Would a HiFi setup sound better than a home cinema setup for music?

[R2D2]

I have always listened to music through a home cinema setup and it’s my main way to listen to music but was thinking what’s the advantages and what to people prefer to listen to music to out of the two? For example would be the quality of this speaker setup against a home cinema setup:

Arcam Radia A5 Integrated Amplifier with Bowers & Wilkins 603 S3 Floorstanding Speakers

When you buy the Radia A5 with these speakers as a bundle, you'll make significant savings. Not only that but we also offer the option to buy on Finance. Free next working day delivery to most UK regions is also included.

petertyson.co.uk

Thanks

 

[Integralista]

Hi, you have similar dilema as I had some 20-25 years back. Finaly I have sold my 5.1 HT Setup and used only HiFi 2 channel system since for listening to music. To make long story short, 2 channel is optimized for listening to stereo recordings, which are still standard. One remark to your system proposal: B&W 603 tower louspeakers are very good speakers, but very demanding on used electronic. If your room has 25m² and more, they will deserve more autoritative amplifire than Arcam Radia 5. Arcam Radia 15 or even 25 will have better control over B&W 603 or Rega Elex mk4 as well. And than look for really good talented music source. If you wish we can give you some recomendations. BR.

 

[daytona600]

You can do both 2.0/5.1/atmos , 2 great speakers will sound better
Good AV receiver with HT bypass / pre out into 2.0 amp & good speakers

 

[Messiah]

For me the biggest factor is budget.

You are gonna get more bang for your buck (better quality components) when buying Hifi Vs Home Cinema. (The following is a generalisation):

Hifi - Source / Amp / 2 Speakers (plus cables)

Home Cinema - Source / Receiver / 5 speakers plus Sub (plus cables).

So yes, for a specific budget, you would get a better stereo sound buying a dedicated stereo system. However, the way I look at it is that a very good Home Cinema set up can perform very well for stereo. A very good Stereo set up (therefore lacking rear speakers), cannot perform as well for home cinema.

At the moment I am fortunate enough to be able to run 2 separate systems. If I had to choose one, it would be the Home Cinema (for reasons stated above).

 

[Al ears]

I have, in the past, been fortunate enough to run two systems however due to lack of work have had to disassemble my home theatre bundle to sell and replaced with a decent soundbar.
Excellent Quad speaker assemblage soon to go on the market.
Hifi setup has also been changed but still in place fortunately.....

 

[jjbomber]

I have always listened to music through a home cinema setup and it’s my main way to listen to music but was thinking what’s the advantages and what to people prefer to listen to music to out of the two? For example would be the quality of this speaker setup against a home cinema setup:

Thanks

Quality wise, the amplifier doesn't know whether the music is from a film soundtrack or CD. It will amplify it to the same quality. The same goes for the stereo speakers. If you were starting from scratch and only going to listen in stereo, then it would be cheaper to get a two channel amp and two speakers, rather than 5/6 amps and 5/6 speakers.

 

[R2D2]

I have been listening to my setup in stereo this past hour and I do think I am missing something. I think it’s 2 floorstanding speakers, which would you recommend for my setup? Must go with my pioneer amp. I am thinking of I would be better of just starting again actually getting 2 floorstanding speakers, CD player and amp. Why are floorstanding speakers so expensive at the moment?

I don’t think I would have a problem choosing a CD player but the amp I would and speakers unless I can get some ex-display ones.

I think with my home cinema system I am better of by using Blu-ray music discs with DTS Master Audio and Dolby True High definition rather than playing stereo music on my system. Perhaps I should look for some more Blu-ray music live concerts rather than going the stereo route.

 

[R2D2]

Hi, you have similar dilema as I had some 20-25 years back. Finaly I have sold my 5.1 HT Setup and used only HiFi 2 channel system since for listening to music. To make long story short, 2 channel is optimized for listening to stereo recordings, which are still standard. One remark to your system proposal: B&W 603 tower louspeakers are very good speakers, but very demanding on used electronic. If your room has 25m² and more, they will deserve more autoritative amplifire than Arcam Radia 5. Arcam Radia 15 or even 25 will have better control over B&W 603 or Rega Elex mk4 as well. And than look for really good talented music source. If you wish we can give you some recomendations. BR.

Could I have some recommendations for these speakers please?

B&W 704 S3 (White) Speakers (Pair)

The Bowers & Wilkins 704 S3 is an elegant floorstanding loudspeaker that is slimmer and easier to accommodate than ever. Perfect for superlative sound in smaller spaces.

www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk

 

[Jasonovich]

2:1 system dedicated to stereo reproduction will nearly always sound better than an AV 5:1 receiver setup.

This is largely due to the latter having multi layers of electronics that are designed to be compatible with various sound and video formats. Stereo amps have a more direct circuitry and therefore, the reproduction of stereo is more faithful to the sound.

Not always the case, many reputable AV receivers can bypass the circuitry to give a more pure stereo sound. The Denon and Marantz models try to give you the best of both worlds. This explains their popularity among Hifi enthusiasts.

 

[record_spot]

Ran an Onkyo TX-NR818 into just two channels for a few years, initially as a main amp, but later as just a preamp when I first ventured into actives.

Worked a treat, sounded great. As good as a regular stereo integrated? Yes.

 

[R2D2]

Which floorstanding speakers would you recommend and amp? Budget say £2000-£2500. Cheers.

 

[Dom]

I always imagined that speakers were like musical instruments, so the argument is can you tell the difference between a £500 one to a £5000 one.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

As you can run whatever speakers you want for the fronts/stereo pair, the quality of amplification is the main differentiator. An AV amp has many more channels built in as well as lots more inputs, video and audio processing etc. Ergo if both are equally good, the stereo amp should have an advantage as you'll be spending your given budget on a smaller number of things.

 

[Al ears]

As you can run whatever speakers you want for the fronts/stereo pair, the quality of amplification is the main differentiator. An AV amp has many more channels built in as well as lots more inputs, video and audio processing etc. Ergo if both are equally good, the stereo amp should have an advantage as you'll be spending your given budget on a smaller number of things.

My thinking exactly

 

[R2D2]

I always imagined that speakers were like musical instruments, so the argument is can you tell the difference between a £500 one to a £5000 one.

I suppose I have £600 speakers left and right and I think and so does my dad they sound better than his £1800 floorstanding speakers. Not to mention I have a sub too not that my dad doesn’t. And these speakers are 18 years old and not including the recent price hikes I see on floorstanding speakers such as B&W ones.

I reckon I should demo some because I have only heard a couple of floorstanding speakers, so couldn’t really tell you either way would I notice a difference between a £500 one to a £5000 one, not that I can afford a £5000 one. 🙂

 

[R2D2]

As you can run whatever speakers you want for the fronts/stereo pair, the quality of amplification is the main differentiator. An AV amp has many more channels built in as well as lots more inputs, video and audio processing etc. Ergo if both are equally good, the stereo amp should have an advantage as you'll be spending your given budget on a smaller number of things.

Ok, cool. Thanks, makes sense that was along my kind of thinking too. Which amp would you recommend for £1500 pair of floorstanding speakers? Thanks

 

[Al ears]

Ok, cool. Thanks, makes sense that was along my kind of thinking too. Which amp would you recommend for £1500 pair of floorstanding speakers? Thanks

Tricky, much will depend on what you want to use for a source.
Do you need a phono stage for example, do you need an inbuilt DAC?
I wouldn't spend good money on an amp that had stuff I didn't need.

 

[R2D2]

Tricky, much will depend on what you want to use for a source.
Do you need a phono stage for example, do you need an inbuilt DAC?
I wouldn't spend good money on an amp that had stuff I didn't need.

I was kind of thinking the amp would do Bluetooth and I listen to it that way with the floorstanding speakers. I don’t want phono stage but a inbuilt DAC would be good.

See these 2 deals:

Nearly New - Monitor Audio Silver 200 7G Floorstanding Speakers - Black Gloss

All of our Nearly New products are usually customer returns or Ex Display items and they have been professionally checked by our dedicated Service Department prior to being advertised. All products are supplied with a full manufacturer’s warranty, giving you the ability to buy with confidence...

petertyson.co.uk

Nearly New - Bowers & Wilkins 603 S3 Floorstanding Speakers - Black

All of our Nearly New products are usually customer returns or Ex Display items and they have been professionally checked by our dedicated Service Department prior to being advertised. All products are supplied with a full manufacturer’s warranty, giving you the ability to buy with confidence...

petertyson.co.uk

Ex-display or nearly new for this will more than do. So inbuilt DAC amp with Bluetooth too for speakers like the ones above.

 

[record_spot]

Which floorstanding speakers would you recommend and amp? Budget say £2000-£2500. Cheers.

No idea. I'd buy actives.

Have a look at what's available in your price range, what you want from the amp and see what your options are.

 

[Jasonovich]

I was kind of thinking the amp would do Bluetooth and I listen to it that way with the floorstanding speakers. I don’t want phono stage but a inbuilt DAC would be good.

See these 2 deals:

Nearly New - Monitor Audio Silver 200 7G Floorstanding Speakers - Black Gloss

All of our Nearly New products are usually customer returns or Ex Display items and they have been professionally checked by our dedicated Service Department prior to being advertised. All products are supplied with a full manufacturer’s warranty, giving you the ability to buy with confidence...

petertyson.co.uk

Nearly New - Bowers & Wilkins 603 S3 Floorstanding Speakers - Black

All of our Nearly New products are usually customer returns or Ex Display items and they have been professionally checked by our dedicated Service Department prior to being advertised. All products are supplied with a full manufacturer’s warranty, giving you the ability to buy with confidence...

petertyson.co.uk

Ex-display or nearly new for this will more than do. So inbuilt DAC amp with Bluetooth too for speakers like the ones above.

I believe the Monitor Audio are the same as mine that I'm using in my lounge AV setup.

Really nice piano finish, quality speakers. Long and thin, less footprint. Loved the sound from those, clean neutral sounding, good on detail and less on warmth but it all depends on the amp.

Not difficult to drive and these floor standers are cat proof, because they're thin, cats will avoid jumping on them!




Oh BTW, I'm using Dali F9 subwoofers (front firing) with the MA's, these work well together. 🙂

 

[Al ears]

I was kind of thinking the amp would do Bluetooth and I listen to it that way with the floorstanding speakers. I don’t want phono stage but a inbuilt DAC would be good.

See these 2 deals:

Nearly New - Monitor Audio Silver 200 7G Floorstanding Speakers - Black Gloss

All of our Nearly New products are usually customer returns or Ex Display items and they have been professionally checked by our dedicated Service Department prior to being advertised. All products are supplied with a full manufacturer’s warranty, giving you the ability to buy with confidence...

petertyson.co.uk

Nearly New - Bowers & Wilkins 603 S3 Floorstanding Speakers - Black

All of our Nearly New products are usually customer returns or Ex Display items and they have been professionally checked by our dedicated Service Department prior to being advertised. All products are supplied with a full manufacturer’s warranty, giving you the ability to buy with confidence...

petertyson.co.uk

Ex-display or nearly new for this will more than do. So inbuilt DAC amp with Bluetooth too for speakers like the ones above.

If your only using Bluetooth you might be compromising the ability of the system.
If so any decent amp with inbuilt dac would do as you can always add a cheap Bluetooth receiver to it.
That said if you are transmitting from something via Bluetooth surely it has already been through a DAC?
Or am I missing something here?

 

[R2D2]

If your only using Bluetooth you might be compromising the ability of the system.
If so any decent amp with inbuilt dac would do as you can always add a cheap Bluetooth receiver to it.
That said if you are transmitting from something via Bluetooth surely it has already been through a DAC?
Or am I missing something here?

I am complete novice here, so was looking for guidance as to what you need or not.

 

[Al ears]

I am complete novice here, so was looking for guidance as to what you need or not.

I understand but more input on what you need is required before we can make suggestions, like what exactly will you be using as a source / sources?

 

[abacus]

Floor standing speakers need a reasonably large room (As well as a sub) for them to give there best, so make sure your room is big enough before going down that route.
A stereo amp will usually give a better sound than an AV Receiver for the same price due to the fact that better components can be used (As mentioned in a post above), however once you go higher end (Anthem, Arcam, JBL, Marantz, Lyngdorf etc.) the differences are minimal, as the law of diminishing returns kicks in.

Bill

 

[R2D2]

I understand but more input on what you need is required before we can make suggestions, like what exactly will you be using as a source / sources?

I was just looking to use an amp and speakers, and use Spotify or Apple Music from my iPad.