5.1 package for dedicated cinema room (mordaunt short?)

tomk246

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I've got a room free for a home cinema that I'm developing, its a huge room (used to have full size snooker table) - so about 30ft long, by 12 ft wide.. its going to have a projector and HDTV.

At the moment I like the look of the Pioneer VSX-1019AH AV Unit.

The room is ideal, speakers can be placed anywhere (wall or floor).. so I want to get the best out of it.. I'm unsure about floorstanders, getting stands or wall mounting or all? At the moment I've seen the mordaunt short aviano system: MORDAUNT SHORT AVIANO-SYS-DWAL at Richer Sounds - HI-FI Separates, Home Cinema, Speakers, MP3 DVD Portables, Plasma LCD, etc.


Is it a good system? (I've done research - yes it is - but for the money are there any obvious alternatives / errors, before i put the money down)

The budget something under £2k ideally for the AV unit and speakers - what I've suggested is about that.

Thanks,
Tom
 
Nothing wrong with the speakers, my only concern would be the ability of the Pioneer 1019 driving them. With only 290 watts power supply it would be some what lacking. Just remember you can not get more out than you put in.
The amp can do its rated output but not into ALL channels.
Basically you have the Amp/speaker ratio well unbalanced.
Example an old Cambridge 540R AV amp quotes 5x100 watts but with a 850 watt power supply it would be well capable.
 
Other speaker packages to look at would be the Monitor Audio Bronze packs. Or you could build a nice system based around the RS range (being sold at a cheap price at the moment because of new RX range). For these speakers a different amp would probably be better (Denon or Yamaha)
Spending less on the speakers then you could build a great system around the Warfdale Diamond 9 series (floorstanders all around!!!!!). This would give you a little more for the amp which would probably be benefical.
You could also look at the Focal 700 range to build a system around those (using maybe a BK sub to complete).
I also believe MS speakers are fairly 'bright' and so is the Pioneer amp. These may not pair very well and give you a over 'bright' sound (heavy on the treble which can sound tiring after a while). If you like the MS speaker pairing to a Denon (1910 or above) or Yamaha amp would be better.
 
Tom

As you are using a dedicated room for your home cinema, I'm going to assume this is all it will be used for, and that music isn't really of much importance.

That's quite a large room, and regardless of whether the system is only being used down one end or across the short length of the room, you have to take into account that much sound will be lost in a room that size. I do think you'll need a beefier amp to fill a room like that, so I'd suggest something like the Yamaha RXV3900 as a starting point. The reason for this is that I have a customer who I supplied a system to in a similarly sized room, pool table, games area etc. He has now has the system for close on a year, and the amp has survived his drunken karaoke evenings with numerous friends as well as being used for games and movies, although he went for the MK 750 package. You could look at the MK M7 package, which can also fill a larger room, maybe not quite as well as the 750's, but they'll manage it. These can be wall mounted up out of the way (they're designed to perform against a wall) and are designed, like all MK's, purely for movies, although music sounds pretty good through them too. It is possible to start an M7 system for around £1200 if you leave the rears until a later date.

I know this may be above your budget, but it is a large room, and if it's worth doing something, it's worth doing it properly!

If you really have to stick within your budget, the MS's will be fine, but you could also look at Monitor Audio RS series - as they're being phased out at the moment, they can be had for good prices, so you could get your speakers system cheaper, or get better for your money. I would still recommend the RXV3900 for your room though, even if it does take you over budget.

Regards
David
 
Andy, PSM and David, thanks for all your replies! They have been very helpful! I've heard about the monitor audio speakers on these forums a few weeks back, I wasn't too sure on the 'cherry red' colour though..
David, I looked up the Yamaha amp (I've got one on my other TV with mordaunt short alumni's which seem pretty good); which led me to something else, the Sony STR-DA5400ES.
Sony STR-DA5400E Home cinema amplifier review - from the experts at whathifi.com
The review reads like no other, unless I'm missing something, it would appear to be the best choice (I think it even compares it to the yamaha).

Regarding speakers, it's tempting to buy a package, and I really liked the look and sound of my alumni's, so for three times the price I would have thought the aviano's would be much better...

The Mk M7 package I wouldn't be too keen on - only because I'm not familiar with the name.. also the sub looked quite small..I think my £2k budget may have been a little low.. it would seem closer to £3k is more accurate. Also I've had some bad experiences with Wharfdale, so I'm just going to steer clear.

My thoughts now are the Sony STR-DA5400ES coupled with mordaunt short aviano's.. I just like the look and sound of the alumni's too much! I think its mostly because I feel safe with the brand to be honest. I'll do a internet trawl for some monitor audio RS speakers now anyway.

Thanks again,
Tom
 
Are you going to be able to demo these systems before you buy.

I think spending that amount of money you really ought to. One thing to maybe investigate further is the tonal sound that the Sony 5400 has. This is because the bottom of the range Sonys have a clinical/bright nature and not the best pairing for Mordaunt Short or Monitor Audio, which are the same mking the overall combination possibly too bright/clinical. It may be that as the 5400 is about a grand more than the entry level Sony's, the sound may be different and so would work, but I would want to check this if buying. Yamaha/Denon are proven and popular combinations with MS/MA speakers.

Also, again the Avianos are a new speaker; What HiFi raved about the Aviano 1, but I've not come across any reviews of the floorstanders in the series. Again, the MA Silver range has a prooven track record and held in high regard in their price range --- at the discounted prices, they are extreemly good value.

I'm a fan of MS speakers but I would want to demo such a new speaker that has very few reviews available.
 

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