Best speakers and amp for me

RetroDaz

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Hi there,
I've been thinking of upgrading my existing speakers and amp as I think the latter is on its way out (Arc doesn't always work and sometimes the audio disappears).

I currently have a LG C8 and while the picture is generally amazing I occasionally get synch issues with ARC so I feel the safest thing to do is pass my 4K player and Xbox Series X directly through the amp and then to the TV (I can't do this currently as my amp doesn't support HDR or Dolby Vision).

I'm therefore looking for a decent amp which will do Dolby Atmos and DTS X (which I think is the equivalent to Dolby) can output to HDMI 2.1 for 120HZ gaming (I'm well aware my LG C8 doesn't manage this) and have HDR and Dolby Vision built in.

I'm also looking for brand-new speakers to replace my existing setup, again with a focus on getting full use of dolby atmos.

Budget wise I looking to spend no more than £3K as it's going to have to last me quite a while.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Which speakers and receiver you have now?

Can you post floorplan with basic dimensions and/or pictures of the room (front stage and near the couch area)?! I`m assuming the system goes to living room, no dedicated cinema room mentioned.

Is the system used mostly for movies/tv/gaming?

Detached house / apartment with worry of neighbours?

Do you have preference for floorstanding/standmount speakers on stands at front?
Surround speakers wall mounted or standmounts?
For atmos/dts:x in-ceiling/front & rear heights/upfiring aka bounce type speakers? One or two pairs? Generally people do 5.1.2 if they have couch against rear wall.

Finish/colour and size preferences (incl. subwoofer)?
 
You don't have to replace everything in one go, just replace the avr for now and take time replacing and upgrading others

£3000 is doable but if that includes 13 speakers a sub or two and a avr it's pushing a bit more.

What do you mean speakers on their way out?
 
Go second hand for the speakers/subs.

Otherwise you're going to struggle at £3k given you want a fully featured AVR>
 
Hello

Some dimensions of the room would be beneficial for sure.
In terms of your current system - is there anything you'd want to keep? Are your cables suitable etc?

You can get some cracking deals with a capable amp (i.e. Denon 3700 + Monitor Audio Bronze 200 5.1.2) for well under £3k or upgrade the sub and still be under budget :)


Example above - not saying it's the right package for you in terms of product, but there are capable systems out there.

Most of the new generation Denon/Marantz receivers support HDMI 2.1 now with support for what you're looking for (older units do not without an additional box).

Questions to ask:

  1. do you want ATMOS from upfiring or wall mounted speakers or are you willing to cut holes in ceilings (the latter gives the best result but takes a little more time)
  2. what volume do you enjoy listening at?
  3. size of room and position of the sofa in the room
Cheers
Lee / Yorkshire AV
 
Hello

Some dimensions of the room would be beneficial for sure.
In terms of your current system - is there anything you'd want to keep? Are your cables suitable etc?

You can get some cracking deals with a capable amp (i.e. Denon 3700 + Monitor Audio Bronze 200 5.1.2) for well under £3k or upgrade the sub and still be under budget :)


Example above - not saying it's the right package for you in terms of product, but there are capable systems out there.

Most of the new generation Denon/Marantz receivers support HDMI 2.1 now with support for what you're looking for (older units do not without an additional box).

Questions to ask:

  1. do you want ATMOS from upfiring or wall mounted speakers or are you willing to cut holes in ceilings (the latter gives the best result but takes a little more time)
  2. what volume do you enjoy listening at?
  3. size of room and position of the sofa in the room
Cheers
Lee / Yorkshire AV
Apologies for the lack of replies (a combination of COVID and deadlines).
I think a package like the above would be perfect (I'm assuming HDR10 is just bog-standard HDR). As long as the amp is future proofed (gaming at 120fps etc) and has HDR and Dolby Vision I'll be happy. My LG C8 is pretty poor for lip synch issues using arc, so I ideally need to feed everything through the amp.

Room dimensions are a little tricky because it's two rooms knocked into one. I'd prefer mounted speakers for the Atmos as more ceiling has artex which I imagine will cause issues with upfiring speakers. I like listening to films quite loud (we're in a detached house, so I don't need to worry about neighbours.

I know I could get better deals by buying everything separately but it's not really an option for me (wife is itching to spend the cash!)

I'm considering floor standing speakers I think and I also use a record player so the amp would need to handle that as well.
I have nothing behind our sofa because it's used to break the room in half. I was thinking of just 2 atmos speakers.
 

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