Moving to home cinema

[admin_exported]

Hi,

I am in need of some advice, I currently have a Acram and Kef set up which I only listen to music on and is now quite old, I am looking to change my system to a Home Cinema system and am having problems deciding on a couple of items.

I have purchased a pair of Kef IQ1's and a IQ2c to go with my old Q3s (which I plan on upgrading to the IQ5se in the future) so all I want now is the sub and receiver. I have been looking at the Onkyo TX-SR606 but would like something a little more musical, I am also unsure at the level of receiver I should be looking at to match the speakers, i.e if I should be looking the the £600-£700 price range and for the sub I have been looking at the MJ 50 and 100 but but not know if the MJ's would be the best match.

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks

 

[professorhat]

Are you looking for HD audio formats with Blu-Ray or just looking to get Dolby Digital / standard DTS 5.1 for your DVDs?

 

[Anonymous]

I am looking for the HD audio formats with blu-ray.

 

[professorhat]

Final question - do you already have the Blu-Ray player? If so, which one?

 

[Anonymous]

I don't already have one, so will be buying one soon, I think at first i'm just going to get PS3.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

[quote user="theturtle01"]
Hi,

I am in need of some advice, I currently have a Acram and Kef set up which I only listen to music on and is now quite old, I am looking to change my system to a Home Cinema system and am having problems deciding on a couple of items.

I have purchased a pair of Kef IQ1's and a IQ2c to go with my old Q3s (which I plan on upgrading to the IQ5se in the future) so all I want now is the sub and receiver. I have been looking at the Onkyo TX-SR606 but would like something a little more musical, I am also unsure at the level of receiver I should be looking at to match the speakers, i.e if I should be looking the the £600-£700 price range and for the sub I have been looking at the MJ 50 and 100 but but not know if the MJ's would be the best match.

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks

[/quote] There are many options! I have listened to the Denon 2808 and it's very good but only has 2 hdmi in. It does all the HD audio well. As for subs. How big is your room and how much do you have to spend. I just got the MA RSW-12 and it has amazed me.

 

[professorhat]

Okay! Well, this is going to be all about compromise as, at the moment, I don't think an AV amp exists that is both great musically and with home cinema. The best recommendation I know of that comes close is from Mr E with his Onkyo 875 which, when used in Pure Direct mode is pretty good musically. This amp is £1,000 though.

So, the choices are:

1. Go with a great home cinema amp that is okay musically (like the Onkyo 606 you mentioned). This is future proofed in that it can decode all the HD audio formats so you can throw any Blu-Ray player into the mix and it will work.
2. Go with a more musical AV amp such as the Marantz range (the Marantz SR4002 is about the same price as the Onkyo 606), but it can accept Multichannel PCM via it's HDMI input. This means it will work a treat with the PS3, but wouldn't work with some other Blu-Ray players, such as the Panasonic DMP-BD30 through the HDMI input. (NB - I haven't heard this amp or read any reviews on it, so you'd need to audition it). Another option in this choice might be the Cambridge Audio Azur 540R or 640R. These offer HDMI inputs, but cannot accept audio via these, so you couldn't get HD sound from the PS3. You could with a Blu-Ray player which can decode onboard and then send these signals via the 5.1 channel outputs though (such as the Sony BDP-S500).
3. Go for a great home cinema amp with front pre-outs and keep your original stereo amp to handle standard music sources. This is the best of both worlds. The Onkyo 606 cannot do this, however, the Onkyo 705 and up can. There's also the Denon 1908 and above which has this facility. I don't know much about actually doing this, but someone like Gerrardasnails and others in the forum can provide more info if you're interested in looking at this.

Hope this has helped more than confused! Basically, there's lots of options, depending on whether you want a simple compromised solution, or a more complicated but better sounding solution!

 

[Big Chris]

What about 2 completely independant systems? I have my stereo system and my A/V system, and never the twain shall meet. I don't live in a castle or a mansion, but my lounge easily accomodates all 10 speakers (Yes! 10 speakers!). Go for a style A/V system and the speakers can be quite subtle and blend into the decor. Allowing you to keep "proper' speakers for 2 channel duties.

 

[Anonymous]

My room is about 18sqft and my budget is £500, I have heard a lot of great things about the RSW 12 but its a bit over my buget,

 

[Gerrardasnails]

I hope you mean 18ft x 18ft? If so, you will need a fairly powerful sub. The Velodyne Microvee is cheaper than the RSW12 - it's tiny but has a 1000w amp in it!

 

[Anonymous]

It would be great to have two seperate systems but I've only just got my other half to agree to a 5.1 so I think she may not be to pleased to find 10 speakers in ther front room.

 

[Anonymous]

If you enjoy good quality music stick with a stereo system. AV systems are great for films etc. but very compromised for music.

I have a Denon 2808 AV amp (mentioned by another poster), partnered with KEF 3005SE speakers, and find it quite satisfactory for films and TV.

For music I stick to my Marantz CD6000KI CD, MYRYAD 2080 amp and NEAT MOTIVE 2 speakers. I have tried the Denon and KEF's but they are nowhere near in terms of sound quality. They can sound integrated for films but not for serious music. BTW, I also run an LCD TV into the MYRYAD and get excellent sound from TV and DVD all be it stereo.

Unfortunately the only way of getting reasonable dual purpose systems is via the ARCAM solo or NAIM nvi routes (both a couple of grand plus!).

IMO, stick to stereo and run your tele through this or get two systems. There are relatively cheap one box AV solutions available - discussed on these forums.

 

[professorhat]

Or use option 3 and run the front speakers through your stereo amp and the other speakers through the AV amp. The best of both worlds with only 5.1 speakers!

 

[Gerrardasnails]

The way the prof professes to would mean you could get a cheaper receiver like the Denon 1908,2308, Sony STR-DA1200ES, Cambridge Audio 540 or 340. Connect your front two to your stereo amp and then your remaining speakers to your receiver. You then connect your receiver and your stereo amp. This would leave you more money for Bluray player (one that can decode HD audio). You could then connect it to your receiver using analogue cables and have more money for a sub maybe too?

 

[Anonymous]

which arcam amp do you allready have?

In my opinion connecting your existing arcam to the the pre outs on the £300 cambridge audio 540r would be the best route, adding a blueray player such as the sony 500 or the new panasonic bdp 500 which will decode the hd audio formats on board and output them to the 5.1 inputs on the cambridge audio.

i think the 540r is the cheapest receiver with preouts, it also has pre outs for all 5 chanels.

 

[Big Chris]

[quote user="theturtle01"]
It would be great to have two seperate systems but I've only just got my other half to agree to a 5.1 so I think she may not be to pleased to find 10 speakers in ther front room.
[/quote]

It's funny, but I thought exactly the same thing. I picked my MT-30s, but I let my Wife pick the colour. ;-) If you involve them rather than dictate to them, they can be surprisingly flexible.

 

[Anonymous]

The Arcam I have is the 8r and 8p with the 7se cd player which are nearly ten years old so I thought its about time for an upgrade, but hadn't thought about adding the receiver. It sounds like its the best option so will have a listen to the Denon and the Cambridge.

Thank you all for your help.

 

[Anonymous]

that kit will massively trounce any av receivers below £1000 i would imagine