AV Receiver & Rear Speaker Recommendations

Posted by: DWootton on 11 January 2010

Hi
Can anyone recommend a good, but not too expensive AV receiver and rear speakers as I don;t really know too much about AV.

I have naim amps (252/500) and Shahinian speakers that I'll use for the front speakers in an AV system but I don't really know where to start in terms on AV receiver and rear spaekers

I don't really want to spend a huge amount of money as we only watch about one film a week and we don;t have sky, so I am looknig for advice on the best sounding / value for money kit to go with Naim

All I want is 5.1 surround (and probably won't both with central front speaker). I currently use a PS3 Slim as my Blu Ray players, which seems ok (although will upgrade to some other sort of Sony when adding AV)

My rear speakers will need to be as small as possible (height and other dimensions)

Budget wise, if I say I could spend £500 or £1000.

Any suggestions at both spend levels?

Thanks

Danny

Posted on: 11 January 2010 by mongo

Hi DWootton.

For that kind of cash i would suggest you forget all about trying to get anything to match the current stereo set up. The only way to try that would be to spend at least a similar amount again, ie ten k plus, With something like an AV2 and nap 300 thrown in with another pair of Shahinians.

By far the easiest option is to go for one of the discrete set ups; for instance say a modest Denon receiver and Kef's 1005.2 speaker system.

Or there are any number of all in one systems from Samsung, Denon and Sony to name but a few.

I can't help but think though that a good blu-ray player plugged into the 252 would be mighty fine indeed. Especially for one film a week.

Good luck though. A well set up, even modest, av rig can be a fabulous adventure with the right films and documentaries.

Regards,Paul.

Posted on: 11 January 2010 by garyi

In terms of film enjoyment the centre speaker is far more important than the rears.

Posted on: 11 January 2010 by Chris Kelly

quote:
In terms of film enjoyment the centre speaker is far more important than the rears.

Spot on as usal Gary. About 60% of a film's soundtrack is channeled through the centre speak.

Posted on: 12 January 2010 by Richard Dane

I'll have to qualify that; Only use a center channel speaker if you can accomodate one that matches well with your main speakers and you can position it properly.

I've come across lots of surround sound set-ups where the center channel ruined the system. Switching it out and going to phantom-center mode brought big improvements. Often center channels are placed too low, too high, or shoved inside a cabinet where they make all kinds of horrible noises. Or you find that the center speaker just doesn't match well with the other speakers and, as Chris and Garyi correctly point out, lots of information is being squeezed through the weakest speaker in the system - result: poor performance.

So, if you find yourself in a position where you have to compromise the center channel, just don't do it. Go phantom instead.

Posted on: 14 January 2010 by DWootton

Thanks for your replies. I certainly wasn't looking to match my main system in terms of AV performance

Thanks for advice on the centre speaker. I think it would be compromised as it would end up being in a cabinet about 8-10 below the bottom of the screen.

I am currently running the PS3 through the 252, so maybe initially I'll just go for a blu-ray player into the 252 with a decent lead and see how we get on

Thanks

Danny

Posted on: 15 January 2010 by Phil Sparks

Hi Danny

I got some great recommendations here a year or two ago. I ended up with a 2nd hand Yamaha e800 processor (£40-ish from a popular auction site!). the great thing about this is that it has pre-amp outs for the main L & R channels so I feed these to the 'proper' system and then has powered channels for rear & centre. I did the same as you adding a cheapish pair of Mordaunt Short rear speakers and using the main rig in phantom centre mode. Works a treat and a very very cheap way into surround.

Hope this helps
Phil