HiFi through home cinema system

[admin_exported]

Hi there,

I am in the process of setting up a hifi / surround sound system in my lounge and I need some assistance from the clever people who use this site.

I have at the moment a Cyrus integrated 8vs2, Cyrus CD8x, Wilson Benecsh square 2 speakers and Ecosse MS4.45 reference speaker cable in my system. However I bought a Sony KDL NX713 TV and thought it would be a good idea to create a home cinema system based on my hifi system if possible. My lounge is 7m x 4m and the TV will be mounted on the 4m wide wall.

This is where I need some assistance.

1. Can I still use my hifi as a stand alone system once it is connected to an AV receiver?

2. What AV receiver would you recommend?

3. I don't want big rear speakers if possible, what would you recommend?

4. From all of the photo's I have seen of home cinema systems I cannot determine how the cables are fed through the wall at the back of the TV, does anyone know how this is done in a clean and elegant way?

I am in the middle of decorating at the moment so running cables etc wouldn't be a problem.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

 

[CnoEvil]

Hi zjxh and welcome to the forum.

- You can integrate your 2 channel, provided the AV amp has pre-outs. This allows you to take the front L & R channels (by-passing the AV power amps), and pass them to the stereo amp.

FOR STEREO: Your CD player etc are left plugged into your Cyrus amp, and works as is (AV amp can be left switched off).

FOR AV: If your Cyrus amp has HT by-pass (which by-passes the preamp section, allowing the AV amp to directly contol it), then use this. The Cyrus needs to be on, and so provides the front two channels.
If the Cyrus doesn't have HT by-pass, it's still possible, but for AV the L & R have to go through the preamps of both amplifiers (ie. you have 2 volume knobs to worry about).

- Given your taste in sound, I would look at Pioneer (choose model according to budget).

- The centre speaker needs matched with the Wilson (preferably one of theirs), to maintain a consistant soundstage.
The rears are less important...maybe look at dipoles (which can be wall mounted) from previous generation Kef (IQ) or Monitor Audio (RS).

- Can't help with this - my cables are hidden by the rack. I personally would worry that if a problem happens with a burried cable, it could prove messy.

Regards

Cno

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your comments Cno, they are very much appreciated. However I have decided to get some expert advice from two home cinema installation companies who are at this moment trying to come up with a solution for me. I have been recommended (by another company) to use an Athem MRX700 and Paradigm sub woofer and may go down this route although I will wait to see what the other company comes up with. Apparently (or so I was told) the Anthem is every bit as good with music as my Cyrus integrated 8vs2 amp so I will probably sell it or trade it in.

Do you have you any experience of Artcoustic speakers? I was thinking of using them for my rears as they look unobrusive and I believe sound very good.

I will post my final configuration on here once I decide what the best solution for me will be.

 

[CnoEvil]

Thank you for your comments Cno, they are very much appreciated. However I have decided to get some expert advice from two home cinema installation companies who are at this moment trying to come up with a solution for me. I have been recommended (by another company) to use an Athem MRX700 and Paradigm sub woofer and may go down this route although I will wait to see what the other company comes up with. Apparently (or so I was told) the Anthem is every bit as good with music as my Cyrus integrated 8vs2 amp so I will probably sell it or trade it in.

Do you have you any experience of Artcoustic speakers? I was thinking of using them for my rears as they look unobrusive and I believe sound very good.

I will post my final configuration on here once I decide what the best solution for me will be.

It sounds to me like you are getting good advice. Anthem make impressive stuff, and an instalation specialist should steer you right - ask them to show you some of their work or give references. Paradigm make great subs...get a listen to their Seismic 110, which is a very impressive sub with room EQ.

I'm not familiar with the Artcoustic speakers, so you will need to take advice....getting the front 3 speakers to match is much more important than the rears unless you listen to a lot of 5 channel music.

Looking forward to hearing about your progress

Cno