Help with outdoor speakers

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ventolin

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#109775 26-Sep-2012 12:48

So I recently just brought some outdoor speakers, ran some cable outside and have it sitting inside by my TV, ps3, xbox360 and mysky.

I would like to use my PS3 to provide the sound for outside because I can hook it up to spotify and control it remotely. Obviously each speaker has a + and - so that's 4 pairs coming inside what would be the best wallplate for this?

I currently don't have an amp either would it be best to get a cheap amp that has toslink input from the PS3? And then output on RCA or something similar? Or will a toslink to RCA converter work OK? I don't mind spending some money on an amp but would like to keep costs as low as possible as I have already spent a tonne on this house already lol.

Thanks in advance

Jaxson

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#691648 26-Sep-2012 12:57

A few ideas:

Don't use a faceplate in the first place, just run cables direct to the speakers. Route them through a standard electrical faceplate with one bay, the type normally used for a single light switch etc.

The PS3 can simultaneously output RCA and hdmi (with some caveats) but you can use this to feed audio to a basic analogue/rca amplifier or zone 2 of a multizone receiver and still do HDMI to TV/Receiver etc.

ventolin

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#691671 26-Sep-2012 13:40

OK so for now I might continue to use HDMI from the PS3 to the TV then will use RCA output from my TV to an old stereo I have and will hook the speakers into that.

Jaxson

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#691677 26-Sep-2012 13:48

ventolin: OK so for now I might continue to use HDMI from the PS3 to the TV then will use RCA output from my TV to an old stereo I have and will hook the speakers into that.

There you go, saved a bunch of cash right there.
Feel free to send some my way if you really want to give it away though

http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps3/current/settings/audiomulti.html

ventolin

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#691721 26-Sep-2012 14:39

My ps3 is the slim so I believe it only has HDMI and SPDIF/Toslink outputs for sound?

ventolin

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#691722 26-Sep-2012 14:42

Oh no wait i'm an idiot, I see it has a AV multi out port, better try find the adapter o_O

Dunnersfella

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#691875 26-Sep-2012 19:27

A 2 zone amp is the ideal way to do this...
But you'll need to spend more. You'll be able to control it from a smart phone (some receivers now have Spotify built in BTW) and it'll provide great sound in both sounds.
Just my $0.02.

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Stream your favourite shows now on Apple TV (affiliate link).

Jaxson

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#692023 27-Sep-2012 09:00

Dunnersfella: A 2 zone amp is the ideal way to do this...
But you'll need to spend more.

Have they got Zone 2 fed of the hdmi/optical/non analogue inputs yet? - On reasonably ($500 - $1,000) priced receivers?

The above mentioned simultaneous hdmi/analogue output works well for a zone 2 feed on traditional analogue RCA only zone 2 capable receivers, but it does drop the hdmi size of things to 5.1 only.

Zone 2 can be a pain if you want the same sound in both zones, requiring a source that can output both hdmi and analgoue RCA at the same time and you often get audio delays via processing on the hdmi source, which leads to echos, noise cancelation etc as you transition the zones, ie lounge to deck ;-)

Dunnersfella

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#692461 27-Sep-2012 20:13

Jaxson:

Have they got Zone 2 fed of the hdmi/optical/non analogue inputs yet? - On reasonably ($500 - $1,000) priced receivers?

The above mentioned simultaneous hdmi/analogue output works well for a zone 2 feed on traditional analogue RCA only zone 2 capable receivers, but it does drop the hdmi size of things to 5.1 only.

Zone 2 can be a pain if you want the same sound in both zones, requiring a source that can output both hdmi and analgoue RCA at the same time and you often get audio delays via processing on the hdmi source, which leads to echos, noise cancelation etc as you transition the zones, ie lounge to deck ;-)

Nope - zone 2 is analogue only... except, they have got DLNA / Airplay / USB and network (Spotify etc) running to zone 2. In some cases it's totally independent of what's happening in zone 1. In others, it is not... depending on brand / model. In the OP's case, a receiver (Marantz or Denon) that features Spotify would be a good fit.
To get HDMI / optical or coax to zone two, a separate standalone DAC normally has to be utilised... running around $100. Quite a few devices can output both analogue and HDMI simultaneously, the main exception seems to be gaming consoles, but with the price of BluRay players now it's not that big of an issue IMHO.
Re: Delays, I think the only one that has really been an issue with is Yamaha receivers, the rest of the amps seem to be pretty darned good to be honest.

Jaxson

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#692739 28-Sep-2012 09:42

Thanks for the update Dunnersfella.

Agree, zone 2 being analogue only is not such an issue if you can also route airplay etc directly to it. PS3 can do hdmi plus analogue out, but you lose 7.1 down to 5.1 via hdmi by doing this, which may or may not be an issue.