Recommend me a 5.1 home cinema system

[danny84]

Hi guys i currently have a jvc TH_A5R system.To me it's still very capable for what i need but is starting to play up reliability wise ie not reading dvds,remote control functions not working.
Can you recommend a current system along the same sort of spec.Blueray and 3d play would be a bonus.
I have a Samsung lcd tv Le32b530,nothing flash i iknow so price ...maybe the 300 pounds mark.


Cheers in advance
Danny

[rich85uk]

my folks have this:
http://www.whathifi.com/review/panasonic-sc-btt370

very good for an all in one system, they didnt pay as much as that so abit of searching and should find one in your budget

[Rabbo]

Personally, I would start with a decent standalone AV Receiver and Blu Ray player. There's some stonking deals at Richer Sounds just now. The Denon AVR1513 is £119 from £249 and 3D Blue Ray players start at £60. That's £180 before interconnects and you could add speakers later, using your existing kit in the meantime. A decent set of home cinema bookshelves can be had for under £100 which would start you off, or you could get something like the Jamo A102 or Tannoy SFX speaker package including sub for less than £250.

[PhilboSE]

It really does depend how much you want to pay for the system. At the budget level of separates, you could go for something like:
- AV receiver: Yamaha RX-V373 (~£250)
- Blu-ray: Panasonic DMP-BDT220 (~150) or Sony BDP-S390 (~£90)

Unfortunately a set of 5.1 speakers does add considerably to the price, probably around £400.

Although some might say that buying separates gives you an "upgradeable" system, I'm not entirely convinced about this because you'll want to keep the receiver and the speakers with similar capability. I'm not sure you'd match a £1500 5.1 speaker setup with the RX-V373 a year or two later.

I'd echo the previous comment to look at the Panasonic BTT systems. They have many, and can be picked up for £300 if you shop carefully, and their capability belies their price. £300 for a good blu-ray player, AV receiver and 5.1 speakers is a steal for the performance they offer.

[wainy]

Sorry to hijack - was thinking of similar post.

http://www.m.richersounds.com/product/1-box-home-c...

Would this be an option for £300 (think it can be found for less than £300 now)

Edited by wainy on Tuesday 22 January 16:50

[RVVUNM]

I bought this http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/panasonic-sc-btt490eb... last weekend and have to say for the money its really good.

[Mark.]

RVVUNM said:

I bought this http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/panasonic-sc-btt490eb... last weekend and have to say for the money its really good.

Been looking at this myself - my current Panasonic Home Theatre gave up a while ago but then it is probably 15+ years old. How do the speakers sound? decent depth? When I looked at it in store they seemed a bit light compared to my current ones.

[RVVUNM]

Mark. said:

RVVUNM said:

I bought this http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/panasonic-sc-btt490eb... last weekend and have to say for the money its really good.

Been looking at this myself - my current Panasonic Home Theatre gave up a while ago but then it is probably 15+ years old. How do the speakers sound? decent depth? When I looked at it in store they seemed a bit light compared to my current ones.

It's fine, but it's no Bose system. I bought it to replace a six year old Panasonic system that's now in the kids playroom and cranked up with a good movie it has bullets flying all round the room, and on normal tele, well, it's better than the tv's speakers.

[Mark.]

RVVUNM said:

It's fine, but it's no Bose system. I bought it to replace a six year old Panasonic system that's now in the kids playroom and cranked up with a good movie it has bullets flying all round the room, and on normal tele, well, it's better than the tv's speakers.

I've heard the BOSE system

Was really going to go separates but really just can't be bothered with all the research, and I've done loads already but there is something tempting about buying 1 box and dumping it in.
I see there is a 590 model too now and also looking cheap at Currys.

[PhilboSE]

Mark. said:

Been looking at this myself - my current Panasonic Home Theatre gave up a while ago but then it is probably 15+ years old. How do the speakers sound? decent depth? When I looked at it in store they seemed a bit light compared to my current ones.

I don't have the 490 but I do have it's predecessor. The speakers on that are decent enough for the money. I am pleased enough with the staging they give on movies in a 5m x 5m x 3m room. You can see that the floorstanders don't have massive drive units, but they're light years ahead of using a TV or soundbar.

I think that these systems form a really good middle ground before you go up to the complexity and expense of a set of player/receiver/5.1 separates.

[Mark.]

PhilboSE said:

I don't have the 490 but I do have it's predecessor. The speakers on that are decent enough for the money. I am pleased enough with the staging they give on movies in a 5m x 5m x 3m room. You can see that the floor standers don't have massive drive units, but they're light years ahead of using a TV or soundbar.

I think that these systems form a really good middle ground before you go up to the complexity and expense of a set of player/receiver/5.1 separates.

I was all set to blow in excess of £1k on a 5.1/7.1 system, and we were in Richer Sounds about to do the deal when some bloke fired up an Amp/Speaker Combo that knocked our socks off, so £1.4k later walked out with something I didn't go in for and ended up revamping a room at home for a 'music room'.
This left the 'cinema room' still without a functioning 5.1 system as my old Panasonic had given up.

So I do know what I want separates wise mostly but really can't justify the additional expense so a sub £350 replacement seems ideal - and as the TV is Panasonic this system really makes sense.

Could never do a soundbar or just TV as it feels incomplete after so many years of surround. Even now I have it in fake surround just to have some noise behind me.

[PhilboSE]

Mark. said:

I was all set to blow in excess of £1k on a 5.1/7.1 system, and we were in Richer Sounds about to do the deal when some bloke fired up an Amp/Speaker Combo that knocked our socks off, so £1.4k later walked out with something I didn't go in for and ended up revamping a room at home for a 'music room'.
This left the 'cinema room' still without a functioning 5.1 system as my old Panasonic had given up.

So I do know what I want separates wise mostly but really can't justify the additional expense so a sub £350 replacement seems ideal - and as the TV is Panasonic this system really makes sense.

Could never do a soundbar or just TV as it feels incomplete after so many years of surround. Even now I have it in fake surround just to have some noise behind me.

For £350 you can't go wrong and it will compare reasonably well with a low-end separates system, and the result is much, much better than a TV/soundbar. Bearing in mind you get the equivalent of a £150 blu-ray player, it's a relative steal. And having a Panasonic TV makes it almost a no-brainer - just pair them up with Viera Link and simply inserting a CD in a dormant system will fire up both TV and player, switch input to the blu-ray, and start playing. One button to put the whole system in standby. And, if you connect the player to the TV via the ARC connector (usually HDMI2) then you automatically get TV sound played through the 5.1 system using Dolby Pro-Logic.

[Mark.]

PhilboSE said:

For £350 you can't go wrong and it will compare reasonably well with a low-end separates system, and the result is much, much better than a TV/soundbar. Bearing in mind you get the equivalent of a £150 blu-ray player, it's a relative steal. And having a Panasonic TV makes it almost a no-brainer - just pair them up with Viera Link and simply inserting a CD in a dormant system will fire up both TV and player, switch input to the blu-ray, and start playing. One button to put the whole system in standby. And, if you connect the player to the TV via the ARC connector (usually HDMI2) then you automatically get TV sound played through the 5.1 system using Dolby Pro-Logic.

Yes there are definite advantages. Already got the Panasonic blu-ray player and enjoy the one button feature. In fact the thing that is putting me off is making a perfectly useable blu-ray redundant - but then for the added benefits.

Ah stuff it - think I just talked myself in to it

[danny84]

I think i'll be heading towards the dedicated combined systems rather than separates to be honest.The house i'm moving into doesn't have a huge living area so separates would probably be a bit of a waste.Don't want to fall out with the neighbours straight away.!I'll take these suggestions on board and try to get a listen.

Cheers guys.