First foray into home cinema

[admin_exported]

I am contemplating my first foray into surround sound and have a few questions. I am sorry if these have been asked before. My budget is £700 - £900 for an amp and three satellite speakers.

1. Is it possible to run surround sound satellite speakers without a subwoofer? I have a terraced house with a small lounge so I do not need a massive sound (and do not want to annoy the neighbours!). I am considering buying three B&W M1 speakers to act as centre and rear satellites and keeping my 602 speakers as the front speakers. Would this setup have enough drive?

2. I would really like a system that is better than my current setup for stereo so have been recommended the Arcam AVR280 because it is reduced to £390 at many retailers. Is this a sensible choice or would the Yamaha DSP-AX763 or Sony STR-DG820 be better. I have been offered a second hand Arcam Diva CD73 in the future which I think would partner the Arcam amp very well but is this enough to put me off the Sony or the Yamaha?

3. If I buy a 7.1 channel amplifier is it possible to run a further pair of stereo speakers in a second room with two of the channels not being used by the surround sound?

If anyone has any tips or recommended setups they would be gratefully received.

 

[jase fox]

pjl1982:
I am contemplating my first foray into surround sound and have a few questions. I am sorry if these have been asked before. My budget is £700 - £900 for an amp and three satellite speakers.

1. Is it possible to run surround sound satellite speakers without a subwoofer? I have a terraced house with a small lounge so I do not need a massive sound (and do not want to annoy the neighbours!). I am considering buying three B&W M1 speakers to act as centre and rear satellites and keeping my 602 speakers as the front speakers. Would this setup have enough drive?

2. I would really like a system that is better than my current setup for stereo so have been recommended the Arcam AVR280 because it is reduced to £390 at many retailers. Is this a sensible choice or would the Yamaha DSP-AX763 or Sony STR-DG820 be better. I have been offered a second hand Arcam Diva CD73 in the future which I think would partner the Arcam amp very well but is this enough to put me off the Sony or the Yamaha?

3. If I buy a 7.1 channel amplifier is it possible to run a further pair of stereo speakers in a second room with two of the channels not being used by the surround sound?

If anyone has any tips or recommended setups they would be gratefully received.
Hi Pjl1982,

In answer to your first question yes it sounds good to me as i own the B&W DM602 series 3 speakers that i use for my fronts & thay have some serious power & yes you can use surround sound without a subwoofer however using one rewards you in spades for depth & power etc but its something you wont miss unless youve had it !

As for question two, id go for the yamaha AX 763 as its a brilliant all rounder & very good at stereo playback & the Arcam 73 cd player is fantastic which is also what i have.

And finally for question three, yes you can run an additional pair of stereo speakers, you can on my pioneer vsx lx70 amp & i do believe you can on the majority although it would be best to check first if this is obviously important to you, you just simply use the "surround back" channels for an additional front pair (thats if you dont intend to want a 6 channel set up of course)

Hope this as helped !!

 

[professorhat]

1. I would be a bit concerned on running the M1 as a centre speaker. It will work in terms you'll get sound, but the centre won't match your 602s so the front balance will be out, which could make things sound a bit strange with 5.1, especially when you consider the centre handles all the dialogue. I would be tempted to try and seek out something like the LCR600 which I think was designed to work with your 602s. With the two M1s as rears, I think this would be a much better and more enjoyable setup.

2. Depends on your balance of music / movies. I'm guessing music is more crucial so the Arcam may well be a better choice though I couldn't say for sure as I haven't heard it. From a movies perspective though, the Yamaha would be a much better bet.

3. As Jase says, some amps let you do this, though I'm not sure on the budget end of the range. This is defintiely something you should check on before purchase. Some amps actually have a fully functional second room output, regardless of the 5.1 / 7.1 argument, but again, the budget means this definitely won't be standard. Your dealer should be able to guide you better here.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your responses. I am going to go and have a listen to a couple of setups at the weekend and I'll keep you posted.