Home cinema advice: the battle between aesthetics and acoustics

[smuggs]

you have an option that is to upgrade you tv stand for a wider on that way you can get the centre on. I have the montior audio bronze stuff and its great i felt the br5's were to good as home cinema so i made a hifi set up

stand http://www.richersounds.com/product/racks/alphason/fw1100/alph-fw1100-wal

im not saying this is the stand but something like that

 

[Anonymous]

Hi guys

Just to keep you informed, I've decided to plump for the full Neo system, including centre, and a new TV stand. In related news I may have a nearly new TV stand for sale in the near future...

Also...

robjcooper:Indeed I do have the Neo 1's as surrounds - sitting on some Soundstyle Z2s.

I'm curious... do you find the Z2s high enough for surround use, or are they adjustable? For me their stated height of 568mm would mean the speakers were barely poking above the back of my sofa.

Thanks guys for all of your help in this thread. Much appreciated!!

 

[robjcooper]

Hi Dirk,

Glad to hear you went for the AE Neo system, I hope you'll love them as much as I do mine. The Z2s are not adjustable but for me are exactly at ear height when sitting chilled on the sofa. My Z2s are positioned at either end of the sofa and the rear of the base is about 8 cms from the back of my sofa - the neo's are slightly toed in (about 20 degrees in) and I've always found the rear soundstage most acceptable. Anything higher for me would have meant angling them downwards.

Just a quick suggestion - if you've got a couple of stools roughly the same height as the Z2s (or can borrow some) try putting your neos on them (if you need to raise them slightly use a couple of paperbacks). It won't be perfect but it will allow you to experiment with positioning and get some idea of how they work in relation to your viewing position - and hopefully you can find a position that works for you before possibly buying them or deciding you need something higher.

Enjoy

Rob

 

[Anonymous]

Well, turns out that the AE Aegis Neo system has been discontinued... which means I'm back to square one. Well, not quite, since the amp is sitting in a box in my living room, along with all of the necessaries to connect it to everything. Unless someone knows where I might be able to get my hands on the Neo package in black? (the problem is, most places are 'buy on request' which means they won't be able to get any)

I may therefore have to drop back to one of the other packages I was considering... what do people think of the Q Acoustics 2000 series, namely the 2050 floorstanders as well as the 200C centre, the 2010 surrounds and the 2070S sub?

Failing that, any other speaker packages/sets to suggest? The only remits are that they include floorstanders, come in black, are compatible with the Denon 1910 and cost £750 - £900?

 

[Anonymous]

Or, what about the Monitor Audio BR5 pack?

http://www.sightandsounduk.com/catalogue/p7213/s20_c101/Speakers/Monitor-Audio-Bronze-BR5-AV-package/product.aspx?id=7213&SubCatId=20&CatId=101

 

[chudleighpaul]

Whch stand have you decided on Dirk?

 

[Anonymous]

chudleighpaul:Whch stand have you decided on Dirk?

I went for this oneÿin the end, basically cos it matched my existing stand the closest:

http://www.big-av.co.uk/acatalog/aquila-favs-19b3-cantilever-tv-stand.html

ÿ

Basically, I love my old stand, but I didn't want to sacrifice a decent centre channel for it.

At least that means that I'm not particularly limited by size of centre speaker anymore. Although it seems that the Acoustic Energy package was one of the few packages of that kind at that price...ÿ

ÿ

/sorry, still can't seem able to post links properly ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Hi guys

ÿ

I figured I'd come in here with *another* update... having contacted a few companies today (including Acoustic Energy themselves), I'd discovered that the Neo range is not so much discontinued, just having a mid-product cycle revamp. The "slightly improved" versions should be along soon (perhaps a month or so).

I'd also like to say that I've been very impressed with the customer service of Acoustic Energy today, it has made me quite keen on buying a set of their speakers. Superfi, meanwhile, haven't been all that helpful (for some reason, they don't know whats going on, despite the fact that I was able to find out quite easily from AE direct what was going on). Very disappointed in them. ÿ

Still, looks like I'll be able to get the package I'm after, I might just have to wait a while.ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Back in here with a (hopefully) final update...

Everything arrived a week ago today, and is in place and sounding fantastic. Below is a picture.

.

 

[robjcooper]

Hi Dirk, Great to see you finally got the AEs you wanted and it's all looking very smart - hope they're all you expected after the praise I'd given them ! In the end, what did you decide to do about the rears?

Rob

 

[Anonymous]

Hi rob

In the end I followed your lead, and have a pair of AE Neo 1s on Soundstyle Z2s.

The only problem is, my cat has already taken a disliking to the surrounds and has already put a nick or two in the SR speaker grille. That cat has a deathwish!

 

[robjcooper]

Don't worry Dirk, I know just how you feel. One of my cats decided 3 days after our gorgeous new carpet had been fitted in the lounge and I had set up all my lovely new toys ready for evenings of audio visual feasting that it was the ideal place to pee - however, not just in one corner, but in three ! It took 2 weeks and 2 bottles of Urine-Off to get rid of the stink -and if it wasn't for the pleadings of my three boys, I would have got rid of the cat too !

Rob