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Swan_Knight
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« on: 18:47:53, 26-08-2007 » |
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OK....I'm going for the big one. Currently, I'm served by a 17 year old Sony stereo system, which is still working pretty well, and my TV is a five year old Philips portable combi job. TV has never played much of a role in my life, so I've never splashed out on one. Now, though, things are different: I want to watch films and, particularly, filmed operas, in 5.1 sound, with great reproduction and a decent-sized screen (32 inch for pref, though could go up to 37). I'm prepared to spend just over (or, preferably, just under) a thousand pounds. Anyone got any recommendations? Space also has to be a consideration here. Thanks!  |
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...so flatterten lachend die Locken....
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stuart macrae
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« Reply #1 on: 18:17:12, 03-09-2007 » |
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I can't recommend anything personally, Swan_Knight, but I've been reading about such things quite a bit recently, and I'm afraid to say that if you want good quality it looks like your budget might be stretched a bit. In October's What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision they do a group test of 32 inch LCD screens. The prices of these things seem quite high, but they do give a good write-up for the Samsung LE32R87BD (£700) the Sanyo CE32LD81-B (£600) and the Toshiba 32C3030DB (£600). That doesn't leave much for your DVD player, 5.1 receiver, and speaker system, does it?
Here is what the same magazine suggests as a good system:
Onkyo TX-SR505 (receiver, £250)
Toshiba SD-370E (DVD player - I have this one, and it's really good for the money - £60)
Q Acoustics 1010 (5.1 system, £500)
That would give you a total of £1410-£1510 depending on the TV (bear in mind that I can't personally recommend any except the DVD player!) but there are also "Home cinema in a box" packages which contain all the components except the TV. The prices start at about £350 (for the Samsung HT-X200) and the top recommend from What HiFi is the Sony DAV-IS10 (£600)
I'd buy a copy and have a browse if I were you!
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Ron Dough
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« Reply #2 on: 18:40:23, 03-09-2007 » |
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Inside info: Onkyo is not a big name player, but instead of spending fortunes on advertising, they spend the cash on putting higher grade components into their equipment than many of their better-known competitors would in similarly priced gear, with audible sonic advantages. Well worth investigation.
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stuart macrae
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« Reply #4 on: 18:57:10, 03-09-2007 » |
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A word of warning, as well: I've found that some of my opera DVDs perform very poorly with motion and black depth. Maybe they don't spend as much on the DVD transfer for opera as they do with film releases. I dare say they'd play better on a more expensive DVD player, but really I think they should work just as well as the movies!  |
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richard barrett
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« Reply #5 on: 18:58:07, 03-09-2007 » |
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Inside info: Onkyo is not a big name player, but instead of spending fortunes on advertising, they spend the cash on putting higher grade components into their equipment than many of their better-known competitors would in similarly priced gear, with audible sonic advantages. Well worth investigation.
Very interesting, Ron. My current sound system is of the Glaswegian variety, but expanding that into 5.1 DVD playback would involve some bank robbery I think... |
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Reiner Torheit
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« Reply #7 on: 19:17:48, 03-09-2007 » |
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Can it really be that much better? For that (Linn Klimax) price you could have the entire cast and orchestra come to your house and perform it live for you. And have change for Tesco's Premium Champagne and Canapes in the interval. And no, that's not an exaggeration. And you won't have any problem with muddy blackness, although changing-room conditions might be a bit cramped and I wouldn't mention too much to the Fire Officer either  "So, Mr SwanKnight, this, errr, "pyre"... onto which a woman on horseback throws herself? We've had complaints from the people at Number 47 about it." |
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"I was, for several months, mutely in love with a coloratura soprano, who seemed to me to have wafted straight from Paradise to the stage of the Odessa Opera-House"
- Leon Trotsky, "My Life"
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Ron Dough
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« Reply #8 on: 19:19:17, 03-09-2007 » |
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Yes indeed, r, you'd need a fortune. What I'd recommend in your case would be to leave the sound system as it is, and treat anything else as a separate entity: otherwise you're almost bound to feel short-changed once you concentrate on audio only, as I'm sure you will continue to do. Even so, you might need something a bit bigger than the Onkyo, in which case a look at Cambridge equipment might not be a bad starting point; not high profile, but designed for sound first and foremost (which many of your proprietary Names don't consider as their first priority, amazingly).
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Swan_Knight
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« Reply #9 on: 19:26:50, 03-09-2007 » |
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Thanks for all the suggestions, folks! From the early (non) response to this thread, I thought I might have asked a silly question....  I stayed in a hotel suite that was equipped with a Cambridge CD/DVD setup last year and was impressed. I shall have a quick shufti at their site... And anyone got any recommendations for dealers? I know that we're supposed to avoid Comet, Dixons and Currys (and I dutifully do), but who can we trust? |
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...so flatterten lachend die Locken....
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Ron Dough
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« Reply #10 on: 19:28:54, 03-09-2007 » |
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If you're looking at Cambridge gear, Richer Sounds. Simple as that. They've had the Dough seal of approval for decades.
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stuart macrae
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« Reply #11 on: 19:31:12, 03-09-2007 » |
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If you're looking at Cambridge gear, Richer Sounds. Simple as that. They've had the Dough seal of approval for decades.
Also, if you're looking at Cambridge gear, I don't think you've got much choice! Richer Sounds have an 'arrangement' with Cambridge, as far as I know... |
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Bryn
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« Reply #12 on: 20:13:38, 09-09-2007 » |
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Inside info: Onkyo is not a big name player, but instead of spending fortunes on advertising, they spend the cash on putting higher grade components into their equipment than many of their better-known competitors would in similarly priced gear, with audible sonic advantages. Well worth investigation.
Well Ron, I have an annoying cold (with attendant cough) atthe moment, and good manners prevented me from inflicting it on Barrett, Butcher & co, or even the Arena folk at the RAH, so to raise my spirits a little, I inflicted it on the staff at Richer Sounds in Reading when I popped over to collect an Onkyo TX-SR605. So far, I have only set it up for stereo (using the coax digital link) and S-Video to feed the television. I like what I hear. My next day off is on the 20th, when I might have a go at setting up a surround system based on it, and linking to the televison via a trio of component video leads. I'm currently feeding it from a cheap and cheerful Pioneer DV-585A hybrid SACD/DVD-A/DVD-V/CDA/mp3CD player. So, since I am using the S/PDIF link, just how much would I be likely to gain from upgrading my player, in audio terms? |
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Ron Dough
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« Reply #13 on: 21:52:15, 09-09-2007 » |
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Bearing in mind my hi-fi credentials, Bryn, where the rule has always been that the system can only be as good as its source, the obvious advice would be to spend as much as possible on the right machine to make significant gains, but in this case I'm not going to tell you do so for a couple of reasons. Firstly, at the moment the really outstanding SACD players are pretty pricey, and I think that you'll gain more by putting that money towards (yet) more music and staying with the source you have just now, but secondly I believe that there will be a significant change in SACD/DVD-A machines on the back of the standards wars within the next eighteen months or so, and moving to an upmarket machine whilst new hybrid chips are under development may well bring only short-lived advantages.
The Onkyo is going to need a fair bit of playing in, by the way: loud, fast piano music does the trick best, unless you have a dedicated 'burn-in' CD (such as those made by Sheffield Labs).
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Bryn
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« Reply #14 on: 22:02:31, 09-09-2007 » |
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Well, at the moment I'm putting Xenakis's "La Légend d'Eer" (the 96/24 stereo mix) though the Onkyo. Will feed it some more piano (maybe some schiffty Beethoven) later, or possibly some Ligeti. Hmm, how about some Nancarrow Studies (MDG)?
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