help!

hi guys

i'm looking to spend no more than 600 on an amp, speakers and sub for a dvd dts sound system

any ideas? would it be better to get separates or just get an all in one system? i already have a decent dvd player so one which includes a dvd player isn't necessary.

thanks - any help appreciated!

 

You looking a for 2:1 or 5:1 setup?

Also don't come onto a HIFI forum and ask which is better seperates or an all in one.

All in ones are fine if you are either death, or just want somthing for the kicthen or need somthing small over sound quality.

I am assuming that multi channel home cinema systems interest you more than classic audiophile two channel setups.

 

God I hope that's a typo, otherwise I fear for the majority of the population of this country....

 

lmfao yep I meant deaf.

 

Phew - I've come across hifi snobbery before(I'm as guilty as the next man) but this....:gatling: ...would be taking things a little far.

 

The best was my mate was demonstrating his £200 Sony mini system to me (I made a thread about this on Groovehandle this time last year) and he asked me what he thought of the sound I said do you want me to be pilote and replied "it sounded muffled, the bass was overblown and the treble is none existant" I don't think we was expecting that.

 

hehe

i want a 5.1 system and here's what i want (but probably a bit too steep)

Amp - Marantz SR5400OSE
Speakers - Eltax Liberty 5
Sub - Gale 3090

All in all, i can get all this for about 850, but that's a bit too much for my liking, any alternatives which aren't as steep?

Maybe a speakers and sub in one but keep the marantz?

 

I am not sure what the prices are multichannel kit but I would have thought at Richers you should easily be able to get that lot for £850. You say you want the speakers as Liberty 5 but these are stereo speakers and not multichannel ones.

What are you going to do about the centre and rare speakers? Also I have a feeling they may have stopped making the Liberty 5 as they are quite old now and you can do much better.

 

Would you consider second hand? You should be able to pick up a very good set of Missions 77x for example and an AV amp such as Denon 2802 for £600. You could always add the sub later.

 

yeah, 600 is more my budget

the liberty 5 set is a 5.0 speaker system but i think it is pretty old (249 from richer - half price at the mo! and they're pretty good)

the marantz is 390 from unbeatable

and the gale is 199 from somewhere i can't remember

but what i'm thinking is a 5 speaker set (including sub) and the amp

any other suggestions?

 

The gale will be at Richer Sounds. Gale is a Richer make. To be honest I think you will find that Gale sub is no longer in production.They were selling some Eltax Atomic(?)s 8 for less than £100.

 

Sorry I meant a 5 speaker set. IMO a s/h kit for £600 should see off the new kit you mention. However, if you only want to buy brand new then just ignore my post.

 

this is the big question with stereo vs 5.1 - do you split your budget and go for a lower quality 5.1 or bite the bullet get the best stereo configuration you can afford and update it to 5.1 as and when you can (by adding an a/v amp and other speakers as funds become available).
only you can answer this question, but for 650 you could get a pretty decent cambridge azure / mission stereo system that you could connect a cheap 50 quid dvd player to and have excellent quality cd playback and use the 2.0 down mix capability of the dvd player for films.
if you want to go for a 5.1 system straight away you're not going to get similar quality as your funds are (roughly) being divided into 6 rather than into 2 for the speakers and amp.
not much help i know but most on zero gain would counsel going for the best stereo system you can afford and then update it to 5.1 at a later date as described above.
cheers

julian

 

I have another good story, a friends wife was in my house, in a party, not just her , not that I would mind... and said, our all in one Panasonic AV system doesn't sound like yours, can you come over and adjust it properly...

So they are not deaf, just ignorant or gulable... :cry:

 

To which the answer is, "Oh, that's easy! You just pick it up and place it in your dustbin and then go out and buy a proper system."

 

A 5.1 sound system with sub for £850. That's borderline if you ask me. Anything that costs less than that is going to be mutton dressed as lamb and will sound dreadful. You could omit the sub and look for a second hand 'proper' sub later on.

 

Exactly...

 

Secondhand is the way to go for serious sounds on a budget.

AV amps change so rapidly that last months model is usually discounted to death. For £200 (ish) you can get an amp with all the bells and whistles for movies.

Spend £50 on a second hand hifi amp and you'll get something that will eat most £1000 AV amps for breakfast when it comes to music. Use this when you want to good stereo.

Speakers is slightly trickier, but a good look at the s/h market will get you someones old £800 5.1 package from a big name like B&W/Celestion/Kef/Monitor Audio for the right side of £300. The build quality will be miles better than a new budget system and it will also have some value if you decide to sell. Go here and check out their classified ads for AV amps and speaker kits.

I played the "let's get a serious AV system that does music" game about 18 months ago. Conclusion: spend £5k+ on the electronics and it is possible, but a £1000 HiFi amp still beats it hands down. I have a £2k AV processor and stack of 5 power amps as my basis for comparison.

 

There we go again... :micro:

Just today I listened to a stereo system, Primare CD, Simaudio pre and power, + some large nice speakers, and it sounded much worst than my AV...

It improved a lot with a Clearaudio TT with Benz cartridge, but still not as good as mine... :MILD:

 

I can only presume Antonio that you are listening for something different to the rest of us or you have a built in filter to protect your confidence in your purchases

So long as you enjoy it, I guess it doesn't matter. If I ever hear an AV rig that can compete with a two channel set up at half the price, I will no doubt buy it. But I don't think that day will come too soon