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

[Gulzar]

Am in the process of pimping a room, new cream carpet, re plastering & painting walls, false cieling with dimming spotlights, 6metre by 3metre L shaped electronic recliner sofa (bloody expensive) etc.

For the cinema system itself I have ordered the new 80inch sharp LED tv:

https://www.zinc-ht.com/index.php/catalog/product/...

Amazing value for 4k I'd say.....! Same TV sold by dixons/john lewis etc for almost 5k so this is a good site if anyones interested....waiting time is approx 2-3 weeks!

And I have ordered this furniture for where the TV will be:



The only thing left now (and which I have no experience in nor understand!) is this whole sound system business......! What exactly is a reciver device? My main priority is extreme and deep bass... if I visit a currys/comet the top of the range system they have seem relatively small and at £600 (I have bought before) is really nothing special in my opinion! Can anyone recomend a website with a full sound system with impressive bass or extra bass boxes with controller unit/reciever etc for around 1grand? Am willing to spend more or less depending on bang for buck ratio! Any help appreciated!

[Gulzar]

Something like this perhaps.....?

http://www.johnlewis.com/231560885/Product.aspx?s_...

But how do you know without having to buy it, install it and fingers crossed hope for the best that the bass is amazing?

[Big Worm 1]

Try www.richersounds.com. Good equipment and prices, staff are very knowledgeable too.

[rhinochopig]

Gulzar said:

Something like this perhaps.....?

http://www.johnlewis.com/231560885/Product.aspx?s_...

But how do you know without having to buy it, install it and fingers crossed hope for the best that the bass is amazing?

On that budget you might struggle to get earth shaking bass.

My advice would be to measure your room, and go into the likes of a Richersound shop or Superfi and ask them what they recommend. You can also hear them in the flesh then too.

You could for example get a BK sub (Gemini II or XLS200 for more wallop) which are excellent and then buy some speakers - Wharfdale 10.1s for example - over the net but you won't have heard them and sound is very subjective.

Re AMPs you'll struggle to buy a bad one these days. Onkyo, Yamaha, Panny, etc. all get good reviews.

[Pixel Pusher]

The black is nice. Needs more gold though.

[sprouting]

Considering the quality of the rest of the room I would get on AV forums

http://www.avforums.com/forums/index.php Have a look at the home cinema gallery

then have a look at the classifieds. Used equipment will give you a great choice

of quality kit. Or look for end of line stock at Richer sounds or somewhere similar.

Buying new will soon burn up the £1000 with a separates system, but once bought you can upgrade a piece

at a time.

[CurvaParabolica]

Pixel Pusher said:

The black is nice. Needs more gold though.

Saw the thread title, then saw the author, then knew something like this would be in here!

[Gulzar]

How does this look?

http://www.richersounds.com/package/speakers/speak...

Keep being told I will need a reciever and this has one plus pretty bass'y looking speakers....would this be a good shot? By the way on richersounds the same TV I am going for is listed at 4999.....1000 more than website I listed above! Is an amazing TV ..... I currently have a 70inch rearprojection JCV tv and the size increase plus LED technology will no doubt be amazing!

[B17NNS]

An £800 setup isn't really going to do the room and TV justice I'm afraid.

You need to be looking at separates systems.

The only way to decide what's best for you is to find a local hi-fi/AV specialist (Not Curry's et al) and demo a few systems at a few price points.

Blueray Player - Pioneer BDP440
http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-9750-pioneer-bdp440-3d-...

Amp/Receiver - Pioneer VSX-922K
http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-10544-pioneer-vsx922k-3...

Speakers - B&W 685 Theatre.
http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-2893-bw-685-theatre-hom...

Budget a bit for reasonable speaker cable and interconnects.


The above is about the £2k mark and about what I'd consider to be a minimum for you.

These guys are cracking http://www.creative-audio.co.uk/ and as long as you make an appointment, a rough budget and room size etc they'll happily audition various bits of kit before your very eyes/ears.



ETA, this receiver may be a worthwhile upgrade if you want or plan to use Apple Airplay.
http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-10442-pioneer-vsx1122-n...

Edited by B17NNS on Wednesday 12th September 13:06

[DavidY]

You're caught in a trap, big tv =big sound and vice versa, big tv + inadequate sound is a waste of time. Buying new you should be spending at least as much on the sound as you do on the picture, and probably more depending on how big the picture is. I would recommend going to a 'proper' hifi shop eg in London Graham's, Oranges and Lemons, The Cornflake shop, or if you're feeling very flush KJ West One. listen to some decent stuff then make a judgement.

I've been fortunate to own before a divorce! A Meridian System (RRP £25k) with a 90" high def projector, and also seen/heard the Meridian 250k digital theatre. both were stunning. I bought most mine s/h btw and it stood me about £6k

It's your ears that have to listen to this not anyone else on this forum, so do some legwork and get out and listen to some stuff.

IMO a big picture needs decent quality sound.

[rhinochopig]

DavidY said:

You're caught in a trap, big tv =big sound and vice versa, big tv + inadequate sound is a waste of time. Buying new you should be spending at least as much on the sound as you do on the picture, and probably more depending on how big the picture is. I would recommend going to a 'proper' hifi shop eg in London Graham's, Oranges and Lemons, The Cornflake shop, or if you're feeling very flush KJ West One. listen to some decent stuff then make a judgement.

I've been fortunate to own before a divorce! A Meridian System (RRP £25k) with a 90" high def projector, and also seen/heard the Meridian 250k digital theatre. both were stunning. I bought most mine s/h btw and it stood me about £6k

It's your ears that have to listen to this not anyone else on this forum, so do some legwork and get out and listen to some stuff.

IMO a big picture needs decent quality sound.

From a 1k budget to 25k in 10 posts

For what it's worth I agree with you - although perhaps not 25k's worth of agreement.

[JustinP1]

Gulzar said:

How does this look?

http://www.richersounds.com/package/speakers/speak...

Keep being told I will need a reciever and this has one plus pretty bass'y looking speakers....would this be a good shot? By the way on richersounds the same TV I am going for is listed at 4999.....1000 more than website I listed above! Is an amazing TV ..... I currently have a 70inch rearprojection JCV tv and the size increase plus LED technology will no doubt be amazing!

If you need 'extreme' bass, then you can't shop at Comet.

By the way, do you know that TV is not 3D? Was looking at it myself.

The Onkyo 809 in that deal is a great bit of kit. I have one myself, and in bi-amp mode drives very large speakers pretty well. However, if you want extreme bass, then it depends on the size of your room. I have a very big sub - B&W ASW4000 - and the bass is extreme, but these things do come at a cost.


What's your budget? If you've spent that cash on the TV, and you are serious about getting good sound, I'd be budgeting £2k as a starting point.

Also, the Onkyo 809 has just been discontinued - so you will certainly get a better price than the £999 rrp if you shop around.

[beanbag]

Depending on where you live you should go to Chertsey and visit Sculptured Sounds.

You need to look for a very decent surround amp with good stereo sound. I'm not going to go into that however the dealer will advise you.

With regards to speakers, you should be looking at a decent set of floorstanders, rear surrounds and centre. I have a B&W 684 home theatre set however for a TV that large, I would go the whole hog and get a 683 speaker set and a PV1 subwoofer.





What I wouldn't do is go to Richer Sounds. Sure they're great for amateur and they got me into hifi however they sell you what they need to flog at the time.

A specialist hifi dealer will (if good), advise you on what would be the best possible purchase within your budget and tailor it for your room, etc....

Of course if you're spending that much cash on a TV, I would probably invest in a B&W CM series HT set. I heard it in the demo room and it was magic to my ears! Having said that, the 684's aren't too bad either!

[Gulzar]

JustinP1 said:

If you need 'extreme' bass, then you can't shop at Comet.

By the way, do you know that TV is not 3D? Was looking at it myself.

The Onkyo 809 in that deal is a great bit of kit. I have one myself, and in bi-amp mode drives very large speakers pretty well. However, if you want extreme bass, then it depends on the size of your room. I have a very big sub - B&W ASW4000 - and the bass is extreme, but these things do come at a cost.


What's your budget? If you've spent that cash on the TV, and you are serious about getting good sound, I'd be budgeting £2k as a starting point.

Also, the Onkyo 809 has just been discontinued - so you will certainly get a better price than the £999 rrp if you shop around.

Hi Justin - yup the smaller 70inch versions are 3D ready but im not a great fan of 3D and am more focused on size lol.
How much was your B&W ASW4000 ?

[DavidY]

Glazar

Do you have immediate neighbours? Sound transmission within buildings can be odd, with sounds sucked out in one room and being very audible in another. Just a though before you get the mother of all subs that you might not be able to play it at the volumes you require, as it may cause domestic issues. If you talk to a proper shop they should have no difficulty in lending you equipment and decent advise. I borrowed several subs from one of my local dealers including ones that would be a weapon of mass destruction!

A decent sub set up properly (and again a decent shop will do this) should not draw attention to itself. Also a decent sub correctly setup and positioned should excite the air in the room rather than the building, meaning domestic bliss.

Just a thought

[Gulzar]

beanbag said:

Depending on where you live you should go to Chertsey and visit Sculptured Sounds.

You need to look for a very decent surround amp with good stereo sound. I'm not going to go into that however the dealer will advise you.

With regards to speakers, you should be looking at a decent set of floorstanders, rear surrounds and centre. I have a B&W 684 home theatre set however for a TV that large, I would go the whole hog and get a 683 speaker set and a PV1 subwoofer.





What I wouldn't do is go to Richer Sounds. Sure they're great for amateur and they got me into hifi however they sell you what they need to flog at the time.

A specialist hifi dealer will (if good), advise you on what would be the best possible purchase within your budget and tailor it for your room, etc....

Of course if you're spending that much cash on a TV, I would probably invest in a B&W CM series HT set. I heard it in the demo room and it was magic to my ears! Having said that, the 684's aren't too bad either!

whats the price of that gear bud?

[nadger]

Big Worm 1 said:

Try www.richersounds.com. Good equipment and prices, staff are very knowledgeable too.

Another vote for them. I rang up a branch recently when I was on the look out for a smart tv, and the chap basically told me not to bother with the one I was looking at! I made it clear at the start that I wasn't interested in any other TVs they had, and he didn't try to sell me another one either. Was very impressed with that, and will shop with them again!

[TEKNOPUG]

Gulzar said:

whats the price of that gear bud?

About £2.5k for the speaker system and another grand if you want the PV1 sub.

[B17NNS]

DavidY said:

A decent sub set up properly (and again a decent shop will do this) should not draw attention to itself.

This. A good surround sound system should all gel together into one fluid, integrated sound with bass being just a part of that, not some big annoying booming dominant box in the corner.

Size is NOT everything and power is nothing without control.

By the way OP, how far from the display is your viewing position? As much as it clearly goes against your bigger is better point of view you may well get a much better overall experience with a smaller display.

[beanbag]

Gulzar said:

whats the price of that gear bud?

It all depends and I wouldn't jump out and buy any of this gear unless you've heard it. Everyone hears things differently but regardless, the B&W is superb.

The B&W 683 HT set can be had for about £2,000 if you negotiate without the standard sub. The PV1 sub is another £1,000 but you could probably knock off £100 as a package.

Don't forget to add cables. Some QED XT cable will do the job and then you have to add banana plugs (see where I'm going with this! ) - Add another £300 for that.

Next you need an amp. I spent £1,000 for my Yamaha RX-V1900 however prices vary massively on what you choose. Check out the reviews on What Hifi and ask a proper dealer (not Richer Sounds).

If you want something low end, RH are great. For something medium / high end....go for a proper hifi dealership.