Speakers

[Daz]

I knew before I bought the Samsung that the built in speakers would be mostly pap, and indeed they are. I was fine with that though, we both like our music and integrated speakers were never going to cut it anyway, so good picture and aesthetics were the requirements and I'm happy they've been met.

The TV has both RCA and optical out which gives me a few options but I'm not sure what's best. 5.1's not really right for us I dont think, I dont want to flood the living room with speakers, stereo will do us fine. With that sort of requirement though could I just look at getting a pair of decent speakers and hooking them straight to the TV (if I can even do that) or do I have to put an amp of some kind in the middle?

[Robert]

I may have a pair of B&W 601 S3 speakers for sale if you're interested :)

[Daz]

Maybe, hadn't really got that far though :D:)

[Desmo]

You'll need an amp mate. You'll not drive speakers direct from the TV. Don't aks me for suggestions though, I'm not up to date on this sort of stuff.

[Matblack]

Does the TV have red and white stereo outs?

If it has get a good stereo amp like a Arcam or Audiolab and some nice speakers, either floorstanders or standmounts, you could always add a sub later as long as you make sure it has high level inputs :)

MB

[Daz]

Does the TV have red and white stereo outs?
It does :)

If it has get a good stereo amp like a Arcam or Audiolab and some nice speakers, either floorstanders or standmounts, you could always add a sub later as long as you make sure it has high level inputs :)

MB
Any models in particular or can I not really go wrong brand wise?

[Matblack]

I have an Audiolab 8000A which powers my KEF 103/4s, Audiolab designs were bought by TAG Mac. You can get one on Ebay for ~£100, very nice piece of kit, I've never regretted getting one.

Speakers wise what look are we going for and what positon will they be in?

Some people here feel that the look of components is more important then the sound ;)

MB

[Daz]

Not given a great deal of thought to the speakers yet, been thinking more about what (if anything) needs to go in between them. Position wise...

http://dwuk.net/misc/new_telleh.jpg

Excuse the quality. Cards have moved and it looks quite tidy there now, best bet might be something reasonably tall on either side of the unit, anything sitting between the lamps would look daft.

You know your stuff though so I'd welcome any advice on the speaker front :)

[Matblack]

Budget?

MB

[Daz]

Not sure really - I'm looking to treat myself either out of my Christmas bonus or birthday cash (or both). I cant go crazy though, I've got a mortgage now :D:(:D

I'm no audiophile though, and anything half decent will sound infinitely better than what's in there now. It distorts surprisingly easily :/ To be honest I'm not even sure what I should be expecting to pay - I could go in with something like £200-250 but I know little hi-fi systems retail for that so that could be quite unrealistic. It doesn't help not knowing what brands to look at either. Being Joe consumer I only know Joe consumer brands and they only really do these home cinema in a box setups and I dont really want 5.1

[Matblack]

I still think the KEF Q Series is a really good entry level floorstander

http://www.abcelectronique.com/comparateur/image_son/audio/enceinte/enceinte_colonne/photos/iq5_kef.jpg

Mine always sounded good with the 8000A, which incidentally looks like this

http://www.ckaudio.com/audiolab8000a.jpg

MB

[Daz]

Thanks Matt, you've given me a good starting point :)

[Desmo]

Some people here feel that the look of components is more important then the sound ;)
Some of us don't have the space provided in a dedicated room ;)

[leowyatt]

If you want a go of stuff I'd suggest trying your nearest Richer Sounds, they always have good stuff and usually package offers.

MarantznPM4001 (http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=MARA-PM4001) - £119

Now I know these aren't floorstanders but you could always go bookshelf then get some floorstanders when you've got more moolah.

Tannoy Custom F1 (http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=TANN-CUSTOM-F1)