Which 5.1 surround speakers to choose?

[admin_exported]

I've dropped a few of the speakers that came with my Samsung HT-DM150 when I moved house over the years and it sounds like the magnets have become loose or something inside so I've decided to just upgrade the lot.

I have just bought a Pioneer VSX1017 AV receiver and need some speakers to go with it.

Is there any point in getting 7 speakers if I only use it with my Xbox 360 and the occasional DVD oh and bit of music listening?

So far I've done a bit of research and have found these (at these prices):

Jamo A102HCS5 - £210
Tannoy SFX5.1 - £230
Canton CD250 - £210

Does anyone know what rating What Hifi gives them?

Anybody have any other suggestions? My budget is £300

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[professorhat]

The Jamo's are 5 star rated as are the KEF 1005 which won the 2006 award. If you can house traditional speakers, have a look at the Q Acoustics 1010 package. That would be my choice at that budget.

From the sound of your setup, 7.1 probably wouldn't be worth it at this stage, but with the KEFs or the Q Acoustics, you could always buy more speakers later to make up the 7.1 if you changed to a source that might use them (not sure if you can get the Jamo speakers separately or not).

 

[Anonymous]

The Q Acoustics 1010 are probably very good speakers but I just don't like the wooden look! They wouldn't fit in at all with my black LCD TV.

You say the Jamo's are 5* rated but isn't that just for their design? Or were they given 5*s for sound as well?

Would you say that my Pioneer amp isn't really being pushed to it's limits and I should be looking at spending more £££ to get a better sound?

 

[professorhat]

Well, they do come in black as well, but haven't seen them at the same price in that colour.

[quote user="flyingflea"]You say the Jamo's are 5* rated but isn't that just for their design? Or were they given 5*s for sound as well?[/quote]

The 5 star rating is from the Buyers Guide in WHF. This is based on a few things, but sound would be the main factor WHF would be rating on compared to other equipment at the same price range. I've also seen several people on the forums comment on how the Jamo's are excellent sound for the money.

[quote user="flyingflea"]Would you say that my Pioneer amp isn't really being pushed to it's limits and I should be looking at spending more £££ to get a better sound?[/quote]

You could definitely spend more and get better performance out of that Pioneer. For style speakers, I'd look at the Q-Acoustics Q-AV, the KEF 2005.2 or possibly the KEF 3005 packages. Traditional packages, there's the Wharfedale Diamond 9 HCP (shown here in wood, but again, available in black) and the Q Acoustics 1010i (in black this time!).

So plenty of options and plenty more that I haven't mentioned as well!