80inch tv....what is the best home cinema sound system?

80inch tv....what is the best home cinema sound system?

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Discussion

beanbag

7,346 posts

241 months

Friday 14th September 2012
quotequote all
Gulzar said:
http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Sub_Woofers/monolith.ht...

This? Looks very boring lol but it packs a big punch? So this can be hooked up to any reciever? and then I buy any speakers and hook it up to the reciever too and it'll all work dandy?
To be honest, I'd go for the PV1 (personal choice). The monolith I'm sure is great however when things get too boomy, you loose a lot of detail and it just ends up giving me a headache.

Honestly, I've heard the PV1 and if set-up right, it packs a serious punch. (Again for my taste) smile

Gulzar, look for your local B&W dealer and ask for a demo. If you're in London, I Harrods will have them in stock.

IforB

9,840 posts

229 months

Friday 14th September 2012
quotequote all
http://www.bkelec.com/hifi/sub_woofers/monolith.ht...

My PV1's were bought second hand from a couple of audiophile mates, who'd hardly used them. I paid around 1300 for both if I remember correctly.

The nice thing about them is that the can be daisy chained if you don't have an amp with 2 sub ouputs, which is what I had at the time, but I upgraded to one with that capability and they sound much better that way, but they were still good before.

This is my current setup with the two pv1's.


I do have a spare pioneer amp at home which I upgraded. It's a 919ak and is damn good, but I went up a few price points when I changed it earlier this year! That sort of thing is probably worth around £300 second hand, then get a decent set of speakers for £350-400 (they won't be great for that sort of money, but adequate) and a bk sub and you'll get something quite good for around £1500. You are very unlikely to find a bk sub secondhand though. People like to keep them!

My system was originally made up of second hand stuff and as time has gone on, I've upgraded to new kit.

All in mine originally cost about £2k and if I'd bought it all retail, it would have been closer to £7k.

IforB

9,840 posts

229 months

Friday 14th September 2012
quotequote all
Oh and I buy a lot from Zinc, they're a decent bunch, even though Paul who was their star attraction has now left and set up his own place call the Hi Fi lounge.

If you are after kit go to see him, he's a brilliant guy and there's no bullsh*t.

http://www.hifilounge.co.uk/

I won't go anywhere else for kit now, but they haven't got much there that fits in a £1k budget!

IforB

9,840 posts

229 months

Friday 14th September 2012
quotequote all
Oh and I buy a lot from Zinc, they're a decent bunch, even though Paul who was their star attraction has now left and set up his own place call the Hi Fi lounge.

If you are after kit go to see him, he's a brilliant guy and there's no bullsh*t.

http://www.hifilounge.co.uk/

I won't go anywhere else for kit now, but they haven't got much there that fits in a £1k budget!

StuH

2,557 posts

273 months

Friday 14th September 2012
quotequote all
Gulzar - Given the title of this post and your previous posts on the Lambo, I thought this was going to be a full-on high-end thread, so surprised to see a lot of budget kit being suggested!

If you want the best you need to get yourself to Graham's or similar, and then ideally a home demo of the equipment your considering purchasing, as the relationship between equipment and the acoustics of your room have a massive effect on the quality of the end result. Also, a screen that size demands audio of a similar scale. Although a lot will depend on the size of your room. For instance I have a PV1 sub in our playroom but it's not going to have the grunt for a bigger room, you'll want something like the DB1, I've paired this with my B&W 802's and they're a match made in heaven.

JustinP1

13,330 posts

230 months

Friday 14th September 2012
quotequote all
Another vote for the B&W 800 series. I've also got 802s.

If you have the cash, and are looking for something proper, you can't go wrong starting there. That said, even using ebay, you might be looking at £5k just for speakers.

Gulzar

Original Poster:

745 posts

186 months

Friday 14th September 2012
quotequote all
Well I just found these guys

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SHARP-LC80LE646-5-YEAR-G...

who had the TV in stock and at a V. good price plus 5 year warranty included! Will go and collect it on monday.....but bearing in my I havent even made a start on the room yet! A wall needs knocking down, carpet, replastering, false cieling etc etc....so perhaps I'll wait and try to demo some bits of kit and make the right choice! Was in harrods yesterday actually but was pressed for time just had a look at a 85inch tv they had there and christ it was massive....knock off 5 inches which would be barely noticeable and I can hardly wait! Thanks for all ur help and keep the suggestions coming!

Gulzar

Original Poster:

745 posts

186 months

Friday 14th September 2012
quotequote all
IforB said:
http://www.bkelec.com/hifi/sub_woofers/monolith.ht...

My PV1's were bought second hand from a couple of audiophile mates, who'd hardly used them. I paid around 1300 for both if I remember correctly.

The nice thing about them is that the can be daisy chained if you don't have an amp with 2 sub ouputs, which is what I had at the time, but I upgraded to one with that capability and they sound much better that way, but they were still good before.

This is my current setup with the two pv1's.


I do have a spare pioneer amp at home which I upgraded. It's a 919ak and is damn good, but I went up a few price points when I changed it earlier this year! That sort of thing is probably worth around £300 second hand, then get a decent set of speakers for £350-400 (they won't be great for that sort of money, but adequate) and a bk sub and you'll get something quite good for around £1500. You are very unlikely to find a bk sub secondhand though. People like to keep them!

My system was originally made up of second hand stuff and as time has gone on, I've upgraded to new kit.

All in mine originally cost about £2k and if I'd bought it all retail, it would have been closer to £7k.
I really like your system it looks amazing and 7k for 2k sounds like right up my ally! lol I think I will be able to get two PV1 sub's for around 650 each on ebay - only white ones atm I'll wait for some gloss black ones to come up as that'll match everything else....what speakers exactly are they you have there in the pic? and which amplifier do you use to power all that?

IforB

9,840 posts

229 months

Friday 14th September 2012
quotequote all
In that pic I had a Pioneer 919 running it all. Now I've got a pioneer lx85 doing the business. It's a big step up, but at 3 times the price, then so it should be!

However, the 919 was very, very good and it's sitting in the spare room cupboard waiting for me to decide what to do with it!

The speakers are simply B&W CM4's. I've 4 in total as fronts and rears. As side speakers I've got a pair of B&W DS6's. The centre is a B&W CMC.

They all match and were all bought from a couple of mates, so I knew their history and frankly got a bargain!

Have a look on the AV forums classified section, you'll find some really good stuff on there for a lot less than you'd imagine.

OldSkoolRS

6,746 posts

179 months

Friday 14th September 2012
quotequote all
beanbag said:
To be honest, I'd go for the PV1 (personal choice). The monolith I'm sure is great however when things get too boomy, you loose a lot of detail and it just ends up giving me a headache.

Honestly, I've heard the PV1 and if set-up right, it packs a serious punch. (Again for my taste) smile

Gulzar, look for your local B&W dealer and ask for a demo. If you're in London, I Harrods will have them in stock.
For the price of a PV1 you could get a Monolith* (in a gloss black or white finish if you like), plus an Antimode 8033 (assuming that the OP doesn't buy an amp that has Audyssey room EQ in it). You won't get boomy bass then as any peaks will be trimmed down by the EQ, but what you will get is proper bass that goes down much further than the PV1 ever could. With suitable set up and EQ then no sub should sound boomy IMHO.

  • In fact you could have the Monolith + model and still be less than the PV1. As per this happy new owner:
http://www.avforums.com/forums/17505144-post8.html

(Just so happens I have a Monolith plus an 8033 myself, plus the smaller XLS200 in my conservatory.)


IforB

9,840 posts

229 months

Saturday 15th September 2012
quotequote all
Gulzar said:
http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Sub_Woofers/monolith.ht...

This? Looks very boring lol but it packs a big punch? So this can be hooked up to any reciever? and then I buy any speakers and hook it up to the reciever too and it'll all work dandy?
Basically yes. Bk subs don't look that flash, but their performance is superb and to me that's the most important thing. If you want to shake the windows, but still have control, then I really don't think they can be beaten for the money.

When it comes to subs and bass, size really does matter!

IforB

9,840 posts

229 months

Saturday 15th September 2012
quotequote all
Gulzar said:
http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Sub_Woofers/monolith.ht...

This? Looks very boring lol but it packs a big punch? So this can be hooked up to any reciever? and then I buy any speakers and hook it up to the reciever too and it'll all work dandy?
Basically yes. Bk subs don't look that flash, but their performance is superb and to me that's the most important thing. If you want to shake the windows, but still have control, then I really don't think they can be beaten for the money.

When it comes to subs and bass, size really does matter!

danneth

992 posts

187 months

Wednesday 3rd October 2012
quotequote all
Decided on anything yet?

http://www.audio-images.co.uk/Products/Pre-owned/M...

If I was you I would be looking at something second hand from Meridian, I wish you would up the budget abit though lay off the cars/gold plating for abit and sort yourself a proper cinema sound wink

This was a favourite install for me, ok you don't have to go quite as mad as 4k a speaker, but it's worth going for a specialist brand and paying that bit more biggrin

http://www.audio-images.co.uk/Case_Studies/14_-_Qu...

StuH

2,557 posts

273 months

Thursday 4th October 2012
quotequote all
danneth said:
Decided on anything yet?

http://www.audio-images.co.uk/Products/Pre-owned/M...

If I was you I would be looking at something second hand from Meridian, I wish you would up the budget abit though lay off the cars/gold plating for abit and sort yourself a proper cinema sound wink

This was a favourite install for me, ok you don't have to go quite as mad as 4k a speaker, but it's worth going for a specialist brand and paying that bit more biggrin

http://www.audio-images.co.uk/Case_Studies/14_-_Qu...
I've got a couple of Meridian 557's I'm about to pop on eBay wink

danyeates

7,248 posts

222 months

Thursday 4th October 2012
quotequote all
I have the Onkyo TX-SR876 AV receiver, there's a newer version out now, but you can't go wrong with the higher end Onkyo receivers. Loads of power.

I've also got the XTZ speakers. Swedish made, I have the active sub and a pair of floorstanding fronts, with Kef centre and rears.


AV by danyeates, on Flickr


AV by danyeates, on Flickr

Lots of bass from that sub!

danneth

992 posts

187 months

Thursday 4th October 2012
quotequote all

GhostDriver

878 posts

192 months

Monday 8th October 2012
quotequote all
As was mentioned on the first page, I also have the onkyo 809, its excellent, very powerful and has superb clarity and detail whilst still remaining soft and fluffy. All high end onkyos have the punch you are after, but also the detail in the bass is exceptional.

Again as mentioned the Monolith is truly unbeatable for the price, and you can have any finish you like, including piano black which would look smart in the room that you posted.

As Ive recommended these on a previous thread, Im going to do it again, because to my ear they are absolutely spectacular speakers. I love my ones more than my wife.

They also have the wow factor your room deserves...



Monitor Audio Apex series. Just read the reviews on them. You wont be dissapointed.


Gulzar

Original Poster:

745 posts

186 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
My room has been knocked through and is almost ready...plastering the last bits, wallpaper and paint needs doing, cieling spotlights and dimmer switch almost done...

Have the 80inch TV now
Bought £2500 worth of speaker kit inc aplifier, 2 subs, centre speaker, rear speakers etc...amazing stuff from Richersounds in Tunridge Wells...much better than kit I demo'd triple/quadruple the price! Literally cld feel the bass in your chest just as I hoped...thats delivered this thursday. Should be all complete and I'll post up pics in about 2/3 weeks!

CraigVmax

12,248 posts

282 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
awesome, enjoy it!

DeputyDawg

527 posts

179 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
It's true what people have said, you can't spend that much on a TV and skimp ion the core setup.

I've always stuck with Denon AV amps, just my preference and moved away from B&W to Monitor Audio. This is the beast of a sub I have though. Cracking bass and does not distort at any level, a real pants flapper! LOL!



They are a US company but they can easily be had in the UK, have to look around for stockists/prices.