Basic AV Receiver question

ShadowMan

ShadowMan

ShadowMan

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Is there any downside in using an AV receiver with just 2 front speakers and possibly a centre rather than a full 5.1 or 7.1 setup?

Looking at a Yamaha RXV667 but funds would not permit a full set of decent speakers at this time. Currently using built in TV speakers for everything so my brain says that the upgrade would be considerable with only the 3 speakers up front and I could always add rears and subs later as funds permit.

Speakers would either be Mordaunt Short Alumni 2's and 5 centre or Q Acoustics 2020's and 2000C centre. (I did consider QA's 1010i's to save some cash for rear's but finding the wall mounts for them seems to be a challenge currently and I dont like any of the generic mounts I have seen so far)

Sources would be PS3, HTPC (HDMI and Optical), Wii and TV Freeview Tuner. Possibly adding Sky+ or Sky+HD in next 6 months too.
 
I suppose the main downside is that you can get a much better stereo amp for the same money as an av amp, since you aren't using the extra channels.

But if you intend to build up to a surround set up and if music is less of a priority, then an av amp for stereo speakers is fine. The amp itself should in theory sound better driving only two speakers, since cheap av amps tend to use feeble power supplies than deliver far less power with all channels driven. Of course you have to settle for downmixed centre and surround effects but that's not the end of the world (plus half the sources you listed won't do discreet surround sound). It might be worth getting a sub as small bookshelfs will struggle to deliver respectable LFE's on films, as will the amp. Even a cheap sub will take a lot of the stain of the amp.

But I think you've got the right idea. If you're on a tight budget and can live wih doing things in stages, you'll end up with a better setup in the long run. Better than throwing all your money at a cheap surround setup imo. But I would say you should build a system around your speakers and not an amp, ie find some speakers you like, then an amp that works well with those speakers, rather than the other way round.
 
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Thanks for that both. Impressed you managed to find a source of 1010i speaker brackets as basically everyone seemed to be out of stock.

This has put those speakers up my list quite a bit now but as you say the price could be a problem. That said 1010's appear to be a lot cheaper than either the 2020's or the MS's. Will have to listen to all of them on the same amp before I make my choice.

For me quality sound for movies and games is the priority and I will definately be adding more speakers to provide 5.1 or even 7.1 in future. Whilst I listen to some music, most of it is from poorly ripped MP3's and as such I think top quality stereo amplification would be wasted.

Bearing in mind that I currently on have TV output speakers, could I get away without buying the centre and just use a single pair of front bookshelfs which may free up some cash for either a better receiver or even a sub and make it a 2.1 system? Would you see there being much clarity lost in the spoken range without a centre? Current audio output is woeful and I feel that as anything could be considered an upgrade I would like to spend the money in the most economic fashion possible without wasting it on features I dont need or shorting myself on something that would benefit me greatly in the long term.
 
Would like to keep it under £500 for all at the moment. Was going to upgrade TV to a 50" LG50PK350 but think this is the better overall upgrade.

Depending on how much stuff I sell after a clearout the budget might be a bit higher or even lower but not by a large amount.
 
For £500 you could pick up the Q ACOUSTICS 1010i 5.1 speaker package @ £200 and receivers such as the Yamaha RX-V667 @ £300 or the SONY STRDH810 @ £250 from Richersounds
 
ShadowMan said:
Thanks for that both. Impressed you managed to find a source of 1010i speaker brackets as basically everyone seemed to be out of stock.

This has put those speakers up my list quite a bit now but as you say the price could be a problem. That said 1010's appear to be a lot cheaper than either the 2020's or the MS's. Will have to listen to all of them on the same amp before I make my choice.

For me quality sound for movies and games is the priority and I will definately be adding more speakers to provide 5.1 or even 7.1 in future. Whilst I listen to some music, most of it is from poorly ripped MP3's and as such I think top quality stereo amplification would be wasted.

Bearing in mind that I currently on have TV output speakers, could I get away without buying the centre and just use a single pair of front bookshelfs which may free up some cash for either a better receiver or even a sub and make it a 2.1 system? Would you see there being much clarity lost in the spoken range without a centre? Current audio output is woeful and I feel that as anything could be considered an upgrade I would like to spend the money in the most economic fashion possible without wasting it on features I dont need or shorting myself on something that would benefit me greatly in the long term.
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Ditch the centre, on a tight budget it's unecessary. Use the money saved to get better fronts, amp or sub. IMO of course
 
Generally the stereo amps are obviously much better for the money (a £400 one would be £200 per channel, while a £500 5.1 will be only £100 per channel) but that rule is more for music fidelity than home theater.

Given your budget and usage, I'd just go for the receiver and a decent budget surround set, look on AVForums classifieds for some good 2nd hand deals on both items. Then in future if you started caring about music more, you could replace the left/right with better speakers (probably have to get a new center too to tonally match it) and using the pre-outs on the receiver hook up a decent stereo amp for the left/right so they can be driven better for music.
 
Hopefully might be able to stretch my budget a little. Have decided that I no longer have time for airsofting so in the process of selling up the last of my kit. If this goes it may stretch the budget to £1000 or so which will enable me to look at 5.1 (assuming wife allows it in the room).

Will have to see how my sales go however so thanks for all the advice on the above. I have to admit that music will probably never be a major thing for me so the home theatre receiver option will probably always outweigh a stereo amp just for the options it provides.

With the announcements of Star Wars BD coming this year I now have a deadline for getting it all setup and ready too!
 
The quality of a stereo setup would be fairly decent with your budget. You'd be looking at fairly ordinary av kit though.

IMO the only reason to buy a surround receiver over a stereo amp if you don't have the space for surround would be connectivity. This problem can be addressed with a separate DAC.

If you were doing a lot of gaming and tv over music listening then a sub/sat system might better suit the bill.

I should also say that there is nothing wrong with a staged upgrade approach to your setup, and obviously the av amp and front speakers are the first step. The sky is the limit with overall budget, so try to plan your end point sensibly!
 
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Acoustic Energy have one of their 5.1 packages on EOL and are selling it at a greatly reduced price on the bay of e. Search for Neo 5.1 v1. Not many left though. The good old 'will she who must be obeyed allow it?!' thing always amuses me.
 
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