Home Cinema Sound

killerk

killerk

killerk

Associate
Joined
22 Jan 2008
Posts
354
Hi

I am looking for suggestions on speakers for our lounge to meet the following spec below, I currently have a media pc and Logitech Z-680 speakers. Apologies in advance for my lack of knowledge

HDMI Inputs for Sky Box, PS3 and new Intel NUC media pc
Pretty decent sound and as powerful as possible
Wireless Rear Speakers (girlfriend has a thing with wires going round the room)
Be able to pass 4k video through to TV (for future purposes)
Budget under £500

I had looked at the top of the range Samsung all in one but it doesn't seem to have enough inputs, TV does have ARC from what I can gather, but only 2 HDMI ports in total.
 
Honestly, wireless surrounds will limit your options to the extent that it might not be worth bothering at all.

If wires routed under or around a room aren't an option, it will be better for you to consolidate your £500 and purchase an AV receiver and a pair of decent speakers; that way you end up with decent gear, and you'll have the option of upgrading, by adding a center, a subwoofer, and surrounds down the line.

Avoid the "home cinema in a box" affairs like the plague.
 
Thought that would be the case, I presume there are no AV Receivers that work with wireless rears? If not what would be my best cabled option, want to stick with Surround Sound.
 
killerk said:
Thought that would be the case, I presume there are no AV Receivers that work with wireless rears?
Click to expand...

I don't think so.

If not what would be my best cabled option, want to stick with Surround Sound.
Click to expand...

I'm not a massive fan of Tannoy speakers, but you can pick up -for fairly cheap (can't name competitors on the forum, but from a large AV dealer/chain)- a bundle consisting of an entry-level Yamaha AV receiver and a set of Tannoy speakers for a 5.1 configuration. Prices range from the £400 to £500 mark.
 
As BlairH says there is a few bundles that would be worth considering.

YAMAHA RXV377 & Tannoy TFX5.1 for £349
YAMAHA RXV377 & Wharfedale DX1 for £419
YAMAHA RXV377 & Tannoy HTS101 for £469
PIONEER VSX824 & Wharfedale DX1 for £479

Google the above to find several options for the packages (prices may vary)

If you have a store near you, it would be worth getting a demo of them to see which sounds best to you.

Both receivers have 4/5 HDMI in, and they pass-through 4K. No idea about wireless rear speaker compatibility but I doubt it.
 
Last edited:
Nothing wrong in "home cinema in a box" unless you're an audio snob.
I have an onkyo AVR and 5.1 set that is about 6 years old now in my conservatory. Performs brilliantly as i pc game on a Toshy 46" HDTV. Sounds are awesome.
In my living room i have a Denon 2113 which connects my 47" Panny, SkyHD box and Sammy BD player, all boomed out to some Monitor Audio Vector AV 5.1's.
I got the speakers for a steal at £299 cos their replacements are about £600 now i think.
If you wants a man's AV setup, then man up and ignore the mrs. :) Wireless won't give you much audio brilliance i'm afraid.
Tannoy do get fairly good reviews generally, although i'm not experienced enough to help with recommendations.
 
Thanks, hopefully the speakers will drown out the moans :-) I will take a look into the bundles available as that sounds the way to go. One more thing, is there an option I should look for which allows the receiver to turn on automatically when it gets a signal from the Sky Box/PC etc?
 
Banzai_Joe said:
Nothing wrong in "home cinema in a box" unless you're an audio snob.
Click to expand...
TBH, there's two different levels of "home cinema in a box" (HCiB). What you have is several leagues better than the typical HCiB such as the likes of the Samsung originally being considered.

IMO it's wrong to refer to a manufacturer's bundle deal of an AV receiver and speaker package as a HCiB. Sure, the performance can be bettered, but only at an additional cost. But that's hardly news, is it. :D
 
yeah i agree lucid.
A lot of these HCiB are proprietary and may only work with say the BD player [whatever device] they ship with.

My Onkyo was the AVR and a 5.1 set. It had 3 in and 1 out which was great at the time.

One more thing, is there an option I should look for which allows the receiver to turn on automatically when it gets a signal from the Sky Box/PC etc?
Click to expand...

As long as it has an ARC HDMI port then you should be fine. Most certainly do nowadays.
With my Denon setup (see previous post) i only use the sky remote; press TV button then power and the TV and Denon come on. Then i press the Sky button to set the remote to operate the sky box.
I can also control my denon AVR from my ipad as its a network AVR. :)
 
Am using pioneer 329 and Tannoy Sfx5.1 amd can't fault it for its total price of just under 300 pounds.

Am completely blown away by it for ps4 and movie/sky HD..

But am new to all this so what I recommend here might not be the best.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom