and an ugly blow to my decorated setup if i place a transformer next to my PC/Speakers.And besides the power surges here fry the transformers very easily So thats question 1 : suggest me a good 10-12" 220 Volts Subwoofer to go along with those TSC speakers .
2 - Since this is the first time iam getting any kind of A/V receiver, i need some hints on how to connect it via PC. I have consoles too which wont be a problem i believe since all i need to do is connect their audio source (digital optical out) directly to the receiver. Anyway, coming back to the question ,as you can see in my original setup i have used both COAX and 6 CH DIRECT input options, first one for watching HD movies and second for EAX Gaming respectively.
Now, thing with this Denon AVR-3310 is that, for watching HD MOVIES - i can connect to Denon receiver directly via COAX (x-fi platinum pro console) so no problem there.Problem is with the analog 6 CH DIRECT input, from what ive read about this Denon's receiver is that it has a 8 CH EXT INPUT?? now i dont know what in the world is that, my only concern is will i be able to connect my PC through this 8 CH EXT INPUT somehow in order to play EAX games ? as most of us already know the fact that EAX games sound best over the analog connection and not the COAX/DIGITAL OPTICAL connections.
If so, then what kind of cables would i need to connect my X-Fi platinum pro soundcard to the Denon AVR-3310 receiver?
3- Third question, this Denon AVR-3310 is a -->7.1 channel receiver<-- since being a n00b i really dont know if i be able to connect those TSC 5.1 speakers to it or not? as in does it *require* 7.1 speakers in order to fully experience it or can i connect 5 speakers to it as well? also does the speaker configuration got something to do with 6/8 CH EXT INPUT or not?
lastly, feel free to throw in any suggestions PROS/CONS or any criticism about this system iam about to go for and i also hope i posted this in the right section!
