# Home Cinema



## GR33N (Apr 5, 2009)

Anyone in the know about Home Cinema?

Ive just bought some Corsair SP2500s, which are great for music but arent really suitable for xbox, TV, blurays etc

I guess the way to go is an AV receiver and some speakers (not looking for 5.1) maybe 2.1 or 2.1 and the centre speaker for voice. Budget of £200-300 maybe?


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## Dan J (Jun 18, 2008)

I've just upgraded my system to this and it blows my socks off every day when I fire it up with my music, great for Xbox,normal tv viewing,bluray. Couldnt recomend it enough for the money.

These rock....literally! The sound quality is amazing, great depth and lovely detail.
http://www.richersounds.com/product/bookshelf-speakers/jbl/control-1/jbl-contorl-1-

This thumps like a Fatman on steroids. Sounds awesome even at low volume.
http://www.richersounds.com/product/subwoofers/tannoy/sfx-sub/tann-sfx-sub-blk

And I've got an old kenwood c700 centre speaker.

This amp is great fully set up and ready for 3D, run all your hd stuff through it etc, good internals and a very smooth sounding amp,iPod ready aswell, can't fault it for what I use it for.
http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/onkyo/txsr309/onky-txsr309-blk

Can chat more on Sunday if you want mate if you want to know more or discuss other options etc, more than happy to help mate.

Dan


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## fulcrumer (Feb 25, 2012)

I fear you will need to up your budget. You could happily spend that on cables (but dont!). Look to spend at 3 times the cost of the AV on speakers.


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## GR33N (Apr 5, 2009)

Dan J said:


> I've just upgraded my system to this and it blows my socks off every day when I fire it up with my music, great for Xbox,normal tv viewing,bluray. Couldnt recomend it enough for the money.
> 
> These rock....literally! The sound quality is amazing, great depth and lovely detail.
> http://www.richersounds.com/product/bookshelf-speakers/jbl/control-1/jbl-contorl-1-
> ...


Cheers Dan, ive been looking on Richer Sounds most of the night and the trouble with them is theyve got everything listed for decent prices but it isnt available online and you just know they wont have any stock local to me 

Ironically I was looking at the the Onkyo TXSR309 earlier and ive looked at the Tannoy SFX Sub last time I considered spending some money a decent cinema/sound system.

Think I need to ring Richer Sounds and find out if/where the stock is :thumb:



fulcrumer said:


> I fear you will need to up your budget. You could happily spend that on cables (but dont!). Look to spend at 3 times the cost of the AV on speakers.


Cheers mate, I know you can spend mega money but im no audiophile just looking for a reasonable entry level system :thumb:


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## Dan J (Jun 18, 2008)

GR33N said:


> Cheers Dan, ive been looking on Richer Sounds most of the night and the trouble with them is theyve got everything listed for decent prices but it isnt available online and you just know they wont have any stock local to me
> 
> Ironically I was looking at the the Onkyo TXSR309 earlier and ive looked at the Tannoy SFX Sub last time I considered spending some money a decent cinema/sound system.
> 
> Think I need to ring Richer Sounds and find out if/where the stock is :thumb:


No probs mate, do it:thumb: you won't be gutted seriously, I wouldnt embarrass myself revealing what I had if I didn't think it was worth the £££s, this system was recommended to me by mike from Deeper detail and I was a struggling to make choice but went for it and it's surpassed my expectations by a long shot and still wows me now:lol:


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## silverback (Jun 18, 2008)

2-300 quid will be the budget for your lower end amp,no speakers,cable or devices,just the amp.at your current budget you should be looking at a dvd player/home cinema all in one system.imo the worst thing you can do when it comes to home cinemas is buy cheap,buy cheap,buy twice.a realistic budget for a decent amp,speaker cable and speakers setup should be £800 to £1000 minimum.

you will find with cheap sub woofer there is no control,there overly "boomy" just loud for louds sake,that may be ok to blow your windows out,but for home cinema watching your after quality,not quantity.

dont buy floor stander speakers unless they have room to breathe,i payed a fortune for some B&W 603s2`s and whilst they looked impressive,i could never give them enough power to actually drive them.its like having a ferrari and staying below 2000 RPM.

no offence meant about your budget by the way,but i certainly wouldnt buy a separates system with that budget mate.


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## Grawschbags (Apr 15, 2010)

What room is this stuff going in, living room or bedroom?

I would look in to Onkyo products. Lots of bangs per buck! I have an onkyo 5.1 system in my man cave for playing the PS3 on and its awesome. I doubt I could really tell the difference between it and a high end system, to my untrained ears. I paid about £350 for it.


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## GR33N (Apr 5, 2009)

Grawschbags said:


> What room is this stuff going in, living room or bedroom?
> 
> I would look in to Onkyo products. Lots of bangs per buck! I have an onkyo 5.1 system in my man cave for playing the PS3 on and its awesome. I doubt I could really tell the difference between it and a high end system, to my untrained ears. I paid about £350 for it.


Its going in the bedroom (decent sized double bedroom, not sure on specific sizes without finding my tape measure :lol. Ive been looking at something like this

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/onkyo-ht-s3405-5-1ch-home-cinema-system-10224654-pdt.html

but I just wonder if ill get more product for my money by building something myself like the products Dan posted above. Maybe its just me, but I think you tend to get more for your money if you tailor a package to your needs rather than what someone else thinks you want.

In all likelihood I wouldnt have space/cable routing for the rear speakers anyway, so it wont be a 5.1 setup. The Corsair SP2500 speakers that I bought a few days ago sound brilliant to me, but theyre lacking in connections for other devices, xbox, SKY HD, blu ray player etc


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## silverback (Jun 18, 2008)

Grawschbags said:


> What room is this stuff going in, living room or bedroom?
> 
> I would look in to Onkyo products. Lots of bangs per buck! I have an onkyo 5.1 system in my man cave for playing the PS3 on and its awesome. I doubt I could really tell the difference between it and a high end system, to my untrained ears. I paid about £350 for it.


room size is important as well,as graw stated.did you pay 350 for the amp or was it an all in one ??


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## silverback (Jun 18, 2008)

GR33N said:


> Its going in the bedroom (decent sized double bedroom, not sure on specific sizes without finding my tape measure :lol. Ive been looking at something like this
> 
> http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/onkyo-ht-s3405-5-1ch-home-cinema-system-10224654-pdt.html
> 
> ...


i misunderstood the use of the term "home cinema" as this would be used to describe a full 5.1 speaker setup.without the rears you really are missing something mate,but if thats how you would like it,or if thats the way it has to be then fair enough  hang on your link to pc world shows a full 5.1 system :lol: im so confused now haha.if its just a front 3 speaker setup your after,ie,left,right and centre speaker then make sure your left and rights can handle a little bass.what you dont want its satellite speakers (small watt types) that cant handle a little fud.will you have room for a sub ? making your desired system 3.1 so to speak ?


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## GR33N (Apr 5, 2009)

silverback said:


> i misunderstood the use of the term "home cinema" as this would be used to describe a full 5.1 speaker setup.without the rears you really are missing something mate,but if thats how you would like it,or if thats the way it has to be then fair enough  hang on your link to pc world shows a full 5.1 system :lol: im so confused now haha.if its just a front 3 speaker setup your after,ie,left,right and centre speaker then make sure your left and rights can handle a little bass.what you dont want its satellite speakers (small watt types) that cant handle a little fud.will you have room for a sub ? making your desired system 3.1 so to speak ?


Sorry mate, this is probably my fault for not being very clear, "home cinema" probably wasnt the best term :lol:. What I want is, a decent set of speakers ideally 2.1 (left, right and subwoofer?) or 3.1 (im presuming this is what you call 2.1 with the centre speaker?).

I bought these Corsair CA-SP211UK SP2500 Gaming 2.1 Speaker System: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories but found that I couldnt plug anything else into them (xbox, blu ray, sky etc) although, I knew this before buying them. I was planning on just going from the headphone jack on my TV to the above linked speakers, but I encountered massive lip sync issues (which I also kind of expected :lol.

With the PC World link I gave which was obviously a 5.1 setup, im presuming I could just leave the rear 2 speakers in the box and not connect them? Or I go for something like Dan linked to further up, Onkyo AV Receiver, then buy a sub and 2 speakers seperatly.


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## Dan J (Jun 18, 2008)

GR33N said:


> Its going in the bedroom (decent sized double bedroom, not sure on specific sizes without finding my tape measure :lol. Ive been looking at something like this
> 
> http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/onkyo-ht-s3405-5-1ch-home-cinema-system-10224654-pdt.html
> 
> ...


My set up is in a room that's about 12ftx13ft roughly, the onkyo amp has a good set up menu where you can set the distance you are away from the speakers so you get the best sound from your listing position, I loved fiddling with it whist setting it all up,
It has lipsync built in, there's a fair bit to fiddle about with, 
The jbl's are worth every penny, the sound clarity is surprising and bass is great even with my sub switched off which I do at night or the mrs moans at me :lol:
You can leave the rears out of it, I haven't got rears atm but will be getting another pair of jbl control1's when funds allow but trust me it sounds awesome without them.
If its going in your bedroom that's going to sound good


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## GR33N (Apr 5, 2009)

Dan J said:


> My set up is in a room that's about 12ftx13ft roughly, the onkyo amp has a good set up menu where you can set the distance you are away from the speakers so you get the best sound from your listing position, I loved fiddling with it whist setting it all up,
> If its going in your bedroom that's going to sound good


Id honestly go and buy your setup tomorrow, but I just know Richer Sounds wont have it in stock, and everywhere else is about 1/3 of the price more  It makes me laugh that they dont have any instock for online purchase but tell you to contact your local store.

The subs about £100, the JBL speakers are more like £70 when you find someone with stock, and the AV receiver is more like £250. Which I dont mind paying but its just more than I originally bargained for :thumb:


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## Dan J (Jun 18, 2008)

GR33N said:


> Id honestly go and buy your setup tomorrow, but I just know Richer Sounds wont have it in stock, and everywhere else is about 1/3 of the price more  It makes me laugh that they dont have any instock for online purchase but tell you to contact your local store.
> 
> The subs about £100, the JBL speakers are more like £70 when you find someone with stock, and the AV receiver is more like £250. Which I dont mind paying but its just more than I originally bargained for :thumb:


It's gutting you can't get them online atm, I paid 170 for the amp 120 for the sub and 60 for the jbl's online though,
Fingers crossed if you ring them up they'll have it all in stock in your local store you never know mate:thumb:


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## fulcrumer (Feb 25, 2012)

If using Richer - join their VIP club and get £10 off.


AVForums is a good source for advice and prices.


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

Get a decent set of speakers and you won't need a sub. I've got some B&W bookshelf speakers on proper stands and there is no way they are lacking any bass. May as well skip the sub for now and put the extra on the speakers


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## Grawschbags (Apr 15, 2010)

silverback said:


> room size is important as well,as graw stated.did you pay 350 for the amp or was it an all in one ??


I paid £350 for the full system mate. This is the one I have:

http://www.richersounds.com/product/1-box-home-cinema-systems/onkyo/hts3405/onky-hts3405-blk

It's more than adequate for my needs. I have it set up in a small box room purely for gaming and the occasional blu-ray. I'd imagine it would be ample for a bigger size bedroom as well as I don't even have it turned up half way.

Although none of the components are going to set the world alight against dearer alternatives, it's still a passive 5.1 separate system thats good enough for my needs. I couldn't be without it now.

I get a bollocking from Mrs Grawschbags with the sub rumbling through the floor boards down in to the livingroom. 

I originally considered a 2.1 system and this was the one I was going to go for as it gets favorable reviews:

http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/onkyo/htx22hdx/onky-htx22hdx-blk


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## silverback (Jun 18, 2008)

Grawschbags said:


> I paid £350 for the full system mate. This is the one I have:
> 
> http://www.richersounds.com/product/1-box-home-cinema-systems/onkyo/hts3405/onky-hts3405-blk
> 
> ...


if your happy with it mate thats what counts.i have a friend who spent close to 10 grand on a yamaha and B&W system and its awesome,its a shame he will never get the full potential out of it because he doesnt have a 200 seater stadium as a living room lol.i advised him that he would be better off downgrading and spend half the budget,his living room is only 18ft by 15ft and he has speakers and an amp that would make george lucas cream in his pants lol.

as for the OP,forget the sub for now,get yourself some good bookshelf speakers (like dan said) and a reasonable amp.up the budget up to £400 and get yourself £200 speakers a £150-175 amp and 25 quid left for speaker wire.do not buy a cheap sub,i repeat,do not but a cheap sub,there a false economy.

from what i have found in my 15 year home cinema hobby is that amps come and go,connections change,technology improves,scart was the thing to have,then it was component on the amps for connections,now its hdmi.speakers on the other hand have an infinite life imho.so get yourself some decent speakers as they will last you decades.i upgrade my amps usually every 6 years,but thats only because of the functionality and connectivity changing.


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## Grawschbags (Apr 15, 2010)

silverback said:


> if your happy with it mate thats what counts.i have a friend who spent close to 10 grand on a yamaha and B&W system and its awesome,its a shame he will never get the full potential out of it because he doesnt have a 200 seater stadium as a living room lol.i advised him that he would be better off downgrading and spend half the budget,his living room is only 18ft by 15ft and he has speakers and an amp that would make george lucas cream in his pants lol.
> 
> as for the OP,forget the sub for now,get yourself some good bookshelf speakers (like dan said) and a reasonable amp.up the budget up to £400 and get yourself £200 speakers a £150-175 amp and 25 quid left for speaker wire.do not buy a cheap sub,i repeat,do not but a cheap sub,there a false economy.
> 
> from what i have found in my 15 year home cinema hobby is that amps come and go,connections change,technology improves,scart was the thing to have,then it was component on the amps for connections,now its hdmi.speakers on the other hand have an infinite life imho.so get yourself some decent speakers as they will last you decades.i upgrade my amps usually every 6 years,but thats only because of the functionality and connectivity changing.


£10k on home cinema!!! That makes my eyes water. If that's your thing though.

I'm sure if money was no object then I would get someone to build me a system that would probably be within that ball park.

I'm in no way an enthuasiast, but the little money I have spent made it a whole new experience.

When I move house I'll be looking to run all the cabling before decorating so I can hide all the wires, then hopefully build a decent system.


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## GR33N (Apr 5, 2009)

SteveyG said:


> Get a decent set of speakers and you won't need a sub. I've got some B&W bookshelf speakers on proper stands and there is no way they are lacking any bass. May as well skip the sub for now and put the extra on the speakers


It is tempting mate, ive only been using the Corsair Speakers for a few hours (albeit they're going back Monday) and I find myself turning the sub off or down a long way.



Grawschbags said:


> I paid £350 for the full system mate. This is the one I have:
> 
> http://www.richersounds.com/product/1-box-home-cinema-systems/onkyo/hts3405/onky-hts3405-blk


Thats the original package I looked at :lol:


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## andystuff1971 (Jan 16, 2011)

SteveyG said:


> Get a decent set of speakers and you won't need a sub. I've got some B&W bookshelf speakers on proper stands and there is no way they are lacking any bass. May as well skip the sub for now and put the extra on the speakers


Terrible advice, if you want a reasonable set up then a sub is a must..


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## Dan J (Jun 18, 2008)

andystuff1971 said:


> Terrible advice, if you want a reasonable set up then a sub is a must..


100%, my jbl's sound great on there own but the sub just pumps the sound right up and fills it perfectly. Definatly a must.


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## GR33N (Apr 5, 2009)

Ive just had a thought, in the lounge my parents had a very expensive (several thousand pound at the time) 5.1 setup from about 7-8years ago. Recently the DVD Player/Amp/AV Receiver exploded but we still have the speakers and sub, I wonder if i could utilise them in someway?


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## eddie bullit (Nov 23, 2007)

Errrr Yes! Just get a amp powerful enough to control the sound.


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## GR33N (Apr 5, 2009)

Got to say, im tempted by this http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/jamo-o...x-ssr509-av-receiver-bundle-10976987-pdt.html


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## Dan J (Jun 18, 2008)

GR33N said:


> Got to say, im tempted by this http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/jamo-o...x-ssr509-av-receiver-bundle-10976987-pdt.html


Nice:thumb: that amps the next one up from mine which you can get a wifi dongle for getting digital radio and possible updates for the amp software,
Used to have a small pair of jamo's years back, looks like a neat set up for the money mate. And the smaller speakers may suit your room size/set up,

I still think you should get some jbl's mate they are the nuts imo and they come with wall brackets in the box lol:thumb:


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## GR33N (Apr 5, 2009)

Dan J said:


> Nice:thumb: that amps the next one up from mine which you can get a wifi dongle for getting digital radio and possible updates for the amp software,
> Used to have a small pair of jamo's years back, looks like a neat set up for the money mate. And the smaller speakers may suit your room size/set up,
> 
> I still think you should get some jbl's mate they are the nuts imo and the come with wall brackets in the box lol:thumb:


Unfortunately that package in the link isnt in stock anywhere  I can see whats going to happen here, im just going to end up having to spend a bit more money and get a similar setup to what you've got :lol:

EDIT:

Found someone on ebay selling new Onkyo TXSR309 receiver for £145 delivered, then I know I can the JBL Control ones for £65 (cant remember where) delivered and the Tannoy SFX Sub is £100 from Richer Sounds.


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

andystuff1971 said:


> Terrible advice, if you want a reasonable set up then a sub is a must..


You've clearly never heard a decent pair of speakers then, or know anything about Hi-Fi. If if was a must, then every stereo amplifier would have a subwoofer output.

How is adding a subwoofer going to give you a flat response to a set of speakers that were designed to be as flat as possible from 20 or 30Hz up? - It isn't, it'll just give you a load of low end and no longer being faithful to the original source.


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## Craigylad (Aug 25, 2011)

Hi, my advice would be a stereo amplifier with a pair of speakers that's all you need. Cinema is great but my personal opinion is that a 2.1 sudo surround systems are not great value for money. 
Example if on budget
Marantz pm6004 stereo amplifier this has RCA connections at back I think 7 so you connect anything with a RCA output also has a phono stage for a turntable. 
Monitor audio bx2 speakers good solid sound well finished for price and certainly go low enough in bass that you would not need a sub , however you could easily had a sub at a later date. 

Remember hifi and cinemas can be personal so best to pop in to an Hifi shop and have a look a round and a listen. 

Hope this helps


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## GR33N (Apr 5, 2009)

Craigylad said:


> Hi, my advice would be a stereo amplifier with a pair of speakers that's all you need. Cinema is great but my personal opinion is that a 2.1 sudo surround systems are not great value for money.
> Example if on budget
> Marantz pm6004 stereo amplifier this has RCA connections at back I think 7 so you connect anything with a RCA output also has a phono stage for a turntable.
> Monitor audio bx2 speakers good solid sound well finished for price and certainly go low enough in bass that you would not need a sub , however you could easily had a sub at a later date.
> ...


Thanks for the input mate, but I definately need HDMI input on the amplifier for xbox, sky, blu ray etc. Essentially two speakers or two speakers and subwoofer is what I want (and what ive currently got) but the current speaker/sub cant connect to my TV in any other way that the headphone jack which creates massive A/V sync issues


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## Grawschbags (Apr 15, 2010)

If its of any interest I would go for a receiver with v1.4 HDMI inputs. This works with 3D.

Handy if you're wanting to futureproof your system for a few years.


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## Craigylad (Aug 25, 2011)

Sorry must of missed the hdmi need, 

Well in that case some sort of home cinema receiver with hdmi switching as mentioned v1.4 would be best. 

Onkyo do some fantastic amps from 200 pun upwards. You could just start with 2 speakers for stereo sound then slowly build up to a 5.1 cinema. 

Good luck hope you find something


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## Dan J (Jun 18, 2008)

gr33n said:


> unfortunately that package in the link isnt in stock anywhere  I can see whats going to happen here, im just going to end up having to spend a bit more money and get a similar setup to what you've got :lol:
> 
> Edit:
> 
> Found someone on ebay selling new onkyo txsr309 receiver for £145 delivered, then i know i can the jbl control ones for £65 (cant remember where) delivered and the tannoy sfx sub is £100 from richer sounds.


    :thumb:

I've got 3 hdmi ins and 1 out on mine, got the Xbox and ps3 rigged up through it, really easy to flick between the two,forza and battlefield sound awesome through it to the point of making me jump when a near by tank pops a shell off,Forza you can hear people coming up beside you on the track from there engine noise, run tv sound out of the amp which is much much better than listening to the sound on the tv speakers which are crap and as I said before the amp compensates for the lag with the speech.

Wish I could demo my set up to you you'd love it.


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## GR33N (Apr 5, 2009)

Dan J said:


> :thumb:
> 
> I've got 3 hdmi ins and 1 out on mine, got the Xbox and ps3 rigged up through it, really easy to flick between the two,forza and battlefield sound awesome through it to the point of making me jump when a near by tank pops a shell off,Forza you can hear people coming up beside you on the track from there engine noise, run tv sound out of the amp which is much much better than listening to the sound on the tv speakers which are crap and as I said before the amp compensates for the lag with the speech.
> 
> Wish I could demo my set up to you you'd love it.


and im sure you'd love spending my money :lol: as soon as ive got my refund on the Corsairs im going to start buying the bits I need :thumb:

Finalish question I hope, how much/what type of speaker cabling do i need?

and

how valuable is a centre speaker? Ive got an old Sony one but I think its 4ohms is that likely to be a problem?


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## silverback (Jun 18, 2008)

andystuff1971 said:


> Terrible advice, if you want a reasonable set up then a sub is a must..


but not a cheap sub  id rather have no sub and add it later,than a cheap sub and all the speakers now.the key is add at your own pace


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## silverback (Jun 18, 2008)

GR33N said:


> and im sure you'd love spending my money :lol: as soon as ive got my refund on the Corsairs im going to start buying the bits I need :thumb:
> 
> Finalish question I hope, how much/what type of speaker cabling do i need?
> 
> ...


get some decent speaker cable for the fronts.say about £3 at least a metre,with the front speakers being closer to the amp yo only need short runs,so buy some good stuff.for the rears i got qed micro i think it was.on the fronts i have qed silver anniversary something or other for about £10 a metre.


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## Craigylad (Aug 25, 2011)

silverback said:


> get some decent speaker cable for the fronts.say about £3 at least a metre,with the front speakers being closer to the amp yo only need short runs,so buy some good stuff.for the rears i got qed micro i think it was.on the fronts i have qed silver anniversary something or other for about £10 a metre.


Good advice , qed do some excellent cable


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## cobra (Feb 18, 2012)

IMHO for your budget a 5.1 or even 2.1 IMHO would be poor quality.

I would advise getting a stereo amp and stero speakers and then add a DAC later.

There is alot of electronics in an AV amp - under £400 there not upto much
good stero amp and some decent speakers will really give a 5.1 cheap surround a real run for the money!

take a look over on avforums.co.uk

agree with SteveG re sub - if you have heard decent floorstanders (or even good stand mounts)- they push that much air there is no need for a sub. Go for a demo at a hifi shop and see for yourself!

Check if your TV has stereo RCA's out, if is so use these, if not you can use the optical out/digi coaxial into a cheap but resonable DAC - Neet (via amazon). There is no need to use the outputs from the sources - just take it from the TV, no need to keep switching inputs and save yourself about 5 cables!

IMHO something like this would be 100 times better than that currys sytem :

amp- ONKYOA9155 £139: http://www.richersounds.com/product/amplifiers-receivers/onkyo/a9155/onky-a9155-blk
or for a bit more Yamaha AS500 £200: http://www.richersounds.com/product/amplifiers-receivers/yamaha/as500/yama-as500
speakers - TANNOYMERCURY V1 £100-£110 depending on colour: http://www.richersounds.com/product/bookshelf-speakers/tannoy/mercury-v1/tann-mercury-v1-oak (or if the budget can strech WHARFEDALEDIAMOND 10.1 would be worth the extra)

RCA cable - tv to amp: http://www.audiovisualonline.co.uk/product/2022/fisual-install-series-phono-cables
speaker cable: http://www.audiovisualonline.co.uk/product/1565/van-damme-studio-grade-blue-speaker-cable-2-5mm

if you need a DAC: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Neet®-DAC-D...3ID8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335039636&sr=8-1
optical cable: http://www.audiovisualonline.co.uk/product/1434/fisual-digital-optical-cable-pro-install-series
or digital coaxial depending on tv http://www.audiovisualonline.co.uk/product/1430/fisual-digital-coaxial-cable-pro-install-series

With this setup, if you have another few hundred quid at some point, you can keep the speakers and use them as rear spreakers - adding an AV amp and new fronts

just my personal view!  enjoy whatever you buy!


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## andystuff1971 (Jan 16, 2011)

SteveyG said:


> You've clearly never heard a decent pair of speakers then, or know anything about Hi-Fi. If if was a must, then every stereo amplifier would have a subwoofer output.
> 
> How is adding a subwoofer going to give you a flat response to a set of speakers that were designed to be as flat as possible from 20 or 30Hz up? - It isn't, it'll just give you a load of low end and no longer being faithful to the original source.


Amd you clearly didn't read the op, home cinema not hifi. 5.1 requires a sub, hence the .1. Out of interest what floorstanders anywhere near the op's budget get anywhere near flat to 20hz? I have a £2000 sub with dual 12" drivers that barely reaches below 20hz!


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## GR33N (Apr 5, 2009)

cobra said:


> IMHO for your budget a 5.1 or even 2.1 IMHO would be poor quality.
> 
> I would advise getting a stereo amp and stero speakers and then add a DAC later.
> 
> ...


Its an LG TV so outputs are limited, I think ive got digital optical out though. The main concern id have with doing things your way is whether I would I get any A/V sync issues? I presume this would be the biggest advantage of having a proper AV receiver rather than a hifi amplifier.


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## HeavenlyDetail (Sep 22, 2006)

andystuff1971 said:


> Terrible advice, if you want a reasonable set up then a sub is a must..


Not always , a good friend of mine on here has a pair of EB1i PMC speakers in his room and they do not need a sub at all.
Ive just upgraded my Home Cinema set up to KEF,s new R series R500 fronts and the R400b sub combined with the T series flat centre and rears , all running off a Pioneer LX55 amp and BDX55 bluray , the Sub im hoping will be better than my REL but im currently sitting here wiring up the silver cabling wth gold banannas so may know tomorrow 
A sub is always the most important speaker on any system unless the speakers have the capability to do both jobs.


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

andystuff1971 said:


> Amd you clearly didn't read the op, home cinema not hifi. 5.1 requires a sub, hence the .1.





GR33N said:


> I guess the way to go is an AV receiver and some speakers (not looking for 5.1)


Fail.


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## Dan J (Jun 18, 2008)

andystuff1971 said:


> Amd you clearly didn't read the op, home cinema not hifi. 5.1 requires a sub, hence the .1. Out of interest what floorstanders anywhere near the op's budget get anywhere near flat to 20hz? I have a £2000 sub with dual 12" drivers that barely reaches below 20hz!


Your sub sounds like a monster, I couldn't imagine having something with drivers that big in my sitting room :lol: it would blow the wife's head off,

I'm more than happy with my tannoy, not knocking what all you guys have got or mentioned but my system rocks in my eyes, I've been into av stuff for years and this system though be it on the cheap side in some people's opinion it really does sound good and puts a smile on my face every time I switch it on


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## audigex (Apr 2, 2012)

2-300 is probably optimistic but 350-400 is doable. 1000 is over the top tbh if you want entry level. Av enthusiasts are like most hobbyists, they want to jump you straight up to their level when what you really want is a basic decent setup to last a few years, if you get into it you upgrade in situ.

I got a 2nd hand onkyo for £150. Sr307 I think it is but I can't check ATM. £100 for a pair of wharfedale 9.1s and a £150 sub and away you go. Centre isn't that important on top of a 2.1 unless you have several viewing positions around the room that get used a lot, if you just have one sofa you can place the l and r the same distance from the tv and sofa and get the same effect.

Centre is more important for if you have people viewing off centre from the tv, as it prevents dialog coming from the side, from straight on it makes less difference.


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## GR33N (Apr 5, 2009)

audigex said:


> 2-300 is probably optimistic but 350-400 is doable. 1000 is over the top tbh if you want entry level. Av enthusiasts are like most hobbyists, they want to jump you straight up to their level when what you really want is a basic decent setup to last a few years, if you get into it you upgrade in situ.
> 
> I got a 2nd hand onkyo for £150. Sr307 I think it is but I can't check ATM. £100 for a pair of wharfs sale 9.1s and a £150 sub and away you go. Centre isn't that important in a 2.1 unless you have several viewing positions around the room that get used a lot, if you just have one sofa you can place the l and r the same distance from the tv and sofa and get the same effect.
> 
> Centre is more important for if you have people viewing off centre from the tv, as it prevents dialog coming from the side, from straight on it makes less difference.


Nice one mate, your point about the centre speaker has really helped there as ill only be viewing from one position :thumb:

You mention youve got an Onkyo SR307, the AV receiver ive been looking at is the SR309 (presumably a new model) this can be bought for just under £150. Would £100 on a sub be reasonable (say Tannoy SFX)? and then £50-100 on a pair of speakers? Would this constitute a reasonable entry level system in your eyes?


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

audigex said:


> I got a 2nd hand onkyo for £150. Sr307 I think it is but I can't check ATM. £100 for a pair of wharfedale 9.1s and a £150 sub and away you go. Centre isn't that important on top of a 2.1 unless you have several viewing positions around the room that get used a lot, if you just have one sofa you can place the l and r the same distance from the tv and sofa and get the same effect.


Good call. Forgot about second hand :thumb:

What silverback said earlier on in the thread is spot on though - Speakers are one of the few things that can last a lifetime and not significantly be improved. In my study I have some BBC/Rogers speakers that give my B&Ws a run for their money. Unfortunately they're a bit tatty and dated looking, but still sound 1000% better than some of the mass produced stuff sold for a premium these days.

Ebay is full of bargains. Keep an eye on some of these if you're interested:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_f...1313&_nkw=B&W+dm600&_sacat=See-All-Categories

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_f...1313&_nkw=B&W+dm601&_sacat=See-All-Categories

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_f...1313&_nkw=B&W+dm602&_sacat=See-All-Categories

I heard some of these in Superfi years ago and are what got me hooked on Hi-Fi in the first place.


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## cobra (Feb 18, 2012)

GR33N said:


> Its an LG TV so outputs are limited, I think ive got digital optical out though. The main concern id have with doing things your way is whether I would I get any A/V sync issues? I presume this would be the biggest advantage of having a proper AV receiver rather than a hifi amplifier.


I've got an LG TV so if its anything like mine then there won't be RCA stereo out - but you will have optical out. As optical out (S/PDIF) is a digital signal and if you take it from the TV rather than the source you should not experience any lip sync issues. In your TV now there is a small DAC taking the info from the sources and sending the signal to the speakers.


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## cobra (Feb 18, 2012)

SteveyG said:


> Good call. Forgot about second hand :thumb:
> 
> In my study I have some BBC/Rogers speakers that give my B&Ws a run for their money. Unfortunately they're a bit tatty and dated looking, but still sound 1000% better than some of the mass produced stuff sold for a premium these days.
> 
> ...


i'd love some BBC/Rogers speakers!! bet they sound amazing.


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## SteveyG (Apr 1, 2007)

They're only the LS7's, but sound great  Could do with the fabric on the grille replacing though as the corners of the frame are starting to show through the fabric.


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## Phil H (May 14, 2006)

Have a look into the 2.1 or 5.1 sound bars


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## Alzak (Aug 31, 2010)

I do have Linn katan as bookshelf speakers and all I can say they are great ... best is to buy best possible speakers and get cambridge audio stereo amp . My vote go for Linn or B&W but old one not new made in China...


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