Amp and speaker advice please!

[admin_exported]

Hi all!

I am looking at building my first home cinema system and was initially looking at the Denon AVR-1909 but am now drawn to the Yamaha DSP-AX863SE after it's good reviews. Firstly does anyone know if it (or the Denon) can upscale a standard Sky+ box? I'm not too sure about the outputs on the Sky+ box so wasn't sure if that was possible?

Also I'm not sure what speakers to go for to go with the amp. I like the Kef KHT2005.3 but have also been looking at the Q Acoustic 1010i 5.1. Does anyone know how they compare sound wise? Or are there any alternatives for the same £500-700 price range you can recommend?

Thanks a lot for your help!

 

[lobby]

Both good amps and upscale to 1080p, not sure with Sky box, Denon £299 and Yamaha £499, so £200 difference. I would look at better speakers add the "£200 on to the speaker budget and go for Tannoy F4 customs if you've got the room, with F1 customs for rears and centre, add a decent sub like the Monolith for £400 and you have a cracking system. Try RS for these deals, or if you haven't got the space Kef 3005se.

 

[Big Aura]

Congrats on taking the plunge!

I have a 1909 and am quite happy with it, but it's not great when playing music. There's also the Onkyo 806 on special offer at the moment - check some of today's threads.

Speakers - depends on whether you want big boxes or something sleeker... Is the £500-700 budget all-in, or just for the speaker?

Don't forget you'll need HDMI cables and speaker cables and all manner of other bits n' bobs that really can add up!

 

[Anonymous]

Hehe thanks!

Cool! Movies is my main concern so I'm not too worried about it not being great for music. Ah cool, thanks, I will take a look!

I must admit I like the look of the Kef's but am more concerned about getting the best sound quality I can so would be happy with boxes. That's for the speakers, I'm aiming to spend about a grand so if I go for the Denon I can spend a bit more on the speakers. I would love the Kef 3005SE but don't think budget can stretch that far. I have found Tannoy Mercury F1 custom with upgraded sub and cable pack for £699 at Creative Audio. Are they 'better' than the Kef 2005.3's?

That's true, cabling will add up. And stands, I was planning on wall mounting the Kef's so if I go for boxes will need brackets or stands.

Thank you both for your replies, your help is much appreciated!

Ian