Home cinema sounds

[Stuart70]

I am not a hi fi buff, but am looking for recommendations.

I have a Panasonic 65” with a Panasonic sound bar and sub woofer.
Decent sound but not exceptional.

The sound bar has given up.

What should I replace it with and can the sub woofer be reused with a new system.
Solution does not need to be a sound bar, there is space in the room.

Budget, to start the conversation, is c£600 - £1200.

What should I be thinking about?

[justin220]

What's the room size, shape and layout like?

That's a good budget and you'll be able to get a 5.1 system for that. Are you able to hide wires etc?

[Stuart70]

Room size is 18’ x 14’ approx. TV is on a stand in the corner, not wall mounted so hiding wires should not be a problem.

Hope that helps?

[DavidY]

Naim Muso

[Stuart70]

DavidY said:

Naim Muso

Looks interesting, not what I had in mind, but that might be a good thing.. thanks.

[justin220]

Stuart70 said:

Room size is 18’ x 14’ approx. TV is on a stand in the corner, not wall mounted so hiding wires should not be a problem.

Hope that helps?

And what are you looking to achieve? Surround sound? Specifically a 5.1 or just a replacement soundbar set up?

[justin220]

You won't go far wrong with a 5.1 set like this.

https://petertyson.co.uk/denon-avr-x2700h-receiver...

[Stuart70]

justin220 said:

Stuart70 said:

Room size is 18’ x 14’ approx. TV is on a stand in the corner, not wall mounted so hiding wires should not be a problem.

Hope that helps?

And what are you looking to achieve? Surround sound? Specifically a 5.1 or just a replacement soundbar set up?

Not a hifi buff, I have no idea what surround sound or 5.1 might mean in comparison with a sound bar.

What is best quality that is reasonable to seek to achieve with the budget?

Edit - thanks Justin - think you answered by question with your next post . Thank you

[AC43]

I have Yamaha YSP 2700 that sounds great for a soundbar in one room (cost me £700 four years ago) but I have a proper sustem in the other room which blows it out of the water.

I went onto AV Forums and paid £300 for a Yamaha RX V 3067 that an enthusiast was upgrading. Original packaging and invoice for £1000. Fantastic amp.

I then paid £600 for MA Radius centre & front L&R speakers.

I had an MK Acoustics Pro 50 sub spare - that was £250 new.

So now we're at £1150.

This is a pair of my rears on eBay for £40.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294431686416?chn=ps&amp...

[justin220]

Sound is all really personal preference. Q Acoustics are well regarded but if possible you ideally want to listen to them yourself before commiting (or any speaker for that matter)

Have you got anywhere local you could go have a listen? It's a lot of money to spend if the sound isn't to your taste.

Right back when I started looking for my first system I did exactly that, and ended up going for the Dali brand. Not saying they are better, I just liked the sound.

It's a minefield out there.

https://petertyson.co.uk/denon-avr-x1600h-dab-av-r...

I would try and future proof yourself if possible, as in Atmos capable amp. Or 7.1

[justin220]

Would you be willing to buy second hand? That opens up a world of options

[Scabutz]

I did my home cinema recently on similar budget. I went for the Denon x1600, which is about 550. Then warfdale da2 5.1 system, that was 400. Few quid on cables and a complete system had for under a grand.

The av amp supports up to 7.2 speakers. You can add Atmos speakers, which is what I did. Or you can have a separate zone. Run speakers to the kitchen for example

[toasty]

Stuart70 said:

DavidY said:

Naim Muso

Looks interesting, not what I had in mind, but that might be a good thing.. thanks.

While the Muso is a great all in one box for music (I have one under the tv), I wouldn’t recommend for home cinema duties. I personally prefer the speakers on my LG E7 tv for this. By all means try one out though.

One of my friends has been raving about his Sonos Arc so maybe that’s worth a listen too.

[Stuart70]

Thanks all. Food for thought…

[AC43]

Stuart70 said:

Thanks all. Food for thought…

As others have said, you can get all new mid-range amp & speaker package for £1,200 which will sound WAY better than a £600 sound base or sound bar. There really isn't a comparison.

Or, as I and others suggest, go s/h for some of it. What I saved on my amp I spent on extremely good front speakers which are head an shoulders above the relatively-budget Tannoys that came before and CA's before that. Often, the only thing that dates amps is the software and services on them. As I don't use any of that, I don't care; what I'm after is the quality of the internals and a 5/6/7 year old top-range Yamaha/Denon/etc will have that in spades.

One final thought on the Naim Muso; I heard one demo'd in Richer Sounds in Norwich and was blown away by it. I went for a 2nd demo in London before committing and it sounded muddy & muddled; in Norwich it had been sitting on a solid shelf, in London it was sitting on a hollow cabinet. Presumably that was screwing up all the bass and lower frequencies. So I pivoted and got the Yam YSP 2700 instead. You can't go wrong with a traditional sub. In the right set up, the Naim is hugely impressive, mind.

[hyphen]

Re Muso. For movies you need a decent size sub, and Muso doesn't have a sub out I think.

Muso is for music playing in either kitchen type areas. (or in households where the woman wear the trousers and won't allow proper hifi, other rooms too).

[Stuart70]

hyphen said:

Re Muso. For movies you need a decent size sub, and Muso doesn't have a sub out I think.

Muso is for music playing in either kitchen type areas. (or in households where the woman wear the trousers and won't allow proper hifi, other rooms too).

I have a sub speaker from the Panasonic sound bar setup. No idea whether it would talk to other systems. Certainly if the Naim does not have a sub out, that rules out the option of linking that sub to it !

[AC43]

hyphen said:

Re Muso. For movies you need a decent size sub, and Muso doesn't have a sub out I think.

Muso is for music playing in either kitchen type areas. (or in households where the woman wear the trousers and won't allow proper hifi, other rooms too).

I know so many mates who were persuaded to dump their separates for these "wonderful" (and very expensive) minimalist white box things.

Then the first time they have a room full of people and tried to crank up the tunes - oh for fk's sake.....noone mentioned this in the sale pitch, did they?

Yes, you don't have any wires, But you don't have any bass or any actual, you know, volume.

In my place I'm 100% in charge of all the TV & audio action. I don't have control over much else but I do all that. TV1 has 5.1 cinema, TV2 has expensive soundbar & sub, TV3 has cheapo soundbar & sub & TV4 has soundbar. Main sound system has proper amplification, speakers & sub. Sound system 2 has amp, speakers & sub.

Lots of kit, installed carefully so it's not in your face. The only real compromise has been the positioning of the main audio speakers but I'll take that.

Any wiring is hidden away behind plaster, some in conduits.

[roscopervis]

Second hand and getting a well regarded set of speakers and a home theatre amp and sub is the most value for money way forward, but it gets addictive, and potentially expensive if the bug bites.

For an all in one system, the new Sony HT-A9 system is incredible, though is quite pricey at full price (£1600) and needs the bigger sub (bought separately) to be a fully effective system. If that could be all bought ina deal, that would be very nice.

[aquarianone]

I would usually recommend a proper 5.1 system of Amp, Sub and speakers, huge choice at various budgets and plenty of second hand choice...and generally a lot better than a your avg Soundbar

...but I think this new Sony system is worth demo'ing / looking into - Sony HT - A9

(bit of budget creep, but i'd imagine you could add the Sub at a later date..)

https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/sound-bars/ht-a...

https://www.expertreviews.co.uk/sony/1414392/sony-...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHcjvdGbaa0&t=...

plenty of other reviews out there...

Edited by aquarianone on Wednesday 27th October 14:36

Edited by aquarianone on Wednesday 27th October 14:58