Home cinema but with out being dominating

Blacksabbath25

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A bit of history first I had a home cinema a long time ago back in the 1990s which cost me lots back then

I had an Arcam setup the one with THX , DTS Ex I think the power amp that came with it was a P7 the DVD player I had was the denon multi region player which was £2000 back then which was silly back then now I think about it but basically that lot cost me over £7000

i had a REL sub , monitor audio gold's the shielded ones for the front L + R , center was Roark speaker back's were monitor audio and B&ws by pole speakers

a fujetsu not sure how to spell it but it was a £4500 for a 42 '' crazy but basically I got ill and this was the result of my illness at the time .

But now I am ok but I wanted to ask if it's possible to own a home cinema but without it dominating my living room as my main pleasure is my hifi .

i am not interested in atoms just a 5.1 package for speakers satellite speakers , and the AV I had it in mind a Yamaha .

I have a Sony Led 50" already but need to put it on the wall and was thinking of using my Xbox 1 as the blue ray player and games and I have Apple TV .

so it's just the AV i need help with and the speaker package but basically want good movie experience with sound but without going over the top

Thanks
 

Benedict_Arnold

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I'd buy a modest new or newish second-hand 7.1 channel receiver to current-proof and future-proof (as much as can reasonably be forseen) yourself. HDMI2.?, HDCP2.2, HDR and 4K compatible (pass-through as any current 4K TV will upscale). I'd go for one that has pre-amp outputs so you can feed the front left and front right into a spare channel on your hifi amp and use the hifi speakers for front left and front right.

Bose (yes, I know) make some excellent small hang-on-the-wall speakers, as do many others. You could splash out on some Bluetooth jobs to avoid the front to back wiring but you're probably still going to have wires between the speakers come what may. You can put them on modest stands if you don't want to put nails in the walls and have cables running up the walls or can't chisel out grooves for the cables that you back-fill with Polyfilla.

Then all you need to add is a centre speaker, or soundbar that will act as a centre speaker, and a sub. You could even find a soundbar with a wireless link to your sub, as many do.
 

Blacksabbath25

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Ok 7.1 channel amp what's that give me an extra pair of back speakers or front ? As I was thinking 5.1

i remember Bose did a small cubed satellite speaker in the 1990s but was not sure if they still made them or not I guess what I have to get is a package deal

yes I could use my dali speakers as fronts but do not really want any rear speakers on stands on the wall really even if I have to get some speaker brackets that will be fine .
 

Blacksabbath25

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I was thinking if it's possible to get 5.1 or 7.1 and a speaker package £1000 £1500 or less the better as long as I get a good movie experience I am happy .

i use my Dali speakers as fronts just need a center and the rears +one sub
 

Benedict_Arnold

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Most decent AVRs these days are 7.1 almost by default. Almost certainly to get one with pre-amp outputs you'll need to spend enough to get a 7.1 receiver anyway.

Most BDs are 7.1 encoded too.

Depending on which AVR you choose you can set up a 5.1 system with side or rear surrounds. Going to 7.1 enables both sides and rears, or sides and front highs or rears and front highs or indeed a 5.1.2 (Atmos) setup.

I'd use your stereo amp and speakers, assuming they're either side of the telly, just to cut down on the number of speakers in your room.

Of course, you could just go for an "all in one box" setup, but I don't think you'll enjoy it nearly so much as one built around a proper AVR and separate source boxes. And it's 100℅ NOT upgradeable.
 

Benedict_Arnold

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Yamaha 781 at 700 quid on Amazon, a 10 inch sub of your choice at about 300 quid, about the same again for a centre (try and match your hi-fi speakers) then some modest surround sound or bookshelf speakers off Fleabay. Job done.
 

Benedict_Arnold

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Off the wall thought, have a look out for a Cyrus AV Master 8. It'll do 5.1 or 7.1 if you use your "proper stereo" for the fronts.

I had one for a while in the UK and it worked pretty well.
 
Get Dali Opticon 1 for surrounds and Opticon Vokal for centre.

Yamaha Aventage series is brilliant, but also look at Marantz and Denon which are excellent receivers at very tempting prices. Marantz SR7010 for example is available for £899 only.

How much budget will that leave you for a subwoofer?
 

Benedict_Arnold

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The Marantz is down to 900 quid??

Dammit - I paid US$2000 for mine, but I did get it on interest free and I guess it's "last year's model" already.... oh well.

Yes, the 7010 would be an ideal contender, but it's a 9.1 native, 11.1 with an external power amp AVR, so probably overkill for what our bat-eating friend wants.

If he wants to route his front left and right AVR channels through his stereo (which I advise if only to cut down on the number of speakers in the room), then he needs one with pre-amp outputs. MAYBE the Zone 2 or Zone B or whatever the particular manufacturer calls them could be used, but I wouldn't bank on it.

If Mr. Bat-Eater doesn't want to use his stereo, then I would go for a slimline receiver like the Marantz 1606 or 1607, or the Yamaha RS-X601.

The Cyrus AV Master 8 is an off the wall option, very compact and able to drive 5.1 stand-alone and 7.1 with the stereo driving the fronts. Not that lound, but probably loud enough for surround sound in a typical living room. It won't have all the latest CODECs of course, but most BDs and DVDs still come loaded with legacy CODECs for 5.1 and 7.1 anyway. They're rare, but when they come up on Fleabay they usually go for not much at all, as most people opt for a proper receiver with all the latest CODECs, HDCP2.2, 4K pass-through, etc. If Mr. Bat-Eater only wants audio, this shouldn't be a problem, though. All he needs is a source box or sources with fibre-optic or coaxial digital audio outputs to feed into the Cyrus box.
 

Blacksabbath25

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My tv is not a 4K tv it's just a standard HD 1080p led tv

it makes sense to use my Dali opticon's as the L+R s as they will sit in the same room as the home cinema

I did think of the matching center speaker from Dali that's £430 on its own the opticon 1 are £499 a pair which correct me if I am wrong I would need 2 pairs £1000

not sure about the sub but Dali do make the matching sub to go with the opticon's that's £900

and then I will need a stand alone Yamaha AV 7.1 which I am not sure which one is good for my needs but I do understand that my Yamaha A-S2100 will be used somewhere in the chain .

But let's say £1000 for the AV and the speakers + sub that's £3,330 that's over budget big time .

will it sound crap say if I got a £400 Yamaha AV and then a small speakers type speaker package for around £500- £800 this includes sub in the package. . Budget £1100-1200 ?
 

Benedict_Arnold

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They're for effect, not substance.

Match your centre speaker with your fronts? Absolutely if you can.

Then use any old bookshelf or hang-on-a-nail-in-the-wall speakers off Fleabay for your rears and / or sides. These are for effect more than substance. So long as they're reasonably powerful (50 watt-ish), have similar sensitivity to your mains, and a frequency response from about 50 to 80 Hz up, you'll be fine. Run the EQ program firmwared into the receiver and that'll take care of the rest.

Use the money saved for a decent sub - 8" for amateurs, 10" good, 12" better, 15" superb. Try and get one that goes as low towards the magic 20 Hz as you can afford, that is, with a flat frequency response in decibels going as close to the magic 20 Hz as you can get.

Receiver's up to you, but you can probably save a huge amount of cash buying last year's models used on Fleabay. Not everyone selling there is a scumbag, after all, and if you pay by Paypal and one of your credit cards, you're protected.

You can, of course, spend the extra cash later if / when you can afford it, it's up to you.
 

Blacksabbath25

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Ok that's what I do not want to do spend silly money if I can get the ball rolling and buy a stage at a time that will suit me

it makes sense to buy the Dali center speaker to match the L&Rs and the Yamaha AV

i am not sure what the frequency is on my opticon 8s I know they are low to full frequency speaker so I did not realize you have to match sub with speakers it's been a long time since I've had a home cinema
 
If you need a 5.1 system, you only need 1 pair of Dali Opticon 1, that's £499. You don't have to match the sub...there are better value subs elsewhere. Look at SVS SB1000 for example. For AV receiver, look at Denon AVR-X2300W. Much better value than the Yamaha and a brilliant receiver. I would recommend the centre to be of the same series ideally, or manufacturer.
 

Andrewjvt

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I have same as you as i run the hegel for front hifi and then have a yamaha av amp for the movie duties using my hegel as a power amp in home theater byoass mode.

I have an yamaha advantage 3050 model thats 9.2 but i only use 5.1

You dont need such an expensive amp though for this.

Id have a look on the peter tyson website as i only paid £1199 for the 3050.

For speakers id match the center speaker with the same make as your fronts but for rears id use satelite from dali or smaller dali book shelf speakers.

For sub id either use svs, bk if i were you.
Best value for money.

Remember that you dont have to buy everything in one go and can first add amp and center speaker.

Then can add sub and rears later and build up so you can get the best quality without compromise with cost.

On amp make ive had recently the yamaha and also the dennon 2100 avr and both good amps but as you have a yam hifi id also have yam av.
All only imo
 

Blacksabbath25

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I will get the center first and after Christmas in the January sales I will get the AV which I think will most probably be a 7.1 Yamaha AV but which model not sure yet I will have to do some homework on that .

i did have a couple of AV Yamaha's in the 1990s and they were good home cinema amps back then so I will stick with this brand even though I've had a top end Arcam AV in the 1990s I got that at the time because it was good for music playback and movies .

the Arcam was an AV 8 with the matching 7 channel power amp it was the only home cinema amp at the time to have THX and EX which was certified by mr Lucius himself .

i remember watching peal harbor and when the japan hit peal harbor you could hear the big bombs bouncing of the ships deck good film .

Anyway not sure if I can get that same level detail without spending the bank *smile*
 

Andrewjvt

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Blacksabbath25 said:
I will get the center first and after Christmas in the January sales I will get the AV which I think will most probably be a 7.1 Yamaha AV but which model not sure yet I will have to do some homework on that .

i did have a couple of AV Yamaha's in the 1990s and they were good home cinema amps back then so I will stick with this brand even though I've had a top end Arcam AV in the 1990s I got that at the time because it was good for music playback and movies .

the Arcam was an AV 8 with the matching 7 channel power amp it  was the only home cinema amp at the time to have THX and EX which was certified by mr Lucius himself .

i remember watching peal harbor and when the japan hit peal harbor you could hear the big bombs bouncing of the ships deck good film . 

Anyway not sure if I can get that same level detail without spending the bank *smile*

There is a Yamaha RX-A1050 7.2 Channel Network AV Reciever - Black - 2 Year Warranty on ebay

Only £699 very good deal
Ht bypass your fronts and your set
 

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