Any suggestions for my HT upgrades?

[admin_exported]

Hi all.

After finally being tempted to take the plunge into Bluray with a nice new Sony S770 (discontinued, don't rub it in

), I have decided to upgrade my amp and speakers too. I'm looking for a decent amp (Onkyo's TX-SR608 caught my eye due to the WHF Awards issue) and speakers to go in a 4m x 2.7m room but could also cope with a bigger room in the future, just in case.

They don't have to excel with music as I've gone the audiophile headphone route. While I don't expect to get the detail levels of my AKG K701s for HT I do want an immersive, out of head surround sound experience that blows my socks off every time without leaving my ears bleeding and my neighbours running to the Police...

Against the "sub/sats are rubbish, only get "real" speakers" brigade's usual advice, I demo'd B&Ws MT-30s today (the PV1 intrigued me) and was hoping to try some Monitor Audio Bronze/Silvers to compare but work messed up my lunch appointment at Sevenoaks. I'm not sure about them now, possibly due to the massive demo room but I had expected a more shocking difference. Don't get me wrong, I heard a lot more detail in the (very familiar) test DVDs I took than usual and absolutely loved the PV1s taut lack of "boom" but considering my experience for the last 6+ years has been Logitech Z-5500s (forgive me, I was young) I suppose I expected a more stark contrast. The bass was a whole new experience though!

While I could happily live with them (after further demoing), I want to make sure I'm getting the best I can for my money so I thought I'd turn to the experts here for other ideas to try. Due to my cramped living conditions, floorstanders are out and even B&Ws 685s won't fit on my shelf (at least with more than 3cm breathing space behind) although dipole rears would be fine (also quite appealing to demo).

I want the amp to be a good match but don't want to spend too much. My speaker budget is pretty flexible but I would prefer to spend under £2000. If I'm blown away though, I'd happily save up a little longer...

I'm open to all suggestions as I'm now totally stumped as to what to try next.

Cheers in advance,

Tim

P.S. Apologies for the long post.

 

[professorhat]

The Onkyo is a great amp, I'd say the Pioneer VSX-920 is also worthy of consideration in that price bracket, or, given the prices it can now be had for (I've seen it at around £500 on Google), the Denon AVR-2311 should be compared as well if possible I think.

For speaker packages, you can't go far wrong with the B&W MT-30s, they're still WHF's best buy in that price bracket. However, if you can, I might try the Dali Fazon 1 package, as well as the Monitor Audio Radius R90 HD10. For a comparison with a cheaper package, since you were slightly underwhelmed in comparison to your Logitech system, it could be a good idea to also look at the KEF KHT 3005SE package - now available for quite a bit under £1,000 in some places. If the B&Ws don't sound much better to you, why pay more?

 

[Anonymous]

I have the BX2 Fronts and their front firing and work reallty well with my Yamaha 667 (£300) so placement isnt an issue.

but they do sound a million times better placed on stand mount as vibrations can become a issue on wooden stands or shelves not made for speakers

 

[Anonymous]

As good as the the PV1 is, I think it's overpriced for the performance, but don't get me wrong if your sub is going to be visible then it's excellent.

If you don't mind mixing your fronts and backs (not something I usually advise, but I have just demo-ed and ordered this setup my self) how about the Monitor audio Apex a40 centre, monitor audio A10 front left and right, monitor audio RXFX rears in a gloss colour to match fronts, B&W ASW610 sub.

Cost (with a discount from a dealer, which will get) £475 + £525 + £400 + £400 = £1,800.00 before discount.

This sounds awesome and will absorb any future AVR upgrade easily, BTW I would look at the Yamaha 667, it will sound great with the MA speakers, it won't bring out the best in them, but neither will the 608 or 920, but there are some great bargains on this one at the moment.

 

[Anonymous]

Following further thought and some advice from another site, I have
decided to change my amp budget to £1200 as I've seen the Pioneer
SC-LX73 for less than that. I was told that the <£1000 amps would hold £2000
speakers back slightly but I'd rather hear their full abilities.

professorhat:

Looking back (and following an afternoon of tweaking my current
system), I think my demo was a bit poor.
The demo room was contending with noisy traffic outside, I wasn't in
listening mode and I think the amp didn't help much. The
differences though may have been a lot more evident, just more subtle
than I was expecting (due to the conditions above). It immediately
sounded like a "proper" system, the clarity was tons
better, the treble wasn't harsh and the whole
system felt "together" (i.e. seemlessly intergrated). I'm looking for
another dealer to demo at, preferably with a smaller demo room and in a
quieter location than Central London...

And
thanks for your sensible advice! I agree, there is absolutely no point
spending more if you can't hear the difference to justify it.

craigtumilty:

The Monitor Audio Bronze and Silver systems
are very appealing, along with the B&W 685s but I will have to
put the fronts on a bookshelf rather than a dedicated stand. Things
would be so much easier if my room was bigger but sadly it isn't. I'm
assuming that this alone is a reason to avoid "full size" speakers?

markjaspi:

I
agree about the price but the praise it gets seems to defend it quite a
bit. I'm in to very natural bass (i.e. not leading the speakers but
supporting them) and it seems to be a very good
choice, even for music. I tried one of my favourite but also most
challenging test songs (Like A Dog Chasing Cars from The Dark
Knight ost) and the PV1 kept up extremely well due to it's tight bass
with a song that can tie anything in knots. It's also extremely good at
(audibly) "disappearing" as reviews claim. As that's my type of
listening, I
like it. In my defence though, I haven't tried many subs so I'm in no
way an expert. I just know the sound I want. And no, the sub won't be
visible.

I don't really mind what speakers I get as long as they tick the right boxes:

1. Completely immersive listen

2. Natural sound and seemless system intergration

3. Will work effctively in my small, cluttered room

Thanks for all the replies so far. Please keep them coming...

Tim

P.S. What's with the annoying double spacing?

 

[Anonymous]

If your fond of the PV1 are not 100% convinced by the b&W satellites.

I had previously purchased a PV1 and was recently looking for satellites to go with it so reviewed a number:

Keg Eggs (3005 I believe): Did nothing for me. Watched the opening scene from quantum of solace and it seemed to lack punch, detail everything - very uninspiring.

B&W M-1 : Same scene amazing difference. Felt heart beating faster as much more of the impact of this opening sequence came across. Did not purchase though as it did not seem to give me much beyond the satellite speakers I was already using (pioneers from an old one box called the NS-DV1000)

MA APEX: From a movie perspective had same impact as B&W though the vocals have more impact (size of center probably helps). However with streamed lossless music in 2.1 config amazing. Lots of detail had not heard before, female vocals a lot richer. And did a good job of a Bach Church Organ piece (That PV1 will go to very low frequencies and keep the response tight - Hate woolly bass)

Went for the MA APEX, works well with the PV1 (which was my only sub option as wife wanted an attractive looking sub)

 

[Anonymous]

I agree, I've said it before and I will say it again, although my view on the sub differs, you could not go wrong with the Apex setup. Go and have a listen!

 

[ric71]

markjaspi:As good as the the PV1 is, I think it's overpriced for the performance, but don't get me wrong if your sub is going to be visible then it's excellent.

If you don't mind mixing your fronts and backs (not something I usually advise, but I have just demo-ed and ordered this setup my self) how about the Monitor audio Apex a40 centre, monitor audio A10 front left and right, monitor audio RXFX rears in a gloss colour to match fronts, B&W ASW610 sub.

Cost (with a discount from a dealer, which will get) £475 + £525 + £400 + £400 = £1,800.00 before discount.

This sounds awesome and will absorb any future AVR upgrade easily, BTW I would look at the Yamaha 667, it will sound great with the MA speakers, it won't bring out the best in them, but neither will the 608 or 920, but there are some great bargains on this one at the moment.

Nice one for taking the plunge with the Apex.

Please let me know how the RXFX work with the Apex

Enjoy!

 

[ric71]

mr_tg,

Try auditioning an MJ Acoustics sub. They are tight and fast and superb with music. No boom

I use the Ref 1 mk3. A stonker of a sub with very refined bass similar to REL.

 

[v1c]

from the comments you have made you may want to look into MK

If you want small go with M5 , if you can fit slightly bigger go M7.

MK M5

Approx £1885

Mk M7

Approx £2191

If you went with the MK KX12 subwoofer you could reduce the cost further.

MK Sound PDF (info on MK note Page 45 ref advantages of Sat/sub)

I replaced a full range Mission 752,75C,751LTD ED + rel sub with an MK K7 series and they beat the missions quite easily the M series is better again.

With the question you are asking you sound like i did that's why i suggest you look at MK.

 

[v1c]

There is an MK M5 set going here for £924!!! now that's an absolute bargain. It maybe they are not going to be dealing with MK anyore so are clearing stock which is what has happened to some other dealers recently.

MK M5 review.