Which speakers + AV Amp £1000?

[marctwo]

I'm after some 5.1 speakers and an amp for under a grand. I'm not interested in gimmicky features, I just want the best possible sound quality. The only restriction is that the speakers have to be SMALL sattelite + sub types. The room is small and I don't want to annoy the neighbours, I just want to enjoy my films.

So far I have considered

Anthony Gallo A'Diva
Orb Audio
Cambridge Audio Minx

All with Yamaha amp, model depending on remaining budget.

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

[marctwo]

I keep reading about the KEF 'house sound' and that they are not very neutral sounding.

[VEX]

Monitor Audio Radius HD45's and a HD360 sub would be PH friendly option.
Rrp would by around £800 but there is always a PH deal.

There are deals to be had on the current Onkyo range as well.

V.

[irocfan]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I liked these - to me they sounded quite 'rich' (precisely why others don't like them I guess) but they can be had for c700 from Seven Oaks HiFi then all you're looking for is the amp

[Council Baby]

I went from Kef 2005.2 to 3005SE now I have the T305.

The 2005 series have loads of sub issues, the 3005 and SE are excellent and there are regular deals available, the T305 are awesome for what they are, sleek with a great range for the slim flat panels...

I've got both onkyo and Yamaha amps... I prefer the Yamaha sound but you can't question the quality and functionality of onkyo kit.

Find somewhere with a demo room, perhaps go for last seasons amp and save c.50% on a current model - there's not usually much difference anyway unless you're a nerd about it.

[Digger]

I'm about to advertise 5 * Anthony Gallo (silver) speakers on AVF, as well as possibly a couple of MA Radius 45 speakers (white).

[marctwo]

Digger said:

I'm about to advertise 5 * Anthony Gallo (silver) speakers on AVF, as well as possibly a couple of MA Radius 45 speakers (white).

Please PM me before you do, I would be very interested in those.

[marctwo]

VEX said:

Monitor Audio Radius HD45's and a HD360 sub would be PH friendly option.
Rrp would by around £800 but there is always a PH deal.

There are deals to be had on the current Onkyo range as well.

V.

Please could you PM me some prices?

[marctwo]

I just heard a Minx setup under less than ideal conditions but was a little disappointed. There seem to be some very noticeable holes in the frequency range (as you would expect I guess with such small sattelites). Maybe proper setup would fix this to some degree? I'm going to try to listen to some Gallos tomorrow for comparison.

[marctwo]

Me too but I can't seem to find anywhere (still in business) nearby that has them!

[nickfrog]

Just buy the Monitor Audio Vector kit at £300 if you can still find it at that price, and don't mind black.
You'll need a warmish receiver though YAM RXA810 at £450 from RS (-£50 atm through the RS VIP CLUB thingy).

Damn, you're under budget. Can we split the difference ?

Edited by nickfrog on Wednesday 23 January 18:37

[marctwo]

nickfrog said:

Just buy the Monitor Audio Vector kit at £300 if you can still find it at that price, and don't mind black.
You'll need a warmish receiver though YAM RXA810 at £450 from RS (-£50 atm through the RS VIP CLUB thingy).

Damn, you're under budget. Can we split the difference ?

Edited by nickfrog on Wednesday 23 January 18:37

Do you think the Monitor Audio MASS system is a worthwhile upgrade?

[nickfrog]

For me no. The MASS sat speakers only go down to 80 hz (Vector 65hz) and only offer 84db sensitivity (Vector 85db).

£800 against £300 is quite a gap although the Vector were obviously expensive when they came out.

TBF, I haven't listened to the MASS...

[marctwo]

I'm willing to pay more if the sound is better. Have you heard any other 5.1 packages that are worth consideration?

[marctwo]

The B&W's do look nice, but I'd be using my entire budget and have nothing left for an amp.

[marctwo]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I haven't listened to the Gallo's yet as the nearest place to audition them is an hour away. I have setup a demo of the MA MASS tomorrow but I really want to hear the Gallo's.

I don't currently have a 5.1 system, I have a pair of old Mordaunt Short MS10i bookshelf speakers and a Yamaha stereo amp. Given that this setup was quite cheap even 15 years ago, I had hoped to find something these days that would at least match it for more money but I can't. I guess the main problem is that I am comparing Sub/Sat systems with full range speakers. The sub/sat combos always seem to have noticable holes in the sound and lack that top end 'sparkle' and mid range warmth.

[nickfrog]

I'd use a small form factor 5.1 for movies but not for music.

[marctwo]

It's going to be for movies (I will be using my MS10/Yamaha setup for music) but this is the benchmark by which I am judging all the systems I am trying.

[VEX]

When you go for the demo, take a disc you know.

Then you can do a sound comparison with out being distracted by a film you haven't seen and don't know what it should sound like.

V.

Edited by VEX on Friday 25th January 09:15

[marctwo]

Good advice. I'm taking Blade Runner. I've listened to the intro a number of times at home so I know what to expect. I also have Master and Commander.