Question Newbie to Home cinema systems

banzap

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Hi all,

I'm looking for a surround system (home cinema) to my flat. The idea is to put the system in my living room which is small (6x4 meters or something). But in the next years will move to a little bigger house, but will continue to use the living room (not dedicated room for home cinema).

My TV is a Sony Android TV. My main usage will be Netflix, Amazon Video, PS4 games, some TV (not important of course for the system) and Bluray movies. Maybe some music, but is not important.

My budget is more or less limited around 600£ (AMP + speakers). I have been looking to different bundles that have different features (like Spotify connect, etc). However, the most important thing for me are the sound specs (quality, dd dts support, etc) and future-proof (as don't want to change AMP regularly).

This is the list I looked:
- Onkyo HT-S3705 (Onkyo | HT-S3705)
- Onkyo HT-S5805 (Onkyo | HT-S5805)
- Denon AVR-2200W with Tannoy HTS101XP 5.1 (http://exceptional-av.co.uk/home-ci...x2200w-w-tannoy-hts101-xp-speaker-system.html)

My questions are:
- Is worth for me buying something like the Denon package or the Onkyo HT-S3705 is enough?
- Are the Tannoy speakers better than the speakers that come in the Onkyo HT-S5805 package?
- Is Atoms/DTS-x important for future-proof?
- What other alternatives are recommended?

I want a good sound system, but not something that I'm paying more but won't use at the end (because of my living room size, features not used, etc).

Thanks for your advice :)
Ricardo
 
With your budget I would be tempted with something like this:
Yamaha RXV379 & Monitor Audio MASS 5.1 | 5.1 Speaker Package excluding DVD player | Richer Sounds
The Denon/Tannoy package is a little too light on the speakers in my eyes and Tannoy/Denon may also not be the best match.
Trying to future proof an AVR is somewhat an impossible task as they tend to be bringing new things out each year that make last year 'obsolete'. However, a lot will depend on whether you are interested in these new features. Atmos etc. requires extra speakers (speakers in/on the ceiling for the best effect) so if you do not have the desire to install these then does not matter if the AVR has it or not. Given your low budget I would ignore Atmos for now.
I would always advice getting good speakers as these can and will last many years so spending more on speakers is never a bad move as they can then last several changes of AVR.
 
'as don't want to change AMP regularly' - as PSM1 says loudspeakers will tend to outlast your electronics and with the fast pace of change in how we consume content AVR's are having to change every couple of years to keep pace with new formats, new copy protection schemes...

Room/Room Layout - how close to the ideal can you layout your room? If your room does not lend itself to following the Dolby guidelines you may be better looking at less rather than more loudspeakers.

5.1 Speaker Setup Guide

Joe
 
It's true. I have a 7.2 system in my cinema room but only a 3.0 system in my lounge as its just not practical to have more. It still sounds good as I have a good pair of speakers and centre, not as immersive as surround but far better than tv speakers. If your budget is limited have a think about whether a pair of decent speakers at the front is a better option than a budget 5.1 setup. You can always add at a later date.
 

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