home cinemas. which do you have? Sony . Panasonic . lg . samsung

[RCbutcher]

i I did a similar thread to this but cannot find it to change it. I wanted a beasty sound system that I could also use for surround sound and was told to go for a 5.1 3d blu ray set up well ive found 3 candidates that ill hopfully have one of by next month.

Sony ( I have a ps3 but this is pretty bland )

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B007NXA9KI

Panasonic ( most likly candidate )

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B007RTY4SQ

Lg ( by far my favourite but the mrs hates the yellow I love it and its specs)

http://www.woolworths.co.uk/lg-bh7430p-3d-smart-home-cinema-system/1222705417.prd

They all sound amazing 1000w plus. 3d blu ray . Wifi built into the Panasonic and lg lardyvdar but are they good in practice too can I blow my skirting boards off the wall with some hip hop the settle down to saving private ryan and here bullets from every direction.

My tv is 3d so will the sound be 3d or is surround sound the same thing tall boy speakera beside the tv . Little ones left and right of the sofa and the middle one under the tv plus bass box behind the sofa?

Wifi is that true Internet could I log on to youtube and watch movies straight from the cinema or is it something crap like xbox Internet was a set menu so to speak. I think xbox is great and now has open Internet tho so don't hit me on that lol.

Will all 3 be compatible with my ps3 if I wated to stream a movie from divx if the cinema cant do it alone?

Whats the difference with normal cables and optical are they worth the 10x extra they cost?

I had a very basic one before with just dvd it was ok but this time im hoping I can use it for anything to set off the entertainment system link it all together im hopfull since this kind of stuff has blew up in the last few years.

A bonus with the lg is its ultra hd so when the UHD tvs come out its there waiting but im not sure ill get anew tv for afew years yet so the Panasonic is most likly my choice since im ordering it from littlewoods since I have just shy of

[smash]

Right I don't have the exact specs for everything but I can tell you what my set up consists of..

I have an lg 42" cinema 3d tv, an onkyo 3d capable reciever, an lg 3d bluray player, yamaha surround speakers with powered sub, and a dell zino 410hd home theatre pc running windows 7 via hdmi in the tv.. Oh yeah and the wife has a humax foxsat hd box.. I've been into the home theatre bit for a good when now and I've always had onkyo receivers, imho you can't beat them when it comes to bang for buck, the features and audio quality are excellent.

There is no me in team..

[jordan_bench10]

I have a panasonic one with my vierra tv andnbu far the best + we got it free

[EpicLURcher]

The 'gadget show world tour' found that the panasonic was much better

[rcaddict]

Most.of mibe is a collaboration of different parts. Hi hi and cinema are like clothes why get everything the same brand unless you really like them together?

Onkyo av receiver 9.2 amplifier

Infocus projector

Custom built htpc

Mordaunt short thx speakers

4 x thx 10" subwoofers

[SirusDviruS]

I can tell you now none of the ones you listed are 1000w RMS. infact not even close. Marketing BS. Look at the power consumption figures of the 'amps'.

The ratings quoted are meaningless MPO/PMPO figures, used by these company's to confuse and mislead.

1 box systems are generally poor.

You would be better off building a system from seperates from Richer Sounds or similar. Second hand HiFi/Av goes for peanuts on eBay.

I'm running a mixture of Cerwin Vega & Mission speakers, Wharfdale sub, Pioneer VSX 921 amp.

[rcaddict]

I can tell you now none of the ones you listed are 1000w RMS. infact not even close. Marketing BS. Look at the power consumption figures of the 'amps'.

The ratings quoted are meaningless MPO/PMPO figures, used by these company's to confuse and mislead.

1 box systems are generally poor.

You would be better off building a system from seperates from Richer Sounds or similar. Second hand HiFi/Av goes for peanuts on eBay.

I'm running a mixture of Cerwin Vega & Mission speakers, Wharfdale sub, Pioneer VSX 921 amp.

I agree, and wattage is only power it doesn't translate to volume or quality.

[SirusDviruS]

I'd love to see the frequency response of those speakers!

All this said though, its horses for courses and it depends on how serious you are with your sound. I'm sure some of those systems would impress friends and family that are not into their HiFi.

[x-baja man-x]

[rcaddict]

[mayzie12]

I have an old sony system. 100W and its plenty loud. Use a mixture of Sony, Toshiba and Pioneer speakers, just what we had left from a new TV set, and my old HiFI. I use it for my PC all my gaming and for my stereo. Not bad for

[SirusDviruS]

Awesome rcaddict

[babylon]

 

I have a full start to finish build thread Here

 

The only way you will ever do the opening 1/2 hour of Saving Private Ryan any justice is to go with separates, My advise on a small budget would be to pick up a second hand reciever, You can get something like a Denon avr 3802 for less than 150 off the bay, I'v seen one go for 110 quid.

 

It may not have HDMI switching or DTS-HD decoding, But it's 7.1 output at 110 Watt with a separate zone output, rcaddict appears to have an Onkyo and will tell you that THIS is a bargain, Then throw in a seperate Smart Wi-Fi Blu-Ray player for 70 quid, If funds are tight then just add a set of stereo speakers like Kef Q1's

 

 

Which I have seen go for 70 quid, They started life as 300 quid speakers, I know cos I have a set off them and one of these

 

In the loft cos there not worth anything second hand, And they cost me 500 quid, The center was 250 quid on it's own and I'v seen them go for 70 quid, Films will sound much better through a good stereo setup than a cheap 5.1, And you can add the center and surround speakers later one at a time.

 Them things you link are never a 1000Watt, They will be using the new system to send the clueless punters all googly eyed called  "PMPO (Peak Music Power Output)".

Edited April 4, 2013 by babylon

[HappyLad]

I made a big mistake recently with my home cinema kit.

I had a Denon 3805 receiver, that was a few years old, but well built and sounded decent.

I was tempted by all the network features and hdmi switching of a more modern amp. So sold the Denon to a mate for

[rcaddict]

@ Babylon

Your right that Onkyo is a steal!

I do like Onkyos customize-ability and features it does surpass many others out there - I was in 2 minds on Denon and Onkyo when I got this but when I demoed the two I just had to have this!

 

In fairness Onkyo, Denon, Sony-ES(please note the ES) Marantz - Your can't really go wrong with any of these.

[babylon]

I only recommend the Denon cos that's what I'v been using for the last 12 years, Bought it new for 600 quid, So it hasn't got HDMI switching, The telly has got 3 HDMI sockets which covers me, And was lucky enough to pick up a new Pioneer LX-71 from Currys for 150 quid(600 quid normally) which has an on board DTS-HD decodeing.

 

 

The Denon sounded good 12 years ago, And it still does, You could do what I do and use a good stereo amp through the front preouts, I use a Marantz PM7200 through the pre outs as this Denon is not so good with music, And it also makes films better as it takes some of the weight of the Denon as that is only driving 5 speakers as opposed to 7 , But it still sounds a lot better than the 100 quid I'd get for it, Like my Kef's, I'd rather stick it in the loft as a spare than sell it for 100 quid. 

 

Your speaker dilemma is easy, Your speakers don't suddenly sound bad because they get old or superseded, Speakers get better with age, The first proper speakers I ever bought was part of a package, The shop must have got them as bankrupted stock or something and were selling them for 110 quid a set, Me not knowing better had them and was happy with them, They were Rogers LS55  

 

Nothing special to look at, And there are a couple of sets on the Bay at the moment for 110 quid, And if wasn't for the fact I can't be bothered to sell the Missions and there worth nothing second hand, I'd probably buy a set,   I sold them for peanuts and bought the Kef's, And am now onto a set of  Mission M34i

 

But none of them sound as good as them cheap looking Rogers I had 16 odd years ago, And it turned out that the BBC used Roger's in there studios, If you are happy with the sound, Sod the the looks, Good speakers are always good speakers, No matter how old they are.

Edited April 6, 2013 by babylon

[HappyLad]

The Rogers LS3/5a was the original BBC mini monitor - they are an iconic design, and good examples change hands for lots of money.

The new Kef LS50 is marketed as being "inspired" by the LS3/5a - quite tempted with a set of these tbh...

 

Tried to find a picture on the web of the B&W P5's that I have - found this one:

 

 

They are still v.good speakers, The B&W's were always quite smooth sounding (originally ran them Bi-amped with Cyrus powers & PSXR's) - but my hearing is starting to roll off on the top end and I'm thinking of something a bit more lively (like the Kef's...)

 

I've started to listed to a lot more music on the system recently as well (mostly Spotify and streamed stuff), so thinking of putting some effort & cash into the purely stereo side of things...

- but also want a new projector to replace my aging non-HD Panasonic :\

 

decisions... decisions...