PeterNem
08-09-2006, 00:44
Hi all,
I'm growing a bit tired of watchign movies on my computer. A 19" TFT doesn't really cut it, and although the Videologic 5.1 speaker set I've been using for years has served it's purpose, it barely has it in it to fill my bedroom with decent sound.
In a couple of weeks I'm moving into a 2 bed flat with a mate and high on my list of things to buy once I'm settled in and have my finances in order is a reasonable setup to watch films on.
I think we're going to go along the lines of one of us buys an LCD tv (him I think - he has his eyes on a 32" Samsung R74 series), and I buy the sound stuff so we each know what we own when/if we eventually move out and don't have to worry about splitting money etc down the line.
I picked up a copy of this months "What Hi-Fi". I realise reviews on audio equipment are very subjective (and that some people don't rate this mag at all), but as a complete n00b I thought some reviews are better than none. A feature that caught my attention was budget 5.1 speaker packages (in the £500 to 600 region).
The two sets that seemed to come out of the review best were Q Acoustics 1010 5.1 package (http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo-2.cfm/Product_ID/2893) and Wharfdale Diamond 9 HCP (http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo-2.cfm/Product_ID/2210)
Does anyone have any experience with these sets of speakers or any speakers from within their respective ranges, or have any other suggestions as to half reasonable speaker systems for me to investigate? Wharfdale is a name I recognise, but not so with Q Acoustics. I gather they are a newish company and I cannot find much in the way of reviews on their products, but the odd bit I can find seems very favourable given their price.
The room they'll be going into will be around 17 foot by 10 foot if that makes a lot of difference.
I'll also need an AV amp/receiver to power them and would ideally be looking at around £250 for this, although would be willing to consider used if it meant getting something cheaper/better. As well as taking the optical input from a DVD player, it'd be nice if it also either had 6 channel analogue photo inputs or another optical input so I can hook up my PC soundcard to it (6 phono style connectors would probably be easiest, but unless I'm looking in the wrong place this doesn't seem too common).
I guess ideally I should go speak to someone in a shop and with a listening room, but I'd feel a bit intimidated not really knowing much about this stuff and also feel like I was not the best use of their time with me only looking for comparatively low-end kit.
Any tips or general advice appreciated.
I'm growing a bit tired of watchign movies on my computer. A 19" TFT doesn't really cut it, and although the Videologic 5.1 speaker set I've been using for years has served it's purpose, it barely has it in it to fill my bedroom with decent sound.
In a couple of weeks I'm moving into a 2 bed flat with a mate and high on my list of things to buy once I'm settled in and have my finances in order is a reasonable setup to watch films on.
I think we're going to go along the lines of one of us buys an LCD tv (him I think - he has his eyes on a 32" Samsung R74 series), and I buy the sound stuff so we each know what we own when/if we eventually move out and don't have to worry about splitting money etc down the line.
I picked up a copy of this months "What Hi-Fi". I realise reviews on audio equipment are very subjective (and that some people don't rate this mag at all), but as a complete n00b I thought some reviews are better than none. A feature that caught my attention was budget 5.1 speaker packages (in the £500 to 600 region).
The two sets that seemed to come out of the review best were Q Acoustics 1010 5.1 package (http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo-2.cfm/Product_ID/2893) and Wharfdale Diamond 9 HCP (http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo-2.cfm/Product_ID/2210)
Does anyone have any experience with these sets of speakers or any speakers from within their respective ranges, or have any other suggestions as to half reasonable speaker systems for me to investigate? Wharfdale is a name I recognise, but not so with Q Acoustics. I gather they are a newish company and I cannot find much in the way of reviews on their products, but the odd bit I can find seems very favourable given their price.
The room they'll be going into will be around 17 foot by 10 foot if that makes a lot of difference.
I'll also need an AV amp/receiver to power them and would ideally be looking at around £250 for this, although would be willing to consider used if it meant getting something cheaper/better. As well as taking the optical input from a DVD player, it'd be nice if it also either had 6 channel analogue photo inputs or another optical input so I can hook up my PC soundcard to it (6 phono style connectors would probably be easiest, but unless I'm looking in the wrong place this doesn't seem too common).
I guess ideally I should go speak to someone in a shop and with a listening room, but I'd feel a bit intimidated not really knowing much about this stuff and also feel like I was not the best use of their time with me only looking for comparatively low-end kit.
Any tips or general advice appreciated.