So, for some time now (6 years) I’ve been using a set of Logitech Z-5400 5.1 speakers for games/movies/music etc. These are almost exactly the same as the Z-5500s but with slightly less wattage. They include a control deck that supports Dolby Digital, and are attached via Optical to a Xonar DX. For games and movies, this is an awesome combo, but music could, I believe, sound better. For that reason, I’ve been looking to upgrade these with a complete Home Cinema kit (Receiver, Sub, Speakers). Ideally, I’d like to buy second hand kit to save some money. I know you Bit Techers know all about computer hardware, and I’d guess that at least a few of you also have accounts over at AVForums too. I was wondering, if you could recommend me some cheap and cheerful Receivers from the last couple of years that might be suitable, along with speakers etc. My only requirement is an optical TOSLINK connection, and that it be an upgrade from what I already have. HDMI would obviously future proof me somewhat which would be good, but is not essential. I know a lot of speaker recommendations come down to what you are using the speakers for, so in this case, the answer is obviously gaming and movies, and the musical genre I listen to most is rock. Thanks in advance.
I know you said you wanted it to be cheap but how cheap? I picked up a few things for my home cinema off eBay for quite cheap and they do the business really well. For the AV reciever I picked up a Sony STR DH800 for less than £150 it's got 3 HDMI inputs and I'm pretty sure it has a toslink connection. It's also outputs in True DTS HD through 7.1 channel output. For the speakers I picked up a Tannoy FX5.1 which are extremely powerful for such small speakers and these were picked up for around the £50, there are later versions of these speakers (SFX5.1 & EX5.1) but they are slightly more expensive
Yamaha receivers are quite popular for beeing neutral in tone. For affordable yet relatively good speakers I can recommend Teufel.co.uk. They're cheaper in germany though, and looking for a special offer can save you a lot of money. (I got the Theater 100 system for ~400 pounds on release) Elac speakers are supposed to be great, but they were too dear for me
Ebay will get you more thump for less money. I bought a $1,000.00 US Yamaha RX-V861 9.1 receiver for $300.00. It was a scratch and dent piece. My $750.00 per pair of Klipsch F-2 for $250.00. You have to find the sellers that sell off open stock for the big box stores and you can get things pretty cheap. I probably have $1,000.00 in a $3,000.00 surround system. I use a powered Yamaha Studio Sub SW-10 that I paid $300.00 for and they retailed for almost $1,000.00 but I worked in a music store to get that one so cheap from my boss. This is the back of the Yamaha RX-V861. Lots-o-ins and outs and most are reassignable. This thing has features out the butt such as parametric EQs, self equalizing to any room using a microphone.
Yeah, about the price you paid for yours would be fine to be honest. I'd say my current set would fetch around £100 and I don't mind investing some extra. Just want to get the most bang for buck. The Sony STR DH820 9assume thats the next years model from your one Flame) comes very highly regarded and is £219 from Richer Sounds. I wonder if I could find a second hand one somewhere.
Nice! That's basically what I want to do. I'm getting a little bonus from work in August, so I think I'll be treating myself around then, will save up in the meantime. I think I'm going to try and put about £400 into it in all. However, these £600 Monitor Audio Vectorss are currently half price, and very tempting buy, but £300 is still too much for me right now.
It is always best to start out with the best AV receiver that you can get. Speakers can be upgraded much cheaper and easier than the receiver. When buying speakers, getting an all in one package can be expensive. If you find a line that you like, get the mains speakers first. Then you can add the other pieces as you can afford them. I would add a sub after the mains, then a center channel speaker then the rears and finally the sides. The receiver is the heart of the system. You can also use any old speakers along with any new speakers. Just change the levels of each channel in the receiver so the older speakers don't get pushed too hard. In running a system, it is just as bad to underpower speakers as it is to overpower them. When running an unmatched system you just have to be more carefull with the volume level. Running an underpowered amp to the maximum will give you a very dirty signal. Speakers do not like that and it can blow your speakers. Overpowering speakers will cause them to bottom out and/or cook the voice coils eventually blowing the speakers. I have been setting up commercial sound systems in nightclubs for 26 years and I also used to recone speakers. I have seen it all.
So, just to revive this thread, I'm now in the market to buy a receiver. One question though - can I start off by using normal hi-fi speakers with a Home Cinema - I was thinking of the Q Acoustic 2010i since they have great reviews. Any recommendations for a receiver too? I don't want to spend loads, and it doesn't have to have loads of features (so DLNA etc isn't a requirement) - I just want good sound. My local Richer Sounds has the below in open box. Denon AVR1513 Black AV Receiver £79.95 Pioneer VSX322 Black AV Receiver £99.95 Yamaha RXV373 BlackAV Receiver £149 As well as a SONY STRDH820 new for £150 and a SONY STRDH520 for £100
RX-V373 is what i have minus ethernet capability in my RX-V473. They are fine powering my JBL ES30's. Just stereo for now, will buy more once i move to my own appartment. There are few caveats tho : 1) UI is text only. No fancy graphics - see the UI pics from http://reviews.cnet.com/av-receivers/yamaha-rx-v573/4505-6466_7-35182234.html . 2) ARC support is rather... strange, i say it this way. Let me explain - if you want your TV sound to come back via HDMI, then you have to use the AV4 input, as it the TV sound is "faked" back through that input. If you are using some other input, then switching through one of the Scene buttons back to TV switches to the AV4 input on receiver, but doesn't switch the input on your TV (probably a HDMI-CEC limitation). So it will work, but you will have to configure the bottom buttons on your Yamaha remote to the code for your TV, and then switch the input on TV manually. 2) No ethernet support in RX-V373 - that means you won't have AirPlay, streaming (via vTuner) and DLNA support.
I bought a Yahamha RXA 730 last week to replacve my Arcam AVR350 (which is now for sale on ebay although probably still a little out of your budget). Really pleased with the sound on the yamaha and control thru ethernet seems to work well (which is the main reason I chose it so I could integrate it with my crestron control system)
Thanks for this! I just phoned up the shop about the D820, and they recommended the RX-V373, saying it was ‘substantially’ better than the D820. To address each of your points 1. Not worried about fancy graphics at all – in fact the less the better 2. What does ARC stand for? From what I understand, if I want to play the sound from my TV through HDMI I have to use AV4 – and if I do then it works just fine without too much fiddling around? My TV does have optical out, so I could use that instead if its easier? 3. Not worried about Ethernet support – I don’t use Airplay etc and my computer will be connected (via HDMI) for everything else. What does having DLNA bring to the party?
ARC - Audio return channel Only really useful if you watch freeview on the TV's built in tuner (or use the smart TV features) and use the AVR and speakers but most TV's have an optical output that'll do the same job. DLNA is pretty much useless especially if your plugging a pc into it as a source as the PC will do the shareing/ streaming of network audio (and video) much better then the amp would have. Airplay can always be added later with a rasberry pi /airport express /appleTV if you decide you want it.
@Parge: ARC is used to return audio from TV without an aditional cable. You can of course do it via analog or optical too, but why have 2 cables when you can have one ? My point about the AV4 was that the "TV Scene" on the Yamaha receiver won't be really usefull - it will turn on your TV, but it won't switch your TV inputs, it just switches the audio input. But if your TV starts up at HDMI2 for example, then it won't switch TV to the TV tuner, it leaves it at HDMI2 and you have to manually switch using the TV remote, or if you enter the code for the bottom part of the Yamaha remote, then you can use those few keys too. What you lose with Ethernet capability is possibility to use the iOS/Android remote, plus the other network feature i mentioned. But indeed, a Pi is a viable alternative to these features, especially with distributions like http://www.raspyfi.com/ .
