Best 5.1 speaker setup for less than £700

dan_993

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Having always bought one box packages in the past, I'm in need of a bit of advice on what 5.1 speaker setup to go for.

I'm going to buy the Onkyo 605 receiver and would like a speaker package primarily for movies but also for music.
I live in a townhouse and even though I've very forgiving neighbours, I'd prefer clarity over volume. The room is 3.5m x 4.0m and I'm looking for something easy on the eye for less than £700 (insert joke here).

I'm torn between the following:

Mordaunt Short Alumnis
Mordaunt Short 900i series
Q Acoustics 1000 series

Have any of you "in the know" any preferences over any of the above?

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated :thumbsup:
 
A E Aego T's are within your budget & well worth a listen too.

I've not heard the MS Alumni's, but I reckon they should be good (I've got the Premiere Plus and rate them for the money)
 
Thanks Matt, do you know how well the Aego Ts perform with music? I appreciate that 5.1 speaker packages are specifically designed for home cinemas but I would like to use the front 2/3 speakers for music as well.
Cheers
 
I like them for music.

Obviously they're a sub/sat system, but I reckon there the most musical this side of £1k (or until you get to the likes of the Quad Lites etc).

Like I said, though, not heard the Alumni, but I have high hopes for them.
 
what are your thoughts on the KEF packages? The KHT2005.2 is about £600 at my local store?
 
Lots of people have recommended the 2005s to me, looking at the reviews I don't think you'd be dissapointed. I demoed the 3005s at the weekend and was very impressed, they're on the t'interweb for less than £750.
In the end I've gone for the Q acoustics 1000 series and have upgraded the front speakers to 1020s, £545 including the upgrade, 4no wall brackets and oodles of cable! can't wait to get them.
 
hi dan just to jump in on your thread, i'm in a similar situation to you (similar room size/amp and choosing between the Aego Ts vs Q acoustics 1000 systems for 5.1 surround sound mainly for movies. both can be had for ~£550 on the web. Why did you choose the Q with the 1020 upgrade (and where did you get it!) over the aego T's?

I like the center speaker that the Q's have, compared to the aego T's 'lack' of one. I'm interested to hear your reasons!

Thanks mate:)
 
Hi Jim, I've been trawling these forums for a few weeks now trying to decide on which speaker package to get, I was torn between the Aego Ts, Q Acoustics 1000s and the Mordaunt Short Alumnis.

I went with the QAs because they have had excellent write ups etc (as well as the Aegos) and I also wanted a system that performed well with music (even though I'd be using them primarilly for movies).

The upgrade to the 1020s was only £55 with £40 worth of speaker brackets thrown in. I read somewhere that by adding the 1020s the overall sound was crisper with more detail and also much more capable with music

I ordered mine yesterday with an Onkyo 605 and a themescene HD80 projector from Roy Jowetts (in lancashire somewhere), they're really good to deal with and offer 12 months interest free! Only thing is you have to wait 2 weeks for the interest free option (cooling off period for finance). see the attached the link for the speakers: http://www.royjowetthomecinema.co.uk/product/Q-Acoustics-Speaker-upgrade-package.html

Hope this helps :)
 
hi dan just to jump in on your thread, i'm in a similar situation to you (similar room size/amp and choosing between the Aego Ts vs Q acoustics 1000 systems for 5.1 surround sound mainly for movies. both can be had for ~£550 on the web. Why did you choose the Q with the 1020 upgrade (and where did you get it!) over the aego T's?

I like the center speaker that the Q's have, compared to the aego T's 'lack' of one. I'm interested to hear your reasons!

Thanks mate:)

The fact the T's have the same speakers all round actually helps with cohesion.

They're different types of package, though. The T's being a sub/sat system and the QA's being 'full' size.

Space is really limited in my lounge, and I just don't have room for a full size speaker package:mad:

Still, I've got my MA S6's for music in the dining room, so it's not all bad news:smashin:

If you've got the budget, and looking for full size speakers, have a look at the Tannoy F1 Custom 5.1 system, it's cracking.

If it really is mainly for movies though, bear in mind there really is little benefit to the larger speakers as the sub does all the low-end work anyways.
 
Hi Jim, I've been trawling these forums for a few weeks now trying to decide on which speaker package to get, I was torn between the Aego Ts, Q Acoustics 1000s and the Mordaunt Short Alumnis.

I went with the QAs because they have had excellent write ups etc (as well as the Aegos) and I also wanted a system that performed well with music (even though I'd be using them primarilly for movies).

The upgrade to the 1020s was only £55 with £40 worth of speaker brackets thrown in. I read somewhere that by adding the 1020s the overall sound was crisper with more detail and also much more capable with music

I ordered mine yesterday with an Onkyo 605 and a themescene HD80 projector from Roy Jowetts (in lancashire somewhere), they're really good to deal with and offer 12 months interest free! Only thing is you have to wait 2 weeks for the interest free option (cooling off period for finance). see the attached the link for the speakers: http://www.royjowetthomecinema.co.uk/product/Q-Acoustics-Speaker-upgrade-package.html

Hope this helps :)

I too am in the same position as yourself and have been torn between the QA1000 series with other similarly priced ones. Glad you have positive feedback about these speakers because they are actually not mentioned all that often around these forums, most people seem to gear towrads SVS's or KEF's.

I have been thinking about getting two pairs of 1020 and a centre (minus the sub) and see them as the perfect balance between price/size/quality, and it helps that they are music capable. At this price range. Does anybody out there disagree? Or are these really the ultimate music-stroke-surround speakers at this price?
 
Hi matt, with the below,

If it really is mainly for movies though, bear in mind there really is little benefit to the larger speakers as the sub does all the low-end work anyways.

Looking at the specs for the 2 subs here (aego T vs Q1000 sub, the aego sub seem abit higher spec as it were? so perhaps this would make the difference more apparent? As space is abit of a premium to be honest, perhaps the aego T's are for me after all. Also the original cost of the aego is £800 vs the QA's £500 - to a thicko like me one is £300 better than the other, but both at the same price!!!( they always seem to see me coming!)

Max price i want to pay is ~£550 to compliment the £400 Onkyo 606. Pay day in 10 days so got some breathing space!
 
Hi matt, with the below,



Looking at the specs for the 2 subs here (aego T vs Q1000 sub, the aego sub seem abit higher spec as it were? so perhaps this would make the difference more apparent? As space is abit of a premium to be honest, perhaps the aego T's are for me after all. Also the original cost of the aego is £800 vs the QA's £500 - to a thicko like me one is £300 better than the other, but both at the same price!!!( they always seem to see me coming!)

Max price i want to pay is ~£550 to compliment the £400 Onkyo 606. Pay day in 10 days so got some breathing space!

If you can, try and get a demo of them both before parting with the cash.

I think the Aego's make a big sound for (relatively) small boxes. I've not heard the QA's, and as I said, although I'd be interested, I simply don't have the room for them, so have been concentrating on sub/sat packages myself.

I'm sure they both sound good. Both had good reviews on here and from the press, so no 'wrong' answer really; just what you prefer.
 
Got a richer sounds down the road so will see what they have got demo-wise. Leaning towards the Aego T's at the min due to the size, but i'll be interested to hear what dan thinks of his new setup :)lease:):) !
 
I'm afraid my kit won't be delivered for a couple of weeks if you can wait that long!? I'll let you know as soon as I've given my ears a blast.

I've just been checking on the dims for the Onkyo 605 for mounting, :eek: it's bloody huge! I was going to mount it on the wall but it's the size and weight of a small child, I'll have to have a re-think!
 
I Know you have now ordered but this is for anyone looking into this thread still looking at buying. Although listed as B Stock these are 99.9% of the time just end of model jobbies. Still with full guarantee.

The EVO 3 packages are very good value at over half price. Most places are still selling at full price.

http://www.acoustic-energy.co.uk/E-Shop/index.asp?EnhanceA=PRODUCT SEARCH RESULTS

Anyway just a thought.

Andy
 
interesting, will have a look into them. Prob abit big for my setup tho. Pay day is 10 days away so bit of humming and harring to go yet!

B- grade
The Evo's are now available in B-Stock at an incredible 50% off!!! (Acoustically perfect, may have minor blemishes or be unused returned stock)

Never sure whether to trust these kind of things. Anyone had any experience with this retailer?
 
Ha looked into them (evo 3 pakage) and liked them so much i put in an order! Seems they won all types of awards for the last 5 years. Bit of furniture re-arrangement and voila - we'll see when they arrive. Cheers for the heads up Andy - would've missed it otherwise:smashin:
 
Ha looked into them (evo 3 pakage) and liked them so much i put in an order! Seems they won all types of awards for the last 5 years. Bit of furniture re-arrangement and voila - we'll see when they arrive. Cheers for the heads up Andy - would've missed it otherwise:smashin:

If you've got the space, you won't get better for the money.

Good with music too.

Enjoy:thumbsup:
 
For anyone still interested I've received and setup the Q acoustics. I ended up going for the 1020 upgrade for the fronts and the system is paired up with an Onkyo 605. The whole setup sounds amazing!
The standard Q acoustics 5.1 system comes with 4no 1010 speakers, these are really compact but the 1020s I am using for the fronts are a little bigger, anyone wanting a really compact system be warned, these are however ideal for my room.
I still haven't had a play around with the Onkyo yet so they are playing pretty much "out of the box" but even un-tweaked they sound great, plenty of power and very crisp and detailed.
The sub (100W) is more than powerful enough for my needs, I have the level turned down to about 1/3 and there is still masses of grunt for films and music.
We watched Planet Earth last night and the rumble from the waterfalls transfered seamlessly from the 1020s to the sub and there is so much detail!
As I said, would definitely recommend!
 

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