Page 1 of Wharfedale M5 - Can I plug speakers straight in or do I need an amp

Hello,
I am new to this scene and would like some advice please.
I have just purchased an M5 from Tesco`s and I was wondering what else I would need to get Dolby digital 5.1 sound. Can I just plug in a set of speakers to the outputs in the back of the DVD or do I need to buy an amp ?

If amp required any suggestions?
Any suggestions for the speakers also. I have a Panasonic PK3 (nicam stereo only). I thought about buying the complete home cinema kit (Panasonic SC-HT80) but could not justify to the wifie. Settled for the 179 quid Wharfy and hopefully just a set of Speakers. I have a small living room and a budget that`s tight or is that just me ! Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

You need to buy an amp - try http://www.richersounds.com for cheap Home Cinema - a Kenwood 5050 amp will set you back about £180.

For info about connecting the Wharfedale M5 up you need to go to http://www.area450.co.uk - whole section on what all the plugs mean in the Player Guides/User Guide section.

Hope the info is useful.

Thanks for the Info.

Does this mean that the DD & DTS decoder within the player are superfluous if you have this within your amp ? If so why do they include it at all ?

Good question and one that has baffled home cinema fans for a very long time.

No, the actual reason is that, believe it or not, there are a few ProLogic amplifiers out there somewhere that can actually accept the six inputs from a DVD player with on board decoding (it will have six matching output sockets) thus giving the full DD/DTS experience if the player (eg the M5) has both. But you`re right - all DD/DTS amps will do the job for you, so on board decoders on a DVD player are indeed superfluous if you have this type of amp.

http://www.area450.co.uk/audio.htm shows you the three main types of connection from a DVD player fitted with 2-channel, 5.1-channel and digital audio outputs - hope this will help.