New setup needed (upgrading from all-on-one) - advice please

[Mr.Crow]

So, after a lot of surfing, it appears that 3.5mm jacks for headphones on all-in-ones are a thing of the past - there appears to be another thread on these forums stating the same. This is disappointing as I watch stuff late at night while others are sleeping. Market oversight perhaps?

Anyway, this does lead me to the conclusion that a separates system is now the way to go.

And this is where I start to stumble. Could someone recommend me a setup, please? These are my requirements:

- Must have a 3.5mm jack for 'phones

- Housing for the units is limited so the receiver/amp/blu-ray musy have a small footpring

- 3D is unimportant as is 4K

- The rears will have to be "wireless" (appreciate they won't be fully wire-free)

- The setup needs to be 5.1 as I don't have room for any more speakers

- The speakers will need to be small but the sub can go big

- Budget £1,000 although I could be pushed higher

Any help or pointers would be most welcome.

Also, how do these connect, generally speaking, cable wise? HDMI to receiver, speakers to amp... but then what connects the transport to the receiver, receiver to amp etc.? I suppose it depends on the number of and types of units employed.

Sorry, I'm not particularly tech-savy.

Many thanks.

 

[jonathanRD]

Welcome to the forum Mr.Crow.
Re headphones, they are plenty of adapters available to allow you to use your current headphones with whichever model of receiver you end up buying.(just search for headphone jacks/adaptors).

Cable connection are quite straight-forward.
bluray to receiver via HDMI, receiver to TV via HDMI.
Speaker cables connected to both receiver and speakers either by banana plugs or bare wire or combination of both. Just ask again when you need further advice.

Have a look on some of the hifi retailers online sites for home cinema separates bundles deals. Assuming you need stands for the front speakers, and a bluray player, look at deals for a receiver and speakers around the £800 - £1000 mark as an indicator.
This will give you an idea but the back speakers being wireless makes this less straight-forward.

So do some further surfing and use this forum's search facilities too. Take your time.

Hopefully someone else can come up with some suggestions that fit in with your requirment for wireless speakers.

 

[Mr.Crow]

Many thanks for your reply!

I've been surfing a bit since my post and have come with a combination that may work. I realise this isn't a wireless rear setup but the more I've looked, the more I'm reliasing I'm going to have to do some carpet refitting! ;D

Here's what I'm looking at:

http://www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk/p/yamaha-rx-v375av-receiver

http://www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk/p/q-acoustics-2000i-cinema-packav-speaker-package/home-theatre-speakers?pp=96

http://www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk/p/sony-bdp-s7903d-blu-ray-player/tv-home-cinema_blu-ray_what-hi-fi-award-winners?pp=96

Obviously, I may not source the entire lot from the same place...

 

[jonathanRD]

Some good kit there, please factor in speaker stands and/or brackets, speakers cables, and HDMI cables.
The Sony S790 is very good, and if needed you could go down the Sony range a little and still get a very good bluray for less than £100 (see reviews on this site). The latest Yamaha amps and the Q Accoustics 2000i 5.1 set up are very popular.
Also, check out other sites for bundle deals such as http://www.richersounds.com/package/system-savers/home-cinema-separates-bundle-deals/pah011546

Try to go and have a look and listen - demo if you can, you might be able to get a deal with cables and bluray thrown in.

 

[Mr.Crow]

Great advice.

Already have a couple of HDMI's - a couple of Chord ones.

For the speaker interconnects, I'm thinking standard bell wire isn't really going to cut the mustard. I'll need to fact that in.

As the store in the links above is the same for each, I think, as you say, I'll see if I can audition the setup.

Cheers!

 

[Big Chris]

Don't get hung up on the 3.5mm jack thing. 3.5mm to 6.4mm adaptors are cheap and plentiful.

 

[Mr.Crow]

Oh, I'm not hung up on the 3.5mm jack, it's just really important for me to have a headphone socket. Over the years I've collcted about two dozen adaptors!