Help with starter 7.1 or 5.1 system advice and ideas

[Carcinogen]

Hi bit of a newbie here looking for some help . I have just had a loft conversion and looking to add a home cinema system. I have put wires in for. 7.1 system ready and am looking for 4 speakers for in ceiling at rear and 3 in wall speakers for the front plus sub. I fancy the sony 6str dn 850 but need speakers to go with it. Budget would be fairly low at say 700. Can't seem to find an obvious package. Is 7.1 worth it given I have to put speakers in the ceiling? A wireless sub would help but not essential thanks

 

[bigboss]

Look at Monitor Audio Trimless 100 series for in wall and in ceiling speakers. WT165 for wall and CT165 for ceiling.

Bear in mind that you will get significant discounts over the listed price if you speak to the dealer for a combined discount with the AV receiver and possibly a subwoofer.

I would recommend the Yamaha RXV-675 over the Sony. It's £150 cheaper as it's last year's model, and superior. Available for £249 at Richer Sounds which other dealers will price match.

You may find yourself having just enough funds for BK Gemini subwoofer, which I believe is the best value sub in the market.

 

[bigboss]

I'm assuming that your budget excludes the AV receiver. Bear in mind that since its an installation, you don't want to compromise on ceiling and wall speakers.

 

[Carcinogen]

Thanks. Yes the 700 was for speakers only. In terms of you saying that I don't want to compromise as it's an installation- is that because I will be stuck with them for a long time?

 

[Carcinogen]

I was thinking of the sony as I have a lot of Sony stuff and reviews looked good.i want wireless connectivity for tablets And I phone and 4k up scaling for future proofing . Any benefits of sony vs Yamaha other than the price? Also am I right in thinking connection to my TV is a simple scary lead? Finally if I throw all these different makes of components together, will it sound as good as the parts and better than a high end sound bar?

 

[bigboss]

Yamaha RXV675 is in the same class as Sony 1050, so higher spec than 850. It supports 4K upscaling and wireless connectivity. Check the review here:

http://www.whathifi.com/yamaha/rx-v675/review

Besides, Monitor Audio speakers are a little bit on the bright side. So you want a warmer sounding amp like Yamaha to balance it out. According to the reviews, Sony DN850 sounds a bit on the bright side. So the combination with Monitor Audio may not work well.

 

[bigboss]

To answer your other questions:

1) Yes, you just have to connect all components like blu ray player, Sky HD box etc. to the AV receiver via HDMI and connect the AV receiver to the TV via 1 HDMI cable.

2) You've hit bang on the head with system matching. That's why I suggested the Monitor Audio and Yamaha combination which works beautifully together every time. Ideally you should demo but ceiling speakers are impossible to demo.

3) A 7.1 system.will be infinitely superior to a soundbar.

4) Yes, as it's an installation, you don't want to compromise and be disappointed.