Seperate amp and speaker package or an all in one? Worth it??

[henxuk]

Ok so it seems you either spend 500 pounds on a speaker set up 

like the q acoustics 1010i or the tannoy arenas or such like, then of course you have to buy

an amp like the sony 820 or yamaha 763 which is gonna be like £250 at leats equally

= £750

 

OR

 

you spend about £200 or so on a all in one and be done with it; ~AND have half a grand still in your pocket!

my question is this, is a separate system REALLY worth half a grand extra, oh and also is there a all in one system

that you could use to play your tv sound, ps3 sound and say ipod sound through all in one without having to unplug

things all the time (I.e. a one box system with speakers and amp in I suppose (Or a dvd player with a load of inputs?)) 

 

[d4v3pum4]

Without a doubt, separates every time. Whilst I've been quite impressed with some all-in-one setups, particularly Sony, I've heard some from Pioneer, Panasonic, LG and Samsung etc. etc. that are just quite frankly noise. If you have multiple sources, an all-in-one isn't suitable as you will quickly run out of inputs.

If your budget is tight and you have a PS3 take a look at the Sony HT-SF1300 or HT-DDWG800 systems. They will accept LPCM over HDMI, utilising the HD audio decoding on board the PS3 to give you the new HD audio formats. The speakers in the 800 system can be upgraded. Yamaha also sell the AV63+.

Why don't you visit a dealer and get a demonstration of a simple setup such as the baby Sony receiver, the 820 and Q-Acoustic speakers and hear it for yourself. Once you hear a decent separates system, you will know what I am on about. You will start to hear a lot more. Remember, pretty much any receiver can produce loud bangs and explosions but a decent system will reveal a lot more.

 

[Anonymous]

After I bought my sony KDL40W4500 TV and Sony Blu-ray player I was also looking at either an all-in-one system or seperates. When I heard a few of the top end all in one's I thought they were really good. However, once I'd been to Sevenoaks (sound and vision) and heard some of the seperate speaker and amp packages I instantly knew I had to spend more and get the seperates. It made the all-in-ones sound like they were in stereo at best rather than the 5.1 they were supposed to be. If you can stretch the budget go for seperates.

 

[Anonymous]

A separates system will always be far superior to an all-in-one solution. This applies to both hi-fi and home cinema.

There is a huge difference in sound with the former as oppossed to the latter.

 

[henxuk]

Im not doubting quality that is fairly obvious my question is, it REALLY worth the money??

ii.e is that extra 500 quid really worth the audio difference

ÿ

you can spend 200 quid get an ok all in one and a semi decent surround sound experience

ÿ

or spend a grand get a greatÿsurroundÿexperience but is it worth it??? ÿÿ

I mean for 800 pounds you only get, what a 30% increase in quality?ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Whether or not it's worth it is a value judgement that nobody can make for you. Personally I agree with all of the other posters and I'd say that it's very definitely worth paying the extra for separates (providing you choose the right components and take the time to set them up correctly). Unless you try really, really hard an £800 separates system will sound much better than a £200 all in one system. Will it sound four times better? Maybe if you choose the right kit.

The other advantage with separates is that you upgrade incrementally over time (swap your DVD player for a Blu Ray player, upgrade your amp etc) without throwing out the whole system. So the price difference isn't quite so large over the long term.

With hifi and home cinema kit, the law of diminishing returns applies. Generally the more you spend, the smaller and more subtle the improvements become. A £10,000 amp might only sound 10% better than a £5,000 one, for example. But at the level you're talking about, the difference is huge.

ÿ

 

[ear]

It depends on the combination you make. Buying separate speakers that are also good stereo speakers will always serve you in the future. amps and source are always upgradable.I havent yet got a hold of blu.ray player , and I have a entry level home cinema package. 20w per channel, but having replaced the speakers with proper stereo speakers, made everyting sound much more natural, either for music or movies. Home cinema package only doesn.t leave you any margin to upgrade other than replacing speakers.(mine were made from aluminium casing wich made a lot coloration in sound, and cd's were awful)

 

[Anonymous]

I used to own a very good all-in-one system, the Pioneer DCS363 Home Cinema System. It cost me £270.00. Picture and sound quality were good (5 **** product)

My current system, which costs about £1000.00 is significantly better in all respects. The Blu-Ray picture and HD sound is unbelievable that I will never set foot in a cinema ever again.

Is the difference in price worth it? Yes, mate - every penny!!!