Many Many questions

stevegreen

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Wasn't quite sure where to put this as it raises numerous questions on all aspects of AV. Mods please feel free to move it.

In a month or so time I will be moving into a new house and the second bedroom has been reserved as a listening/cinema room. The equipment that I currently have will be sited in there consisting of a full set of Polk speakers and an SVS sub. The Polks are R40 fronts, RT25i rears, a CS400i centre and the SVS is the 20-39 Pci model.

My current intention is to use the current speaker set up and purchase a different amp to drive them, the DVD player that I currently use will be sited downstairs in the main room and replaced with a HCPC in the cinema room. This will allow me to not only enjoy films and music in peace but also browse the internet etc etc. The display will be from a projector as the Toshiba rear projection set I currently use will be used elsewhere.

So, now the questions. I have a budget of £2000 to fund this change over and essentially this has to pay for an amplifier, a projector, HCPC and a smaller pair of speakers for the lounge.

Obviously with this budget restriction I will be looking to buy some of the stuff second hand.

I have a need to have a decent music production in the cinema room and I like the sound that my Polks make. They are currently run by a Yamaha RXV 496 amplifier.

My budget breakdown at the moment is something like this:

Amplifier - £500
HCPC - £500
Projector - £700
Speakers for lounge - £300

I know that i need to audition a few amplifiers to get a feel for what i want but, the likelyhood is that I will be after a second hand one, maybe an Arcam, Denon or Marantz. It will need to have 7.1 capability and plenty of 'oomph' For this kind of money, what would people recommend is my shortlist?

The HCPC is a complete unknown at the moment, essentially I want a fairly good quality unit that will have a decent DVD-RW drive, a good processor and wireless internet capabilities, plenty of HD space is also a requirement. I am thinking that I could possibly build this myself and get the bits from the local computer market, but, I have no idea what I should be looking for sound card, motherboard and video card wise. Some advice on this would be useful.

Finally, the projector. The room is 13' long and I am planning an image size of just under 7' (the room is 7'10” wide). I need to do some reading on throw distances etc etc but what projector would be a good option for me on a budget of £700?

Long post I know, any advise and guidance would be much appreciated.
 
Hi Steve,

For £700 have a look at the Panasonic 700 or the Sanyo Z3 second hand. I have had the 2 of these and they are good value for money

I would also reccommend the Yamaha 750 for amplification. I used to own the 630 and when i upgraded to the 750 it gave my speakers a new lease of life :thumbsup: http://www.prcdirect.co.uk/PRC/PRC.storefront/EN/product/DSPAX750SETITANIUM

As for the htpc you could start off with a Shuttle Barebones and add your own Graphics card etc.

Adrenochrome.
 
stevegreen said:
It will need to have 7.1 capability and plenty of 'oomph' ...

Marantz SR7400 should fit the bill and well within budget :thumbsup:

_______________
Dermot
 
As has been said look second hand, I recently purchased a Denon 3801 for £150, and I've recently seen Denon a10SE going for under £300 on ebay - plenty of power to drive speakers - though you'd need a power amp for 7.1 with the A10SE - the 3801 is 7.1:) That should give you more money for the projector - possible with hd comp.
 
Slight change to the configuration now.

I will be using a pair of Polk RTi600's for the main cinema room now and the Polk R40 will be used downstairs with the existing amp. This puts even more emphasis on getting the right amp :D
 

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