Sound System

[jimhutch]

Just waiting for my new plasma to arrive - hopefully tomorrow. It's a Fujitsu VHA30. I now need to spend some more cash on the sound system.

I was looking at the Sony DAVS-C8 mainly 'cos it looks great and I am a complete beginner so the all-in-one thing appeals to me. I reckon I can get this for around 500-600 quid.

Any suggestions for separates for this sort of money or should I go for the Sony. Only thing is it doesn't seem to support component out or progressive scan. Is this bad? I need to connect SKY+ and DVD of course.

Apparently, the fujitsu comes with a built in amp. Is this good or do all plasma have these? Basically, if I go for separates do I need an AMP.

 

[sticker]

Jim,
To get the best response to your query I would suggets you get this post moved to either the all in one forum or the Amps forum.

In the meantime I would suggest that if the Fujitsu doe shave an internal amp it won't hold a candle to either an "All in one" or a seperates.

Do you need a DVD player in that £500 budget?


Regards
John

 

[jimhutch]

Well... it depends. I've already got one but it's not progressive scan and it's not got component out so I think I need a scart switch box?? to connect DVD and SKY+.

I suppose I can get the decent sound system out of my budget and go for the DVD player later.

 

[jimhutch]

Sorry, how do I move this post or do I just repost to the other forums you mentioned.

 

[sticker]

Jim,
You need to PM a Mod, I think from this forum???

If the Fujitsu can accept prog scan then you'd probably be better off getting a prog scan capable player. I believe that the Yamaha S540 has a prog scan output, this you could pick up for around £120. As for an amp the matching Yamaha RXV 440RDS for around £200, this I believe does component switching. Obviously you would need a SCART to Component convertor such as the JS Tech one. This will then leave you around £300 for speakers, Richer sounds do a Mordaunt Short package for about £290 which is 5.1. I'm sure this would substanially outperform the Sony all in one. There are other mix and match systems that would also beat the Sony, Panasonic do the S75 DVD player and a matching amp, not up to the Yamaha though

HTH
John

 

[jimhutch]

Cheers John. I'll look into your recommendations before I do anything else.

Jim.

 

[sticker]

Jim,
Just an update, I noticed that Richer sounds are selling the Yamaha pair for £90 & £180 repsectively. Obviously in you are looking at around £600 that will leave you a far amount for better speaker, speaker cable & interconnects.
Regards
John

 

[MAW]

The yamaha pair is a great idea, but unless you are concerned also with ease of operation to the utmost, the RGB scart input on the VHA is very good, save £140 by using scart for sky, component for the 540, and connect sky+ to the amp with optical dig. lead. I wouldn't say the prog scan on the 540 is a great advantage, the plasma might deinterlace better, but it's a nice player anyway. Spend the £140 on a scart lead, a component lead, coaxial digital and optical digital, then you'll have some well up to the job. That's £340 spent, speakers by Mission, Tannoy, Mordant short etc will be excellent for the money. It'll blow the Sony all in one into the weeds.

 

[jimhutch]

Thanks John and MAW. This is just what I was looking for. I will get on the web and order something tomorrow when I've decided which way to go. I think it's safe to say that I won't be going for the Sony now. I was taken in by it's looks but the lack of component connections is a problem. Also, I'm sure the separates route will provide superior performance especially with quality leads as you suggest. It's not cheap this game though is it?

 

[sticker]

Originally posted by jimhutch
It's not cheap this game though is it?

Never a truer word spoken

Enjoy Jim

regards
John

 

[jimhutch]

I may have spoken too soon. Just looking at what's been said in more detail and the grey fog is descending again darn it! .....have I got this right?

1. Yamaha DVDS540 SILVER (Multi-region) £98.95 from RS
2. Yamaha RXV440 BLACK (AV Receiver) £198.95 from RS
3. The speakers I was thinking about are Mission FS1 £367 from Empire Direct but £250 from RS although this is a "factory repack" i.e. mail order return repackaged but sold with full guarantee. Would you go for these personally?

On the connection side, I think you are saying this:
Sky+ scart -> Plasma scart
Yamaha DVD component -> Plasma component
Sky+ optical digital audio -> Yamaha Amp

You mention coaxial digital - is this either/or with optical digital or do I need both? In fact I'm confused about the leads in general. Are there different types of scart lead out there for instance? How do I know which one is decent?

It's a mith-tery!

 

[sticker]

Jim,
Quote the prices in What Hifi to richer sounds for the Yamaha pair, then you'll get them for £90 & £180. Not sure if the FS1's will do this full justice but they certainly look stylish. RS offer a no quibble money back or swap offer, so you could try them out and see how the perform. Personally I would go for something like the Mordaunt Short or the Mission M30/M70 cinema setups. Better with music as well as AV
Your leads sound correct to me, I don't know the plasma you are getting (MAW can confirm) but they all seem reasonable. You will need a coaxial for the DVD to amp to obtain DD/DTS and a optical digital for the Sky+. Don't pay over the top for these 2 cables, around £20-£25 should be enough each. Spend more on the video side, say the Thor for the scart & component (Maplin). Some reasonably basic £2 a metre speaker cable should be enough from somewhere like Maplins or RS.
There are different types of scart (fully wired RGB, which carries both audio and video and video only. I would say you need only the latter because the audio side of things for the sky box is catered for by the optical.

So to summarise

Sky video - plasma = Video only Scart (say Thor)
Sky audio - amp = optical digital cable
DVD video - plasma = component (you could feed this to the amp and switch sources via the amo, but this may not get you the best PQ)
DVD audio - amp = digital coaxial
Speaker cable from amp to all 5 speakers
Analogue phono cable from amp to sub-woofer (about £20 to £30 for 5m)

HTH
John

 

[MAW]

Spot on, sticker. Fujitsu has good scart connection. You need to turn on rgb input in plasma menu and on sky+, don't forget to set dvd and sky as 16:9, fujitsu component can do pal progressive, you'll have to play with that and see how it looks.

 

[jimhutch]

Many thanks to the both of you, this has really helped me out.

John, you went beyond the call of duty.

This forum couldn't exist without people like you and MAW. Both of whose views I always look for. You have helped many newbies like me.

Thanks again,
Jim.

After all, the plasma is worth more than my car - not hard.

 

[sticker]

Jim,
Glad to be of help, it certainly is a minefield out there, BUT please don't think I'm an expert, far from it, there are a huge amount of people on this forum that have far more knowledge than me.
The good thing as you point out is that so many people on here are willing to help people out. I've been helped out many times and its allowed me to not make expensive mistakes.

Hope you enjoy your system and try not to get upgradeitis too soon

Regards
John

 

[jimhutch]

Evening all,

Got my stuff delivered today:
Yamaha S540 DVD Player
Yamaha RXV440RDS Amp
Mission Speakers

Problem is I can get sound but no picture from the DVD player.

I have set up as follows:
DVD to AMP Coaxial digital
DVD to Plasma Component RCA to RCA
SKY to AMP Optical digital
SKY to Plasma RGB Video only scart

SKY is fine - much better again for the devent quality Scart cable I got today.

The plasma is a fujitsu VHA30.

Sny idea where I'm going wrong?



Can't get the DVD player working.

 

[bowenjones]

Is your dvd players output set to RGB?

 

[jimhutch]

Good point - yes it was.

I had to connect the DVD player via scart (so I could get a picture) and then change the output to Component. Unplugged the DVD scart and both Sky and DVD working a treat now.

Cheers,
Jim.

 

[sticker]

Hi Jim,
Glad you got your stuff, what the sound and picture like? Also what Mission speakers did you end up getting?
Cheers
John

 

[jimhutch]

Hi John,

Left it too long to get the DVD and AMP from RS Sheffield. He said they were out of stock. Also I enquired about the FS1 factory repack and that was sold out too!

So I went for the Amp from Empire, the DVD player from Peter Tyson and the cables and speakers from Discount Electrical.
All of the stuff came within a couple of days.

I ended up going for the Mission M7s speakers from Discount Electrical for £200 incl a pair of floor stands - not my first choice but I'd pretty much run out of money (and stamina) by the time I'd bought all the cables.

Sound is good but I'm not blown away. Can't seem to get much out of the rear speakers but I'm still trying to decipher the Amp's manual. It might be my set up or is it the source?

I've set the DVD and Sky to 16:9 and the sound to Dolby on Sky+. Have you done this? Also set the DVD picture to multi - as opposed to PAL or NTSC.

I think I now need to fanny about with the output levels for each speaker and the subwoofer is a bit boomy. There's loads of effects on the amp so I'm not sure what I'm doing but I will experiment.

I can (and probably will) upgrade the speakers later in the year and put these upstairs.

The picture is even better with quality leads. I'm really happy with the Fuji plasma.

I'm going to crank up the sound on VH1 now. Hits from the 80's!

Cheers,
Jim.

 

[MAW]

The rear speakers will only earn their keep during DVD playback, try Charlie's angels pt 2. You can hear them quite quietly on Pro logic 2, I'd leave your amp on that for now, turn down the sub if it's booming, that may enable you to turn up the volume on general, and that might help. Normally you'd expect the sub to be at around 1/2 power.

 

[jimhutch]

Thanks for the advice MAW.

 

[crobo]

Sorry to butt in on this thread but can I ask MAW, Sticker (and anyone else) a related question? I too have a plasma (rebadged PW4) and have been using a Toshiba 210 DVD player, which worked fine. Now have a Toshiba XS30 DVD recorder and the DVD playback is even better.
Now neither of these is prog scan so my question is: with a plasma screen of this resolution, will an entry level (but well reviewed) prog scan DVD player such as this Yamaha model give a REAL improvement over a mid-range non-prog-scan model? I would rather not wire up another DVD player but this model is only just over £100 and it would be worth it if it allows me to get the most out of the plasma. I know this point has been touched on many times but there seem to be conflicting opinions out there and some of the prog scan models cost a hell of a lot more than this one.

Cheers
Colin

 

[MAW]

Hi, this is very much an IMHO. Video is stored interlaced. Deinterlacing goes on somewhere as the PW4 is a progressive panel. Where is best? Panel = £3k, player = £100. My feeling is that at the hK DV25/ Denon 2200 kind of level, the player is best. Below that, turn off progressive if it doesn't produce a picture you like better.