New home cinema setup

[stuarta99]

Looking at finally purchasing a home cinema amp in the Richer Sounds sales. Currently looking at either Yamaha RXV375 (£189), Onkyo TXNR626 (£299) or Denon AVRX2000 (£249)Obviously then to find speakers. JBL Cinema 610 (£249), Wharfedale MS-100 (£199).Hope someone can help because all of a minefield and knowing the best setup to go for.

 

[Mtenga]

As a rule of thumb it is sometimes said that you should spend at least twice as much on the speakers as the receiver. Not everyone believes that but it seems sensible to me. So get the basic yamaha and spend the larger chunk on the speakers. Personally with around 500 I'd match it with the Boston package and have plenty of change. But at that price point the lifestyle speaker packages are going to be much of a muchness.

 

[jonathanRD]

Both the Onkyo and the Denon were originally (nominally at least) £500 amps versus the Yamaha at £250. So looking at the specs you are getting more for your money.

I have a previous version of the Onkyo and personally I am very pleased with it, using it with £1100 worth of 5.1 speakers. If it was me, I'd get either the Onkyo or Denon for their higher spec - just choose which one gives you the most features you would like.

Can't comment on the speakers - can you demo them in RS?

 

[jonathanRD]

Stuart, if you do not think you are going to want to upgrade in the future and just stick with a nice little system, where the speakers are unobtrusive in your room, then Mtenga's suggestion to go with the Yamaha and spend more on the speakers is a good option.

If, on the otherhand, you can accomodate bigger speakers or can be patient and purchase say the fronts and center first, then add the surround and sub later, getting a higher specked amp maybe the way to go. I was patient and took over a year to complete the 5.1 setup.

 

[stuarta99]

Ok thanks guys. I'm upgrading from a Panasonic SA PT467 all in one home cinema hobby so thinking any is going to be a big upgrade. Another speaker option to throw into the mix is the Tannoy TFX 5.1 at £249.

Did read that the Denon was better for normal music listening. Keep wondering if worth it as this system does a great job but feel that a dedicated one could do better. Will be paired to a Sky HD box, Panasonic HD DVD player, Logitech Squeezebox and possibly Panasonic TX L42ET60b. Xbox will move to bedroom with existing home cinema and tv

 

[DiNZi]

@stuarta99 What did you go for in the end?

I'm in a similar situation, I've got £400-450 to spend at Richer Sounds.

What appeals to me at the moment is the Tannoy TFX 5.1 Speakers and Yamaha RX-V475 AV.

I didn't want the 375 as it was considered entry level I wanted something a bit more midrange. 475 also has HDMI Passthrough, which I need.

I was going to get the Tannoy SFX initially but my brother dislikes the design and his also chipping in, the TFX range is newer and much better looking.

Please advise.

 

[DiNZi]

New budget: £450.

I've taken a whole range from below, can you match two together an AV and Speakers that would be great together.

AVs:

http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/cambridge-audio/azur-351r/camb-351r-blk

http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/pioneer/vsx923/pion-vsx923

http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/sony/strdn840/sony-strdn840

http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/yamaha/rxv475/yama-rxv475-blk

http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/denon/avrx2000/deno-avrx2000

http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/yamaha/rxv575/yama-rxv575-blk

Speakers:

http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/boston-/soundware-xs-se/bost-sndware-xs-se-b

http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/tannoy/tfx-5.1/tann-tfx5.1-blk

http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/jbl/cinema-610/jbl-cinema-610

 

[bigboss]

As a rule of thumb it is sometimes said that you should spend at least twice as much on the speakers as the receiver. Not everyone believes that but it seems sensible to me. So get the basic yamaha and spend the larger chunk on the speakers. Personally with around 500 I'd match it with the Boston package and have plenty of change. But at that price point the lifestyle speaker packages are going to be much of a muchness.

In my opinion, an AV receiver is the heart of any system, and I would spend 60% on the speakers and 40% on the AV receiver.

 

[bigboss]

New budget: £450.

I've taken a whole range from below, can you match two together an AV and Speakers that would be great together.

AVs:

http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/cambridge-audio/azur-351r/camb-351r-blk

http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/pioneer/vsx923/pion-vsx923

http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/sony/strdn840/sony-strdn840

http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/yamaha/rxv475/yama-rxv475-blk

http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/denon/avrx2000/deno-avrx2000

http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/yamaha/rxv575/yama-rxv575-blk

Speakers:

http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/boston-/soundware-xs-se/bost-sndware-xs-se-b

http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/tannoy/tfx-5.1/tann-tfx5.1-blk

http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/jbl/cinema-610/jbl-cinema-610

Also look at this one:

http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/wharfedale/dx1-hcp/whar-dx1

 

[DiNZi]

What would you say is better the Wharfedale DX1 or Tannoy HTS 101? Also, for AV what would you say is better the Yamaha RX-V475 or Denon AVR-X2000?

 

[Alantiggger]

That Yamaha RXV375 (a 5* What HI-FI product) Is now down to only ...... £169.00 in Richer Sounds :bounce:

A Great buy. :dance:

 

[bigboss]

What would you say is better the Wharfedale DX1 or Tannoy HTS 101? Also, for AV what would you say is better the Yamaha RX-V475 or Denon AVR-X2000?

Both the speakers and AV receivers are very good, although my personal preference is the Yamaha and the Wharfedale. I would recommend you demo these 2 speakers and receivers and buy what sounds best to you.

 

[DiNZi]

How comes Wharfedale's stuff is only 4 ohms compared to Tannoy at 6/8, it's quite strange even with the Wharf DX1 HCP it is 4 ohms, hmm.

Last night, I took a good look at the Richer Sounds website and put together some AVs/Speakers with the prices I can get them at from RS.

1. Yamaha RX-V375 AV + Tannoy TFX 5.1 Speakers = £280

2. Yamaha RX-V475 AV + Tannoy TFX 5.1 Speakers = £308

3. Yamaha RX-V375 AV + Wharfedale DX1 HCP Speakers = £315

4. Yamaha RX-V375 AV + Tannoy HTS 101 Speakers = £350

5. Denon AVR-X2000 AV + Tannoy TFX 5.1 Speakers = £343

None of them really go above my £350 budget, but a few of them have the RX-V375 which will only output 70W per channel in comparison to the RX-V475's 85W. I'm not a huge fan of Wharfedale most of there Speakers are 4 ohms, the Tannoy HTS 101 are probably better suited to most AVs.

I'm not going to rush into it, I'm going on Holiday next week Wednesday and when I'm back I'll purchase for now just thinking what will my money be best spent on as I don't plan on changing much in the next 2 years if I go for the ones that near £340-£360 mark.

 

[sp4wny]

Hi Stuart,

If you want my advice I wouldn't bother with the lesser speakers. I went into Richersounds to spend £200 to replace my existing Samsung 5.1 system and ended up spending £1,300 last night on the ultimate setup.

Originally went in and viewed the same AMP you are looking at (the 375) with the same speakers (Tannoy SFX 5.1), whilst I was very happy with the AMP the speakers weren't much cop when you try a mix of audio (i.e. movies and music). I ended up going with the Yamaha 675 @ 299 and the Monitor Audio BX2 5.1 setup @ £899 and boy the difference is immense. Yes I totally blew my original budget out the water but I have no intentions of 'upgrading' later down the line of buying a new system. I brought this with the intention of not having to change it at all. What you'll find it at that price range the speakers will only be good for one thing (i.e. either movies or music not both). It certainly pays to go the extra mile if you want the best of both worlds/

My advice, do it properly if your going to or you will end up spending more money in the long run trying to save money!

Also, check out AVForums (home cinema classified) where you can pickup some naughty bargains!

Don't rush out and go that cheap though, i second the opinion in this post that you need to spend more on speakers.

 

[DiNZi]

Hi Stuart,

If you want my advice I wouldn't bother with the lesser speakers. I went into Richersounds to spend £200 to replace my existing Samsung 5.1 system and ended up spending £1,300 last night on the ultimate setup.

Originally went in and viewed the same AMP you are looking at (the 375) with the same speakers (Tannoy SFX 5.1), whilst I was very happy with the AMP the speakers weren't much cop when you try a mix of audio (i.e. movies and music). I ended up going with the Yamaha 675 @ 299 and the Monitor Audio BX2 5.1 setup @ £899 and boy the difference is immense. Yes I totally blew my original budget out the water but I have no intentions of 'upgrading' later down the line of buying a new system. I brought this with the intention of not having to change it at all. What you'll find it at that price range the speakers will only be good for one thing (i.e. either movies or music not both). It certainly pays to go the extra mile if you want the best of both worlds/

My advice, do it properly if your going to or you will end up spending more money in the long run trying to save money!

Also, check out AVForums (home cinema classified) where you can pickup some naughty bargains!

Don't rush out and go that cheap though, i second the opinion in this post that you need to spend more on speakers.

How come you didn't consider the higher range Tannoy's HTS 101? They are only £350 and the sub is so much better than what you'd get with the SFX/TFX model.

The Yamaha 675 is a great AV though, I'm considering the 475 as I don't need 7.1

 

[sp4wny]

I never considered them as once I had listened to the Monitor Audio's everything else suddenly became lame....

Yes they are slightly expensive but its pointless in my eyes to spend say £150 on speakers now that I will want to upgrade later on or replace when they go after 5 years (my current Samsung 5.1 lasted just about 5 years so kind of used that as a benchmark although I do appreciate thats probably not an accurate across the various manufacturers out there).

 

[jonathanRD]

I never considered them as once I had listened to the Monitor Audio's everything else suddenly became lame....

Yes they are slightly expensive but its pointless in my eyes to spend say £150 on speakers now that I will want to upgrade later on or replace when they go after 5 years (my current Samsung 5.1 lasted just about 5 years so kind of used that as a benchmark although I do appreciate thats probably not an accurate across the various manufacturers out there).

I had a similar view, and decided to build my system over about a year and a half - yes you need some patience - but it does pay off when you eventually get a system that you are both very pleased with, and that you know will last you for many years - unless I win the lottery

 

[DiNZi]

I never considered them as once I had listened to the Monitor Audio's everything else suddenly became lame....

Yes they are slightly expensive but its pointless in my eyes to spend say £150 on speakers now that I will want to upgrade later on or replace when they go after 5 years (my current Samsung 5.1 lasted just about 5 years so kind of used that as a benchmark although I do appreciate thats probably not an accurate across the various manufacturers out there).

I had a similar view, and decided to build my system over about a year and a half - yes you need some patience - but it does pay off when you eventually get a system that you are both very pleased with, and that you know will last you for many years - unless I win the lottery

I've heard quite a few tell me the same thing, but I don't have the patience.

Yamaha RX-V375 AV + Tannoy TFX 5.1 Speakers = £280

Yamaha RX-V375 AV + Tannoy HTS 101 Speakers = £350

Yamaha RX-V475 AV + Tannoy TFX 5.1 Speakers = £308

Yamaha RX-V475 AV + Tannoy HTS 101 Speakers = £370

Yamaha RX-V575 AV + Tannoy TFX 5.1 Speakers = £345

Yamaha RX-V575 AV + Tannoy HTS 101 Speakers = £420

Yamaha RX-V675 AV + Tannoy TFX 5.1 Speakers = £400

Yamaha RX-V675 AV + Tannoy HTS 101 Speakers = £420

Denon AVR-X2000 AV + Tannoy TFX 5.1 Speakers = £343

Denon AVR-X2000 AV + Tannoy HTS 101 Speakers = £406

Sony STR-DN1040 AV + Tannoy TFX 5.1 Speakers = £413

Sony STR-DN1040 AV + Tannoy HTS 101 Speakers = £490

Anyone tell me where I'm getting more for my money at the rates above?

PS: Bear in mind that I'm getting these at a reduced price that's why it would be more expensive to go get Speakers elsewhere. I could get a discounted AVR and use the rest of the budget to go get Speakers elsewhere or vice-versa but I think it will still work out more expensive.

 

[jdamsell]

Dinzi, what's your source for the HTS101 and Yamaha 675 combination at £420 ? Ditto the Sony 1040?

 

[DiNZi]

Dinzi, what's your source for the HTS101 and Yamaha 675 combination at £420 ? Ditto the Sony 1040?

It's the rate I'll get them at, I know someone that works over there.

I just need to get a 'good' Speaker package, I'm not sure if there are major differences between the HTS and TFX, but I will probably go with the HTS.

Then later on in 6-9 months get two floorstanders to put beside my TV and make it 7.1.

 

[jdamsell]

ah, mates rates. very handy too

 

[sp4wny]

I just need to get a 'good' Speaker package, I'm not sure if there are major differences between the HTS and TFX, but I will probably go with the HTS.

Then later on in 6-9 months get two floorstanders to put beside my TV and make it 7.1.

Go with HTS definately, plus i think they have a better look to them than the TFX's. As for amps, I made my choice up by accesibility. One thing I noticed about the Sony was it had poor app control, as I like to control things through the iPad the Yamaha's app won hands down. Check the Sony's review on this site under 'Your Opinion' most of them comment on how poor the app functionality it. If you aren't bothered with that, Id chose the Sony....