AV Receiver and Speaker Setup circa £600

[stevemac40]

Right guys, thought somebody here may be able to offer a bit if advice.

I'm looking to upgrade the sound system in my lounge, currently I have a an old Sony surround sound (DAVS500) that was pretty decent and expensive when bought (about 10 years ago) but because it's only decent for playing DVDs on I never really use it anymore.

So am looking for something to cover all my sound needs in my quite expansive lounge.
I like to stream music and video through my Xbox360, however if the new AV receiver was able to do this then that would be a bonus.

Any advice on an AV and Speakers or all in one package that I could get under the £600 mark (a bonus if it's even less).

I have been considering some of the Onkyo receivers but am a little lost as to the real difference on the low end systems to the higher end systems (I also realise that I am unlikely to get an Onkyo that streams from a network at my price point).

The system will mainly be used to show the Mrs soaps so I want something that is going to bearable for normal TV viewing.

 

[hawkish]

ok then I remember selling the davs500 back in the day and it is a cracking piece of kit with full punchy sound and nice styling. Things have naturally moved on a bit since then with these systems. Todays version is called the bdve370 and is basically the same sort of deal but with blu-ray and HD audio. Incidently the bluray part of the system is essentially the same as this one i reviewed earlier with the added bonus of being 3D ready. The price at the moment is £399 in most stores and is perfectly adequate and will even give you dlna music and video streaming:banana:


If you want something a bit better for the cash I would recommend this amp and speaker package from pioneer married with the bdve370 blu ray player from sony. It will give you far superior sound performance than the bdve370 for music tv and films. if you want a 3d ready blu ray then there is also the sony bdps470 to look at or why not get a Panasonic dmpbdt100 and take advantage of the 6 free bluray discs that they are giving away with them

 

[stevemac40]

Thanks for the reply. The Sony system you suggested almost had a buyer but I was very dissappointed by the lack of HDMI inputs, it would be nice to be able to feed my sky HD and Xbox 360 through this system via HDMI.

The Pioneer does look pretty decent, do you know if the Sony Blu ray player you suggested also plays media via DLNA and does it have the catch up TV that the whole system can do.I should remember what I read, i'll answer my own question here and say yes it does. I now think i'm sold on the blu ray player.

Any opinion on how these systems compare to the Onkyo systems? I had convinced myself that I should be looking at the seperate systems as they seem to be a favourite with the enthusiasts, however you've got me questioning my rationale.

 

[hawkish]

the blu ray does all the cool things that the system does including the all important iplayer and 5OD soon to be joined by itvplayer. c4od is coming and should be there "sometime soon"

seperates are always the way to go for decent quality, if you double your budget you are in decent onkyo / yamaha territory. At this level though the pioneer knocks lumps off the competition

 

[stevemac40]

Top advice. Thanks buddy.

 

[stevemac40]

I've been looking at the Pioneer VSX 920 at about £380 as there is an offer on for £100 off through Pioneer. Though it would mean very little else in the budget for speakers, would this just be a waste of time or are there some really good budget speakers out there that could bring me on budget whilst not compromising on quality?

 

[hawkish]

I would recommend matching your speakers and amp evenly for the best sound in budget range. have a look at the following package

I set this up saturday and can vouch for its sound quality. Demoed it for a couple and instantly had the attention of the four other couples in the store who came over to listen. sold 2 in one go

 

[stevemac40]

That looks good matey. Think I would have to opt for the HTP-200 that you mentioned earlier as I need the extra HDMIs. Will have to check this out next time i'm down at Richer Sounds.

 

[stevemac40]

Well I've managed to haggle this deal with Richer Sounds:

Pioneer VSX 520 Amp
Pioneer HSH 100 Speakers
Sony BDPS370 Blu Ray

for £449.

Now the missus is playing up, what can I possibly say to her to justify it?

 

[zad]

Well I've managed to haggle this deal with Richer Sounds:

Pioneer VSX 520 Amp
Pioneer HSH 100 Speakers
Sony BDPS370 Blu Ray

for £449.

Now the missus is playing up, what can I possibly say to her to justify it?

"get a grip woman we need it in our life!"

 

[cuebase]

Same here when I go to buy anything of that nature. Think what she has purchased in the past, 200 on a new dress, how many stupid ornaments has she bought that sit idle gathering dust, how many pairs off shoes has she got. Its time we men stood up and fought back. Let the revolution begin, oh sh1t she just come in Ctrl Alt Del :littleang