Surround sound for Bravia KDL- 40EX650

[Dave-2000]

Hi all, I have joined the forum in an attempt to help some elderly friends of mine.  They have purchased the above TV and are very pleased, they do however have a problem.  One of these friends has very poor eyesight but good ears, the other not so good hearing but good eyes!  So one sits near the TV and the other around 15 feet away.

When the sound is set for the viewer nearest to the TV the other person cannot hear it, of course when the volume is turned up the one near the TV is deafened.  So I need to know what options they have with a view to extension speakers that can be plugged in and then have an independent volume to control them.

I/we have looked at the various surround sound systems which all seem to be skewed to home cinema with a DVD or Blue Ray system to boot and this is way OTT for them (along with the prices as well), they do not mind having a more basic amplifier 5.1 with bass and the extra speakers and a remote control, they never use the DVD player they already have, budget around 180 GB pounds but it must be a plug and play without having adaptors for this and solder wires for that.

Many thanks in advance

Dave

[Anonymous]

Hi there

If im reading this right, the person with the best eyesight but worst hearing is seated the furthest back?

The cheapest and most simplest solution is to give the person with the bad hearing a set a headphones (decent quality ones though).  As you can set the TV to output the sound from the TV AND Headphones at the same time.  This will also enable both people to have independent control of the volume (one via the TV, one via the headphone controls)

If this option is not suitable, it will require further investigating on which products are suitable.

Hope that helps.

[Dave-2000]

Hi and thank you for the reply. Sorry the guy with thepoor eyes sits near the TV and is happy with the volume, his partner has good eyes but not so great ears but she is unable to tolerate sitting close to the TV.  The headphone option is not a viable option.  The very idea is great if we can get a pair of speakers that have the independent volume control.  At the present they have a 5.1 system that was plugged into thier old TV via a headphone socket with adaptor, I do not think it gave true surround sound but it did give them the independence they needed however that has become crackly and unreliable.  So it seems we need more options,

thanks again for your efforts, I hope there are other ideas forthcoming.

regards

Dave

[Anonymous]

Hi there

To give each person independant control over the volume, one would need to use the TV's internal speakers, and the other to an external audio system VIA the headphone/Audio-out socket on the TV.  This is not 5.1 surrond sound.  At present I am unsure on how to do this via a 5.1 surround sound system

I see three product here

1. A set of computer Speakers
2. A Hifi Audio System
3. Soundbar

In regards to computer speakers (or even a set of speakers that has an inbuilt amp) I cant see any Sony products to match this requirement.

A HiFi audio system - I found this system HERE (CMT-SBT100B) and would fit within budget.  It has a 3.5mm audio in jack, which you would connect to the TV's 3.5mm audio out jack.  I believe this would work.

A soundbar - such as the HT-CT260 - has a 3.5mm analog audio input jack - but instead of placing the soundbar at the front where the TV is, place it at the back where the person who requires it is.

Have a look at the micro-hifi and soundbar above and see if you think it would work too (and matches the requirements).  I also think it might be beneficial to visit a Sony retail store and see what products are on the shelf and ask one of the sales reps on their oppinion and best matching product.

Hope that helps.

[Dave-2000]

Hi and thanks for your efforts thus far, I really am amazed that such a simple requirement is so difficult to achieve?

They really do not want to get too high tech with this guys, They do not HAVE to have 5.1 surround, just the ability to plug in a set of speakers (I can cut and shut their present ones if it would work), just the ability to have the sound atthe rear of the room independently adjustable.  The sound bar would have no where to live in there present furnished area, the two speakers they presently have fit in the just great, perhaps a pari of speakers that run off the 3.5 jack with a little box with a volume control on it?

Thanks again for your help so far guys (and girls)

regards

Dave

[Anonymous]

Thats ok.  This goes back to the first one "Computer Speakers".  If you search Amazon for "Multimedia Speakers" it will come up with quite a few matches.

This should do the job. 

When connecting anything to the Audio Out/Headphone jack, ensure that you turn OFF "Headphone Speaker Link" on the TV.

[Dave-2000]

Thas sounds like a good idea, I could see the actual speakers in their cream boxes not looking to great with the room furniture however, they have a modern TV so perhaps some grey or silver speakers will do the job? 

I could assuming all worked take the inside parts and fit them inside wooden speaker cabinets, thanks for that idea.

Now the 'Headphone Speaker Link' did I understand that correctly?  Turn OFF the speaker link, will that not stop the speakers working?

regards

Dave

[Anonymous]

Hi there

Just tested it on my TV - It actually makes no difference because it is greyed out when your sound settings are set as follows:

Speakers = TV Speakers

Headphone/Audio Out = Audio Out

Audio Out = Fixed

But if you was using headphones, that "Headphone Speaker Link" would have to be set as OFF in order to get sound from headphones and TV at the same time

Cheers