Simple stereo set up for TV

bayo000

bayo000

bayo000

Soldato
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28 Jan 2008
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Manchester
Any recommendations on cheapish set up? Say £150? Was thinking soundbar but I think I'd prefer speakers. Open to suggestions though.
No need for surround sound as I'm in the flat.
 
Stereo speakers are going to sound substantially better than any £150 soundbar for TV. They'll knock on the door of soundbars at £300+ for TV, and they'll pee all over far more expensive soundbars for music. However £150 is a bit thin to get all the bits you'll need for TV sound with a stereo amp and speakers.

To get a working solution you'll need
(1) a stereo amp with remote control - The cheaper proper stereo amps don't have this as standard.
(2) some way of getting a digital signal (via optical) from the TV and into an amp that has (in most cases) just analogue stereo inputs on the red and white connections. [At this point you might be saying "But my TV has the red and white connections!"... if it does then 999 times out of 1000 they're 'sound going in' sockets when what the TV needs is 'sound coming out' sockets. Connecting to these will do diddly-squat and you'll end up having to buy an optical to analogue converter in the end so let's cut to the chase :) ]
(3) speakers and speaker cable... and possibly something for the speakers to stand on

We could put together the components with some entry-level product that fits the bill.......

Pioneer A20 amp (with remote) @ £150 + Optical to analogue converter (Ebay or the rain forest) @ £15-£25 + Optical and analogue stereo cables - say £10

or... just go for the Monitor Audio A100 (£150 on clearance) which is a stereo amp with optical input and IR remote and Airplay and Network streaming too... oh, and a What HiFi 5 star review. Add an optical cable for a fiver and that's the amplification all sorted.

Now, speakers...

The go-to budget option is generally the Wharfedale Diamond 9.0. They're usually daft cheap for the performance they give (£59) but at the moment they're obscenely cheap at under £40 a pair. As good as they are though, personally I'd spend a little more because the performance goes up a lot. Either Tannoy Mercury V1 (£69/pr) or Q Acoustics 2010i (£79) is where I'd put my money. They have better bass and I think a clearer midrange. IMO well worth the extra few quid as a long term investment.

Speaker cable doesn't need to be anything fancy. Just get something pure copper and of a decent thickness. A 49 stand with a cross sectional area of 1.5mm will do just fine for runs up to 10m per side.
 
Thanks lucid. I was looking at A100 but thought there might be cheaper option. I guess I didn't appreciate the lack of remote controls on cheaper amps.
I don't use TV often to watch films as I have a projector in my man cave so trying to do it on cheap.
If I was to attach htpc as well should I go for AV receiver or stereo amp with 2 optical inputs (if they exist) is still better option?
 
Which way to go really depends what you're looking for from the sound.

The A100 + Q Acoustics/Tannoy combo is a seriously good budget stereo HiFi system that can also handle a single optical input. That is to say that if you were looking for something that does music really well and just happens also to be able to handle a TV or another optical digital source then I think you'd be hard pressed to find something significantly better without spending more. It will wipe the floor with a similarly priced AV Receiver plus the same speakers.

Stereo amps with more than one digital input do exist but my guess is that you'll be taking a bit of a jump up in price for something decent.

If all you really need though is something to improve the telly sound a bit that can also take the PC input for when you are gaming or watching stuff off YouTube then a receiver will offer you a lot more connection options. It won't sound as good just playing through stereo speakers even for TV; but if you are more in to convenience then does that really matter?
 
Would it not be worth while looking at entry level AV receivers at this sort of budget? Would also allow upgrading to 5.1/2.1 later on even if it's not on the table now.
 
roadie said:
I have always used the phono connectors on the TV to an amp and speakers. Works well.
Click to expand...
It does, but only where the TV has a set of audio out phono sockets. Sadly that is now a rare thing and has been so for at least the last years 5-6 years in the majority of mass market TVs.
 
Yeah, you can link hi-fi stuff, as it's something OcUK don't sell.

The Denon unit is a good choice; makes a nice little budget Hi-Fi. Two optical inputs is handy. I think it's predecessor only had one; plus it has an analogue input as well.

Even if your TV doesn't have RCA output, if it does have optical out, then that would be even better. Worse case scenario would be if it only has 3.5mm output. Won't be as good as using RCA or optical out, but maybe that won't matter if you're using the Humax box for TV and HTPC for movies/music, as they will be directly connected to the Denon.
 
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