Spec me a TV & home cinema - £1200

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I'm looking to get a new TV and surround sound system soon and am looking for some opinions and suggestions as to what I should get.

My budget is around £1300 and the main use for the TV will be watching TV and movies.

I already have a freeview HD+ box, a 3D bluray player and an xBox 360 so this budget is solely for the TV and speakers.

So far I've been looking at the LG 47LA740V and Bose CineMate GS II. Together they come to around £1250. Would these be okay for my needs or can anyone recommend anything better?
 
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You won't find a lot of love for Bose here or in many enthusiast forum sites. The company has become a marketing vehicle and it is focused on selling lifestyle solutions rather than audio equipment.

In terms of performance, features and build quality there's a lot of other brands out there doing a far better job. Bose is one of those brands that gets polar responses. If someone is impressed that you own Bose then you know for sure that they don't know much about audio.

The Cinemate II GS is a 2.1 active speaker system with Optical and stereo audio inputs. Was there some special feature that made you think Bose was the right solution?
 
You won't find a lot of love for Bose here or in many enthusiast forum sites. The company has become a marketing vehicle and it is focused on selling lifestyle solutions rather than audio equipment.

In terms of performance, features and build quality there's a lot of other brands out there doing a far better job. Bose is one of those brands that gets polar responses. If someone is impressed that you own Bose then you know for sure that they don't know much about audio.

The Cinemate II GS is a 2.1 active speaker system with Optical and stereo audio inputs. Was there some special feature that made you think Bose was the right solution?

The main reason I suggested the bose speakers was because I've heard them in person and thought they sounded great, clearly I don't know much about audio haha. I'm certainly no expert so am definitely open to any better suggestions.
 
Get this instead (About half the price of the Bose)

http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/products/62/100/42/HTP-072/page.html

It'll run rings round the Bose for Sound quality, You'll be able to 'upgrade' parts of it at some point in the future if you want to (Can't do that with Bose :p ) & finally, you won't get the repair engineer saying 'more fool you' if and when (more likely to be when & if you can find someone to repair it :rolleyes: ) when said Bose breaks down.
 
Get this instead (About half the price of the Bose)

http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/products/62/100/42/HTP-072/page.html

It'll run rings round the Bose for Sound quality, You'll be able to 'upgrade' parts of it at some point in the future if you want to (Can't do that with Bose :p ) & finally, you won't get the repair engineer saying 'more fool you' if and when (more likely to be when & if you can find someone to repair it :rolleyes: ) when said Bose breaks down.

I can't seem to find this for sale in many places? Is there any reason for this?

Also, are all of those speakers necessary? I'm only going to be using this in a small room. Would a two speaker system be better?
 
TV:

http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/samsung/ue50h6400/sams-ue50h6400

AV Receiver:

http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/yamaha/rxv475/yama-rxv475-blk
http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/denon/avrx2000/deno-avrx2000

Speakers:

http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/wharfedale/dx1-hcp/whar-dx1
http://www.audiovisualonline.co.uk/product/5259/monitor-audio-vector-av-black-5-1-speaker-package/

At your budget, I'd go for the Samsung 50" LED 3D that I've suggested, along with either the Yamaha or Denon which ever suits you better in terms of features (I'd go Yamaha) and between those two Speakers, I own the MA Vectors they are very good for the money. The Samsung 50", Yamaha and Monitor Audio all come to about £1200, I suppose you can probably get some discount if you buy the TV and AV from RS together.

I don't think you could do better for the money tbh, won't find better out there. I haven't heard the Pioneer so I can't say if they are better or not.
 
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That sounds good then, and these would give better sound quality than the bose speakers?

Me - yep, but that's just my opinion. I think the shop staff in RS would say the same. Having said that though if you didn't like the sound of the Pioneer kit, I'm certain that they would put together kit that you would like of the sound of & it wouldn't cost that much more.

Telly - a grand gets you a fair size telly these days. I'd look at one in RS while you are there. I'd join their VIP club (free to do so) & they'll include a 5 year warranty on whatever telly you'll buy from there once you join.
 
Me - yep, but that's just my opinion. I think the shop staff in RS would say the same. Having said that though if you didn't like the sound of the Pioneer kit, I'm certain that they would put together kit that you would like of the sound of & it wouldn't cost that much more.

Telly - a grand gets you a fair size telly these days. I'd look at one in RS while you are there. I'd join their VIP club (free to do so) & they'll include a 5 year warranty on whatever telly you'll buy from there once you join.

I'll have to go down there for a look some time soon.

As far as the TV goes, I don't want one too big. Somewhere between 45-50 inches should be fine
 
Also, are all of those speakers necessary? I'm only going to be using this in a small room. Would a two speaker system be better?

Any of the AV receiver + speaker packages can be configured as 2.1 (L&R + sub), or as 3.1 (L&R + centre + sub). So it's easy to simulate the layout of the Bose but with better performance.

If you prefer to kick it up a notch then there's the option to go for a complete separates system where you take advice on which receiver, speakers and sub to buy. Going for a mix and match approach like this means getting the best-in-class or most suitable product in each category.

If you like the idea of the small satellite speakers though, then perhaps have a look at the Cambridge Audio Minx 2.1 system LINK
 
Any of the AV receiver + speaker packages can be configured as 2.1 (L&R + sub), or as 3.1 (L&R + centre + sub). So it's easy to simulate the layout of the Bose but with better performance.

If you prefer to kick it up a notch then there's the option to go for a complete separates system where you take advice on which receiver, speakers and sub to buy. Going for a mix and match approach like this means getting the best-in-class or most suitable product in each category.

If you like the idea of the small satellite speakers though, then perhaps have a look at the Cambridge Audio Minx 2.1 system LINK

The size of the speaks aren't a big issue for me. My main issue is running cables around a room which is why I'd prefer just a couple of speakers.

How about a soundbar like this maybe?

http://www.richersounds.com/product/soundbars/yamaha/yhts401/yama-yhts401
 
The size of the speaks aren't a big issue for me. My main issue is running cables around a room which is why I'd prefer just a couple of speakers.

How about a soundbar like this maybe?

http://www.richersounds.com/product/soundbars/yamaha/yhts401/yama-yhts401

That looks like a perfect choice Soundbar, from what you have mentioned I do also think a 5.1 setup would be a bit excessive in terms of cabling and stuff. I'd go for a higher end TV if you are going for a Soundbar at that price, maybe the new 50" W829, Sony are quite popular atm.
 
I'm looking for the same sort of thing as you and after some research have decided on:

TV: 50" Sony W829
AV Amp: Sony STRDN 1040
Speakers: Dali Zensor 1

This should give great quality picture and sound and is very upgradeable if you ever wish to. Like you, I didn't want loads of speakers so have simply chose 2 high quality fronts. I haven't even bothered with a sub as I believe the base from these speakers will be suitable for my needs but if I ever change my mind I have the option to expand.

In addition, you also get DLNA and Airplay from the amp so you take advantage of the great sound for your music as well.
 
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