rtbiscuit Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 I'm looking at setting up surround soud to compliment my TV as we watch a lot of movies, was planning to pick up a cheap 2nd hand AV reciever off ebay, looked at and bid on a few, but as i'm still learning i've bottled as i've got closer. each time my budget seems to be going up. I have found that audio HiFi language seems to be a world of its own and its taking me a lot of time to learn all the lingo. but i have slowly worked out what i want out of a unit. i started off just looking at old units going for £20-£50. but i now know that i want. - HDMI connection, so no need for lots of audio cables, but one that feeds the TV signal back to the reciever. - 5.1 or 7.1 but not to fussy - full HD audio, as i play blue rays i want a system that can unlock the full audio potential - proper speaker connectors not just bare wire clips. next question as my budget seems to keep going up, should i just buy a low end new unit, or hold out for a 2nd hand higher market unit. next question who is seen to be the best for sound; i've been looking at Sony's mainly as i have a bravia TV and they do the bravia sync, but also looked at pioneer and yamaha. just because they are brands that i know or have used, and have a good rep. ones i'm toying with from new were SONY STRDHH520 Sony STRDH820 pioneer vsx527 Yamaha YHT196 (i think its possibly going to be under powered) Yamaha RXV373 Yamaha RXV473/ or 573 or 673 (but getting way out of my price range) was bidding on some 2nd hand sony strdh800's but it went for £150 in the end for a 3 year old unit and you can get the newer 820 for £200 off richer sounds. any input would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gudzy Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 (edited) 2 names you might not have heard of but should consider are Onkyo and denon as they are both highly regarded brands for amps. I've got a Yamaha DSPAX761 which I've had for about 5 years which has HDMI connections and plays the HD audio streams from blurays from my ps3. I'd recommend checking out avforums if you haven't already. Edited November 23, 2012 by Gudzy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 Here you go Rich, this might help:- http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/63105-tech-4-homes-home-audio-gadgets-etc/ SMD is quite heavily into his home audio too. I'm still struggling with my Dansette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 Having done this myself in the last couple of years, here's what I've learnt from between my budget and Mark's budget (which, as you know, is significantly higher!): Whatever you intend on spending on the amp, spend at least double on your speakers. Amps have features that come and go and get better with technology, but a good speaker is a good speaker for many years. My speaker set cost me around £2K, but that's for 5 plus sub and they'll last me for many years. The AVR was £500, and whilst it's still very good there are extra bits I wish it now had (more HDMI inputs for one, more optical slots for another) but I can spend another £1K and get a waaaay better unit without having an AVR that's much better than the speakers. Room setup is everything. Until Mark's latest addition of a sub that's the size of a small car, I would say that my setup costing a tenth of his was better for playing movies as it's in a more compact room, filled of more general crap whereas his is a lovely great space. That said, his wees all over mine for playing music, so again it depends on what you're looking to specialise in. I went for movies on purpose as that's what I use it for more than anything. Go and play! Seriously, get down to Lakeside Currys and speak to the main guy there, I think his name is James if he still works there. They have loads of AVRs and speakers in stock, and you can pick and match them until you find a solution you like. Even if they're out of budget, it'll give you an idea of where best to spend your money. You can do the same at a Richer Sounds or a specialist, but basically you're looking for somewhere that has the most stuff in stock and setup. Don't be afraid to spend a few hours in there fiddling, I did at Best Buy before I walked across the road and purchased from Currys instead as they did me a better deal. For reference, I have a Pioneer VSX-920 (now superceded) as my AVR and Kef iQ-series speakers (90 front, 30 rear, 50 centre) with a Kef Kube2 sub. The Kef speakers are known for being a bit bright so you wouldn't want them with an AVR that did the same, however it so happens that I like my sounds like that so it's a combination that works well for me. Don't forget to add around £200 for cables, connectors and bits, depending on size of room. Having done the surround sound for tellies three times now, I wasted my money the first two times and should've done it properly in the first place. If you want someone to come shopping with you give me a shout, I'm due for an upgrade on my AVR at some point next year so I could do with looking myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasso Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 If you want a realistic picture of products I'd head to the Totenham Court road. This is the best place for Home Audio, purpose built audio rooms and the selection that places like Currys don't have. I have run my Yamaha Natural Sound amp for some 15-20 years, this was a £500 unit back then and paired with Yamaha and Mission speakers. My front's were only £110 for the pair but truly epic, in fact I remember the day @ Totenham Court Road, I was listening to them and I turned around to see 20 other people and their jaws on the floor. That for me was a win and I've had them just as long as the audio kit. In fact these were the same speakers I heard at te HI FI show held at the Novotel Hotel in Heathrow, where there was a £8,000 monoblock amp and these £110 speakers. Again the people in the room were amazed at what they could handle and their size in comparison to a flagship Sony amp. The Onkyo reference above is a good one, they make some truly fantastic hardware. Read up on reviews though, and make sure everything is paired up nicely. Oh to add I had the full B&W surround speakers for a short time and they were in my eyes fantastic! Good luck in your search, and if you need a 5 Tier Hi-Fi stand there's one for sale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted November 23, 2012 Author Share Posted November 23, 2012 cheers guys, speaker wise i'm looking at a set of mission speakers also been browsing kef and gale. i want some nice floorstanding ones, but we don;t have the space, so i told lucy i'd get smaller ones, i think she thinks were getting little satellite ones, but i've seen a nice set of bookshelf speakers. by mission. :grin: Ok so i might not panic on getting the ultimate Amp, but concentrate on the speakers, but aim to get the functionality i want. have heard of denon and onkyo, just seem mentally stuck on sony as it would match in with the TV. but i'm moving away from this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted November 23, 2012 Author Share Posted November 23, 2012 i'm just going to play movies and the sat tv through it, also the xbox and blueray. i don;t expect it to be an audio renasance, but just want more punch and involvement than the stock TV speakers (which are very good) and a bit more sound than a generic 5.1 setup. but the room is small limited space due to furniture, and a wife that will kill me if i recreate led zepplins concert setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted November 23, 2012 Author Share Posted November 23, 2012 Here you go Rich, this might help:- http://www.350z-uk.c...io-gadgets-etc/ Thanks Graham, i have seen it before, but i kind of want the challenge and fun of researching and doing it myself instead of having someone else do it all for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasso Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 The room and speaker locations are critical. Square is best of course, but be careful with Tv's in corners and speaker placement etc. If size and space is an issue there's no harm in spending the money on the BOSE kit, they're very good. Head to a BOSE centre for a listen. Their cube speaker systems are very good for what they are. Otherwise Mission Or Kef bookshelf speakers are good, but listen to them first of course. Totenham Court Road will give you that opportunity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy78 Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 Cruicially, what is your overall budget, what are you trying to achieve with the setup and what will be connecting to it? Is it just films or music? I would personally stay away from Curry's, but in my opinion, you can't go wrong with Richer Sounds or Super Fi. They have very helpful and knowledgeable staff as well as demo rooms etc. They are also usually much cheaper than other high street electrical firms (Or will price match if not). Work out your budget, read some reviews and then go to a shop and listen to them in action. Take your fav Blu Ray / CD and see what they sound like and more imprtantly, what they sound like matched with the amplifier. Very similar to car buying... you wouldn't without testing it first! I have an Onkyo amplifier and can't speak highly enough of it, but Denon, Onkyo, Sony and Yamaha are all good bets as far as AV amps are concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 You'd be surprised about Currys, I know I was. The guy who runs the department was head-hunted as he used to run his own specialist shop in London selling silly stuff to footballer with too much money, but he certainly knew his stuff and they did me a deal that I couldn't even beat on the internet. Rich, don't get set on anything in particular yet until you've heard it, regardless of looks or price. You'd be amazed at how quickly your head can be turned once you hear the difference in person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted November 23, 2012 Author Share Posted November 23, 2012 there is a hugh's electrical near me and they always been good with TV stuff, so planning on my first trip to go and see them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogyRev Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 I always got my audio kit from Richer Sounds. very reasonably priced if you ask me, and this time of year will have some good deals on. I will be going down the Denon and KEF route again. really loved my set up I had in the UK. Its also worth making sure that the AVR you get has Airplay built in I had the KEF Egg speakers, they were awesome, I am sure Chris`i will be along to confirm as he has them now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted November 23, 2012 Author Share Posted November 23, 2012 to be honest the budget is as little as possible. hence why i'm looking on ebay for 2nd hand AV units. thought is to pick up an older unit for say half the price. but if i think i have to i may well spend on a new amp and then build up the speakers slowly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted November 23, 2012 Author Share Posted November 23, 2012 (edited) i really want to try out the yamaha rx v-673. it was a what hi-fi 2012 winner for its budget, and at about £400 its not a horrific price. and it would leave me pretty future proof for a long time. Edited November 23, 2012 by rtbiscuit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogyRev Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 There are on sale again..... http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/kef/kht2005-hd1/kef-kht2005-hd1 I think when I got them they were 899 (in the sale) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogyRev Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 This is nearly half price http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/yamaha/rxa810/yama-rxa810-blk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesdean Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 ive not long done mine as i upgraded to 3d i went for yamaha rx v471- which aloud me to do anything and everything. then bundled it up with canton movie 5.1 surround sound the result half volume is as loud as you wanna listen to it ive had it up 3/4 and its so crystal clear your ear atch start hurting simply easy to use and great quality, think i spent bout 650 hope this helped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Rob Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 What HiFi magazine is very good, I'd recommend buying two or three issues before you start making your desicions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted November 23, 2012 Author Share Posted November 23, 2012 Been reading alot of what hi fi reviews, they seem very good. also popped into hughes on my way home today which was very interesting, they had a range of amps and setups. but what suprised me most was the sound that they got out of these tiny little kef speakers. it was the £400 set down from the eggs. but very good and crisp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 (edited) I'm a bit biased towards Denon, but all the big names do decent low-mid budget AVRs. Don't be afraid to go second hand, a well made AVR lasts for years and any that's been made in the last 3-4 years will do 'HD' audio via HDMI, and most of the current lot do 3D pass through and AirPlay When your buying speaker/AVRs make sure they match and work well together...there's no point buying decent speakers if the AVR hasn't got the power to drive them, and there's no point in havig a massive AVR if the speakers rubbish. Do the research yourself before hand, there's plenty of reviews on the web, never had much luck in Currys, even Richard Sound staff can be hit and miss (don't get conned into buying stupidly priced cables/wires). I've found the main difference between the good AV setup in my cinema room (4 Ohmn M&S THX select speakers, driven by a Denon 4311) and the ok setup in our living room (small 'lifestyle' speakers driven by Denon 1909) is the clarity/definition of the sound, not necessary the volume. Infact I rarely turn up the volume in the cinema room because it always sounds clear even when it's barely audible, where as in the living room we often have to wack up the volume to compensate for a lack of detail in the sound. Don't read too many reviews though...because the cost of higher end AVR stuff really is limitless Edited November 24, 2012 by gangzoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Since that's the second time my Currys reference has been picked up, I would like to clarify again by saying that the Lakeside one isn't a generic crappy Currys store, it's their European super branch and as such carries slightly better stuff than the one in the high street. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted November 24, 2012 Author Share Posted November 24, 2012 quick question, when buying speakers do you have to get the same ohm rating. for example an amp with 8ohms per channel, does it require speakers rated to 8 ohms per channel. or could you run speakers that were 6ohms on an 8 ohm per channel amp. i'm guessing running 8ohm speakers on a 6ohm per channel amp wouldn't be great as the amp would be under powered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 quick question, when buying speakers do you have to get the same ohm rating. for example an amp with 8ohms per channel, does it require speakers rated to 8 ohms per channel. or could you run speakers that were 6ohms on an 8 ohm per channel amp. i'm guessing running 8ohm speakers on a 6ohm per channel amp wouldn't be great as the amp would be under powered. Stick to 8 ohm speakers if you can, my Denon 1909 really struggled with my M&S speakers which were rated at 4-6 ohms....it all gets very complicated when you start trying to understand what all the numbers like watts/power really means . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 I have got my last 3 setups from Richer Sounds, wouldn't go anywhere else. They sell last years model for cheap prices, which sounds ideal for you Rich. Tell them you are a new customer and you name is Rich and you will get a discount too and freebies trust me They are not patronising and very helpful I have an HDMI setup if you wanna chat you know where I am 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.