Permission from wife achieved- funding in place- help!

[admin_exported]

My 24'x 18' lounge has been gutted. My old hi fi & tv banished to the other room.

The re wire is complete. I have the Chord HDMI Supershield waiting expectantly and the QED QSM/100 silver micro wired to each seemingly distant corner.

I have been reading whathifi & scanning the web for the past 6 months. I have in mind the following: TV (I want min 50 inch due to the distance from the sceen and watch Sky HD for most part) Samsung PS50B650 ; Blu Ray BDP S760 (although I'm attracted by the new Cambridge Audio Azur 650 to play my CD collection thro); Amp Denon AVR 1910; Speakers B&W MT-25.

The speakers will be way up high about 12 feet attached to a beam- its a barn conversion- does this make a difference?

Would all these components hang together okay or are there better alternatives for a similar price- I don't want to spend more than 3K preferably.

Any assistance gratefully received

 

[Anonymous]

wouldnt know about the audio side of things , but id be waiting a little while before plumping for the samsung b650 , its a good plasma no doubt , but the new samsung and panasonic range of plasmas are not going to cost much more , and should offer better picture quality , and more features , better blacks , better sd , id really have a good look about , even lgs latest high end plasma gets 5 stars here , bit dear though imo ...

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, saw the review of the 50PK990 - £1600. Whilst the b650 is on sale in a well known high street retailer for £990. Is it really worth an extra 600 quid?

 

[The_Lhc]

With the speakers that far above the screen, especially the centre speaker, you're surely going to lose the illusion of the voices coming from the people on the screen?

I'd expect it to sound a little bit odd, 12 feet up really is a long way above the seating position, not to mention the sub, so you could find the integration between the sub and sats suffers somewhat (say that in a hurry when you're drunk).

I don't see how you're going to get a decent soundstage with music either (although I'm not sure the amp or speakers are ideally suited to music anyway).

 

[Anonymous]

******! The rep at a "recommended" retailer advised me it would be no problem to have the speakers wired in at that height (basically out of sight of the Mrs and out of reach of the kids. Should I therefore stick with my stereo speakers and old cd player for the music and purchase the sony blu ray for just that purpose- playing blu ray discs! The centre speaker is to be just below the tv. The remaining 4 are in the corners at the height previously mentioned. Sub will be at floor level.

 

[Anonymous]

ive not seen that lg , but 5 stars here at that price says alot , i still think its expensive compared to the panasonic 50g20 , which i would expect to be a better tv , just my views of course ..

the new 7 series samsung 50c7000 plasma is 3d (discussed here), has a real black filter for improved blacks (poor on the b650) and is available from around £1400 upwards on line , though id be cautious of some sites selling it at the lower price range , maybe your not interested in 3d , but it might be no harm to have it anyway ? you would need a 3d capable amp too i think , your possibly looking at up to £500 for one of them .. id have a good think about your options anyway...

 

[dcanham001]

Hi ch1na

personally i would be wary of using style speakers for music. i demoed the KEF3005SE speaker package and although it was great for movies, music quality seemed significantly poorer. my advice would be to get a demo of the speakers using all your favourite music/films

anyway with a room that size are full-size speakers not an option?

 

[Anonymous]

dangalf:

Hi ch1na

personally i would be wary of using style speakers for music. i demoed the KEF3005SE speaker package and although it was great for movies, music quality seemed significantly poorer. my advice would be to get a demo of the speakers using all your favourite music/films

anyway with a room that size are full-size speakers not an option?

I'm open to any suggestions.. I had considered the B&W 685 Theatre but they are an extra £400 and I really wanted to screw the MT-25 satellites into the beams using the wall mounting fixtures they come with. As I say I am looking at all options at the moment- basically the best set up I can get for the budget.

 

[The_Lhc]

The KEF iQ range are noted for their wide soundstage, which might help in that sort of situation and should be better with music as well. The iQ10s have mounting holes hidden on the back under the vinyl wrap for a bespoke wall mount (they're an odd shape, so you can't use any old mounting bracket) that should allow you to achieve what you want. They're not the biggest speakers in the world though, so you'll need a decent sub under-pinning them, mind you they're likely to be bigger than the MTs. You could go for the iQ30 for a bit of extra welly but I'm fairly sure they don't have the same mounting holes, so you'll possibly struggle to wall mount them.

There is a matching centre speaker as well, the iQ60.

 

[Anonymous]

the monitor audio bronze br5 cinema package is very good too , and great value , ive got the floorstanders only at the moment , and they sound great to my (admittedley) untrained ear , they look gorgeous too...

 

[Anonymous]

ch1na

If you have your heart set on the B&W M1 satellites, then it may be useful for you to audition the ASW610 sub, in addition to the ASW608 that is usually bundled in the MT-25 package. When auditioned, I found the slightly larger ASW610 to give a less strained performance than the 608, as if it didnt need to work as hard. This will be especially useful in a room of your size.

 

[chrisup]

I have a lounge which is 6m x 5m with high ceilings and I use the B&W 685 Theatre but with the B&W ASW610 subwoofer with my Onkyo 905 and Arcam amp. These speakers are great with movies and the B&W 685 are great with music ie. CDs and vinyl. I would recommend you audition these speakers against the B&W MT25 you will be delighted especially in a room your size!

 

[JSM15]

Just found this tv for £1174.46 delivered although don't know what they are like as never used them before.
http://homeavdirect.co.uk/lg-50pk990-50-plasma-tv-freeview-hd-netcast-wifi-ready