Decision time. Sound bar, 2.1, or 5.1

[kinger8938]

Hi guys

I have been going backwards and forwards on what to go for this week, going to hopefully go to richer sounds later or tomorrow to pick something up.

My budget would be £250-300 tops

Originally i was looking at sound bars to save space and be a nice upgrade over that of the tv speakers. Then started looking at 5.1's and now wondering if a dedicated 2.1 system would be better than the sound bar?

Surely i would get better quality 2.1 for the money compared to what i would get in a 5.1 at the same price point?

Im dont think i really want/need surround but again im not sure, i wouldnt want to regret my purchase, just dipping my toe in here really

 

[Dsteviedee]

Personally, if I were doubting what to get, I would trail some at RS.
If you went for a 5.1/7.1 receiver with 2.1 sprakers, you could always add rears and center at a later date. (Hell if you went for floorstanders you could do without a sub too).
The other consideration is cost. By the time you have got the AVR and speakers, it wont leave much for a sub.
If you went for the Yamaha system you were talking about in an other thread, you could run it in 2.1/3.1 mode or surround.
Then upgrade speakers if you wanted to at a later date.

 

[tom_nieto]

As above really, however you need to be sure that you're definitely going to add centre/rear speakers at a later date to justify a surround receiver. You'll get a decent stereo setup for your cash, but you're scraping the barrel of surround amps in this price range if you've got to purchase speakers at the same time. There isn't a correct answer, as we don't know your listening/viewing habits. If music is a big part of the system's role and you've coped without surround sound until now, I'd go for a stereo setup. Forget the sub if you've got full sized speakers for fronts whether in a stereo setup or surround as this will eat up valuable budget at this stage.