Home cinema system under £2500

Jay C

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Good evening all.

So I'm hoping some experienced members may stumble upon this post and help cure my sleepless nights.

I've been using a soundbar cinema system during my last 2 setups which consisted of a Samsung q950 soundbar with sub and 2 rears and most recently a Bose 700 package again consisting of soundbar, sub and 2 rears.

I believe I am missing that extra something that I can only find with a true 5.1 setup. My previous system, the bose did not support latest audio formats such as dts x. Imax enhanced and dolby atmos. Therfore ive come to the conclusion that I would like to move to a 5.1 (at least) system which has 2 floor standers and interested in atmos speakers to sit on top.

I watch movies predominantly, general TV, play games consoles and the occasional touch of music and have a budget of £2500.

I seem to be stuck on the idea of q acoustics 3050i, 3090ci, 3020i, and b12 sub and denon x3700 to power but wondering if anyone knows of a way of creating a better package within my budget.

Thanks ever so much in advance for your help and advice.
 
You're not wrong - a dedicated system with correctly spaced speakers will always "win" in that fight :)

If you're sticking 5.1 or even 5.1.2/7.1, the Denon 2700 would be a great match!

We have a package which includes the 3050i cinema pack but you have the option of upgrading the sub to the SVS-PB1000 Pro or the REL HT/1003 (depending if you want ported or sealed subs).

The kit we offer includes HDMI 2.1 cables, sub cables and speaker cables.
You can also opt for the speaker stands for the rears too :)


Not sure if this is of interest to you but well spec'd it sits under your budget :)
 
Good evening all.

So I'm hoping some experienced members may stumble upon this post and help cure my sleepless nights.

I've been using a soundbar cinema system during my last 2 setups which consisted of a Samsung q950 soundbar with sub and 2 rears and most recently a Bose 700 package again consisting of soundbar, sub and 2 rears.

I believe I am missing that extra something that I can only find with a true 5.1 setup. My previous system, the bose did not support latest audio formats such as dts x. Imax enhanced and dolby atmos. Therfore ive come to the conclusion that I would like to move to a 5.1 (at least) system which has 2 floor standers and interested in atmos speakers to sit on top.

I watch movies predominantly, general TV, play games consoles and the occasional touch of music and have a budget of £2500.

I seem to be stuck on the idea of q acoustics 3050i, 3090ci, 3020i, and b12 sub and denon x3700 to power but wondering if anyone knows of a way of creating a better package within my budget.

Thanks ever so much in advance for your help and advice.

I feel there should be better options for 2500£. The 3000i is budget range and the small center channel is made to please wifes more than built performance in mind. We have lot of members being little unhappy of the centre here and at AVSForum (US). Also as mentioned subwoofer should be swapped to better one from company that specializes in woofers, no need to buy from same company as speakers. I would also think very carefully do you require floorstanders, just keep in mind you aren´t running them full range. You could get better largish quality standmount speakers (6,5" - 8" drivers) similar cost so you need to weight in = better looks lower range speakers or higher range better sound quality not as good looking "bookshelf" speakers on stands.

Do you have floorplan (& dimensions) of the lounge so we can see better what you dealing with?! Would be good to see where tv and couch is. Do you prefer to wall mount surround channels or using stands. Also would be able to see the future additions regarding atmos what would works best in your room. You can make a quick sketch by drawing or with windows paint. Takes few minutes to put some dimensions and some shapes up.. Also to see there is no suprises like corner tv or some other oddities that work against you.
 
Thanks for your help thus far. I've been told that if I attach some pictures of my room that may aid some more specific suggestions.
 

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I feel there should be better options for 2500£. The 3000i is budget range and the small center channel is made to please wifes more than built performance in mind. We have lot of members being little unhappy of the centre here and at AVSForum (US). Also as mentioned subwoofer should be swapped to better one from company that specializes in woofers, no need to buy from same company as speakers. I would also think very carefully do you require floorstanders, just keep in mind you aren´t running them full range. You could get better largish quality standmount speakers (6,5" - 8" drivers) similar cost so you need to weight in = better looks lower range speakers or higher range better sound quality not as good looking "bookshelf" speakers on stands.

Do you have floorplan (& dimensions) of the lounge so we can see better what you dealing with?! Would be good to see where tv and couch is. Do you prefer to wall mount surround channels or using stands. Also would be able to see the future additions regarding atmos what would works best in your room. You can make a quick sketch by drawing or with windows paint. Takes few minutes to put some dimensions and some shapes up.. Also to see there is no suprises like corner tv or some other oddities that work against you.
Thank you so much for your reply. Already I see this world of separates is far more vast than what I thought. I'm really not bothered about looks in the slightest and more interested in performance and quality. If that can be achieved with stand mounted speakers then I'm open to that option. I just wrongly believed that bigger floor standing fronts would be better than book shelf. Is there a package you would recommend that would solve my craving for a movie system that knocks spots off my former bose 700 set up. I'm open to the idea of Wall mounted of stands. Again, just after the sound quality than looks.
 

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How wide is your racking under the stairs in total? Your challenge here is going to be your centre speaker i.e. where to mount it or where to place it.

The 3050i would be too big for this space anyway - you need separation from your from Left / Centre / Right to help the sound lock onto the scene. Too close and the sound all becomes uninteresting.

Is there scope for wall mounting speakers left and right of the TV? i.e. can the TV shuffle to the left a little bit?

You may get away with some on-wall left / right speakers, on-wall surrounds (behind the TV) but trying to house the centre channel is I think the big one. You can get wall mounted centre channel speakers too. The Monitor Audio Apex A40 would be very good as a L/C/R setup with some movement of the TV:


The Apex A10 satellites for rear surrounds being front ported would also work well. They can go in the corners firing down at you, at the side firing towards you or on the wall behind (less effective in their case).


You should be able to fit an amp in with your budget and the above.

You'd need to consider a subwoofer too but your budget would start to get tight with that.

There are smaller floor standing speakers such as the Monitor Audio Bronze 200. It's the right side of the TV that's your challenge though it wouldn't be impossible.

If you can get some dimensions of your racking space, and answer if the TV can shuffle left a little to be central to the wall, that'd be a big help :)
 
How wide is your racking under the stairs in total? Your challenge here is going to be your centre speaker i.e. where to mount it or where to place it.

The 3050i would be too big for this space anyway - you need separation from your from Left / Centre / Right to help the sound lock onto the scene. Too close and the sound all becomes uninteresting.

Is there scope for wall mounting speakers left and right of the TV? i.e. can the TV shuffle to the left a little bit?

You may get away with some on-wall left / right speakers, on-wall surrounds (behind the TV) but trying to house the centre channel is I think the big one. You can get wall mounted centre channel speakers too. The Monitor Audio Apex A40 would be very good as a L/C/R setup with some movement of the TV:


The Apex A10 satellites for rear surrounds being front ported would also work well. They can go in the corners firing down at you, at the side firing towards you or on the wall behind (less effective in their case).


You should be able to fit an amp in with your budget and the above.

You'd need to consider a subwoofer too but your budget would start to get tight with that.

There are smaller floor standing speakers such as the Monitor Audio Bronze 200. It's the right side of the TV that's your challenge though it wouldn't be impossible.

If you can get some dimensions of your racking space, and answer if the TV can shuffle left a little to be central to the wall, that'd be a big help
How wide is your racking under the stairs in total? Your challenge here is going to be your centre speaker i.e. where to mount it or where to place it.

The 3050i would be too big for this space anyway - you need separation from your from Left / Centre / Right to help the sound lock onto the scene. Too close and the sound all becomes uninteresting.

Is there scope for wall mounting speakers left and right of the TV? i.e. can the TV shuffle to the left a little bit?

You may get away with some on-wall left / right speakers, on-wall surrounds (behind the TV) but trying to house the centre channel is I think the big one. You can get wall mounted centre channel speakers too. The Monitor Audio Apex A40 would be very good as a L/C/R setup with some movement of the TV:


The Apex A10 satellites for rear surrounds being front ported would also work well. They can go in the corners firing down at you, at the side firing towards you or on the wall behind (less effective in their case).


You should be able to fit an amp in with your budget and the above.

You'd need to consider a subwoofer too but your budget would start to get tight with that.

There are smaller floor standing speakers such as the Monitor Audio Bronze 200. It's the right side of the TV that's your challenge though it wouldn't be impossible.

If you can get some dimensions of your racking space, and answer if the TV can shuffle left a little to be central to the wall, that'd be a big help :)
Thanks for your reply. I wasn't going to keep the under the stairs setup. I was going to get a rack that sits under the TV and place the centre on the top of that then the floorstading speakers were going to go where the white air con and pick bird is with the TV moved to the left a little to make it central. So you say the 3050i would be to big. Does that mean to day say any floorstanding won't work like that. I just thought it would have better sound than a bookshelf speaker. How much separation would be the min I could get away with and I will dig out a tape measure. Wall mounting the left and right was one of my options before I thought about floorstanding speakers and like you said l, moving the TV to the left slightly. The look that i have although I understand Is more for illustration purposes looks the same as what I would like to achieve and seems the same kind of distance.
 

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Thank you so much for your reply. Already I see this world of separates is far more vast than what I thought. I'm really not bothered about looks in the slightest and more interested in performance and quality. If that can be achieved with stand mounted speakers then I'm open to that option. I just wrongly believed that bigger floor standing fronts would be better than book shelf. Is there a package you would recommend that would solve my craving for a movie system that knocks spots off my former bose 700 set up. I'm open to the idea of Wall mounted of stands. Again, just after the sound quality than looks.

The couch should be on the wall where you have tv now, but that would intrude the walkway to kitchen or on that wall but pushed forward so route to kitchen, but it`s probably too big ask from wife. The front LCR is going to be quite tightly placed on that wall even if you move tv. Is there any other way to change room order / opt for another room (big ask, but other member is considering it so you never know..)?
 
"Thanks for your reply. I wasn't going to keep the under the stairs setup. I was going to get a rack that sits under the TV and place the centre on the top of that then the floorstading speakers were going to go where the white air con and pick bird is with the TV moved to the left a little to make it central. So you say the 3050i would be to big. Does that mean to day say any floorstanding won't work like that. I just thought it would have better sound than a bookshelf speaker. How much separation would be the min I could get away with and I will dig out a tape measure. Wall mounting the left and right was one of my options before I thought about floorstanding speakers and like you said l, moving the TV to the left slightly. The look that i have although I understand Is more for illustration purposes looks the same as what I would like to achieve and seems the same kind of distance."

Would you consider / is it feasible to have the TV and rack where the sofa is currently located and vice-versa?

Generally speaking for Dolby Surround you would want the below angles to your seating position.
The closer you are to the TV, the closer the speakers can be to give optimum positioning. I would imagine at your seating distance (3.2m at a guess?) then you'd be wanting a spread of 2.6m from left to right. You would want the right speaker if you kept it in your current position to be slightly forward of the return wall - just so you don't get a really tight first point of reflection.

Floor standing speakers have the ability to go lower in terms of dynamic range to a bookshelf. I personally prefer a floorstanding speaker, especially if I intend to listen to music too. Bookshelf speakers have a role to play when space is tight and as @Gasp3621 suggests, you can usually go up a range and get a better quality bookshelf speaker.

You can also mix and match - i.e. a bookshelf setup for your front left and right, a centre and on-walls for the rears.

If you're keeping where you are - consider the APEX speakers above or you could try some Silver 100 Bookshelf speakers, the Silver C250 and the Silver FX speakers wall mounted to the left and right of the rear of the sofa.

Add to that a receiver and a sub (REL HT/1003) and you've got yourself a pretty wicked setup!

If you were able to turn the room around, you could then look at something like the Bronze 200 5.1.2 setup with a set of smaller floorstanders, ATMOS modules and rear surrounds!


5_1_2_spkrplc.jpg
 

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