I need an av reciever and speakers around £300

[admin_exported]

I have a Panasonic 42" Plasma hdtv(TH-42pz85BA)and Panasonic blueray/freesat+ recorder(DMR BS750). What I now need is a 5.1 surround sound HDMI av amp and speakers. I need to get it from Amazon as I have vouchers, my budget is around £300. It also has to sound good playing dvds and music from mp3 players and cds.I will be connecting using an HDMI cable and a digital optical cable. What I found first was Onkyo HT-S5305B which is speakers and amp is this any good? or would I be better spending the whole whack on an amp then getting 2nd hand speakers on ebay as and when I can afford them? Other amps I have seen are: DENON AVR1611, PIONEER VSX920, PIONEER VSX-919AH, YAMAHA RX-V2600, YAMAHA RXV1065, Yamaha RXV565B, MARANTZ NR1501, Sony STR-DA2400ES, Sony 3500ES, Sony STR-DG820. Any recommendations would be good! I want the best vfm(value for money) not the cheapest but it needs to sound good and be less than £350. I'm struggling to know what to buy and how far to stretch my budget my living room is a reasonable size and house is modern and detached

 

[Anonymous]

the worm:

Other amps I have seen are: DENON AVR1611, PIONEER VSX920, PIONEER VSX-919AH, YAMAHA RX-V2600, YAMAHA RXV1065, Yamaha RXV565B, MARANTZ NR1501, Sony STR-DA2400ES, Sony 3500ES, Sony STR-DG820.

All the above are AV receivers only, so you will need to purchase a set of 5.1 speakers separately, if you are not interested in 3D, then the RX-V1065 out of these, if you want 3D in future the VSX920 would the best option.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your advice and help. I Thought these amps may be better than the Onkyo HT-S5305B although they are about £100 more and I'll have to get second hand speakers on top. Will have to save up for the speakers so will use car speakers in the interim as I'm pretty sure the ones on my old 5.1 DVD player will blow to smithereens if I use them (think they are 20w max). Cheers Iain

 

[Anonymous]

Not sure that its a good idea using one of these AVRs with car speakers, I have a funny feeling car speakers maybe 4ohms, which maybe a problem.

You could probably pick up a pair of speakers from an auction site for £100ish or something from richer sounds clearance / ex display range.

 

[Anonymous]

Ah right ok, my dad gave me his old Sony STR-DB940 which has a switch on the back for either 4 or 8ohms, I thought most reasonable amps would be the same. I'll scratch the car speakers idea(they don't sound brilliant in the house anyway).

He gave me the Sony because the right side front and rear had lost all the base, I didn't think I could fix it but having opened it and replaced 25 or so capacitors on the main and digital boards its seems to be working again as of last night(not sure it's 100%).

Thanks for your advice, I'll probably pick up a pair of Tannoy f1 customs or similar for the front using my Amazon vouchers then look into some rears and a sub (I have a center), maybe get the Tannoys for the rears as well. Then I'll save up a bit more cash(Christmas coming) so I can afford either of the amps you recommended.

Thanks again for your advice, it's helped my decision making a lot. cheers Iain