# New Sound System Advice



## lewey1988 (Mar 20, 2011)

Hello, I'm looking into buying a new sound system/home theatre but I'm rather clueless what would be a good setup. I want to use this with my xbox360, samsung 720p tv and pc (via hdmi) for gaming, films and music. I currently have a logic 3 soundstation sp.302 and it it very good but it is time I replaced it with something better. Could you please recommend me a setup that would suit my needs my budget is around £200-300 although I am flexible. I've heard good things about this system:
YAMAHA YHT-493BL 5.1 Channel Home Theater in a Box System and this one:
Onkyo S5300

but I'm not sure where I could buy this in the uk and what would be the best shop to buy from. Also I'm not sure whats not included like cables and such, so I would need to know what essentials I'd need to buy and where to get them from. This will be my first home theatre setup so I am learning as I go along, please give me any advice you think important and feel free to ask me any more details you'd need. I'll post back if I've forgotten anything.
I look forward to any advice given 

5.5m x 3.1m squared is the size of my living room, I live in a semi-detatched house. my couch is set in the middle of the 5.5m wall facing the tv which protrudes from the chimney breast on the opposite 5.5m wall, the protruded length of the chimney breast is 0.52m and the chimney breast is about 0.35m-0.5m to the right of the middle 5.5m wall

as this is my first setup I've set my budget as £300 but if you think there is a big and noticeable difference by investing an extra £450 max including everything which would mean I'd have to wait a few months to get a decent tv then I would consider spending more. 
Thank You for your time Lewis.


----------



## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Lewis,
If you are wanting to take your audio performance to the next level, purchasing an AVR, Speakers, and Subwoofer individually as opposed to an HTIB is the only way to go.

For an AVR, something like Onkyo's TX-SR608 is a stellar value and offers Audyssey Room EQ and THX Post Processing. For Speakers, I would go audition some. KEF, Klipsch, and perhaps Wharfdale as you are in the UK are some good lines to look at.

For a Subwoofer, now that SVS is available in England, I would highly recommend checking them out. However, to put together a quality HT, I am afraid 300 quid will not come close to getting it done. And if that is the maximum you feel comfortable spending, HTIB's are about the only option.
Cheers,
JJ


----------



## bogiedr (Jan 25, 2011)

Greetings Lewis,
As Jack suggests, the Onkyo TX-SR608 is an excellent value. I purchased one about a month ago to match a set of Swan M5000 speakers and a Hsu sub, this is a fantastic set up at a very low price!! I reccomend the Onkyo to everyone I can.:T Good luck!

Hit them straight;
Bogie


----------



## lewey1988 (Mar 20, 2011)

I've found a audio shop in Swindon, audiot this is their online site. I've received a discount card from my workplace which allows me 10% off purchases from this store so I'd like to know if this is worth while. 

The Onkyo TX-SR608 surround receiver is on offer at £330 but I dont think I'd be able to 10% off this, maybe I should try haggling? I'm pretty clueless with speakers so I'd like any input you can provide. For the front speakers I was looking at these audiot/products/wharfedale-diamond-10-sr-surround-speakers-811 but are these rear speakers? and are they any good? 

I've increased my budget to at least £850 do you think I'll have enough for 5 speakers sub and av receiver?


----------



## lewey1988 (Mar 20, 2011)

Ah I see those speaker are rear as they were in the rear category.


----------



## mrinc (Apr 3, 2011)

Hello.

If you want a good sound system, have a look at these:
-*Bose Lifestyle V30 Home Theater System*
Or
-*Bose Lifestyle 28 Series III DVD Home Entertainment System*
Or
-*Bose® CineMate® Series II Digital Home Theater Speaker System *

Any bose system will do the job with excellence.

I would post links but this my first post.

Thanks


----------



## bogiedr (Jan 25, 2011)

If you can do a full wharfdale speaker system with a Hsu or SVS sub, you got it. Stay away from Bose!!! Not what you want, trust me!


----------



## mrinc (Apr 3, 2011)

Hello

Warfdale systems are designed for a high low response.

Bose is an excellent system and i have never had problems with them.
The quality and service is excellent.
But they are over priced for what you get.

A good system would be a complete custom system.

Please specify your needs.
Loudness, Audio quality, Bass, Clarity etc...

Thanks


----------



## bogiedr (Jan 25, 2011)

Mrinc, are you familiar with Swan speakers? At a rating of 6 ohms the are very difficult to drive, the Onkyo does a fabulous job driving them, so the Wharfdale's should not be an issue. Bose is decent stuff and remember, listening is very much an individual thing. What you like and I like may never agee with what anyone else on this forum likes ... moral to the story, Lewey, go do some serious listening tests bringing your own blue ray or favorite DVD, that's the only way you will really be able to tell what you like. Forget what we say in this forum ... you have to live with what you choose. I still hear people tell me vinyl two channel audio is no good ... whatever!!!!!! Lewey just have fun with the auditioning experience and see what you come up with, price is never indicative of quality of reproduction. Make sure if you decide on the Onkyo as Jungle Jack reccomends, make sure whatever speakers you listen to are driven by the same Onkyo. Good luck and enjoy the process!:bigsmile:
Hit them straight!!!!


----------



## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

lewey1988 said:


> I've found a audio shop in Swindon, audiot this is their online site. I've received a discount card from my workplace which allows me 10% off purchases from this store so I'd like to know if this is worth while.
> 
> The Onkyo TX-SR608 surround receiver is on offer at £330 but I dont think I'd be able to 10% off this, maybe I should try haggling? I'm pretty clueless with speakers so I'd like any input you can provide. For the front speakers I was looking at these audiot/products/wharfedale-diamond-10-sr-surround-speakers-811 but are these rear speakers? and are they any good?
> 
> I've increased my budget to at least £850 do you think I'll have enough for 5 speakers sub and av receiver?


Hello,
I honestly believe that you would be better served by starting off with the AVR, a pair of Speakers, and a quality Subwoofer to start given your stated budget.

While you could perhaps purchase a 5.1 Speaker Package and the 608 for 850 quid, the quality of the Speakers would not compare to what you find with individual Speakers and especially Subwoofer. Most 5.1 kits use cheap Spring Clip Speaker Connectors and employ subpar quality Speaker Materials. Mind you that Speakers and Room Acoustics are the factors that most influence the Sound Quality of your setup. It truly is better to buy the best Speakers you can possibly afford even if it means not having the instant gratification of 5.1 all at once. On the whole, the Subwoofer in 5.1 Packages are not capable of coming anywhere near 20hz which is what true Subwoofers can do. The difference is startling between a true Subwoofer and a quasi Subwoofer.
Cheers,
JJ


----------



## lewey1988 (Mar 20, 2011)

thx for the responses guys


----------



## lewey1988 (Mar 20, 2011)

gotta get to 5 posts to post a link...


----------



## lewey1988 (Mar 20, 2011)

:dontknow:Just come across this deal http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/7428 do you guys think this is a good deal if I get this coupled with the Onkyo TXSR608?
http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/6439

I think this meets my budget well but I'm not sure about whether the speakers are good quality, I don't have alot of time on my hands and I don't really know what to look for in a quality speakers so I'm kinda disinclined to audition speakers in a shop. The shop keeper could end up talking me into buying some speakers which I really couldn't tell if they're quality speakers or not and they may be overpriced. 

So if this is a good deal already and I'm unlikely to get a better one without forking out another £200-300 please can you give me your advice thx lewis.


----------



## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
I am not familiar with Q Acoustics, but it does appear to be a good deal. As far as the AVR goes, you really might want to consider waiting for the replacement TX-NR609 as it adds Networked Connectivity and a massively better Video Processor in the Marvell Qdeo as opposed to the Faroudja used in the 608.

I realize the 608 is on sale, but it is because the replacement has been announced is the very reason why it is so discounted. Having Internet Radio, Firmware Updates, the ability to Stream Music from your PC and the aforementioned Marvell Processor makes the added expense well worth it.
Cheers,
JJ


----------



## lewey1988 (Mar 20, 2011)

I may have to rethink getting the Q Acoustics 2000 speaker package as I'm coming across quite a few posts from people where the 2070 subwoofer enters a fail-safe mode and an orange light comes on and becomes unresponsive.


----------



## lewey1988 (Mar 20, 2011)

I think I'm going to go with the Q ACOUSTICS 2000 5.1 HOME CINEMA SPEAKER PACKAGE as it has a 5-year guarantee so even if the subwoofer goes I can send it back. But now I'm unsure about the a/v receiver the extra £180 on the next step up from tx-sr608 to the tx-nr609 seems very expensive especially to power this package and I'm not really planning on upgrading in the future. So now that the tx-sr608 has been discontinued what a/v receiver should I get in combination with this package?


----------



## GranteedEV (Aug 8, 2010)

I'm going to advise you to put some additional thought into this speaker purchase. The midwoofer used in this unit is a 4" driver tuned to 68hz. Call me a skeptic, but even high end 5.25" and 6.5" drivers often struggle to reproduce the mid/upper bass without audibly distorting, especially if it's a speaker with any decent level of BSC (the speaker sounds full and not "shouty" when it's not mounted in a wall). For a 4" driver to dig this low in the first place gives me the feeling that it's already tuned lower than it should be, which is also a sign of high distortion. 

I very much suspect you will find limitations in the dynamic range of your system, even with a subwoofer, in reproducing lifelike audio content in the 80hz to 350hz region. 

A common recommendation here at HTS is the Behringer 2031P monitor speaker. It uses an 8" woofer mated to a waveguide loaded tweeter for a natural midrange, but powerful and reasonably smooth bass presentation which should blend well to a subwoofer with an 80hz crossover, at least for front L/R/C. For surrounds you can improvise a bit, for example the Behringer 2030P sibling with a 5" woofer. 

Regarding a receiver, I like to recommend Marantz SR500x and SR600x units, if you can find one for an affordable price. :T Totally four ohm stable receivers with a genuine focus on audio circuitry. They're a bit barebones in the video and features departments but they have it where, IMO, it matters.

I also second this motion by JJ:



> I honestly believe that you would be better served by starting off with the AVR, a pair of Speakers, and a quality Subwoofer to start given your stated budget.


Because the fronts are a very strong portion of what we hear in even the best multichannel mixes.


----------



## rshetts (Feb 14, 2011)

If youre considering the 608, then I have to agree with Jungle Jack that you should look at the new 609. I recently bought one and the Marvell Qdeo video processing is amazing. There is no doubt that alone is worth the extra money I spent over the 608.


----------

