[SOLVED] Home audio interconnectivity, help?

[Moisser]

Hi there,
I am moving soon to a new apartment and I want to bring the following devices together via an interface/mixer, maybe PC even, I don't have a lot of knowledge about linking audio devices so I am asking you guys where to start and what to look for in order to make this small project happen.
So the devices are as follow:
A.Current:

1. PC Desktop;
2. Audio Interface ( currently Scarlet 2i2 USB connection );
3. Studio Monitors ( Pair, connected trough TRS cables ) (and monitoring headphones using the same scarlet 2i2, and gaming Bluetooth headphones, if it is relevant).

B. Soon:

1. 7.1 sound system for movie purposes;
2. Smart TV;

So the way I want to connect these devices are as follows: the PC will be the main source for sound and video, so being able to switch between the audio monitors and the 7.1 sound system easily is the main goal, mainly for watching movies (I know I can do it by switching the output from Windows, but is there another way? a physical one?), because I also want to take audio from the TV into the 7.1 system while I use the PC with the monitors simultaneously, hearing the news in the background while working on my desktop, or another person using the TV to listen to music on the 7.1 system while I am using the PC with my headphones.
Is it doable? Everything is going to be in the same room, the living room.
I would like to hear your opinions guys, thank you for your patience.

 

[jsmithepa]

People tend to be at awe of PCs as all powerful, can do everything blah-blah, but a PC is not designed to be the BRAIN of an Audio Video system. A traditional Audio Video Receiver is, and I suggest u go that route.

Is very simple, u build your AV system as traditional stand-alone, TV+Receiver+Surround speakers. THEN make your PC as one of ITS INPUTS to the AV receiver.

That's it.

 

[Moisser]

People tend to be at awe of PCs as all powerful, can do everything blah-blah, but a PC is not designed to be the BRAIN of an Audio Video system. A traditional Audio Video Receiver is, and I suggest u go that route.

Is very simple, u build your AV system as traditional stand-alone, TV+Receiver+Surround speakers. THEN make your PC as one of ITS INPUTS to the AV receiver.

That's it.

People tend to be at awe of PCs as all powerful, can do everything blah-blah, but a PC is not designed to be the BRAIN of an Audio Video system. A traditional Audio Video Receiver is, and I suggest u go that route.

Is very simple, u build your AV system as traditional stand-alone, TV+Receiver+Surround speakers. THEN make your PC as one of ITS INPUTS to the AV receiver.

That's it.

Will this be a budget-friendly option? Audio quality is something that I want to keep. The thing is I am not going to have TV cable, everything that is going to that TV is from the internet (my PC). And what concerns me the most is the switching the audio outputs from my PC via a physical interface ( if is possible) like an S/PDIF one for example. I don't know if this classic setup will help with centralizing everything.

 

[jsmithepa]

everything that is going to that TV is from the internet (my PC).

Then you won't be able to have another person using the TV, while you are doing something else with the PC.

Am not sure what u mean by centralize. When u want 2 independent things happening at once, like above, u want DE-centralization.

The classical method as described is proven, the most flexible, and easy to add on. In the AV world, the terminologies used are:

SOURCES ---> TV (tuner), Cable box, Streamers, stand-along DVD player, PC etc.
SWITCH ---> The AVR, route Sources to Outputs.
OUTPUTS ---> TV (monitor), Surround Speakers.

Your PC will just be another source, nominally these days hooked up via HDMI to AVR which carries video+audio in one cable.

Am sorry if you have a thin budget, what u want is a lowest cost custom job, and unfortunately am not a paid consultant, just another hobbyist with opinion and experience.

 

[Moisser]

After searching for two days on the internet I realized that what I wanted is not really possible, there is no ''magical device'' that can connect everything together, but I definitely understand where you're coming from, and in 98 % of the cases the classic route is the right route, but you know PC users, they want to cut corners every step of the way. But even if I can't have a physical device that I can play with while switching the inputs, the old Windows allows me to do it via software partially. So the workaround for me is as follows: from Windows, I can select multiple audio sources for output simultaneously, so one is going to be my Scarlet 2i2 which serves my studio monitors, and the second is going to be the onboard audio card which supports 5.1 surround linked directly to a future 5.1 sound system. From Windows, you actually can select which application uses what audio output, so for example, if I want to hear through 5.1 system only VLC media player and a certain internet browser, I can do that with any issues. Now the tricky one was to have the TV linked to the 5.1 system also, so I can use it separately from my PC, and this was an easy one actually to find, just connect it through an S/PDIF optical audio cable which is enough quality. The video is sent obviously trough and HDMI cable to the TV, and that's about it, my simple very low budget workaround. Thank you for your feedback though it made me realize the current status of the industry. I hope someone finds this helpful, and by the way, I don't know if I posted in the right section of the forum, but I wasn't trying to annoy anyone, cheers.