PDA

View Full Version : New AV system - advice needed.



Gus
26th-March-2010, 02:47 PM
Help.

ON the face of it … it was a perfect opportunity. In our new house I’ve been ‘given’ a room to myself, the AV room. I’m allowed to kit it with large screen TV, surround system, Wii …. All the essential boy-toys. :waycool:

So … I gratefully unpacked my AV amp that I bought ten years ago but never had chance to install (long story), admired its sleek design, the massive power output … then realised that it doesn’t have any of the connectivity necessary for modern AV systems …. :banghead:

And now … I find myself needing to but a decent AV system. The room isn’t big enough to justify a huge system (about 12’ x 12’) and budget is a little restricted (sub £500). A further requirement is that the rear speakers are a small as possible but can’t be wall mounted. I’ve already got a DVD player, but its nothing special … but don’t NEED a blu-ray as I’ve got no intention of converting just yet.

So … open to suggestion. Anyone come across any good systems or any advice?

rtwwpad
26th-March-2010, 03:06 PM
Have a chat to richer sounds. Samsung do a good system at the moment. I've always been a Denon or Linn man. Richer Sounds turned me on to Onkyo and that does a good job as an AV amp (7 speakers, 6 HDMI inputs) under £500. Speakers extra, but tannoy brand are good and you can get a decent package for an extra £150.

Phil_dB
26th-March-2010, 03:16 PM
Not sure if that sub £500 INCLUDES the TV... - even if it doesnt, that's not a lot to play with. So, if it was me, - I'd go second hand.

There's a Classified section at http://www.avforums.com/forums/index.php, and of course, there's fleabay.

Thing with AV systems, - it's all about personal taste, - so choosing speakers, amps, and even speaker wire is all personal choice, which is why it's so important to demo before you buy, - although saying that, room size, accoustics, speaker & seating placement, etc, change sound characteristics.

I brought a Denon 3802 AV amp about 7 years ago, - very happy with it, - you can get them off ebay for pittance now (cost me £800), - because many people are upgrading to HD AV amps. Similar story with other non-HD AV amps.

As you're only using it with your DVD player (& not a BR) this'll work fine as it'll give you Dolby Digital 5, 6 or even 7.1 surround sound (guess you'll only go for 5.1 in your 12x12 room) or DTS 5.1.

As for speakers, - well so much out there, - but again, go for second hand & you might be able to pick up some mid range quality speakers for a decent price within budget.

If you go for bookshelf speakers, you'll need to factor in stands also, - obviously floor standers wont need them :)

geoff332
26th-March-2010, 05:53 PM
At that price, you won't really get components. If you must go components, the cheapest receiver is around £250 - and not really worth the money. That means you have to go up to £300 or so (Sony or Yamaha are the best options at these prices), but £200 isn't enough for speakers (there are some nice sets at a little more - but they'd break your budget). If you shop around, you might squeeze them in for under the £500 budget, but you'd still need stands and cables (cables should be around 10-20% of your total budget).

If you could double the budget, then you could pick up something very nice. If that's not possible, you'd probably be better off going for an all in one system (which would give you everything, including a blu-ray player and speakers). Again, Yamaha and Sony are usually the best options at these sort of prices).

I use What Hi Fi most often to look into these things. It's generally reliable and gives good, well informed reviews.
http://www.whathifi.com/Reviews/All-in-one-systems-Reviews/Home-Cinema-in-a-Box-Reviews/Rule-Price-251-500!964,Star-Rating-5-stars!970/

Phil_dB
26th-March-2010, 06:12 PM
I still say go for second hand. Ruark, Celestion, Kef etc would not only out-perform, but very probably out-last any brand new offerings from Sony & such like. A second hand Denon reciever you could get for around £100 will hugely out perform anything new for £200.

A friend of mine has some 30 year old Celestion speakers.. - okay, they pretty look dated (!), but the sound they produce is stunningly detailed :yum:

I think it's worth splashing out on hi fi equipment, - as decent mid range components should last you a very, very long time :)

robd
26th-March-2010, 06:38 PM
If you are getting/have got a large plasma/lcd TV check to see if your DVD player upscales. Mine does and the picture quality is very good when doing so (much better than standard def DVD). Not quite Blu Ray standard but close enough that I am happy with both. Blu Ray scores very heavily with HD sound which completely outclasses the standard DD/DTS soundtracks on the DVDs I have. Blu Ray needs to drop in price a lot as at the moment I am sure a lot of people look at the price differential between a BR and DVD and decide it's too wide to warrant the extra a BR can give. I'd say if your DVD does not upscale look at spending a ton on a Sony BR which will upscale your DVDs and give you BR capability.

In terms of your amp what is it missing? HDMI and the HD decoding, sure, but what else? I had a Sony AV receiver from about 10 years ago that I upgraded at Xmas to a Yamaha because I wanted HD sound and HDMI and I believe the Yamaha also sounds better with straight DD/DTS (but then it should as it was higher priced) If you are insistent on sticking with DVD and your existing amp does DD/DTS then I'd suggest the money goes elsewhere.

I'd also suggest that a 2.1 setup of quality front speakers and a decent sub might be more satisfying (esp. if you will be listening to much music through the system) than a mediocre 5.1 system

Gus
29th-March-2010, 12:18 PM
Guys,

many thanks for the advice so far ... though blowing anymore than £500 is not practical given current economic situation. Hoping to spend some time in Richer Sounds this weekend drooling over serious Boys Toys :grin: