Sony STR-DH820 with Diamond 10.1 Speakers: Compatablitiy?

3dv

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Hello there,

After a long, headache inducing research, I finally narrowed down a speaker/receiver setup which I feel meets my needs and budget. I was thinking about getting The Panasonic ST50 Plasma, and I needed a surround sound setup that will compliment it. I have considered surround sound speaker packages, but while there were good ones out there, some of them came with compromises in terms of achieving best sound for music. So I finally decided to put together my own setup. Below is my chosen front speaker/amp combo. I'm going to add the rear and sub at a later time, this is what I can afford now.

WHARFEDAL DIAMOND 10.1 (FR/FL Speaker)...................£150

WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 10.CS (Center Speaker)..............£120

Sony STR-DH820 (Receiver)........................................£220

Total …...................................................................£490

I would really appreciate if anyone could give me a feed back on the pros and cons of the combo above, or suggest alternatives, within the budget. Another thing I'm not sure of, is the compatibility between the speaker/receiver combo, in terms of 'warm'...whats the opposite...and 'thin'?!?!?! I think the Diamond 10.1 speaker is warm but not sure about the Sony STR-DH820 receiver.

My priories in terms of what I want from the setup is mostly excellent sound quality. Followed by 5.1 or preferably 7.1 channels, true HD audio, and USB connectivity (not very important). I'll look forward to your responses.

Thank you
 
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You may want to add a sub, not only for the films, but to help the music. So what is your total budget?

Depending on your expectation, the amp may be good with films, but i believe it will be found wanting with music. A good sub will give it the depth and bass, but it still be lacking in other departments because of the amp. A comparative priced stereo amp will beat it hands down with music and equally sounding av will be around 3 x more than the stereo amp.

Though i've not heard the sony i feel Denon 1912 will fair better, £30 more than the sony at £250. However, let your ears be the judge as they might like what they are hearing. So if possible, get a demo

Speakerwise, the Diamond 10.1 are good speakers and have good reports but paired with that av i fear low end grunt will be lacking.

Consider the Diamond 9.1 and sub combo.

WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 9.1 & SW150 SUBWOOFER 2.1 SPEAKER PACKAGE - £230

It is £80 more, but still less than if you add the same sub separately.
Not sure on the differences between the 9.1 and 10.1, but from reports, not much at all and sound pretty much the same if not the same.

Finally, this thread may be best served n the AV section as it is an AV's you are enquiring about.
 
Hi Don, thanks for the suggestions. I'm planning on adding a sub later, but i'm already punching above my weight in terms of what I had originally planed to spend on this. As the research went on to another day, it seems the budget was growing with it, so I had to stop somewhere. Anyway the Diamonds are priced very reasonably considering the praise they are getting from the av world. So I thought if im gonna get this speakers, I have to get a receiver thats going to do them justice. Its interesting that you mentioned the stereo amp, cause that would have been enough for me if it wasn't for the limited channels, if only there was an audio only amp with 5.1 or 7.1 channel (with HDMI or other HD quality connection). I really dont care for video as I can connect things straight to the TV.


I had originally went for the Diamond 9.1, however as there was no center speaker available on sale for the model, I moved to the next best thing, which was the Diamond CS. Later someone suggested, if you are going to get the CS, its better to match them with a 10.1. So how much of an issue would it be to much the CS to a 9.1. If its not that big of a deal, then I would gladly choose the cheaper option.

As for the thread, what do you mean by av section? I cant find it, this is the most relevant section I could find.

By the way my budget is £500, I cant believe I'm actually saying it, it was a lot lower than that before, but I love my music and movies, so I want to get the best entry level setup possible.


Thanks a lot and apologies for the long reply.
 
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Here's the av section.

AV Amplifiers and Receivers | AVForums.com - UK Online

Budget always start lower than what most eventually end up spending, but so long as its affordable and not robbing Peter to pay Paul, its ok. This is an expensive hobby ;).

The front 3 should be the same, but I doubt there will be any matching issue with 10 CS and 9.1 as they are from the same range but with the 10 CS being the repalcement for the 9 series center. If there is any difference, it will probably so small that its not noticeable.
If music is a priority then it may be work looking at s/h higher classed AV's for more power and grunt or ones on close out deals.
 
Here's the av section.

AV Amplifiers and Receivers | AVForums.com - UK Online

Budget always start lower than what most eventually end up spending, but so long as its affordable and not robbing Peter to pay Paul, its ok. This is an expensive hobby ;).

The front 3 should be the same, but I doubt there will be any matching issue with 10 CS and 9.1 as they are from the same range but with the 10 CS being the repalcement for the 9 series center. If there is any difference, it will probably so small that its not noticeable.
If music is a priority then it may be work looking at s/h higher classed AV's for more power and grunt or ones on close out deals.

Hi Don, I had a look at the receiver you suggested, and its a very nice one, and after all I might go with it. Thanks mate.
 
I have the 820 and concur, it is great for movies but music is a little too polite in the bass regions. Despite bi-amping my Ruark Sceptres, the amp does not have the drive to get the bass really thumping through them as it did through my older AVI1000. Not a fair comparison as the 1000 was about 6 times the price when new however...
 
3dv

Please be aware that most, if not all av's, around the budget of the one's mention (including the Denon) will most probably be found wanting with music in some respect or another and will not be in the same ball park as an equally priced stereo amp with music, although some are better at it than others. Denon, Yamaha and Marantz being the better ones musically.

If you think about it, a £500 stereo amp has 2 ch = £250 per ch
a £500 av that has 8 ch (7.1) = £62.50 per ch

So with the above, the £62.50 can only buy so much of a amp module, whereas the £250 version will be much better.
To put the same amps in the av as in the stereo amp, that wiill be 8 x £250 = £2000, but probably sell for around £1.5 -£2k. Hence why we say av is avg 3 x a stereo amps prices for equal music performance.

However, many are happy their av's music side. Marantz av's has a very good rep for being very good musically, but they are not cheap.

I use to own a cambridge audio 540RV3 which was the most musical av i've heard to date. Exceptional it was and well noted for it, but it was lacking with HD audio and a few other things which were pretty much standard on all other av's in the that range and above at that time
I now have had a yamaha DSP Ax763 for 3 yrs it sounds great with films, but just decent with music (which i expected) and is nowhere near as good as my marantz stereo amp on which plays music how i like to hear it.
The denon will most likely be in the same ball park as my yammy musically. So it might be the ticket for you. Again, best to get a demo and decide for yourself.
 
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3dv


If you think about it, a £500 stereo amp has 2 ch = £250 per ch
a £500 av that has 8 ch (7.1) = £62.50 per ch

So with the above, the £62.50 can only buy so much of a amp module.


nicely put.
 
Just passing it on the way it has been 'simplifed' to others by others :smashin:
 

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