Speakers and amp for the telly box
Discussion
Right I’m f
ked off with stupid amazon echo dot bluetooth speakers (as below). I want speakers that will play from my dvd / bluray player. That is the primary job. I only want stereo no surround sound bks.
I would like to play Netflix through them too (I use a firestick to get netflix etc) but that might not be poss, I have to check my tv output I think
Any very good value for money, not big, amp and speakers? I’m thinking Q Acoustics 3010i speakers as they’re quite small (I have no space) or Bowers & Wilkins M-1 below as they’re small and come with little stands.
I like the look of these new things like WiiM Amp (or Ultra!) but to be honest not too sure if would do what I need (I wonder can firestick output Bluetooth sound to the Wiim and then that goes to speakers? Would be great if it did). But the cheapest AV receivers are £400. My tv is old and doesn’t have earc. Probably use Richer sounds?
Wiim amp
Echo I have now:
ked off with stupid amazon echo dot bluetooth speakers (as below). I want speakers that will play from my dvd / bluray player. That is the primary job. I only want stereo no surround sound bks.I would like to play Netflix through them too (I use a firestick to get netflix etc) but that might not be poss, I have to check my tv output I think
Any very good value for money, not big, amp and speakers? I’m thinking Q Acoustics 3010i speakers as they’re quite small (I have no space) or Bowers & Wilkins M-1 below as they’re small and come with little stands.
I like the look of these new things like WiiM Amp (or Ultra!) but to be honest not too sure if would do what I need (I wonder can firestick output Bluetooth sound to the Wiim and then that goes to speakers? Would be great if it did). But the cheapest AV receivers are £400. My tv is old and doesn’t have earc. Probably use Richer sounds?
Wiim amp
Echo I have now:
Do you want the speakers to take sound direct from sources such as Firestick, or do you want the sources to feed the telly, then the telly feeds the amp?
Sometimes you can get 'lip synch issues with either AIUI.
I've used a cheap optical DAC from the TV to a hifi amp. Works well.
Other people take Bluetooth from the TV to amp or headphones.
If you want to use a player for audio without the TV on, then the sound needs to go direct.
Sometimes you can get 'lip synch issues with either AIUI.
I've used a cheap optical DAC from the TV to a hifi amp. Works well.
Other people take Bluetooth from the TV to amp or headphones.
If you want to use a player for audio without the TV on, then the sound needs to go direct.
For a few years I had a Denon RCD-M41 taking optical from a LG TV and sending to a pair of Q 3020i I had loads of lip sync issues.
Earlier this year I bought a £300 JBL 300 soundbar. Although, for outright audioplhile listening the new soundbar might not tick everyones boxes, for everyday use the JBL is stunning, its really good fun to listen to and its super tidy. Its got automatic room calibration and you can cast to it from all manner of devices. Its got several inputs so you can hook other devices to it and switch to those with a little remote control.
If you can stretch to £400 there's a Sony S2000 soundbar which is a class above.
Earlier this year I bought a £300 JBL 300 soundbar. Although, for outright audioplhile listening the new soundbar might not tick everyones boxes, for everyday use the JBL is stunning, its really good fun to listen to and its super tidy. Its got automatic room calibration and you can cast to it from all manner of devices. Its got several inputs so you can hook other devices to it and switch to those with a little remote control.
If you can stretch to £400 there's a Sony S2000 soundbar which is a class above.
Bobley said:
Earlier this year I bought a £300 JBL 300 soundbar. Although, for outright audioplhile listening the new soundbar might not tick everyones boxes, for everyday use the JBL is stunning
There must be something wrong with my B&W Formation Bar with a rrp of nearly £1k. Its the first sound bar I've ever setup in the house, whilst it's much easier to setup than AVRs+separates the sound staging is simply not comparable to speaker separates especially for stereo. My near 20 years old MS500 series speaker paired to a 10 year old Denon AVR is in a different planet from the soundbar interms of stereo staging and overall sound quality, that with volume at 1/3, crank up the AVR to 8/10 and I suspect the soundbar will sound like an Echo dot in comparison. I haven’t checked used prices but I would be amazed if used MS speakers + AVR comes out more expensive than a new Formation sound bar. However I do get the appeal of ease in setup, one plug and cable versus a whole evening of messing with wiring and than doing an audio config go levels/sub cross over checks etc.
Aesthetically the BW soundbar also looks like a bit of furniture rather than AV device so much so the living room TV is now deemed unsuitable and will probably get replaced by something like the LG Frame. Even though stereo performance is abit meem, I'll probably end up getting the complementary formation bass, as for the living room it is a neat solution.
But for me, if you want good sound on the cheap and aren't constrained by SWMBOs demands for things to match in a room, an old AVR + speakers is the way to go. I need to find time this weekend to setup the now spare AVR + speaker /sub in the part of the house where apparently I'm never allowed to show guests because it looks like a car boot sale stand
.
Edited by gangzoom on Saturday 12th October 07:05
Do you have a 4k TV? If not, just buy a secondhand AV Receiver and speakers that are within budget. No need to overthink it. Loads of stuff on Facebook, eBay etc. I have a 15 year old Denon AVR available that will do everything you want https://www.denon.com/en-gb/product/archive-av-rec...
A pair of active speakers is a simple option that (in my opinion) is better than a soundbar.
I bought Edifier R1850s and am very happy with them. Multiple connection options including optical and coax (so will almost certainly connect to whatever TV you have) plus Bluetooth for music when you are not watching TV. Sound quality, for the price, is excellent in my opinion. You can connect a sub woofer but I have not felt the need.
The only thing that I think would make them "better" for this purpose as TV speakers is HDMI ARC connection, so that your TV remote controls the volume directly. Searching around this is a surprisingly limited option, but the AZATOM Equinox 2 M4 are a budget buy with this feature that get good reviews, and if you have the budget then Klipsch The Fives seem to be a good option.
I bought Edifier R1850s and am very happy with them. Multiple connection options including optical and coax (so will almost certainly connect to whatever TV you have) plus Bluetooth for music when you are not watching TV. Sound quality, for the price, is excellent in my opinion. You can connect a sub woofer but I have not felt the need.
The only thing that I think would make them "better" for this purpose as TV speakers is HDMI ARC connection, so that your TV remote controls the volume directly. Searching around this is a surprisingly limited option, but the AZATOM Equinox 2 M4 are a budget buy with this feature that get good reviews, and if you have the budget then Klipsch The Fives seem to be a good option.
I use a Lindy DAC (discontinued but there are plenty of similar devices available) to receive digital audio from my TV and output analog to a Cambridge Audio A300 amp (also discontinued), which drives a pair of Mission 700s (the original version). Only downside of this setup is I have to get off my arse to control the volume on the amp.
If I was forced to replace this setup, I'd buy (another) set of Elac DCB41s. I already have a pair that I use for playing music. Great speakers for the money, with all the inputs you could possibly want.
If I was forced to replace this setup, I'd buy (another) set of Elac DCB41s. I already have a pair that I use for playing music. Great speakers for the money, with all the inputs you could possibly want.
MadCaptainJack said:
If I was forced to replace this setup, I'd buy (another) set of Elac DCB41s. I already have a pair that I use for playing music. Great speakers for the money, with all the inputs you could possibly want.
Have now added the Elac DCB41s to my Amazon wishlist - thanks. Don't have a real reason to replace the Edifiers, other than HDMI ARC might make them easier for my other half to appreciate.Ta is all, I am reading all the comments then click a link and go off read and read about yet another option for half an hour! So many variations.
I forgot about active speakers
It reminds me I think I went through all this six months ago as I remeber looking up all sorts of active speakers lol, then forgot about it 
I forgot about active speakers
It reminds me I think I went through all this six months ago as I remeber looking up all sorts of active speakers lol, then forgot about it CoolHands said:
I forgot about active speakers It reminds me I think I went through all this six months ago as I remeber looking up all sorts of active speakers lol, then forgot about it
There some really tempting products around now, depending on your budget you can pick up these used with matching stands for a few Ks. The reviews suggest they are awesome, but the BWs app is pretty temperamental so am not sure how you would run an audio source into them without also getting the BWs media box thingy, which will essentially makes some very expensive speakers even more expensive!! It reminds me I think I went through all this six months ago as I remeber looking up all sorts of active speakers lol, then forgot about it I had some more time listening to our sound bar at the weekend, if you have never had a good stereo HiFi set up I can see how you can think a soundbar is OK, but otherwise, just put the extra initial setup effort in and get separates, use or new, what ever setup will be better than a soundbar.
https://petertyson.co.uk/bowers-wilkins-formation-...
CoolHands said:
Right I’m fked off with stupid amazon echo dot bluetooth speakers (as below). I want speakers that will play from my dvd / bluray player. That is the primary job. I only want stereo no surround sound bks.
...
May I enquire why you think surround sound is 'bked off with stupid amazon echo dot bluetooth speakers (as below). I want speakers that will play from my dvd / bluray player. That is the primary job. I only want stereo no surround sound bks....
ks'?If you are watching films, they will be encoded with surround sound as a means to increase your immersion into the film.
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