Home Cinema n00b

[Platinum]

Been thinking about getting a decent 5.1 setup for a while so I thought I should come and ask you lot about whats good to get
I could get a off the shelf system and be happy but where is the fun in that?
So thinking of putting together a system myself, this way I should get a better overall system that better suits my needs.
The amp / receiver seems to be the most impotent part of the system and I am willing to spend on this to get what I need, which is something which can accept HDMI inputs, output in HDMI and decode and output all the HD audio formats I am likely to use.
Speaker wise I am restricted on space so looking at small speakers, what do I need to look at when pairing speakers with a amp, I assume there is a limited amount of power the amp can supply to the speakers?
Sub wise nothing amazingly powerful needed as anything large will just annoy everyone / neighbours, again is there anything here I need to look out for?
So again I am thinking the receiver is the main thing I need to do a lot of research on?, anyone point me in the direction of good resources to start my research?

Cheers

[neonplanet40]

Amount you want to spend is key? As it can range from £500 to £1,000,000,000 (u get the idea)

[menthel]

Its all about cost really, as neon says. Give us a budget, tell us what you want to feed into it and what you will be watching it all on and then we can help. Oh, and room size too.

[DeludedGuy]

Yah, give us a budget.

I spent £440 on my 2.1 setup a few weeks ago, I dont have the space for a 5.1 at the moment but will expand in the future. I only spent £140 on the reciever as it did everything I needed it to.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would look at what amps and speakers packages the various AV magazines and AV reviews websites recommend in your price range TBH and then try to demo the setups you want at a shop before buying it.

[jim]

I wouldn't bother getting a receiver that can decode the audio stream from an HDMI, they seemed to be extremely expensive when I was looking. My receiver has a pass-through for HDMI, but I have never bothered to use it, because I prefer to change the video input via the TV and the audio input via the receiver separately rather than have them linked together.

Everything I've wanted to plug in so far has had an optical output, so that's been the only thing I've used. Apart from the Wii I guess, but that's hardly going to benefit from 5.1 so it's not a problem. Get to Richer Sounds if you can, give them a budget and see what you can come up with. Whatever you do, buy cheap cables off the internet though

[Lowe]

The only downer with not having audio over HDMI is that you lose out on the new HD audio codecs. Not *that* big a deal at entry level I guess, and you're right in that it adds serious coin on to the receiver.

[PeteSmith]

Whatever you do, buy cheap cables off the internet though

Eh, shouldn't that be 'Don't buy cheap cables off the net'?

I second Richer Sounds, very competitive prices if you look online and helpful in store also. Don't feel you need to buy everything outright, build up your systems in parts to spread the cost. I think generally the consensus is don't skimp on the cost of the cables but that might just be a sales pitch, although i think snootyjim's post was a typo..

[jim]

Eh, shouldn't that be 'Don't buy cheap cables off the net'?

I second Richer Sounds, very competitive prices if you look online and helpful in store also. Don't feel you need to buy everything outright, build up your systems in parts to spread the cost. I think generally the consensus is don't skimp on the cost of the cables but that might just be a sales pitch, although i think snootyjim's post was a typo..

No it wasn't a typo

I meant things like HDMI cables, optical cables, so on. The ones where 99p from Amazon = £20 from Cambridge Audio. You'll be led a merry dance if you try to buy them in Richer Sounds. Speaker cable I agree is a different situation, but even so I'm not convinced that it's worth spending a fortune on.

[rover214]

I don't see why it would cost an arm and a leg for a receiver with audio over hdmi,

the Sony STR-DG820 that i have does it, along with dts-ma and dolby true hd, all for 229 squid, the only thing that it does not do is analogue up-conversion over hdmi.

[lazimutha]

Speaker cables definitely improve the sound. Same regarding speaker stands. I've done a comparison at home with family as the guinea pigs. However, I'm a lot more dubious about the video cables. Not sure what they would improve. Perhaps it's getting a better signal with less noise? Anyone know for sure? Who doesn't work for richer sounds?

[GheeTsar]

Speaker cables definitely improve the sound. Same regarding speaker stands. I've done a comparison at home with family as the guinea pigs. However, I'm a lot more dubious about the video cables. Not sure what they would improve. Perhaps it's getting a better signal with less noise? Anyone know for sure? Who doesn't work for richer sounds?

It depends on the type of signal. A digital signal will not degrade, but an analogue one can - so worth spending a bit more on the cable. Component connection, for example, can benefit. HDMI cable matters not a jot.

To the OP: It's worth checking out historic "best in class" awards that AV/Hifi mags have awarded for speaker set ups. These are likely to be at a fraction of the original RRP and just as good. Kef and Mordaunt Short are a good place to start too, but most importantly, you must test them to decide what suits you best.

For AV Amp/Decoder/Receiver equipment, the technology has moved on in the last few years, so it's worth buying something up to date. If you can afford it, buy something with HDMI switching and decoding. Denon used to be worth a look here.

[Stoo]

The only reason why you'd spend lots of money on an HDMI cable is if you needed a long cable run, or it needed to be particularly robust.