Please recommend an AV Amp and speaker package

mark66

mark66

mark66

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I am looking for a surround sound AV amp and some 5.1 speakers for my living room.

The amp will mainly be used for TV, DVD's, and playing Xbox 360 and also as my music centre by playing CDs/MP3's through the 360, as I do not have a Hi-fi system.

I have read the sticky put together by DRZ and from that I am very tempted by the Denon AVR-1906 amp, which can be had for around £290. I do not want big speakers and so I guess I am looking for some bookshelf (?) ones. Both my brother and a colleague have Kef KHT2005.2 egg speakers and are both very happy with these. I have found one online retailer selling the Kefs for £450. This is my absolute maximum for spending on the speakers, but would ideally prefer to spend a bit less.

So please recommend a cheaper alternative to the Kefs or tell me if I should grab them for that price. I would also like to hear if people think I could get a better amp than the Denon for £300.

Cheers :)
 
If you want a more in-your-face effect style of presentation then look at a Yamaha amp. The Denons are more relaxed and as such are much better for music.

Personally if I were to be buying A/V again I would be going for the Denon 2805 second hand for that kind of money. The 2805 will wipe the floor with the 1906 :)
 
Just had a quick look and there aren't any 2805's going in my price range at the moment.

It's a tough decision between what I want the amp for. Its roughly a 60/40 split between being a surround sound amp and a music amp. I am currently quite limited for room and therefore can't see myself buying a dedicated amp and cd player for music.

I know that playing tunes via the 360 won't give me the best sound quality by a long shot - especially playing MP3's, but its still better than nothing, and I need to change something as I am currently using the tv for the speakers!
 
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I have read the sticky put together by DRZ and from that I am very tempted by the Denon AVR-1906 amp, which can be had for around £290. I do not want big speakers and so I guess I am looking for some bookshelf (?) ones. Both my brother and a colleague have Kef KHT2005.2 egg speakers and are both very happy with these. I have found one online retailer selling the Kefs for £450. This is my absolute maximum for spending on the speakers, but would ideally prefer to spend a bit less.
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I've got a Denon 1906 and I'm very happy with it. I'm currently using it with a Samsung 26" LCD, Denon 1920 DVD player and a set of Mordaunt-Short Genie AV speakers.

The features are great for the price - 7.1 surround sound, the ability to bi-amp the front speakers, auto set-up microphone, etc. It's not the prettiest of receivers, but it's great value for money.

An online shop that I'm not allowed to mention sells the Denon AVR1906S for £234.72 and it's in stock now.

I had a choice between the KEF KHT2005.2 and Mordaunt-Short Genie speakers, both for £600. I found the Genies to be superior to the KEFs, but for £450 the Eggs are a bargain.

If you want cheaper, then another online retailer is doing the Mission FS1 6.1 AV pack for £199 (down from £399).
 
Peter Tyson has the Mordaunt Short Avant Premiere Plus speaker package in at £479 which also includes a £100 off voucher for anything in the store! Which would bring the reciever down to £179, makes it well within your price bracket, you could probally afford the next reciever up thinking about it.
 
Mission FS1 6.1 AV pack for £199 just been reading about them after seeing you put that everywhere else is still round the 350-400 pound mark for theses speakers and it has some good reviews seems good bang for buck at 199 quid
 
Update:

Well I went and got the Kef 2005.2's for £450 and the Denon AVR1906 for £240 and watched my first movie, The Island, in surround sound goodness last night. All I can say is Wow :)

Now I just need to read the manual again and see if I can understand more than half of it this time!

Thanks for your input guys,
 
mark66 said:
Update:

Well I went and got the Kef 2005.2's for £450 and the Denon AVR1906 for £240 and watched my first movie, The Island, in surround sound goodness last night. All I can say is Wow :)

Now I just need to read the manual again and see if I can understand more than half of it this time!

Thanks for your input guys,
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:D

Congratulations!

Run the auto setup thingymabobber if you havnt already. Forget the manual, you are male, just wing it :D
 
DRZ said:
:D

Congratulations!

Run the auto setup thingymabobber if you havnt already. Forget the manual, you are male, just wing it :D
Click to expand...
Yep, ran the autosetup thing straight away and job done.

It informed me that I had a phase issue on the rear right, but on examination I found I had done a poor connection at the back. The speakers now all feel very well balanced when I am sat in 'my spot' :)
 
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