[Jaq23]

Hey there. First time on here and in need of help.

So, I've got a pretty sweet setup at home but times have changed, jobs have changed and I just don't have the sound to appreciate the setup. I've finally convinced the OH that as our chosen wedding venue for next year doesn't have a suitable setup, we simply have to buy a full surround sound system out of the wedding budget (ie my overtime pay). So I get to go and start looking at new toys after work - but I have no idea what to choose.

The one constraint I'll probably have imposed by OH (apart from not being a ridiculous price), is that he doesn't want wires everywhere. Now wireless is obviously never going to happen as I happen to like quality but I'm guessing that cuts out the 7.1 options unless there's another way round that? (we have an open living room leading to rest of house so wires would be running along the ground unless they're super long to go round the other edge, and we rent so can't rearrange the walls or anything).

It's a medium-sized living room, high ceilings and the (ahem) wedding venue that I'm buying it for(!) is a small-sized hall so I'm probably looking at around 80w here?! Does that seem about right?

And most importantly - the system needs to be able to take the Sky+ (optical output & 2.0 HDMI), PS3(optical output & 'true HD' HDMI) and my Pavillion HDX laptop (7.1 optical output and 7.1 capable HDMI). I clearly don't want a package deal, but I'm really not sure what I should be looking for when I go out to play with the nice man in the store today.

[.William]

I personally would suggest some decent 5.1 speakers, along with an AV Receiver. Most decent low-mid range models from Onkoyo, Denon, Sony, Yamaha, Cambridge Audio, etc, will all have 2-5 optical inputs, and a lot of them now are including HDMI ports too.

If you are buying a system to get audio via HDMI (eg, one HDMI cable from the PS3 and laptop instead of HDMI and optical), you'll need to make sure you get an AV receiver that has HDMI audio input. A lot of them have HDMI, but just pass the audio onto your TV, which is very annoying if you drop £300 on the wrong thing (speaking from experience here too ).

As for the speakers, a decent pair of bookshelf speakers would be ideal. They'll be loud enough to annoy the neighbours and entertain people at your wedding, and a decent pair will sound fantastic with music.

As for suggestions....for what you mentioned, I'd suggest an AV receiver from here (find one that meets your needs), and for speakers...well...

Option 1: Get a "package", such as this or this. Upsides: overall, they might be slightly cheaper then individual speakers. Downsides: you can't buy them one by one as you get the money.

Option 2: Purchase the speakers individually. These speakers (along with a centre, and if you feel you need it, a subwoofer) are extremely popular, and have won quite a few awards. I've heard them myself at one of Richer Sound's stores, and they're pretty incredible. The downside is that buying them individually might cost a bit more then a package, but you can choose yourself what you want (eg, get a cheaper subwoofer and a more expensive centre, etc).


Of course, what I suggested above is quite expensive - it'll cost you upwards of £500 for a 5.1 system. The upside is that it will probably last you a good 10 years, if not more. You could settle for a cheaper "all in one" system from the likes of Sony, etc, but I personally wouldn't...they're okay for casual use, but if you want them loud, they often fail to please.