Hi-Fi or home cinema

[P10DGR]

Story goes like this, new years night, lots of loud music and my amp on my stereo blows up meaning it will now need replaced.

I have a very good dvd player and run this and my tv through the stereo. I'm looking to find out whether I should just buy an amp as I've got good speakers and they give a good quality of sound for both playing music and using as a cinema system or should I just buy a home cinema system and hook it up to my existing dvd player and get rid of the stereo altogether?

Thoughts and ideas on this would be appreciated and also on equipment makes, I understand that budget comes into the various makes but I'm looking more down the quality route and will worry about the budget afterwards, but for an idea it will be around £500.

Cheers in advance.

[UpTheIron]

What equipment have you currently got?

Makes / models
Number of speakers
Interconnects currently used

[OldSkoolRS]

If you listen to a lot of music, then buying a 'home cinema' might be a bit dissapointing as they tend not to be great with music unless you're looking at something like an Arcam Solo or the Linn products which are some way above the £500 you mention. If you bought an amp to use with your existing speakers (didn't mention what make/model) then you might get a reasonable AV amp within budget that you could add speakers to as time goes on to get the full 5.1 if you want. Bear in mind that a £500 stereo amp would sound fantastic for music compared to an AV amp (you're diluting the quality with all the extra channels and other bells and whistles.

As an example I have a Denon AV amp that was the best part of a grand when new (Richers Sounds end of line deal for much less when I bought it I still have an old NAD C350 stereo amp that cost under £200 and it blows the Denon out of the water for playing stereo CDs through. So you need to think about what your priorities are as getting an AV amp that makes a great stereo amp as well costs big time (think something like the Arcam AVR600 that retails at £3,500).

[dave_s13]

It's a comprimise at that price but I reckon you'll be better off with a separate amp and speakers. If your existing front speakers are decent then stick with them and add the rest on.

A mate of mine just bought a Yamaha RXV465 and it sounds great with both music and blu ray.

just as an idea you could get this lot for less than £500.

http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/y...


http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.c...


http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.c...


http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.c...


The above is just a quick example of what you could get for the money, not a recommendation of specific items, although the amp is a good un.

Keep your eye on Ebay too. My front stereo speakers are old, but great sounding, Mordaunt Short MS20i's. I managed to get a pair of MS10i's off Ebay for £30, these are my rears.

Oh and you'll need to budget £50-100 for cables.

Edited by dave_s13 on Friday 8th January 23:09

[P10DGR]

The speakers I've got are 2 x aiwa and 2 x dinatron, unsure of models but are floor standing. The aiwa's carry more bass and the dinatron carry better vocals when playing both music and dvds.

I would say it would be a 50/50 split between music and dvds played through them. I like the idea that you've suggested dave as it may be the best way forward for my needs.

As much as I would love to spend some serious cash on Linn equipment, I think the fiance would be miffed that the wedding she is waiting for has had to be put off as I've spent all the cash! But as I said previously the budget isn't set in stone and if I need to spend more to get quality then I'm happy to do that.

Another question, where's the best place to find end of line or good quality second hand denon equipment? My oldman managed to get a fanatstic denon amp from a shop in aberdeen which isn't there anymore, I'm sure he payed under £100 for it (secondhand).

[OldSkoolRS]

If you're looking for a used amp at less than EBay rip off prices try AVForums classifieds, but there are a few other places too that have been recommended in some other threads on here (if I can find them I'll edit this post and add them to the list);

http://www.avforums.com/forums/amplifier-receiver-...

Also here:

http://www.homecinemacentral.co.uk/forums/forumdis...

http://www.exdem.com/

http://www.adverts.hififorsale.com/home.asp



Sorry about mentioning Linn/Arcam, it's just you said that you were looking for good quality and didn't mind stretching the budget a bit TBH rather than try to buy everything now within the £500 budget, I'd say to look for a decent amp (new or secondhand) and then keep your eyes open for some decent front speakers. You could always use your existing speakers as surrounds and you can run without a centre speaker rather than compromise the sound by using a poor centre, equaly the same regarding the sub.

Edited by OldSkoolRS on Saturday 9th January 09:46

[900T-R]

£500 spent on home cinema equipment would be a decent step up from the TV speakers when playing movies, but a massive step down from a decent stereo set up for that sort of money when playing music. If you can live with two channel movie sound I'd strongly suggest spending £300 on a stereo amp and £200 on a single pair of speakers instead. If you are willing to go second hand, £500 would buy you a bit more than just 'decent' quality gear. Get yourself over to the Hifi Wigwam or similar forums - always a good selection of stuff in the classifeids from members who are upgrading their kit.

Edited by 900T-R on Saturday 9th January 10:07

[P10DGR]

cheers for the help guys, think I'm gonna have to go and beg for the purse strings to be relaxed, this being engaged thing does have it's draw backs!