Suggestions for AV & speaker set

Freefaller

Freefaller

Freefaller

Man of Honour
Joined
5 Jun 2003
Posts
92,037
Location
Falling...
Hi all,

I'm only playing with ideas at the moment, but would like to be lead down the right path. My budget is around £400 but could stretch a bit more should you feel it worth it. I'm basically after an AV system and a 5.1 speakers to go with it. I have a big HD TV already, and a DVD player, but currently just using an old (and I mean old) stereo amp for audio with just a couple of bookshelf speakers.

What sort of AV system should I be looking at?

What speaker system should I be looking at?

I know there are some bundles available from numerous sites (please don't mention competitors!) which may offer a good bit of value, if there aren't, can you suggest what I should be looking for.

Whilst I know my budget isn't considerable - I'm not pitching at super high end 1000 channel, gold plated, 10kw worth of quality. I want a satisfying, living room sized system.

I will want to be able to play regular tv through the speakers (i.e. via the Virgin box) but also plug an ipod in, or media from a computer.

Am I looking to spend too little for a decent AV receiver and decent 5.1 speaker system? Or is it doable? I know a lot of you have fantastic set ups, but I re-itterate, that this is just for a living room setup, but would still like to have the best I can get for my budget or at least the most bang for my bucks, but also for me to be able to enjoy the movie experience as it should be experienced (more so than I do now).

Heck if I can get all I need for less then great - I'm not desperate to spend all of the budget! :p

I've looked at a few yamaha, and onyoko receivers, all seem to have fairly standard inputs/outputs and pitched around the same price. Seen some Tannoy 5.1 speakers, but not really looked at much more.

Cheers!
 
I think for what you want from the system and your budget, you should look at the second hand market. Buying new, There are some musical surround kits available for low cash but you'll still break your budget.

RS have the Q ACOUSTICS 1010i 5.1 for £299 and although it's a good budget system, i really didn't like the sub when i auditioned it....but, it will be more musical than the cheaper 'style' systems out there.

You could get 2 pairs of the wharfdale 9.0's for £100, add a centre for similar cash, and you've got £250 to buy a receiver and sub....either way, struggling for the cash.

the TANNOY SFX5.1 package isn't bad (RS have this for £200), but not sure how musical it would be.


EDIT: just seen that RS have the HARMAN KARDON AVR155 for £180. Meant to be a very capable budget receiver which was once £400+. Add this to the tannoy set and it wouldn't be bad at all.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the input. I'm open to 2nd hand options if needs be. I guess what I'm interested in is particularly if there is anything to avoid. I could stretch to £500 if it increases the chances of getting something. I just don't want to spend £400 on a bundled deal for an AV receiver and speakers if they're not up to much. :)
 
I'd probably be looking at 2nd hand for that budget.

You could get some entry level brand new stuff, but its not going to be much better than a similarly price HTIB solution.

You should be able to pick up a mid range receiver from last years models from the likes of Yamaha/Denon/Onkyo. On top of that something like the Q Acoustics 1010i set (with 1030i fronts pref) or maybe Acoustic Energy Aegis stuff?

Just keep your eye out on AVForums For Sale tbh. If you really want new stuff, I'd say you probably want somewhere nearer £600 as a starting point.
 
how big is the room it's all going in? Onkyo amps are good for end of line bargains. I got my 875 when the 8** series was coming out for £500 (half price). They bring new ones out every year making the 'old' ones a bargain.

For music, i would try and get some bookshelf fronts with matching centre. Surrounds don't really have to match the fronts. If budget is a struggle, you could save for the Sub and add it later.

Good call above on the AVforums for 2nd hand bargains. Unless you can view before you buy, i would avoid fleabay
 
Cool - I'll have a look round that forum and see what's what. I'm rather loyal to people here though as from what I gather most people seem to have more than a clue about these things! ;) I have a history of working around AV but not directly WITH AV, so whilst I have an idea as to what to look for, I've been out of the loop for about 5 years now, and whilst my knowledge of what the terms are is fine, which brands are worth while looking at now, I am not so good on. :)

Just guessing in terms of size, but probably around 22sq meters - however that's the whole room, not just the area where the TV is (about 1/2 of the room only).

I had a look at those Q Acoustics 1010 - they look fantastic!

In terms of amps, I can't see how they vary so much (until you compare the low end to the high end of course - but other than that most seem to have the same features?) are there any I should avoid completely? They are all around the same performance, so I guess it comes down to functions, and useability?

I could buy in stages, and save up a bit more - but me being me, I like to have all the bits in one go! :o

If I simply can't get a good middleweight kit for that price - then I'll accept it. If it's not worth getting rid of the standard old (10yr+) amp and 60W bookshelf speakers that I've currently got - then I'll stick to that. :) Clearly I don't want to scrape the bottom of the barell but I know I'm not going to get cutting edge kit for the money I'm suggesting. :)
 
Whilst i know it won't set my pants on fire, would it provide a better experience than the 2 speaker set up I have at the moment?
 
The Onkyo TX-SR308 + Jamo A102HCS (5.1) can be found as a package deal for around £500 and seems good value. I had a similar dilemma and decided to build slowly so I got an Onkyo 507 and then a pair of Q-Acoustics 2020's for the fronts. This gave excellent results and I've since added a QA 2000c centre and I have a BK Gemini sub on order. I will probably add the rears in the future although I may well do without, depending on how good it all sounds when the sub arrives in a couple of weeks. ;)
 
I've recently brought the Onkyo TX-SR 607 and Q Acoustics 1010 5.1 set for £580, which is over your budget.

For movies it's great, love it to bits, for music it's not so hot, but I didn't buy it for that.

With your £400-500 budget you'll have to make some choices. What features do you NEED and what would you be willing to sacrifice.

Do you need HDMI 1.4?
Do you need Upconversion?
Do you need 7.1 option/Zone 2?
Do you need it for music?
Do you need to have 5.1 from the start or can you build to it?
How many inputs do you need?

I think the best bet would be as others have mentioned, get an amp and a pair of speakers and build from there. With this years new amps being released, there are some bargins to be had and I guess some yet to come.
 
Freefaller, i hope you dont mind me butting in here - but i am in exactly the same dilemma as you, and would like some advice. My budget is probably in the £500-£600 bracket.

khrall said:
I've recently brought the Onkyo TX-SR 607 and Q Acoustics 1010 5.1 set for £580, which is over your budget.

For movies it's great, love it to bits, for music it's not so hot, but I didn't buy it for that.
Click to expand...

I am inching to getting the Q acoustic 1010is before they run out of stock - from reading on AV forums they seem to be a bargain at £299 as they are EOL - they would normally retail around the £500. Is there anything in the price bracket (<£299) that would be better??. It will be mainly for movies (HTPC), gaming(PS3. 360) and sky HD viewing, on a Panasonic 50G10

I dont need 7.1, or 3D for that matter, but the onkyo 308 may suffice - is it worth getting the 607 over it?

Freefaller if you want me to start a new thread i will - just thought we have similar queries and could share ideas!
 
No need to start a new thread - happy for you to get involved in this one. :)

Khrall, some good questions, let me cogitate over them and then post back later.

Really appreciate the time and effort taken to help me out - thanks chaps. :)
 
The QA's at 299 are a huge bargain, I wasn't even aware of that. They were great value at 500.

If you can still get them with the 1030i upgraded fronts for decent money, I would grab one while you can and keep an eye out for second hand stuff like Denon 1909, Yamaha 863 or Onkyo 607's.
 
khrall said:
I've recently brought the Onkyo TX-SR 607 and Q Acoustics 1010 5.1 set for £580, which is over your budget.

For movies it's great, love it to bits, for music it's not so hot, but I didn't buy it for that.

With your £400-500 budget you'll have to make some choices. What features do you NEED and what would you be willing to sacrifice.

Do you need HDMI 1.4?
Do you need Upconversion?
Do you need 7.1 option/Zone 2?
Do you need it for music?
Do you need to have 5.1 from the start or can you build to it?
How many inputs do you need?

I think the best bet would be as others have mentioned, get an amp and a pair of speakers and build from there. With this years new amps being released, there are some bargins to be had and I guess some yet to come.
Click to expand...

I don't need HDMI 1.4 - for the modest system I would like I shan't be needing that capability.
Upconversion could be handy, but if I used a bluray player then surely not needed?
I don't need a 7.1 option or Zone 2.
I will use it to play music as well as films, but the priority is movie experience.
Don't have to have 5.1 from the start - happy to build it up.
Inputs: Cable/TV, DVD/Bluray, Ipod, laptop/pc (this is a nice extra). I don't have any consoles.


Looking at the QA deal that seem to have got you salivating I'm guessing it's a pretty decent package?

What sort of AV system would do it justice?
 
Chris1712 said:
The QA's at 299 are a huge bargain, I wasn't even aware of that. They were great value at 500.

If you can still get them with the 1030i upgraded fronts for decent money, I would grab one while you can and keep an eye out for second hand stuff like Denon 1909, Yamaha 863 or Onkyo 607's.
Click to expand...

Thats the thing - i have seen the 1030i pair available for £150 and would prefer these over the standard fronts of the 1010i. I dont have the room for 7.1 and wouldnt ever really need it - so might sell off a couple of the satellites.

Would i be mad not to get the 1010i set at this price?
 
The QA 1010 set is great for the money, got mine at £279 last week with RS's VIP discount (expired now, currently £299). They are neutral sounding, so can be paired with most amps.

Make sure you audition amps and speakers if you can, most of it depends on what sound you like.

Freefaller: Upconversion probably isn't required by you, with no consoles you probably won't need analog to digital video conversion. With you also not needing 7.1/zone 2 it makes it cheaper still. As your looking to play music through it also, most recommend a Denon or maybe a Yamaha amp. Have a look at the Denon 1610 or the Yamaha 465.

Naan H: If you don't need 7.1 and looking at the Onkyo's, try the 507, unless you need upconversion (component to hdmi for 1 lead to the tv) then the cheapest amps that do it are the Denon 1610, Yamaha 565 and the Onkyo 607.

I'm by no means an expert at this, just been doing a lot of reading/demoing on the subject recently before buying mine.
 
I wouldnt need upconversion as ps3, xbox and HTPC (Acer Revo) all have hdmi and can output 1080p.

I guess it boils down to whether i get the onkyo 308 or the 507 - they are both the same price on RS. The 507 has more hdmi inputs - a plus, but the 308 more future proof. Both do 5.1. Is there any real advantage of the 507? does it have better components inside?

Sorry for all the questions!
 
Sorry another hijack of the thread!

I have also been looking at a 5.1 setup to update my very old sony receiver and looking around the Denon avr1610 appears to be a good deal at £249 at RS paired with the 1010i makes it a bit over your budget but I have heard the Denon amp also works well with the Jamo A102

£249 for the Jamo and £299 for the Q Acoustics, will probably go and have a listen in the next couple of days :)
 
Naan_H said:
I wouldnt need upconversion as ps3, xbox and HTPC (Acer Revo) all have hdmi and can output 1080p.

I guess it boils down to whether i get the onkyo 308 or the 507 - they are both the same price on RS. The 507 has more hdmi inputs - a plus, but the 308 more future proof. Both do 5.1. Is there any real advantage of the 507? does it have better components inside?

Sorry for all the questions!
Click to expand...

Looking at the tech specs I'd still probably go for the 507.


Advantages of 308:
HDMI 1.4
Burr-Brown Dacs for improved jitter and clearer sound
Overlaid On-Screen Display (OSD) via HDMI
http://www.eu.onkyo.com/products/TX-SR308.html

Advantages of 507:
+30 watts per channel over the 308
Audyssey setup microphone
'All Discrete Circuitry'
Binding posts for all speaker connections.
More HDMI inputs
Additional coax input
http://www.eu.onkyo.com/products/TX-SR507.html
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom