Quote:
Originally Posted by TheRob
Yes it does, but it's pretty cr@p sound. I wouldn't be considering a change, though, if were just that. My current stereo amp is on the way out so I'm mulling over what options are available to replace it. I could just buy another stereo amp that has remote functionality and then buy a Harmony remote to replace my current MCE remote and the one that would come with the amp. This is a viable solution, but the Z Cinema solution seemed a bit simpler and neater to me. Hence the questions on whether anyone had experience of this system.
Because the Z Cinema system automatically turns on and off with the PC, I can disable the TV sound and use the Z Cinema as the audio output for everything. I can also acheive this with a universal remote and a remote-enabled stereo amp, but this would appear to be a bit more of a hassle to set up and may ultimately cost more.
So given that I'm shortly going to have to make a decision re music amplifier, I am canvassing my options re a single solution for TV sound and music.
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Your requirement/limitations pretty much exclude any suggestion we can come up with. As a side note 2.1 systems are mostly a croc. The sub is usually included because the two main speakers are so small that you get no mid range, then they go and set the sub cutoff too high to make up for the lack of mid which usually turns everything into the sound of mud so to compensate for the mud the little main speakers with no mid are set so that everything is very "bright" and "tinkly" to drown out the midrange mud.
Then you get the high end 2.1's which are faithfull to what they can actually do and you end up with crystal clear highs, just enough lows and bugger all to nothing in the midrange, which is where most TV audio lives and yet you still pay a small fortune for them.
My only advice would be to go shopping at Cash Converters / trading Post / Ebay or the like and pick up a medium sized pair of fronts with good midrange and highs (together this is where 90% of audio lives), forget a sub all together. At the same time get as cheap an OK brand stereo amp as you can find (I dont mean AMP/Reciever I mean just a stereo amp), sure its going to cost $300 - $500 but you're going to get the best possible sound you can on that budget without paying for "frills" you don't need.