Question about new AV purchase, I'm a newbie!! Setup advice

Waynester

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Hi Guys

a newbie into setting up my system choice, haven't bought it all yet!

My bedroom is 10 feet by 20 feet

I've Just bought a Panasonic TX-55CX802B Television, it's going up on my wall on Monday :)

I've decided to get the following equipment to add to it for 5.1 Surround Sound and i also want to listen to CD's using my Marantz Signature CD Player, but bit worried about what CD's will sound like..

Denon AVRX2200W Home Cinema Receiver
Cambridge Audio Aero 6 Speakers
Cambridge Audio SX70 Centre Speaker
Cambridge Audio SX50 Speakers
Cambridge Audio SX120 Subwoofer

If I connect all this up and buy a separate hi fi power amp, how do I use this power amp on its own with just the Aero 6 Speakers if there already connected to the Denon AV amp as front surround sound speakers?
or do you think the Denon AV Amp will suffice and be good enough for listening to Music CD's

Or can anyone suggest a better system and setup procedure?
Does my system choice look okay?

Will be watching lots of Blu Ray music concerts and movies etc

My budget is £1250 for everything
 
Hello
Why the seperate power amp, what is your thinking as a purchase and how will you accommodate that in your budget? You would use a designated pre out on the denon to your power amp and wire your speakers to the power amp.
Also why so much Cambridge audio? Is it a listening preference or have you been to richer sounds??

If you are truly concerned about CD quality sound, your marantz hooked up to a nice second hand 2ch stereo amp and speakers could also be considered. Just a thought.

Personally I would buy the denon and the speakers and run it in for 4-8 weeks absolute minimum and then see if you really need that power amp at this stage. There are plenty of 'pure' modes on modern AV amps that can shut down unrequired circuitry when 2ch stereo is the listening requirement.
 
I do not think the Denon has preouts so would not be able to connect a stereo amp to it in the way you suggest.
What you would need is something like this:
tc-7220
You could then select which amp you will use on the one set of speakers.
Not sure on the speaker choice either, have you demoed them? Richer sounds have a few options for speakers around the same price as the CA from the likes of Monitor Audio and Q Acoustics which would be worth a listen to make sure you get the best sounding speakers for you.
 
Guys, I'm choosing Cambridge audio because they seem to have won lots of awards in that category, what hi-fi etc, and have positive reviews, definitely getting the Denon AV Amp and like the CA Aero 6 Speakers, I'll ask for a demo I think
 
and I definitely want floor standing speakers in my setup
 
Do you have enough space in your room to accommodate the floor-standing speakers - it is usual for these to need to be positioned a reasonable distance away from side and rear walls so as not to sound boomy.

It is hard to say if the X2200 will sound good enough for you as we don't know what your standards are or what sort of music you listen to. A setup that sounds great with D&B will probably not be optimal for someone listening to classical or music with a strong vocal presence.

The only way to know for sure is to arrange a demo that will match your listening room as closely as possible - if you are constrained to having the speakers in the corners then make sure they are positioned like this in the demo - it can make a massive difference.
 
Hi again, the floorstanding speakers will be 6 feet either side of my TV on the wall

I'll ask Richer Sounds for a demo I think

The Aero 6 were considered the best sounding floorstanding speakers in what hi fi (for their price)

I listen to all kinds of music, rock, pop, soul, classical, jazz funk... no dance music!
 
I would take what hifi reviews with a big pinch of salt and certainly would not base my choice on it.
 
Okay, after much tooing and throwing, I'm deciding on this package, going to demo it in richer sounds this week at some point

What ya reckon?
Seems to have positive feedback from people

Will run my Marantz Signature CD-63 MKII CD Player into the back of the Denon Amp using an optical cable, hopefully will sound nice through the system, I can then think about finding a better way to listen to music at a later stage... Or any suggestions?
 

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The Mass are a popular speaker set and should pair well with the Denon.
Given your requirement for music you may find that a sub/satellite system may not be the best option. Going to demo it is the best option since only you can tell if it sounds good for you. Another option around the same price would be the Q Acoustics 2000 5.1 set that is in Richer Sounds as well. These are bigger standmount speakers which may give you some benefits with the music side of things.
 
The Mass are a popular speaker set and should pair well with the Denon.
Given your requirement for music you may find that a sub/satellite system may not be the best option. Going to demo it is the best option since only you can tell if it sounds good for you. Another option around the same price would be the Q Acoustics 2000 5.1 set that is in Richer Sounds as well. These are bigger standmount speakers which may give you some benefits with the music side of things.

How about this package for another £100?
 

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The 3000 series is supposed to be an improvement over the 2000 series so could be worth a listen as well.
 
I bought the Denon AVRX2200W and the Q Acoustics 3000 package from richer sounds, really pleased with it
 
I don't agree now!

Q Acoustics 3070S is now causing me issues, apparently a fault they know about as I'm reading about it on the Internet, watching a film last night and the sub is now making an annoying "popping sound" I thought my neighbour was punching the wall or someat!

Popping noise on a Q Acoustics 3070s sub - Overclockers UK Forums

There are many other cases of the above on the net

I even turnt my lovely new Denon AMP off and the sub is still popping as it turns itself off

This 3070S is going back to Richer Sounds Oxford and I'll get something else as I can't for the life of me understand WHY these are being sold!

I haven't got time to keep takin it back and exchanging it for an identical speaker, only to have to do another 30 mile round trip to do so to bring it back to repeat the process !


Richer Sounds have ordered me in a Monitor Audio MR-W10 as a possible exchange

I would have liked the Q Acoustics 7070si, but it's more money and my faith in Q Acoustics is at ZERO respect :(
Even after reading "positive reviews" online before I bought this package

Hopefully the rest of my 3000 series speakers will hold up to the job :(
 
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It's fault free, no popping and sounds okay, can't say I'm blown away with it sound wise though
 
The sub issues experienced by people on this and other forums is the reason I did not buy Q Acoustics, and probably won't in future. That level (pun unavoidable) of quality control is not really excusable in this price category, and it seems like duff units have invested many retailers and are still being given out to new buyers.

If I were Q Acoustics I would be recalling all stock of subs manufactured before whatever date the issue started, testing and repairing them all, and ensuring that not a single other exists in the retail channel because the reputational damage of this is quite significant.

Even when the sub works fine people are citing its weak performance. From user feedback I have seen it's just not a great sub even at this price category, which is a shame when competitors subs like the Dali E-9F seem to put in a good performance despite the size and rated power. Considering the speakers are apparently very good, a sub-par (again, pun semi-unavoidable) woofer lets the package down as a whole.

I would return the Q Acoustics sub and buy a BK XXL400 XXLS400-DF & XXLS400-FF
 

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