Best 2.1 speakers TV/PC

MagicBoy · 24 Feb 2013 at 18:57

It's a good thought. I got offered a 7/8 year old Sony AV Amp for free which is now sat in the spare room connected to the PCs. The mate who was getting rid said they were only making £50 on eBay so it wasn't worth the hassle of posting a 15Kg parcel...

6x90W of proper analogue grunt, more into 2 channels.

Marsman · 24 Feb 2013 at 19:10

wildest_jjk said:
Ok so a completely different direction now.

How about something like this:

YAMAHA RXV373 - AV Receiver
WHARFEDALE DIAMOND SW150 - Subwoofer
WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 9.1 - Speakers

That lot comes to about £500 so I have pretty much increased my budget by £300. I'm assuming something like this would have a massive increase in sound quality etc. Is that a correct assumption?

Do you guys have any better suggestions? I like the fact that it has a wireless remote as well, that's kind of a must for me.

Thanks

A AV receiver is fine if you want to connect a lot of devices to the amp. From a music sound quality point of view, a stereo amp will be better if you plan to stick with 2.1. Obviously though, having a AV receiver does give you the option to add extra speakers for a 5.1 setup if you should so wish at a later date.

wildest_jjk · 24 Feb 2013 at 19:35

Thanks guys for all of the responses.

So a stereo amp will be fine? As long as it has a wireless remote, will connect to PC and my TV and has good reviews I don't mind!

Thanks again

Marsman · 24 Feb 2013 at 19:58

Either Marantz PM5004 or PM6004 would be a good choice.

ethan · 24 Feb 2013 at 20:17

A AV receiver is fine if you want to connect a lot of devices to the amp. From a music sound quality point of view, a stereo amp will be better if you plan to stick with 2.1.

The Yamaha AS 500 will give you 2.1 plus it is an award winner @£219.00

dacads · 24 Feb 2013 at 20:19

hifix do some good clearances

http://www.hifix.co.uk/hifi-clearance.lasso

The PM6004 is a steal at that price

And yes it should come with the remote although I would ring them up just to check it's included

wildest_jjk · 24 Feb 2013 at 20:53

Thanks for the responses.

Which would be better? Yamaha AS 500 or PM6004?

Cheers

PapaLazaru · 24 Feb 2013 at 21:02

http://www.whathifi.com/review/marantz-pm6004

Get the PM6004.

wildest_jjk · 24 Feb 2013 at 21:09

So the PM6400 for around £230 used?

Then in terms of speakers are the wharfedale ones I suggested any good?

Thanks

dacads · 24 Feb 2013 at 21:33

For the price I doubt you can do any better

But what does the total come to now?

Edit: 230+230= £460
http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-3250-wha...akers-sw150-subwoofer-21-speaker-package.aspx

So enough to go for the cambridge audio s30 or qacoustics 2020i?

Some food for thought

I would suggest going down to your local richersounds store and finding out which combo works best with the PM6004

wildest_jjk · 24 Feb 2013 at 21:40

Is this setup much better than the Corsair SP2500's? This is kind of what I have been using as a comparison because these were the speakers I was going to buy.

Thanks again

dacads · 24 Feb 2013 at 21:47

Haha the Corsair SP2500 will be blown away, have you seen the miniature size of them?

And your welcome I look forward to hearing from you again once you're setup is all ready and jolly good

wildest_jjk · 24 Feb 2013 at 21:50

dacads said:
Haha the Corsair SP2500 will be blown away, have you seen the miniature size of them?

And your welcome I look forward to hearing from you again once you're setup is all ready and jolly good

Haha well I wanted to ask as I have no idea!

I gotta be honest the only thing I'm not sure about is the B Grade amp. I'm not one that normally buys second hand, stupid I know!

Are there any alternatives? Or not?

Cheers

dacads · 24 Feb 2013 at 21:54

An alternative won't be as good..you can ring them up yourself for assurance and the page does say "in perfect condition"

I myself have a B-Grade Amp & speakers for that matter and am very happy

If you aren't you can always return the item but hopefully you won't have to do this

Btw just found the PM6004 new for £230 as well!

http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-9426-marantz-pm6004-amplifier.aspx

Should have checked the prices before I went scavenging

wildest_jjk · 24 Feb 2013 at 22:06

Wow nice!

As a newbie and bringing the corsairs back up. They list 232Watts as their output power. What would the wharfedales be?

Is this pretty much the best setup for £460? I know you mentioned some others but the price would keep increasing right?

Finally would I need a soundcard for my PC? And this setup would work for my TV and PC right? Allowing me to control by remote?

Thanks for everything

dacads · 24 Feb 2013 at 22:26

Wattage is irrelevant when it comes to sound quality

For example if the Diamond 9.1/SW150 had less total wattage doesn't mean it's going to sound inferior. In fact it has more wattage(doesn't matter anyway) and sounds better

The other speakers I mentioned are only £30/40 more expensive so would still be within your £500 budget

Finally a Asus Xonar DS/DSX soundcard would fit nicely in your budget. Although with a hifi setup people tend to go with what's know as a "DAC" which are a bit more expensive. But not to worry a decent soundcard will do the job for now

And yes of course many people go with a 2/5/7.1 setup for use with their TVs this is what hi-fidelity sound is all about enjoying a home cinema experience / great music in the luxury of you're own house

wildest_jjk · 25 Feb 2013 at 07:09

Thanks again for the response.

Out of the other to speakers you have suggested which would you say are better any why?

Is there any point in getting a 5.1 amp for a similar price to give me an easy way to upgrade in the future?

Thanks again

Also one more thing, you said the speakers are £30-£40 more but they do not include a sub do they?

PapaLazaru · 25 Feb 2013 at 12:20

dacads said:
Haha the Corsair SP2500 will be blown away, have you seen the miniature size of them?

And your welcome I look forward to hearing from you again once you're setup is all ready and jolly good

Whilst the OP is definitely moving in the right direction, especially with their budget, don't knock the SP2500's until you have heard them. The size of the speakers does not have to correlate with loudness. The bass box they come with will give far more bass than any speakers the OP will be able to find within their budget. They are a very, very nice 2.1 setup with a lot of clarity and a hell of a lot of bass if required.

I know this as I have them and a normal hi-fi with some Wharfedale Diamond's.

teej · 25 Feb 2013 at 16:58

Just supporting the sp2500's here as well, work great for me in my cave and fidelity wise they are good,better IMHO than aego's which I upgraded from.

They are fabulous on games and not too bad on music with a bit of tweaking, they will never match hi fi but do a fine job for the pc.

Cheers

Trev

dacads · 25 Feb 2013 at 17:29

wildest_jjk said:
Thanks again for the response.

Out of the other to speakers you have suggested which would you say are better any why?

Is there any point in getting a 5.1 amp for a similar price to give me an easy way to upgrade in the future?

Thanks again

Also one more thing, you said the speakers are £30-£40 more but they do not include a sub do they?

I can't really say which is better like I said it's best if you visit your local richersounds and ask to try them out

5.1 amp could be ideal if you plan to add a centre & rear speakers in the future

Yeah I only mentioned speakers but the Cambridge Audio S30 can be accompanied by the S90 Subwoofer which I have myself

But I believe the SW150 is more powerful so I would stick with it