1st home cinema setup! Wharfedale vs Dali

gc84

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Hi guys,

I've recently just moved into my new house and have managed to convince the mrs to convert our smallish living room (5m x 3m not open plan) to a home cinema. So I have a epson tw3200 projector, Sony 1030 av reciever and old Panasonic all in one 5.1 speakers.

So I'm looking to upgrade the speakers to something worthwhile. I'm not a audiophile by any means, and am upgrading basically from tv speakers, so probably almost anything will probably sound good to me.

I've been trawling the forum and have narrowed the choice down to a few choices.

Criteria:

Smallish ( no floorstanders, the mrs choice not mine!)
Budget 600£ ish
Sound half decent, not looking for anything to blow my head off, just something clear and precise.

I will probably keep 2 of the Old Panasonic speakers for the rear to free up the budget for the front 3 and possibly a sub.

Choices:

1) Wharfedale 10cm with 10.1 diamond bookshelves (or 9.1?)

2) Dali vokal centre with zensor 1 bookshelves.

If I can avoid buying a sub I would like to, but have narrowed it down to the Gemini II.

My only concern with the wharfedale is the 10cm being massive, being a bit of an eyesore.

Would these setups be reasonable for the size room that I have? Any other suggestions and guidance would be appreciated. Let me know if I'm totally off the mark with my choices!

Thanks in advance!
 
Does the £600 budget include an av receiver or just for speakers.
The MA Vector package is currently a bargain at £300 and would leave you £300 for receiver.
The Denon 2113 av receiver could be had for £250 but dont know if it is still available at that price.
 
What impedance are the panasonic speakers? Often all in one speakers are very low impedance and hence can not be used with an AVR. Anything under 4 ohms should not be used. Also is the sub passive? If it is then again it can not be used with an AVR hence you will need to get a new one.
I believe Dali are fairly bright sounding so may not be the best pairing with the Sony which is also regarded as bright sounding. Have you already bought it? If not then I would suggest looking at the Denon 2113 instead for £250 from Richer Sounds. This is the same level of receiver as the Sony and would work well with the Dalis.
If only going for the 10.1 speakers as fronts then I would suggest the 10cm would be a more suitable centre since it has the same size bass/mid drivers as the 10.1. This would give the ideal front soundstage since all 3 speakers would be using the same drivers.
 
Sorry guys, wasn't clear enough! I have a Sony 1030 already. I actually originally bought the denon 2113 but took it back as it has ongoing issues with sky hd. I'm using the all in ones already so they defo work.

The 600£ budget is for speakers alone
 
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Sorry guys, wasn't clear enough! I have a Sony 1030 already. I actually originally bought the denon 2113 but took it back as it has ongoing issues with sky hd. I'm using the all in ones already so they defo work.

The 600£ budget is for speakers alone

Hi,sorry missed the 1030 bit:facepalm: the Wharfedale would be a better match for the Sony as stated and the BK sub is a solid choice.
Your logic of getting the front 3 and sub would be the way that I would go with your budget getting the rears when funds allow.
I would try to get a demo of speakers with a 1030 if you can.

Regards Martin
 
Sorry guys, wasn't clear enough! I have a Sony 1030 already. I actually originally bought the denon 2113 but took it back as it has ongoing issues with sky hd. I'm using the all in ones already so they defo work.

The 600£ budget is for speakers alone
the speaker will work even if 2ohm but can cause serious problems and will cause the amp to run hot.
 
As above what impedance are the speakers? If too low then they will work but can cause damage due to the higher load they will put on the amp.
 
5 ohm is a little low but should be OK for now, just take care with the volume and make sure you have good ventilation around the receiver. They will impose a higher load on the receiver than a 8ohm speaker (normal for AV use) but are not below the 4 ohm level so should be OK. They are not going to be great quality anyway hence I would look to replace them sooner rather than later anyway.
 
Ah ok thanks!

So...

Wharfedale 10cm £130
10.1 bookshelves £130
Maybe 9.1 bookshelves for rear £100

£360 without sub

Gemini £215

£575 with sub

Or

Vokal centre £206
Zensor 1 £180
9.1 diamond £100

£486 without sub

£701 with sub

Mmmm plus £50 cables and banana clips?

Wharfedales it is then!
 
The cm is a very big centre can you house it.? I still feel the cs is more consistent with your suggested fronts. Bear in mind the centre speaker is not going to sound its best either in or on an av cabinet or shelf.
 
I'll have enough space but would prefer a more compact speaker tbh. The centre speaker will be sitting on an av cabinet though. Im Even considering the 10cc.
 
I would go for the cs over the cc. You can buy isolation pads for the centre which will help and also have the speaker so it is at the front of the cabinet and the front of the speaker slightly proud of the front of the canbinet.
 
Would the diamond 10.0 be ok as the rears? Seem dirt cheap.

Anyone had experience with exceptional-av.co.uk? Prices seem good.
 
The 10.0 should be fine as rears. The ideal would be 10.1 all around as that would give you the same speaker all around which should give the best soundfield since there would be no variation between the speakers.
 
If only going for the 10.1 speakers as fronts then I would suggest the 10cm would be a more suitable centre since it has the same size bass/mid drivers as the 10.1. This would give the ideal front soundstage since all 3 speakers would be using the same drivers.

Note the 10.1's have 125mm drivers and the 10CM has 165mm drivers, the 10.CS has 125mm drivers,

I do have the 10CM as i got i dirt cheap and it is huge for a centre, i dont think it fits into any standard tv unit, i built a tv stand/unit so it could match my decor and it could fit the 8" high centre.
 
Sorry got my numbers confused. I meant go for the CS with the same drivers as the 10.1s as I said in an earlier reply in the thread.
 
As I'm projecting onto a wall at the moment, the centre speaker can be as big as I need it. I'm not planning on getting a tv o don't really have any height constraints, baring in mind the speaker will sit on top of the av cabinet.

So 10cs with 4 x 10.1 then! Will order in due course
 
Lol epic fail!

I bought a set of 10.1 in black yesterday and waited all day for delivery of my 10cs today thinking it was black(looks it from the pictures) but turns out its walnut :(. Sitting on my av cabinet it looks small! Tempted to get a the 10cm instead hah, in black obviously!*
 
Hhmmmm I'm stuck already! I bought these banana plugs

[ame=http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300834193450?redirect=mobile]20 x High Quality Nakamichi Speaker banana plug connector 24k Gold plated - UK | eBay[/ame]

And they don't fit in any holes, speaker nor amp? Am I being thick!?
 
i have them plugs, they do fit. you need to take out the little red and black lugs on the binding posts of the wharfedales.
 
Do they to where the bare wire would go? And then screw lugs back?
 

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