Home cinema / Hi-fi setups

[glade]

We've just bought an LCD tv and now want some surround sound.

I'd never heard a surround sound system before so went along to a shop who have a special room all set up.

It's amazing- we watched a few films; by far the best was a bit from pearl harbour where we could hear bullets ricocheting around us. The way the sound filled the room with music was brilliant too.

Am looking at a Cambridge amp and Kef audio speakers. (to go with old Sony DVD player & Sony LCD tv)

What have you got? Any reccomendation?

How much do you want to spent?

[glade]

Originally Posted by Dave The Rave

How much do you want to spent?

Don't laugh... Not a lot!

I did want to spend ?250 on a 1 box system, but after hearing the separates I think ?600 might be justifiable.


Just need an amp and 5.1 speakers. Preferably with HDMI switching, or minimum 2 optical inputs & digital coax input.

This kind of thing is down budget, I out of touch now with the most recent tech advances however from experince;

You want quaility over loudness, I always find it hard to decscribe what is good sound, I used to sound record for TV shows so go for a clear sounds. Which means no distortions in the audio. To me it was always a feeling of what it felt like and wheter or not I would call for another take. It something that annyos me if something that doesn't sound right or shot poorly, but for its a feeling and look, hard to teach or describe.

Look at the RMS (route metre squred I belive) output of the system thats you power output in terms of watts music/sound power, not PMPO (i think its called) casue thats balls. Also remeber it will sound different at home than in the store, the harmoics of the room will be different. Infact it varies on location, material in the room ect.

Go for the best you can afford, is what I would suggest, may be research all the system you like and go from there. Also remember to hussle to the sales guy, if you don't like the price tell them to stick it. I have done that in the past, after all they want your hard earned in todays market they would be dumb to turn business.

As said above - rms (root mean square) values are much more useful than PMPO (peak music power output...or something)

A good start point for research could be www.avforums.com. Its a mine of useful information but don't get caught up in the audiophile BS.

We have an Acoustic Solutions system in the bedroom, which is not bad - but the ?300 Panny 850 system that replaced it downstairs kicks its ass in every respect.

There is no doubt that a ?600 system would be better...but twice as good? Also, if you are going to spend serious money on the system, your room has to be arranged around it or you won't get the benefits of it.

[Bluepete]

I'm lucky enough to have the space for a cinema room seperate to the living room. That has the usual big speakers, big amp etc, all of which take up a lot of space.

In the living room, the LCD TV is hooked up to a JVC all in one unit with four tall, slim speakers for the corners and a small centre under the TV. It's all very neat, takes up next to no space and above all, sounds really good 'cos it's all designed to work together. The sub integrates perfectly with the speakers, it's plenty loud enough and is neat and compact. This company are very good, I'v had loads of kit from them over the years, superb service etc.

There are also loads of magazines on the subject, go to WH Smith and have a look, reviews of kit are usually mentioned on the cover.

AV amps are generally big things, and don't look good under the TV.

There are some really good looking all in one systems out there,

From experience a mid level integrated system from a good brand will sound better in a normal room than a very flash separate system, bear with me on this, basically an integrated system will have nice matched amp and speakers and will generally be simple to set up from the box with only a few minor adjustments to get it working. A good separate system will take a lot more time and effort to set up properly (not to mention a good deal of knowledge) though ultimately will sound better.

basically it will cost much more for the system and you might need to pay a professional to fit and set it up properly, any salesman who tells you differently is trying to get more money outta you.

Ive been at a few peoples houses where they spent a fortune on the best kit but never thought about getting a pro setup so it sounds pretty average.

ps. having 9 remotes gets annoying after a while too, unless you gaffer tape them together into a megatron!!!

[glade]

I do like the ideA of just getting a 1 box solution, but how do you judge the quality. The bloke in the shop was very dismissive of them

Go to the shop with your own DVD and listen to it on as many different systems as you can. We took LOR disc with us and listened to the same chapter on few systems. Ended up with Pioneer and never looked back. It was not cheap comparing to others but sounded great. So we remembered the number and searched the internet. Got it considerably cheaper doing so. Shop around, read some reviews in magazines and on the net (WHICH is a good site) and decide on one or two favourites. Than shop on the net for the best price. Good hunting!

Also think about how much you will really use it.

I have a full 7.1 system - Monitor Audio Left and Rights with Kefs Eggs, powered by a decent Yamaha amp, (you will need to think about optical connections to DVD etc).

It is beautifully sounding, but due to the fact I am currently in a flat (having moved from a house) I simply can't use it to it's full potential without destroying all the goodwill with my neighbours.

I think I paid about ?1800 for speakers and amp --- just depends on what you are really looking for - be careful though, as guys on the avforums will tell you it can become addictive and also incredibly expensive very quickly.

As was said before - always take your favourite movies and CDs with you. I bought my amp and speakers for Music and SurroundSound, so I can switch between 7.1 and simply Left and Right for music. -- Really think about what you will use the speakers for.

Richersounds is a reasonable place to start, but read up on the avforums and What Hifi first