5.1 speaker advice

tres · 12 Aug 2017 at 17:24

Hi all,
Venturing into better sound than the Samsung surround sound dvd player setup i currently have(!).
Have been looking at 2nd hand AV receivers on gumtree and the like, found a Onkyo NR616 that is affordable, but next step will be speakers.

I have a limited budget (first payday as dr not here for another few weeks) so looking for advice on a setup to last 3-6 months before I can save a bit.

Any brands to aim for? Any compatability issues at all with receivers/speakers? Any tips at all would be great.
Thanks very much

hornetstinger · 12 Aug 2017 at 18:48

Be careful of some Onkyos they had HDMI failures with overheating.

You could buy a set of standmount speakers for L/R then move them to rears.

A set of Celestion A1's and a MJ subwoofer went on the auction site for £156 for the pair. The speakers alone were £900, and the sub £800. Crazy bargain! I'd look for a pair of Q Acoustics 2000 or 3000 series.

tres · 12 Aug 2017 at 19:42

Thanks mate, much appreciated!

The Onkyo was very cheap, I got an as-new Onkyo NR616 for 80 quid. Will watch for overheating.

hornetstinger · 12 Aug 2017 at 19:44

I'd put a couple of fans over the vent holes to suck up air through the chassis.

tres · 12 Aug 2017 at 20:18

Will do, thanks

FurryLemon · 12 Aug 2017 at 22:50

It wont overheat unless you shove it in a cupboard or tv stand with little to no air circulation.

What do you consider cheap?

If you only want to spend a few hundred then you are limited to crappy all-in-one systems (like you have) or buying used online from ebay etc. Even the most modest of 5.1 setups is going to be 500+ new (ie the below package).

http://petertyson.co.uk/index.php/q-acoustics-2050i-cinema.html

Basic kit, but plenty good enough for the casual user.

hornetstinger · 12 Aug 2017 at 22:53

FurryLemon said:
It wont overheat unless you shove it in a cupboard or tv stand with little to no air circulation.
.

Onkyos did overheat in open racking, and the HDMI chips died in the process.

james.miller · 13 Aug 2017 at 02:13

If onkyos from that era go, it's normally the hdmi boards. Some of the models run very warm. my 805 has a fan in each side but they react to output power and temperature of the amp section, nothing else affects them so the back of the amp where the hdmi board is will run toasty hot all day long regardless of what the amp is doing and the fans wont kick in at all. 'Bit of a daft design choice really.

tres · 13 Aug 2017 at 17:43

FurryLemon said:
It wont overheat unless you shove it in a cupboard or tv stand with little to no air circulation.

What do you consider cheap?

If you only want to spend a few hundred then you are limited to crappy all-in-one systems (like you have) or buying used online from ebay etc. Even the most modest of 5.1 setups is going to be 500+ new (ie the below package).

http://petertyson.co.uk/index.php/q-acoustics-2050i-cinema.html

Basic kit, but plenty good enough for the casual user.

Thanks - any tips if I was to go used from ebay?

FurryLemon · 13 Aug 2017 at 18:15

Speakers generally sell for half their retail price secondhand (age dependent). So you should be able to get that QA 5.1 setup for around 300-350 used. If you want to drop lower then that, I don't know.

hornetstinger · 13 Aug 2017 at 18:17

FurryLemon said:
Speakers generally sell for half their retail price secondhand (age dependent). So you should be able to get that QA 5.1 setup for around 300-350 used. If you want to drop lower then that, I don't know.

Some even less than that. Seen celestion A1 and MJ Acoustics Ref 1, it went for £170. That lot sold close to £2000.

tres · 13 Aug 2017 at 18:26

Excellent, thanks. Budget for my first speaker set was 200-350, so there is hope

tres · 13 Aug 2017 at 21:59

I've bought:

Onkyo NR616
KEF HTS1001.2/HTC1001.2
KEF Kube 1

Older speakers I know, but they sound so much better than my Samsung in a box cheap rubbish.

All for 170 quid