Now that i am getting back into watching films i want to improve the sound coming from the tv. I have 2 options and would like you opinion on them and what you think is better.

Option 1 is to put in a surround sound system in with speakers on the wall which i don't like the look of.

Option 2 is to get a sound bar like the Bose Solo which won't be as good as the surround sound but i prefer as you don't have cables and speakers everywhere.

What do you guy's think,

The Bose Solo (and anything similar) will always be a second best setup.

Think of it this way; do you want to listen to something good or just something better?

Don't forget that to get the best sound (5.1) you will also need either an optical or HDMI link from the TV to your 'sound system'.

Get yourself a decent amp and set of speakers, once you get used to the speakers you stop noticing them

Get yourself a decent amp and set of speakers, once you get used to the speakers you stop noticing them

+1

And dont settle for one of those all-in-one systems either.. they are mostly carp.

Something like this isnt a bad starter for ten

I just sold my separates and bought a Denon DM39 AND Zensor 1 speakers, will that be al-right.

You dont necessarily have to have surround sound. A good 2.1 system will still impress!

Something like....

Sony STRDH820 AV amp from Richer @£179 and a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 9's @£49 with a Tannoy Sub @£99 would do the trick.(allow £50 for HDMI &speaker cables).

£380 all in!

Seconded on the surround sound thing, you really don't need it. At my parents (I don't have a TV), the TV is hooked up to their smaller Denon system, and then comes through those speakers on each side and it sounds absolutely fantastic

Having a semi decent stereo is a must though!

Seconded on the surround sound thing, you really don't need it. At my parents (I don't have a TV), the TV is hooked up to their smaller Denon system, and then comes through those speakers on each side and it sounds absolutely fantastic

Having a semi decent stereo is a must though!

Even the basic prologic audio has output for surround sound (single channel) so just adding a 'stereo' is only going to leave you wanting to upgrade in the very near future.

BTW, just checked the spec for the Sony and it's not really a 'stereo' but a fully fledged AV amp so is a good stepping stone to future things.

I have a Denon DM-38 and Zensor 1 speakers.

All sorted i had QED RCA leads when i had my seperate system and i have now connected it up and it sounds the nuts, just played Casino Royale through it you heard so much more detail.

Many thanks guy's.

All i need now is a decent subwoofer

Always get good reviews and cheaper than the equivalent REL are....

http://www.bkelec.com/hifi/Sub_Woofers/Gemini.htm

The Sony from RicherSounds would be a good starting point, for speakers I must admit I have a soft spot for monitor audio radius speakers and have the larger ones in my system. For a discrete look but classy top sound, look towards the R45's which are small cube like. They come up on ebay now and again especially the earlier models which are no different to the latest ones except with a price escalating HD suffix in the name and a slightly different grill. Match them with a reasonable subwooker which you can tuck out the way, again ebay for ex demo's etc The KEF Cube 2 would be a reasonable match.in looks and sound, avoid the Monitor audio 360 sub as its a bit light on the sound and overpriced.

This would give you a sound quality a few levels above the budget ranges in RicherSounds. for reasonable money All in my opinion of course, sound is such a personal taste its always best to try before you buy if you can.

All the best with your venture into the world of AV and Cinema Sound and Vision its something that will lift your viewing enjoyment levels no end.

I spent a few years building up my Hone Cinema and can recommend buying separates. It isn't the cheapest way, but does give you the flexibility to improve it over the years. The first place I always recommend is Superfi (if there is one near you) as they will price match Richer Sounds etc, but more importantly, they have listening rooms where they can set the gear up and let you is ten properly. Don't worry if you feel a little nervous about that, they are (in my experience) a friendly none-judgemental bunch. I ended up with an Onkyo 906 receiver (it has a big toriodal transformer in it that heats the room in winter ) and an Epos speaker system (M22s, M5s and the 'M' sub), But I started with a little receiver and a pair of M5s. This was great for a starter system as it double as a reasonable little HiFi too. and cost around £600 plus cable

Decent speaker stands are unfortunately required for bookshelf speakers and it is worth paying a little bit for decent speaker cables (look for things like QED cable in sales) although you can use any decent copper cabling. Don't bother with expensive banana plugs, as the biding posts on speakers and amp will be fine. Also some speakers like the Epos range can be 'BiAmped' (the tweeter and woofer are fed separately, like they were two separate speaker cones, rather than two speaker cones in one box). this is well worth pursuing and again, Superfi can explain and demonstrate this to you.

Later on you can add a pair of floorstander speakers to the front of your setup and move the smaller bookshelves from the front to make the surround rear pair (at least that's what I did). A decent Sub is great fun and makes movies come alive. But I would not recommend buying a centre speaker if you buy a reasonable AV Receiver. The thing about centre speakers is they generally don't add much to the overall effect. the bandwidth of their frequency response is usually limited (in theory the human voice doesn't quite need the whole spectrum) and is a bit consuming of space in the middle of you tv stand. When a modern receiver like the Onkyos are first setup, they run a full frequency sweep of the room and quickly work out if you haven't got a centre speaker fitted. They then create what's called a virtual centre speaker This means any dialogue that would have been sent to the centre speaker, is instead sent to both the front speakers equally, thus making the speech appear like a mono source.........ie in the middle! They other advantage to doing this method, is the speech also comes out of your nice high quality front speakers, which will almost certainly be better quality than the centre speaker you might have bought.

I hope this makes sense, but if not, p[lease go to a proper HiFi shop and let them demonstrate stuff )

happy hunting

ps nice small bookshelf speakers on decent stands can look great in a room and the cables often can be run down the inner centre of the stand so the wire appears at carpet level which is then easy to hide (as well as much more flexible if you change the room around)

Edited 3 January, 201313 yr by Lady Elanore

I have a 5.1 system, however its run with no centre or rear speakers connected and I don't miss them at all. I had 5.1 before I moved to Dorset and never really used it as it did nothing for me at all.

My setup is a Yamaha RX-V471 hooked up to 2x Wharfedale Diamond 10.1's and a Q-Acoustics 2070S subwoofer. Both front speakers set to small and the AVR crossover set to 80HZ, so all sound below 80HZ is sent to the subwoofer when playing stereo music. The amp can decode DTS-HD-MA and Dolby HD, so this is downmixed to 2.1 by the amp and still sounds fantastic, even without the centre and rear channels.

I just sold my separates and bought a Denon DM39 AND Zensor 1 speakers, will that be al-right.

Nice little setup and with a little bass reinforcement should do the trick!

Plenty of Subs you can hide away come up on ebay. As long as its an 'Active' ie self powered unit you should be well on the way to cinema blasting fun. Just need a mains socket and a single phono lead to connect to Denon 'sub out' socket.

You have however limited yourself for future component upgrades as there isnt a great deal going on input wise on the Denon DM39 .

I just looked up the spec's of your Denon gallego (probably should have done that first really ) but you do have a 'phono out' for a sub and that will make a great difference to movies Perhaps in a couple of years or so, you might look to upgrading the Denon for a small AV receiver and so you will be decode all the high quality soundtracks on BluRays. Eventually move your Zensors to the rear and buy something a little bigger for the fronts and Voila! you will have a proper 5.1 system (admittedly with a virtual centre speaker )

Btw I had a look at a couple of reviews of the Denon and it gets raved about, although I suspect you already knew that. Don't forget the speakers will take a little time to bed in so the system will sound even better after a short while. Hope you enjoy it

This is what I'm running and its awesome and not expensive

http://www.sony.co.uk/product/hch-systems-with-blu-ray-disc/bdv-n590

Lady Elanore i had a pair of 602 B&W which are great speakers but they were to big for what i did for the front room and bought the Zensor as they are the perfect size. I used to have a load of separates which took up too much space so i bought the Denon which had rave reviews when i bought it and it is a nice bit of kit. In the near future i will up grade again.

That's a shame :( but sometimes function has to follow form.

Mind you peeps used to wire up a Hafler speaker at the back by wiring up from the fronts and using the difference of the 2 speaker signals. You get a surprisingly good pseudo surround rear speaker from it, but you have to check on your impedances.

I have a very old dolby/DTS system. Bought around 12 years ago with my first DVD player. Audio only it's pretty crap compared to my previous hi-fi. Compared to the sound off the telly though it's great.

IMO any 5.1 system integrated or not is likely to be a great improvement.

Though my mate's MA/Pioneer system is wonderful on both audio and TV/film content. Amp cost £1000 though.

J.

Everyone tells me to get a sub woofer so i pick a Yamaha sub from Sevenoaks in the morning and that should enhance the sound even more.

Yes, it's lack of bass that's the main issue, even decent pc speakers will improve things.

I'm in the don't need surround sound camp - I have used KEF Egg speakers with a Denon 28 series av receiver which do sound very good. However they have been parked up for a while as I now have my tv in the same room as my main stereo. My hifi speakers have 8" bass units and are omnidirectional and I have to say I do not miss my 5.1 system as they sound awesome.

I installed the sub and it does make a lot of difference, i put in Starwars and played the first 10 mins and i liked what i heard. Will try tomorrow properly.

Glad to hear!