Recommendations for affordable system

[admin_exported]

Hello allI'm thinking of sorting out my various video/hi-fi requirements and am looking for either a receiver to which I can add a blu-ray and surround speakers later, or an all-in-one home theatre surround system to which I can hook up other equipment:

XBox 360 via HDMI or component + optical

Apple TV via HDMI or component + optical

Sony DVD player - now this is a 5.1 system with no HDMI or optical out (it does have optical in, however)

BT set-top box/PVR via HDMI

All this is currently playing on a Sony 32" HD TV. The AppleTV is using the DVD's optical input which I occasionally swap for XBox or Freeview. The TV has no optical connection.

Music is streamed from a Mac to my Apple TV so there's no CD player. And most of my video is actually handled in the same way - I rarely play DVDs now so the DVD player is effectively just a receiver. It's the lack of connectivity and scalability which is making me look at updating.

So... here's what I'm thinking, bearing in mind two things: my budget is not great (say £600 max at the moment) and I live in a small-ish flat in a quiet neighbourhood so I'm not looking for power, but for something that gives good quality at non-neighbour annoying volumes.

A receiver with two HDMIs and two optical in, with optical out so I can plug it in to my Sony DVD player for 5.1 surround. At a later date I'll add 5.1 to the receiver directly and pension off the DVD player, replacing it with a blu-ray unit.

Or

A home theatre system with blu-ray and 5.1 with speakers, but which has two HDMIs, component and (possibly) optical in

In the former category I can find likely candidates but without optical out. Which is no good.

In the latter category I can see plenty of good-looking blu-ray home theatres but without HDMI in

Any pointers to suitable options or general advice appreciated. Thanks!

 

[d4v3pum4]

Why do you want to add speakers later? I'm not sure I understand why you would want to upgrade to a separate AV Receiver but still use the all-in-one unit's speakers. For a start, they might be low impedance rated (ohms) that aren't suitable for use with an AV Receiver and basically they're only designed to be used with the unit they shipped with. Most AV Receivers can cope with >6 ohm speakers. Subwoofers with all-in-one systems are usually passive so can't be used with an AV Receiver which requires an active subwoofer with RCA line in.

Personally I would sell the Sony h/c system on and use the funds towards increasing the budget for a BD player. Then I would look at a separates setup say based on a budget receiver plus speakers. The Sony ST-DH800 plus Tannoy SFX speakers would be a good start and you would have some money left over for cables etc. As music is quite important, you should also check out the Yamaha models such as the RX-V465 which is only 5.1 but as your room is small, it shouldn't be an issue. The Denon 1610 might also be worth checking out.

If your budget is £600 for the receiver alone, you would get a great receiver such as the Denon 1910 (current fave in WHF) but would need decent speakers to get the best out of it. I am not familiar with all-in-one units, so hopefully someone will chip in that is and suggest a suitable system but I would always go for separates. I don't know why people assume separates are too loud for small rooms etc, they have a volume control after all!