Speaker Advice

matt72033

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Hi, first time post, i'm after some advice on some speakers for our living room.

I have a sky hd box and a sony blu ray player, i want to get some speakers, but i'm not keen/fussed for surround sound, so i'm currently looking at a 2.1 set up.

I've been looking at the Yamaha RXV465 as a reciever. my biggest constraint however is my girlfriend, who doesnt like big speakers, and is very strict on the aesthetics of speakers in the living room.

we were in tesco's the other day and she saw an lg setup. with speakers she deemed acceptable

LG HT33S 2.1ch DVD Home Cinema System with iDock: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

those are the speakers. So what i'm really after is a bit of advice, on some speakers, that are of that kind of design. for approx £200, that will work well with the reciever mentioned above. i will worry about the sub later.

any ideas?

any help would be greatly appreciated
 
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Without a sub speakers that size are not going to sound good. They are just not big enough to give you the lower frequencies you need to give a balanced sound. If you are looking at the Yamaha reciever then have a look at the Monitor Audio Radius range. These are currently on discount due ot the newer Radius HD range. I would look at the R90s or R180s.
 
they look a bit on the pricey side, looking at a budget of around £200, they're closer to £300?
 
You need to get your budget and priorities in order I think.

First, if you can have surround sound, and you are looking at a 2.1 system, why are you thinking of buying a AV Surround Amp? Do you plan to someday go to surround sound?

£300 will buy you a nice stereo amp and speakers, but no sub. The Sub will have to come later.

If you insist on the Yamaha amp you mentioned which is currently around £200. That doesn't leave you much for speakers, unless you intended the full £300 to be for speakers.

Next, what is your priority? Is music or video sound more important? That makes some difference. If music is more important to you, then they style and type of speaker we recommend will be different, than if video playback is the priority.

With an AV amp, and £300 for speakers, and a certainty that you want a 2.1 system to start with, £100/pr front speakers, and £200 for the Subwoofer is about the only practical division of money you can make.

There are several speaker in the £100/pr range. Those most often mentioned are the Diamond 9.1, Mordaunt Short 902i, Cambridge S30, and Tannoy Mercury F1. For subs, the roughly £200 BK Electronics Gemini-II is a good choice.

The Diamond 9.1, if you can find them, are an exceptional bargain, in a tried and proven speaker. Because the Diamond 9 series is being replaced by the Diamond 10 series, you are not without an upgrade path in the future. If in the future, not speakers from the Diamond 9 series can be found, you can use speakers from the Diamond 10 series with no problem.

I will also mention the Q Acoustic 1000 series, which has been replaced by the Q Acoustic 2000 series. These speakers don't stand so well on their own as stereo speakers, but they do a very good job when combined with a Sub. These are well regarded speakers, also available at close-out prices. I think a full 5.1 QA 1010i system can be had for only £350; again, assuming you can still find them.

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bluewizard
 
The R180 here are £60 each so should be well within budget.

Radius Range

You sure you not looked at the HD versions?
For a sub there is one in the sub forum that people have been talking about for around £100 which seems good. So all in would be £220.
 
You need to get your budget and priorities in order I think.

First, if you can have surround sound, and you are looking at a 2.1 system, why are you thinking of buying a AV Surround Amp? Do you plan to someday go to surround sound?

£300 will buy you a nice stereo amp and speakers, but no sub. The Sub will have to come later.

If you insist on the Yamaha amp you mentioned which is currently around £200. That doesn't leave you much for speakers, unless you intended the full £300 to be for speakers.

Next, what is your priority? Is music or video sound more important? That makes some difference. If music is more important to you, then they style and type of speaker we recommend will be different, than if video playback is the priority.

With an AV amp, and £300 for speakers, and a certainty that you want a 2.1 system to start with, £100/pr front speakers, and £200 for the Subwoofer is about the only practical division of money you can make.

There are several speaker in the £100/pr range. Those most often mentioned are the Diamond 9.1, Mordaunt Short 902i, Cambridge S30, and Tannoy Mercury F1. For subs, the roughly £200 BK Electronics Gemini-II is a good choice.

The Diamond 9.1, if you can find them, are an exceptional bargain, in a tried and proven speaker. Because the Diamond 9 series is being replaced by the Diamond 10 series, you are not without an upgrade path in the future. If in the future, not speakers from the Diamond 9 series can be found, you can use speakers from the Diamond 10 series with no problem.

I will also mention the Q Acoustic 1000 series, which has been replaced by the Q Acoustic 2000 series. These speakers don't stand so well on their own as stereo speakers, but they do a very good job when combined with a Sub. These are well regarded speakers, also available at close-out prices. I think a full 5.1 QA 1010i system can be had for only £350; again, assuming you can still find them.

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bluewizard
thanks for the post, i'll try to be a bit clearer.

budget - the £200 i said above was for speakers, in total, amp and speakers, i don't want to go above £450 (excluding sub, i'll add that at a later date)

surround sound issue - i dont plan to go to a surround sound set up, but you never know. i was looking at that amp due to the fact it has 4 hdmi inputs, i'll definately be using 2 of them and it can't hurt to have a couple of spares, for the future surely?

the setup will mostly be for blu ray, sky hd and xbox 360. though that amp i looked at was compatible with yamaha's ipod dock. and as we don't have a hifi at the moment, we would probably use it for cd's and music too.

am i barking up the wrong tree with that av amp then?

as before, any help is much appreciated.
 
is there a big difference in quality between the wharfedale 9.1 and 10.1's?
 
is there a big difference in quality between the wharfedale 9.1 and 10.1's?

i'm sure this is a really stupid question.

but when i'm looking at speakers online and they show pictures like this

Diamond 10.1 - Bookshelf Speakers - SightandSounduk.co.uk

i'm assuming you get the front grille/mesh covering as standard, and you can either have it fitted or not? :suicide:

I think the difference between the 9 and 10 series is small and if you can get the 9s at a good price compared to the 10s, go for the 9s. If the price is similar, go for the 10s.

The speakers will come with speaker grills.
 
I think the difference between the 9 and 10 series is small and if you can get the 9s at a good price compared to the 10s, go for the 9s. If the price is similar, go for the 10s.

The speakers will come with speaker grills.
thanks mate :smashin:
 

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