Home Cinema Blu Ray 500 Budget

artdude

artdude

artdude

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Joined
31 Jan 2011
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hey all

am looking at getting a 5.1 set up was looking at the sony BDE-E870 from best buy managed to get the price down to 368 pound with a discount code however there site is rubbish and declined my card several times even though i used it on other sites that day have tried since and still the same :mad:

however i digress i have since considered the seperates route what is the recommended set up for this budget (500 pounds)
want a sony blu ray player amp and 5.1 speakers with auto callibration if possible

thanks ahead for replies look forward to the suggestions
 
Second hand is one route, sure.... but you can get new gear that will fit your budget too.

The Onkyo HTS3405 (c. £299) and HTS5405 (c. £369) gets you a proper AV receiver with all the latest HD audio decoding bells and whistles plus a load of spare inputs + a matching 5.1 speaker kit. Add a £99 Blu-ray player and you're in business. The only caveat at this price is no auto set-up mic, but you get sound quality and flexibility way ahead of the all-in-one-BD kits.

If you want to stick to Sony then £200 gets you the Sony STRDH810. This is a 7.1 AV amp with HD audio decoding. Combine it with the Jamo A102 HCS5 5.1 speaker package (c. £149) and a £99 BD player and you're still inside your £500 budget. Check out Sony's web site to make sure, but I think this amp includes a set up mic too :-)

The above are discounted prices, but hunt around and you may be able to save a few more quid off.
 
thanks for the replies

I was looking at the sony STRDH810 and a BDPS370 which add up to about 300
so what speakers would be recommended by you awesome chappies?
 
ah so you did however im not to fond of the look of them to be frank.
am able to up the budget about another 50 to 100 pound (making 550 - 600) for the right kit though
am definately interested in the sony blu ray player bdp-s380 and also the amp
STRDH810 however the lowest i seem to be able to get both for is about 360 hence the upping of the budget a little bit
 
artdude said:
ah so you did however im not to fond of the look of them to be frank.
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Do be sensible. We can make recommendations based on performance, design and value.... but when it comes to aesthetics then you can't possibly expect us to read your mind and recommend something that you like the look of :rolleyes: I suggest you go away and draw up a shortlist
 
sorry its been a long and difficult weekend,
but surely you can recommend a few good ones within the 250 mark, cant you?
i am looking around but am going in circles at the mo :confused: i appreciate all the help so far though.
 
lucid said:
The Onkyo HTS3405 (c. £299) and HTS5405 (c. £369) gets you a proper AV receiver with all the latest HD audio decoding bells and whistles plus a load of spare inputs + a matching 5.1 speaker kit. Add a £99 Blu-ray player and you're in business. The only caveat at this price is no auto set-up mic, but you get sound quality and flexibility way ahead of the all-in-one-BD kits.
Click to expand...

That'd be my choice. Onkyo stuff is superb for the money and it means you can choose a Blu-ray player based on its own merits. Far better than a typical all-in-one solution.
 
Within your price range then Rich er Sounds and Sup erfi are probably going to stock the biggest selection. Browse for an idea of what's around.

TBH, most of these budget systems follow the same basic formula: Small boxy satellite speakers + a compact active sub. There's not much room in the budget to get fancy with Conran or B&O type styling, so if that's your objective then you need to seriously revise your budget. Those budget speakers that are lifestyle designed make massive compromises on performance to pay for the fancy looks.

Similarly, any floor standing speakers will have had huge chunks of money slashed from the budget to buy decent (for the class) speaker drivers, crossovers and subwoofer amps and diverted in to cheaply made cabinets. Not a happy compromise.
 
I wouldn't limit your choice to Sony mate although they do some decent stuff.

I'd still look at the second hand route myself you could end up with a £2000 system for your budget.

As already mentioned your going to struggle to get nice looking speakers that sound good.

Have you considered building your system in stages.

Why not get a decentish amp add something like Q acoustic 2020's up front then work from there with 2010 for rears etc.

Don't forget to factor in the cost of cables/stands etc.
 
BOSTON ACOUSTICS SOUNDWARE XS speakers are these any good?
looked at r sounds and supafi plenty for me to look at there thanks for the suggestions
will also look into the second hand route on avforums thanks again all this is my first foray into the sperates field and want to get the right kit for the right price.
 
The B.A speakers have had some decent reviews and should be fine for a first time 5.1 system.

There are a few packages with amps well within your budget.

Best thing to do is find a local dealer tell them what you got and see what they can do.
 
If you are very lucky you might be able to find a set of the Q-Acoustics 1000 cinema on the AVForums or the bay second hand - that would be the best for the money.
 
artdude said:
BOSTON ACOUSTICS SOUNDWARE XS speakers are these any good?
Click to expand...
The best thing you can do is arrange a dem and listen for yourself. I've heard the reputedly better Cambridge Audio Minx system and was completely underwhelmed, but everyone else has their own version of what's good sound in their heads so go have a listen is the best advice.

artdude said:
will also look into the second hand route on avforums thanks again all this is my first foray into the sperates field and want to get the right kit for the right price.
Click to expand...
Normally I'd agree regarding s/h... but at this price level with AV gear...and where HD audio compatibility is important.... and when the manufacturers have been pushing to move in to lower price bands faster that 2nd hand prices can fall... I think it's gonna be a close call whether you get something truly better in an amp. Similar story on the Blu-ray too I think.

As for second-hand speakers on AV Forums then what's worth having is fetching top dollar. The rest is either odds and sods, old, incomplete, over budget or collection only. Some of that's OK if you know what you're buying...but for a novice???

A couple of systems that would be worth a look on there:

Celestion
Q Acoustics 1000 system (complete) £400

Quad Lites (complete) £310

Celestion AVP303 very eye catching design (requires sub) £250
 
Thank you all for the constructive replies will have to think about all of the suggestions made been looking into quite considerably and at the moment i am thinking
the STRDH810 amp
with BDP- S380 blu-ray player
and the boston soundware xs speakers
all in about 630 pounds so within budget
will try to get to a shop when im off work next week for a looksee and demo of some kit

again cheers all
 
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