# Got the player, but what reciever and speakers to get out of these two



## Clean-my-sxi (Feb 5, 2008)

My GF has got me a new sony blue-ray player for christmas, i already have a PS3 aswell, i would really like a surround sound system for it but not looking to pay a silly amount.

Some months back i purchased a 2.1 system with dvd player, but tbh something just wasnt right about it so i decided to go the seperate route , get a player, then get a speaker and receiver system.

I was all set to get a Onkyo system
AVX-380 or HTS3305, they are the same just slightly different speakers
these can be had for around £300










I then saw this at my local retail park

Sony HT-AS5
Around the same price










so just looking for some advice really on what one may be the better option, unfortunately my local has neither set up to test


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## Ducky (Mar 19, 2007)

Have to say I'm an Onkyo fan, their hardware is top notch in the AV department. :thumb: But Sony are pretty good too, however I'd have to go with Onkyo.


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## Clean-my-sxi (Feb 5, 2008)

any more help


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## Clean-my-sxi (Feb 5, 2008)

:wave:


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## Guest (Dec 6, 2010)

Stretch a little For surround sound;

Sony STR-DA2400ESB 7.1 Channel AV Receiver in Black: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

Teufel Kompakt 30 "5.1 loudspeaker set": Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

If you want music, stick with the Sony amp and got to AV forums and check out their classifieds section for speakers. If you look hard enough, you'll also find a nice amp there too.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/spea...le-tannoy-fx-5-1-surround-sound-speakers.html

No harm in browsing.

Out of interest, what BRP did she get you?


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## Clean-my-sxi (Feb 5, 2008)

sony s370.

tbh my budget is really limited to the £315 max for the sony, the onkyo is cheaper and what i was originally going for until i saw the sony.

I managed to get a demo of the sony in the sony centre today. i can honestly say i was not blown away, suposidly its 1000w and like all the systems you seem to have to turn them up to 20 just to start hearing them.

the member of staff maxed it to 60 and i was thinking, mmm considering thats at full volume its hardly mind blowing, however i know its hard sometimes comparing the space in a room to a shop.

the last system i had was a lot louder when i got it home.

Its gonna be used for everything, movies, games, music


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## Guest (Dec 6, 2010)

If you go 2nd hand, you will get better value for money at that budget. For it to do "everything" you will have to go 2nd hand, as the new "budget" stuff will send you down the "upgrade" route very quickly. Check out Gumtree, Ebay and AV forums in your local area. You may be surprised at what turns up.

What size is your room? Thinking regarding speaker size and how much volume they need to fill.

It is widely recognised that the Q Acoustic 5.1 setup is the best for everything, but that £250 and you still need an amp. I've heard both the Sony setup (weak) and the Onkyo speakers (not amp) and they were lacking any sort of definition.

You could always get a decent set of headphones with an amp?

Take a butchers in Richer Sounds Clearance;

http://www.richersounds.com/clearance/07


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## Pandy (Jan 19, 2008)

I'd stear clear of the Sony, unless its an AV Receiver and speakers i wouldnt bother, no option to upgrade in the future if its a 1-box system (Sony do some great AV Recievers though)

Yamaha have an AVR + speaker package, AV67, might be worth checking that out? (Tesco have it for £330 if you can stretch)

Or as said try second hand or discontinued stock


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## Guest (Dec 6, 2010)

Worth it 

http://www.avforums.com/forums/spea...ort-premier-5-1-speakers-sub-marantz-amp.html


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## Guest (Dec 6, 2010)

This is near to you;

Speakers and Sub from the same seller. Do a deal with him as the speakers are a stunning bargain:thumb: You probably won't need the sub though

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2290262.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2290270.htm

Spend the rest on an amp.


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## Clean-my-sxi (Feb 5, 2008)

tbh im not looking for something that big, im really only looking for something small, and the best i can get for my budget, i dont think ill be looking to upgrade it for some time as im happy just with the sound from the tv at the mo, it would just be nice to have something a little extra on certain games, music and films on occasions.

The room is about 18 x 18 ft roughly


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## silverback (Jun 18, 2008)

Clean-my-sxi said:


> tbh im not looking for something that big, im really only looking for something small, and the best i can get for my budget, i dont think ill be looking to upgrade it for some time as im happy just with the sound from the tv at the mo, it would just be nice to have something a little extra on certain games, music and films on occasions.
> 
> The room is about 18 x 18 ft roughly


to be honest with you your going to have to increase your budget imho.you say you want something small,cheap (no offence but you could spend 300 on cables and a power strip to connect your equipment up with ) and loud.well i dont think thats exactly possible.sure you can get something loud but you want quality of sound not just loudness,you will find in most of those all in ones the sub is the weak link,too boomy,no accuracy and just booms away with little control.add to all that you have a pretty good size room to fill.

if that is your budget i would spend it all on an amp and possibly two speakers (left and right) then add a centre and later add your rears.i would rather wait and get a decent setup then get it all at once for £300 and regret it later.

not to be a snob about it but i really don't think home cinema can be done cheap (£300 is nothing) so what your looking at is an all in one or possibly a cheap amp with cheap speakers.you say you werent happy about the sony system as it quoted a 1000w watts (even a true 100w,those speakers couldnt handle without major audio distortion) and wasnt very loud,well to be fair your looking at the bargain basement, budget wise, so i wouldnt get your hopes up for hi fidelity and extreme loudness.i think the onkyo setup is your best bet,but you would want to upgrade those speakers first imho.


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## Clean-my-sxi (Feb 5, 2008)

You do sound like a snob :lol:

I see your point, but what im saying is, i have been happy just listening to the sound from the TV up until now so im just looking for a little extra every now and then, its not gonna be used all the time.

The way i was looking at it was, if im happy with the TV sound then any thing extra will be a improvement so i just wanna get the best my money can buy really without it being to large and cumbersome


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## silverback (Jun 18, 2008)

Clean-my-sxi said:


> You do sound like a snob :lol:
> 
> I see your point, but what im saying is, i have been happy just listening to the sound from the TV up until now


you say this,then in an earlier post you say.....



Clean-my-sxi said:


> I managed to get a demo of the sony in the sony centre today. i can honestly say i was not blown away, suposidly its 1000w and like all the systems you seem to have to turn them up to 20 just to start hearing them.
> 
> the member of staff maxed it to 60 and i was thinking, mmm considering thats at full volume its hardly mind blowing, however i know its hard sometimes comparing the space in a room to a shop..


now,without listening to either of your tv speakers, or the sony system, i could safely say that the sony system would be louder than any inbuilt tv speakers in the world.



Clean-my-sxi said:


> im just looking for a little extra every now and then, its not gonna be used all the time.


then earlier you said



Clean-my-sxi said:


> .Its gonna be used for everything, movies, games, music


so which is it ?


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## Clean-my-sxi (Feb 5, 2008)

Its gonna be used to play everything , dvds, cds, games, but not all the time.

your other 2 quotes i cant really understand why you put them together , in one im saying i am happy listening to my TV speakers in the other im saying i was not over imnpressed by the volume of the sony system, bare in mind if im paying out for something i want it to be clearly better then my tv


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## silverback (Jun 18, 2008)

Clean-my-sxi said:


> Its gonna be used to play everything , dvds, cds, games, but not all the time.
> 
> your other 2 quotes i cant really understand why you put them together , in one im saying i am happy listening to my TV speakers in the other im saying i was not over imnpressed by the volume of the sony system, bare in mind if im paying out for something i want it to be clearly better then my tv


what i was getting at was i cant believe that the sony system wouldnt be night and day difference from just the tv speakers.i got my dad a £130 all in one system for last christmas and the difference betwenn that and just his tv speakers was instantly better and much louder with clearer dialogue.so either that system is incredibly **** poor (i doubt it) it wasnt set up right (possible but it should still be much louder than just 10w tv speakers) or the demo room was so busy with people that the back ground noise was drowning out the speakers.

now i get what you mean about the second comment, as you are saying it will be used for everything but it wont be on night an day.


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## Clean-my-sxi (Feb 5, 2008)

Dont get me wrong the Sony one was better then the Standard tv speakers ok, but i purchased a LG 2.1 system early in the year and i think that was about 300w a nice system to look at and was quite loud tbh,m however i think due to it being 2.1 it found it hard distributing the sound when playing something like a fight scene in transformers when the robots fight you could hardly hear what they were saying as the background noise was too loud, anyway it also had problems playing music, it seemed like it couldnt handle certain notes and tones properly compared to a regular stereo.

When i was in the Sony centre she turned it up and i think i was expecting it to be significantly louder then the LG system but to my suprise im not sure if it was, I know once you get it home it will sound different in the room size but Sony centres are never really big shops anyway. 

Perhaps my expectations are too high, i really dont want to get caught up in the high end prices as we all know how easy you can get carried away, for example how many waxes and shampoos i own now.

I just want something for a few times a week to use and i want hopefully the best my budget can buy.


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## silverback (Jun 18, 2008)

Clean-my-sxi said:


> Dont get me wrong the Sony one was better then the Standard tv speakers ok, but i purchased a LG 2.1 system early in the year and i think that was about 300w a nice system to look at and was quite loud tbh,m however i think due to it being 2.1 it found it hard distributing the sound when playing something like a fight scene in transformers when the robots fight you could hardly hear what they were saying as the background noise was too loud, anyway it also had problems playing music, it seemed like it couldnt handle certain notes and tones properly compared to a regular stereo.
> 
> When i was in the Sony centre she turned it up and i think i was expecting it to be significantly louder then the LG system but to my suprise im not sure if it was, I know once you get it home it will sound different in the room size but Sony centres are never really big shops anyway.
> 
> ...


i know what your saying about getting carried away as my own personal addiction started by getting my first dvd player and its been a quick and expensive slope from there (my current system is the best part of 5 grand on just the electical side) so i do understand.

the reason you wont be able to hear the dialogue on the transformers film via your 2.1 system is its a incredibly loud film to begin with and without a dedicated centre speaker (5.1 system) the dialogue (for what little and extremely cheesy it is) is always battling against the big bangs,and when you only have 2 channels every noise is fighting to get out of those two channels and dialogue will always be drowned out by the explosives on anything less than a 5.1 system imho·

im still really stunned by you not being able to instantly tell the difference between the sony and the LG 2.1 setup.maybe take the transformers dvd with you next time and ask them to play that?? there is also the outside bet that the sony centre havent set it up right.

what did you demo (movie wise) at the sony centre ??


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## Guest (Dec 8, 2010)

I have offered my suggestions, but as you can wait a few weeks, there may be units that come up for sale, in the up and coming sales

Keep and eye on (new stuff);

HOTUKDEALS

OFFEROFTHEDAY

EBAY - DEALS OF THE DAY

RICHER SOUNDS

SUPERFI

SEVENOAKS (Clearance)

or 2nd hand stuff I've mentioned already.

For movies, I started off with a nice Plasma (John Lewis), DVD (from Toshiba), some JBL "specials" and Paradigm SUB from Richer sounds, finishing off with a 2nd Yamaha AV amp from AVForums.

I also had a separate HIfI setup for music (cost oodles)

All served me well, for their individual tasks, but I decided to merge the two.

The JBLs were the first to go. You simply cannot recreate music with satelite speakers, no matter how good your setup.

I've heard expensive KEF satelite setups costing in excess of £800 (my JBLs with the Sub were a total of £210) and they were not massively better than what I had.

My point is similar to Silverbacks. If you want to have everything, look at your budget. Failing that, decide on your priorities. What will you be listening to the most or needing it for the most.


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## Guest (Dec 8, 2010)

The Onkyo you mentioned in your first post is £200 + delivery.

Be quick if you want it.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/6711738/art/onkyo/ht-s3305b-3d-ready-5-1ch.html


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## silverback (Jun 18, 2008)

AnilS said:


> I have offered my suggestions, but as you can wait a few weeks, there may be units that come up for sale, in the up and coming sales
> 
> Keep and eye on (new stuff);
> 
> ...


it really is a slippery slope this av stuff isnt it lol.i started off with a decent sony amp (940 something or other) and i all i had left budget wise was enough for a pair of B&W 601`S for left and rights,i added a centre later and by this time i was frothing at the mouth to get full 5.1 so put some wharefdales on the rears lol.bit of a miss match but i upgraded the fronts to b&w 603 floor standers and moved the 601s to the rear and got a dedicated centre (b&w) but the problem for me was the floor standers liked to be driven hard and needed room to breath (never though about it at the time of purchase lol) and i neither have the room really,and i certainly didnt want the neighbours complaining (there very good with me in that way and i have always said if its to loud you just give me a shout and it wont happen again) so i sold the lot and went with the kef 5005 speaker package and a new yamaha hdmi amp lol.

i take my hat off to you mate,as there is no way in hell i would have all the wires and strip plugs for an individual stereo set up lol.


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## Guest (Dec 8, 2010)

You're not wrong there mate:lol:

Wife was also happier with less clutter.

Just for you, heres the before (two systems) and the after (merged - albeit showing the old Yamaha amp and not the new Sony 2400ES)



















BTW, fireplace works but *never* used now Plasma in!


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## Clean-my-sxi (Feb 5, 2008)

very nice setup, but thats definately not for me, it wouldnt get enough use, though im sure if i listened to it i would be hooked so best not to even go down that route.

Piximania, i hear bad comments about them and told by many people to steer clear.

the film they had in the sony centre was terminator salvation. i actually sent back the 2.1 system as i was lucky enough to get it from amazon and they are really good for returning goods, so id probably try and get something from there again or somewhere that you can atleast return it if you dont like it, not too many places do that now. Well without taking a cut from the refund.


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## Guest (Dec 8, 2010)

Didn't know about Pixmania, just did a search on your listed products.

Happy to help anyway.:thumb:


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## robj20 (Jan 20, 2009)

Iv used Pixmania loads and they have always been great, ordered a phone about 3 weeks ago it didnt turn up so on day 10 they sent another, both then turned up within a few days so sent one back which they paid for of course.
Iv had loads of very expensive gear from them from DSLRs to Phones.


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## Clean-my-sxi (Feb 5, 2008)

Right i have just purchased the Sony system even though i think the money may be better spent on the onkyo, i have just managed to get the Sony on sale for £189.99 which seems a bloody bargain, worse case if i change my mind ill send it back but at that price worth a order if you ask me


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## Clean-my-sxi (Feb 5, 2008)

Well i went to my local currys today to test the Sony out that i have just ordered, after wondering if the sony centre did not have it setup properly.

Anyway thought id test it out in currys so if i didnt want it i need not open it when it arrives, got in store and would you believe it, it must have some sort of lock on it so it wont play dvds and they could not find the remote to take the lock off.

oh well ill probably be taking it out the box to test it carefully.


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2010)

Feedback when you can


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