Newbie seeking help with new cinema room

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All

Hello, I'm Nick and I'm having an extension build at the moment. I'm creating a cinema / snug room behind the double garage. The room will measure 5100mm x 2400mm [LxW]. So its not hugely wide, but has a decent length to it.

I'm very keen to put up a 50" plasma / TV on the wall and I think, through research the best DVD player to buy on a budget is the LG BD390, however I'm really not sure about the sound system to use. I've been reading that soundbars might be a better option for smaller rooms and I'm certainly no purist [hope that doesn’t offend, given where I'm posting this!]. I've been looking at the Yamaha and the Morantz options, reviewed on this site. They look like a veyr good no fuss compromise and extremely easy to install, without the need for me to start stressing about cabling up the small room for big sound systems. The kids bedrooms will be above this room, which is another consideration.

I've got a budget of £2,000 for both the TV & the audio package and am hoping that some of you might have some thoughts you'd be prepared to share.

Many thanks, Nick

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

Since the last post, I've bought the DVD player mentioned. I've now narrowed it down to the Samsung PS50B650 screen and the Yamaha YSP-5100 Soundbar.

Together with SKY HD, does this look, on paper, like a good package?

Cheers. Nick.

 

[The_Lhc]

Soundbars are always a compromise and the surround effect is going to be limited, at best (I heard a Yamaha demo a couple of years back and couldn't discern any surround effects at all but things may have moved on a little).

I'm not sure the kids bedroom being above the room is really worth taking into account, soundbars will still make plenty of noise, especially if they have a sub with them, KEF's 8005 package is a soundbar, surrounds and Sub but that's a grand by itself and needs an amp to go with it. I heard this at the Bristol show this year and wasn't blown away by it, there didn't seem to be a huge amount of soundstage from the front to be honest.

If you can see your way to using proper speakers you'll reap the rewards, even in a room like that.

 

[Andrew Everard]

I think if you're building a dedicated room then something like one of the Q Acoustics packages, driven by a reasonable sub-£500 receiver, will give you much better sound than a soundbar. And since you are still at the construction stage, you should be able to hide all the speaker wiring away, too...

 

[Anonymous]

Noise tends to transfer downwards, as the point of impact/sound generation is the floor/ceiling. upward noise transfer from floor standing speakers is far less.

Making sure you use fully acoustic rated hoods on any downlights, (preferably don't use downlights as they break the ceiling/sound barrier)) and double boarding the ceiling will help, if the build is in progress you could decouple the floor/ceiling for maximum sound proofing.

 

[Anonymous]

All, thanks very much for your comments, much appreciated.

Andrew, thanks for the tip for Q Acoustics. I didn't get much sleep last night as I was trawling the net and have become very excited by the Q-AV 5.1 package. Looks great and read some rave reviews. I'm definitely now looking into this system and as I'm still in construction, this shouldn't be too difficult to sort out.

However, seeing as I'm completely new to all this, can you also point me in the direction for a decent Amp? I'm still going for the Samsung PS50B650 [if I can find one] and I've got SKY HD and LG BD390 as my other bits to wire up - no other units / game consoles etc.

Be kind of you.
Nick

 

[Andrew Everard]

Q-AV good; 1010 5.1 or 2000 Cinema pack arguably offer even better performance for the same kind of money, or even less dosh.

Amps? I'd be thinking Onkyo TX-SR607 or Yamaha RX-V765 at around £300, or even better Sony's STR-DA2400ES at about £400.

 

[Anonymous]

npound , the new c series samsung plasmas (replacement for the b650) are said to have better blacks , the b650s blacks are not great for a plasma , easily bettered by last years panasonic g10 , v10 ..

the new tvs are very reasonably priced too , id say you may get one for £1100 , in fact even the new lg50pk9900 that got 5 stars here recently is now available online for just over £1200 , i dont want to put you off your b650 purchase , but id check out the newer stuff , more features and better picture for little more money ...

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks very much Max & Andrew

Re Amp - from reading reviews in here, I'm decided to go for the Denon AVR-2310. I've managed to find it for just under £600, so looks like a good deal.

Re TV, very useful info Max. I really only decided on the PS50B650, from clicking on the best buys section from the home page. I'll now look into the new C series and also the LG. Ideally, I've got £1,000 for the TV and I'm really only lookig for an impressive package that can do it all - I'm very far from a purist. This is to watch Sky HD sport / films etc and the off DVD.I'll keep looking, but my time is running out to get it all ordered in time for the build!

Cheers

 

[Anonymous]

just post on here when your ready to get your tv , and we,ll fill you in on what else may be available thats within your budget ..

just to let you know , the yamaha rxv1065 , same class amp as the denon , also a 5 star amp , is only £450 at richer sounds ?

 

[Anonymous]

Max, you're a top bloke and I owe you a pint! Thanks for the info re the Yamaha amp, will look into this evening.

Re the TV, please fire away - I'm in buying mode today and I'm keen to get this all crossed off my list and off my wife's radar! I've found a set of speakers - Q-AV 5.1 with an additional pair of speakers to make the unit up to 7.1 for £610 - looks like a good deal to me on paper. The beauty of this system is the design and I'm keen to have the clean speakers on the forward and rear walls "out of sight" with the soundbar under the TV. So I'm happy with this option.

Would you buy the Yamaha over the Denon?

All the best, Nick

 

[Anonymous]

hi nick , the three best sets around right now seem to be the panasonic 50g20 , sony 46ex503 and lg50pk9900 , well thats what i have found anyway based on the reviews on the web ,prices up to £1300ish , but if you could wait a few more weeks you could also factor in the new samsung 50c6500 also , assuming it gets good reviews , either of these tvs will almost definately be better than last years b650 , some with hd freeview , all i think , and more features , than last year...

im the wrong man to ask about amps , i only got my first one two weeks ago

, but id choose the yamaha because it appears the equal of the denon for less money , they are both apparently warm sounding amps too , most people are advised to demo though , because they can seemingly sound different ..

ps. thanks for the offer of the pint , but im being a good boy lately .no booze

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks again Max, good stuff.

On my shopping list I've got either of these two at the moment: Samsung PS50C550 for £800 or Samsung PS50C6500 for £1,111. I cant find any definative specs on the 6500, as I've read that it does have a Real Black Filter on some reviews and on others it doesn't. Also, I've read that it supports 3D and then again on other specs, it doesn't.

Anyone know where to point me / recomend? I really want to buy in next 24hrs to get it locked away.

Cheers

 

[Anonymous]

Bought the Q-AV 5.1 system today and also a Yamaha RX-V2065. Paid £1,150 for them, whcih I'm happy with. I've got SKY HD and the LG BD390 already waiting, so now I just need to get a tele! The Samsung PS50C550 I had earmarked went out of stock this morning! Any other £1,000 50" suggestions?

 

[Anonymous]

wow , youll have no shortage of power for that speaker system with the rxv2065 , as far as a tv goes , seeing as you want to buy now , if i were you id up the budget and either get the afforementioned 50g20 or lg , or the 46ex503 , but then i consider my tv to be the most important part of my system ..

if your keen to stick to a grand budget , and 50in , id be looking at a 50g10 , b650 or maybe a sony 52w5500...

just my views...

 

[strapped for cash]

npound34:
Max, you're a top bloke and I owe you a pint! Thanks for the info re the Yamaha amp, will look into this evening.

Re the TV, please fire away - I'm in buying mode today and I'm keen to get this all crossed off my list and off my wife's radar! I've found a set of speakers - Q-AV 5.1 with an additional pair of speakers to make the unit up to 7.1 for £610 - looks like a good deal to me on paper. The beauty of this system is the design and I'm keen to have the clean speakers on the forward and rear walls "out of sight" with the soundbar under the TV. So I'm happy with this option.

Would you buy the Yamaha over the Denon?

All the best, Nick

The consensus is that the Denon 2310 is a shade better than the Yamaha 1065 -- the Yamaha gets the vote for surround steering but suffers in comparison when it comes to clarity of dialogue (according to the WHF review). Given the difference price, I would say the Yamaha (available at Superfi this week for £449 also) is better value for money. Depends how finnicky you want to get.