A novices AV Setup - thoughts, suggestions, critiques welcome!

Meeji

Established Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2012
Messages
1,206
Reaction score
78
Points
247
Age
32
Afternoon Gents,

So i've recently moved into a new place, it's in a rented house share so unlike a lot of the awesome setups here, I can't wall mount stuff etc. and quite limited in terms of space.

I'm quite new to this whole AV scene and being the tender age of 21 budget was always a big one for me, so everything's been done on a budget/built up over a series of months (& pay cheques).

The semi finished project w/ upcoming additions at the end:

DSC_0508-resized_zps68c49e11.jpg


DSC_0510-resized_zps70c4b0c3.jpg


I LOVE the XBMC remotes:

DSC_0512-resized_zpsc878ff5f.jpg


The kit:
  • Panasonic TXL32E5B
  • Yamaha RXV-373 5.1 Receiver & Amplifier
  • Q Acoustics: 2020i (FL&FR), 2000Ci (Centre), 2070Si (Sub)
  • HTPC: CPU G550, GPU HD5450 1GB, Case Lian Li PC-Q03
  • NAS: N40L running Freenas, 6TB (3*2TB) RAIDZ w/ 8GB RAM
  • NetGear 105 for gigabit LAN
  • Zyxel WAP3205 V2 for airplay/streaming
I've got the NAS storing all of my music and film, streaming over a gigabit LAN to the HTPC which is running XBMC, Foobar & Itunes and is acting as an SFTP server.

Upcoming additions:
  • Additional 6TB's (3*2TB drives) for the NAS
  • Rear left and right speakers, likely to be another pair of 2020i's
  • Bigger TV (budget pending)
Please let me know what you think, if there's anything i'm missing/should invest in from an audio perspective etc. as, like I said i'm fairly new to the game! :smashin::smashin:
 
Last edited:
Hi Meeji

That's a nice set up you have at only 21! Great way to start as you have years of upgrading to look forward to :thumbsup: I just had a small 14inch TV and a Sony walkman when I was 21!

As to what to add, doesn't seem like your lacking anything. My advice would be to bank your money until you need or want to upgrade anything on the audio or visual side.

Seems like with all that storage you must have loads of music ripped. I do to but the one addition I only made a short while ago but absolutely love is a Sonos. Have you thought about that, if your itching to add something?

Great post and enjoy the AV journey you have ahead of you :smashin:
 
Hi Meeji

That's a nice set up you have at only 21! Great way to start as you have years of upgrading to look forward to :thumbsup: I just had a small 14inch TV and a Sony walkman when I was 21!

As to what to add, doesn't seem like your lacking anything. My advice would be to bank your money until you need or want to upgrade anything on the audio or visual side.

Seems like with all that storage you must have loads of music ripped. I do to but the one addition I only made a short while ago but absolutely love is a Sonos. Have you thought about that, if your itching to add something?

Great post and enjoy the AV journey you have ahead of you :smashin:

Haha, it's taken a lot of hard work and time to get to a stage where I'm pretty proud of it - even in contrast to the cinema rooms with 4k screens like yours :laugh:

Sonos has definitely been an interest for me for a while now, but as i've only got the one room to myself with the rest being communal it's going to have to wait until I get my own place I think, which will hopefully be at the end of the year, at which point i'll be able to have a setup half as awesome as yours!!
 
Thats superb for a 21 year old and your choices of kit are good so very well done :thumbsup: A lot of 21 year olds will be spending their money on booze and chemical 'duty free' (and squandering the rest ;) )

My only suggestion would be to isolate the speakers from the cabinet a little. Something like granite chopping boards from Tesco (£10 for 2) would be a perfect size and have the boards resting on some firm foam squares, or similar, under each corner. I know its not the most powerful subwoofer in the world but it will still make your av cabinet vibrate and colour the sound of the speakers. If you can isolate the speakers from the av cabinet you will free them up a little.

Only a suggestion though and not completely necessary but I noticed the difference at a time when I had speakers on my av cabinets. I remember my power amp had a slightly loose screw in it and at certain low bass frequencies it made quite a loud racket due to the vibrations from the sub :eek:
 
Really neat set up, excellent use of media storage and streaming - you can tell you know what you're doing! ;)

Just enjoy it all dude and be patient with upgrades - some of us who have "awesome systems" are too busy working and paying things off or have too many other commitments to sit down and enjoy what we've built.
 
Nice job fella, like you say being a rented house your very limited to what you can and can't do. Just think what you'll be able to do if you end up buying a place ;)
 
Thats superb for a 21 year old and your choices of kit are good so very well done :thumbsup: A lot of 21 year olds will be spending their money on booze and chemical 'duty free' (and squandering the rest ;) )

My only suggestion would be to isolate the speakers from the cabinet a little. Something like granite chopping boards from Tesco (£10 for 2) would be a perfect size and have the boards resting on some firm foam squares, or similar, under each corner. I know its not the most powerful subwoofer in the world but it will still make your av cabinet vibrate and colour the sound of the speakers. If you can isolate the speakers from the av cabinet you will free them up a little.

Only a suggestion though and not completely necessary but I noticed the difference at a time when I had speakers on my av cabinets. I remember my power amp had a slightly loose screw in it and at certain low bass frequencies it made quite a loud racket due to the vibrations from the sub :eek:

Thanks mate, definitely going to look at something to isolate the speakers from av unit!

Looks good!

Cheers!

Really neat set up, excellent use of media storage and streaming - you can tell you know what you're doing! ;)

Just enjoy it all dude and be patient with upgrades - some of us who have "awesome systems" are too busy working and paying things off or have too many other commitments to sit down and enjoy what we've built.

This is true - i'm lucky enough to have enough time on hands to use it! I've got a few updates so I should probably update the thread when i've got them all finished off.

Nice job fella, like you say being a rented house your very limited to what you can and can't do. Just think what you'll be able to do if you end up buying a place ;)

Yeh, literally cannot wait :thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Looks good,

It was a record deck speakers and amp for me at your age.

Taken me all your life and another one again to have my own room.

Enjoy
 
Looks good,

It was a record deck speakers and amp for me at your age.

Taken me all your life and another one again to have my own room.

Enjoy

The nostalgia, it hurts :laugh:
 
are you a student? At least there is enough change there for a loaf of bread and a few tins of beans :)

I remember it well haha

wish i'd had that when I was 21

best I could do was a 3.5 jack to my jvc hifi which drove my mother up the wall lol
 
Ok then,:D

Never thought myself as nostalgic......:D:D

Moved on from the record deck and still bringing the house down with some loud music and movies. :D:D:D

Enjoy your set up,

Just watch them parties where your speakers bounce off the side:thumbsup:

DrH
 
Awesome setup! XBMC remotes look pretty decent too never seen that before.

Do your switch LEDs not distract you when watching something? look quite bright in the picture.
 
I like the unit where did you find that?

cheers
 
are you a student? At least there is enough change there for a loaf of bread and a few tins of beans :)

I remember it well haha

wish i'd had that when I was 21

best I could do was a 3.5 jack to my jvc hifi which drove my mother up the wall lol

No not a student, I work full time - All bought and paid for with my hard earned pennies. Haha.

Ok then,:D

Never thought myself as nostalgic......:D:D

Moved on from the record deck and still bringing the house down with some loud music and movies. :D:D:D

Enjoy your set up,

Just watch them parties where your speakers bounce off the side:thumbsup:

DrH

I try not to throw parties If i can help it, keep my place for films and the occasional pre-town drinking!

Awesome setup! XBMC remotes look pretty decent too never seen that before.

Do your switch LEDs not distract you when watching something? look quite bright in the picture.

From the sofa you can't actually see them, I think if you were looking for them, you'd be able to see the glow, but the TV ambient light is enough for it not to be too distracting :)

I like the unit where did you find that?

cheers

It was a hand me down from my dad, he brought it from John Lewis. Where the HP Server and HTPC are would usually be two draws either side, but I've taken them out and using them as under bed storage for now.
 
So obviously I needed a new TV in the new pad, I finally splashed out (thank you mr. tax man):

Picked up the KDL46W905, and could not be happier:

DSC_0049%20%282%29.JPG

DSC_0050%20%282%29.JPG

DSC_0051%20%282%29.JPG


I'm no handy man, so mounting the TV by myself was a bit of a butt-twitching moment...
 
Looks a lot better now you've got that bigger tv, it fills the gap between the speakers just nicely.

It makes a huge difference to film watching/playing consoles and just normal tv doesn't it?
 
Very nice setup and also a very good upgrade with the tv I'm sure.
 
Its improved the movie watching experience x10.

I genuinely can't recommend it enough, if anyone's looking for a really really solid 46" set, keep an eye on the W9 series as sony unveils this years lineup there could be some good discounts to be had!
 
Stunning TV :) I myself am a massive fan of Sony TV's I would love this!
 
I find the noise of my microserver annoying when it's on during quiet scenes, do you not find that as well?
 
I swapped the fan out for a noctua, so it's pretty silent.

Also it's been moved out of the room now!
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom