Is apple the way to go

[admin_exported]

Am in the process of saving for a new system, it won't be for a while but have been racking my brain as the way to go. I need a new av amp thats a definate, next is either cd player and stereo amp or hard drive storage device maybe some sort of apple set up. Have seen new kit as on here the other day with av amp software that conects to your i phone, what do we think the future holds? With ultra fast internet available downloading seems to be the way to go, is the music and video through the internet going to be as good as a bought blue ray disc,or cd surely it will eventually all be going this way? I do like to have a few cd's or bluerays on display but now I feel is right to plunge into the streaming and storage device market. Budget I think will be around £5,000 or there abouts, will need either nice 5.1 speakers or a pair of stereo speakers and a satelite speaker system, Its about 50/50 music and film though music is my preferance.

 

[professorhat]

If you like the idea of the convenience of streaming music, I'd say it's worth looking into for your music needs, but there won't be a streaming solution that rivals the video and audio experience of Blu-ray for quite some time (due to the vast amounts of data involved with Blu-rays). And since ripping Blu-rays locally and streaming them is also illegal (and not a particularly simple solution as yet), this is also something I wouldn't really recommend going down at this stage. So it's fairly safe to say that, for the moment, your ideal home cinema will need AV amp + 5.1 speakers + Blu-ray player.

Back to the music side - lossless downloads are also still thin on the ground - there are a few sites doing them, but it certainly isn't mainstream. There are rumours that the Apple store will soon incorporate lossless or even hi-def downloads, but I don't think there's anything concrete around this as yet (feel free to correct me anyone that knows different!). There are services like Spotify and of course Apple's iTunes Store though that offer compressed music, but still of a reasonable quality, though not CD quality.

Having said that, there's certainly good reason to put in a music streaming solution, since it's now very easy to rip CDs and then use one of the various music streaming solutions to easily have access to your entire music collection at the touch of a button. Ripping CDs is still technically illegal in the UK, but the music industry as a whole have now stated they won't be looking to prosecute anyone who does this (unlike ripping DVDs or Blu-rays) so that's pretty much a statement that it's legal in all but name.

You've mentioned Apple which do a number of options for streaming - with your budget you could easily look at the Sonos system though which makes it easier to store music on a NAS (Network Attached Storage) and access it without having to have a PC or Mac switched on. If you really like Apple, their Airport Express or Apple TV2 systems allow you to stream your iTunes collection and control everything with an app on the iPhone or iPod Touch, but this does require your iTunes is running which means having a PC or Mac switched on. Alternatively, you can try and track down an older Apple TV system which has a built in 160 GB hard disk, meaning you can at least stream your music without iTunes running. You'd be advised to check out the current issue of What Hi-Fi which has a big article on streaming music and covers these solutions in more detail.

Finally, on what kit you want, if music is your main preference, you'll want to have a stereo amp in there somewhere. You could invest all your money on just a stereo system and then just plug your Blu-ray player into this for movies. This means you can spend a significant amount on this stereo system to get the best possible music playback, whilst still having a decent movie experience. However, if movie performance is not far behind music performance in your priorities and you want 5.1, you could either have a completely separate system i.e. 5.1 speakers plugged into AV amp and separate stereo speakers plugged into stereo amp, or you could look to get an AV amp with front pre-out sockets (most middle to high range AV amps come with these). This allows you to connect the front speakers to a stereo amp and have your streaming solution hooked into this, meaning your music system is isolated from your home cinema and ensuring you get the best sound you can from this. For movies, you connect the front pre-out sockets on the AV amp to your stereo amp (either via dedicated sockets for this task or via another free input on the stereo amp) and then connect the centre, rear and sub speakers to the AV amp along with the Blu-ray. This has the benefit that you can utilise the same front speakers as you use for the music system as you do for movies, saving some money and space on extra speakers.

So a lot of options to think about! Feel free to come back with any questions / clarifications on what I've said!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks prof. really useful info there, I am now quite sure what to do. I do want the best quality I can afford so prob will get decent stereo amp and cd player, have heard cyrus6se with kandy k2 amp through spendorA6 about 12 months ago, not really auditioned av stuff. Will have to look at onkyo twinned with B+W mt30 and sony blueray, i do have ps3 and panasonic dmp-bd35 blueray palyer (bit old) at the moment. If you spent 2500 on proper 5.1 system full size speakers or 1000 on a pair of ATC or equivalent and remainig 1500 on the B+W what would give best results? Again thanks for well useful advice its taken 3years to save, dont wanna get it wrong.

 

[professorhat]

First thing I'd say is don't make that decision by thinking about it - you've got a great budget and if you can find a trusted dealer in your area, you should be able to get a lot of help in thoughts around the decision and, more critically, a few demos can be setup so you can hear a £2,500 speakers + AV amp's capabilties with music and compare it with the stereo speakers + stereo amp to see what you're compromising on the music front and if you're happy with it.

Once you've heard a few systems and have a feeling for what you like and what you don't, you can come back and ask for any pointers in both the hifi and home cinema forums around your thoughts so far and suggestions for both. When spending that amount of money, there's definitely no rush and a good dealer will understand that (as long as you don't go using his nice comfy auditioning facilities and then go skipping off to buy it off the internet for £50 cheaper of course!).

 

[the record spot]

Apple is one way to go, but they don't always get it right. Their Apple TV2 is fine for what it is, but when you look at what others offer (see Sony and Western Digital who offer similarly priced and better products that do the same kind of thing) it rapidly falls behind the leaders. Apple does, however, offer a neat and seamless intergration with its products (though the EQ settings on iTunes are not recognised by the ATV2 apparently, which is something of a surprising omission if true and a pain if you use these a lot), but others do the same thing as well and cover formats such as FLAC which Apple doesn't.

In fairness, the pros outweigh the cons, though while some are happy claim that there's not much better than Apple out there, it disregards others in the market who are worth your time and consideration.

 

[Anonymous]

Live in st.albans so think will have a look around and demo plenty of gear when time permits, keep you posted and will upoad pics when all set up,cheers again.

 

[shreddedmeat]

Apple is one way to go, but they don't always get it right. Their Apple TV2 is fine for what it is, but when you look at what others offer (see Sony and Western Digital who offer similarly priced and better products that do the same kind of thing)

In fairness, the pros outweigh the cons, though while some are happy claim that there's not much better than Apple out there, it disregards others in the market who are worth your time and consideration.

Apple products are very good. Nowadays it's as fashionable to bash Apple as it is to be an ultra-fan, but the products are fundamentally great (IMO). The new Apple TV is a very nice little package at a fair price, look into aTV Flash by Firecore, which will give you a lot of extra functionality for little outlay.

 

[the record spot]

I'm not bashing Apple, if you read my post. As someone who's got an Airport Express and a 32Gb Touch, I'm hardly knocking them. That said, the ATV2 is good at what it does, but, like I said, loses out to other products that offer as much, more and aren't locked in to proprietary apps. The Western Digital and Sony units offer more for about a tenner extra. It's a no-brainer. No need to knock Apple, they just delivered a lesser product IMO. Glad you like it, but it does nothing for me.

 

[shreddedmeat]

I don't actually have one, so I'm not speaking from experience. The content the ATV can deliver, as well as (arguably) its general usability is streets ahead of the competition, so in that respect it its a no brainer to choose one. That being said I don't think this is a concern to the OP so one of the other streamers you mention might be a better option. I don't think the ATV has reached it's true potential or found a real purpose for many people (yet).

 

[Red Dragon]

Morning MrKay, after reading this thread I would simply suggest you get the latest issue of the magazine and read up on the various streaming and storing methods for digital files, as I think if I were you, this would definately be the way I would go. Personally, I think it is a false economy for you to unvest heavily in a CD player for instance (as you don't have a large CD collection for example) and would be looking at a high end AV amp with good quality DAC's built in or an external DAC to deal with your digital files hooked up to a good matching 5.1 system from the likes of B&W or Monitor Audio. i won't get drawn into the Apple debate as I don't have one and have no interst in that type of product, but I would suggest that with your budget there are some viable options open to you but would be looking at keeping the number of items (and boxes) to a minimum and investing your hard earned & saved cash wisely into each specific element.
And as mentioned above...audition, audition...audition and enjoy the research. It's a very enjoyable part of the decision making process, especially as you've worked hard to get to this stage...
Good luck and happy St Patricks day from Dublin !!!

 

[Anonymous]

Cheers RedDragon,will find friendly hifi dealer and probably spend another god knows how long choosing, happy st patricks to you to, let the guiness flow!!!