Not the Sony DAV-500ZF one-box ...

[Diet]

Hiya,

I'm hoping you guys will be able to help me. I'm a relative newbie when it comes to audio, although I'm a computer whiz so I understand a fair amount of electronical mumbo-jumbo.

Background:
A few years ago I inherited £500 and, after a quick trip to Richer Sounds, decided to buy myself a decent hi-fi with it. I ended up with a Yamaha Amp and CD-Player and a couple of Eltax Symphony 8.2 floorstanders.

Problem:
I now want a home-cinema setup to go with my five-year-old Sony 32" CRT widescreen telly, with a budget of £500. In the latest What Hi-FI Sound and Vision, they gave the Sony DAV-500ZF full marks as a good one-box solution, and it costs just £449 by their price in the review.
I was all up for thinking this was the answer when I started chatting to some audiophiles at work and they seem to suggest that I'd be better off taking my pair of Eltax Floorstanders as the start of a bigger system. This would mean - possibly over time - adding bookshelf-speakers on stands at the rear, a subwoofer, a centre-speaker, a DVD-player and a surround-sound amp.

Help:
This is where I'm hoping you guys will be able to help. What is the absolute minimum I'll need to get my surround sound? Obviously I'll need a DVD player and rear-speakers, but beyond that how much is mandatory and how much can be added later? I was also considering a multichannel receiver that would mean I could send my CD player through the existing amp and onwards to the multi-receiver (turning the existing amp into a pre-amp), and then I could control hi-fi and DVD all through the one receiver. How realistic is it to hope that I could get all of the above within my £500 budget and yet still end up with a better sounding solution than the Sony one-box? How about if I increased the budget to £750? (Possibly maybe perhaps possible )

I would really appreciate any help or advice you guys can offer; even if it's simply to say "this isn't the right place to ask ... ask here instead and make sure you ask ..."

Many thanks in advance,

Martin

[Smi1er]

I have a new Sony 32" V series LCD on order.

Next step was to buy a sound system as my current Kenwood system is not exactly slim.

My budget was also up to £500.

Found the DAV100 in Comet. Placed my CD in it and it sounded awful The system that is, not my CD!!

Then I discovered the centre speaker and left back not connected

In Currys I found the DAV500 at £449 (can be got for £349 elsewhere). Checked it was all plugged in. Sounded good once I found a decent volume.

Played a DVD and CD. Then I wondered how high the volume actually went. Upto 34.... problem was I was already listening at 30 So almost full power. Not good for the speakers.

I was speaking to the salesperson and he basically said the Sony wasn't a good system anyway and the best was JVC. I didn't agree with this but I was disappointed at the "performance" of the 500.

I shall be keeping my Kenwood. 25% volume gives great sound

[Diet]

Thank you for that ... a sharp reminder that even with a magazine recommendation, it's still worth listening to the system before you buy it!!

You say you have a current Kenwood system ... you mean hi-fi separates and floorstanders? Did you consider adding speakers to that to make up your surround system, or was it never even an option?

[lorrich]

Originally Posted by Smi1er

I have a new Sony 32" V series LCD on order.

Next step was to buy a sound system as my current Kenwood system is not exactly slim.

My budget was also up to £500.

Found the DAV100 in Comet. Placed my CD in it and it sounded awful The system that is, not my CD!!

Then I discovered the centre speaker and left back not connected

In Currys I found the DAV500 at £449 (can be got for £349 elsewhere). Checked it was all plugged in. Sounded good once I found a decent volume.

Played a DVD and CD. Then I wondered how high the volume actually went. Upto 34.... problem was I was already listening at 30 So almost full power. Not good for the speakers.

I was speaking to the salesperson and he basically said the Sony wasn't a good system anyway and the best was JVC. I didn't agree with this but I was disappointed at the "performance" of the 500.

I shall be keeping my Kenwood. 25% volume gives great sound

Dont rely on how the system sounds in currys,straight out of the box and plugged in,you need the remote to set up correctly and they are reluctant to give you access to this,ive had my 500 for a month now and believe me the max.i can turn up the volume with dvd is around 13/15,its a cracking system for an all in one