Home Cinema System - Which system for £400 - 600 range?

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Hi,

I have recently bought a new Samsung LED TV (UAE7020), and I am looking to buy a home cinema system.

As I have to get my better half to agree, the idea of wireless rear speakers appeals to me, as well as unobtrusive as possible.

I have been looking at a number of "home cinema in a box" solutions but have so far found draw back to all of the available options.

I am looking for, ideally, a Blu-Ray system, with the option of wireless rear speakers and ipod functionality (although this is a second tier requirement). My budget is in the range from £400 to £600. I am also looking for good connectivity so that I can connect up my Sky HD box through the system to get 5.1 surround.

The systems I have been looking at are:

Panasonic SC-BT205 --> Good system, right price and wireless rear speakers. No HDMI inputs for Sky Box.

LG HB954PB --> This is a good system, has HDMI input, but does not support wireless rear speakers.

SAMSUNG HT-BD1255 / 1252 --> Another good system, with wireless rear speakers, but again doesn't have good connectivity.

Sony HTPBD3IS --> Excellent system, with the BP350 blu-ray player and IS-100 surround package. Great connectivity, wireless rear speakers option, small system, but doesn't support HD surround formats.

I found a system by Sony, the IS-1000, that is essentially a combination of the IS-100 surround speakers and sub, with the IT-1000 (available in the UK with the tall boy speakers) Blu-ray / decoder unit, that also has wirless rear speakers S-Air amplifier included in the package. It also supports the HD surround formats and has Ipod functionality, and is avaiable for around £550.00 in the US. However, this system is only available with the tall boy speakers in the UK and is priced at £1200, which is out of my budget.

I would grateful if anyone had any ideas or suggestions, things that they know of in the pipeline, as I am willing to wait for the right piece of kit. I also a reasonably good Stereo system, consisting of an Arcam Div A75+ amplifier and B & W DM602 S2 speakers, which I am currently using for sound. However, I do not think I can get a separates system to add to the stereo setup, although I have considered picking up a B & W CC6 centre speaker and Mission surrounds to add 5.1 to the setup. I would require a surround amp and blu-ray player.

Cheers,

Ed

 

[Anonymous]

Personally i would'nt bother with "home cinema in a box". For approx £900 you could buy the Yamaha AX-763. I got one for £330 (Sevenoakes) With the KEF KHT2005.3 £590(Richer Sounds) A million times better than Home in a box.

 

[Anonymous]

Totally agree with rocky there. I went for Pioneer LX series amp and Monitor Audio RSs all round. Does all retail at 2100 though but you can pick up budget equipment (MA Vector, KEF 1005) and match with something like Pioneer VSX 519 (300) or Yammy 365 (250). Total spend could be about 600 if you tried hard enough!! Much better than HTIB! You won't regret it.

 

[daveh75]

It's worth noting that SkyHD boxes only output stereo via HDMI.If you want 5.1 DD from a SkyHD box you must use an optical cable.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice so far!

I know exactly what you mean when you say that a separates system is the way to go, I certainly think that myself, as I have been toying with the idea of picking up a B & W CC6 centre speaker from somewhere like Ebay, and then buying some surrounds, perhaps the Mission 77DS bipolars, or something similar along those lines. That leaves the surround amp and the blu-ray player. I don't have any qualms settling for the Sony 350 player, although I guess there is more in the market. I do like Denon, but that may stretch the budget.

However, the main probelm that doesn't solve is the trailing wires to the surround speakers, which I am pretty sure I won't be able to get my nearest and dearest to accept.

I am going towards the Sony HTPBD3IS as that has great connectivity, and although it doesn't support HD content, I could simply buy the IS-100 system and then buy a better blu-ray player which support linear PCM and hence has decoded the HD audio content onboard. Does anyone know if I have the right end of the stick, that if it supports linear PCM sound through HDMI, then you can decode the HD audio signal onboard the blu-ray deck, and then transmit decoded signal digitally to the surround system?

Cheers,

Ed