what av reciever to buy

jeff1970

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hi lads,1st time on this site so hello to u all,anyway down to the nitty gritty,ive decided to make a plunge into the home cinema world wich i no nothing about apart from bits that ive read on here,im after some advice what setup to buy,reciever and speakers,my budget is around a grand,ive seen a couple of recievers i quite like the look of and would apreciate ur advice and input,1st up is the denon 1910 and onkyo 608,but now ive read theres a denon 1911 coming out soon and im tempted to wait for that model,as far as speakers go i havent got a clue on wot to buy for either of these recievers so ur help would be great,thanks for any help in advance,jeff
 
If you only have £1k to spend I would not blow nearly half the budget on the reciever. The 1910/608/1911 are all good recievers but a better sound should be possible by splitting the budget differently. As a general guide you should look to spend 2 to 3 times the price of the reciever on the speakers to give the best overall sound.
The only real benefit of going for the 1911 (or other new models) is the inclusion of 1.4a HDMIs. This gives 2 way communications via the HDMI and also makes 3D easier. If you do not intend to get a 3D TV you could save yourself some money and get lasts year models cheap. Something like the Yamaha 765 is a bargain at £300 and leaves you £700 for speakers which is plenty.
 
Thanks for reply mate,i didnt realise speakers wer so xpensive if i did get the denon wot speakers wud u recomend 4 that system and wot kind of cost r they luks like il av 2 pump a bit more money into this project,also the denon is 7.1 system but i only intend 2 buy 5.1 speakers wud this stil work ok just avent got the room 4 7 speakers,if i got the yamaha u recomend wud i get decent sound out of this 2 b honest a newby like me supose anythn wud sound gud thanks 4 ur help
 
A 7.1 system will work fine with a 5.1 speaker system so no worries there. In fact there are still very few blurays actualy encoded in 7.1 to make full use of a 7.1 system anyway. As a minimum for the 1910 I would look at the Q Accoustics 2000 AV set (maybe swapping the fronts to the 2020 or 2050 speakers instead of the 2010). But if could get more money together then I would look at the Monitor Audio BR2 AV set or Monitor Audio Radius HD range or Focal 700 series (my personal favourite of the 3). You should also demo the Kef iQ range as well or one of the higher Kef egg sets.
You can buy cheaper speaker sets but I would not use them on a reciever like the 1910 as you will not get the benefits of the more expensive reciever.
 
Hi ladS thanks 4 ur advice so far
Wel ive decided to buy the denon 1911 wich i hope wil b a good choice and also future proof,now the question is what speaker do i go for,was thnkin of monitor audio br2 set.do u thnk this wud b a gud choice and if i bye the set wot wil that actualy include will it b frnt/rear speaker and a cntr 1.and sub or wil i av 2 buy them al seperately,sorry if it sounds like a daft question and if poss cud sum1 recomend sumwer 2 buy it all from,thanks
Jeff
 
Hi,could sum1 plz advise me on speakers that wil suit the new denon 1911,im thinking of getin br2 for fronts,br2 or brfx for rear,wich of them 2 wud b best 4 rear,brcnt for center speaker and as 4 a sub im not to sure so any sugestions would be much apreciated,thanks
 
Hi,could sum1 plz advise me on speakers that wil suit the new denon 1911,im thinking of getin br2 for fronts,br2 or brfx for rear,wich of them 2 wud b best 4 rear,brcnt for center speaker and as 4 a sub im not to sure so any sugestions would be much apreciated,thanks


The BR2 5.1 set is currently on special offer and is about £200 lower than the normal price and can currently be had for £757: It comes with all 5 speakers and a sub.

Monitor Audio BR2AV Speaker Pack

The set comes with the BRFXs as surrounds which are dipole speakers and produce a diffused sound, which some people like for surround speakers. They are also designed for wall mounting and can go on the side or rear walls.

If you want normal speakers for surrounds, any good dealer should be able to swap the BRFXs for BR2s, so that you have BR2s all around. The BRFXs and BR2s are similarly priced, so it should cost the same.

you choice will depend on which sound you prefer from your surrounds and how and where you plan to position the surrounds.

The BR2 set will be a good match for either the Denon 1910 or 1911.
 
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Thanks 4 quick reply dicklodge,by way luv ur name ha,anyway this is my 1st setup so totaly in the dark wot wud u sugest wud b best as the surounds im swayin towards the br2s but avent got a clue y,r the br2s wall mountable aswel as stand mountable,the package 4 750 sounds ideal 4me and a gud price only thng i avent lukd at in this package is the sub,is it a decent 1,coz i read anuv post and heard the gemini 2 is decent so wich wud b the better 1 of the 2,thanks alot
 
Please avoid using txt speak. There is plenty of capacity for creating eloquent, correctly punctuated posts. Txt speak will not get a good response from forum members and is likely to be deleted by moderators.
From the forum rules

Can we try to avoid the use of ur, coz, y, 4, 2 etc.

Thank You
 
Thanks 4 quick reply dicklodge,by way luv ur name ha,anyway this is my 1st setup so totaly in the dark wot wud u sugest wud b best as the surounds im swayin towards the br2s but avent got a clue y,r the br2s wall mountable aswel as stand mountable,the package 4 750 sounds ideal 4me and a gud price only thng i avent lukd at in this package is the sub,is it a decent 1,coz i read anuv post and heard the gemini 2 is decent so wich wud b the better 1 of the 2,thanks alot


If i've done my sums correctly, to buy the speakers less sub would cost £457. The sub included with the set, the BRW10 costs £300.

So, you could buy the sub separately and still end up at the same price. This means you could get a BK sub, but the one above the Gemini, the XLS 200 which is about £300.

As an alternative, Peter Tyson still have some of the RSW12 subs. These are massivly discounted due to a new range, but originally sold for £750. They can now be had for £300-350. I bought one at the discount price last year and paid £375 for it.

I find that the Monitor Audio subs integrate really well with their speakers, so the RSW12 would be a good choice. People do like the BK subs, so you have a choice really.

Monitor Audio RSW12

Monitor Audio BRW10

Bronze BR Series

The BR2s are front ported, so you could put them on a cabinet or something similar. Because of being front ported, they could be wall mounted but you would need to find suitable brackets.

My room doesn't lend itself to dipole speakers such as the BRFXs. However, I personally like normal speakers for surrounds, but I can't say which is better, as I am unable to compare.
 
Sorry if ive upset anyone by using text words just habbit and iam using my phone to do the posts,so my apologies,anyway dicklodge thanks for reply,just a couple of questions,what does front ported mean,and what are dipole speakers,my wife has thrown a spanner in the works,she doesent like the look of the br2 speakers so dont no what to do now,plus we tend 2 buy everything sony and she has asked if ther was a sony receiver we could buy instead of the denon,is there any decent sonys out there that would match or better the denon 1911,id still prefer the denon but il ask the question to keep her happy,thanks again
 
Sorry if ive upset anyone by using text words just habbit and iam using my phone to do the posts,so my apologies,anyway dicklodge thanks for reply,just a couple of questions,what does front ported mean,and what are dipole speakers,my wife has thrown a spanner in the works,she doesent like the look of the br2 speakers so dont no what to do now,plus we tend 2 buy everything sony and she has asked if ther was a sony receiver we could buy instead of the denon,is there any decent sonys out there that would match or better the denon 1911,id still prefer the denon but il ask the question to keep her happy,thanks again

Speakers often have ports in them to help with the bass response. They can either be at the front or rear. Front ported speakers give you more positioning flexibility as it it's best not to put rear ported speakers up against a wall as it may cause bass boomines. In practice, some rear ported spealers will work fine up against a wall but it will depend on the speaker.

That is why the BR2s are a good choice, as they are front ported.

I don't know how dopole speakers (BRFX) work, but they produce a more diffused sound. That means you won't be able to tell exactly which speaker the sound is coming from. Some people like this for surrounds. As I said, I've never tried dipoles, but I like the more directional sound I get from normal speakers, such as the BR2s.


The equivalent model of the Denon 1910 from Sony is the 2400ES, which is a similar price.

The sony has a different tonal sound to the Denon. The Denon (and Yamahas) are warm natured so emphasise the lower middle frequencies and have a more mellow sound. The Sony is bright sounding, which emphasises higher frequemcies and sounds clinical.

What you normally do is mix warm and bright. So, if you buy a Denon/Yamaha amp, you'd pair it with bright sounding speakers. The BR2s are bright, which is why they are a good match for the denon.

For a sony amp, you'd look at warm sounding speakers, such as Tannoy.

There are neutral speakers that would pair with either warm or bright amps. QA, KEF and Acoustic Energy spring to mind.

I personally think you have more choice of speakers with warm natured amps; Monitor audio, Mordaunt short, Mission are all bright natured and they could also be paired with the neutral speakers, as could the the brighter Sony amp.

I think 'buying one brand' across all equipment is not the best thing to do. I think you should get the best bit of equipment in each category, irrespective of brand.

The denon 1911 is the new version of the 1910, just as the Yanaha 667/767 is the new version of the 765.

The main difference is HDMI 1.4 which will give full choice of 3D blueray player if 3D is of importance to you.

HDMI 1.3 amps will still be fine for 3D blueray players, but you will have less choice of BR player --- You need to get one with two HDMI outs; one for the TV and one to go to the amp. panasonic 3D BR players do this.

ATM you can save over £100 by getting the HDMI 1.3 amps, such as the 1910, rather than paying the price premium of the new 1.4 amps.
 
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hello again lads,just an update from last time i spoke on here,ive still got my heart set on the denon 1911 simply because i like the denon brand,ive been offered the q acoustics 2000 speaker package and denon as a package for £780 wich i think is a decent price,but the more i read on this site the more i like the sound of the ma br2 or br5 sets,and if i get the q acoustics ive got it into my head that im buying 2nd best and dont want to do that so ive managed to get the money for the monitor audio br2 0r br5,question is though would the br5 setup be to big for my room wich is only 16ft by 10ft,therefore would i be better with the br2`s,but love the look of the br5 floorstanders,anyway any advice would be great,thanks alot for your advice lads
 
hello again lads,just an update from last time i spoke on here,ive still got my heart set on the denon 1911 simply because i like the denon brand,ive been offered the q acoustics 2000 speaker package and denon as a package for £780 wich i think is a decent price,but the more i read on this site the more i like the sound of the ma br2 or br5 sets,and if i get the q acoustics ive got it into my head that im buying 2nd best and dont want to do that so ive managed to get the money for the monitor audio br2 0r br5,question is though would the br5 setup be to big for my room wich is only 16ft by 10ft,therefore would i be better with the br2`s,but love the look of the br5 floorstanders,anyway any advice would be great,thanks alot for your advice lads

I run the biggger MA RS8s in a room not much bigger than yours, 16.5X11.5ft, with no problem.

In my bedroom system, the actual home theatre area is 11X11ft and I'm runing floorstanding speakers similar to the BR5s with no problem.

So, I'd go for the BR5 set. They are at a good price ATM, due to a new range being released in August. There seems to be roughly £200 off the price of the BR5 set.

The BR5 set comes with the BRFX as surrounds, which are dipole speakers and produce a diffused sound, which some people like for surrounds. Any good dealer should be able to swap these for the BR2s as surrounds if you prefer traditinal speakers as surrounds and there should be no extra cost as the BR2s and BRFXs are the same price.
 
Thanks for reply dicklodge,youve convinced me to go for the br5's,now other issue i have is the surrounds ive read mixed reviews on the brfx surounds so do you think id be better with the br2 as surounds,what are the advantage/disadvantage of each set,id like a good all round sound for,ht,music and my ps3 and xbox so what ever set offers me the best results il go for,also is my choice of amp in your opinion a good 1 or would you go for something else in that price range,thanks alot
 
There are no reviews of the 1911 that I'm aware of, but based on the reviews of the 1910, I would think it would be a good choice and would work well tonally with the BR speakers.

I've never tried the dipole surrounds such as the BRFX, because, from a mounting/positioning aspect, they wuoldn't work in my lounge.

I've always been happy with traditional speakers such as the BR2s and they work well for me, but i can't say they are better because i've never compared them the BRFX type speakers. Opinions of the BRFXs I've come across always seem to be positive though.

A lot will depend on your positioning/mounting options. The BRFX are wall mountable on the side or rear wall. With the BR2s, you're going to have to use stands or have a suitable shelf/unit to put them on. In the latter option, you'd need to check the dimentions of the speakers. The BR2s are good in that they are front ported so positioning is much more flexible, than say if you had the BR1s which are rear ported (I'd definitely get the BR2s over the BR1s).

I have my RS1 on a very deep bookshelf at one side and a solid wooden unit at the other side.
 
If I were in your position with a grand to spend I'd get the best amp possible for under £500 (eg. The Denon/ Onkyo/ Yamaha midrange receivers (all £450 new or £350ish for last years models) and then get the QAccoustics 2000 series £550. These are 'budget' speakers but are capable of being driven much harder than a budget amp.

The money left over, if you get a deal, will get you some quality cabling too :thumbsup:

Enjoy.
 
Thanks for advice lucasisking but if i go for the qa's i think id be buying an inferior speaker to the br5's,i did get offerd the denon 1911 and qa 2000 speaker packagae at a great price of 780 but made my mind up to get the ma set,dicklodge as my room is now the brfx would be better as they are wall mountable but we are selling are house so when we eventualy move i may have the room for the br2s so maybe id be better buying them at a later date,its hard to no what to do for the best
 
Hi lads just an update,ive orderd my br5 speaker set along with the denon 1911 for a great price of £1189 wich is a bargain i think,anyway just wondering what else i will need to get up and running,is it just speaker cable or am i missing something else what speaker wire do you recomend dont want to lay anything to expensive as we are moving house hopefuly in the near future and want to get better stuff for new house,thanks
 
For speaker wire there is no need to spend more than £1-£2 per metre for 2.5mm copper cable. You will also need a sub cable to connect the sub to the reciever (a shielded phono cable and no need to pay more than £10 or so). Then you will need HDMI,Optical/Coaxial and stereo phono connections to connect all your sources to the reciever and the reciever to the TV.
 
This is a very popular choice for speaker wire:

Van Damme Studio Grade Blue Speaker Cable 2.5mm - Speaker Cable - Audiovisual Online - High Quality Audio Video Cables and Accessories

For a sub cable, I'd use either one of these

Profigold Subwoofer Cable - Subwoofer Cables - Audiovisual Online - High Quality Audio Video Cables and Accessories

Fisual Subwoofer Cable Pro Install Series - Subwoofer Cables - Audiovisual Online - High Quality Audio Video Cables and Accessories

Both are good cables; I've used both makes for various cables. I opted for the profigold one for the sub cable. They come in various lengths.

For HDMI I use these, which if you look on the cable forum, you should see a 10% off voucher code.

Cheap HDMI Cable - HDMI Cables 1.3b Full HD - Free UK Delivery - Ships Worldwide

Not sure if you need something different for the HDMI cable if you want to futureproof for 3D?
 
hi lads bit of a problem,the guy just rang me who i ordered my equipment of and he hasnt got any brw10 subs in stock but will try and get me 1,or he said he will knock 2 £260 of the package and i could buy a difrent sub elsewere,do you think i should wait for this sub to come in to stock or spend the money on a difrent 1,is the brw10 anygood for the br5 set or would it be wise to buy something else,any advice much appreciated,thanks
 
hi lads bit of a problem,the guy just rang me who i ordered my equipment of and he hasnt got any brw10 subs in stock but will try and get me 1,or he said he will knock 2 £260 of the package and i could buy a difrent sub elsewere,do you think i should wait for this sub to come in to stock or spend the money on a difrent 1,is the brw10 anygood for the br5 set or would it be wise to buy something else,any advice much appreciated,thanks

Many people buy the BK range of subs, and i'm sure if you go onto the sub woofer forums, you'll find people will recommend them over the BRW10 sub.

There are two choices in your price range (or just above). The XLS200 at £300 and the gemini 2 at £200.

Sub Woofers

BTW, the BRW10 seems to sell for £300, so shouldn't they be offering you more of the cost of the package if sold without a sub?

Monitor Audio BRW10
 
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hi dicklodge,im only paying 800 for the package so 260 is about right mate,so if you were me what would you do,1 thing that concerns me if i go for a diferent make will i be able to get a colour match wich i would prefer,i coulkd stretch maybe another 100 to get a better sub so what would you recommend,and if poss dont want anything to big,thanks
 
hi dicklodge,im only paying 800 for the package so 260 is about right mate,so if you were me what would you do,1 thing that concerns me if i go for a diferent make will i be able to get a colour match wich i would prefer,i coulkd stretch maybe another 100 to get a better sub so what would you recommend,and if poss dont want anything to big,thanks

I'd browse the subwoofer forums; maybe even post the question there. There is a massive fanbase on the forums for the BK subs and with your budget, the BK XLS200 seems the most appropriate one and i suspect will be better than the MA bronze sub. The BK web site will show you the finish choices available. Many people buy a separate sub to the rest of the speaker package, so slight finish mismatch is not uncommon between sub and speaker finish.

If it were me, based on the feedback on the forums for the BK subs, I'd get the BK XLS200 at £300. I notice there are two versions; Again, i'd seek advice on the subwoofer forums as to which is the one to go for.

If you do want an exact colour match, I would have thought you could find somewhwre with a MA bronze sub in stock for £300.

XLS200-DFandFF
 

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