£2000 to spend on a cinema setup

[Revs]

Another issue I have with projectors, other than the bulbs is; the light that is reflected off the screen then reflects off the walls in the room and reflects back on to the screen, making the blacks less black. You can get round this by having all dark walls, which won't reflect the light back on to the screen as much, but I don't like dark rooms. The only way I would be able to enjoy a projector fully is to have a dedicated room (with very dark walls) for it.

No trying to put you off but it's just something to think about if you go the projector route .

[Toss3]

Originally Posted by Revs

Another issue I have with projectors, other than the bulbs is; the light that is reflected off the screen then reflects off the walls in the room and reflects back on to the screen, making the blacks less black. You can get round this by having all dark walls, which won't reflect the light back on to the screen as much, but I don't like dark rooms. The only way I would be able to enjoy a projector fully is to have a dedicated room (with very dark walls) for it.

No trying to put you off but it's just something to think about if you go the projector route .

You make a very good point here as you really need to dim your room in order for a projector to look its best. Choice of screen can also effect how much light is reflected towards the walls/ceiling which is why I always recommend getting a grey screen for non-dedicated rooms. But trust me there's a good reason for the hefty price tags on projectors compared to lcds and plasmas.

Dreamweavernoob: Amazon.co.uk is selling the HC5500 for £1100 and Optoma HD800x for £899(my first projector and I like it a lot due to the fact that I prefer DLP over 3LCD, but it is awfully noisy and has very limited placement flexibility). Another very good entry-level projector is the Sanyo PLV-Z700(selling for less than £1000).

Here's projectorreview's comparison between the two:

PLV-Z700 vs. Mitsubishi HC5500

First, the Z700 has all that great placement flexibility, while Mitsubishi decided to limit the zoom lens and lens shift range to keep costs down. Assuming both will work in your environment, I'll give the PLV-Z700 the advantage in image control flexibiility (except that weakness for gray scale calibration).

The Sanyo is definitely the less expensive of the two, starting at $1995 MSRP, vs. $2499 currently, less $200 rebate, and that's a real strength for many on a budget, especially those with tighter budgets deciding between a good 720p and 1080p projector.

The HC5500 however, is brighter in best mode. As noted in the Brightness section of the Z700, the Z700 can get up there to match the numbers of the HC5500, but, it requires some compromising of "best mode", to do so. Overall, the Mitsubishi has a slight advantage in black level performance. On the other hand, the PLV-Z700 is slightly brighter in "brightest mode". Also of note, the HC5500 can get up to 5000 hours on it's lamp, in low power mode, compared to probably about 3000 hours for low power on the Sanyo. That's a money saver, which should negate the higher up front cost over time.

Both produce a very sharp image, with the Mitsubishi having a very slight advantage. Sanyo has the longer warranty.

These are worthy competitors. I expect the Sanyo to appeal to more folks though because of the price, and that the HC5500 is priced closer to the next level up 1080p projectors.

EDIT: The Epson EH-TW2800 would also be a good choice, but if you want a FullHD projector for under £1000 then I'd go for the Sanyo Z700.

[Dreamweavernoob]

What would you recommend in the way of speakers. My Z-5500 are crap and are basically going to be thrown away (given to family).

I am I right in thinking this is how I need to buy:

Amplifier (some box thingy that everyone keeps talking about)
5x Speakers
1X subwoofer.


I've changed my budget to accomodate the financial markets

I figure I can spend around £500-£700 at the top end. I would be looking for it to kick the arse of the Z-5500 (which cost £170) at this price.

Im open to suggestions (eg buy this woofer and two speakers and save up etc).

[Revs]

Originally Posted by Dreamweavernoob

What would you recommend in the way of speakers. My Z-5500 are crap and are basically going to be thrown away (given to family).

I am I right in thinking this is how I need to buy:

Amplifier (some box thingy that everyone keeps talking about)
5x Speakers
1X subwoofer.


I've changed my budget to accomodate the financial markets

I figure I can spend around £500-£700 at the top end. I would be looking for it to kick the arse of the Z-5500 (which cost £170) at this price.

Im open to suggestions (eg buy this woofer and two speakers and save up etc).

For that sort of budget I'd be looking at the Q Acoustics 1010i 5.1 kit, £500 for all 6 speakers including an active sub. It's received very good reviews in the mags.

"At £500 this package sets a new standard for build, design and sonic quality." What Hi-Fi Sound & Vision magazine.

For an amp/receiver, I'm a big fan of Denon, and just about any of the amps in their range will sound good and be powerful enough to power these speakers. Obviously the more you pay the better the quality, but as you go up through range the main benefit is features. So as long as you make sure the amp has the features you want and isn't the very cheapest in the range I'm sure you'll be very happy with it. Again, it might be an idea to read some amp reviews to get a better picture of what's good and what to avoid.

[Dreamweavernoob]

Originally Posted by Revs

For that sort of budget I'd be looking at the Q Acoustics 1010i 5.1 kit, £500 for all 6 speakers including an active sub. It's received very good reviews in the mags.



For an amp/receiver, I'm a big fan of Denon, and just about any of the amps in their range will sound good and be powerful enough to power these speakers. Obviously the more you pay the better the quality, but as you go up through range the main benefit is features. So as long as you make sure the amp has the features you want and isn't the very cheapest in the range I'm sure you'll be very happy with it. Again, it might be an idea to read some amp reviews to get a better picture of what's good and what to avoid.

Do you know any semi reasonably priced amps that will do all the new codecs like TrueHD, DTS master etc or are these codes gimmicky?

Will that speaker set + an amp that does TrueHD or DTS master sound clearly better than a Z-5500 or will it just sound louder?

Sorry for my n00bness, I have no idea on this stuff.

[Dreamweavernoob]

I saw some nice floor standing speakers in an electronic store. They cost £2,000 each but I liked how tall they were. If I was to spend £700, would I be able to afford 4 decent standing speakers with a center speaker?

[Revs]

Originally Posted by Dreamweavernoob

I saw some nice floor standing speakers in an electronic store. They cost £2,000 each but I liked how tall they were. If I was to spend £700, would I be able to afford 4 decent standing speakers with a center speaker?

Well, the 1050i 5.1 kit has the floor-standers which I have for the fronts, but as a rule the rears aren't floor-standers. There's no need for such powerful rears.

[Dreamweavernoob]

Originally Posted by Revs

Well, the 1050i 5.1 kit has the floor-standers which I have for the fronts, but as a rule the rears aren't floor-standers. There's no need for such powerful rears.

Mitsubishi 1080p projector £800
5.1 speakers (the ones above) £620


That leaves me needing an amplifier and possibly a blu-ray drive. I have one in my PC atm with a X-Fi Titanium (Optical in and output).

What is a decent amp for my kit ive planned out. I realise that its by nowhere near "good", but after reading a review on speakers which cost £70,000, I realise its the best a poor student can afford.

As long as it improves the movie experience from a 24" screen with Z-5500 im happy.


Also need to get me a projector screen from somewhere >_>

[Revs]

Denon AVR-1909 looks like a good bet. It's what I'd choose if I was upgrading... £400.

[Dreamweavernoob]

I can get the sony for a little less than the Denon one. Which one would you recommend?

Sony STR-DA2400ESB

[Revs]

Originally Posted by Dreamweavernoob

I can get the sony for a little less than the Denon one. Which one would you recommend?

Sony STR-DA2400ESB

If you're happy with the speakers I'd say it's time to go to your local hifi store and have a listen with a couple of different amps. I'm not an expert, I can only speak for what I've read about and listened to. I'm not a fan of Sony audio stuff but that's just personal opinion. On paper that Sony looks very good actually. It's got all the features I'd want and more. I just wouldn't spend that sort of money without having a listen.

Out of interest how much can you get it for?

[Toss3]

Originally Posted by Dreamweavernoob

I can get the sony for a little less than the Denon one. Which one would you recommend?

Sony STR-DA2400ESB

Just get the cheapest receiver you can buy with support for all of the new HD sound formats and make sure you couple it with a bitstream-capable blu-ray player like the Panasonic BD35; you don't need to pay extra for multichannel pcm support if your player supports bitstreaming(the PS3 doesn't*) and your receiver is capable of doing the decoding.

EDIT: You could also go with a receiver that doesn't support the HD formats, but 5.1 PCM(but then you have to get a player that can do the decoding and send it to the receiver(Panasonic BD35)).

*not for all sound formats anyways

EDIT2: Personally I'd go for the Denon AVR-1908 instead of the 1909 and save some money as it supports 5.1 PCM(which means that you'll be able to enjoy the new soundtracks) - REVIEW