Surround Sound Speakers

[keval_t]

Hi folks,

I'm in the process of kitting out my new living/cinema room and need a set of speakers to complete the set-up. I've already got a Sammy 65hu7500 TV, Sony BSP 7200 blu ray player and Sony STR-DN1050 reciever.

I've had my heart set on the Monitor Audio Mass 5.1 speaker set for some time now, and the audition sounded great too. However an AV installer recommended the Cambridge Audio Minx 5.1 package as an alternative. Any experience of these? Also, the MASS W200 sub isn't the greatest (and quite bulky) and replacing it (e.g. with a REL T5) gets quite costly. I need to keep the budget to £500-600, unless I can pick up this kind of quality cheaper?? *unknw*

Any suggestions/advice?

The room is approx 5x3m, and unfortunately a party wall, so I'm not looking to blow the roof off, but a decent surround effect for movies.

Cheers,
Kev

 

[smudge.27]

If you can stretch your budget a little, the Q Acoustics 7000i is a great set of speakers.

I have Q Acoustics speakers and they sound amazing!

Check out the reviews!

 

[bdf123]

I'm in a similar position so will keep close to this thread.

Ive heard good things about Q Acoustics 7000i, but what concerns me about them is that I've read at low volumes it's not so good. I'm looking for something that sounds good when at low volume.

Not sure how accurate that opinion is though as I've not heard then yet

 

[bdf123]

I'm suprised there hasn't been more responses to this, was keen to see what the experts suggest!

 

[keval_t]

Can anyone comment on the MASS 5.1 vs the Q Acoustics 7000i comparison? Maybe even throw in the Minx 5.1 and KEF e305 in the mix. Pros/cons? Strengths/weaknesses?

 

[ian161]

im in the same boat , thinking of getting the marantz 7009 a/v amp , but can,t decide on speakers, looking at the q acoustics 7000i , the mass, and b&w mt50, all get great reveiws but was hoping some owners would reply.

 

[Leeps]

I don't wish to confuse your demo list, but the Q Acoustics 2000i Cinema Pack is close to your budget with offers around £560. (Sevenoaks & Richer Sounds for example). They're ever so slightly larger than typical satellite speakers so ought to perform that bit better with music.

 

[jonathanRD]

If you are quick you might pick up the outgoing Monitor Audio Bronze range for a good discount - BX2's, a centre and a pair of the rear/side BXFX's - for about £550-£600. You could then save up for a sub - BK would be a good starting point for reference. That Bronze range is a few years old but still performs very well for the money - I really enjoy my system.

 

[Anderson]

Do you really need to go the full 5.1 now, have you considered building it out?

Start off with your budget as is and spend that on your 2 mains, enjoy the sound and start saving to add a sub a couple months down the line. You can then add rear and/or surrounds a couple months down the road again from that? £600 isn't a lot of money for 6 speakers

 

[jonathanRD]

Do you really need to go the full 5.1 now, have you considered building it out?

Start off with your budget as is and spend that on your 2 mains, enjoy the sound and start saving to add a sub a couple months down the line. You can then add rear and/or surrounds a couple months down the road again from that? £600 isn't a lot of money for 6 speakers

+1 on this - as this is exactly what I did - took me 18 months to complete the 5.1. This is especially important if you are using the system for both music and HC.

 

[Leeps]

Good suggestions above to grow your multi-channel set-up over time. Not only does it enable you to look at higher quality individual components, but gives you the time to shop around for good bargains.

My current speaker package (front 3, two rears plus sub) cost me a total of £1300 (plus stands), but RRP'd at £2425. I kept an eye out on Ebay, and a few of the big dealers' online clearances and purchased each component when it was decently discounted. I've ended up with a system that's much better than if I'd purchased it in one go.

If you are determined to buy it in one hit, then it's usually best to buy at the same time as your AVR - you can sometimes get decent discounts that way. I just don't believe in paying full price for stuff when you don't have to!