JVC NX-BD3 HC set or Yamaha receiver and Diamond 10.1

[BCage]

My girlfriends parents want to buy a new blu-ray home cinema set. They do not want surround speakers and prefer smaller speakers. It is mainly going to be used for music listening and the occasional movie. It is supposed to last a long time. They were going to buy the overpriced (€700) Sony BDV-Z7 2.1 system, which I advised against.

Now, the JVC NX-BD3 1.2 Home Cinema System is on sale for around €570 including shipping. It looks pretty good, and got a good review on TrustedReviews, but for €100 more I could also get this stereo system:

Speakers - Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 €238,00
Receiver - Yamaha RX-V365 €245,95
Blu-Ray - Philips BDP2500/12 €149,00

This will total around €670 including cables and shipping. I have no doubt that this will sound better for music listening. I am just curious how much better it will sound. The JVC set is nice and simple to operate and looks good, I am sure that's the one they will go for if I show them both options and they'll probably be perfectly happy with it.

Bottom line is, is it worth it trying to convince them to spend €100 more and sacrifice some convenience and looks for the better sound quality. Is it really going to be that much better?

 

[Passingbat]

As you're going to connect a blueray to the amp, you need to go for at least the Yamaha 465 as the 365 won't do audio via HDMI. The further up the Yamaha range, the better the sound quality.

The Diamond 10 speakers are good speakers, but I think that the Mordaunt Short Aviano 1 or Aviano 2 would be a better pairing. However, if they like a warm sound (more mellow) then the Diamond 10s may be a good choice.

Re the blueray player, I would stick with Sony or panasonic; the Sony s360 or panasonic bd60. they may have changed, but a couple of years ago, Philips didn't have the best reputation for DVD players.

 

[BCage]

Thank you for the advice. The Mordaunt Short Aviano 1 would be fine, they are about the same price and are nicer to look at anyway.

Couldn't I just use the digital out on the Blu-Ray to get audio on the Yamaha. I could also get the RX-V463 for the same price as the 365. Would that be a better buy? The 465 is €80 more, which is doable, but it probably makes the difference with the JVC set too big.

As for the Blu-Ray. I don't buy Sony equipment, but I could get the Pioneer BDP-120 or the Panasonic you suggested for the same price, although the Panny is pretty ugly. Or the Samsung BD-P1600 for €129 through a cashback offer, which would leave some room for a better receiver.

 

[Passingbat]

Thank you for the advice. The Mordaunt Short Aviano 1 would be fine, they are about the same price and are nicer to look at anyway.

Couldn't I just use the digital out on the Blu-Ray to get audio on the Yamaha. I could also get the RX-V463 for the same price as the 365. Would that be a better buy? The 465 is €80 more, which is doable, but it probably makes the difference with the JVC set too big.

As for the Blu-Ray. I don't buy Sony equipment, but I could get the Pioneer BDP-120 or the Panasonic you suggested for the same price, although the Panny is pretty ugly. Or the Samsung BD-P1600 for €129 through a cashback offer, which would leave some room for a better receiver.

Sorry for the delay replying --- I missed your post.

You could use the digital optical out to get audio from the blueray player, but it wouldn't be HD audio, so you wouldn't be able to take advantage of the new audio formats on blueray. Audio via HDMI is the standard now, so I don't think it is wise to buy an amp that doesn't do it.

I think the X63 series had fewer HDMI inputs and they also had a clipping issue with video, so, I would stick to the current x65 range.
I don't know much about the Pioneer bdp120, but a browse of the blueray forums should give some feedback. I think pioneer BR players are well regarded in general.

I have a Samsung 1500 BR player and it has never let me down. However, the general impression i get is that Samsung aren't as reliable as other makes.