Home cinema remedy for broken head unit but good speakers in new flat.

[admin_exported]

Ive just moved house and have my old home cinema system is sat in the garage at moment. Its a Sony DAV-SC8.

The head unit broke not long out of warranty and wouldnt play DVD's and wouldnt switch off (had to turn off at mains). I kept using it in my old place as the surround sound element still worked for the TV and I had my ipod hooked via a Kensington dock.

So.... New pad

First problem is head unit. Can I buy a replacement head unit from anywhere other than ebay? Id like a new DVD player with HD upscaling (Samsung LE37 HD ready TV) thats 5.1 compatible for my existing speakers (They do still look quite nice). Worst case I could just get a new sony one without upscaling if I could find a way to buy one without all the speakers.

Second problem - Rear speakers. can you make existing speakers wireless anyway??? ie can you buy a wireless adapter to plug in at each end? If so, where and do they work? The new flat would not look great with wires all over the place.

If not can i buy a 2.1 Headunit only from anywhere that also upscales?

I fear a whole new unit is the only solution. Ive looked at Samsungs 2.1 latest addition, but despite What Hi-Fi liking it Ive read bad reviews elsewhere. I also dont like the speakers that much and would still really prefer full surround sound.

Dont have a budget as such, but Id prefer a cheap solution.

Thanks in advance for any tips

 

[Andrew Everard]

Your best bet is going to be a budget DVD player (Toshiba SD-370E, £60) and receiver (say a heavily discounted Denon AVR-1507 or budget Yamaha or the like), but you may hit problems if the system you have has the amplifier for the subwoofer in the main unit, or a dedicated connector on the subwooofer. Then you'll have to look at a new subwoofer too - or a new speaker system such as the Tannoy FX5.1 or EFX5.1, which sell for under £200.

Wireless rear speakers? It can be done, with a system such as KEF's new wireless set-up, but I fear it may be beyond your budget at around £400 for the sender and receiver/power amps.