Need advise on a new set up. budget around 2000

[alex_bro]

I'm looking to upgrade my home entertainment systems, but the last time I was in the market to purchase hifi equipment was a long time ago and everything seems to have changed! I've always been a music lover and about 15 years ago I purchased an Arcam Alpha 5 amp, Mission 760iSE speakers and a Marantz CD52mkII CD player, I then added a NAD 402 tuner and an old DJ style turntable (the turntable was just a stop gap but has been there too long!) I also have lots of digital music on a Mac Book which I connect to the Arcam amp with a minijack fromt the Mac to the Aux input on the amp.

I have a Sony DAVS800 Home Cinema system which is giving up the ghost which is what is prompting me to want to replace / consolidate my entertainment equipment as I really do not have room for 2 seperate set ups.

So, what I think I need is:

* AVR - need to be able to connect Mac book and later a turntable

* 3.1 speaker set up (I can upgrade to 5.1 later as space & budget permits

* CD / DVD / BlueRay player

* (I'm looking into getting either a Project or Rega turntable under a seperate budget of approximately £250)

I visited my local Sevenoaks HiFi and explained what I wanted but i didn't really feel that the advise that I was getting was particularly informative. It felt as if I was being sold what they had in stock rather than knowledgeable options.

They suggested I try an Onkyo 609 AVR, Marantz DVD / Blueray (£400) and either Monitor Audio or B&W Mini Theatre speakers. Not sure what Sub they put with this.

When I listened with the MA speakers the treble sounded very disconnected from the bass and it sounded like there was mid range missing leaving the sound very harsh. I could not listen to music like this for any length of time. We then tried the B&W speakers and this did sound a little better but still had a slight disconnected sound between the bass and treble. Is this becasue i'm used to the mellow sound of the Arcam amp?

So, I'd really welcome some advise on where to go next. Like I say, I have a budget of around £2000 but i'm not sure what to spend it on!

Thanks,

 

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the forum! There are a number of factors to consider and it sounds like you may prefer standard speakers, rather than sub/sat systems, but to allow us all to help it may be worth you mentioning the following:

Approx size and layout of the room
Your TV (are you interested in 3D as there are some great non 3D compaitable bargains out there)
If you can accommodate standard speakers or prefer sub/sat
How much music / movies you will be watching (%)
Any manufacturer preferences( do you want to stick with mission/ Arcam AVR may be out of your budget)
Any sound preferences ( for example I like a detailed soundstage, others like a warmer sound)

I'm sure with some of these, our members can point you in the right direction of what you should demo.

 

[alex_bro]

Thanks for the initial answers / questions.

Answers are:

Room is approximately 16' x 14' with the TV being on the longest wall. I'm in rented though so the room could change!

With respect to the TV, and that's a future purchase, I'm not really interested in 3D

I could accommodate standard speakers, but do like the idea of eventually getting full surround sound like I have with the current (not working) Sony DAVS800.

I would guess that music to movies ratio is going to be about 70% music 30% movies.

I don't have a strong manufactuing preference as I'd rather get the right set up. If possible build quality and British manufacturer should be a consideration. I've always liked the build of my Arcam. I do realise though, that a brand new Arcam AVR might be a bit out of budget.

I think I prefer a warmer sound as a opposed to a very detailed sound. I do like the base to sound quite tight rather than sloppy and I like to be able to distinguish different instruments. I'm not an expert at describing sound so this may sound vague and confusing!!

Hope this helps....

 

[alex_bro]

Anyone...?

 

[richardw42]

Firstly, how much of your current kit do you want to retain ?

In terms of AV receivers. Many people will advise also adding a hi-fi amp to take care of front / stereo duties, but this may have an effect on your budget and of course adds to the box / cables count. A good place to start might be the Yamaha RXV667 (or RXV1067) very musical and so good with AV I watch all my TV through mine. It also has a phono input so you won't have to worry about buying a seperate phono stage when you decide to add a turntable. And the really good thing is that it can be had for around £300 (the 1067 less than 600), which makes it a complete bargain.

For streaming music from your Mac : I suppose it depends on how far it will be from your set up. Investigate an Airport Express and see if thats something you might like. The receiver above has a pretty good DAC in it and anything connected to it via optical or coaxial should sound good.

CD : As you state most music is streamed from your Mac, you might like to keep your Marantz CD, again you could connect via optical to the receiver to take advantage of the Yamahas DAC. And then get something along the lines of a Sony S370 for BD / DVD.

Blu-Ray : I really love my Marantz BD5004 and in terms of PQ and SQ think it outperforms the Sony S570 which I also have. If you fancy the idea of a more CD capable blu-ray. perhaps something like the Marantz UD5005 would suit. I would suggest using the Audio RCAs to connect to get the best from CD playback, I'm not entirely convinced about playing CDs down a HDMI.

Speakers : How big can you go ? The Monitor Audio BX range offer good performance per pound and a pair of BX5s with a BX Center should sound great with a lot of receivers especially the Yamahas.

Maybe look at some of the REL subs for good value.

Don't forget cables too. Chord are always a pretty safe bet.