Venturing into proper AV audio - Anything betterfor what i'm looking for?

wez130

wez130

wez130

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Matakana New Zealand
So for the past few years, i've had an all in one solution for Av audio, Panasonic 5.1 system, now years ago, i used to be into my seperates, Technics was my brand of choice back then.

Whilst i've made do with my Panasonic all in one 5.1 setup, recently, i've been considering a complete upgrade, starting with an AV receiver, i quite fancy this Onkyo TXNR414, this seems ideal for music for me as it has internet radio and spotify - which i'm a premium customer, i also like that i can use my galaxy S4 wirelessly etc. I also want it for movies. However, this is the first receiver i've looked at so far, so is it a good shout or should i look somewhere else?

Next, what speaker package(s) should i look at?

I'm happy to go to a local richer sounds and test the receiver out etc, although, i'm quite tempted already to press 'buy' now for the price vs features & reviews on that receiver, but the sensible side of me wants to research first. I just know it's going to be a massive improvement on what i've got atm.
 
I looked at that receiver and ended up going with the Yamaha RX673, but there wasn't much between them.

How much are you budgeting for the speakers? I have a set of Tannoys and I am thrilled with them.
 
I'm looking at the Onkyo TXNR626 now, it supports bluetooth and has built in wifi, and is 7.2 ready. I'll probably spend more on the speakers, but buy over a couple of months, maybe £5/600, then a couple of subs. Tannoys would be my first choice too, i'm still on richer sounds website looking at receivers, haven't even looked at speakers yet, but it's certainly my next stop lol.

The Yamaha RX673 is a good shout, but ithink the Onkyo is more appealing to me. I don't need airplay, but do use spotify often, and bluetooth would be ideal.

I'd probably go fo something like these speakers
 
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You don't want two subs, particularly two cheap subs. Get one good one that will do movies and music. Two are a bitch to balance in a room. Four is easier to balance than two.

The 626 amp deserves better speakers too. A good sub (BK XLS200) and standmounters up front will give deeper tighter bass than the Tannoy floor standers and the Tannoy sub. Have a listen to Dali Zenzors and Monitor Audio BX2.
 
I went to Croydon today and had an hour in their demo room with the Onkyo TX-RN626, he set them up with just some floor standers to start, Dynaudio they were, can't remember what model. They never had the Q Acoustic 2000i 5.1 speakers in stock so couldn't test them, they did have a set of the 2010i speakers though so i tried them, however, this really threw a spanner in the works for me.

The amp was perfect, i'm definitely going for that, music sounded really good, 200% better than what i'm playing through now, however, the difference between the floor standing Dynaudio and the Q acoustic 2010i made me realise i have to get floor standing fronts because, though the Q acoustics really sounded good, there was no bass, as with it being part of a 5.1 package, it relies on the sub for bass. And to listen to music isn't ideal through 5.1. So my next option is to look at the Q acoustics 2000i package but with the 2050i floor standers, but this adds another £250 to the price which is already over budget lol.

Aargh, decisions decisions!
 
Get the best fronts you can afford, the rest are far less important or not needed for music.
Dynaudio are quality brand, I've used them for years.
 
I went to Southampton Richer sounds yesterday to listen to the Q Acoustics 2000i 5.1 speakers as they had them in stock, however, they only had the onkyo TX-NR727 receiver. First i tried with the 2050i fronts, and they lacked any deep sound compared to the Dynaudio i listened to the day before, and i was quite underwhelmed, i was hoping they would sound pretty good being floorstanders. Especially being praised by What hifi. Clarity was good and sounds were seperated well, they just lacked low frequencies. Maybe this was because the Dynaudio were £1300 and the 2050's were £459 i think!

Anyway, i then had the 2010i's plugged in with the sub (so the full set up i was going for originally), i stuck Chase and status - Lost and not found on, followed by Subfocus - endorphines, with the sub on, and the depth was back there, i was much more impressed. With the sub on, the 2010i's seems bigger than they were, and handled what they should be well with the sub doing it's job. Don't worry, i'm not being fooled into expecting pure audiophile stuff, for that, i'd be buying an amp etc, but i'm buying for AV, but would like to listen to music too so i know i need to compromise.

Anyway, i listened to a wide range of music, Jakaata - American dream, Skunk anansie - Live and acoustic (You saved me), Massive attack - Teardrop, A bit of Trance (The Blizzard ft Omnia & susana - Closer), basically stuff i'd listen to on a normal day, and i was completely happy.

They didn't have the receiver i want in stock though so i didn't buy. I'm definitely going for the Onkyo TX-NR626, but even though i'm happy with the Q acoustics, i'm still open to suggestions. Anyone know what the Focal Chorus 705v's are like? There's a 5.0 set on ebay i'm watching, just need to add the sub.
 
I've found a set of speakers i want to buy, they are used on AVforums, i've agreed a deal in principle with the seller, but he and i both want to do it proper, however i'm a new member on there and don't have access to posting privileges in the classified section yet. I can't find anywhere on the forum that tells me how to progress past new member! Does anyobdy else know? (Apparently i need some positive feedback, so i have to rely on people to give it to me!)

Anyway, i've found a set of Acoustic energy Aelite 3's, with Aelite 2 rears and the Aelite centre and a REL Strata sub. I've read a lot on them and they seem really good.
 
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