Looking into the world of separates

[Smudger]

Not overly big mate, looking to do it as cheap as poss, thats why I'm looking at ebay etc. Would like t thin I can get started off on £250

Looking at an av receiver Sony on ebay at the moment - this one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3007503421...84.m1423.l2649

Its just up the road from me too so can collect it

Nice amp, but no HDMI in/out, which you really need for future proofing.

[Biscuit]

You can get a decent pair of Shelf Speakers for £50 - RS do the legendary Control 1s by JBL for £60 a pair, leaving you with £190 for the amp. You should be able to pick up a 2 or 3 year old mid-range 5.1 amp for that, easily. Might be worth checking AVforums for their Classifieds and Bargains pages...

Personally i would balance it out a bit more and spend ~£100-120 on speakers and ~£130-150 on an amp such as

http://www.richersounds.com/product/...no-avr1312-blk

and

http://www.richersounds.com/product/...mercury-v1-oak

[Behemoth]

Well I've just found out that I might be getting a bonus next month from the company I used to work for that provided the Consumer Direct Service, lets just say it will be a nice wedge, and half of which will be spent on my holiday to Amsterdam with my part time g/f and the other half spent on my audio gear

I do like the look of thw Denon and those speakers look pretty decent too

[Biscuit]

Well I've just found out that I might be getting a bonus next month from the company I used to work for that provided the Consumer Direct Service, lets just say it will be a nice wedge, and half of which will be spent on my holiday to Amsterdam with my part time g/f and the other half spent on my audio gear

I do like the look of thw Denon and those speakers look pretty decent too

I have the older f model and love them to bits :-)

[Behemoth]

Getting quite excited about getting this all sorted now, I know my PC speakers sound pretty good, but I think a decent audio rig like this will blow them away

[Biscuit]

Getting quite excited about getting this all sorted now, I know my PC speakers sound pretty good, but I think a decent audio rig like this will blow them away

Yep, definitely!

[g8ina]

When you say Denon, I hope you don't mean the Denon speakers ! Just the AV amp ?

[Behemoth]

Yes mate, looking at the amp, seems good value. I am however current highest bidder on the Sony AV receiver at £5.50 I suspect it will go for more than that.

[dave87]

I'm going against the grain here, but based on what you've said, forget 5.1 - stick with stereo.

Firstly, budget. Yes there are bargains, but broadly speaking to get a decent 5.1 setup you'll be spending more than a few quid (don't ask how I know!). To get a decent 2 channel stereo system is cheaper - and you can get better kit. If you go for 5.1 you'd be mad not to want an amp with HDMI. Ok, so that rules out the older stuff (which is what is cheap compared with its original rrp), and means you are looking at low-mid range kit from the last 5 years or so. Contrast that with stereo kit where stuff made 20+ years ago can still hold its own - things haven't moved on that far that it is obsolete now - broadly speaking two channel sound is, well, still two channel

Secondly, you then need to buy either a set of 5 speakers and a sub, or start with stereo and move up. This is bad. If you go the route of buying 5 speakers and a sub, invariably you will be constrained by budget. This is fine, but it can be rather limiting when you've got to buy 5 speakers and a sub. If you go down the route of buying 2 speakers and adding to them later then that gives you the budget for a decent pair of speakers, but AV amps are (relatively) rubbish at stereo. Butuz'll back me up on this one I'm sure (he was looking to move from a tasty Onkyo (a fair few quids worth) to go back to stereo...)

Thirdly, do you actually need surround sound? I've got both, and for music and iPlayer, normal two channel TV etc - my stereo system (Denon Amp, B&W Speakers) is just as good (if not better for music) than the 5.1 setup that cost 5 or so times as much. Ok, it's overshadowed when I watch a blu-ray, but that isn't that often.

And perhaps finally - the stuff you buy now you'll probably hold onto. There is always room for a second stereo in the house, but have you tried having two surround sound systems? Needless to say you'll either end up flogging it for vastly less than you paid for it, or giving it away if you buy the low-mid range 5.1 stuff. If you buy a decent stereo separates setup, you'll be able to reclaim a larger proportion of that if you do upgrade/move on/decide you need the cash.


So go for a decent two channel stereo, enjoy the simplicity, the purity and the ease. Add the 5.1 system when you've outgrown this setup

[Behemoth]

lol just when I thought I'd made my choice, imnteresting point there Dave, oh well will see what happens with that amp off ebay that I've put a bid on, if I get it cheap I won't have lost much, if not I can look around again at 2 channel stuff.

[Behemoth]

Well I bit all the way upto £60.00 on the Sony AV receiver - I was outbid by by £2.00

[strocky]

2nd hand stereo amp from a forum like hifiwigwam or pinkfishmedia is probably a good starting point, you can always buy a AV receiver with pre-outs at a later date if you decide to go 5.1/7.1

[Behemoth]

My bonus has come through Time to start seriously looking now I've already told Donna she's gonna be dragged out looking around Bristol in few weeks time, she hates shopping lol

[Biscuit]

My bonus has come through Time to start seriously looking now I've already told Donna she's gonna be dragged out looking around Bristol in few weeks time, she hates shopping lol

Hifi shopping for men is like shoe shopping for girls :-D

[Bluecube]

Why would you take a woman with you to go hifi shopping? All they do is moan and complain and get in the road!

[Behemoth]

Because she is not a conventional woman She will also get the benefit out of it when she comes over.