Simple Setup

Skidmcmarx

Hey guys,

I've been reading through the forum and cant really find what i'm looking for. Apologies if it has been discussed already.

For the most part all you guys have pretty high-end setups, however thats not really what i'm looking for. Its my dads birthday next week and he's been going on about a surround sound system for months now. He doesn't want to spend crazy money on a setup(i'll be surprised if he notices the new sound, haha:p) just something basic. At the min, all that will be hooked up is Xbox 360, T.V, an Airport Express for Airtunes and possibly a Blueray Player down the line.

Has anyone got any reccomendations to suit my needs?
If more info is needed from me just ask...

Thanks in advance
Ritchie

The Ritz

What's "crazy money" ? An idea of the budget would really help. Also, if you want to connect a range of sources then a separate AV amplifier and speakers is the most straight forward way to go. These needn't cost the earth and will outperform all-in-one systems in both performance and ease of use when you've lots of kit to connect to it. What make/model of tv has he got ?

Just to give you an idea, a Sony system like this: http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/1112084/art/sony/ht-ddwg700-home-cinema-sy.html is €243 + delivery, and has good functionality and should produce a decent sound for a very reasonable price. A bit better would be this: http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/1159911/art/yamaha/av-3103-5-1-hdmi-home-cin.html at €305 or http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/1112083/art/sony/ht-ddwg800-home-cinema-sy.html at €320.

An alternative would be http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=ONKY-TXSR506-SIL and http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct/TANN-SFX5.1-SIL from Richersounds in Belfast, they have a forum here, deliver down here free for Boardies and if you tell them you came from here they might be able to do a deal for you. the two at their advertised price would be £343, about €400ish depending on the exchange rate. This latter choice would have little to fear quality wise and would be a marked step-up from the other setups quoted.

I've never used Pixmania but have seen mixed reports on their after-sales service so I'm quoting them here for ease of reference for the systems concerned. You should also check with other stores and online suppliers and get the best deal you can one way or the other.

I've dealt with Richersounds on a number of items and can recommend them unreservedly. They're invariable busy (which is a good sign) but once you're dealing withthem you'd be in very safe hands. Check out their forum in Biz/Commercial interraction.

Ritz.

Skidmcmarx

Thanks for the reply

Apologies, I really should have given some kind of budget. I was hoping for something sub €200. I'm aware this isnt alot given the prices of most good systems out there but as i said in my 1st post i'll be very surprised if he would notice a major difference between a high-end and a low-end system. I might be hard pressed to notice myself.

The main thing we would be looking for is a setup for the 360 and the T.V (JVC LT-32X70BU). Not overly concerned with the AX or any new additions i.e most often when something new comes into the main T.V room(360's there too) the old device is simply replaced so not too much of a problem having to connect a lot of devices.

Hope that made sense

The Ritz

Sub-€200 I think you'd be limited to getting an all-in-one with a dvd player - most of these will take an additional input or two so should suit your needs, but I would still encourage you to consider a separates system, it will give you much better sound quality and more adaptability for the longer run. I appreciate it means a slightly higher budget.

I have little experience of all-in-one systems, but if you pick a reputable make you should be ok. If I had to choose in that price bracket I'd go for a Sony DAV-DZ260, very good value from Peats at €189, their online site wouldn't allow me "order" it and they charge €14 for online deliveries. If they don't have stock, it's €199 in Powercity http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-22-DZ260, they have stock in a good number of stores, you can order online and collect in-store.

UPDATE: just noticed that the DZ260 is on offer in Richersounds for about £120, less than €140, depending on exchange rates and they deliver down here free if you say you're from Boards: http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=SONY-DAVDZ260, contact Richersounds in Belfast.


You can check around yourself for the best price/service between regular shops and online suppliers.


Ritz.

Kintarō Hattori

The Ritz wrote: »

...If I had to choose in that price bracket I'd go for a Sony DAV-DZ260, very good value from Peats at €189, their online site wouldn't allow me "order" it and they charge €14 for online deliveries. If they don't have stock, it's €199 in Powercity http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-22-DZ260, they have stock in a good number of stores, you can order online and collect in-store. You can check around yourself for around for the best price/service between regular shops and online suppliers.


Ritz.

Ritz- how come it wouldn't let you order it? What did the order form say?

The Ritz

When I clicked "Buy it Now" on the item here : http://www.peats.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=dz260 the following page has nothng in the shopping basket:



So I assume it's either out of stock, the website is malfunctioning or there's some other explanation. I wasn't trying to actually order it - I just wanted to see if the site would accept an order for it, assuming that that would show if it was in stock. No biggie, I'm sure if someone wanted to buy it from Peats they could phone one of the stores and find out if it was actually in stock at that price.

Ritz.

Kintarō Hattori

Fair enough you didn't want to buy it but if the site is acting up it's always good to know. I'd like it to be working as it should.

Thanks for mentioning that.