surround advice for Sony BDP s570 - please help

[tommyb]

Hi Guys,

My parents have just purchsed a Sony BDP s570. Now they want a surround sound system for their lounge.

What would be a good suggestion in order to make the most of the decoding within the unit. They aren't serious techies - just want a good surround system to match it. (circa £200)

If no suggestions of actual models - then what types of features should I be looking for? and how should it be connected to the amp for sound?

sorry for the basic question - but I'm not sure what to advise them.

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[tommyb]

anyone? please?

 

[Anonymous]

If they're not massive techies what about this all in one system from Sony?

http://www.sony.co.uk/product/hcs-cinema-surround-kit/ht-ss100#pageType=TechnicalSpecs

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/0851819.htm

It doesn't decode HD audio from Bitstream, but if you set the Bluray player to output audio over HDMI as Linear PCM, then the amp will be able to play the HD audio. Probably one of the cheapest ways of getting 5 speakers, an Amp and HD audio!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Tommy,

Are you after speakers and an amp for £200? It's not much for both but it might be worthwhile popping into Richer Sounds as they have AV amps starting at £99.95, and 5.1 speaker packages starting at £79.95. There's a couple of Sony amps that should be within budget and would be well matched to the Blu-ray. I'm sure they could sort you something half decent out within, or slightly over your price range depending on what you need...

Do they need/really want surround sound? You would get better sound quality with stereo, especially if the budget is tight... Maybe something along the lines of the Marantz PM5004 at £170 and a pair of Wharfedale 9.0s at £60, and some speaker cable at £20 and you'd be looking at a nice stereo system for just under £250. They would probably throw the speaker cable in for free if you asked nicely.

I think you'd notice the difference in sound quality over a surround setup for the same sort of budget... Either way, for your sort of budget, I don't think you can go far wrong with a visit to RS. They should be able to demo the kit for you too.

 

[Anonymous]

Good point there! Tommy you have two completely different suggestions their. The full separate system will definitely sound better, just depends what your parents are after!

 

[lobby]

Or if you wanted seperates it could be possible for £300. Look at the Jamo A102HCS5 for £170 and add this Pioneer amp for £99.00, spend the rest on cables.

http://www.bestbuy.co.uk/product/1000137929/pioneer-vsx-420k-av-receiver-web-exclusive.aspx

http://www.richersounds.com/products/hi-fi-separates/speakers/speaker-packages

Or this would be simpler

http://www.exceptional-av.co.uk/index.php?search_terms=22hd&gclid=CJH82vuuq6YCFUYe4QodQz5gaA