2.1 or 5.1 for surround sound?

[admin_exported]

I am looking to buy a home theatre (BluRay player, AV & speakers). I have a very limited budget of approx £800 to get all this. With the budget constraints in mind, would it be a better option to get a more expensive 2.1 speaker set which offers virtual surround sound than a lower range 5.1 setup?

 

[professorhat]

What is your main aim from the system - movies or music?

From my experience, only the upper end of the "soundbars" get anywhere close to providing a reasonable surround experience, and are still soundly beaten by many budget 5.1 systems. So if surround sound is the main requirement, nothing beats 5 speakers dotted physically around your room.

An all-in-one unit might be the best solution - are you just looking at a Blu-ray system or would you want to connect anything else?

 

[Anonymous]

Primarily this system will be for Sky HD and BluRay TV/movie playback. In a perfect world I'd also like to wirelessly playback hi-fi quality music from my iTunes library which lives on my MacBookPro.

 

[fr0g]

If it was me personally I'd pick up a good budget AV amp (Yamaha RXV-671), £300

Then a good budget BluRay player around £100.

And some good budget speakers around £400 (stereo)

Then I'd save up for sub, centre, surrounds.

But you can pick up something like the Boston Soundware package for £220 (Richer sounds) (5 star WHF review) which includes all speakers and sub.

Add a budget AV amp and BR player and you're set.

 

[Lee H]

Also, are you prepared to consider second hand goods? You can get some bargains on a well know auction site.

I would go for 5.1 though, but if possible, make sure it's something you can improve as time and funds allow. My first "proper" 5.1 involved some £100 Kef speakers and sub (from eBay) and a £350 AVR.

 

[Anonymous]

I've considered going for 2nd hand in order to get something decent. The only set back is that I do not know what kit is 'good' and what is 'bad'. There is a lot of choice out there, and you're never sure how well its been kept.

I have only been to Richer Sounds so far as I can atleast get some advice of what is good in my price range (although that advice can vary depending on personal experience of different sales staff).

 

[Lee H]

In terms of what is good or bad, that's what the people on here are for My first post was along the lines of, "I can get these for speakers for £100, should I?"

You're right though about how stuff has been kept and any vendor worth their salt will let you listen to the speakers first.

IMO, I'd only spend around £100 or less on a Bluray Player. You can get some bargains on last years models of AVRs too such as this from Richer Sounds. Add in some speakers and there's a bit spare for some cables to connect it all together.

All of this would be upgradeable in future should you decide to go down that route.

 

[BenLaw]

I would recommend this as your blu ray, it's excellent, small and a great price.

 

[rs6mra]

Take a look at this receiver!!! http://www.froogle.richersounds.com/showclearanceproduct/DENO-AVR2311-BLK/Denon+Avr2311+Blk.html

 

[rs6mra]

Take a look at this receiver!!! http://www.froogle.richersounds.com/showclearanceproduct/DENO-AVR2311-BLK/Denon+Avr2311+Blk.html