Advice Needed

[admin_exported]

I've recently bought a Samsung UE40B7020 and am now looking to buy a suitable AV system to go with it. I'm totally new to this game and my total budget is around the £1000 mark for both the amp and speakers. I was originally looking at pairing a Yamaha RX-V765 with the Q-Acoustics 1010i range but the size of the speakers makes mounting them discreetly impossible and will make the wife 'less than happy'. In the interest of matrimonial bliss I've turned my attention to either the Mission M-Cube, Jamo A102HCS5, or at a real push either Acoustic Energy Aego T, or a set of Tannoy Arena Lite's (both of which seem to be on the large side of discreet and more importantly the Tannoys break my total budget). I'm looking at 5.1 not 7.1 and the system is going to be used mainly for viewing films and watching TV (via a Sky HD+ box) in a room size of roughly 4 Mtrs X 6 Mtrs. The music channels on Sky will see some occasional so its something I need to also consider...

Now my questions...

Would a Yamaha RX-V765 be wasted on the speakers/setup I've listed (and if so what would be a more suitable amp?) ,also what's the performance of both the Jamo and Mission systems? I struggle to see how such small satellites can give good sound reproduction so need some assurance they're up to the job (especially the Jamo with its 4cm square sats). I'm assuming the Mission M-Cube would give the better performance out of the two systems based purely on the price difference and relative satellite size?

I'm also aware the Yamaha currently has issue with the sky sound setup but I understand a fix is due this month?

I'd also like the amp to have a pass through facility so that we can watch and listen to the TV without the amp being fully powered on (I read somewhere the Yamaha can do this but cannot corroborate it). After all the wife doesn't need a 5.1 system to listen to Coronation Street or Eastenders (and I'm worried it would somehow pollute the system

).

Mu current thoughts are the Yamaha paired with the Mission M-Cube's (such as the system listed on www.creative-audio.co.uk) .

Any advice is appreciated and may stop me making a big mistake...

 

[Big Chris]

One thing to bear in mind. The M-Cube uses a slightly odd system of connecting. The sub is connected to the A/V amp via a supplied cable, then all the satellite (surround) speakers are connected to the sub.

The flat panel technology is supposed to be very effective for movies as pinpointing the sound isn't as easy as with traditional drivers, but the downside is music, which can lose focus.

My set-up is used for all my viewing, cruddy TV shows to Blu-Ray and everything in between. I don't really understand why anyone with £1k worth of stuff would still watch TV through the TV speakers, but it's your choice. I don't know if the Yamaha is able to pass through Sky to your TV without actually decoding and outputting the sound.

 

[Big Aura]

what about KEF/Onk? Perhaps they'll do a deal on a package with a better amp, if you call?

 

[rob_981]

Dace, just to let you know, the Jamo sats are actually 9x9x9cm in size, the same as the Missions.

Obviously, I don't have anything to compare them to, but to me, the Jamos with the Onkyo 606 sound excellent, and easily fill my room, which is about the same size as yours. And the Onkyo can pass through the picture and audio to the tv no problem. And their quite a bit cheaper than the Missions.

 

[FuzzyinLondon]

I'd audition the Q-AV system if you can. I've heard it hooked up to an Onkyo 606 and was impressed with the sound. It was only in passing so I can't give a definitive judgement on them but it sounded good playing the True-HD track from The Dark Knight. Just another one to throw into the hat.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice on this, and yes looking at it further the Jamos do have 9cm X 9cm sats, I got the original specs out of the whathifi buyers guide and they seem to have the inch's size down instead of centimetres

. Still that explains it, 4cm seemed unfeasibly small to produce a decent sound. The comments on the Jamo's do make me think I could save some money and get a good sound quality from those units as opposed to spending twice as much on the missions!

The comment about the Onk/KEF system is interesting and i had a look but the kef sat's are on the largish side to mount discreetly and it pushes the budget, especially when I consider buying the necessary cabling too. I'm probably one of the few people that doesn't actually like the design of them too.

As for the Q-AV system I've had a good look at this but I've got a few reservations as to how well I could integrate this with regards to how the tv's set-up. Still it gives me something to think about. I've also just picked up this months What hi-fi magazine and read the reviews on the AV set-up, so i'm also considering the Sony DA2400ES or the Denon AVR1910.

And to think it all seemed so straight forward when I decided to upgrade my AV kit...