Help - basic sound set up for £500?
Discussion
Hi
I know absolutely nothing about hi fi. No jokes. Most of my to music is done through my phone and headphones. If I listen to music at home it's through an Echo (which to my untrained ears sounds very good). TV is listened to through the TV speakers.
But I'm currently decorating the living room and have a new TV so I want to "splash out" a little and get a decent sound system if budget will allow. Mad budget is £500 (but preferably a listen less.). I know that is a modest sum in the world of hi fi and my expectations are already set accordingly.
The only requirements are that I can connect my TV, PS4, and Echo to the system. Playing CDs is not essential but it would be nice to have the option of connecting a CD separate at some point. Internet radio etc not essential as I can get that through Echo etc.
I thought it would be easy to research the best option myself through Google but alas that hasn't been the case.
One interesting option which has come up through my own searches is the Revo SuperSystem which can be had for about £450. But it has features like DAB which will be superfluous if I can connect an Echo. And I have no idea if I can connect my TV etc to it.
So any help would be appreciated. How should I spend my budget to achieve the best quality solution?
Thanks!
K
I know absolutely nothing about hi fi. No jokes. Most of my to music is done through my phone and headphones. If I listen to music at home it's through an Echo (which to my untrained ears sounds very good). TV is listened to through the TV speakers.
But I'm currently decorating the living room and have a new TV so I want to "splash out" a little and get a decent sound system if budget will allow. Mad budget is £500 (but preferably a listen less.). I know that is a modest sum in the world of hi fi and my expectations are already set accordingly.
The only requirements are that I can connect my TV, PS4, and Echo to the system. Playing CDs is not essential but it would be nice to have the option of connecting a CD separate at some point. Internet radio etc not essential as I can get that through Echo etc.
I thought it would be easy to research the best option myself through Google but alas that hasn't been the case.
One interesting option which has come up through my own searches is the Revo SuperSystem which can be had for about £450. But it has features like DAB which will be superfluous if I can connect an Echo. And I have no idea if I can connect my TV etc to it.
So any help would be appreciated. How should I spend my budget to achieve the best quality solution?
Thanks!
K
I’d go for one of these and a quality pair of second hand speakers from eBay. Will connect to and play pretty much everything and Yamaha sound great.
https://europe.yamaha.com/en/products/audio_visual...
This may also help to explain it
https://hub.yamaha.com/how-to-use-alexa-with-music...
On the speakers, go for something from the mid to late 90s. I bought a pair of Tannoy R2 floorstanders for £100 and they sound excellent. I also bought some ProAC studio 150s for about £600 which sound sublime. Loads of good stuff on eBay and speaker technology hasn’t really changed in the past 30 years but you will obviously need a newer amp as above.
Beware though, once you hear what good sounds like, you won’t be be to stop. Before you know it you’ll be buying subs and go all audiophile
https://europe.yamaha.com/en/products/audio_visual...
This may also help to explain it
https://hub.yamaha.com/how-to-use-alexa-with-music...
On the speakers, go for something from the mid to late 90s. I bought a pair of Tannoy R2 floorstanders for £100 and they sound excellent. I also bought some ProAC studio 150s for about £600 which sound sublime. Loads of good stuff on eBay and speaker technology hasn’t really changed in the past 30 years but you will obviously need a newer amp as above.
Beware though, once you hear what good sounds like, you won’t be be to stop. Before you know it you’ll be buying subs and go all audiophile
Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 2nd June 20:55
What is your priority? Music or movies/games?
If its primarily music, I'd go for a decent stereo rig; you will get a better amp and pair of speakers for your money than you would with a multi-channel setup.
If it is for movies and games primarily then the advice above is probably sound.
If its primarily music, I'd go for a decent stereo rig; you will get a better amp and pair of speakers for your money than you would with a multi-channel setup.
If it is for movies and games primarily then the advice above is probably sound.
Knight_Ind_2000 said:
Thanks for replying.
Priority is probably music.
Can you give me an example of a good stereo rig please?
Something like this would be a good foundation...Priority is probably music.
Can you give me an example of a good stereo rig please?
https://www.richersounds.com/hi-fi/amplifiers-rece...
Or anything similar you could find second hand, I use a NAD D3020 and its excellent.
Then you have £150 left over for speakers. Probably go second hand for these. You wouldn’t go wrong with the usual suspects like B&W, Dali, Q-Acoustics, KEF, Tannoy, Rega, that sort of thing. Have a look on ebay, there’s loads of good quality old speakers on there. If its a large room, go for floorstanders so they can deliver the bass you will expect.
TameRacingDriver said:
Something like this would be a good foundation...
https://www.richersounds.com/hi-fi/amplifiers-rece...
Or anything similar you could find second hand, I use a NAD D3020 and its excellent.
Then you have £150 left over for speakers. Probably go second hand for these. You wouldn’t go wrong with the usual suspects like B&W, Dali, Q-Acoustics, KEF, Tannoy, Rega, that sort of thing. Have a look on ebay, there’s loads of good quality old speakers on there. If its a large room, go for floorstanders so they can deliver the bass you will expect.
Not sure how this will work with Alexa which is why I suggested an amp with MusicCast capability. Benefit of a decent AV amp is it will connect all sources together and work with your TV. I have a Yamaha Aventage amp and it's brilliant with music.https://www.richersounds.com/hi-fi/amplifiers-rece...
Or anything similar you could find second hand, I use a NAD D3020 and its excellent.
Then you have £150 left over for speakers. Probably go second hand for these. You wouldn’t go wrong with the usual suspects like B&W, Dali, Q-Acoustics, KEF, Tannoy, Rega, that sort of thing. Have a look on ebay, there’s loads of good quality old speakers on there. If its a large room, go for floorstanders so they can deliver the bass you will expect.
Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 3rd June 21:01
Get an AV receiver for £300 off the richer sounds (will link tomorrow when off my phone) then browse the AV FORUMS classifieds for decent second hand kit.
I bought some second hand mordant short alumni off their 8 years ago, and they still sound amazing when paired with my several year old people Sony DG820 receiver.
I bought some second hand mordant short alumni off their 8 years ago, and they still sound amazing when paired with my several year old people Sony DG820 receiver.
i have recently been in the same situation apart from i have a good amp and speakers in the past.
Music was my priority and had a yamaha speaker for the kitchen already so went for a yamaha stereo amp. it is also used with my tv through the optical cable so that nice.
The amp and speakers i went with is about £100 over budget but i have been impressed so far.
Amp - Yamaha MusicCast RN402D - connects to spotify and lets you pair with other yamaha stuff in the future.
Spearkes - Q Acoustics Concept 20 - been out for a few years but they are great.
It is always possible to add a sub woofer in the future if you want loads of bass.
Music was my priority and had a yamaha speaker for the kitchen already so went for a yamaha stereo amp. it is also used with my tv through the optical cable so that nice.
The amp and speakers i went with is about £100 over budget but i have been impressed so far.
Amp - Yamaha MusicCast RN402D - connects to spotify and lets you pair with other yamaha stuff in the future.
Spearkes - Q Acoustics Concept 20 - been out for a few years but they are great.
It is always possible to add a sub woofer in the future if you want loads of bass.
Andehh said:
Get an AV receiver for £300 off the richer sounds (will link tomorrow when off my phone) then browse the AV FORUMS classifieds for decent second hand kit.
I bought some second hand mordant short alumni off their 8 years ago, and they still sound amazing when paired with my several year old people Sony DG820 receiver.
this, been running a onkyo and a pair of mordaunt short alumni and matching sub for years I bought some second hand mordant short alumni off their 8 years ago, and they still sound amazing when paired with my several year old people Sony DG820 receiver.
miniman said:
Have just done this myself.
Onkyo A9010
Q-Acoustics 3020 + stands
Bit left over for cables
Easily doable within £500, sounds great from Chromecast Audio and my Pro-Ject turntable.
Thank you to everyone that's responded. This is the solution I think I'm going with. I think an AV receiver would be overkill as I don't need any visual inputs and I'm not aiming for surround sound.Onkyo A9010
Q-Acoustics 3020 + stands
Bit left over for cables
Easily doable within £500, sounds great from Chromecast Audio and my Pro-Ject turntable.
I have two questions though (which will show you how much of a novice I am):
1. The Onkyo only has analog inputs sonic just plug everything in with those cables that have red and black jack's at the end? Can I get one of those which has a 3.5mm headphone fitting on the other end to plug in my echo?
2. If I have a few things plugged into the amp and I inadvertently have two sources "active" at once, how does it decide which one to feed to the speaker? Or do I select the source manually from the remote?
3. The Onkyo only has speaker out ports not a dedicated subwoofer output. Can I still add a subwoofer at some point?
Thanks!
Knight_Ind_2000 said:
1. The Onkyo only has analog inputs sonic just plug everything in with those cables that have red and black jack's at the end? Can I get one of those which has a 3.5mm headphone fitting on the other end to plug in my echo?
Yes, I have a 3.5 - Phono cable for exactly this.Knight_Ind_2000 said:
2. If I have a few things plugged into the amp and I inadvertently have two sources "active" at once, how does it decide which one to feed to the speaker? Or do I select the source manually from the remote?
Rotary control on the amp, also controllable from remote.Knight_Ind_2000 said:
3. The Onkyo only has speaker out ports not a dedicated subwoofer output. Can I still add a subwoofer at some point?
Yes via the Line Out connectorshttps://www.avforums.com/threads/stereo-amp-no-sub...
The main reason I suggested the Cambridge amp above (and mentioned the nad d3020) is because they have digital inputs, in other words, the amp takes care of the digital to analogue conversion onboard and probably give you a good boost in sound quality too.
Obviously you'll need to check your devices you want to plug in to see if they have correct outputs to match the amp you plan to buy.
If however you just want a plain old stereo amplifier with analogue inputs then you should be able to find an excellent second hand amp. The usual suspects here are the likes of Denon, Marantz, NAD, Rotel, Arcam, Cambridge Audio etc. eBay will have loads. If you can pick up a bargain here you could spend extra on the speakers.
Obviously you'll need to check your devices you want to plug in to see if they have correct outputs to match the amp you plan to buy.
If however you just want a plain old stereo amplifier with analogue inputs then you should be able to find an excellent second hand amp. The usual suspects here are the likes of Denon, Marantz, NAD, Rotel, Arcam, Cambridge Audio etc. eBay will have loads. If you can pick up a bargain here you could spend extra on the speakers.
Hello everyone
So having thought I'd settled on a combo (Onkyo A9010 plus Q Acoustics 3020) I went and had a listen at Richer Sounds and was very disappointed by the lack of bass.
So in the end I went for:
Pioneer VSX531D AV Amp - £179
Acoustic Energy 108 subwoofer - £159
Q Acoustics 3020 speakers - £119
Cables - £20
So £471 in all. Just in budget. I think I got good prices on each individual item so all in all I'm pleased.
Still waiting for a few bits to arrive so haven't been able to set it up yet.
K
So having thought I'd settled on a combo (Onkyo A9010 plus Q Acoustics 3020) I went and had a listen at Richer Sounds and was very disappointed by the lack of bass.
So in the end I went for:
Pioneer VSX531D AV Amp - £179
Acoustic Energy 108 subwoofer - £159
Q Acoustics 3020 speakers - £119
Cables - £20
So £471 in all. Just in budget. I think I got good prices on each individual item so all in all I'm pleased.
Still waiting for a few bits to arrive so haven't been able to set it up yet.
K
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