AV amplifier and set of 5.1 surround sound speakers for ~£500

[admin_exported]

I have a budget of £500 for an AV amplifier and set of 5.1 surround sound speakers to go with my current TV, blu-ray player and PVR below.

http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/tv-audio-video/television/lcd-tv/LE40C650L1KXXU/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail&tab=feature

http://www.sony.co.uk/product/blu-ray-disc-player/bdp-s370

http://www.trustedreviews.com/home-cinema/review/2008/03/27/Humax-PVR-9200T-Personal-Video-Recorder/p1

As you will see, the TV features an inbuilt Freeview HD tuner, but is not 3D compatible. As such I will not require this functionality from the amplifier. However, video upscaling for the Humax PVR box would be beneficial. I would also like play to play music through the amplifier by connecting my iPod/iPhone.

Another consideration is the unusual shape of my living room, see link http://yfrog.com/n8ahkp (a dining table and sideboard sit in the empty space in the bottom right of the picture), and the layout/position of the sofa and TV.

I would be very grateful if you could recommend a setup from your range that would fulful these criteria.

Cheers

 

[richardw42]

If you want to buy new it can be done with quite highly regarded items

For a 5.1 speaker package, the BOSTON SOUNDWARE XS is going for less then £300.

In amp terms perhaps something like the Yamaha RX-V367 (around 175).

This should give you at least a starting point in knowing what you're after. Of course ebay would offer more for your money (2nd hand), but you may or may not be entirely comfortable with that.

 

[audioaffair]

There are a few Yamaha packages within your budget with smaller type speakers (such as the AV67) - all of a lifestyle type design

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply. I have to say that the Yamaha RX-V367 is the one amp that I have definately ruled out so far - no iPod universal adaptor connection, spring clip speaker terminals and no analogue video upscaling. I do like the auto calibration though. I am certainly interested by the Boston speakers, although in Richer Sounds they slated the centre speaker and recommended the Tannoy SFXs instead - any thoughts? That would also free up some budget for a better amp. I may have to concede that budget will need to increase a tad to get everything I'm after. How do you rate the Sony 2400ES amp? There's a good deal for it on Amazon at the moment, but it gets mixed reviews - a good amp but a nightmare to setup...

 

[Ronald Archiebald]

Speedalini,

The Sony STR-DA2400ES is the amp that I would highly recommend you go for, and for the price that it is available for now, it's a really good deal. Also, it's very easy to set-up - contrary to what you may have read or heard.

For an excellent speaker package, the Q Acoustics 1010i is available for just under £250.00 at Richer Sounds. For this price, it will easily beat any style speaker package under £400.00.

I have owned both items and they are an excellent combination. I actually preferred the Sony STR-DA2400ES over the Denon AVR-1910 and even the Denon AVR-2310 (I owned both these too).

I found the Denon amps too warm for my taste while the Sony had a tonal texture that was just right. Then again, your listening tastes may be quite different to mine so an audition would be helpful, if possible.

Ronald

 

[Lee H]

As Ronald said, it's all about personal choice. I preferred the Denon sound over the Onkyo, my friend was the reverse. Try and demo a few combinations

 

[Anonymous]

cool, thanks, are there any places still demo-ing the sony amp? In terms of connecting an iPod/iPhone to the amp - are there any good docks that can connect to it and have a GUI on the TV screen?

 

[Lee H]

Any decent independent specialist will let you listen to different combinations of stuff. Just out of interest, is the iPhone critical? You may be limiting your options by specifying this as a must have.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes it is - I'd like to use the setup for both the TV and for music, so either iPod connectivity or streaming from my PC is a must.

 

[richardw42]

Will an iPod work via the USB on the Sony bdp ?

 

[Lee H]

The trouble with using an iPod in my opinion is you're limiting the sound quality. You'll be buying some nice new kit and then putting compressed, lossy music files though it. I'd suggest you look at streaming and have the music in a decent format/bit rate. This will also open up more AVRs to you. The Bluray is wi-fi ready so you should be able to stream to it. You can do this using hardware solutions like Slingbox or Sonos, or even some free software like TVersity. Before I had Sonos I was able to stream music to my PS3 using TVersity.

 

[richardw42]

Only wifi ready if you buy the extra dongle. Otherwise Ethernet.

 

[festing11]

You can have my Sony STR-1200es for £100.00, no box but all the docs and leads that came with!

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Agree with Ronald, Str-da2400 es is £250 on Amazon, and if you can get 1010i's for £250, snatch their hands off.

I paid best part of a grand for that combination, and I'm very happy with my choice

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Only thing on 1010i's is you can't get wall brackets for love or money, so take that in to consideration

 

[Anonymous]

BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW:Only thing on 1010i's is you can't get wall brackets for love or money, so take that in to consideration

great knowledge thanks! unfortunately I would definately need some of those due to my room layout and lack of space for stands for the rears. Whats the best alternative?

 

[Anonymous]

richardw42:Only wifi ready if you buy the extra dongle. Otherwise Ethernet.

got that, so ready to stream!

 

[audioaffair]

Even though you ruled out Yamaha RX-V367, what about the RX-V667? Yamaha recently introduced a £100 price decrease on this so it well within budget and gives you some money spare for the matching YID-W10 iPod dock. PC connectivity is fairly straightforward - you could either use a long RCA (at the amp end) to 3.5mm cable (at PC end) or a wireless adaptor like the Audioengine W1 - one of the best we've tried offering a consistent connection that doesn't cut out.

What do you think of these options?

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Speakerwise, I don't know. Bostons? Jamos? Neither will be as good as the 1010i's.

Bracketwise, no alternative I know of. Occasionally some of the correct brackets (1000WB) are put on ebay, but they do go quite high, as their are lots of 1010i owners who still want brackets (me included).

Maybe somebody else can help you with an alternative speaker package.

 

[audioaffair]

Alternatively, to get everything within budget, Yamaha ran an offer on the V567/NSP speakers for under £400, leaving £100 for cables and an iPod dock?

 

[Jammoe]

As far as speaker mounts for Q Acoustics 1010i, i use both Vogels VLB200 (for tilt and swivel) and some standard Maplin mounts (swivel only). Both are absolutely fine.

Someone did find some Q Acoustics brackets for the 1010s recently on a thread here. You could try a search on the forums. It was only two or three weeks ago.

 

[Anonymous]

Lee H:The trouble with using an iPod in my opinion is you're limiting the sound quality. You'll be buying some nice new kit and then putting compressed, lossy music files though it. I'd suggest you look at streaming and have the music in a decent format/bit rate. This will also open up more AVRs to you. The Bluray is wi-fi ready so you should be able to stream to it. You can do this using hardware solutions like Slingbox or Sonos, or even some free software like TVersity. Before I had Sonos I was able to stream music to my PS3 using TVersity.

Absolutely! should have tried this earlier but... I can stream music to both my blu-ray player and TV wirelessly! They both support .aac files and can obviously be controlled using their respective remotes and navigated via the TV screen. Once I find a lossless format one supports then rig up the amp and speakers it's 'job's a good 'un'! Assuming this all works out I can imagine any advantages left to having a fancy dock with universal connectors and all? More cash to spend on the amp and speakers then!

 

[ric71]

Hi for what its worth I have just put a system together for my parents to strict budget.

Ordered a Denon AVR 1311 as they dont want 7.1 or Audyssey set up.

Fantastic AVR similar to 1611but 5.1

Q Acoustics 1010i cinema pack as mentioned throughout this thread.

Got the lot for £550.

I supplied cables etc seperately.

The system rocks!! I am very impressed with it. Movies fantastic especially DTS HD. Music superb.

I got Appollo stands to make custom stands for the rears £60

Seriously the best £550 0f my old mans money spent. They love the system and are blown away by the quality

Hope this helps

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Your dad's obviously more technically minded than mine.

I recently set up my old all in one dvd 5.1 so he could get a better sound for watching tv, explained everything (several times), then left him to it. I popped round the next day to see how he was getting on with it, and he said "it's not working".

So I checked everything to see if any of the connections had come loose, nothing.

So I went through it all again, turn the tv on, turn sky on, then turn the dvd player on. "Oh" he said, "I didn't know you had to turn it on"

Unbelievable

 

[ric71]

He surprised me and now both of them love the system and have it on constantly. Not bad for 70 year olds.

Also got himself 42" lcd, blu ray.

Mum started buying SACD !!!!!!!