Canton Movie 125 MX or tannoy sfx?

technique786

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Picking a surround sound is impossible so i thank you all for all your help.

Are the Canton Movie 125 MX (£250) better then the tannoy sfx (£150) speakers? and if so should i still get the onkyo 309 amp (£150)?

I have also found the boston accustics soundware xs in the same price as the canton if they are any good.

If there are other speakers please let me know i have a £400-ish pound budget.

Thank you all
 
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The Canton speakers are currently great value and sound pretty good. What HiFi gave them a 5* rating and thought they were good value at the original recommended price (IE. £499! ... see http://www.whathifi.com/review/canton-movie-125-mx ). These I think are currently available with a decent discount on them as Canton are just about to replace them (with the Canton 130). If it was me and you can afford it, I would suggest a slightly better AV amp. But I'm sure the 309 would be fine. Only my personal opinion.
 
what amp would you suggest and what would the advantages be to me? im renovating the house and as plans keep changing so does my setup budget lol.

I saw someone else post a message saying the 309 worked well with the system so im curious as getting the best possible sound is my aim.
 
what amp would you suggest and what would the advantages be to me? im renovating the house and as plans keep changing so does my setup budget lol.

I saw someone else post a message saying the 309 worked well with the system so im curious as getting the best possible sound is my aim.


Hi again

Very much "horses for courses" and depends what you want really. If not interested in the networking side of AV amps, then the 309 should be fine.

Though you do loose the dynamic EQ / dynamic volume control (which work rather well in my opinion) and the auto room calibration if going for the 309 (over the 509 upwards).

See Onkyo | Product comparison for a comparison.

All comes down to what you want and what you want to pay. There are loads of good AV amps out there at the moment :)

PS. Spotify (if you are into that sort of thing) now works on the Onkyo 509 (with the latest firmware).
 
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so is the 509 a good match for these speakers? i have seen that mentioned alot but dont really know what makes a good match.

Thats a extra £150 pounds for that taking me to £550. will have to ponder it over.

EDIT: wow that dynamic eq stuff sounds good and i have kids to think of.
 
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so is the 509 a good match for these speakers? i.

I think so.

But (there's always a but in life!) again depends on what functions etc. you are looking for.

My reasoning here.... is that they are currently available at a bargain price and as long as you are not expecting HiFi quality (which they are not... you would need to spend a fair bit more!) they are excellent for watching TV / movies and more than capable of filling even a decent sized room (my lounge is 6x6 m with a 3.5m ceiling height). Don't think I've heard a bad word said against them.

And at some point (money allowing) I shall retire them to the back room and buy a really top notch set of 5.1's, as the amp is more than capable of being paired with a much better set of speakers (IE, it gives me an upgrade path).

Good luck whatever you decide to do.
 
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hey mike couldi ask you a few questions about the 509?

Do you have anything connected via component and if so is it routed through hdmi to the tv?

And does the unit produce alot of runnning noise/vibration as standard?

does the amp produce a "hiss" through the speakers if set to high volume in the quiet spots in movies?

also alot of people report connection issues where the tv either blinks or drops sound while watching through it have you experienced anything?

I looked it up on amazon and people tend to hate this thing but i want the opinion of someone in the know about these things

for an extra £40-£50 would the older 608 be better? i dont feel i need to pay more unless this has issues
 
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No problem:

"Do you have anything connected via component and if so is it routed through hdmi to the tv?"

Nope... only have blu-ray (HDMI input) and SKY+HD (Optical input). I believe you would need the Onkyo 609 and up, to lift component to HDMI.

"And does the unit produce a lot of running noise/vibration as standard?"

Not that I can hear / feel. Even after an extended period it's no more than slightly warm to the touch. Though mine is is in an open glass/steel AV rack (IE. not enclosed) with loads of space round it (like it should be really in my opinion anyway). Just for you, I stuck my ear right next to it and all I can hear is a VERY slight hum. Move back a foot and I can't hear a thing.

"does the amp produce a "hiss" through the speakers if set to high volume in the quiet spots in movie"

Not that I can hear. Watched "Dark Night" last night at a fair old volume and certainly did not notice anything. And if there was a problem, I would certainly mention it. Think I'd be straight on the phone to Peter Tyson (who I bought it from).

"also alot of people report connection issues where the tv either blinks or drops sound while watching through it have you experienced anything?"

I've had mine for about a month now and we probably watch two or three hours TV a night (via SKY+HD) and it's been faultless. As a side issue, the new 1tb SKY+HD box is great, much better picture even on the SD channels than my old SKY+ (SD variety).

Got to be honest, I am VERY VERY fussy about anything I buy. Spend ages researching before deciding what to buy and to date, I've found nothing to complain about regarding the Onkyo 509. I'm not saying it's the only decent AV amp out there in this price range, just that I think it's up there with the best at this price point.

As to possibly buying the Onkyo 608. This could well be one road to go down. I suspect all you loose from what I can see, is the networking features and if not interested in this (which I was/am) then I can't see you loose anything. Buying a product at the end of it's life cycle can be one way to save a fair bit of money, while getting a top notch product. Exactly why I was originally looking at one of the Denon AV amps, but Peter Tyson (shop I buy from) did not have a black one in stock at that point in time.

If I was buying now, then I would go for the Onkyo 609, mainly because it's now available for around £380 (£450 when I was looking).

Good luck.
 
Thanks alot mikeo, with your confirmations the 509 is sounding a good little reciever. I have alot of money being spent in other avenues so will save the extra bit for the 608 as it doesnt seem needed and take the plunge for the 509 and the canton 125's.

Thank you for all the help its been invaluable
 

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