Anybody else get excited planning new home cinema and audio kit?

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I bid £110 and it remained the highest until the last few minutes. It went for £260 in the end.

Bugger. I paid £300. :)

Having said that, the fact that the ower was active on AV Forums makes me more confident that it'll be a good one.

I usually cant bring myself to buy something like that on eBay. Plenty of scams and dodgy people on there.
 
I bid £110 and it remained the highest until the last few minutes. It went for £260 in the end.

THREE separate bidders all bid within the last five seconds. "How does that happen?"

They're using sniping software that places a bid at the last moment. No opportunity for reaction, it's all just about who places the highest bid.

.
 
THREE separate bidders all bid within the last five seconds. "How does that happen?"

They're using sniping software that places a bid at the last moment. No opportunity for reaction, it's all just about who places the highest bid.

.
Yes.

Anyway, back to ST13Phil's point you get some fantastic bargains second hand. These were £1,500 new and I'd bet the quality of the circuitry and componentry is on par with today's equivalent ie it'll sound a lot better than my existing Yam receivers which are in the £400-£500 range.

It doesn't have the more recent MusicCast capabilities (Yamaha's multi-room offering).

It won't have built-in support for Airplay, Spotify and so on but I can do all that through using a Chromecast in five minutes.

The interface will be a bit clunky and there won't be an app for my Android.

BUT it will sound great, it has 8 x HDMI inputs, Optical input(s) and ARC. I'll be able to plug in a Freeview box, a PS4 (for games and the odd DVD/Blueray), the Wii, Chromecast (for streaming images) and Chromecast Audi (for Music)

The one thing I haven't figured out is how to get audio down to it from the TV is I'm streaming 4K content through that. Hopefully the TV will have HDMI for that although it might need Optical out. And if the amp only has one optical in I'll have to forgo either than or the CCA.

Goes off to do more research.....
 
OK.....so it looks like it has 3 x Optical In's at the back. And one more in the front.

Brilliant!
 
Do the TV and amp have Audio Return Channel (ARC) labelled HDMI?
 
One suggestion I would make is that there are some real bargains to be had in second-hand audio equipment. Enthusiasts are willing to spend lots upgrading to the latest kit which means there's always a ready supply of relatively new and lovingly cared for second-hand equipment available. Specialist Hi-Fi dealers often have second-hand equipment that they will sell with warranty if you're nervous about buying without, or there's a plethora of kit on flea-bay.

Great advice. I'm now the proud owner of a powerful and great-sounding amp with great components/tech and a forest of connectivity options.

The fact that in terms of software and interfaces it's bit old hat doesn't matter for it's intended use. I get all that functionality from the peripherals anyway.

Thanks!
 
I do, used to be heavily into hifi, as was/is my dad. We used to go to the hifi exhibitions, etc.

Since having kids, financial priorities have always sat elsewhere. I've always preferred a good stereo set up over surround.

I've got a Roksan Kandy MkIII amp and a pair of Kef iQ5se which are these little beauties. The cabinet design all but eliminates internal reflection, but was too expensive to produce, so the successor to these has a rectangular cabinet instead.
dddcde057d0d0cffa8d1c6bce9a472c9.jpg
 
I do, used to be heavily into hifi, as was/is my dad. We used to go to the hifi exhibitions, etc.

Since having kids, financial priorities have always sat elsewhere. I've always preferred a good stereo set up over surround.

I've got a Roksan Kandy MkIII amp and a pair of Kef iQ5se which are these little beauties. The cabinet design all but eliminates internal reflection, but was too expensive to produce, so the successor to these has a rectangular cabinet instead.
View attachment 74974

Thats right quite a few high end speaker manufacturers adopted that design I have some 5 foot high speakers that resemble a boat hull. Very expensive to manufacture my cabinets were made in Sweden then shipped back over to the States to get the speakers fitted. This process made them horrendously expensive but worth it. The only speakers I've heard that come near this design are the Focal Utopia range at a cool £20K+
 
I do, used to be heavily into hifi, as was/is my dad. We used to go to the hifi exhibitions, etc.

Since having kids, financial priorities have always sat elsewhere. I've always preferred a good stereo set up over surround.

I've got a Roksan Kandy MkIII amp and a pair of Kef iQ5se which are these little beauties. The cabinet design all but eliminates internal reflection, but was too expensive to produce, so the successor to these has a rectangular cabinet instead.
View attachment 74974


Those speakers look amazing.

The main reason for surround in the TV room....is for surround.

The main reason for using a surround receiver in the other room.....is that I have three of them lying around and I’m trying to spend what left of my proposed budget on (i) a major TV and speaker upgrade in the front room and (ii) a sound bar upgrade in the secondary TV room.

And the reason I ended up with multiple surround amps in the first place was that I orginally had one dedicated and a second room with co-located TV and audio and needed an amp that could do both.

Once I've moved in and installed all the kit the next obvious upgrade point will be that second amp. For now all it needs to be is good enough.
 
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My speakers, again curved design.
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Aelite - Acoustic Energy
 
If you have lots of differing kit, you can do worse than check into OpenRemote.
Takes a bit of fiddling, but one app, can use a profile (which can be shared on multiple devices - android/iphone/tablets etc) and control "everything" in your home theatre.

I've got mine set with various macros that switch on the TV, turn on the AMP, set the inputs, power up the cable box (or PS3, PS4 etc), do the lights etc....if you've got a server at home it's a no brainer, and if you haven't you can run it on a Raspberry Pi powered with USB....

Disclaimer : I am an authorized OpenRemote certified integrator - but check it out, it's good stuff :)
 
All this is getting me thinking..... Oh dear!!

In our bar we had a good set-up. A Technics amp, a good pair of floor standers and connected up to a laptop. All very simple but good and loud.

I’d like a good audio set-up in my lounge. I don’t mind buying second hand but I’m a bit behind with stuff. For example, I want to use my phone or iPad for the music but how do I manage that using a second hand 10 year old amp without a cable?

OR, do I forget it and just buy another SONOS speaker and be done with it?
 
For example, I want to use my phone or iPad for the music but how do I manage that using a second hand 10 year old amp without a cable?

OR, do I forget it and just buy another SONOS speaker and be done with it?
If you already have SONOS in the house then I'd recommend getting a SONOS Connect which you can plug in to any amp and that will allow you to stream content from your iPad (or Android device) to the main hi-fi. The SONOS Connect also has Line In sockets (RCA inputs), so you can connect any other audio source to that (e.g. a CD player) and stream it to the rest of your SONOS speakers.

I have PLAY:3's as a stereo pair in my kitchen, another PLAY:3 on the landing (so I can listen to music while I'm in the shower - I use it as a radio alarm clock too :)), and a Connect linked into the main hi-fi in the lounge. I ripped all my CD's to FLAC files which are stored on a NAS, so I can stream my music wherever I like, and use iPads and iPhones to control it all. Works a treat.
 
Check out the Deviat speakers, not heard them but very small and there are some good reviews and it can grow over time with additional units
 
All this is getting me thinking..... Oh dear!!

In our bar we had a good set-up. A Technics amp, a good pair of floor standers and connected up to a laptop. All very simple but good and loud.

I’d like a good audio set-up in my lounge. I don’t mind buying second hand but I’m a bit behind with stuff. For example, I want to use my phone or iPad for the music but how do I manage that using a second hand 10 year old amp without a cable?

OR, do I forget it and just buy another SONOS speaker and be done with it?

I like using Chromecast audio. Connect it to any amp via HDMI or optical and voila you're in the 21st century.
 
...and mine, Wilson-Benesch Orators - another curved design:

View attachment 74981

I haven’t had curved cabinets, but did at one time have a set of Tannoy 611’s which used the six sided cabinets with unequal lengths opposite to break up internal reflections . They did me well for a while as a smaller alternative to the IMF’s which were ‘frowned on’ in the living room , although the big TL’s were awesome .
 
If you have lots of differing kit, you can do worse than check into OpenRemote.
Takes a bit of fiddling, but one app, can use a profile (which can be shared on multiple devices - android/iphone/tablets etc) and control "everything" in your home theatre.

I've got mine set with various macros that switch on the TV, turn on the AMP, set the inputs, power up the cable box (or PS3, PS4 etc), do the lights etc....if you've got a server at home it's a no brainer, and if you haven't you can run it on a Raspberry Pi powered with USB....

Disclaimer : I am an authorized OpenRemote certified integrator - but check it out, it's good stuff :)

I’ve worked with various control systems, including both AMX and Crestron, which we use in many meeting rooms and a couple of auditoria : they are very good but costly and can have their problems .
At home I still have a Philips Pronto Pro , which is also very flexible and controls most of my kit ; but most notably NOT my Quad 77 system , with its bi-directional remote control system.
 

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