new home cinema 7.1 advice

strix123

Standard Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2008
Messages
15
Reaction score
2
Points
5
Age
54
Hello,
I am l looking for advice for which amp and speakers and only have £800 -£1000 to spend,i think i have decided on the amp being the Denon 1909 as it seems to have good reviews and good coments in the forum (unless there is a better way to spend £400) as for the speaker i was looking at the q acoustics 1010i 5.1 £399 and 1020i's for the front to make 7.1 or KEF KHT 2005.2 £399 (cannot afford .3) or the mordaunt short genie £399 and buying extra surrounds to make 7.1 or again any better package for the money i am new to the world of A/V so any advice would be gratefully appreciated.
 
hi ive just got the denon 1909 and the quad l-ites in cherry for £850 from practical hifi.they also gave me 2hdmi leads an optical lead for my sky hd and 20 m of speaker cable thrown in free. it sound great. :thumbsup:
 
Do you really need 7.1?

Also what are you requirements for picking the Denon 1909 ?

Do you want your system for music as well as Home Cinema?

There are numerous questions that could be asked before coming up with your solution.

There is quite a bit that could be done at the budget you have indicated but without knowing what your primary drivers are it is difficult to make suggestions.
 
I do not actually need 7.1 but want the best surround sound for the money and as i am redecorating ie putting speaker wires in to the walls and skimming over it seems a good oportunity to install 7.1 as all the new amps seem to be going that way.

the reuirement s of the system are

  • sky
  • dvd
  • blueray and gaming through ps3
  • music
The reason for choosing the Denon 1909 is that has recieved good reviews and seems to have a good spec for hd (possibly more future proof than some other in the same price range) there also seems to be some good deals on the yamaha dsp ax 763 or the pioneer vsx-1018ah

it is the speakers that i am strugling to choose between
by either going for the kef eggs or the genies that were £800 speaker in there day but are a few years old now or the q acousic 10101i which seem to be getting good review now

again very new to all this any advice is greatfully recieved
 
7.1 will not be better if you don't have the room size that works well. You need a bit of depth behind you for the rears for it to work well.

As an option you could look at Q Acoustics 1030i's for the front as they will be better than either the 1010i or 1020i for fronts. Unless you are wall mounting the bookshelf speakers by the time you factor in stands the floorstanders will take the same room.

A fairly common alternative to the Denon at that price range is the Onkyo SR606.

The Q Acoustics are a great all round package for the money. The Kef 2005 definately takes the edge on style though. I think you would be happy with either. The Kef's have the better subwoofer though.

Another package worth looking at, they sound and look great, although you won't find many reviews yet, are the Kef C1's. Have a look here :-
Quantum Electronics (UK) Limited KEF C Series C1 5.1 - Quantum Electronics (UK) Limited

They are partnered with the same subwoofer as the 2005.3 but have a more traditionaly speaker. The centre C6 is an important part of the package as well as a significant amount of your movie soundtrack will be going through that speaker.
 
thanks for your reply

the room is 25ft x 12ft and for the 7.1 and i was going to attach all the speakers to the wall with the side speakers in line with seating position with the rear about 6ft behind is this sufficient depth

thanks for the advice on the speaker it seems from what you have said the kef eggs and the 1010i's are both good and it's just personal preferance

i did notice you didnt mention the mordaunt short genies is there any reason for that (what hifi say's time hasn't been good to these speakers and only rate them 3 star but they rate kef egg's 5 star even though the genies supposedly beat them in a group test to become product of the year 2004)confusing!!!! but it does seem quite easy to buy extra surrounds for the genies (have not seen any where to buy extra kef eggs)
 
i love the denon 1909. i have sky hd, blue ray etc.i find it great for picture and sound from music and cinema.if you look up quad l-ites you,ll find they was £1000 but new ones are coming out thats why they are cheaper.they are rated better than kefs which arnt great for music.look quads up in forums every where.i havnt read a bad review on them and you can upgrade to make it 7.1 if you wish
 
thanks for your reply

the room is 25ft x 12ft and for the 7.1 and i was going to attach all the speakers to the wall with the side speakers in line with seating position with the rear about 6ft behind is this sufficient depth

thanks for the advice on the speaker it seems from what you have said the kef eggs and the 1010i's are both good and it's just personal preferance

i did notice you didnt mention the mordaunt short genies is there any reason for that (what hifi say's time hasn't been good to these speakers and only rate them 3 star but they rate kef egg's 5 star even though the genies supposedly beat them in a group test to become product of the year 2004)confusing!!!! but it does seem quite easy to buy extra surrounds for the genies (have not seen any where to buy extra kef eggs)

For your size of room 7.1 one will be fine.

We can get the extra pair. They Retail at £99 each. PM though and I am sure we will be able to put something together for you.

The 2008 awards will be out later this month and my money will be on the Kef's winning back their award. Bear in mind we are on the .3 version now of the Kefs compared to the Genies.
 
moodycow

did they have the quad l-ites in any other colour silver/black,
i have tried looking on their website but it doesn't seem to have much info on it
 
all the web sites that have them ,say they have silver and rosewood left.but i rang practical hifi and they also had cherry which goes well with my floor.i wanted the kefs as i liked the egg look but was told by so many friends and reviews etc that you cant better quads for the money that i went for them.im so glad i did.if you ring practical hifi they will try to get the colour you want and because i also got the denon 1909 i got them cheaper.im really chuffed with them both.i now want to upgrade the speaker wire and then put my skirtings on.
 
i have done some searching on the quads and like you say there not a bad word tobe said about them.

did you audition the kefs and the quads on the denon1909 and did you get the complete 5.1 quads,1909 and cable for the price you stated.
 
hi yes i listened to both and agreed with the bloke in the shop when he said the quads are far better.i also got 2 hdmi leads,an optical lead for my hd box and 20 m of speaker cables thrown in all for £850.thats everything denon 1909 and quad l-ites 5.1. i plan 2 upgrade to 7.1 when i av extra money.hope this helps.
 
i think i will be getting on the phone to practical hifi tonorrow to see if i can strike a simlar deal to what you managed, if so i will place an order .

After searching the web looking for deals on the Quads it looks like there aren't many left in any colour (did you find them in stock any where else).
 
no i looked on the internet and ebay but remembered that practical hifi where a quad dealer and rang them.they were so helpful.they even put me through to another branch cos they cud get them cheaper. i stressed i wanted to pay under £900.they even rang quad about colours left as i wanted cherry and no one had them.they rang me back and told me they cud get them.their customer service was first class.good luck :)
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom