First home cinema advise please

[Harpo]

Hi all,

I currently have a panasonic 42"PZ70 TV, Panasonic BD35 bluray player and would like to add an amp and speakers

I have looked at Sony STRDH800 amp and Jamo A102 or Q Acoustics 1010i speakers. I don't want to over power the room with speakers (Mrs wouldn't approve) but would like a decent sound for Bluray films and TV and maybe somewhere to plug an ipod.

I have chosen these just by reading reviews maybe there are others that I should look at? even old models!

My room is 5m x4m approx but is a living room not a dedicated home cinema room.

I have also thought about ditching the bluray player and get an all in one bluray system to make my choice easier and probably a doddle to set up, but having read some topics on here a separate system would be better

I have a budget of £500ish

Any advise would be appreciated

Regards

Steve

 

[strapped for cash]

Hi Harpo.

Given your budget, the Sony/Q Acoustics combo should be a great set-up, as long as you (and/or the Mrs) don't mind the slightly larger speaker dimensions. If you're looking for something a little cuter and less obstrusive, then also check out the Boston Acoustics Soundware XS style speaker package.

Also, don't forget to factor in the cost of speaker stands (unless you have another solution regarding where you put at least the front speakers).

Usual forum advice: ask your dealer (presumably Richer Sounds, who are selling the products discussed at a price within your stated budget) to let you audition the kit you're interested in. You can't really go wrong with any of the choices highlighted.

 

[Harpo]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

Which speakers are the best out of the QA and the Bostons mentioned, i will have to check out the size of the QA's though

Sorry to be a pain but I have read that the Sony amp is difficult to set up, is this correct?

I just need to be armed with info when I go to check them out.

Also I have no idea what cables I need.

Thanks

Steve

 

[Harpo]

Anyone?

 

[tvspecv]

go for the onkyo amp (recently reviewed on whsv) or yamaha amp check the size of room then decide what speakers you need.

 

[JC1982]

Hi, I think the Q Acoustics will be better as they are nearer to full size speakers. Sounds like you have quite a big room too. They are quite a bit bigger than the Bostons though, especially the centre - if you have the tv on a stand you may have trouble putting the centre below it due to its height. The sub is much bigger too - you can't always see that from the pictures!

In terms of cabling you will need speaker cable for the 5 satellites, a sub cable and an HDMI lead to connect blu ray to amp. If you want to connect sky you will also need an optical cable to get dolby digital.

Hope that is some help.

 

[tvspecv]

JC1982 to acheive dts hd from my ps3 does it have to be bitsream or pcm ?

because my amp didnt indicate it was dts hd through blu-ray on ps3?

 

[professorhat]

Is it a PS3 slim or an older "fat" model?

If Slim, you can use Bitstream, but if it's an older model, you need to use Linear PCM as the older models can't output the HD soundtracks via bitstream. Your amp should just indicate it's receiving multichannel PCM, it won't tell you it's DTS HD MA since it's already been decoded by the PS3. It will be the HD soundtrack though (to be sure, press Select when playing the film and the soundtrack that the PS3 is decoding will appear in the top of the screen).

 

[tvspecv]

it is the fat 60gb updated but pcm wouldnt output dts but bitsream which i changed via the ps3 would give me dts but did`nt indicate dts hd?

so how do i know?

 

[professorhat]

As I say, the older "fat" 60GB PS3 cannot bitstream the HD soundtracks i.e. cannot output the HD soundtracks in their native format. Instead, the PS3 should be set to the Linear PCM setting - it will then decode the DTS HD soundtrack onboard to PCM, then sends this to the amp. The amp has no idea this was in DTS HD format before it was decoded so it can't tell you this, all it knows is it's receiving multichannel PCM, so this is what it will display.

In order to tell you are getting the DTS HD soundtrack, simply press the Select button on your PS3 controller when watching the movie - the soundtrack it is outputting will be displayed at the top of the screen (see picture here and here to demonstrate this)

When you switched to Bitstream on the PS3, because it was unable to bitstream the HD soundtrack, it switched to the standard DTS core soundtrack i.e. not the DTS HD soundtrack, and this is why your amp was only showing this.

 

[Harpo]

Hi,

I went along to my local RS to check out the items recommened!

They said, The Sony 800 amp was discontinued and that I should go for Sony 1000 series which was about £70 more expensive. Is this correct? And is this a better amp or should I look at somthing else?

I wanted to listen to the QA1010i and the Bostons

There was no systems set up to listen to and was told to "just go by the reviews"

Needless to say I wasn't impressed by the service.

Regards

Harpo

 

[Anonymous]

Hi I have just bought the sony 800 from a local sony shop and I couldn't be happier i find it punchy with plenty of drive and detail for the money you could try your local richer sounds branch for a really good deal. I partnered these with a miussion m33i package from superfi and a wharfdale sub though this all came to 720 as a system.