Cinema / surround sound, what recommendations......?

[indigomatt]

Morning

Have just been foolish :shut up: and brought a new fancy plasma telly :cool: to replace an ageing CRT bruit of a thing.....after much looking I got me a Panasonic TH-37PX80B ~ the one that won the What Hi-Fi review and was not too much monies, well by comparisons to some – :yes nod:.....

The only down points from my research are that it’s shiny black surround is a dust magnet and the sound not overly great if too loud.....

Can live with the dust, that’s why I’ve a girlfriend :clap: :clap: :clap:.....

But am a bit concerned with the sound quality, most of the sets I looked at this was a bug bear, so no choice really :sad: .....

Anyway to the point.....

What make model of cinema / surround sound to people recommend, am not looking to spent that much ;) and will probably e-bay a top of the line one a year or so old.....any advice will be welcome.....are they even any good.....?

Matthew

[The Dogfather]

Matt, are you ever going to go for Bluray?

If you are then this Sony Amp (http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/4448) £244

And these speakers (http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/3804) £146

This will give you 5.1 wit the option to got to a full HD audio 7.1 in the future, plus its all HDMI switching so easy to use and set up. You can spend a lot more money and get a system that won't sound any better. I'd avoid all the on box package systems.

[Ferengo]

I've been thinking on this ever since I tried to watch the Drak Knight on blu ray. It was terrible, levels were all to pot. Have compressed my sound and eq'd to bring forward the speech but still not great.

So to cut a long story short, I'm in the same boat as you. HELP!!!

[Gismo]

How much you looking to spend?

You say you don't want to spend much but you want top notch sound, won't happen.

You'll want to take advantage of the HDMI of the telly, so, you'll need a fairly decent amp, then a set of speakers (5) including a centre channel and a sub.
If you go the all in one package type deal, get a What Hi-Fi magazine and see what they recommend.

[The Dogfather]

You say you don't want to spend much but you want top notch sound, won't happen.


About £1000 will get you a 50" plasma TV, the Sony Amp and the Tannoy Speakers if you shop around. If you're not listening to the setup at neighbourhood disturbing volume then its a good setup.

I've stopped looking at certain websites cause I keep seeing speakers that I'd like to upgrade to.

[indigomatt]

Matt, are you ever going to go for Bluray?

If you are then this Sony Amp (http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/4448) £244

And these speakers (http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/3804) £146



Morning

Does look good :D think I’ll need to do more research :confused: but is what I’m after and a fair price, although the site is tempting me to spend spend spend :hand: .....

thank you.....

[AndyP & Lenore]

Matt, are you ever going to go for Bluray?

If you are then this Sony Amp (http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/4448) £244

And these speakers (http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/3804) £146

This will give you 5.1 wit the option to got to a full HD audio 7.1 in the future, plus its all HDMI switching so easy to use and set up. You can spend a lot more money and get a system that won't sound any better. I'd avoid all the on box package systems.

Paul, those are mismatched. The Amp rates at 8-16ohms and the speakers are rated at 6ohms. It won't be the end of the world, but you could blow the amp with those speakers.:eek:

Suppose more likely at these levels it would just go into overheat and shut down to cool off.

A.

[Gismo]

If you're looking for a balance of price and performance try these Speakers (http://www.bowers-wilkins.co.uk/display.aspx?infid=1183&sc=ht)
You can even use one as a centre channel.
You can get these as a package (http://www.bowers-wilkins.co.uk/display.aspx?infid=1480&sc=ht)
That gives you a fantastic sub, but, it won't be cheap, you can go for a cheaper sub though.
And this Amp (http://www.denon.co.uk/site/frames_main.php?main=prod&ver=&MID=3&sub=1&action=detail&Pid=339)

Sadly home cinema isn't as cheap as what folks would like and you can tell a huge difference in the parts you pick

eBay Auction (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/B-W-M1-Home-cinema-speakers-x-5-in-white-MT_W0QQitemZ120377736653QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Audi oTVElectronics_Video_HomeCinemaSystems?hash=item12 0377736653&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318)

[The Bull]

That's the thing when you get a big fancy telly, the sound is really poor (90% of the time) and you have to fork out on decent AV gear to match the cracking picture. I got a 50" Samsung Plasma and couldn't believe how poor the sound was. I think they just assume if someone buys a big telly like that they are going to make the system into a home cinema set up and dont put much into the speaker/amp side of things.

I've got that Sony amp and would endorse it wholeheartedly. Transformers in blu-ray is amazing!

[indigomatt]

Is all making me very down.....may just cancel the tv order.....not a happy bunny :frown: :frown: :frown: .....

Anyway will look into it more but now I must go for many a :beer: .....

[Gismo]

Not all new screens have speakers and sadly when they do they are often around the 5 watt per channel :frown:

[The Dogfather]

Paul, those are mismatched. The Amp rates at 8-16ohms and the speakers are rated at 6ohms. It won't be the end of the world, but you could blow the amp with those speakers.:eek:

Suppose more likely at these levels it would just go into overheat and shut down to cool off.

A.

Andy, never had a problem with any of my cinema amps when running slightly lower impedance speakers. In fact, I ran the older model FX speakers with another similar rated amp without any problems for 4 years.

The speaker rating should really be a range as they change based upon how much work they are doing. At peak volumes the impedance goes up. Plus the manufactuer ratings for the speaker are usually way out anyway, they under quote them to cover their own asses. So in summary, nothing to worry about. In fact the manager at Richer Sounds who is a total HiFi geek actually recommended them as a combination.