Big Ow

Hey, anybody here clued up on surround sound/home cinema?

Dad's redoing the lounge, and wants a new sound system to go with his hi def tv.

His budget is around £500 and that's about it! He doesn't really know what he needs, but would rather an av amp/receiver as opposed to a dvd system so it's easier to upgrade in the future.
Needs a few inputs so we can put xbox/sky hd and a dvd or bluray player,
Floor standing speakers would be better, but not a necessity

Anyone got any ideas? seen a few receivers on richersound for around £200, but not sure what's best + what speakers to get

Tried asking on avforums, but not had much luck yet

Cheers!

Big Ow

Bump!

northernmonkey

I have one of the Yamaha AV63 packages, very good for the money mate, well i'm suitably impressed anyway!

R5AAL

I just bought myself a Sony HTSF1300 system, its an amp system only so doesnt have a dvd player built in, it has 3 HDMI inputs (1 output) 2 optical in (needed for your sky hd box),coaxial in. awesome sound quality due to 5.1 surround, true HD sound via hdmi or optical.sound exactly what you need, hts 'F' is tall speaker and hts 'S' for just the small ones.Really nice looking system.
Oh and for connections make sure you buy good quality HDMI and digital optical cables, IXOS are the best the differnce is unbelievable! (they are expensive though)
hope that helps

FasterFords

Don't waste money on expensive HDMI cables, it makes no difference at all.

northernmonkey

I concur! A digital signal will not loose quality, unlike an analouge signal, which will benefit from quality leads.

Big Ow

Cheers for the advice, the sony system looks good - I think that's what he's already seen somewhere else.
Will keep looking to see what other options are available, but that one seems good.
Just the remote to sort out now! Confusing enough for mum to use the sky + tv/surround we have now, never mind 3 remotes!

dojj

iTrader: (3)

get a stand alone system for the surround

tejy

iTrader: (1)

i agree

cfoster

take a look on www.avforums.com, very useful and ALL the info you will need. Be careful though it is VERY addictive and £500 will turn to £5000 in no time!!!!!!!!!!

bristol_fez

iTrader: (1)

i would recommend a Sony STR DG 820 it is a good piece of kit well priced, should leave you about £280 for a speaker set up. as stated AVforums is full of very useful info

R5AAL

you wana come round my bit and i'll show you the differnce between quality HDMI and optical cables and the ones you get with the system, NIGHT and DAY! waste of time having HD if your only gona play it through oe cables if you ask me.

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

Digital cables transmit digital signals - 1's and 0's. And thats it. Some doit using light (optical) and some do it using electrical pulses (coaxial, HDMI) but they all transmit 1's and 0's. So spending stupid money on cables like these is pointless.

However, the freebie HDMI cable you get with a Sky box or DVD player WILL be shite. But not cos of the cable - more so the build quality and components used. Cheapo 99p cables will use cheapo connectors and have shit soldering. A £10 cable will use better connectors and better soldering etc. This WILL make a difference. However a £60 cable Vs a £10 cable will be negligible, although owners of expensive cables will swear blind they can hear a difference........

Fil

Heres a reasonable package £55 over budget, but includes all ( most ) cables / wires needed

Onkyo TX-SR506 Receiver
Q Acoustics 1010i (5.1) speakers

http://www.creative-audio.co.uk/HCS_ONK506_Q1000i.php


tho the above amp dont do HD audio

Twellsie

iTrader: (1)

good choice of reciever http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/p...roduct_ID/4126

I have the 606 and I am very impressed with it