Sony STR-DA2400ES + Tannoy SFX 5.1 ?

Quadro4nic

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I'm searching for a good separates system after increasing my budget from an all-in-one. Amp choice is the Sony STR-DA2400ES (unless anyone can suggest a better alternative for the money).

For the speakers I was thinking of the Tannoy SFX 5.1 but not sure if they will be man enough for the job.

My budget for the two is £650 (best prices seen so far are £430 for the Sony and £200 for the Tannoys).

Would this be a good combo or should I spend a bit less on the amp and more on the speakers?
 
I'm searching for a good separates system after increasing my budget from an all-in-one. Amp choice is the Sony STR-DA2400ES (unless anyone can suggest a better alternative for the money).

For the speakers I was thinking of the Tannoy SFX 5.1 but not sure if they will be man enough for the job.

My budget for the two is £650 (best prices seen so far are £430 for the Sony and £200 for the Tannoys).

Would this be a good combo or should I spend a bit less on the amp and more on the speakers?

You can get the price of the 2400 down to £400 at Amazon.

Its a great Receiver for the money but I do do think the Tannoy SFX wont show its true potential.

I would still go ahead with the purchases, if you can't improve the speaker system choice, but plan for a speaker & sub upgrade in the future.
 
You can get the price of the 2400 down to £400 at Amazon.

Its a great Receiver for the money but I do do think the Tannoy SFX wont show its true potential.

I would still go ahead with the purchases, if you can't improve the speaker system choice, but plan for a speaker & sub upgrade in the future.

Thanks for the response.

The trouble is I want it to be a fairly permanent fixture so don't really want to have to shell out again. Can you recommend an alternative to the Tannoys for up to say £250?
 
I would spend less on the amp and more on the speakers, unless the amp has some features you partcularly want.

There aren't that many speaker packages at £250 that are bothering with to be brutally honest!
 
Thanks for the response.

The trouble is I want it to be a fairly permanent fixture so don't really want to have to shell out again. Can you recommend an alternative to the Tannoys for up to say £250?

I can't recommend a suitable package for £250, but there is the £350 Q Acoustics 1010i package. The QA speakers will be a vast improvement over the entry level packages you've limited yourself to and will be a far better package for use with the STRDA2400ES when trying to get its full potential.

A slightly better option would be the Wharfdale Diamond 9 HCP package, but this package is slighly more expensive than the QA package depending on the finish you want/ The silver finish is £300:
http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/2210
 
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Just to throw a spanner in the works... i have the SonySTRDH800+TannoySFX5.1 package. It's my first 5.1 system so i can't make any comparisons. What i can say is that i'm more than happy with it's performance.

It was designed to go in quite a small room(not the main lounge), and with 'budget' in mind. The total cost for the two was £480.

You haven't posted what you are going to connect to the amp, maybe you don't need all the features the Sony STR-DA2400ES has to offer, as far as i can see the biggest difference between the the Sony STR-DH800 and the Sony STR-DA2400ES is the ability to upscale. If your connecting SKY HD and a Blu Ray player, do you really need this ability?
 
Just to throw a spanner in the works... i have the SonySTRDH800+TannoySFX5.1 package. It's my first 5.1 system so i can't make any comparisons. What i can say is that i'm more than happy with it's performance.

What spanner? You're setup is fine, but the STRDA2400ES isn't the STRDH800 and would benefit from a better package than the Tannoy SFX. The SFX package is good for the money being asked for it and a very good choice for the entry level DH800, but the STRDA2400ES is a far more cabable AV amp and will perform much better with more capable speakers.

Go listen to both the STRDA2400ES and the STRDH800. You'll soon realise that its upscaling ability is not the only difference. ;)
 
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Thats my point dante...


Would the OP be effectively 'wasting' his money with this package. The amp is a better amp, but unless he goes over buget and buys a better speaker package, then won't the amps superior peformance be 'lost..?


I suppose he could always 'upgrade' his speakers at a later date, but then its all about getting the best for the funds available now.

It took me months to decide my system....god help me if i decide to go for a high spec system in the lounge!!


EDIT: god's a little busy at the moment (world peace+famine etc to deal with) so i guess it'll be AVForums!!:clap:)
 
Thats my point dante...


Would the OP be effectively 'wasting' his money with this package. The amp is a better amp, but unless he goes over buget and buys a better speaker package, then won't the amps superior peformance be 'lost..?


I suppose he could always 'upgrade' his speakers at a later date, but then its all about getting the best for the funds available now.

It took me months to decide my system....god help me if i decide to go for a high spec system in the lounge!!


EDIT: god's a little busy at the moment (world peace+famine etc to deal with) so i guess it'll be AVForums!!:clap:)

I think that what came over and what was implied by your post was that there's no difference between the DH800 and the STRDA2400ES apart from the STRDA2400ES's ability to upscale. There is a substantial SQ difference between the two amps. I'd rather put an extra £100 toward better speakers than forgo the opportunity to get the Sony STRDA2400ES. This to me makes more sense than buying a lesser amp and making do ;)
 
You haven't posted what you are going to connect to the amp, maybe you don't need all the features the Sony STR-DA2400ES has to offer, as far as i can see the biggest difference between the the Sony STR-DH800 and the Sony STR-DA2400ES is the ability to upscale. If your connecting SKY HD and a Blu Ray player, do you really need this ability?

It will be sky hd (or virgin hd if I change), a ps3 for blu-ray and recorded hdtv, but I also want to eventually hook up some sort of music storage player thingy (ipod at first then something a bit more sophisticated when I've researched it eg Sonos or similar) so I want the sound to be good quality for music as well as tv.

I did consider the DH800 but saw so many good things said about the DA2400ES that I just thought I'd go for the best I could afford. The other thing is that it will be in a fairly large lounge so it needs to be able to perform well in a large space.
 
you'll see from my sig that I have just that set-up ... albeit with a slight difference.

Bearing in mind that the 2400 is a 7.1 system, I use the Tannoy's for all the surrounds and the sub .. with the 'main' speaker pairing (up front) being the Eltax floorstanders.

My room isn't huge so I don't need massive audio decibels, but I do look for (or listen out for!) quality in the sound.

Trust me, the sound is awesome.

A little tweaking is necessary to get the crossover right and one MUST make sure you have the right EQ settings (AFD, NEO6 etc) ... but I've never been happier with my AV set-up.
 
The trouble is I want it to be a fairly permanent fixture so don't really want to have to shell out again. Can you recommend an alternative to the Tannoys for up to say £250?

If you could sqeeze another £50 and are happy with silver speakers, the £300 Wharefdale package that Dante suggested would give you a very good system coupled with the 2400.

The speakers were a lot more than that; I'm guessing at least £500, but are discounted due to the release of the Diamond 10 series, and thus a bargain. Other finishes are £80 more, but there is a walnut one at £350, but at that price, you would also have the option of the Q Acoustics.
 
you'll see from my sig that I have just that set-up ... albeit with a slight difference.

Bearing in mind that the 2400 is a 7.1 system, I use the Tannoy's for all the surrounds and the sub .. with the 'main' speaker pairing (up front) being the Eltax floorstanders.

My room isn't huge so I don't need massive audio decibels, but I do look for (or listen out for!) quality in the sound.

Trust me, the sound is awesome.

A little tweaking is necessary to get the crossover right and one MUST make sure you have the right EQ settings (AFD, NEO6 etc) ... but I've never been happier with my AV set-up.

This is getting interesting, but also potentially expensive. Have you ever tried the setup without the Eltax floorstanders and if so what does it sound like?
 
If you could sqeeze another £50 and are happy with silver speakers, the £300 Wharefdale package that Dante suggested would give you a very good system coupled with the 2400.

The speakers were a lot more than that; I'm guessing at least £500, but are discounted due to the release of the Diamond 10 series, and thus a bargain. Other finishes are £80 more, but there is a walnut one at £350, but at that price, you would also have the option of the Q Acoustics.

I probably could squeeze another £50 but I just don't think I (or she who must be obeyed!) could live with silver. They do look a nice set of speakers (in black) though and so do the Q Acoustics. Do you know if the satellites in both sets wall mountable?
 
I probably could squeeze another £50 but I just don't think I (or she who must be obeyed!) could live with silver. They do look a nice set of speakers (in black) though and so do the Q Acoustics. Do you know if the satellites in both sets wall mountable?

I'm pretty certain that they can -- I think Q A make some brackets speciffically for that and if I remeber correctly the Wharefdales have a couple of holes in the back for wall mounting.

I'm sure someone will be along to confirm that, if not a post on the speaker forums should.
 
I'm pretty certain that they can -- I think Q A make some brackets speciffically for that and if I remeber correctly the Wharefdales have a couple of holes in the back for wall mounting.

I'm sure someone will be along to confirm that, if not a post on the speaker forums should.

Thanks.
I've been out of hi-fi stuff for quite some time, my last purchase being in the late eighties (NAD/Marantz/KEF) so I'm very out of touch, but who are these Q Acoustics people? Have they been around for some time? Obviously I remember Wharfedale and have a lot of respect for their speakers.
 
I can't recommend a suitable package for £250, but there is the £350 Q Acoustics 1010i package. The QA speakers will be a vast improvement over the entry level packages you've limited yourself to and will be a far better package for use with the STRDA2400ES when trying to get its full potential.

A slightly better option would be the Wharfdale Diamond 9 HCP package, but this package is slighly more expensive than the QA package depending on the finish you want/ The silver finish is £300:
http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/2210

Ok, let's say I can somehow rake up the extra cash for one of these two speaker sets, does anybody have an opinion on the relative warmth/brightness of the Wharfedales or the Q Acoustics when matched with the STRDA2400ES?
 
The wharfedales will complement the 2400 very well.
 
Ok, let's say I can somehow rake up the extra cash for one of these two speaker sets, does anybody have an opinion on the relative warmth/brightness of the Wharfedales or the Q Acoustics when matched with the STRDA2400ES?

I haven't heard the Q Acoustics, but have a pair of Diamond 9.0 and I think that they are a little on the warm side, so would work well with the bright Sony amp. For the size of the speaker, the sound is very impressive with a full sound.
 
OK, from all your helpful replies I've now narrowed my choice down to two set-ups:

1. Sony STR-DA2400ES with Wharfedale Diamond 9 HCP speakers (approx £750 total cost)

2. Sony STRDH800 with Tannoy SFX 5.1 speakers (approx £480 total cost).

Being a novice to this area I really don't know what I'm looking for but I do recognise a quality sound when I hear one and I don't want to lose any visual advantage from the blu-ray. Just to recap the inputs will be Sky or Virgin HD, a ps3 for blu-ray and recorded hdtv, and eventually a music player of some sort.

Can anybody tell me (apart from presumably an obvious uplift in sound quality) what the 2400 will give me over and above the 800?

As always the final decision will be down to how much extra quality/functionality I will get for the extra £280. Do I need upscaling ability?

I would rather pay less but if by paying that bit extra I get something that really knocks the cheaper set up into the shade then I might go for it.

Any thoughts gratefully received.
 
K, so you narrowed your options down to two AV receivers, but why narrow the DH800's speakers down to the Tannoy SFX package? This is an ideal package for those with a limited budget, but the amp itself will shine with more accomplished speakers if you've the funds to buy them. You could adequately accommodate the same Wharfdale Diamond package with either the DH800 or the DA2400ES.

No impact should be made to the image quality if pasing through video, especially HD video where no processing is required. You'll get the same quality of picture as that which your playback component outputs.

In relation to SQ, you'll get lower levels of distortion and a cleaner sound from the DA2400ES than you'll get from the DH800. If you don't then I'll swop you my DG820 plus £100 cash in hand for the STRDA2400ES ;)
 
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OK, from all your helpful replies I've now narrowed my choice down to two set-ups:

1. Sony STR-DA2400ES with Wharfedale Diamond 9 HCP speakers (approx £750 total cost)

2. Sony STRDH800 with Tannoy SFX 5.1 speakers (approx £480 total cost).

Being a novice to this area I really don't know what I'm looking for but I do recognise a quality sound when I hear one and I don't want to lose any visual advantage from the blu-ray. Just to recap the inputs will be Sky or Virgin HD, a ps3 for blu-ray and recorded hdtv, and eventually a music player of some sort.

Can anybody tell me (apart from presumably an obvious uplift in sound quality) what the 2400 will give me over and above the 800?

As always the final decision will be down to how much extra quality/functionality I will get for the extra £280. Do I need upscaling ability?

I would rather pay less but if by paying that bit extra I get something that really knocks the cheaper set up into the shade then I might go for it.

Any thoughts gratefully received.

The speakers are the big difference to me with those packages. The Wharfedale's (or the QA's mentioned earlier) will make a big difference. Even more so when you start listening to music.

I've had some piddly satellite speakers like the SFX and they aren't much cop for music / soundtracks imo.
 
K, so you narrowed your options down to two AV receivers, but why narrow the DH800's speakers down to the Tannoy SFX package? This is an ideal package for those with a limited budget, but the amp itself will shine with more accomplished speakers if you've the funds to buy them. You could adequately accommodate the same Wharfdale Diamond package with either the DH800 or the DA2400ES.

No impact should be made to the image quality if pasing through video, especially HD video where no processing is required. You'll get the same quality of picture as that which your playback component outputs.

In relation to SQ, you'll get lower levels of distortion and a cleaner sound from the DA2400ES than you'll get from the DH800.

I never thought of that combination actually. I just assumed from previous responses that the Tannoys would compliment the 800, but its definitely a compromise worth considering. On the video issue, does upscaling make ordinary dvd quality look better or am I missing the point? (I have a farly large collection of dvd films, which I'd like to get the best out of if possible). If so does that mean that the 2400 would do the job and the 800 would not?
 

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