pauled51:How are the 2500BT disc load times - a big issue? I am guessing not if the actuall PQ is worth waiting for.
Exactly. DVD times are reasonably quick, Blu-ray somewhat slower, but only tedious if you have a Profile 2 enabled disc which wastes time searching for an internet connection (Terminator 2 for example). Other than that, it really is a small price to pay for the sound and picture quality on offer.
pauled51:Do you let the 2500BT upscale your DVDs or let the 2310 do it?
The 2500BT is only a transport, not a player - it's the receiver that does all the sound and picture processing, upscaling etc, and the 2310 does a marvelous job (for the price, in context with the rest of what you propose).
pauled51:I have Sky+HD, so I am guessing that if I set it to 'AUTO', then the 2310 will do a much better job of uspscaling the SD channels than the Sky box? I am also guessing that the 2310 will do a bette rjob of upscaling than the TV's native upscaler, as letting the TV do all the upscaling is another alternative.
Don't know. I use freeview and freesat. There are others here that can advise you on sky. The 2310 does a better upscaling job than the screen on other external inputs I've tried (DVD's, Blu-ray, VHS, Hard-disc etc).
pauled51:How far do you sit from your 46" TV (i.e. should I go to 50", or is that too much of a step up from a 37") - I sit about 11 feet away?
About 16 feet. 46" was the largest screen that'd mount on my chimney-breast above the fireplace without looking stupid, although a 50" otherwise wouldn't have been too much from a viewing perspective. I just wish I'd had a wider chimney breast (the 50" G10 was actually cheaper than the 46" too)!
pauled51:Does the 2310 get very hot? I plan to have an open AV rack, but was thinking of placing the 2310 on the top shelf to avoid any possibility of overheating and hence better longevity.
Good placement idea. Mine is also on the top. Does it get hot? In normal use, no. If you thrash it to within an inch of it's life (as I normally do with mine), yes - you could fry an egg on it. But it runs for hours like that quite comfotably, and it has a thermal cut-out that trips and puts the unit into standby if you're pushing it too hard for too long - maybe 5 or 6 hours at full volume!
pauled51:In terms of the front speakers (the KEF front & satellites), is there any recommended best set up? i.e. have the centre above or below the TV (which I plan to wall mount)? For the fronts, and due to room layout, it will be tight to have them close to either side of the TV (due to a fireplace) so is there any issue in having them wall mounted higher up above the TV and about 3 foot to either side of it? And maybe a bit wider at the same height for the rears (which will be just behind my sofa, so I am interested in the KEFs due to their wide dispersion)..
What you suggest seems about right to me - your room seems similar to mine too. All my KEF speakers are wall mounted - centre above the screen, left/right about 2-3 foot to either side of the screen, slightly above head height when sitting. Rears are wall mounted left and right of my sofa, not behind, same height as fronts. Placing slightly above ear/head height avoids audible obstructions (other peoples' heads). All the cables are chased into the walls. The best guides for set-up are here on this web-site - see the set-up videos, especially the one for correct subwoofer placement. Also, read thoroughly the Audyssey set-up guide/FAQ on Audyssey's own web-site - it makes all the difference if you want your receiver set-up correctly from the outset.
Final note - don't be impatient. It's all good from the outset, but none of this will give of it's best until it's been used for a good couple of hundred hours. It needs that (especially the speakers) to give of it's very best.
Hope that helps.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram