I've been spending couple of hours trying to find the right setup for my new home.
It's incredible how many options there are, many "buying guides" made me even more lost.
I'd love to get some advice and been mainly puzzled to chose either a Sonos wireless system or a proper home theater setup with decent speakers + wireless system in bedroom. No clue if I could make that first option with speakers also wifi connectable.
Budget: max 3500USD, starting from scratch
70% movies/TV only via laptop HDMI - 30% music currently only via laptop
Room: 300sqf (rectangular - one side is the living room)
Aesthetics do matter, ideally something with wood, not too big/tall
Ability to connect it to phones is a big plus, but not a deal-breaker
The sonos stuff does look appealing and easy - but I might just become a victim of marketeers!
A Sonos Playbar and Play1/3 would suffice for bedroom if sound quality is not the first priority. You can only connect optical cable to the Playbar so make sure that your TV has optical out and can passthrough the signal if you want to go the Sonos route.
I've got a home theater setup, dedicated 2 channel setup, AND Sonos. They all serve their purposes. For a main home theater setup I'd go with the tradional avr/speaker/subwoofer system. Most of today's AVR's have network connectivity and allow you to stream from your phone, tablet, or computer. For your bedroom, if it's for music only, I highly recommend the Sonos. They sound surprisingly good, and have great connectivity. If it's for a TV/music system then you still can go with Sonos, although their PlayBar can be pricey for some at $700. Besides Sonos, there's plenty of 2.1-5.1 soundbar solutions in the $300-$500 range. Most of these soundbars also have Bluetooth, so you could stream music from your phone.
Still, I'm not convinced value for money Sonos. Would I get for my budget a lot better sound quality if I'd go for a "traditional" avr setup? I also have a feeling, longer term, the sonos will lose a lot of value vs a normal setup with decent speakers?
Any recomendations which avr setup to chose according the given criteria, wanting some connectivity at least?
As mentioned, it would be 70-30 tv-music. I do appreciate live cd's and some heavier rock, not still a bit puzzled what to chose for.
A normal 5.1 setup can be a better value and is usually sonically superior to a Sonos-type setup (not that you can’t have both for different reasons). However, searching for speakers is a daunting task. There are hundreds upon hundreds of speakers to choose from, and if you went out and auditioned for a solid month, you’d barely scratch the surface. This means that there will be a lot wonderful speakers that you will never have the chance of hearing. In that, we are all in the same small boat. All I, and the people here, can do is give you names that we have auditioned and liked, and rarely can we agree on the same speaker. Once one understands that, then one can begin the search.
1. Read professional reviews and note those that have piqued your interest.
2. Look at some of the user threads of those speakers you might want to audition.
3. Go out and audition as many as you can, even those not on your list. Take your favorite music with you. Just as importantly, go back for a second or third audition. First auditions can be misleading. While home auditions are the very best way to find a speaker’s strengths and weaknesses, return shipping can get costly, but a few manufactures have free shipping both ways.
4. AVRs come and go. New ones come out every year. Find the AVR with the features you want, or you think you might need, but don’t pass up on last year’s models (at a much reduced price) or factory refurbished models.
5. Take your time and enjoy the experience.
For a receiver just look at a few brands like Yamaha, Denon and Pioneer to start. Then drill down by the features you want, like AirPlay for your phone's connectivity and other features like Spotify, Pandora, etc. The EmpTek were speaker recommendations, SVS has good choices for subs and speakers as does HSU. Check out Sound & Visions website to see their choices for all in one HT solutions. SVS is likely to be one. If PSA ships overseas they are another. Then you have Ascend speakers and Rhythmic sub options with your budget.
As mentioned earlier - look at this year's receivers - they will be discounted nicely as new ones are coming in the next 3 or 4 months. Given your requirements no need to get the latest greatest and for the best sound focus on your speakers (front 3) and sub when it comes to allocating your funds - they will be the difference maker in the sound department. Given the heavy bend torwards HT - bookshelf speakers should work well with a good sub.
KEF - good reviews, good to start with
Marantz - good reviews and mainly its slim design + got the features I'm looking for - AV receivers have not really evolved design/size wise that much (would have loved to see proper receivers in a design like peachtree)
Subwoofer will come later!
Tx for the support!
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