Thank you for your response, I was wondering if I'd end up going down the route of separate components. I can believe I will get a much better quality from the combos you are suggesting, I just need to justify to myself what the actual difference is i am paying for. I know sound is something you really have to hear, but is there any forms of numbers or materials etc. in a spec sheet I can see to compare what sets the different system apart? I don't understand exactly what i am looking for. I understand different frequency responses come into it? and the ohms of the speaker? But really unsure. I really want to invest in something good. But I don't want to spend a lot more than i need to as I will rarely be able to play it at anywhere close to max volume, though it is nice to have when I want to really immerse in a film or some music. are there any slightly cheaper separates systems you could recommend for comparison? between £150-£300 would be ideal, so the sony and tonnoy system is very much on the cards, i just want to understand what makes them so much better, not that I doubt they are. Thank you very much
Those are all reasonable questions. The challenge you face is that not every justification comes down to numbers. If it did then it would be really simple to point to something better. So while your question is answerable, it does require quite a bit of background reading on your part to understand some of the physics involved behind those numbers. Then there's the physical things such as speaker cabinet construction (e.g. wood/MDF being better than brittle plastics at controlling resonance), and understanding why a satellite speaker with just one speaker driver trying to handle both treble and midrange (as in the Sonys) will struggle at both and how that manifests as a harsher sound that lacks definition.
Speaking of definition, you mentioned not needing to run the system at full volume; that comment suggests that you're thinking loudness is a good yard stick for quality. Again that's a reasonable assumption but it's generally one based on seeing big wattage numbers which is really just a smoke and mirrors trick. You see, it's not just about which set of numbers are better, but how those numbers are arrived at and also what information is missing from a spec sheet which helps give the whole picture. I'll give you an example, do you see a speaker efficiency figure on the Sony spec sheet? You're looking for a figure in dB or dB/W or dB/W/m. I'll bet you don't find one because Sony are aware that there speakers are pretty lousy in that respect and the efficiency figures aren't well understood by the general public anyway. Efficiency is really important though. It doesn't matter how many watts the amp claims to have, if the speakers are rubbish at turning that power in to sound then you'll still have a system that lacks dynamics and starts sounding harsh and compressed even at low volumes. The Tannoy speakers are 85dB/W/m. In a 20ft x 20ft room I'd need just 20 watts per channel to reach a sound pressure of 100dB. That's loud! You wouldn't play at that volume all the time. This is simply a yardstick to measure amp power converted to sound for this example. If I was being generous then let's say the Sony speakers are 80dB. The Sony amp would need to output 70W/ch just to match the sound pressure. That's 3.5 times the power requirement for each speaker. So what seems like a small difference in dB rating has big implications for system power. At this point you're probably saying that the two Sony all-in-ones have plenty of power. On paper they do, but in the real world they haven't. The way the numbers are measured means that you're lucky to get 1/10th of the quoted power in to a usable form at the speakers. That means 1000W is really more like 100W in total, and that 100W is spread across six speakers because they add up the total including the powered wireless sub which accounts for a much larger slice of the pie. The nett result is that the Sony all-in-ones end up running out of power even at modest volumes and that translates to sound that isn't that pleasant.
This brings me back to your point about volume. You shouldn't really be worrying about paying more because the system goes loud. What you're looking for is better clarity at low volumes. The better the system then the lower the volume can be and you can still hear good diction and proper timbre of instruments and good separation. The Sony/Tannoy system does it far better than the Sony all-in-ones, and the Yamaha/Tannoy system does it better again. There's no spec sheet number for this; it's something you have to hear.
Finally there's the practical things. This includes the simple stuff like there being more inputs on the AV receiver, but also stuff such as reliability. Again there's no set of figures to point to, but anecdotally most people here will tell you here that all-in-ones tend to fail much early than receivers, and the thing that goes is usually the optical drive. The cost of replacing that makes the set uneconomical to repair, so the head unit is toast. Since the speakers are matched to the head unit, and head units are impossible to buy individually, then the speakers are useless too so you end up binning your entire investment and starting again. Contrast that with a separates system. If the Blu-ray player dies then you replace just the BD player and not the receiver and speakers as well. Doesn't that seem like a more sensible plan???
If you want to do the research then go ahead. There's no doubt that it will stand you in good stead for the future. But if you're just interested primarily in keeping your money safe by buying the best you can for the budget then you might want to take a leaf out of the book from the people who live and breathe this stuff. Let us know if you want some pointers on further reading.
Shame as it would be a nice saving on the speakers. It also irks me slightly that looking at amazon's history for the tanoy and sony units they both dropped to £129.99 a piece at one point, combine that with flubbit for an extra 10-15% off and its a big saving again. As it stands that package from richer sounds still seems the best deal, unless the fx system below would be sufficient, at least for entry level, and perhaps invest in a more future proofed receiver with upgrades in mind once I have learned more?
