Question Sound system recommendations, opinions needed for specific use...

Bellamelissimo

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Hi all, im in desperate need of recommendations for a sound system setup! The internet is a minefield of info but none specific to my needs so here is what I'm after.

1. A system which will mainly be used with our LG TV but for Spotify also. (I have a separate turntable being Able to plug this up also would be good)
2. Enough punch to set up outdoors for the odd garden party
3. A small budget of around £200-£350
... currently I've seen this- LG LOUDR CM8460 Audio System ‑ 2750W, but would like your opinions if you'd use something else or a completely different set up like a sound bar etc....
Any advise welcome
 
Best arrangement would be one of the slightly older home AVRs from Sony, Yamaha , Denon etc . The ones without HDMI , but still having an internal DAC are highly suitable. As the people who need 4K TV and Atmos Dolby are now junking these machines, they are available from Cash Convertors etc at a fraction 10% to 25% of their original selling price of 10 years ago. . They are high quality machines with premium components and have a lifetime of use ahead of them.... The Spotify can be fed in via a chromecast audio and if the machine has a DAC, the sound quality is as good as Spotify can deliver. Older machines will probably not have a phono input for a turntable, but if that is important, preamps can be purchased on line from 15 quid up.
A sound bar is a very poor substitute. I am suggesting non HDMI, only because these will cost less than the equivalent slightly later HDMI models.
I got such a system including 5 speakers and a powered woofer for 130 euro in a cash converters shop. Used with 20 year old speakers it makes an excellent highly musical stereo.
 
I agree with Dannielll - old AVR then add two speakers to start and then go from there - Spotify via Chrome cast in to the optical port on the AVR is good and same for TV - use the optical out into the AVR.

Here an example -

Arcam AVR250 - £79 - ARCAM AVR250 7.1 SURROUND SOUND RECEIVER ** | eBay
review - Arcam DiVA AVR250 AV Receiver - note on page 2 it says you can bi-amp the front speakers which will give you a bit of added quality if needed.

I would personally go for a pair for floor standers if you have room for them, you may not need a sub then -

These are a bit of a hidden treasure - not a big speaker name but good reviews in their day - Sony 176E £90 - these are Special Edition Versions and in good nick, there are cheaper that are cosmetically rougher - Sony Brooklands Edition 176E Floor Standing Speakers | eBay
Review - What Hi-Fi? Awards: 9 of the most memorable Sony winners

You could stop there but going for a full 5 speaker setup I would add -

Centre - B&W CC6 £80 - B&W (Bowers and Wilkins) CC6 S2 120W Center Speaker - Black Ash | eBay
review - Welcome Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity

And rears - B&W DM110 £80 - note these are quite big for rears but could be the ones you use for patio work as they would be easier to move - B&W DM110 speakers - Black cabinets | eBay
review - B&W DM110/DM220 (HSR Mar 84)

This give an example of what type of system can be put together on a shoe string but obviously you will need to do a bit of searching to see if this is the sort of thing you want. Noting that this is probably about £2k of kit when bought new.

The alternative is just a good stereo amp around £150 plus a £150 pair of floor standers that and then add a £50 dac to take the TV output and the chromecast, this will not give you the surround of the TV but will make it sound pretty good and may give a better sound for music.

This obviously does not leave anything for a sub bit I think the Sony's will give you plenty for now. You can always add a sub at a later date if you feel the need.
 
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Thanks dannnielll and especially ugg10 for the suggestions I'll definitely be looking into those, the only thing that bothers me is we wouldn't be using Chrome cast outside rather music from our phones but I presume an aux cable should work?
 
Thanks dannnielll and especially ugg10 for the suggestions I'll definitely be looking into those, the only thing that bothers me is we wouldn't be using Chrome cast outside rather music from our phones but I presume an aux cable should work?
Yes they have loads of line inputs , but depending on the size of the garden chromecast might work.
 
Chromecast works on Wifi so as long as it can pick up your router then you will have music (typically about 50ft through a couple of walls). The benefit of chormecast is that the phone is only used to control a spotify app that sites on the chromecast system so no loss of quality between the phone and the chromecast. If you go down that route the Chrome cast AUDIO is the one to have not the HDMI standard version. If you have Iphones and always will a second hand Apple TV will do the same job but it uses a lower audio quality (very slightly) than the Chromecast (16/44 vs 24/96).

As for phones then an AUX cable (3.5mm to stereo RCA) from the headphone socket into one of the audio inputs (CD) may work but will depend on the voltage that the phone outputs, some or better than others, otherwise there are plenty of cheap bluetooth receivers out there on amazon/ebay which will work but with slightly degraded sound but if this is for parties and not critical listening then this would probably be OK.

example - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Golvery-Bluetooth-Transmitter-Streaming-Headphones-Black/dp/B01NACN8PY/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1531407768&sr=8-14&keywords=bluetooth+audio+receiver&refinements=p_72:419153031

Are you intending on moving the receiver and a pair of speakers out into the garden or just extending the speaker cables and putting the speakers out there. One reason I suggested the DM110 is that they are quite big for rear surrounds (8" woofer IIRC) but would be more mobile than the front floor standers and so could be used as the speaker for the garden but you would have to plug them into the Front L/R speaker sockets for use with stereo music. If you are moving the kit around then it may be worth investing in banana plugs for the speaker cables to help with connecting and disconnecting.

example https://www.amazon.co.uk/Banana-Fos...&qid=1531407905&sr=1-11&keywords=banana+plugs
 
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You could also look for an avr which has 2 zones. Basically meaning that you can leave the 2 speakers in the lounge and have 2 outdoor speakers permanently for the garden. you can choose a zone from the avr, just switch zones or have them playing both together if you wish. Depending on how you you have, a cheap pair of bose outdoor speakers can be picked up for £50 on ebay and are decent for that kind of money
 
You could also look for an avr which has 2 zones. Basically meaning that you can leave the 2 speakers in the lounge and have 2 outdoor speakers permanently for the garden. you can choose a zone from the avr, just switch zones or have them playing both together if you wish. Depending on how you you have, a cheap pair of bose outdoor speakers can be picked up for £50 on ebay and are decent for that kind of money
Good point.. many of the avrs including my middle range yamaha have A and B speaker positions. For the cost of a few lenghts of house wiring... twin and earth, one could rig up a semi permanent setup. Leave the speakers outside for the summer season, perhaps sitting on a brick and protected by garbage sacks from rain and dew ,and then bring then back afterwards.
 
The yamaha ax range of receivers are fantastic with great sound quality. My dad had the AX-1 and was a lovely receiver. have a look on ebay they have a 765 model, an 8xx model I cannot remember them all but have a/b speaker outputs :)
 

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