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Small
Budget, Small Room, Big System!
Welcome!
This is my
home cinema system. I've put this all together on a tight budget and
have managed to spend £1300 on a system which is worth
£2000. Let's get this straight- I'm an audio enthusiast without
much technical know how! With this in mind let me tell you about my
humble home cinema.
A year ago I
had Kenwood separates which were simply a stereo system along with
old Sony G4 speakers. I sold it and got a JVC midi system for more
space in my tiny flat. This was probably one of the biggest mistakes
of my life! I began to miss the high quality sound that only
separates (and big speakers) can give. I had to get that good sound
back or I'd die through lack of entertainment.
I meandered
into Richer Sounds
and embarked upon getting a home cinema system. My personal priority
was to get good stereo sound along with all the surround
capabilities. This was harder than I thought it was going to be. I've
since learned that allot of people keep a stereo amp for stereo along
with their AV receiver. Definitely not a bad idea, but that was too
late for me.
After a couple
of demo's I decided on the Yamaha RXV396RDS, and for front speakers
Eltax Studio Pro 250's to begin with. I also got the Sony centre and
rear package SSCR190. After a few weeks of playing CD's and DVD's
from my Toshiba DVD player (which I already had) I began to notice
that the bass in stereo mode was somewhat lacking. And even the horn
tweeters weren't projecting as they should. So then I upgraded the
250's for the 350's. Immediately the bass sounded better. (25cm bass
cones instead of 21cm's). Then I realised that actually the Yamaha
was the culprit to the unimpressive stereo sound. I put on my Event
Horizon DVD one night and the room shook with bass! Reviews of the
Yamaha DSPAX620 at Home
Cinema Choice Online nailed it when they said 'In its
multichannel guise the AX620 becomes an angry and forceful little
brute' but lacks in 2 channel mode. The same characteristic is what
I'd found with the RXV396. I now have a Technics SA DX950 which in
stereo mode sounds great. Nice fluid bass lines and projecting high
sounds nicely through the horn tweeters. I'll say it's not as dynamic
as the Yamaha at surround, but its not a fault just a different
sound. It's smoother and more progressive. I will say the Technics
needs an active sub especially as you can't adjust the sound in any
of the surround modes.
My main object
was achieved. I spend more time listening to music and watching TV
than I do watching movies. Therefore the stereo sound had to be
right. The other pages give the specs of the equipment
and some more of my reasons of choice.
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