New System Advice Please

[Biker68]

Hello everyone

I have a budget of approx £1400 for a new system, but very little knowledge (a dangerous combination!). For the money I want a 42" TV with a surround sound system with CD and iPod functionality. The video inputs to the system are SD Sky (soon to be replaced by HD Freesat I hope), SD DVD from a Panasonic DMR-ES20D DVD recorder, and a Wii. I have no immediate intention of adding a blu-ray player. Most of the "difficult" viewing is football and motorsport, so I guess a plasma TV will be most appropriate. In addition, I would like the rear speakers to be wireless if possible.

I would appreciate any advice on the best set-up I could get for my money.

 

[Anonymous]

Look at the Panny TH-42PX80B. I got mine for £709 from john lewis price matched against Sound and Vision in Bolton. Excellent telly. I think with your budget you could stretch to something better than a one box wonder. So I would suggest the Onkyo SR605, which is available on-line for arounf £350. The SR606 is coming out soon, so there should be some deals to be had on the older 605 it is replacing. I think the 605 is a must, despite it being a big chunk of your budget, because it supports HD audio, better then wanting to upgrade in the next year. That should leave £350 for speakers. Haven't had a look at whats about in this price range, but you could consider going for stereo or a 2.1 setup for the moment until you can save for some rears and a centre. You can see that I am recommending stuff that I already have (see the bottom of this post) but I wouldn't recommend it if I wasn't totally satisfied with it!

 

[Biker68]

Thanks Tomcat

From reading through this forum I had kinda come to the same conclusion about the tv and amp, so it's good to get a vote of confidence. I was looking at the same telly in Currys at the weekend and was mightily impressed.

From other posts I see Claire has recommended Jamo A102 speakers in response to other similar questions. Is there any option for wireless connection to the rear speakers?

 

[Anonymous]

Hmmmm.... wireless speakers... At your budget, it is not worth it because the gimmick will cost you in terms of sound quality. I know it is a bit of work, but it is easy to hide speaker wire in the gap between the skirting board and the floorboards (if you have laminate or wooden floors you can get edging trim with a grove in the back which will hide away the wires) I would recommend the QED micro for the rears, easy to hide. Having had a quick search regarding wireless speakers, i found this: http://www.aspecttv.co.uk/Convert-your-rear-speakers-to-Wireless/239.htm Dunno how well it performs or how you get the power to the speakers, but it is a big chunk of your budget.

 

[Biker68]

Thanks again Tomcat

We're having the whole house revamped at the moment (hence the new toys!) including a new wooden floor in the lounge. With hindsight I guess your right that wired speakers are the way to go, I just don't want unsightly wires trailing up the walls.

This leads me to another question - given that we are going for a minimalist look (no echo absorbing curtains, carpets etc) are there any other considerations I need to think about with the sound system?

 

[professorhat]

Have to agree with Tomcat on the wireless speakers - at your budget, you'll be spending most of your money on a system that delivers wireless sound and very little on a system which delivers good sound! The QED Micro cable is a very good cable and is very thin and unobtrusive - I use it with my rears, and have positioned them next to furniture which can hide the cable completely from view (DVD racks in my case!).

On your question on the rest of the room, this is a tricky one for any one but yourself to answer. The key is with experimentation. How does the system sound if I move the sofa here? What if I move the speakers over here? How about if I toe-in the speakers / don't toe-in the speakers etc. etc. However, rugs have proven to help when you have a wooden floor (again, experiment with this, both in position and also how many you have in the room!).