Soundbar or Dedicated 5.1 System

[Squonk]

Hi,

I’m after a bit of advice, or help, regarding a surround sound system.

I’m currently very happy with my hi-fi set up, a Marantz KI Signature amp and CD player with Monitor Audio Silver S6 speakers.

I’ve recently bought a Pana 46” GT30 and am still very happy with it apart from the sound quality. So my first thought was a soundbar, the Pana SC-HTB550 to be precise. The more I looked into it though, I thought that if I’m spending £300+ maybe I should go for a proper surround sound system, especially as I have several Audio only DVDs that are mixed in 5.1, the recent Genesis remixes for instance.

Now because I’m really happy with my hi-fi system I’ve always decided to not go for a separate surround receiver as I’d then have the problem of speakers, as in I don’t want to be swopping the leads on my S6’s over every time I want to listen to a CD or BD! I could of course buy a surround sound speaker package and connect those to the dedicated surround receiver however.

My other thought was to buy an all in one surround sound system like the new Pana SC-BTT590, I especially like the fact the rear speakers can be wireless, even though this is a £100 optional extra. My only problem with this option is that I already have two blu-ray players, a Sony BDP-S760 bought a few years back, and a Pana DMP-BDT110 that was free with my GT30 TV.

So what would people advise, a soundbar, a dedicated AV receiver and speakers or an all in one system, my budget is around £500?

Cheers and many thanks

 

[davejberry]

Unless you are going to further increase your number of music DVDs or move into Blu Ray just connect your telly to your existing hifi. I would always recommend full fat 5.1 (7.1) over a soundbar but, if you're not a big movie fan, more interested in audio quality, I would suggest that the sound from your DVDs through your current hifi would be better than 5.1 DTS (DD) thru an all in one system.

You could go the other route and buy a second hand receiver with pre outs, matching surround and centre speakers and a sub.

Connect your hifi to the front pre outs on the receiver for movies etc or run solo for music only.