Having spent a small fortune on a new lcd telly many years ago '03ish, we've finally decided to get a new one in the sales, the lcd will be retired to a spare room. Probably behind the times, but we've gone with a plasma, we like sci-fi, a lot of black!

When I got the afore mentioned telly, I had a amp and floor/rear/sub and centre to make an ok punt at 5.1. I moved and borrowed my computers Cambridge soundworks speakers, 5.1 smaller, but ok with other kit in storage. Now the speakers and amp are in use in my office and not the lounge!

So I'm thinking of making this new telly a 'proper' install, rather than cobbled spares and odds. I'm not after spending much, so I'm thinking something good from a couple of years ago tech.

I think the ps3 will be the player at the moment, it can do 3d blah, only a bit noisy.

Probably then scour ebay or shop clearances or maybe your thinking of selling

So any suggestions for some ok to good speaker sound systems?

Good sound to be had for little money...

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item4ac07ac2bb

Got the very same system for the upstairs game room and it never fails to impress!

As for an amp you cant go wrong with..

http://www.richersou...0/sony-strdh820

My old neighbour had some Linn speakers, they were phenomenal but about 50kg a side. Had a big slab of something in the base.

Super, food for thought...

The cambridge is a cambridge soundworks dtt3500 > http://www.anandtech.com/show/677 Pretty good I think in the early 00'ties.

whats your budget Colin??

My cousin works for LINN audio, his house is a shrine to them lol, the sound is crazy!! so is the £££ right enough.

How much are you looking to spend?

A set of these http://www.petertyson.co.uk/ebuttonz/ebz_product_pages/monitor_audio_vector_av.shtml?googlec

And a decent AV amp for under £200 will sound pretty impressive.

^^^^ Wot he said! The MA Vectors are a bargain at that money and imo you'd have to spend a lot more to get a noticeable improvement. Only the wealthy would consider LINN for their AV setup imo.

AV Receiver wise theres some good buys out there around the £350 mark (again though, unsure of your budget and Id worry about spending less on something to run the above speakers)...

http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/onkyo/txnr616-blk/onky-txnr616-blk

For an amplifier you could do a lot worse than this - http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/sony/strdh820/sony-strdh820

I've got the Monitor Audio speakers for my games room and was really very impressed with them. They do feel more like a £600 set than one half the price and they sound great. Not quite the same volume as my lounge set, but there I have some huge floorstanding front speakers and a nice REL subwoofer.

If you have a smallish budget, go look around Richer Sounds - The Kef eggs (if still available), have always been highly rated; Yamaha is my surround amp of choice, but go look and listen to a few before you buy.

Cross posted lol

Or consider the Bose TV Solo speaker that sits under your TV. Expensive yes, but if your short of room...

http://www.bose.co.u...sp?mc=05WPS1058

Not my cup of tea.

But if your pushed for space etc.

I have the Yamaha AV Cinema amp with 5 speakers & subwoofer.

Very good kit if its in your budget.

Edited 22 January, 201313 yr by Carlo diesel

I've yet to be even mildy impressed by any of that kind of thing - not a patch on proper surround sound.

I'm still using a Denon 3802 and Ruark Vita 100 speaker setup that's a good 10-12 years old.

It still sounds good so why change it.

Do you have a budget Colin and the $64,000 question is there any wife/partner/g'friend acceptancy that you need to factor in?

Ideally you need a amp that has HDMI inputs/outputs as Zoidberg showed.. itll give you flexibility and act as a central hub for anything you plug into it and the telly.. the low-end Sony or Onkyo amps are very good.

As for speakers - as im sure your already aware mainly you get what you pay for. You could start off with just stereo from any old hifi speakers you have lying around, and upgrade/augment the surround sound as and when.

Of course if theres a SWMBO in the household choosing speakers is a bit of a minefield

IMHO - the Kef eggs are a dissapointment for the price, but may be the only option if aesthetics are an issue. lol

My audio setup is currently an Onkyo 609 with Q-Acoustics 1010i 5.1 speaker package - connected to a Panny 50GT50 3d plasma. quite an awesome film-watching set-up.. shame the neibours dont agree :(

The monitor audio speakers are pretty SWMBO-friendly.

I must admit I have never heard the eggs - just noted that they got 5 star reviews in the mags.

My set-up consists of a Yamaha amp, some nearly 40 year old Cambridge R40 speakers from my old hifi system, plus Eltax surround and centre speakers. I dont need a sub as the R40's go so deep I had to mount them on concrete blocks; even then, the subsonics in "MiB" makes the hairs on your legs move!!!

The R40's have been used since the days of NICAM, when they were hooked up via my VCR and a spare "Tape" loop on my old Rotel amp; tbh even stereo through some decent speakers and an amp is a HUGE improvement over the 99p speakers fitted to a tv, even a £4,000 plasma.

I quite like the KEF 'egg' range also - Ive got the 3005SE (albeit with an uprated MJ Acoustics Sub) in the front room and its very aesthetically pleasing. Previously I had the slightly less able 2000 eggs but to be honest, the difference isnt worth the price difference (being almost double). If you can find the 2000 series ones at a bargain price then Id also recommend them.

http://www.whathifi.com/Review/KEF-KHT3005SE/

For convenience and ease of installation Id also recommend a good sound bar but its performance can vary greatly depending on the size and shape for the room...

http://www.whathifi....yamaha-ysp-2200

There are many cheaper ones available but Ive got the Yamaha in the bedroom and its pretty darn good. Ive demoed them in perfectly square rooms and they are very effective but Im not saying they are a true alternative to real a 5.1 speaker setup - they arent. They are ideal if you want a spacious sound thats vastly better than any run of the mill TV is capable of producing.