Need a new HD Home Cinema setup

photoshop

photoshop

photoshop

Soldato
Joined
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Location
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Hi,

Some of you may remember me constructing my first proper AV setup afew months ago which involved a PS3, Samsung 37" LCD, NAD amp and Wharfedale Diamond 9.1's which is used in the so called family room.

Well now its time to construct a new setup in the games/cinema room.
This time, however, i want a full and proper cinema experience setup.

What i need this time is:

- Full HD LCD (40" ish)
- Amp/Reciever capable of 7.1 HD sound
- Surround Sound speaker package

So far i am thinking of getting the following:

- Kef KHT1005.2 5.1 system package
- Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 home cinema receiver

These will be paired with a PS3 for Blu-ray. Im getting another PS3 as i already have my existing one wirelessly networked to my PC for multimedia purposes and this will be the same.

What do you guys think/recommend...?
 
dont think the 1005.2 are rated well for hd sound. have a look at the quad lites as these are £1000 speakers reduced to £500.
also check out avforums
 
yeh the 606 is a tad overkill for the KHT1000.2, if your set on getting that amp then the KHT3005 are a far better match, or take a look at some bargains around at the moment such as the Quad K-Lite 5.1 package available for under £500 (half price)
 
If you want some decent speakers and a great sub do a google search for

MISSION ELAN E3 AV SYSTEM

Maybe a bit more than you want to spend but I would highly recommend!
 
If you want HD audio then I would recommend the Onkyo 606.
The lower Onkyo models - the 506 at £250 and 576 at £300 won't give you HD audio over HDMI. Nor will pretty much all other sub £400 AV receivers. There is one alternative though, the Sony STDG910. This will accept LPCM over HDMI but not DTS Master Audio or Dolby True HD. You can pick these up for £200.
As for speakers, the Quad L-ite package mentioned by kidloco and flexo786 is great and a bargain at £500 and also the Kef 3005 package at £600 (both were £1000 originally). A slightly more costly option is the MJ Acoustics Xeno 5.1 package at £800, it sounds fantastic for the money. Kef have just released the 2005.3 package at £700. I listened to this for the first time today and its not a bad package at all for the money. It now comes in a nice gloss black finish and has a new sub powered by a 200W Class D (digital) amplifier.
As for your choice of screen, I would recommend a plasma for home cinema over an LCD.
You can get a 42" Panasonic 1080p panel for around £1000 that has a picture that any Samsung or Sony LCD can only dream of. If you really want an LCD then get a Sony, otherwise go for a Panasonic plasma.
 
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Failsafe said:
If you want HD audio then I would recommend the Onkyo 606.
The lower Onkyo models - the 506 at £250 and 576 at £300 won't give you HD audio over HDMI. Nor will pretty much all other sub £400 AV receivers. There is one alternative though, the Sony STDG910. This will accept LPCM over HDMI but not DTS Master Audio or Dolby True HD. You can pick these up for £200.
Click to expand...
The ps3 will decode dolby true hd and dts master audio inernally so any amp that accepts lpcm over hdmi will give you hd audio using a ps3 eg the sony 910 or the yamaha rx761, both available for around £200 and both very good sound wise.

If it was my money i would get

Panasonic 42px80 42" plasma tv £700 ish or the 37" version if 42 is too big.
Yamaha rx761 amp £200
Quad lite 5.1 speaker set £500

Total £1400
 
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Thanks guys.

I like the Quad speaker package but i cant find any e-tailer selling them in Black (which is the colour i want). The only colours i can find are silver and rosewood :(

What do you guys think of the WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 9.1AV 5.1 speaker package? I can pick them up for £349 (reduced from £900). Are they good enough for HD Audio?

I like the look of the Sony STR-DG910. Cheapest i can find it is £300 though. Cant find any info at ALL for the Yamaha amp....

Is plasma better for movies and SD over LCD?

EDIT: The PS3 only has 1 HDMI socket which will be used to plug it in to the TV, so how do i attach it to the amp?
 
Speaker wise i'd reccomend B & W M1's paired with a seperate sub such as a BK. It might be at the upper end of your budget but sound wise it'll be pretty damn nice. I demo'd some a while back comparing them to Kef 3500SE's and thought they were far superior.
 
photoshop said:
Thanks guys.

I like the Quad speaker package but i cant find any e-tailer selling them in Black (which is the colour i want). The only colours i can find are silver and rosewood :(

What do you guys think of the WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 9.1AV 5.1 speaker package? I can pick them up for £349 (reduced from £900). Are they good enough for HD Audio?

I like the look of the Sony STR-DG910. Cheapest i can find it is £300 though. Cant find any info at ALL for the Yamaha amp....

Is plasma better for movies and SD over LCD?

EDIT: The PS3 only has 1 HDMI socket which will be used to plug it in to the TV, so how do i attach it to the amp?
Click to expand...

PS3 -> Amp -> TV. You'l need a couple of HDMI cables but that's not a big deal.
 
photoshop said:
Thanks guys.

I like the Quad speaker package but i cant find any e-tailer selling them in Black (which is the colour i want). The only colours i can find are silver and rosewood :(

What do you guys think of the WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 9.1AV 5.1 speaker package? I can pick them up for £349 (reduced from £900). Are they good enough for HD Audio?

I like the look of the Sony STR-DG910. Cheapest i can find it is £300 though. Cant find any info at ALL for the Yamaha amp....

Is plasma better for movies and SD over LCD?

EDIT: The PS3 only has 1 HDMI socket which will be used to plug it in to the TV, so how do i attach it to the amp?
Click to expand...


I haven't heard the WHARFEDALE speakers but I think they get mentioned quite a lot as being superb 'entry level' speakers... Whatever that means! Anyway I would expect them to sound great and the package you mention probably represents very good value for money.... The sub may be a bit lacking but if this is your first venture in to home cinema I'm sure you will be more than happy.

I think plasma still has an edge over LCD for SD, it would certainly be my preferance!
 
Right, I've narrowed down the speaker packages to these:

Q ACOUSTICS 1010i 5.1 SPEAKER PACKAGE
£449

WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 9 HCP HOME CINEMA SPEAKER SYSTEM
£375

TANNOY MERCURY F1 CUSTOM 5.1 SPEAKER SYSTEM
£600

KEF KHT1005.2 SPEAKER SYSTEM
£400

Which ones do you suggest?

I would have liked the QUAD LITE or KEF KHT3005 but i cant them in Black or Beach anywhere. Can only find them in either silver or rosewood which is no good.Thus, im left with the above.
 
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danoliver1 said:
The ps3 will decode dolby true hd and dts master audio inernally so any amp that accepts lpcm over hdmi will give you hd audio using a ps3 eg the sony 910 or the yamaha rx761, both available for around £200 and both very good sound wise.

If it was my money i would get

Panasonic 42px80 42" plasma tv £700 ish or the 37" version if 42 is too big.
Yamaha rx761 amp £200
Quad lite 5.1 speaker set £500

Total £1400
Click to expand...


Cool, another budget AV receiver option.
I haven't heard the 761, but my previous AV amp was a Yamaha and I was very happy with it (DSPA3090). Lasted me 10 years until I upgraded last year.
Good choice of plasma too. The TH42PX80 is a bargain. Its a few hundred quid cheaper than a 1080p set and in the average living room, sitting 10 feet or more away from it, you'd be hard pressed to see much of an improvement with a 1080p set. At least one that justifies the extra outlay if cost is a concern.
As for LCD vs plasma for SD, well theres more of a case for a 720p panel (768 on the PX80) over a 1080p panel really. On the whole a 720p panel, like the Th42PX80, will look better than the more expensive 1080p version when watching SD broadcasts - ie Freeview.
In terms of picture quality between LCD and plasma, a plasma will offer far superior black levels, colours etc. I work with both formats every day and I dont think that I could live with the pasty looking colours and non black blacks that an LCD has to offer. I'm not saying that LCD panels are bad, just that plasma screens give a far better viewing experience, especially for movies in a home cinema.
Quad L-ite package - no brainer for £500 (probably in rosewood at this price, although I may be wrong).
As for the price of the STRDG910, photoshop, I guarantee you will find it for £200 if you search hard enough.
 
photoshop said:
Right, I've narrowed down the speaker packages to these:

Q ACOUSTICS 1010i 5.1 SPEAKER PACKAGE
£449

WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 9 HCP HOME CINEMA SPEAKER SYSTEM
£375

TANNOY MERCURY F1 CUSTOM 5.1 SPEAKER SYSTEM
£600

KEF KHT1005.2 SPEAKER SYSTEM
£400

Which ones do you suggest?

I would have liked the QUAD LITE or KEF KHT3005 but i cant them in Black or Beach anywhere. Can only find them in either silver or rosewood which is no good.Thus, im left with the above.
Click to expand...

Kef had plenty of 3005 packages in silver before the launch of the SE version hence the £600 price tag to clear. We were not able to offer any 3005 packages in black at the same price as it was more popular and didn't need to be cleared. There were some black Quad packages knocking about at £600 a month or two ago but I reckon they've all gone now too.
If you want a decent 5.1 package in black then look at the new Kef 2005.3 package at £700. Personally, I'm not a fan of either the Tannoy or Q Acoustics speakers and would find them hard to recommend.
Or have a listen to the Kef 1005.2 at £400. They look great in the new gloss black finish and the new sub is far more reliable than the old one that came with the previous package.
As for the 1005.2 not handling HD audio very well, as with any sub sat package the satellites don't go down very low anyway, the sub picking up where they stop. They will go down to 120Hz then the sub covers the rest. Set it up correctly and it'll be OK, for the money. Something like B&W M1 satellites may go down lower, to around 80Hz or so, but then its still down to the sub for the rest. In this respect they are no different to any other sub sat package, its just down to the overall sound quality.
 
Failsafe said:
As for the price of the STRDG910, photoshop, I guarantee you will find it for £200 if you search hard enough.
Click to expand...

Still cant find it for £200 or there abouts :(

Having trolled through many "Onkya 606 vs Sony 910" threads on AV Forums, i've come to the conclusion that for me, using a PS3, the 910 will do everything the 606 can do interms of HD Audio. The PS3 will do all the HD audio decoding so there is no benefit in having the 606. The other plus point is that i can pick up the Sony a lot cheaper.
 
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