Hi, Little advice needed on amp/speakers. (Sony STR-DA1200ES/Wharfedale Evo2-30)

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Hi guys, I'm new to this scene, so please gimme a break, lol.

Basically, I'm on a strict budget (although I've already blown it with what I've seen, lol). But am wondering if this looks like a good first set-up?

Basically, I was originally thinking of a Marantz SR5001 Amp.

I was unsure of speakers, but I do love the sound I get from my Wharfdale Diamond 7.1's so was thinking about them (Wharfdales), but the hi-fi shop I was in suggested a set of Kef speakers (unsure of codes, sorry, all I got was the sub code, PSW 1000.2).

So I started to look around for some reviews etc... to see how they compared.

Anyway, having looked around for a while, I have seen another set-up, which I thought looked quite nice.

a pair of Wharfedale Evo2-30 floor standing main speakers
Wharfedale Evo2-Centre speaker
DFS rear speakers

matched to

Sony STR-DA1200ES strda1200es home cinema receiver

I only choose the receiver really because
a) it was on a deal, and
b) it had won so many awards.

So, even with that set-up I have blown my budget by aroud £300 (I can get the lot for £800, is that good?).

Well, this is my first "proper" stereo attempt and I aint got much of a clue really, lol. As it is my Decks go through a Technics (middle of their range) amp, and the afore mentioned diamond 7.1's and it sounds lovley. My TV goes through a cheap pioneer dvd surround system with the xbox 360's sound going through an optical cable for sound.

However, I am considering putting the pioneer and plasma (Hitachi) upstairs in my "straight" lounge, while downstairs in the "cinema" lounge, I'm wanting this set-up, with a projector, so I like the idea of AV switching, so I only have one cable for the AV going to the projector. (Although I did like the idea of the SR8001's twin hdmi so I could switch between outputs, that alone is more than my total budget, lol).

So, I think that's it, been as specific as I think I need be (current equipment, future uses etc...), so if anyone can advise if this is a good set-up, or point me in the direction of a better set-up (links / pm's to where i could get good deals on this would be nice), it would be much appreciated. Oh yeah, my room size is approx 31' by 16' and I listen to a lot of dance music, hence the decks, lol.

Cheers

Stewart

 

[Anonymous]

No one?

Oh well.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Stewart,

I myself have a Marantz SR7200 - a wonderful av amp in its day - about 3/4 years ago, and a pair of the Wharfedale Evo 30 series one speakers. The marantz amp still is fantastic. It sounds great with movies and the Wharfedale speakers really do sound great (and look wonderful too) this can only get better with the series 2 i imagine....

As i integrated my av and hi-fi systems when i moved to a smaller place (no longer had separate rooms for the 2) i run the marantz into a rotel RA-01 stereo amp and then into the Wharfedales, which made a HUGE improvement. Thats not to say that the sound was not good before, but adding the stereo amp really made it shine. It sounds to me like what you suggest would work well, you can always add a stereo amp later (like i did) to make your music sound even better!

Cheers,

Steve

 

[Anonymous]

Wow. Someone with actually very close to what I was planning, lol.

Well, I've changed my plans somewhat. I noticed the speaker package I was looking at never included a sub, so I have changed to something slightly different. I am thinking more along the lines of the 5.1 Diamond 9 speaker set-up, with a view to adding the floorstanding evo2's later, possibly going 7.1 but more likely using 2 of the original speakers for a zone 2...

Which leads me to the amp. Well, while that Sony amp looked good for its price (£299), and it has won many awards (last year), I decided I wanted to spend a little more, and get a new model amp (or receiver or whatever its called). So I decided to go down the route of an ONKYO TXSR605E as this allows me the zone 2 I beleive, which could prove useful, and I've heard almost only good things about this receiver.

Any more opinions would be appreciated (But the speakers are already ordered, lol).