Help me spend my £3000ish budget please.

Degas

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Ok, I have around 3k to spend on some new kit, I want to keep my current DVD player (a Pioneer 575A) and have an xbox 360 on order, both of which I want to connect up in a Hi-Def stylee.

What I need is the following-

42" Plasma
New AV Amp
New 5.1 speaker system.
Most cables connectors and stuff (I have a couple of decent scart leads and optical cables.)

I am pretty sure I want the Panny 42PHD8 and the Kef 2005.2 speakers, but have no set in stone idea amp wise or best connections required and if anyone has any alternative ideas for speakers that would be cool to, they need to be small in size though. I really don't want to have to mess about with Powerstrip or anything like that though so I don't know if this mean it's better to avoid using the VGA connection or not. Like I say I have a £3k-ish budget, but I can probably increase this by £500 if it was really worth it. I want the best possible picture I can afford. I really want to order this stuff today, preferably from AV sales

Cheers Guys.

:clap:
 
I would strongly recommend you audition some stuff first. Although there is a lot of valuable advice here, £3.5k is a big wad to spend without knowing first hand how any of the kit performs. :lesson:
 
I have most stuff, except Amps which there are far to many of, just looking for a final push I suppose.
 
Hi!
Would recomend looking at the 43" Pioneer PDP-406XDE Plasma as it will only compliment your Pioneer DVD player.

The new KEF 2005.2 is just real good.

For cables and connectors I would recomend the QED Cinemax & Qunex range of cables and connectors.
 
247AV.com said:
Hi!
Would recomend looking at the 43" Pioneer PDP-406XDE Plasma as it will only compliment your Pioneer DVD player.

As an clearance alternative we are also selling the Panasonic D7 model at some real low prices to clear the stock. if you might be intrested then just PM me or drop me an email.

The new KEF 2005.2 is just real good. We had a demonstration of it last week and we all were just amazed with the sound quality.

For cables and connectors I would recomend the QED Cinemax & Qunex range of cables and connectors.

406XDE? or 436XDE?

Damon
 
Then you won't go far wrong with the PHD8 and the KEFs sound very good. I haven't got them myself, but a very good friend has them and they do cut the mustard (whatever that means :D ). Nearly went for the PHD, but I needed an all in one solution because of equipment rack restrictions so went for the pv500 that uses the same panel as the PHD8. I am well chuffed, so I'm sure you won't be disappointed. :thumbsup:
 
Degas said:
I am pretty sure I want the Panny 42PHD8 and the Kef 2005.2 speakers, but have no set in stone idea amp wise or best connections required and if anyone has any alternative ideas for speakers that would be cool to, they need to be small in size though. I really don't want to have to mess about with Powerstrip or anything like that though so I don't know if this mean it's better to avoid using the VGA connection or not. Like I say I have a £3k-ish budget, but I can probably increase this by £500 if it was really worth it. I want the best possible picture I can afford. I really want to order this stuff today, preferably from AV sales

Cheers Guys.

:clap:

Help you blow your wad huh? I had the chance to check out the Pioneer 436 screen at the weekend and through RGB the pic was more crisp than the Panny, I could only imagine a Component progressive would be even better.

Damon
 
Degas said:
I have most stuff, except Amps which there are far to many of, just looking for a final push I suppose.

I've just bought the Denon 2106 AV Receiver and Mordaunt Short Avant Premiere Plus system from Peter Tyson - awesome for both movies and music, at least for my taste as the Denon has a nice rich sound. I'm using this with my Pansonic TH42PE50 and Panasonic DMR-ES20 DVD recorder.

The speakers are a lower priced system than the KEF 2005.2 you mentioned - I tried the KEF 1005's and thought the MS system sounded much better. Again, all comes down to personal preference however hope this helps.
 
Hello Degas

The TH-42PHD8BK should definitely be on your shopping list - choose carefully and your AV Receiver will provide a decent Video hub to feed the Display with multiple analogue video signals.

Loudspeakers are a pretty personal choice as folk tend to 'tune' into one sound more than another - you don't say what size room your have and maybe an idea of what sort of loudspeakers you've been using for HiFi duties will give folk a better idea on a Sub/Sat system recommendation.

Best regards

Joe

PS Kunal - you need to have a long (and quick) look at the AVForums posting rules; rule 7 in particular. You may want to do a heavy edit on your last post :)
 
Joe Fernand said:
Hello Degas

The TH-42PHD8BK should definitely be on your shopping list - choose carefully and your AV Receiver will provide a decent Video hub to feed the Display with multiple analogue video signals.

Cheers so far guys, I reckon I will have around £500-£700 on the amp then, any thoughts in that range?
 
So then, which is considered the better Amp from the following:-

Denon AVR-2106

Marantz SR5500

Yamaha DSPAX757SE

Onkyo TX-SR603E

Harman Kardon AVR335

I have rang around our local guys and they only have 1 of them on show :mad: , so as I want to order tommorow I am looking for an idea?
 
Degas, I only compared the Denon AVR-2106 against a £500 Sony AV Receiver (can't remember the model number but it was poor by comparison with the Denon which is stunning IMHO) - got the Denon for £350 from Peter Tyson, bargain at that price!
 
Hello Degas

What's the rush - its an awful lot of cash your planning on spending; why the pressure to spend today!

What Amp and Speaker do you currently use with your Pioneer DVD player and what don't you like about your current set-up?

Best regards

Joe

PS Newer is not always better!
 
I have the 2005.1 kefs with a Sony str-db790 viewed on a wonderful Hitachi pd7200. DVD is a Panasonic DMR 85E with 80 gig hard drive. Component connections from DVD to plasma (ixos top quality) the whole set up is superb. If I have any niggles I would say that the Kefs tend to lack a bit of mid range but then when you get small speakers supplemented by a sub then this can often be an issue. My mate chewbacca has a Pioneer THX ultra 2 amp which I suppose knocks anything into next week, but in reality I am satisfied with the whole set-up and if you do not listen to a mega system then you will be too.
One thing definately go for a 6.1 setup - it really does make a hell of a difference.
The cost to me was about £3.5k - money well spent in my opinion :clap: :clap:
 
Has anyone tried the Pioneer VSX-1015S or seen any reviews on it, cause I have seen one going for around £380, which seems excellent, spec here:-

http://www.petertyson.co.uk/pioneervsx1015s.shtml

It seems it will be better than the Denon as it has component 1 out aswell as 3 in, whereas I think the Denon 2106 only has 3 in and 1 VGA out.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Ok just put in my order, I finally went with:-

Panny TH-42PHD8 (Silver+Stand)

Panny TY-42TM6AB Component video board

Denon AVR-2106

KEF 2005.2 5.1 speaker set

JS Tech RGB to Component (YUV) controller

2 x Van Damme 3RCA to 3RCA cables

1 x Van Damme 3RCA to 3BNC cable

All for the princely sum of £3250 :eek:

Many thanks to Alastair and mainly Andy at AVSales. It better all be here by Friday tho', or trouble will stir. ;)

Cheers for any advice guys, especially Gizlaroc who helped me out quite a bit and jazzytay who pointed out a bargain to me.

:thumbsup:
 

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