suggestions for a/v system without surround?

[admin_exported]

Hi all,

I'm currently in the market for a new lcd television and a/v system. I guess special to my requirements is that I'm after a a/v system with 2
speakers rather than multiple speakers or soundbar. I do not care about surround and do not want to clutter my living room with speakers (and I'm not keen on a soundbar). In this case, does
it make sense to have an A/V receiver? They are often not very
visually appealing, have heap of features I would not use, less music
quality and get outdated more quickly.

My ideal system would be:

- Full HD LCD TV between 30' to 40"

- amplifier or receiver which is visually appealing, relatively simple and has good musical/movie sound

- Blueray player (preferably same brand as amplifier)

- 2 nice looking floor standing speakers (I was thinking about the KEF iQ5) as I do not care about surround

- video upscaling to 1080p (either by the TV or the amplifier) preferably from digital as well as analogue sources

- ability to play music from iPod, USB or network drive (with support metadata)

Would anybody have any suggestions? My budget is around 3000 EUR/2400 GBP.

Thank you!

Chris.

 

[Big Chris]

Arcam has a 2.1 version of its Solo Movie. Seems like a neat solution to your needs, Should have enough inputs to allow you to connect up a Blu-ray player too.

 

[HDNumpty]

Any decent stereo amp with enough inputs and preferably a sub pre-out (or set of pre-outs) would do the trick - the Cambridge stereo amps (740/840) have pre-outs or dedicated sub connections. Your music will sound best through this arrangement too.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

chrisvdb:
Hi all,

I'm currently in the market for a new lcd television and a/v system. I guess special to my requirements is that I'm after a a/v system with 2
speakers rather than multiple speakers or soundbar. I do not care about surround and do not want to clutter my living room with speakers (and I'm not keen on a soundbar). In this case, does
it make sense to have an A/V receiver? They are often not very
visually appealing, have heap of features I would not use, less music
quality and get outdated more quickly.

My ideal system would be:

- Full HD LCD TV between 30' to 40"

- amplifier or receiver which is visually appealing, relatively simple and has good musical/movie sound

- Blueray player (preferably same brand as amplifier)

- 2 nice looking floor standing speakers (I was thinking about the KEF iQ5) as I do not care about surround

- video upscaling to 1080p (either by the TV or the amplifier) preferably from digital as well as analogue sources

- ability to play music from iPod, USB or network drive (with support metadata)

Would anybody have any suggestions? My budget is around 3000 EUR/2400 GBP.

Thank you!

Chris.

Well your bluray player will upscale for you and your screen will also. As you mention just two speakers and no subwoofer, you can pretty much take your pick of stereo amps. You say you want USB and the components match. Pioneer is your label!!

The Pioneer AA-9-J (see here http://www.petertyson.co.uk/ebuttonz/ebz_product_pages/pioneer_a-a9-j-integrated-stereo-amplifier.shtml#) and the bluray player that would look nice next to it,

http://www.petertyson.co.uk/ebuttonz/ebz_product_pages/pioneer_bdp-lx70a.shtml#