First 5.1 system, how do I hook this up? Receiver?

[alg]

Before this only had 2.1/2.0 systems, which had 1 single 3.5mm RCA(?) cord hooked into the system that you plugged into the green port on your PC - simple.

I wasn't sure but my assumption/hope was that the 5.1 system I bought (http://www.polkaudio.com/products/rm10pack) was the same except for having more 3.5mm jascks (front, rear, center, sub, ???). This thing came with no cables whatsoever. It did come with 3 installation 'options', and that is where I'm confused.

Here are pictures of the install options http://imgur.com/a/7YgEw - 2 require a "receiver", while the 3rd seemingly doesn't but requires 2 extra ports which my soundcard does not have? (Xonar DX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132006). So the question is... do I need a receiver? I was told by a guy IRL that if I went receiver-less and used my 4 ports on my soundcard, it'd not achieve the full effect of a surround system - basically, because there aren't different L/R ports, when a sound was instructed to come from, say, L-Rear, both Rears would emit the same sound in unison - is this true?? (if it is, all soundcards/onboard sound systems I've seen do not have enough ports yet claim to be 5.1/7.1 compatible.... and what the heck??)

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Assuming I'm going a receiver route, I need help picking one. My budget is as cheap as possible while maintaining quality for music (95% of my usage; odd movie here and there, sure, but since I have a 24" monitor I'm not looking for a home theater experience for movies) without bottlenecking my system as much as possible with the Speaker/Soundcard/Receiver combo chosen. $250 absolute max.

I cannot find this information now when trying quickly, but IIRC the entire system has something like 200w continuous. I found a cheap-but-fine (Onyko? Not a bad brand right?) receiver, but it has no "Sub Out" so falls under install option 2 if I understand right.... but the receiver only does "50w per channel" and if I understand right is a "2 channel system"... so I'd only be getting 100w out of the 200w the Polk system supports?

1. Will doing this decrease the sound quality? I live with others and on my old 2.1 at ~50% volume of a ~35w system I'd get complaints, so I don't need high wattage - but if it will decrease my SQ noticeably then I don't want it. (receiver in question: http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-8255B-TX-8255-Stereo-Receiver/dp/B001AMSPQI/ref=zg_bs_14269301_2)
2. Does Sub-Out vs. No-Sub-Out matter? Sub-Outs seem to be more expensive, judging from my quick low-to-high price searching finding no Sub-Outs.

Help?

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Additionally... what cables/wires do I need? I have access to enough speaker wire but I'm not sure what gauge it is and the install option for No-Sub-Out recommends a certain gauge so I may need some of that. The pictures document 5.1 System->Receiver/Other, but how do I hook up the receiver to my soundcard?

I have a $25 credit that expires soon if I don't use it on newegg. Although the Xonar DX (which I don't have yet) is not the cheapest there... I was thinking of buying it there UNLESS I can buy the misc. cables for a cheaper-or-competitive-price from there vs.any online store or IRL stores Best Buy, Fry's, Radioshack, Walmart (Know of other stores? might be near. I'm in the bay area of CA, USA.). Link to Newegg's A/V cables section: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=40000697&IsNodeId=1




*** I WILL NOT BE HOOKING THIS UP MYSELF, BUT I NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHICH CABLES ETC. TO BUY. ***

 

[dragonhawke]

You can't use a stereo receiver to power a 5.1 system. You need a 5.1 receiver. The best connection to use would be HDMI from your video card to the receiver. You also need some speaker wire for the 5.1 receiver to send power to the speakers. You can go to monoprice, or maybe use your newegg credit on some inwall speaker cable, which I believe is the only type they have (generally it just means its cable with a white rubber jacket).

You will also need an HDMI cable to run from your video card to receiver, and an additional one to run from the receiver to your monitor. If your monitor only takes DVI, you need an HDMI to DVI adaptor.

Also, without a subwoofer, technically you have a 5.0 system.

 

[alg]

You can't use a stereo receiver to power a 5.1 system. You need a 5.1 receiver. The best connection to use would be HDMI from your video card to the receiver. You also need some speaker wire for the 5.1 receiver to send power to the speakers. You can go to monoprice, or maybe use your newegg credit on some inwall speaker cable, which I believe is the only type they have (generally it just means its cable with a white rubber jacket).

You will also need an HDMI cable to run from your video card to receiver, and an additional one to run from the receiver to your monitor. If your monitor only takes DVI, you need an HDMI to DVI adaptor.

Also, without a subwoofer, technically you have a 5.0 system.

Thanks for the reply!

Stereo/5.1 receiver: Got it!

Video card/HDMI/Receiver/Monitor: Don't have a video card yet (but do plan to have one)(on-chip graphics right now), but I see! Luckily my PC will be out of commission for a few weeks as I had to send my mobo back, so I'm not in a rush for the receiver (but am to use the giftcard, which can be the soundcard or cables so I'm not worried). I currently have 1 HDMI for my monitor, but after all is said and done I need 1 more? Got it.

I have no sub?: Oops! I see, I linked the wrong-ish page. I have the Polk PSW110 sub.
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Still a little confused on 3 points:

1. Sub-Out vs. No-Sub-Out: Does this matter? What's the difference? (See #2 below?)
2. "2 channel driven": After reading this page I feel like I understand my "is this underpowering?" Q was right...but I'm confused by: On the Amazon page for the Yamaha RXV375BL Page the blip here says two different measurements for different #s of "# channel driven"(?), but on the comparison chart lower on the page it says "Watts/Channel: 100 x 5" ??? What does "# channel driven" mean if 5(.1? .0?) channels get 100w each?
3. Cables for Receiver->Soundcard?: You told me the cables I need to go Speakers->Receiver -> Monitor (minus the what I think is a male-to-male RCA cable I'd need if I go the Sub-Out option). I assume all the cables I'd need for Receiver->Soundcard are RCA (those are the ports the receivers have right?) to 1... or 4? 3.5mm jack (for the 4 different ports the soundcard has) cable/s?

(This is not targeted at only dragon, but if anyone wants to answer they are more than welcome to.)

 

[dragonhawke]

1) All surround sound receivers have a sub out.

2) The most expensive component in an audio/video receiver is the amplifier, since its generally the heaviest component and requires a large metal heatsink and transformer.

In the last 5 years, tradiational amplifiers have been getting smaller and smaller not due to a technological improvements, but rather they've done the same thing HP does--give you less for your money. It has to do with the fact that licensing costs of electronics and DSP technologies has been going through the roof and increasing on an annual basis (just look at how much money the movie industry wanted Netflix to pay to "re-up" their streaming license).

A long long time ago, they used to measure receivers by watts per channel with all channels driven. But the last couple years, receivers have been getting lighter and lighter, due to use of cheaper/smaller heatsinks and transformers. As a result any "vintage" receivers with HDMI support is selling for a fortune on ebay. The old Yamaha and Denon flagships from back in 2008 cost more now on ebay then they did at retail 2-3 years ago...when I bought my top end Yamaha receiver (the Z11) it was $1300 at Fry's...when I blew it due to a short circuit accident, I had to spend $2k on ebay to replace it...sigh. A dying breed of quality product.

Today they just measure amps by 2 channels driven because you don't get much amp for your money.

3) Run HDMI cable from your video card to your receiver to your money. HDMI will do sound better than your sound card's analog output stage if you have a decent receiver.

 

[alg]

I'm still confused about the "# channel driven" and "watts per channel" thing, but it doesn't matter because I've chosen the Yamaha I linked in last post (coincidentally, and luckily, starting yesterday Newegg offered that receiver for $250 with a bonus $50 promo card - so I said screw it, might as well; hesitation has cost me with newegg before so when I saw it I had to jump on it). I'm sure I'll be fine with it. Unfortunately, Newegg didn't allow me to use my promo code with it because the promo card attached made it a "combo," bringing me to my question...

Do I even need to get a soundcard, then? May be a dumb question, but if nothing is plugged into its ports, to my understanding, then the soundcard isn't... being... utilized? I'm sure I'm wrong about this (that is, soundcards are utilized even if you don't use their ports), but I would rather not assume.

 

[dandragonrage]

# channel driven means the rating is for when you are using that amount of speakers e.g. it might put out 75w/channel when you use stereo audio with only 2 channels, but it might only put out 50w/channel if you're using them all.

Receivers don't drive subwoofers. Subwoofers are expected to come with their own amplifiers (these are called active subwoofers). The receiver just sends the low-level signal of VERY low power (well under a watt) and the subwoofer is to amplify the signal on its own. Passive subwoofers exist, but you would need to buy a separate amp to use one with a receiver.