Mission E3 AV (E34, E30, ECS, E3AS) and Onkyo 606 - Good package? Help please!

[admin_exported]

HI all,

Having spent a while going through the various reviews and comments in the forums, I am nowwriting my first post!

I am looking at purchasing my first Home Cinema system to go with my recently purchased Panasonic 42PZ85B. I also have a nintendo wii, Sky + and PS3. Mainly I watch Sky+ and upscaled DVD/Bluray. However, I also listen to music a fair bit (maybe 70/30 split between TV and Music) so it is important that the system performs well with music as well as home cinema.

My budget is up to £1200 for speakers and receiver - this is basically what I can get the above system for.

My question is whether anyone has any comments on the Mission E3 AV and Onkyo combination? I have tried to find reviews on the Missions but they are basically non-existent!! I have, however, owned mission hi fi speakers before and liked them very much. If anyone owns these speakers, I would be really interested in your thoughts!

Other than these systems, are there any other combinations which they would recommend for the money?

One final thing is that, if necessary, I can delay my purchase until August. If there is any reason why people would recommend I do so (e.g. to get better prices on other systems?)?

Thanks all in advance for your help!

 

[Andy Clough]

The 606 is excellent, as you can read here, but haven't heard the Mission E3 package. We were very disappointed with the much pricier Mission E5 set-up (£2200) so I'd be a little wary.

The other point I'd make is that the Onkyo, like most multichannel amps/receivers, is something of a compromise when it comes to music replay. That's not really its strength: "If there's a 'but', this isn't the most musical amplifier you can buy, with a slightly bright and brash musical presentation across a range of musical styles."

Still, its par for the course in its sector, and if you paired it with a musically-adept set of speakers such as Tannoy's Mercury F1 Customs at £799 that would fit your budget perfectly.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Andy, I'll take a look at the Tannoy Mercury F1's too. Out of interest, I was also originally looking at slightly cheaper speaker packages before I upped my budget! These included the Q Acoustics 1010i (I was going to switch the front 1010i's for 1030i floor standers though) or the Acoustic Energy Aego T set up. I had also looked at the Quad Lites (a steal for £500 I hear) but can only seem to find them in Rosewood and although sound is more important to me than style, the rosewoods would stand out terribly in my living room! I pretty much discounted Kef eggs altogether as I had heard on many forums that these do not perform very well with music. Woul you recommend consider any of the above to be worth a look (and saving a bit of cash) or would the Tannoy F1 Mercury Custom's performnce be worth the extra £200?

Thanks again to all!