Recommend a surround sound system....

[dan1981]

Morning all,

Looking to buy myself a late christmas present in the form of a surround sound setup for the TV.

Needs to be:

An all in one system - i don't want to go down the route of seperates. Would like it to include the DVD player as well
5.1
Tall boy rear speakers and small front speakers. Unless the Sony one i've seen with the tiny golf ball sized speakers is any good? ( http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/product/516147/SO... )
Ideally less that £250 but may push to £300.

Also seen this one: http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/store/cur_page.jsp...

Any advice?

Cheers

Dan

Edited by dan1981 on Saturday 27th December 10:02

Edited by dan1981 on Saturday 27th December 10:04

[Graham E]

I'm not an expert in that area of systems (specialise in the posh stuff), BUT I'd avoid that sony - it's cool to have tiny, tiny speakers, but overall it sounds pants, and you'd be better off with a 2.1 system or a soundbar - so it's only really a gimmick.

I have no idea how much they are these days, but Jamo used to do a nice 5.1 all in 1 with gloss black, cube speakers - that was pretty potent anddecent quality.

failing that, as much as it pains me to admit it, Samsung are making decent kit for next to nowt these days..

[telecat]

Have a look at the Onkoyo Amplifier and DVD on the front page of the Superfi website. That with the little Kef or Tannoy Speakers should make a decent system. Superfi usually have a demo room so they should be able to demo it as well though it might be they ask if you can demo on a quiet day.

Edited by telecat on Saturday 27th December 11:00

[EvoDelta]

I'm very happy with the Sony DAV-DZ260 I have. Enough power for my smallish living room, and a great DVD upscaler.

[Dupont666]

telecat said:

Have a look at the Onkoyo Amplifier and DVD on the front page of the Superfi website. That with the Kef Speakers should make a decent system. Superfi usually have a demo room so they should be able to demo it as well though it might be they ask if you can demo on a quiet day.

my folks have that system setup and it does indeed sound good

[Luca1973]

This should do the trick. Just reviewed today.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/home-cinema/review/2...

[fatboy b]

Just got a Sony DAV IS50 for Christmas off the O/H. Love it! It also has wireless surround if that's what you after.

[Geezer-20v]

Get some of these - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/74753

Not just TV speakers, but can be linked easily to PC, xbox, ps3 and all that

The sub is immense, so much bass and no distortion.

The speakers are pretty tasty aswell. Lots of sound and volume and nop distortion even at the top end.

And at £170, its blows away anything else on the market at that price range.

[dan1981]

The Samsung setup looks pretty good actually, like the sound of getting a seperates syetm but not sure how to go about it - the one reccomended above looks good but not entirely sure where to start with it all.....

Researching the Sony one with the little speakers i'm comign accross quite a few negative reviews so I think i'll discount that one.

Thanks for all the help so far tho guys.

[^Slider^]

I got the sony one from comet at half price,

Easy to set up, wireless rear speakers, very good sound from the golfball sized ones and the sub.

Good connectivity and can play alot of CD formats.

I dont think you will beat it in the 200 - 300 price bracket.

I was originaly looking for samsung to match my TV but went for the sony for features and performance as id have to pay 400 ish for a samsung with the same features.

Also the little speakers are quite unobtrusive but do give a good clear sound.

[telecat]

dan1981 said:

The Samsung setup looks pretty good actually, like the sound of getting a seperates syetm but not sure how to go about it - the one reccomended above looks good but not entirely sure where to start with it all.....

Researching the Sony one with the little speakers i'm comign accross quite a few negative reviews so I think i'll discount that one.

Thanks for all the help so far tho guys.

Pop into Superfi and get them to show you. At the most Basic Level you connect the Digital from the DVD to the Digital on the amp. The scart from the DVD player goes to the TV. You them connect up each speaker to it's terminal on the Amp. I would check that all cables com with the Speakers and amp as this could be an additional expense.

[fatboy b]

^Slider^ said:

I got the sony one from comet at half price,

Easy to set up, wireless rear speakers, very good sound from the golfball sized ones and the sub.

Good connectivity and can play alot of CD formats.

I dont think you will beat it in the 200 - 300 price bracket.

I was originaly looking for samsung to match my TV but went for the sony for features and performance as id have to pay 400 ish for a samsung with the same features.

Also the little speakers are quite unobtrusive but do give a good clear sound.

- the little speakers are great aren't they. I'm going to get a couple of stands for the surround ones.

[dan1981]

Hmmmm confusing!

Anyone know what Richer Sounds are like? we have one local to us - Superfi is a bit of a trek away really for me.

[snowy]

Why buy a DVD player when this is yesterdays technology, if people are replacing equipment like this then replace it with today’s technology i.e. a Blue-Ray player

I know it will cost more, but then you won't be replacing it in 3 years time!!!!

[Lauross]

Richer Sounds is my favourite shop. Very cheap, and the staff are excellent. You can usually get some free stuff thrown in just for asking. I'd definately recommend going there!

[Goochie]

IMHO you cant go wrong with any of these:

http://www.digitaldirect.co.uk/hifi/amplifiers/hom...

I have the Yamaha RXV363 and cant fault it.

[fatboy b]

snowy said:

Why buy a DVD player when this is yesterdays technology, if people are replacing equipment like this then replace it with today’s technology i.e. a Blue-Ray player

I know it will cost more, but then you won't be replacing it in 3 years time!!!!

To be honest, I'm more interested in the sound rather than HD. The picture I get from Sky (non HD) and a DVD player on my Sony 32" LCD is pretty good. I won't be buying a Blu-Ray for a few years yet.

[mackie1]

Sony HT-SS1300 or HT-SF1300 or maybe the Onkyo HTS5105 but it doesn't support audio over HDMI which if you fancy accessing the uncompressed audio on bluray disks in the future, will be a limitation. The Sony does support this and works a treat.

I'd avoid the systems with a built-in dvd player as they generally have sod all in the way of additional connections. Get yourself an Oppo DV981-HD to go with whatever you buy.

http://www.crtprojectors.co.uk/oppo_981h.htm

Edited by mackie1 on Monday 29th December 11:56

[Scamper]

EvoDelta said:

I'm very happy with the Sony DAV-DZ260 I have. Enough power for my smallish living room, and a great DVD upscaler.

I just bought this one also...HUGH sound when watching dvd's, etc 850W is more than enough. You even get a mic to setup the surround sound properly, and it is reduced from £200 to £130. Very pleased with it so far.

[dan1981]

Hmmm well after alot of thought - i think i'm gonna go the route of the seperates, gonna upgrade to Blu ray with this @ £160

http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=sh...

Through in a reciever / amp - probabaly this - or similar @ £150

http://www.digitaldirect.co.uk/yamaha/rx-v363.html

and then i just need a set of speakers - but they might have to wait until next month unless anyone thinks some of the hi-fi places (richer sounds / digital direct / super fi) woudl be willing to do some sort of deal including a speaker package?

Any reccomendations for the speakers?

Cheers

Dan