Can I satisfy my Hi-Fi requirements thru a Home Cinema system?

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My old Aiwa NSX-V70 midi system has died and am looking to replace it on a budget of £800. However, I would also like to spend that money on a home cinema amp and speakers, to complement my Cambridge Audio DVD53 DVD player. So can I use a home cinema surround sound set-up as a hi-fi sytem, or do the two not complement each other? And if so, what hardware would people recommend? I am by no means a hi-fi purist but I would like my music to sound better than it did on the old Aiwa. I have a 22 foot x 11 foot rectangular lounge to fill with sound.

Thanks for any help,

DD

 

[Clare Newsome]

Hi DD,

You've got a reasonable budget, but a single system may not be the way to go for movies and music.

OK, for that money I could recommend you add the Denon AVR-1507 receiver (£250, but available for less, as it's coming to end of line) and some KEF KHT-1005 surround speakers (£300), or even the original KHT 2005 'eggs', which you can pick up for under £500 these days. If you're happy with more traditional-looking speakers (which will deliver a better sound-per-pound), consider the Q Acoustics 1010 5.1 or Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 packages (both around £500).

That would give you - together with your DVD player - a more than decent surround sound set-up - certainly one that would best a one-box home cinema system.

However, it might not meet your musical needs. The problem with home cinema kit is that - apart from at the higher end of the market, and even then there are compromises - it's not designed to excel with music: movies are its priority. Timing and integration of music are the most common flaws - music can sound all over the place.

Even Cambridge Audio describes the DVD player you have as a movie machine - it saves any claims of 'audiophile' music performance for its higher-end, Azur players.

I'd suggest you arrange a demo of a set-up like this - take along some of your favourite CDs and see what you think.

 

[Andy Clough]

Hi DD

Just to add to what Clare said, there are some great deals on the AVR-1507 at the moment. Check out www.creative-audio.co.uk for discounts on the 1507 and KEF or Q Acoustics speakers.

They're offering the AVR-1507 and KEF KHT-1005 speaker package (inc cables) for £469, or the receiver and KEF KHT 2005.2 speakers for £690 (again, including cables).

 

[Razz]

Hi DD,

Claire and Andy have answered very wisely, but I tend to be more trenchant. The plain answer to your question "Can I satisfy my Hi-Fi requirements thru a Home Cinema system?" is NO - unless perhaps you have a huge budget - which you don't...

My suggestion would be for you to get a proper stereo set-up now and postpone the purchasing of surround amplification and/or more speakers for home cinema at a later stage... I would get a decent stereo amplifier and speakers for the time being, with the perspective of an upgrade of the source in the (near) future. I know this all means spending more money and it implies the stress of upgrading your kit - but in the end - if you do love music - it will be worth it... Besides you could equally enjoy movies though a proper stereo set-up - sometimes better than with a mediocre surround system...

Good luck,

Razz

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks everybody for your help. I now understand that there isn't a 'one-size fits all' solution without compromise and I understand your reticence to point me in that direction. So, as music is my main priority, rather than surround sound, I am going to spend my budget on a decent stereo amp and speakers and worry about the cinema bit later. Sooo.....as the last time I even looked at stereo gear was when I bought the Aiwa hundreds of years ago, and am hopelessly out of touch, any suggestions on the best stereo amp/speaker set up given my budget and room dimensions would be great.

Thanks again,

DD

 

[Andy Clough]

Well Donny, the good news is that £800 is more than enough to set yourself up with a great-sounding stereo hi-fi system!

Cambridge Audio's 540C v2.0 CD player and 540A v2.0 stereo amp are both terrific buys at £200 each, and that would leave you plenty for five-star speakers such as Mordaunt-Short's 902i (£150) or Monitor Audio's Bronze BR2 (£200), and change for a good quality hi-fi rack and all the necessary cables.

Another option would be the Marantz CD5001 CD player (£170) and matching PM4001 amp (£180), with similar speakers.

Also take a look at the Rotel RA-04 amp at £250, another five-star winner, perhaps partnered with B&W's new 685 speakers (£380). If you can stretch the budget a bit, Pioneer's new combo, the PD-D6-J CD player (£350) and A-A6-J amp (£350), is superb. Choices, choices!

 

[Anonymous]

I was kinda asking this question in the home cinema section, but more specifically i was wanting to know what A/V kit can produde marginally better sound than say a rotel ra-04 , rcd-06 combination, and how much would it cost?

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks very much Andy. Plenty to get my teeth into there!

DD

 

[iRog]

[quote user="Clare Newsome"]The problem with home cinema kit is that - apart from at the higher end of the market, and even then there are compromises - it's not designed to excel with music: movies are its priority[/quote]

I'm also interested in this same question.

How big are these compromises and what do you call 'high-end'?

For argument sake if I'm looking at say a Cambridge Azur 840 integrated amp, then can I get an AV receiver that would give equivalent stereo music performance and what would it cost?

Or, conversely, If I'm looking at say a Denon AVR 4306, what level of stereo amp would give comparable performance?