Home cinema set up - < £1200

DorsetDude

DorsetDude

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Keith
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Hi

Thinking of upgrading my rather dated speakers/receiver and TV to a new spec. (currently have a panasonic 37" plasma, ancient yamaha amp and mix and match of hi-fi and surround speakers. 2 whopping great missions at the front, a Gale centre and 2 small bookshelf types stood on top of my cd racks at rear)

New set up maybe based around this Panasonic 42" or the 46" version.:love:

I imagine a Onkyo or Yamaha receiver to go with it and 5.1 speakers.

I currently have a PS3 and will continue using that for blu-ray and DVD. Probably also invest in a freeviewHD recorder now the switchover is complete too.(Humax I expect)

I would rather have tall "self standing" surround speakers than the bookshelf sized ones that require to either wall mount or buy separate stands.

I have listed a 3D telly but Im not definitely convinced I have to have a 3D one.

If I spend say £700 on the TV that leaves me approx £500 to sort the amp, speakers and cables(although I already have the thick copper speaker cables covered in clear plastic, so maybe could re-use.)

Anyone fancy giving me any recommendations or thoughts?

Thanks :thumbs:
 
What model are the missions? They might be worth keeping and matching other speakers to. Mission centre seems next logical step. Rears aren't so critical and need to match each other.

Some of the old yamaha amps are top notch. If THX then it will be way better than a lot of the new gear unless you spend lots of cash.

Pansonic do good tvs. Also check out samsung as their picture quality is top notch too.

I'd probably get a new tv and get a new centre speaker and see how much difference that makes.
 
Currys/PC World are doing a 50" 2D Panasonic plasma for £579 (TX-P50G30). It's the top spec. 2D Panny plasma. Down from £799...

Personally, I think 3D is a gimmick.

Always go for the biggest TV you can IMHO ;)
 
Thanks all.

That yamaha looks the sort of thing that would fit my budget maybe.

I agree 3D is probably a gimmick but some of the 2D pictures Ive seen on 3D tellys are absolutely excellent. I think the panasonic "G" tellys are their mid range, the S is the entry level and V the top end. But a G would probably be what I could afford.

Due to having quite a narrow lounge I dont think I can realistically go above 46". By the time Ive got the speakers next to the telly I wouldnt be able to get out through the door thats on the wall behind it! This is another reason I want to replace the huge front Missions with something more compact and a sub woofer tucked away somewhere.

Do the modern amps accept proper connectors/plugs from the speakers? Currently I have to strip back the speaker cable, expose the core and then clamp that under terminal posts on the amp which is a pain to be honest.

Thanks
 
My previous Denon amp and my current Onkyo 609 take banana plugs for the speaker leads. The same terminals on the amp unscrew to clamp wires if you want but pushing a plug into the middle of the binding post is a lot easier :)

If you are going for satellite speakers then you will need a powered sub to fill in the base on music and give effects for movies etc. AV amps only put out a signal level feed for a sub so the sub has to have an amplifier built in and it needs a bit of power if you want to feel the effects. My speakers are old original Kef 'eggs' and I replaced the original Kef sub with a Velodyne as the Kef sounded awful for music.

Maybe think of your budget as a starting point. Once you get started on this road it can be another money pit upgrading. Fortunately I'm still happy with my old speakers and just changing the amp to a network and HDMI model has cured any upgrade urges.

edit. Oh and I've got a 3D TV bought just for the 2D picture quality.
 
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G is the highest 2D set they do. The V is only a 3D set. If the 50" will fit, it's a bargain (but will be gone when Panasonic release their 2012 range).

As to speaker connections - it depends on the amp.
 
The Yamaha has the same system as robertp described. Only two outputs have a more basic connection but these are only used for extra wide front speakers in a 9.1 setup or a second zone so you can have speakers in the kitchen for example.
 
Well the 46" 3D Panasonic is now £50 cheaper, £699, almost a no brainer.
Thinking I may keep my yamaha amp and get better speakers. Not sure. My amp doesnt support HDMI though, it wasnt invented back then, but I dont think I want to spend £349 on a new one. Gah! :gag:
Still not found any free standing slim surround speakers to use with it all either. The only ones I could find were panasonic for over £700 :eek:
 
The 46" Panasonic arrived yesterday. Watched a blu ray and a DVD on it already, amazing.
Got given Drakes Deception ps3 game last week and that has 3D mode so I thought id try it.
When I fire the game off I get all warnings about 3D that I didnt get on my last telly so I am assuming the ps3 is detecting the 3D telly ok. When the game starts though it doesnt seem to look 3d at all and im not really sure how I know the glasses are turned on ready.
The Drakes Deception in game menu doesnt appear to have a 3D option in it.
So slightly confused about 3D so far!
Can anyone assist?

Cheers

EDIT sussed it out now!
 
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Perhaps posting how you sussed it might help others?
 
PsiFox said:
Perhaps posting how you sussed it might help others?
Click to expand...

Ah, sorry.

The game itself had a section under "options" for 3D that I hadnt noticed. I had to go in there and switch it on first. It then became obvious when the glasses were switched on or not.

Rather amusingly (or not) I put in a DVD of Inspector Morse last night from circa 1988 and the TV said it recognised a 3D input!
 
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