First home cinema setup advice

[Woodpecker]

Looking for some advice in my maiden voyage into home cinema.

I have a small room (10 ft x 8 ft) which houses a 32" LCD and is only used for watching TV.

I am looking for an amp and speakers and am willing to spend up to £1000. I was initially thinking of the Denon AVR-1910 with the Kef 2005.3 eggs as the amp seems to get good reviews and the speakers need to be small. I have been to a couple of retailers and they have managed to confuse me more with their advice. One said the KEF 2005.3 would be overbearing and suggested the KEF 1005.2 instead, the other said that he did not rate the 1005.2 and would go for the 2005.3 which would be fine and supply a superior sound. Both retailers suggested the Onkyo 607 as an amp! Not sure that auditioning would make my choice any easier as I think the room size / acoustics will have the biggest impact on the sound.

I guess the question is, in a room this size is there a price point where you are not going to benefit from spending extra. Is £1000 overkill,should I buy cheaper components and save some money, or would I regret this.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[defo]

That's very interesting, I have converted a similar sized room to a home cinema with a fancy massage chair right in the middle! I tried the Kef 1005.2 but it just didn't feel very expressive - ended up buying MS 902is for front and back and the same centre - came to about £500 and sounds fantastic, although can be a little overwhelming. I use it mostly for music concerts though with the Kefs in a much bigger room for movies.

Current amp is Onkyo 506 which is fine but about to be changed this weekend for a HD alternative, probably Sony.

Can't express enough how important playing around with speaker position is in a room that size and definitely put the front L and R on decent stands, makes a power of difference.

Good luck!

 

[lobby]

I think you have a few options depending on your source, if you want improved sound from your tv then a decent stereo and traditional speakers either floormount or floorstanders. If you want the full surround then i would opt for either the Kef 2005.3 or the Jamo 102 hcs5, and yes they would work fine with the Denon 1910 or the Onkyo 607 other small speakers worth considering are the Mission M-cube's. But if you want really small speakers and a blu-ray player then i would opt for this, will also save you a lot, which could go on films or towards a bigger system in the future. And will fill that size room no problem.

http://www.sony.co.uk/product/hch-systems-with-blu-ray-disc/bdv-360is

 

[davejberry]

lobby:

I think you have a few options depending on your source, if you want improved sound from your tv then a decent stereo and traditional speakers either floormount or floorstanders. If you want the full surround then i would opt for either the Kef 2005.3 or the Jamo 102 hcs5, and yes they would work fine with the Denon 1910 or the Onkyo 607 other small speakers worth considering are the Mission M-cube's. But if you want really small speakers and a blu-ray player then i would opt for this, will also save you a lot, which could go on films or towards a bigger system in the future. And will fill that size room no problem.

http://www.sony.co.uk/product/hch-systems-with-blu-ray-disc/bdv-360is

I agree to a point. You don't mention if you have other hifi or av gear. To spend a grand on those amps and speakers with a 32 inch telly in a small room seems like overkill to me. Go with an all in one if you have no other kit and spend the rest of your money on discs. When the upgrade bug bites, bung the all in one in another room and build a better system including a bigger screen.

 

[Big Chris]

I'm tending to agree with the common consensus. Small room and only for watching TV (Are you sure you don't watch or want to watch DVDs/Blu-Ray?) I wouldn't be spending the earth.

Many years ago, I ran my TV through a stereo amp and a pair or Hi-Fi speakers. Sounded much better than the TV speakers.

 

[Woodpecker]

Thanks for all the replies so far.

Just thought that I should point out that when I said for only watching TV I did mean DVD / Virgin Media and possibly Bluray sometime in the future. I was trying to point out that it would not be used for music as I have a dedicated Hi-Fi in my lounge (different room).

 

[Andrew Everard]

In which case I'd suggest a Q Acoustics package if you don't mind having 'full size' - though not exactly huge - speakers, and an amp such as the 607 you mention, or Sony's STR-DH800.