Complete new Home Entertainment System - AV Receiver/DVD Player/Speaker Set

[mlamb64150]

Hi all,

I've just started reading the magazine and it's really convinced me to spend some good money on new Living Room entertainment package, including Plasma TV, AV receiver, DVD player and Speaker set.

I've pretty much decided on the Panasonic TH-42PX70B for the TV as it meets pretty much all of my requirements and from what I've read the lack of 1080p isn't a cause for concern with this TV.

Now for the rest of the set-up, I'm looking for kit that will make for great Surround Sound cinema experience but also a great Stereo Music system for the living room, I have a PS3 which will connect to it and will likely get Sky HD once I have it all too. I am looking at the following below, can anyone let me know if this meets my requirements or make any better suggestions?

AV Receiver - Onkyo TX-SR605

DVD Player - I was looking at the Toshiba SD-370E as it sounds like a great low-end Upscaler, but I presume I won't be getting any great Audio quality from this for Stereo usage. Is this a good option? Should I go for something more expensive that can perform admirably as a DVD and CD player or should I go for a seperate?

Speakers - I love the look of the B&W 600 series but ideally I want a 5.1 kit and this would be just too expensive, again I'm after a set that will perform well as a cinema kit and for stereo usage, F1 Mercury's or Q Acoustics 1010's?

For the whole lot I'd like to spend between £2000-£2500, I also would like any advice on connections or cables I would require to get the most from this.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Andrew Everard]

[quote user="mlamb64150"]

I've pretty much decided on the Panasonic TH-42PX70B for the TV as it meets pretty much all of my requirements and from what I've read the lack of 1080p isn't a cause for concern with this TV.

[/quote]

No problems with that one at all.

[quote user="mlamb64150"]

AV Receiver - Onkyo TX-SR605

[/quote]

Still very much fine by us...

[quote user="mlamb64150"]

I have a PS3 which will connect to it...

DVD
Player - I was looking at the Toshiba SD-370E as it sounds like a great
low-end Upscaler, but I presume I won't be getting any great Audio
quality from this for Stereo usage. Is this a good option? Should I go
for something more expensive that can perform admirably as a DVD and CD
player or should I go for a seperate?

[/quote]

Why not use the PS3 as the DVD player, complete with upscaling, and use the money you save on a DVD machine towards a CD player? A Cambridge Audio Azur 540C, at about £200, will slot in fine, and give you superior CD playback to that from any budget DVD machine.

[quote user="mlamb64150"]

Speakers - I love the look
of the B&W 600 series but ideally I want a 5.1 kit and this would
be just too expensive, again I'm after a set that will perform well as
a cinema kit and for stereo usage, F1 Mercury's or Q Acoustics 1010's?

[/quote]

Yes either the Mercury or Q Acou package would do very well. You might consider upgrading to the Q Acoustics 1050 package, with the bigger front speakers, as IMHO these will sound better when playing music in straight stereo.

[quote user="mlamb64150"]

I also would like any advice on connections or cables I would require to get the most from this.

[/quote]

HDMI cable from PS3 to receiver, another from Sky HD to receiver - plus an optical digital cable to carry the surround sound, as this isn't available via HDMI from Sky yet, HDMI cable from receiver to TV. Don't spend a fortune on HDMIs - something sensible like QED Qunex HDMI at £50/m or TCI's new Copperhead Lite.

Speaker cable really depends on how long runs you need: we'd suggest QED Original or Chord Company Carnival would be fine.

[quote user="mlamb64150"]

Thanks in advance for your help!

[/quote]

You're very welcome...

 

[mlamb64150]

Thanks for taking the time to make such a detailed response, Andrew.

In regards to the CD player, would it be worth shelling out £50 more for the Cambridge Audio Azur 640C? If so, what am I getting for the extra £50. I was thinking about SACD, I presume the Azur's don't support SACD, is it worth persuing or am I just wasting my time....

Also, the HDMI cables required, do you still get a free cable when subscribing to the mag?

Thanks again!

 

[Andrew Everard]

[quote user="mlamb64150"]

In regards to the CD player, would it be worth shelling out £50 more for the Cambridge Audio Azur 640C? If so, what am I getting for the extra £50. I was thinking about SACD, I presume the Azur's don't support SACD, is it worth persuing or am I just wasting my time....

[/quote]

AFAIK, the PS3 outputs SACD discs as 88.1kHz PCM over the HDMI
cable, so you could use that for SACD playback into the receiver. The
Azur's don't support SACD, but yes the 640C is a better player than the
540C - a bit more weight and detail. I'd try to have a listen to both of them before you decide.

[quote user="mlamb64150"]

Also, the HDMI cables required, do you still get a free cable when subscribing to the mag?

[/quote]

Nope, but if you need a copy of The Departed, click here.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Andrew Everard"]
Why not use the PS3 as the DVD player, complete with upscaling, and use the money you save on a DVD machine towards a CD player? A Cambridge Audio Azur 540C, at about £200, will slot in fine, and give you superior CD playback to that from any budget DVD machine.

[/quote]

Hi Andrew, I was very interested to read you comment regarding the PS3.

I'm currently in the market for some new gear, I've decided that I'm going to buy a PS3 and since I found out that it upscales (apparently very well according to a friend of mine who lives too far away for me to check it out!!!) I'm not sure whether to remove an upscaling DVD player from my shopping list.

The dvd players I was considering were Denon 1930 and the Sony DVP-NS76H. Have you seen the PS3 in action? What do you think of it's abilities?

Thanks to your magazines recomendations (and my own eyes) I have a sony 40w so full HD 1080 is important to me!

Thanks

 

[Andrew Everard]

Have seen the PS3 playing Blu-ray, and given that Sony's upscaling is usually very good, and your friend's comments, I'd suggest that you could at least try it before you contemplate buying a separate DVD player. As to how it compares with the DVD-1930, not sure - anyone else got any views?

 

[Clare Newsome]

The PS3 didn't overly impress us with DVD replay - in fact a £100 Samsung player bested it, let alone the Denon.

HOWEVER....that was before the firmware upgrade, which claims to have improved many elements of the PS3's disc performance.

We'll be putting those claims to the test in our October issue (out August 23rd) when we'll retest the PS3 plus every other Blu-ray and HD DVD player we can get our hands on. We'll test for every kind of disc performance - whatever it plays, we'll tell you how well.

 

[Anonymous]

thanks for the advice

I think I'll buy the PS3 and have a look mayself and then if I haven't made up my mind I'll check out the October issue (which comes out in Aug!!!)

 

[mlamb64150]

Hi Andrew/Clare,

Thanks for your advice, I'm setting
the wheels in motion now and started to purchase all the equipment to
set this up, my TH42PX70 (with cabinent) arrived today and I'm now in
the process of ordering my Onkyo Amp and going for the Q Acoustics
1050's for my front speakers and the 1010 range for rear, cente and the
1000 Sub.

My only question is exactly what cables I will need to
purchase in addition as I've never purchased individual sets before,
only preboxed etc. I have 2 HDMI cables so will be ordering one more as
per Andrew's instructions, do my speaker/AMP come with any
interconnects at all?

Do i need phono's and speaker cables, if so do I need them for each individual speaker?

Sorry for being a pain but I don't want to miss out on anything.

Thanks

Matt

 

[Andrew Everard]

Yes, you'll need to buy speaker cable for each speaker. See my earlier suggestions of sensible buys. The subwoofer will need a single long interconnect cable - your retailer will be able to advise on this.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,

Im knew to all this, so bare with me.

Andrew - you mention that the PS3 upscales, but in a recent What HiFi mag where it was compared to the Xbox, it said that it didnt upscale normal dvds? Can you clarify please, as Im looking to add DVD player, surround sound and the rest to my Sony W2000.

thanks

Kip

 

[Andrew Everard]

It didn't then, but thanks to the latest firmware upgrade, covered here, it now does. As Clare has mentioned elsewhere, we'll be testing it with the latest firmware in a big round-up of HD players in the October issue, out August 23.

Shameless plug mode is now disengaged...

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Andrew.

Slightly off topic for this thread, but I dont seem to have the option to start a new one, so will try and ask the question here.

Again regarding upscaling - Im looking to get the Sky HD box so that I can watch sky sports in HD. However, would the sky box upscale non HD channels i.e. would I notice any difference watching MTV using my current sky box compared to watching it using the Sky HD box?

The alternative to me getting the PS3 is buying the sony RDR-HXD870B recorder (which to me looks the exact same as the 970 reviewed in this months mag, with a smaller hard drive). If I was to buy one of the new Hd camcorders, that record to 1080i, does anyone know if I would lose any of the picture quality if I transferred it to the hard drive of the sony 870? With the exception of a very expensive laptop that records blu ray, I dont know what else you would do with movies recorded on HD camcorders.

I know Im asking a lot, and of different topics, but if anyone has any views on the panasonic SC-PT550 or the SC-PTX7EB-K all in one system that upscale to 1080p, let me know. This all in one would work out a lot cheaper than me buying the PS3/870, sony 1200 receiver, kef1005's, that seems to be the best sound (from reading the mag) for the lowest outlay - but with the newer sony, onkyo receivers coming out, Im thinking the all in one would be ok for now, and wait 6 months for the latest kit.

thanks again