Help for a Newbie Please!

[DjP]

Hi,

I'm moving house and have an opportunity to get some new kit, which will be used for movies (lots of DVDs already) and telly in the main. I've already ordered a Sony 40W4000 and will get Sky HD. I assume I need to add a blueray player, an AV receiver and speakers to this. Some questions from someone who really doesn't know what he's talking about:

1. BluRay - seems the choice is Pana DMP-BD30 or DMP-BD50? (house rules: all games consoles in games room, so not allowed another PS3). Is BD30 only running 1.1 and not 2.0 a problem? Upgradable later? What do I miss out on?

2. AV Receiver - again, the Onkyo 505 or 606 seems the obvious choice. Is the 606 that much better? What do I miss out on?

3. Speakers - this seems the hardest (and potentially the most expensive bit). The missus likes minimal gadgets - is there a 2.1 possibility that will sound good? What is the best (sub £600) 5.1 speaker collection? (I'm discounting 7.1)

4. Connectors - Do I just need some quality HDMI (plus speaker) interconnects? Do I need optical for anything? Again, seems to get expensive quite quickly! £100+/metre for a wire? OMG!!!

Sorry for the simple questions - hope someone can help a neophyte.

Thanks!

DjP

 

[Anonymous]

£100 per metre , lol ! is that Liras or pounds???

HDMI or optical cables dont cost that much any more !! Unless you wanna spend your money on some brand names which makes no sense!

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Hi DjP,

So many questions and answers. I hope this helps:

Good choice in tv, and blu ray is probably the best option. The Pana BD30 is a good choice but does not have HD sound decoders built in. It is a profile 1.1. The Pana BD50, I assume, will have a better picture and sound quality (I've had one guy on here tell me the picture and sound was better than his denon 3910, as I've been asking similar questions on forum). The BD50 has all the HD decoders built in too, but using the decoders built into an amp like the onkyo 606 would sound better!! It is profile 2.0, which means you can play games with others through the net from it.

The Onkyo 606 is better cos it has ALL the sound decoders you would need for a blu-ray. If you didn't have blu-ray, these decoders would not be needed/used but its best to have them for future proofing. I bought the 606 and am VERY happy with it so far.

As for speakers, I went for the Q acoustics 1010i 5.1 package, as I needed small(ish) speakers and top notch sound quality. I think I got it too. I have tried the 2.1 set up on it with my marantz CD63 KI Signature, and I thought it was ok (might end up getting rid of my tannoy DC2000's and marantz KI Signature amp to help the space issue!!) Anyway, I'm very happy with my choice. I have a friend who has the KEF 2005 eggs, and he was impressed too.

Connectors are simple. QED HDMI-P (1080P, 1.3a versions needed). With either blu ray player, you will need one of these from player to amp, then another from amp to tv. Look on ebay for them (£27 per metre, rather than £50!!) Vision and sound will go through that cable, so no others are needed.

Hope all that helps....