Bromie
Standard Member
Since this is my first thread here, i thought i'd start off with a bit of an explanation.
I've had a 5.1 HTIB (Samsung HT-DS110) for about 4 years now, and it has served me well with no problems at all during this time. The sound quality is ok, but as you'd guess it's more of an all-rounder rather than making, for example, music sound good. As i've said this has served me well for ages, but i'm now in the mood for an upgrade to my first 'proper' HT.
Oh, just in case you want to know, i've got a 26" Polaroid HDTV (i know, not top-of-the-range, but messing with the settings and using the XBox as a DVD upscaler means films look amazing), Samsung freeview, and an XBox 360. The freeview is connected with SCART to the TV, and the XBox is connected to the TV with VGA and to the HT with an optical connection.
So, now that i want to upgrade i've been looking everywhere for advice on what to get to suit my needs. I was originally going to get the Mordaunt Short Premiere package (after reading numerous reviews about their quality) for about £300 from Richer Sounds, but i've now decided that i'd be able to get better speakers if i was to buy them in stages (front, centre, rears, sub-woofer - advice from here).
Therefore i've settled on getting 906i's for the front, a 905i for the centre, 903i's for the surrounds, and a 309i sub-woofer. I reckon these'll sound a bit better than the average speaker, and i suppose any upgrade is better than a HTIB. It took me ages to decide on what to get, but there are so many options that if i don't just decide on something then i'll never reach a decision. And also this is the Amp forum, so i'll get shouted at if i talk about speakers...
Anyway, i've set a budget of about £250 for an AV Receiver (i'm nearly 21, go to uni, and live at home, so i'm not really looking for studio-grade equipment ) So far, i've narrowed down my choice to a Denon 1908. I've seen that the Yamaha 861 and the Onkyo 506/576 are near equivalent, but several opinions on this forum have made me prefer the Denon. My mum and dad have got a Denon CD-changer HIFI, and the sound out of it is really clean and crisp (which is what i'm guessing the 1908 would sound like), and have read that the Yamaha sort-of has to be a bit louder to sound good, and music isn't great, and that the Onkyo focuses more on features and power than sound quality (and looks... ). So, there's why i prefer the Denon.
However, since it is now outdated i can't find many opinions on it and can't sample it in a AV shop. Which is why i started this thread. Does anyone have any advice for me, or does everything sound OK so far? I'm not sure whether there are any equivalents that would suit my needs, but i'm sure there are loads of experts out there who would.
Oh, i usually listen to about 1/3 gaming, 1/3 movies and 1/3 music. Hence my speaker choice allowing a decent music quality (JUST through stereo - thanks again AVForum experts), but still giving a decent surround sound experience. I'm just not sure whether the receiver i've chosen is the best i can get for my needs and budget.
I plan on bi-amping the front speakers (i know it's a bit of a debate, but i'll try it and see what i think) and buying a Blu-Ray player at a later date (and maybe a new TV eventually). And i know that a dedicated stereo amp with the pre-outs will give a better stereo music quality, so would like to try that, as funds allow. I'm OK regarding how it'll all be connected up, but would still appreciate people's opinions on my choices (and maybe even on my speaker choice and any suitable Blu-Ray players which have multi-channel analogue outputs ).
Just to note, i haven't bought anything yet, but plan on doing so when my student loan comes through next week. Also, my bedroom isn't massive (maybe about 5m x 4m?) so i don't need excessive power, and prefer quality over volume (listen to old pop music, classical, prog rock, oldies). This is why i decided on 906i's (music) and the 903i's (to fill out the back of my soundstage). Although i like the sound of bullets whizzing past and planes flying over (in movies, obviously), my current speakers sound too localised, so would prefer more ambience from the back. Will have to try and test them and see what i think.
Any help would be massively appreciated.
Thanks, Dan.
I've had a 5.1 HTIB (Samsung HT-DS110) for about 4 years now, and it has served me well with no problems at all during this time. The sound quality is ok, but as you'd guess it's more of an all-rounder rather than making, for example, music sound good. As i've said this has served me well for ages, but i'm now in the mood for an upgrade to my first 'proper' HT.
Oh, just in case you want to know, i've got a 26" Polaroid HDTV (i know, not top-of-the-range, but messing with the settings and using the XBox as a DVD upscaler means films look amazing), Samsung freeview, and an XBox 360. The freeview is connected with SCART to the TV, and the XBox is connected to the TV with VGA and to the HT with an optical connection.
So, now that i want to upgrade i've been looking everywhere for advice on what to get to suit my needs. I was originally going to get the Mordaunt Short Premiere package (after reading numerous reviews about their quality) for about £300 from Richer Sounds, but i've now decided that i'd be able to get better speakers if i was to buy them in stages (front, centre, rears, sub-woofer - advice from here).
Therefore i've settled on getting 906i's for the front, a 905i for the centre, 903i's for the surrounds, and a 309i sub-woofer. I reckon these'll sound a bit better than the average speaker, and i suppose any upgrade is better than a HTIB. It took me ages to decide on what to get, but there are so many options that if i don't just decide on something then i'll never reach a decision. And also this is the Amp forum, so i'll get shouted at if i talk about speakers...
Anyway, i've set a budget of about £250 for an AV Receiver (i'm nearly 21, go to uni, and live at home, so i'm not really looking for studio-grade equipment ) So far, i've narrowed down my choice to a Denon 1908. I've seen that the Yamaha 861 and the Onkyo 506/576 are near equivalent, but several opinions on this forum have made me prefer the Denon. My mum and dad have got a Denon CD-changer HIFI, and the sound out of it is really clean and crisp (which is what i'm guessing the 1908 would sound like), and have read that the Yamaha sort-of has to be a bit louder to sound good, and music isn't great, and that the Onkyo focuses more on features and power than sound quality (and looks... ). So, there's why i prefer the Denon.
However, since it is now outdated i can't find many opinions on it and can't sample it in a AV shop. Which is why i started this thread. Does anyone have any advice for me, or does everything sound OK so far? I'm not sure whether there are any equivalents that would suit my needs, but i'm sure there are loads of experts out there who would.
Oh, i usually listen to about 1/3 gaming, 1/3 movies and 1/3 music. Hence my speaker choice allowing a decent music quality (JUST through stereo - thanks again AVForum experts), but still giving a decent surround sound experience. I'm just not sure whether the receiver i've chosen is the best i can get for my needs and budget.
I plan on bi-amping the front speakers (i know it's a bit of a debate, but i'll try it and see what i think) and buying a Blu-Ray player at a later date (and maybe a new TV eventually). And i know that a dedicated stereo amp with the pre-outs will give a better stereo music quality, so would like to try that, as funds allow. I'm OK regarding how it'll all be connected up, but would still appreciate people's opinions on my choices (and maybe even on my speaker choice and any suitable Blu-Ray players which have multi-channel analogue outputs ).
Just to note, i haven't bought anything yet, but plan on doing so when my student loan comes through next week. Also, my bedroom isn't massive (maybe about 5m x 4m?) so i don't need excessive power, and prefer quality over volume (listen to old pop music, classical, prog rock, oldies). This is why i decided on 906i's (music) and the 903i's (to fill out the back of my soundstage). Although i like the sound of bullets whizzing past and planes flying over (in movies, obviously), my current speakers sound too localised, so would prefer more ambience from the back. Will have to try and test them and see what i think.
Any help would be massively appreciated.
Thanks, Dan.