Home cinema with 4K HDR player

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X3T

X3T

X3T

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So I'm new to home cinema/surround sound set ups for TVs, and I've been looking around for something suitable. I've noticed that all home cinema kits come with a Blu-ray player built into (what I assume is) the amp. The problem is none of them offer 4K support.

I want to buy a 4K player separately and then speakers, but either I'm missing something or there are no separate speaker kits for sale.

I only have a tiny living room, so I don't need anything powerful, but I do want high clarity and surround. I especially have problems hearing speech in movies.
 
Thanks all, never thought of buying separately. In my head they all had to be compatible or something.

Makes sense to start with just front speakers and see how it goes. Yeah I don't want to spend loads on this!
 
Sorry I didn't see these posts!

So I currently have just the Yamaha RVX381 AVR (£149!), some decent copper audio cable and premium certified HDMI cables.

I'm looking at the Sony UBP-X800 player, Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 speakers, Mission Stancette stands and literally no idea about the TV yet. It started off just wanting a new TV and 4K player, but then I thought about looking into proper audio for the first time (I've only ever used the built in TV speakers). Current TV is some LG 32", but I'm probably looking for a 4K HDR 43-49".

Total budget is around £1400:
  • £600-650 for TV
  • £350 for 4K player (Sony X800)
  • £150 for AVR (Yamaha RVX381)
  • £100-£150 for speakers (most likely Diamond 9.1)
  • £60 for stands (Mission Stancette)
  • £30 for miscellaneous stuff (cables, etc..)
The player is rather pricey but after much research that's the one I'm quite keen on.
 
TJM said:
Just so you know for the future, HDMI is a digital standard and will work as well as it possibly can on any cable that isn't damaged. I've been using £2 cables from eBay for years and never had a problem.
Click to expand...
I've had issues in the past running high bandwidth content over cheaper cables, so to save any concerns this time I went for certified cables. Might not be necessary as you say, but I didn't want to risk it again!
 
sprite- said:
Hi Bud...

I'll try and give you some advice on this topic.

  • Television

    As you're going for 4K, it's really important you buy one which can truly do HDR justice. Many TVs have "HDR" in their sales title but in reality hit 200-400 nits max in peak brightness and have an 8-bit panel.

    You want a TV which is Ultra HD Premium Certified, something which can hit 1000nits peak brightness (Slightly lower for OLED) and has an 10-bit panel. This could affect your budget a little, i personally have the Samsung 55" KS7000. If you can't afford one, give up on 4K for now until you can, resolution gives you little benefit. It's HDR and done properly which gives you that "wow" factor, otherwise you'll struggle to notice a different.

  • 4K Player

    What are you looking to do with a 4K Player? Is it just play UHD no specialist stuff.. If so i'd go for an Xbox One S, it represents great value (especially 2nd hand) and does the job every other player will do. It even supports Atmos now. There really is no point spending £350 on a 4K bluray player.

  • Speakers

    Since you've got an AVR already, i wont go into that but the RXV381 is definitely a good starter receiver.

    Speakers... You want to up your budget in this area in my opinion. £100/£150 is too low. The £200 you save on buying an Xbox One S, put into your speaker budget to push it to £350.

    Buying speakers is a highly personal and subjective thing, its not just sound but the style of speakers you prefer and room size / shape. How big is your room? What kind of style do you prefer? Bookshelf? Satellite Style speakers?

    I personally have the KEF 3005SE 5.1 set - but i like style speakers which blend better into the room. For any first timer, looking to enter at a low price point and experiment i'd say avoid floor-standers. Unless you've got a very large room.
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Thanks for the info. I've read up on what you said about HDR, I had no idea. Looking around it seems Samsung have the most options for certified TVs with the appropriate brightness.

Seeing as though the TV is the "centrepiece" I would probably up the TV budget to get a decent one if I were to go for the Xbox as the player, rather than the speakers. I'm going for 2ch/stereo to start with, in a tiny living room. I can upgrade the speakers later but I've only ever used built in TV speakers, so anything is an upgrade!

What do you think of the Samsung KS9000 49"?
 
Just checked the KS7000, the stupidly wide stand is 1 inch to wide to fit on my TV stand :(

Is it possible to modify the stand?
 
Thanks, found just what I need: VESA pedestal stand. Not really able to wall mount as somebody decided to run all the mains cables right behind where I'd have to drill!

Thanks for your help, looks like the KS7000 is the one to get. As for the speakers, I did look at the Q Acoustic 3020 before but a bit over my original budget.

I do have a quick question regarding the AVR though - reading through the manual there is an option to down mix multi channel audio into stereo, I take it I want this enabled as I only have front speakers? What happens if I add a centre?
 
Ok cool, thanks, makes sense now.

On the TV front, I can't find any KS7000's available to buy anywhere. So I'm looking for an alternative!
 
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