What to Replace home cinema speaker setup with??

flame696

flame696

flame696

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Right i really want to replace my current home cinema setup.

I have an aging Sony STR DH800 av amp,
Tannoy mercury m3 floor standers,
Tannoy mercury m1 bookshelfs for rears,
Tannoy Mc centre
Tannoy sub from the sfx range

Now ive decided on the Sony dh1050 for the amp which is available for £400.

I have got about £600 for the speakers i dont mind second hand but they have to have some real punch
 
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I take it that's a typo (DH1050) you mean the STR-DN1050 @ £400?

Your Tannoys are actually pretty decent speakers. The M3's are a bit bass light for floor standers but otherwise very efficient (90dB). The M1s are on a par for efficiency with most small bookshelf speakers under £250 too @ 87dB. M2's are better and available cheap as a used buy.

If I were in your shoes here's what I'd be considering...

1) a better sub: BK XLS200MKII or XXLS400. Wire up in dual feed mode (both high and low level inputs)

2) a bigger centre speaker - Tannoy Sensys or Eyris centre. 70% of what you hear during a movie comes from the centre speaker

3) demo other amps at a similar price range to the Sony: Yamaha 777 and older 775, Marantz. Something with pre-outs would be useful as you can add a power amp or link to a Hi-Fi amp for better performance with music

4) mass load the M3 floor standers if not done already. (Atacama Atabites - bagged rather than loose, remove one bass driver and put them through the hole on to the bottom of the speaker. Be aware - Atabites are steel so keep them bagged and away from the speaker magnets. Look up 'divers lead shot' for a non-ferrous alternative, but it is more pricey due to the raw material costs

5) work on lowering the noise floor and improving current delivery with cables. Van Damme Blue 2.5mm or Fisual S-Fles 2.5, and a double shielded sub cable for the LFE Feed. All available in various lengths.
 
Thanks for the in depth reply

Sorry that was a typo its the DN1050 I was looking at. I will look at the other amps you have suggested.

1) i was thinking of getting a better sub so will look at your suggestion

2) Never thought about getting a new centre

4) Im not sure what you mean with mass loading???

5) Surprisingly I have ordered van damme blue cables i went for a slightly thicker one
 
Thicker Van Dame is fine, just a bit OTT unless the cable lengths are very long >20m.

Mass loading is to add weight inside the cabinet of a speaker to aid stability and damping. The M3s will have a fairly light cabinet for a floor-stander. Adding weight will provide something more solid to resist the motion of the drivers trying to rock the cabinet as they piston in and out.
 
I have Acoustic Energy neo3 fronts and neo1 rears. Not sure how they fair against the tannoy but I think there an amazing sound. I've never seen a bad word about them.

I've got V1s which I got on close out, £175 for the fronts and £100 for the rears. The V2s Are now on close out on there bay site. http://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/acousticenergysales/m.html?_pgn=1&isRefine=true

Bummer, just wrote that and it looks like they have sold them, they keep popping up though so worth keeping an eye out. Think the fronts were £275 and rears £129
 
sprite1275 said:
I have Acoustic Energy neo3 fronts and neo1 rears. Not sure how they fair against the tannoy but I think there an amazing sound. I've never seen a bad word about them.

I've got V1s which I got on close out, £175 for the fronts and £100 for the rears. The V2s Are now on close out on there bay site. http://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/acousticenergysales/m.html?_pgn=1&isRefine=true

Bummer, just wrote that and it looks like they have sold them, they keep popping up though so worth keeping an eye out. Think the fronts were £275 and rears £129
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Edit, oops meant to edit not quote.
 
flame696 said:
Cheers for clearing that up for me.

1 more question, the left m3 pops when at a higher volume does that mean its blown?
Click to expand...

More likely to be an amp issue from what you have described. Try swapping the speakers. If the problem stays on the same side of the room it's probably an output transistor starting.to fail. If it moves with the speaker then it's a driver issue. I'd expect driver issues to manifest either as loss of treble (blown tweeter) , rasping sounds (ripped cone or suspension) or scratching sound ( distorted voice coil). This list isn't exhaustive but.gives some common pointers.
 
Right the speaker is blown as its scratching. The other speaker isnt making the noise but as soon as i push it slighty i can feel and hear llike its rubbing against something.

I have tried to find replacement speaker but no one does replacements so i dont know what to do??
 
Compare the drivers between the M1 and M3. If they're the same then find a donor pair of M1 and transplant the drivers.
 
I had a look as thats what i was going to do but the drivers for the m1s are smaller so looks like i might try and see if i get a set of m3s for cheap
 
Have a look at Monitor Audio. Almost any of the floor standers from the mid 90's onwards will give you the punch you're looking for. They sell at reasonable prices for the performance and build quality. Big floor standers are out of fashion for those who look at Hi-Fi rather than listening to it, so they want dinky little cubes.

Buy the front pair then add a centre. Upgrade the sub next if funds are available. Replace the M1 last and go for either BRFX or BXFX surrounds.
 
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