After much persuasion swmbo has agreed we can have a combi living/ home cinema upgrade!. The plan is to rip out the fireplace along the parting wall of our semi detached house build a fake wall sink the Tv in and either put speaker cables in the walls or under new coving round the ceiling.
The upgrade process has begun as so far consists of downstairs - Panasonic 47et5, VM v+ box, ps3, wdtv smp. This is all connected at the minute to a Sony ht-as5 5.1 with built in amp in the sub with 3 hdmi in and one out, supports 3d pass through and dts- hdma and Dolby true hd through lpcm decoded by the ps3 for blu ray and just true hd streamed from my 6tb raided nas through the wdtv smp. This was my first foray into home cinema but now I want something that looks and sounds better and can handle all hd audio. I think if I go down the separate amp and speaker route because I am limited for space everywhere I have decided the amp I would choose would be the pioneer vsx s 300 which is the right type of size and price I would like to pay for an amp at the minute and it seems to fit all my requirements.
Now here lies my problem which speakers to pair with it. I have a short list which consists of tannoy sfx 5.1, Boston acoustics soundware xs 5.1, Cambridge audio minx 5.1 and the onkyo ht-hdx 5.1 system again all the right type of size look and cost but which ones are best? I may even look at second hand versions of these if pristine etc as budget will be tight.
So far I have only demoed the Cambridge audio minx at richer sounds and was left a little underwhelmed by them for their price ( the top end of my budget) and didn't really think they were any better then my existing speakers even in a fully calibrated demo room. The guy they're then threw a massive curveball by sitting me down and playing me another system with the same demo (behind enemy lines bd) . This system blew me way in comparison to the minx. Imagine my surprise when the light was put back on and projector raised it was actually the Yamaha ysp 2200 7.1 soundbar. I couldn't believe that what I had just heard hadn't come from 5 speakers. Now don't get me wrong it's a little expensive at £640 but not far off some of the amp and speaker combos I'm considering at they're shop prices. Swmbo was also just as impressed (which is rare when it comes to all things gadgety) so obviously the soundbar option is her favourite as it sounded better than our existing setup and keeps with the minimalistic look she so badly desires!!. I'm torn as to whether I would get the soundbar sounding as good at home with open stairs to the left of where it would be placed and the main window to the right. I've read the instructuctions to the Yamaha so understand how the intellibeam system works and my room seems to fall within the requirements (distances etc) and mentions setting two modes in the memory for curtains open and curtains closed so sounds promising but I'm just not sure, could really do with a home demo of the soundbar but living where I do it doesn't seem possible.
Any thoughts, recommendations and advice on the items I am considering and maybe even ones I'm not most welcome! Thanks in advance.
The upgrade process has begun as so far consists of downstairs - Panasonic 47et5, VM v+ box, ps3, wdtv smp. This is all connected at the minute to a Sony ht-as5 5.1 with built in amp in the sub with 3 hdmi in and one out, supports 3d pass through and dts- hdma and Dolby true hd through lpcm decoded by the ps3 for blu ray and just true hd streamed from my 6tb raided nas through the wdtv smp. This was my first foray into home cinema but now I want something that looks and sounds better and can handle all hd audio. I think if I go down the separate amp and speaker route because I am limited for space everywhere I have decided the amp I would choose would be the pioneer vsx s 300 which is the right type of size and price I would like to pay for an amp at the minute and it seems to fit all my requirements.
Now here lies my problem which speakers to pair with it. I have a short list which consists of tannoy sfx 5.1, Boston acoustics soundware xs 5.1, Cambridge audio minx 5.1 and the onkyo ht-hdx 5.1 system again all the right type of size look and cost but which ones are best? I may even look at second hand versions of these if pristine etc as budget will be tight.
So far I have only demoed the Cambridge audio minx at richer sounds and was left a little underwhelmed by them for their price ( the top end of my budget) and didn't really think they were any better then my existing speakers even in a fully calibrated demo room. The guy they're then threw a massive curveball by sitting me down and playing me another system with the same demo (behind enemy lines bd) . This system blew me way in comparison to the minx. Imagine my surprise when the light was put back on and projector raised it was actually the Yamaha ysp 2200 7.1 soundbar. I couldn't believe that what I had just heard hadn't come from 5 speakers. Now don't get me wrong it's a little expensive at £640 but not far off some of the amp and speaker combos I'm considering at they're shop prices. Swmbo was also just as impressed (which is rare when it comes to all things gadgety) so obviously the soundbar option is her favourite as it sounded better than our existing setup and keeps with the minimalistic look she so badly desires!!. I'm torn as to whether I would get the soundbar sounding as good at home with open stairs to the left of where it would be placed and the main window to the right. I've read the instructuctions to the Yamaha so understand how the intellibeam system works and my room seems to fall within the requirements (distances etc) and mentions setting two modes in the memory for curtains open and curtains closed so sounds promising but I'm just not sure, could really do with a home demo of the soundbar but living where I do it doesn't seem possible.
Any thoughts, recommendations and advice on the items I am considering and maybe even ones I'm not most welcome! Thanks in advance.
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