bluray & amp - such a thing ?
 

My TV has developed a fault (picture related) and allough its bareable , I'm tempted to take advantage of the xmas sales and get a replacement.

Now , I have a bluray player thats old (no link to net or anything) and my 5.1 amp is even older than that. They do the job but I would like to update everything , and keep it all the same brand (probably not necessary, but may work better together and get a good package deal)

Is there such a thing as a bluray playing 7.1 amp , or do I need all seperate ?

You can get those packaged 5.1/7.1 kits which have the BD player and amp all built in, but chances are you won't be able to use your existing (presumably passive) speakers.

I'd opt for seperates, and don't feel the need to buy into brand loyalty. Some companies do excellent amps, some do excellent bluray players - why compromise when you can pick and choose? :)

All in one kits are crap , end of.

What's your budget?

Lol , just checked the bank ballance and "I" could spend loads , but "she" might not be just as enthusiastic as me !

My speakers came with the amp , so would like new ones (wouldn't they come with the new amp ?)

So no need for brand loyalty , and separate components . The bluray is a Sony bdp-s300 , is it worth getting a new one ? Will new one do anything better ?

Say £1500 or lower , what would you get ? TV & amp (& bluray if needed)

Its used for Xbox 360 , SkyHD , blurays. No desire for 3D , and am admiring smart TV but I don't download or stream anything so don't know if I need it !

I have always went to Sony Centre (well , for what I have now) but any recommendations welcome.

I would stick with the blu ray player in all honesty if you have no desire for 3d.

that give you more money towards the sound side of things.

For a entry level set-up this would be ok for your needs http://www.richersounds.com/package/...eals/pah011443

that gives you £1100 for the tv


Then in future just upgrade the speakers gradually

thought 7.1 was the thing ? Not that my small living room warrants it TBH , and TV sits in corner , with me in the opposite corner so speaker location is difficult.

Oh , and also SonyCentre are doing a "free" bluray with TVs , but if i dont need one i might wrangle a discount of the amp. Is there any decent Sony stuff ? when Googling my TV fault i got the feeling Sony arent what i thought them to be !

What TV do you reckon ? I assume £1100 is going to get a good one. Current one it 47" so no need for anything bigger (well , maybe a wee bit)

Agree all in ones are poo

I have a onkyo 616 and use my ps4 for blurays

Just been to SonyCentre

TV - KDL- 47W805 £799
Amp - STRDN 840 £300
Boston speaker kit 5.1 £299

Verdicts please (only coz its local to me and it's all in one place)

Smart tv's have a lot of bugs in them! Mine has to be updated at least every 2months! Not a lot you can do on the tv! LED tv is very good picture quality! If you needed to go smart tv go to currys and buy the smart tv box converter!! Still like richer sounds shops you tell them what you want in store they will create you a package!!

I used to like sony stuff but i felt other competitors offered more if that makes sense, i only purchase panasonic and samsung for tv viewing now. I would see what panasonic are offering firstly



also don't get too concerned with 7.1 if your room size is small.

yeah , explained the room layout to SonyCentre and he thinks 7.1 isnt needed , maybe 6.1 if anything. Couldnt believe the amp didnt come with speakers ! i assume that link you put up comes with speakers (it describes them in the info so i assume so)

so if i go for the Onkyo at £400 , i will look into £1100 worth of Panasonic , rather than £800 worth of Sony.

Yeah. It's a bundle offer . I've had 2 onkyo receivers and they are spot on

is this worth the money (cant get from the RicherSounds site , have to use Irish version)

http://www.richersounds.ie/asp/baske...=6&oc=1&bccs=1

And this TV (cant stretch the budget to the 55" model)

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/o/inito...firmation.html

I cant be arsed looking anymore , either dont have what im looking for , or cant get it where i am !

link to the product not the basket as they both empty when i click the link

£15 for delivery from richer sounds (dont have the bundle so picked a different amp but same speakers) http://www.richersounds.ie/asp/produ...productid=1365

http://www.richersounds.ie/asp/produ...productid=1395

Free delivery (or can pickup) http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-dvd-...62702-pdt.html

That'll be spot on mate I have the next model up 626

Get it ordered :) that panny looks stunning

Good thing with the amp is it has a mic setup to get the levels right so you don't have to dick around with it, you may have to slightly turn up for center and sub but that's about it

soooooooo close to getting the 55" one , but i have to draw the line somewhere. A 55" isnt actually physically much bigger than my 46" due to the slimmer borders new TVs have , so its just the cost.

That's my xmas prezzie all bought , just to connect it all tomorrow.

Currys are still shi7 , never had a good shopping experience in there.

:thumb:

Why is everthing always a pain to "set up" ?

Spent ages playing around with amp (still am TBH) to try and get the right sound. It has a setup mic but I assume with my viewing angle it doesn't like it. The surround speaker beside me is all I can hear , dialed it down (so what use is the mic ? ) and thats sorted , then while watching a bluray the loud bits are LOUD so turn it down which means I cant hear dialog. Found the setting to sort that out , and then there is far too many choices of "audio" settings (Dolby , Prologic , all chanel sterio blah blah blah) I'm still not sure which one I like.

Now tonight I was watching The Conjuring and could see a bloody thing , too dark. Tried a few settings on the tv (while trying not to annoy the missus , I'm always messing around) with no joy so gave up. When the film was over I was determined to sort it seeing I paid good money for the gear. Then it hit me , the bluray player might have settings. Went in and found picture settings and hey presto , it's like a different film.

Why cant all this tech just give me a button to press to give me the best sound and picture !

when watching a film you shouldn't touch audio listening mode it will either be Dolby/DTS/DTS-HD

Agree dont touch the audio setting on the amp let it decide what to pic - the only time I override the amp is when you watch a non hd source as it picks all channel stereo and it sounds poo

make sure any equipment is set to bitstream you have to do this with the ps4 to as it ends up as multi channel

even when using audio return channel and I stream content from my phone to the smart tv it picks the correct sound - the amps are very clever - only adjustments I made was to knock up the centre speaker a little

http://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/aud..._w/?mode=model

I have this best thing I got, sounds great.

I do have another room with a million wires and proper Amp but it rarely gets used

What does Sky+HD output ? I'm connected with HDMI. In its settings I have

Audio Output - Stereo or Mono
Digital Audio Output Optical - Dolby D or Normal.

Which of those am I getting ? Isn't optical a different cable ? If so is my amp just receiving Stereo and then depending on what listening mode I choose , converting it into 5.1 surround ? The 2 options that give me the best sound are Dolby Pro Logic ll , or DTS Neo:6 Cinema . Both of which use a Stereo source.

It will only output Dolby digital if it's a DD feed, it says DD in the programme info section


Your box should let you choose Dolby d from hdmi

But the Dolby Digital is "optical" , does that go through HDMI ?

I also wonder if the program I am watching is DD will my amp give me more options. I will take a look.

Edit - no more options , just a more pronounced sound.

You don't have this option ?

And no to know if it's Dolby it will say on the programme info on the sky box

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...ps7ovvrz6b.jpg

No I dont have that ! What box is that ? Mines one of the basic ones.

sky+ hd 1TB

Thanks Ant. I Google it and there is a software update for this. I will give mine a try and see if my box is one that can get it , may not be new enough. It comes with it's own problems though , some people are saying that it won't let DD go through the amp if it's on standby (just letting the tv play the sound) as your tv needs to be DD compatible.