Best simulated surround sound system?
I am definitely a newbie and non-technical person. I am looking for a new AV receiver for my music (classical) and home theater system (plasma TV). My movie taste is primarily arts / foreign, and I personally prefer only speakers in front of me, next to my TV! I do not need to play music or TV at loud levels. What is the best receiver for simulated surround sound? I plan to use small Orb speakers and am considering the NAD L53, the HK AVR 240 or 340, and the Panasonic SA-XR55K.
Other questions: is the base with the HK AVR 240 and other receivers good enough from 2 speakers, or do I need a sub? For movies, should I use Vmax or Dolby Virtual speaker, or should I get a front Right, Left, and Center speaker + Sub instead?
Thanks for your suggestions!
Contrary to what you read, you don't "need" surround sound to enjoy your TV.
Not to put down a full surround system but, sound wise, it can be lived without. Granted, there are many movies that, IMNSHO, exist only to showcase surround sound. Virtually any DVD system is capable of outputting a plain old stereo signal which can be pumped to those two speakers on either side of your TV set. Unless you insist on beinfg immersed on all sides by sound, it can sound quite good. I use this setup on one of my systems and I rarely miss the center and surrounds when I get into the movie.
I'd say that, given a certain budget, if the best sound is your main goal, you should go for a nice two channel system and a pair of good speakers.
Good sound does require some size to the speakers, though. Two tiny speakers will need a subwoofer to fill out the bottom end. I do believe those Orb speakers are part of a setup that includes a subwoofer, or common bass box, whichever term applies here.
In any case, when shopping, use music as your test, not movies. Many systems sound good on movies but not so good on music but, if a system can do music right, odds are that it'll sound good on movies.
Then again, there's always the Yamaha digital sound projectors which do a credible job of emulating a surround sound system. Note the words "credible "a d "emulate". Good, but not near the real thing.