First home cinema, advice needed

[hybridauth_Google_117091672874583079245]

Hello,

I am about to buy my first home cinema and I am completely lost. I have been browsing in several websites for days, but I am not sure if I undertand all the specs, pros and cons correctly... or if I should buy a complete set of amplifier and speakers or if I should buy them separatedly.

My idea is to have a 5.1 system to watch films but also with a good sound quality for music (I am not an expert, but some friends told me that their home cinemas are clearly not designed for music and that the sound quality is not that good unless you are watching a movie, no idea why). I would also like this set to be able to connect to a NAS with an Ethernet cable and play the movies directly from them. Connectivity with services such as Spotify, and features like bluetooth would also be appreciated. I would have no problem if front speakers are big, but rear speakers should be smallish.

I would also like to have a couple of speakers set up in another floor of my house, which could be controlled from the home cinema to sound either independently from the 5.1 (to listen to music upstairs) or everything at the same time (to listen to the same thing in the whole house). Is this a possiblity with home cinemas?

Finally, I would be aiming at about 400€ or so, but I could go up to 1000€ if it is worth it.

I would appreaciate any advice on this matter. Thanks a lot!

 

[Son_of_SJ]

Hello Manu, welcome to the forum.

First, where in the world are you? If you are not in the United Kingdom then most people on this forum won't know what manufacturers will have equipment in your country.

Second, if you want a (good quality) 5.1 system plus a pair of loudspeakers to use elsewhere in the house, you will have to increase your budget by quite a bit, certainly nearer 1000 than 400 of the currency.

 

[bigboss]

Given that your budget is in €, I would assume that you're in Europe.

Yamaha RX-V375 AV receiver is a good starting point, although RX-A550 will be superior if you can extend your budget.

For 5.1 speakers, look at Monitor Audio Mass and Q acoustics 7000. Bead in mind that a superior subwoofer to these (like SVS or BK) will bring greater benefits.

You will need to demo some systems to decide what's right for you. Whether it's good for.music or not is very subjective. Most modern.AV receivers are very decent for music. Yamaha, Marantz and Denon are known for their musicality, for AV receivers in your price range.

 

[jonathanRD]

Hello Manu, I have some general advice for you which maybe helpful depending on how patient you are.

A few years ago I was in a similar position to you and wanted a 5.1 system. But when I started researching I realised that to get a 'decent' set up I could not afford to purchase it all at once. So I concentrated on choosing a system that I considered would be at a quality level that I would want to keep in the longer term. Once I knew what I wanted, I purchased the AV receiver, bluray player and front left/right/centre speakers to start with. Then over a two year period I purchased rear speakers and subwoofer. Now I have a system that I am happy with and I have never really thought about upgrading it.

Even if you just get the receiver and front L/R speakers first, this will get you up and running. But make sure you thoroughly research the specs of the receiver to ensure it will do everything you require.

 

[hybridauth_Google_117091672874583079245]

Thank you very much for the help, I will do some research on receivers and speakers separadtely then.

Apologies for not presenting myself first; I am based in Barcelona. I should have put prices in pounds, which would around £800, althought I could go a little bit higher if required. To be honest, my living room is not big and I am not an expert in audio/video, that's why I was giving also some consideration to specs like ethernet, more speakers in separate rooms, spotify and so on.

Thank you once again!

 

[chrisr1718]

I can remember setting up my first A/V system and I bought most of it second hand off ebay, except for the TV and DVD player.

I had quite a mix of stuff Pioneer dvd player, Yamaha E800 for the Tannoy centre & Wharfdale Diamond surrounds with a Cyrus 1 taking care of the Tannoy fronts and a Paradigm sub. It sounded awesome but was far to big, especially with an old Phillips 28inch CRT.

It will be easier to stick to your budget if you look around for second hand stuff.

 

[newlash09]

Hi Manu. I'd completely agree with Jonathan RD. Better procure one thing at a time. Rather than buy everything at the same time within a fixed budget. Becuase pretty soon the urge to upgrade would creep in. I've learnt it the hard way. And iam stuck with a speaker set I don't like. Took the plunge because it came cheap. I'd suggest something small like monitor audio mass or qacoustics q7000i. I have the qacoustics 5.1 pack, haven't tried it out yet, as iam still stuck on a boat. But you can read lots of reviews and start with an amp, a source player and speakers eventually.