After a little bit of advice...

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I’m after a little bit of advice if possible. My uncle has recently upgraded his home cinema system and as a result has given me both his Denon AVC-A10SE receiver and Denon POA-T10 Power Amp (both about 7 yrs old). I also own a Sony KDL32-V2000 and Sky HD receiver. I have also just ordered a Denon DVD-1940 dvd player. I’m quite new to home cinema and was wondering how to get the best use out of this kit?? I’ve also got a few queries re the audio and visual: Visual: I was planning on connecting both the DVD player and SKY HD box via HDMI, however, as my TV only has one HDMI socket this will prove tricky – can I pick up a decent 4 way HDMI switcher box for say, £100? Audio: I was planning on connecting the SKY HD audio via a Digital Optical lead to the AVC-A10SE. Should I use a digital optical connection for the DVD player or is digital coaxial better? Will I experience lip-sync problems with the DVD player (I found the lip-sync adjustment on Sky HD to be most useful!)? I understand that with the POA-T10, I can connect a pair of rear speakers to make a 7.1 surround system. Are there any 7.1 ‘style’ speaker packages, or should I buy a 5.1 speaker package and then purchase 2 separate speakers? Or should I forget using the power amp altogether? I was planning on spending around £500 / £600 on the speaker package, and around £1000 on the whole setup (including wiring / cables / switcher etc). Any thoughts / help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Andrew Everard]

[quote user="Richard Ent"]I'm after a little bit of advice if possible. My uncle has recently upgraded his home cinema system and as a result has given me both his Denon AVC-A10SE receiver and Denon POA-T10 Power Amp (both about 7 yrs old).[/quote]

Lucky you! There'll be some jealous faces among forum members.

[quote user="Richard Ent"]I
was planning on connecting both the DVD player and SKY HD box via HDMI,
however, as my TV only has one HDMI socket this will prove tricky - can
I pick up a decent 4 way HDMI switcher box for say, £100? [/quote]

Have a look at these from Vivomounts as a good starting point.

[quote user="Richard Ent"]Audio: I was planning on connecting the SKY HD audio via a Digital Optical lead to the AVC-A10SE. Should I use a digital optical connection for the DVD player or is digital coaxial better?[/quote]

Optical for Sky, electrical digital will be better for DVD.

[quote user="Richard Ent"]Will I experience lip-sync problems with the DVD player (I found the lip-sync adjustment on Sky HD to be most useful!)?[/quote]

It's possible that you will, but this can usually be overcome with some adjustment to the amplifier - perhaps reducing the 'distance' settings for the front speakers to increase the delay on them.

[quote user="Richard Ent"]I understand that with the POA-T10, I can connect a pair of rear speakers to make a 7.1 surround system. Are there any 7.1 'style' speaker packages, or should I buy a 5.1 speaker package and then purchase 2 separate speakers? Or should I forget using the power amp altogether?[/quote]

I'd stick with the power amp and go the whole eight-channel shebang. Almost all of the 'style' speaker packages come as 5.1 set-ups, but with extra matching speakers available to make up a complete 7.1 system.

 

[Anonymous]

Many thanks for your help Andrew - I really appreciate it.

I'm planning to purchase 3 QED HDMI Cables; one each for both the Sky HD and DVD player (and then another from the switcher). Can an HDMI switcher have any detrimental effects on the picture quality? Should I spend a bit more money here, or will any switcher do (I notice they range in price massively)?

From reading reviews and different opinions throughout the forum & the review in What HiFi, it would seem the Jamo A102HCS5-BL 5.1 speaker package seems to be quite popular. Do you think this package will be suitable for my setup?? My living room is of small / medium size (14' x 12' viewing area). I am currently borrowing a friends set of speakers and rarely have the volume above +4.
I've also found an online retailer selling a pack of 3 identical speakers (the A-102's) which I could purchase to give me the full 7.1 setup (albeit with one left over!).