Cheap and Best 5.1 speaker system for my 42" LG LED TV

[suh007]

The model of my TV is LG 42LS5700
Link:
LG 42LS5700 LED LCD TV - Full HD 1080p Smart TV providing Rich Content with Easy Control - LG Electronics IN

Here's my problem.
The TV does not have 3.5mm headphone jack and has only optical out for audio. I don't like the in-built speaker quality very much.So i was planning on buying a 5.1 speaker setup with optical input.

I have few queries
1.Does my TV output 5.1 through optical out or does it convert 5.1 to 2.0 and then output through the optical out when i play movies through usb on TV ?
2.Please suggest a cheap and best 5.1 speaker setup with optical input.

 

[The Incinerator]

The cheapest option other than going in for a full blown Onkyo/Yamaha HT (Rs 22000 - Rs 26000) set is to get a Logitech Z906 for Rs 16,500. The other cheap or the cheapest option with a digital in (Im not sure its optical or coaxial) is to get the LG HT306SU for Rs 9500 approx. Try Panasonic and Philips too,theur low end models too have the Toslink or Optical in.

 

[suh007]

^^^Thanks for the reply.
I think I'm gonna buy Logitech Z906 which i feel is VFM.
My other doubt is not cleared.
Whether my TV(LG 42LS5700) outputs 5.1 audio or just 2.0 when i connect it to Home theater through optical out ?

 

[whitestar_999]

1.Does my TV output 5.1 through optical out or does it convert 5.1 to 2.0 and then output through the optical out when i play movies through usb on TV ?

very hard to answer & the most basic reason why it is not recommended to connect 5.1 audio system to TV/display.it is recommended to directly connect 5.1/surround audio system to source(pc/set top box/dvd/blu-ray player).if you are using usb to play then most probably TV is downmixing audio to 2.0 stereo.

 

[The Incinerator]

^^^Thanks for the reply.
I think I'm gonna buy Logitech Z906 which i feel is VFM.
My other doubt is not cleared.
Whether my TV(LG 42LS5700) outputs 5.1 audio or just 2.0 when i connect it to Home theater through optical out ?

You will hardly you use the Dolby through the TV. Connect your Set Top Box's optical out to the external DAC or Z 609 if at all it supports Dolby 5.1.Yes your TV has Dolby Decoders.Simple it receives Dolby and decodes and should output it too to be digitally decoded externally and thus amplify it.

 

[whitestar_999]

@The Incinerator,i don't think you are clear on this concept.S/PDIF(optical/coaxial)only supports outputting 2 channel PCM/uncompressed audio.only encoded audio in ac3 format(aka dolby digital/live) supports 5.1 output through S/PDIF port.what this means is once dolby audio is decoded by TV to output stereo sound through TV's internal speakers it can not output original dolby audio without re-encoding to ac3 which no TV currently can do as far as i know.also no most TV's(except sony models 2010 & later) can't output 5.1 audio through S/PDIF port with any HDMI input(copy protection mechanism of HDMI) & that is why it is not recommended to connect 5.1 system to TV.only way is to use PC/dvd or blu-ray player/AVR to get true 5.1 audio output.

 

[suh007]

The only reason of me buying a 5.1 speaker setup was to get 5.1 surround sound when i play movies through usb in the TV.I can't afford to buy a Blu-ray player.
So does my TV output 5.1 audio when i play movies through usb or does it downmix to 2.0 ? Because according to the manual it can decode Dolby Digital

 

[The Incinerator]

*www.lg.com/in/support/product-help/doc-1342586677800-en-LGEIL
^^ This might help. Check your TVs DAO. Or as I said earlier use the Set Top Box.It can decode but that dosnt always mean it will have a pass through.When playing movies through usb you want to use surround for stereo source I believe you have to process them in to pseudo surround or 2 channel to 5.1 (matrix algorithms)

 

[d6bmg]

The only reason of me buying a 5.1 speaker setup was to get 5.1 surround sound when i play movies through usb in the TV.I can't afford to buy a Blu-ray player.
So does my TV output 5.1 audio when i play movies through usb or does it downmix to 2.0 ? Because according to the manual it can decode Dolby Digital

Very hard to answer. Reason: see the posts by whitestar_999.
Suggestion: Go to LG showroom and ask them to connect 5.1 speaker with the TV via optical S/PDIF. Listen to the sound and then ask them to connect the same 5.1 speaker to a BD playter which have true 5.1, and feel the difference in sound (if there is any).
I can't see any other way.

 

[suh007]

TV- Dolby Digital Audio

According to the Link it says
The TV will provide Dolby Digital Output when the TV is the source of the Audio.
So technically speaking,if i play movies through USB, TV should output 5.1 right ?
Are there any restrictions in audio formats(like AC3 etc.) for 5.1 output ?

 

[whitestar_999]

let me make this clear for you.LG link states "Dolby Digital Output" but does not mention whether stereo or 5.1.yes,there is restriction that S/PDIF can only output either 2.0 stereo PCM or 2.0/5.1 AC3.since no TV has AC3 encoder therefore to get true 5.1 audio from S/PDIF port of a lcd tv it must pass through the audio(i.e.output original 5.1 ac3 audio untouched)to AVR/speaker system with dolby decoder(like logitech z906) which will then decode the audio signal to output true 5.1.however LG link is not clear about whether it supports pass through for usb input.

The TV will provide Dolby Digital Output when the TV is the source of the Audio.:note no mention of 5.1/surround
If the source of the audio is Netcast or Premium Application that supports 5.1 Channel Output, the TV should pass the 5.1 Signal using the optical port:here it clearly mention 5.1 output

 

[The Incinerator]

According to the Link it says
The TV will provide Dolby Digital Output when the TV is the source of the Audio.
So technically speaking,if i play movies through USB, TV should output 5.1 right ?
Are there any restrictions in audio formats(like AC3 etc.) for 5.1 output ?

Get a movie on a usb stick with DD stream and check whether you are getting options for setting up the audio output via the Toslink as a pass through?

 

[suh007]

Get a movie on a usb stick with DD stream and check whether you are getting options for setting up the audio output via the Toslink as a pass through?

I checked and there was no option of setting audio output when i played a movie with 5.1 AC3(Should the optical cable be present when i test the TV setting ?)
If my TV doesn't output 5.1 then it'll be waste spending 16k on Logitech Z906 ?
Are there any cheaper options like 2.1 speakers with optical in ?

 

[whitestar_999]

no cheap 2.1 speakers come with optical input & there is no point either.you can simply connect 2.1 speakers to headphone port of tv(i used it with LG 32" LCD).

 

[arvendu601]

I checked and there was no option of setting audio output when i played a movie with 5.1 AC3(Should the optical cable be present when i test the TV setting ?)
If my TV doesn't output 5.1 then it'll be waste spending 16k on Logitech Z906 ?
Are there any cheaper options like 2.1 speakers with optical in ?

AC3 5.1 And Dts Audio is different maybe thats why you are not able to see Dolby Digital setting in S/PDIF Setting
1st Download any HDMA Enable Song or Movie Then Try

If You download Movies through Internet most of Movies are AAC 5.1 or AC3 5.1 with small size around 2-3 GB Min

HDMA dts sound size is way much higher then AC3 and AAC please check it carefully
I have Samsung 32-UA-32D5000 Model and when i play DTS Audio enable Movies,tv S/PDIF Setting show Dolby Digital Digital Setting

 

[suh007]

Re: Cheap and Best 5.1 speaker system for my 42" LG LED TV

no cheap 2.1 speakers come with optical input & there is no point either.you can simply connect 2.1 speakers to headphone port of tv(i used it with LG 32" LCD).

There is no headphone port in my TV,that's the problem

AC3 5.1 And Dts Audio is different maybe thats why you are not able to see Dolby Digital setting in S/PDIF Setting
1st Download any HDMA Enable Song or Movie Then Try

If You download Movies through Internet most of Movies are AAC 5.1 or AC3 5.1 with small size around 2-3 GB Min

HDMA dts sound size is way much higher then AC3 and AAC please check it carefully
I have Samsung 32-UA-32D5000 Model and when i play DTS Audio enable Movies,tv S/PDIF Setting show Dolby Digital Digital Setting

Wat is d average size of DTS movie ?
Wat exactly does Dolby Digital mean........is it AC3,AAC or DTS ?

 

[whitestar_999]

dolby & DTS are different sound technologies owned by different companies & dolby digital is ac3.to decode DTS audio TV must have a DTS decoder just like dolby decoder which LG does not have(samsung has it though).still i am surprised to learn that LG provide no headphone port on a costly LED model while 2 year old lg lcd models have it.in my opinion you should drop the idea of speakers because there is no major advantage of listening to downmixed stereo sound through 2.1 external speakers anyway.to truly enjoy surround sound in movies use PC connected to a good speaker system & TV.

 

[suh007]

Then I'm only left with these options:
Buying a media player like Asus O'play Mini ~ around 5k
+
Logitech Z906 ~16k
which will burn a hole in my pocket again !

 

[Minion]

Re: Cheap and Best 5.1 speaker system for my 42" LG LED TV

I checked and there was no option of setting audio output when i played a movie with 5.1 AC3(Should the optical cable be present when i test the TV setting ?)
If my TV doesn't output 5.1 then it'll be waste spending 16k on Logitech Z906 ?
Are there any cheaper options like 2.1 speakers with optical in ?

You need a Dolby source i.e It may be your STB or video file you want to play.

To get Dolby surround sound you can do one thing connect your TV to PC.
play your movie in PC with your 5.1 speaker connected to PC.

For this you can buy Logitech speakers and connect them to PC.

 

[The Incinerator]

Why dont you try the......*onkyoindia.com/products/HT_Packages/home_style/ht-s3500/index.htm Meet the dealer and take a demo