Home cinema separates advice

[admin_exported]

Hi all.

My girlfriend and I have splashed out some money (a rarity) on a 42" Plasma Telly and a PS3. Its been left to me to decide on the home cinema set up and i had originally planned on buying an all in one kit for ~£250.

Friends and comments on over forums have said that i'd be better off in both the short and long run to go down the separates route, ie an amp and speakers.

I've found a deal on superfi for an Onkyo TXSR506 and Tannoy SFX 5.1 speakers for £322.

From what i've read/been told, this is a pretty solid set up, but i'm concerned regarding the lack of features (no upscaling) and i think i'd prefer full HD audio decoding via HDMI.

Therefore, i've decided that (as a long term investment) i'd be better off looking at some along the lines of;

Sony STRDG8020 (~£230)
Denon AVR-1909 (~300)
Onkyo TXSR606 (£350)

How is the sony regarded? What hifi's review seems impressed but is what it lacks a great enough impetus for spending a little more. I don't want to skimp on ~£100 now and regret it immediately, i'lll be keeping the 'beast' i buy for years.

I'm not sure if i'm being overly worried about the upscaling features as the PS3 is meant to do it, not sure how well tho!

Other than that, what would be a good alternative to the Tannoy speakers? in a similar price range.

[i'll be plugging in virgin media (not V+..yet), wii, PS3]

Many thank y'all.

 

[kinda]

Hello,

I wouldn't worry about the upscaling much. The PS3 is supposed to be a good DVD upscaler and your TV should do a decent job of upscaling any other standard definition content.

Your PS3 will decode the high-definition audio and provide it as PCM over HDMI so as long as your amp can accept 7.1 PCM over HDMI you should be covered.

You might want to take a listen to the amps and see which you like best, and maybe look for number of inputs, pre-outs, and 7.1 inputs which might mean more flexibility later.

Hope this helps

 

[Big Aura]

Denon is good value at £300, not heard the sony. Onky is a bit unengaging.

 

[gregvet]

I havent heard the others, but the Sony is great for the price. As good as my 4 YO Pioneer which cost double at the time, but cannot decode the HD audio formats obviously.

The only thing that it lacks that I would like, is the upscaling scart etc inputs up to 1080p over HDMI. Only you can say if this is an important feature in your set up.ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Have you considered either the Yamaha DSP-AX563 or DSP-AX763? I have seen the 563 for £173. It doesn't decode HD audio onboard, but will accept it as PCM over HDMI.
The 763 can be had for £284, the trouble is finding a supplier with one in stock! The 763 does decode HD audio onboard, but the PS3 can only decode HD onboard anyway.
Neither upscales and they only have 2 HDMI's. This shouldn't be a problem for a V+ decoder because you can connect via HDMI straight from the box to the tv and use an optical cable from the V+ box to the amp. V+ doesn't pass surround audio through HDMI.
What about the Jamo A102 HCS5? You can pick them up for about £200 and they're highly rated speakers.