Which AV receiver/speakers do I need?

[admin_exported]

Hi there,

As a newcomer to buying AV equipment I'd be really grateful for some advice regarding buying some separates to upgrade existing cineman system.

We recently got a 42" Panasonic TV + Sony Blu-ray player, but are disppointed with the sound from existing Sony STR-DE497P amp and associated Sony speakers. They came with the old CRT TV so are about 5 or 6 years old now.

We would like to upgrade to something that will make the best use of sound from the blu-ray and SkyHD but are totally lost by all the choice out there! The living-room isn't huge, aesthetics are averagely important, and we would like to get everything for no more than £1k.

We're after really good quality surround sound, crisp clear speech (dialogue in films is one of the things which is very poor on existing system) and deep bass.

Are there any recommendations out there to guide me to the sort of combination I need please?

Thanks very much in advance!

 

[True Blue]

Hello, lots availalbe for that price, this would be my shortlist

Recievers choose between

1. Denon AVR 1909 (£300)

2. Yamaha DSP AX763 (300)

Speakers

1. Kef 2005.3 (£600)

Leaves £100 for cables!!

 

[Anonymous]

Another vote here for the Kef 2005.3 great looking sound brill for the money,shop around £550 should secure. I would go Onkyo SR 606 £325 (Richer Sounds)or Yamaha Amp,the 606 is a breeze to set up the Dennon not so.Cables as above. Move quickly because as the new stock comes in to stores, there is 25% min increase

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks! I shall go and look at that combo now - interesting to see the money is best spent on the speakers rather than the amp - that's the kind of thing I was unsure about.

 

[Anonymous]

Ah... just looked at the speakers and not taken with the black gloss finish at all.

I know I said aesthetics weren't that importatant but are there alternatives that look more toned down? Black would be good, but slightly more subtle!

 

[Sorreltiger]

If you could accommodate a small but 'traditional' speaker package, you would get better sound for your money IMHO. ÿIn that line, I'd check out the Q Acoustics 1010i (black!) or - for a bit more money - the Wharfedale 9.1AV set-up (natural wood). ÿThere are good deals on these - ÿSuperfi online have the Q Acoustics at £411.01 and the Wharfedales at £636.12. ÿOf course, you'd have to factor in the cost of speaker stands/brackets too.

 

[Anonymous]

isibelle:

Ah... just looked at the speakers and not taken with the black gloss finish at all.

I know I said aesthetics weren't that importatant but are there alternatives that look more toned down? Black would be good, but slightly more subtle!

You can get them in matt silver

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

I am new to the surround sound av equipment and after many demos and reviews read i desided to go with:-

Sony amp STR-DG820 which cost me £230 which does decode the new sound formats of TRU HD & DTS HD

Q-Acoustic Q-AV speaker system which cost me £550

and I am very happy, the rear speakers can go any where from floor level to ceiling level as it uses NXT technology which pushes the sound out with a wider range, the speakers work well in my living room and the amp is a real thrill with plenty of bass when needed

but still this is my own personal choice, I did try out the kef speakers but with my little daughter running arround she would deffinately be playing with the stands all the time also the q-av is areally neat looking system.

Mark