AV Receiver and 5.1 Speakers

Stretch

Stretch

Stretch

Soldato
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In addition to the TV I'm about to buy I'd also like to get the sound sorted because the system I have at the moment is on its way out.

Budget is around £400 though less would be nice. I don't want anything OTT. All speakers are going to be wall mounted so preferably something small and discrete but can pack a bit of punch when needed.

I've been looking at these speakers as they seem to fit my requirements

Jamo A102 HCS5

Are they any good? The only thing that put's me off is the included wall mounts don't swivel downwards so they’re limited to a single plane.

I have no idea about receivers but obviously something that complements the speakers and has plenty of HDMI inputs would be nice.

Would something like this be any good?

Sony STRDH510
 
You generally can't go wrong with Sony AV receivers, but I'd recommend stretching a little further to the STRDH800 for a bit more future-proofing.

STRDH800

Speakers, I won't get into - can never make my mind up about those!

EDIT: Yes, I guess I will. Looking at Richer Sounds, if you wanna save a bit you'd be very surprised at the quality of the entry-level Yamaha NSP270 package.

Onkyo also have a very good reputation, so you might want to check out their more affordable speaker sets.
 
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Excuse my ignorance on this subject but what makes the STRDH800 better than the STRDH510 in term of future-proofing?
 
Pestilence said:
It will natively decode lossless audio tracks (for example on Blu-ray films), for example DTS-MA and Dolby TrueHD. :)
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Cool, looks like it might be worth the extra £50.

What other feature would I be missing from the high-end models?
 
While native decoding is nice its not the be all and end all, hell its not even in the HD spec.
You'll probably find yourself setting the player to LPCM and leaving it there anyway, otherwise you can't listen to all the PIP and other crap.
Unless none of that bothers you, in which case go for the native decoding :p

As for the Jamo A102 HCS5.
They are absolutely cracking speakers for the size and price, I'd think you'd be well pleased with them.
 
LPCM for the win - I dont get why people want to get an amp with a specific decoder - just means we end up with a 10 year old inferior codec like AC3 / DTS etc.
 
That amp would be ok but if I were you I'd either up your budget a little or just buy a 2.1 setup for now and save up for the centre and rears later.

Example you can pick up the award winning Q Acoustics 5.1 setup for £299 - it was originally selling for £550. The new 2000 series has been released so the 1000 is an absolute bargain. These are far superior to the Jamo's.

If you can't stretch to £300 speakers + £200 amp (don't forget you need some speaker cable aswell) then I'd buy less speakers but of higher quality and build up over time.

Q Acoustics Centre Speaker - £50
Q Acoustics 1010i - £50 per pair
Q Acoustics Subwoofer - £99

These are the speakers individually from the 5.1 kit. As you can see buying them like this is actually £50 cheaper so would only cost you £250 for 5.1. Only thing is these are in store deals only so you'd need to go there. Leave off the rears for now for 3.1 and you'd be in budget ;)

Here's a review of these speakers http://www.whathifi.com/Review/Q-Acoustics-1010i-51/
 
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Onkyo HT-S3305 - it's a receiver and 5.1 speaker package.

Can be had for £300, can't really get much better for the money however the amp is passive.
 
I;ve said it before and I will say it again. Have a look at 2nd hand.

You can get an award winning av receiver which cost more than £400 a few years ago for under £100. For example I got an Onkyo 508 for £85 from Ebay.

Equally speakers especially full surround sets as people list them on Ebay as collection only.

I got Wharfedale diamonds 8.3 plus 8.1 plus 8 series centre plus 150 sub all mint for £35 collected. :eek:

I;ve seen Q ACOUSTICS 1010i 5.1 setups got for £100 as well.

Your money will really stretch much much further and you can get better kit for you money or just save it.

TIP: Use old online reviews to selct/check older award winning speakers or receivers like here:

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/category.cfm/category/154

Take the AE Aegis Evo 3B for example. This 5.1 set cost £1000 in 2003 and won lots of awards and acolades. A full set with stands and cables are currently £106 on Ebay with two hours to go.

Chances are a £1000 speaker set from a few years ago will always sound better than a new £200 to £300 set today.
 
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Just bought the ONKYO TXSR608 HOME CINEMA RECEIVER. and the B&W MT30 5.1 SPEAKER PACKAGE. best 2 grand ive spent. films have take a massive leap forward.
 
The Jamo speakers are fab. I have a set matched with my Yamaha DSP-AX 763 amp from two years ago. For the price you'd be hard pushed to get anything better IMO.
 
DarkWhisper said:
Just bought the ONKYO TXSR608 HOME CINEMA RECEIVER. and the B&W MT30 5.1 SPEAKER PACKAGE. best 2 grand ive spent. films have take a massive leap forward.
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The speakers go well with the amp then? Only reason I ask was I was given a TXSR608 last week and I am on the look out for speakers to go with it.

What did you have before if I may ask?
 
I managed to pick up a Q Acoustics 1000i Cinema package for £175, the guy had bought them and had them sat in his loft all their life. Never opened, so effectively brand new. Snagged a brand new RX-V765 for £200 so a pretty awesome system for £375. Just keep hunting AVForums classifieds and you will find some good deals to be had :)
 
I just ordered the same speakers you were looking and just waiting for them to be delivered.
I just got myself a good deal on a denon avr 1910 which is ment to be amazing and come rated 5 stars on what hifi.
If you look around you can get yourself a good deal.
 
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