New House..

[admin_exported]

Hi all....

I am looking for some advice on what kind of Amplifier/Receiver I might need and how to achieve a high quality Surround Sound for viewing movies. I will also use for watching TV, playing a PS3 and playing Music thru'....

Background: I am building a new house, and am getting to the stage of 1st fix electrics. Therefore I want to put as much necessary cabling in now as I may need in the future to allow me to hide as much wires as possible in this phase.

I want to have wired in speakers in a large sitting room and will probably go for a 6.1 set up, or should I go 7.1 now that I am in a “greenfield scenario”. Can someone recommend a good speaker package that will go with your (hopefully!!) suggested Amplifier/Receiver ??

Budget would be low but around 1,500 to 2k Euro for both Amplifier/Receiver & Speaker package

Then I obviously want to connect all these speaker wires back to the Amp/Receiver, and then be able to have the following Systems' sound output thru the speakers. System selection/source would be via a Remote control obviously..

1.. 46" Sony Bravia TV
2.. SKY HD Box
3..PS3 (for Blu-ray, gaming and to play CDs and MP3 files)
4..Possibly a SONOS Zoneplayer or similar (can this be done?)
5..Possibly add a region free DVD player also.

Can anyone suggest what I may need to achieve this and maybe suggest if I am missing anything that could be added now to improve my Movie and Music listening experience? Dont think I will bother with a Projector..too dear!!

Thanks in advance

 

[d4v3pum4]

I have no idea what the ? to £ is at the moment but a good start would be the Denon 1910 at £450 and then add some Monitor Audio Radius/Vector speakers. The Bronze would be a good pairing if you preferred larger speakers. Presumably you are going to wall mount so budget for some brackets as well.

You will need:

5 x lengths of speaker cable (buy a reel of install cable if you need a lot, it will work out cheaper)

1 x subwoofer cable (Mark Grant or QED would be my pick)

2 x HDMI cables (1 for PS3 to amp, 1 for amp to TV - Sky+HD is supplied with one)

1 x optical cable (Sky+HD to amp - as the boxes do not output DD5.1 over HDMI)

Then if you get the Sonos (or Squeezebox) you would need either a digital audio cable (digi-coax or optical) if you want to use the DAC in the amp or a pair of RCA phono cables if you want to use the DAC in the player. The DVD player will depend on the model but most have HDMI these days.

Visit the Sonos and slimdevices sites for details but bear in mind you'll need a PC or NAS to store the music

BTW Projectors aren't that dear and a decent one can be bought for about £1000-1200. The likes of RoyJowettHomeCinema are good bets and could also do a deal on the amp/speakers too (if you're in the UK!!)

 

[Big Chris]

If you're contemplating 6.1, 7.1 seems like a no brainer.

You could do a lot worse than buying say B&W 685s for the front stereo pair(or 684s ir 683s if you prefer floorstanders, might be a good idea if your room is large), the matching centre (sorry, don't know the model number) and B&W 685s (or 686s for something a bit smaller) for the 4 surround positions, plus the sub of your choice.

You could alternatively use the B&W M1s for the 4 rear surround speakers if you were after something more discrete than the 685s/686s. ( If you don't know, M1s are wall mountable 'style' speakers available in black, white or silver).

Onto A/V receivers. You might want to check out the zone capabilities of any prospective amp. My own amp has zone 2 (powered) & zone 3 (non-powered) abilities over and above the regular 7.1 I use in my lounge (zone 1 I guess). In my instance, when using zone 2, it limits my main system to 5.1, as it's still only got 7 channels of power, and zone 3 requires an amplifier in the room I want sound in, but it means I can play music in 3 seperate rooms, all from a single source in my lounge (even different sources simultaneously).

Other amps have even greater amounts of zones, meaning they're even better for use as a 'hub' for your system.

Alas, my knowledge of Sonos systems is limited at how to spell it, so others will have to chip in here.

 

[The_Lhc]

Big Chris:You could do a lot worse than buying say B&W 685s for the front stereo pair(or 684s ir 683s if you prefer floorstanders, might be a good idea if your room is large), the matching centre (sorry, don't know the model number) and B&W 685s (or 686s for something a bit smaller) for the 4 surround positions, plus the sub of your choice.

Not sure that'll fit the £1500-£2000 budget for Amp AND Speakers will it?

Alas, my knowledge of Sonos systems is limited at how to spell it, so others will have to chip in here.

As has already been said, it's simply a digital or analogue out into the amp, easy. The OP will have to use the Sonos controller though, you can't use a universal remote to control Sonos.

 

[Big Chris]

the_lhc:Not sure that'll fit the £1500-£2000 budget for Amp AND Speakers will it?

Yeah. Might be a squeeze. I know the basic 685 HT is around £1200, but obviously that's for 5.1, and omits floorstanders. A few places do do deals though. The book for my MT30s is around £1800 or so for 7.1, but I paid £1460 inc. delivery.

I would say that if I were limited by the budget, I'd get 5.1 to start, and then worry about a pair of rears at a later date. (Obviously, don't forget to wire for 7.1 though!)

It can be done, but will require a bit of thought, rather than jumping in blindly.

Anyway, budget shmudget, I was looking to spend around £1k for everything...... You can see how badly that went!!

;-)

 

[roger06]

If you're about to rewire - make sure you get a dedicated spur for the AV kit (ie a circuit with nothing else on it) - not many people get the chance to do this. Also go for plug sockets without switches...

 

[Anonymous]

Congratulations on your new house, btw - a dream come true and certainly a cause for jubilation!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Hey all, Thanks for the informative replies and kind comments..

A few queries on your answers if I may..(in advance, apologies for my ignorance..!!)

To: d4v3pum4 Euro to GBP is around 0.85 at mo. Not sure about wall mounting (yet..) but more than likely will do (keep herself happy!!)

In terms of connections, what connectors will I need for the speaker wire to/from Speakers>Amp? Sub woofer cable will I presume go from Sub to Amp. "2 x HDMI cables (1 for PS3 to amp, 1 for amp to TV - Sky+HD is supplied with one) 1 x optical cable (Sky+HD to amp - as the boxes do not output DD5.1 over HDMI)" I presume also I still need to connect as follows for picture: Connect PS3 to TV via HDMI and Connect SKY to TV via HDMI.??

For the Sonos, yes I am aware I will need a NAS or similar so am prepared for this.. If I wanted to just stick wires in the ceiling and plaster over for the possibility of a Projector in the future, what wiring would I need?? Presumably power for the Projector and some sort of sound cable (HDMI?) from the Projector to the Amp??? Anything else?

To: Big Chris Given my limited knowledge and budget, would I not be better getting all 6 or 7 speakers and sub as a "one model package"??

I had come across the zone concept in my research and wondered how it worked? For say a dual zone Amp, would you have to run speaker wiring from the Amp to the second zone (say a Kitchen/Dining area) and then connect to speakers here?? Is this like a multi-room sound capability feature, so if you had a movie on in the main zone, then (if desired) you could actually listen to it in the second zone? When you say "even different sources simultaneously", do you mean that you could be watching/listening to a movie in main zone and have a music player also playing in the main zone but only being output in the second zone? If this capability is there I would like to understand it so I can wire correctly for it now, so any explanation is appreciated.

To: roger06 When you say dedicated spur, what do you mean? Do you mean a separate circuit for any powerpoints that this equipment is plugged into? Is this to eliminate "interference"? Why do you say plug sockets without switches? Sockets with switches are fairly standard now.

To: valiant TX..thanks but there is a lot of nightmarish stuff toooooooo..

 

[d4v3pum4]

The subwoofer (RCA) cable
goes from the amp to the sub

. As for connections, you can either
just run speaker cable with bare ends or terminate them with banana
plugs. Banana plugs are only for convenience and make
connecting/disconnecting easier and keep everything tidy. I find them
particularly useful at the amp end. You have two options for
connecting Sky+HD, you can either connect the HDMI direct to the TV
thus allowing you to use either TV speakers for quiet listening or the
amp (via the optical cable) for

You would need
power (IEC cable usually) and HDMI only, if your amp upconverts
analogue connections to HDMI. The amp I mentioned in my previous post
does this. Some projectors have control/trigger cables for activating
electric screens. Projectors usually don't have any speakers so no
audio cable is required. You wouldn't use a speaker on a projector
anyway, that's what the amp/speakers are for.

With your budget, I think the Denon/MA combo would be a good start.

 

[Anonymous]

I totally agree with roger06 on fitting a dedicated supply, and yes you are right reference interference (also load).

Reason for no switches is that switches are bad - they are another contact break for the supply which also leads me to neon indicators on mains extensions / hubs which again are bad. They all contaminate the supply to your kit which can have a detrimental effect on sound and picture.

You are in a nice position to do things right so if time permits research as much as you possibly can and avoid the - if only I had .....

Cheers Si..