New equipment advice

TKK

I'm looking for an AV amp and 5.1 speaker setup. Budget is around the £1000 mark with the ability to stretch it a bit.

I've been looking at whathifi etc. and the Onkyo 706 and Yamaha DSP-AX863SE seem to be quite well spec wise and review wise. I'm kinda thinking of going with the Yamaha tbh.

Where I'm at a loss is what to pair it with in terms of speakers. I've seen the Tannoy Arena setup (with the Tannoy Highline sub) for sale at almost half price and I'm tempted based on some reviews I've seen (albeit without the different sub). I've also seen the Kef 2005.3 at an ok price along with the Q Acoustics 1010i, Mordaunt Short Alumni, etc.

Can anyone give me any recommendations or advice?

cdb

That is a decent budget and it should get you an excellent system whatever you choose. If you are in no particular rush the replacements for the Yamaha 863/763 range have been announced in the states. The new units will have 4 HDMI inputs (as opposed to 2) and will upscale to 1080P. I think its worth the wait, especially if the amps sound as good as their predecessors. Speakers are very much a personal choice and while reviews and opinions are helpful try to get a demo of as many of these speakers as you can.

TKK

The 863 already upscales to 1080p and has 3 HDMI inputs.

That's another problem - I have no idea where to go to demo speakers?

viperirl

cdb wrote: »

Speakers are very much a personal choice and while reviews and opinions are helpful try to get a demo of as many of these speakers as you can.

Quite true.

OP, Magazine reviews are useful as pointers but dont take their word as gospel. Some of them can be biased towards certain brands. Just take a look at the advertisments in the mags to see why!
Hifi forums are usually better at giving you unbiased opinions. (not always though )

A home demo is very worthwhile if you can manage it. What sounds good in a shop can sometimes sound worse in your own home or vise versa. At the very least, try to get a shop demo, bring CD's that you now very well and play them.
Cloney Audio is the only shop I know of that will let you home demo.

cdb

TKK wrote: »

The 863 already upscales to 1080p and has 3 HDMI inputs.

You are right, its the 763 that doesn't upscale.

Sevenoaks recently opened a branch near Marley Park in Dublin 16 and it might be worth a trip for a shop demo. Viper mentioned Cloney audio who are not far from them in Blackrock. They have some fabulous kit.

Richersounds have a very good returns policy so you could always exchange any speakers with them. They are a very popular retailer with their own commercial thread on boards, with specials for members. Another option to consider.

TKK

I've already started emailing Richersounds to see what they'd recommend

I think perhaps a trip to Cloney & Sevenoaks is on the cards...

Idleater

cdb wrote: »

You are right, its the 763 that doesn't upscale.

upscaling in the reciever is a waste.

upconverting is useful to reduce cabling to the display, but other than that, unless you are spending thousands on a proper scaler, the one already in your tv will be better than the one in the reciever.

akaSol

Currently savage my neighbours with a Kef IQ surround on my dspax863.
Bought it mostly from Peats.

Roll on Akira.

>Sol