Entry-level blu-ray + AV amplifier combination: what choice to make?

[admin_exported]

Quite new to this topic, yet did quite some 'Google' desk research. For a 'getting started with Blu-Ray' experience, I am thinking to put together the following components:

• TV: Samsung plasma (PS50A656 or 756, not sure whether the 756 is wort the extra money. Any advise?)
• Blu-ray player: Panasonic BD35 or BD55
• Amp: Onkyo SR506 or Sony DG820
• Speakers: not sure yet (perhaps Q Acoustics?)

With regard to the Blu-ray + Amp combination: is it better to use the BD55 with the multi-channel analogue output or to use the BD35 and let the SR506 take care of the rest?

 

[d4v3pum4]

If I was buying from scratch I would stick to hdmi for both video and audio and look for an amp that at the very least can handle LPCM over hdmi e.g. Sony 820, Onkyo 576, Yamaha 463/563/763, Denon 1909, Pioneer 918 and Marantz 4002 (there are others but they're the first in their respective ranges that can do it). Using analogues is fine if you have an older non hdmi amp but if you don't I would stick with digital. I would go with the cheaper BD player, spend more on the amp and speakers and at present I would favour the Denon 1909 and Yamaha 763. I would imagine that the video performance of the BD35 is similar to the BD55 anyway and think you would get more performance gains from the audio side with a better amp. Plenty of people use the Q-Acoustics setup with all manner of makes and models of budget receivers so I think you'll be fine.

When I demo'd TV's it was between the Panny Plasmas and Sammy/Sony LCDs. The Kuro was simply out of my price bracket. I wasn't particularly impressed by the LG and Sammy plasmas but that was in Currys (never a good place to demo TVs).

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for yor feedback. Re the amp: in the Netherlands where I live, the 763 is not available, only the 663 and the 863. Downside of the 663 (and other amps you mentioned): just two HDMI inputs. Is the higher price tag of the 863 (approx. 230 euro difference) worth the money?

Using HDMI connect between blu-ray player and amp, I believe the Pana BD35 would be more than sufficient, as image quality should be the same compared to its bigger brother BD55.

Re the speakers: perhaps I will give myself a nice present by buying a set of KEF speakers (any one can tell how the 2005.3 set compares to the Q Acoustics 1010i?). Maybe I will even go that far to spend some extra cash on the KEF 3005SE set (again: is it worth the extra money compared to the 2005.3)?

I read a lot of positive reviews on the Samsung plasma (e.g. http://www.trustedreviews.com/tvs/review/2008/10/12/Samsung-PS50A756-50in-Plasma-TV/p1 and http://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio-visual/tvs-and-accessories/tvs/samsung-ps50a756-478454/review?artc_pg=1 and http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/televisions/0,39030218,49299289,00.htm), yet not sure how good these review sites are. Would be good if WhatHifi could do a 50" plasma TV test in one of the following editions