Cinema and hifi advice

[Synths]

Hi,I’m building a dedicated room for listening and also home cinema. Room is 7m x4m x2.2m - I guess that medium size room.
I listen on vinyl and cd mainly
movies would be blue ray or streamed
I don’t want to compromise on sounding better for movie or hifi. Not sure how much budget I need to put In to achieve this. A good mid price system. Been looking atthe budget end of M&K speakers
Looking for a 5.1.2 system.
Anyone had any experience and happy ?

 

[angelmf2704]

Hello, there are a lot of receivers and speakers out there that sound amazing. For the receiver you should be looking for a 7.2, I think the most complete and highest quality receivers are Marantz 7.2 Atmos. They deliver tremendous performance in music and movies (They are low-powered, very efficient). Some other brands like Denon have great receivers to. If you are on a budget look for a Sony or Onkyo's receivers. Great technology and audio quality is superb. For the speakers, you have different options. Polk Signature Series speakers are excellent, natural and hi res audio at a lower price. Klipsch speakers are also great but not as natural as Polk's. Please consider other brands as well, this are easy recommendations.

 

[Synths]

Thanks yeah the marantz are meant to be good musically as well. I bought a Yamaha receiver a long time back and it was terrible for audio.
I’ll have to take a look at the Polk speakers. I’m not familiar with a 7.x setup . Is it worth the extra speakers ? I’ve not heard this setup config.

 

[angelmf2704]

Thanks yeah the marantz are meant to be good musically as well. I bought a Yamaha receiver a long time back and it was terrible for audio.
I’ll have to take a look at the Polk speakers. I’m not familiar with a 7.x setup . Is it worth the extra speakers ? I’ve not heard this setup config.

I meant a 5.1.2 or 5.2.2 receiver. But they are sold as 7.1 or 7.2, just check Atmos and DTS X are supported.

 

[ProgDr]

Did you ever find an answer? I have a very similar question on the forum. I just dont find the sensibly priced Marantz or Denon musical enough, Some appear to take the analogue inputs and do some kind of A2D conversion then process the signal digitally then go back through the D2A which to me ruins the sound. I have been trying to decide between the Arcam Av20 or the NAD T778 but my local dealer is telling me to buy a proper integrated amplifier such as the Musical Fidelity MS5i which has a HT input that bypasses the volume control and run my turntable through that rather than an AV amplifier.

 

[angelmf2704]

Did you ever find an answer? I have a very similar question on the forum. I just dont find the sensibly priced Marantz or Denon musical enough, Some appear to take the analogue inputs and do some kind of A2D conversion then process the signal digitally then go back through the D2A which to me ruins the sound. I have been trying to decide between the Arcam Av20 or the NAD T778 but my local dealer is telling me to buy a proper integrated amplifier such as the Musical Fidelity MS5i which has a HT input that bypasses the volume control and run my turntable through that rather than an AV amplifier.

Maybe this help you, but a friend of mine recently purchased a Yamaha Aventage receiver. He told me he was extremely happy with it, beating his other Marantz and Onkyo receivers.

 

[ProgDr]

Maybe this help you, but a friend of mine recently purchased a Yamaha Aventage receiver. He told me he was extremely happy with it, beating his other Marantz and Onkyo receivers.

I have the Aventage RX-A1070 but unfortunately it makes my turntable sound very compressed when compares to my old Quad 99 system. I am probably going to go the Musical Fidelity route and get a very good integrated and keep the Yamaha just for AV duties.

 

[Synths]

Did you ever find an answer? I have a very similar question on the forum. I just dont find the sensibly priced Marantz or Denon musical enough, Some appear to take the analogue inputs and do some kind of A2D conversion then process the signal digitally then go back through the D2A which to me ruins the sound. I have been trying to decide between the Arcam Av20 or the NAD T778 but my local dealer is telling me to buy a proper integrated amplifier such as the Musical Fidelity MS5i which has a HT input that bypasses the volume control and run my turntable through that rather than an AV amplifier.

Yeah this is the route I suspect gruarantees the fidelity. Hifi and Cinema are very different beasts despite what maybe manufactures say. I got completely burnt 10 years ago selling my hifi amp and using an AV. It really put me off ever doing it again. I think AV's add colour maybe because of the format just the way film soundtracks are encoded. I don't know.
The problem now with 2 amps is getting the speaker combo right. What did the dealer suggest to you ? buying 2 sets of speakers might really be the only choice. I really don't want to resort to that.

 

[ProgDr]

Yeah this is the route I suspect gruarantees the fidelity. Hifi and Cinema are very different beasts despite what maybe manufactures say. I got completely burnt 10 years ago selling my hifi amp and using an AV. It really put me off ever doing it again. I think AV's add colour maybe because of the format just the way film soundtracks are encoded. I don't know.
The problem now with 2 amps is getting the speaker combo right. What did the dealer suggest to you ? buying 2 sets of speakers might really be the only choice. I really don't want to resort to that.

The guys at Moorgate accoustics in Sheffield are really good. they advised using the pre outs for the front channels of the AV amplifier into the HT input (this bypasses the pre amp on the Integrated and routes the signal directly to the onboard power amps) on the Integrated amplifier. This way i only need 1 set of front speakers and the AV amp is fully in control of the volume when watching movies. As i never turn my amps off the only additional button press is the HT button on the front of the integrated amp.
it is an extra box but probably worth it with how bad the AV amplifiers i have tried appear to sound with vinyl.

 

[Synths]

The guys at Moorgate accoustics in Sheffield are really good. they advised using the pre outs for the front channels of the AV amplifier into the HT input (this bypasses the pre amp on the Integrated and routes the signal directly to the onboard power amps) on the Integrated amplifier. This way i only need 1 set of front speakers and the AV amp is fully in control of the volume when watching movies. As i never turn my amps off the only additional button press is the HT button on the front of the integrated amp.
it is an extra box but probably worth it with how bad the AV amplifiers i have tried appear to sound with vinyl.

Have they recommended a full system for you ?

 

[ProgDr]

Have they recommended a full system for you ?

They know what i have already so are making suggestions around that.
I was going to trade in my Yamaha Aventage RX-A1070 but they suggest i keep it for the AV.
They suggest my system should be my Thorens TD309 turntable. a new Musical Fidelity M5Si 2 channel amplifier and my B&W 603 mk2 front speakers. When i want to watch TV i just hit the HT button on the Musical Fidelity and swap over to the Yamaha Aventage which has the sub (B&W PV1D) and my rear speakers attached (B&W 607) and will use the pre outs for the front channels into the Musical Fidelity.
The Yamaha room correction and all its eq should still work fine using the MF power amplifiers.
I will see next week if it was a good idea when the amp arrives.

 

[Synths]

They know what i have already so are making suggestions around that.
I was going to trade in my Yamaha Aventage RX-A1070 but they suggest i keep it for the AV.
They suggest my system should be my Thorens TD309 turntable. a new Musical Fidelity M5Si 2 channel amplifier and my B&W 603 mk2 front speakers. When i want to watch TV i just hit the HT button on the Musical Fidelity and swap over to the Yamaha Aventage which has the sub (B&W PV1D) and my rear speakers attached (B&W 607) and will use the pre outs for the front channels into the Musical Fidelity.
The Yamaha room correction and all its eq should still work fine using the MF power amplifiers.
I will see next week if it was a good idea when the amp arrives.

I've got my fingers crossed for you. Let me know how you get on.

 

[ProgDr]

I've got my fingers crossed for you. Let me know how you get on.

My conclusion is that AV amplifiers are very clever BUT the stereo audio performance is probably equivalent to an integrated amp of about 1/3 the price.
The NAD 788 is probably the best almost affordable AV amplifier i have heard ( ihave tried the Arcam AV10. The Anthem MRX740 and the Rotel whos numbers i forget) but the Stereo performance is that of a £1000 amp if im being generous.
The Dynamics are very similar to their C368 integrated which you can pick up for £800.

The movie performace of the NAD 788 is outstanding, so much better thant the Yamaha RX-A1070 it has the muscle to drive the B&W 603 Anniversary properly and they absolutely come alive on this receiver. Explosions in films like Bad Boys 3 have that instant impact like being there when the pressure wave hits but it can also do subtle and quiet passages never becom intrusive.
The Musical Fidelity M5Si is out of this world with my vinyl its certainly got a brighter top end but not a huge upgrade on the Quads i have already and difficult to justify on sound alone.
I am now looking to resite my Turntable with my old Quad 99 in another room and will probably invest in another pair of speakers as the wife and kids are not going to let the NAD 788 leave the house easily.

 

[Synths]

So you found that in home theatre mode with NAD and M5si worked brilliant. But in hifi mode the M5si was good but not worth the extra cost in your circumstance. we’re you able to run the quad90 in the HT setup ? Sounds like the HT route is a legitimate option. Really good to hear real life experience. Thanks

 

[ProgDr]

So you found that in home theatre mode with NAD and M5si worked brilliant. But in hifi mode the M5si was good but not worth the extra cost in your circumstance. we’re you able to run the quad90 in the HT setup ? Sounds like the HT route is a legitimate option. Really good to hear real life experience. Thanks

The NAD is hugely frustrating. Sounds brilliant with HT, Sounds really good with streaming audio, but there is a distinct character change as you increase the volume past around 25watts, late night listening (open fire, glass of red) is really quite enjoyable but give it some volume and the sound becomes a little more digital in its presentation. Its still very good but a definite audiable change in character. I would go as far as to say the streaming performance with Amazon Music Ultra HD material exceeds my Quad 99 CDP-2 even at higher volumes though so i wouldnt let this put you off.

The NAD isnt as good with the turntable or any other analogue signal i give it as it turns out. Its presentation is a little harsh and lacks the delicacy i get from the Quad 99 pre and power. It sounds like its doing some kind of high speed A2D sampling then a D2A conversion later in the circuit.
The Musical Fidelilty M5si is absolutely superb and i cant recommend it highly enough. It has so much power and it controled my B&W speakers really well. It is better than my quad 99 Pre & 2x 99 Power combination but i found it difficult to justify (to the wife) the £1800 investment as it still required aditional box in the rack, extra button presses and an extra remote which annoyed the her and the kids. (Had i lived alone this would have been the perfect system)

In the end i decided to keep the NAD T778 in the lounge but save the money i was going to spend on the MF and invest in a second set of speakers and resight the turntable and quad gear in a different room.

 

[Synths]

I saw that the Nad is very customisable and modular to allow for future changes. That’s very appealing and having a top notch cinema sound. I’m still deciding on speakers good for HT and hifi at the moment. I was looking at M&K but these really need to run with the sub with hifi. Hopefully can trial some speakers out after lock down.Interesting about the colouring as you crank the volume. I guess as most people have moved to digital sources and NAD have their own hifi amps to sell as work around. I’d be happy enough using a separate hifi amp for analogue sources and I can understand family resenting multiple remotes and also I guess the volume balancing on the LR channels when swapping between hifi and HT and even within movies.
Thanks for writing such a detailed account of your findings. It’s been really enjoyable and useful to read.