Home cinema set up without a centre

2Tractors

Hi,
 
I have a TV in my living room and am looking to upgrade the viewing experience by adding an AVR and speakers.  However due to poor planning there is no room for centre speaker  unless it is wall mounted above the tv, or placed to the side of the tv.  Is it sensible to have a 4.1 home cinema?  At this stage I am  budget & room layout constrained to fronts & sub (I can’t install the rear speakers until she who must be obeyed decides on some furniture).  For €1000/£1000 for an AVR + front speakers (+sub) should I start with a 2.1 setup or 2.0  for now and add a sub and rears later when the funds allow?  I have a Mass 5.1 elsewhere so leaning towards the MA Bronze or Radius range.
 
Thanks,

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

2Tractors wrote: »

Hi,
 
I have a TV in my living room and am looking to upgrade the viewing experience by adding an AVR and speakers.  However due to poor planning there is no room for centre speaker  unless it is wall mounted above the tv, or placed to the side of the tv.  Is it sensible to have a 4.1 home cinema?  At this stage I am  budget & room layout constrained to fronts & sub (I can’t install the rear speakers until she who must be obeyed decides on some furniture).  For €1000/£1000 for an AVR + front speakers (+sub) should I start with a 2.1 setup or 2.0  for now and add a sub and rears later when the funds allow?  I have a Mass 5.1 elsewhere so leaning towards the MA Bronze or Radius range.
 
Thanks,

Hi 2Tractors.

Thanks for the post.

I suppose the straight forward answer is no to the 4.1 surround sound setup as the centre speaker does all the vocals in a 5.1 setup and without it you would be missing most of the dialogue from the soundtrack.
You could mount the centre above the TV depending on how high that might be. If it was too high the audio would pass over you and not have the same impact.

You can use multi channel stereo but this would work as two stereo pairs rather than surround sound but would include the whole audio track.

You can also indeed run 2.0 or 2.1 with no issue as this would be a stereo pair and again just run the amp in stereo mode and you'll get the whole track.

The full bronze 2 5.1 is priced at £1216. If you dropped out the centre I would come down to £1057.00
I could get this down further to £910 for the 4.0

If you wanted to go for 2.1. Bronze 2 with Bronze W10 then I could offer them together at £680.00

You could then add in the AVRX2500 for £385.00
https://www.richersounds.ie/p-203414-denon-avrx2500h-atmos-av-receiver.aspx

Or the Sony STRDN1080 for £400.00
https://www.richersounds.ie/p-202643-sony-strdn1080-black-atmos-av-receiver.aspx

Yamaha have the RXV585 priced at £349
https://www.richersounds.ie/p-203472-yamaha-rxv585-black-atmos-av-receiver.aspx

Pioneer have the VSX933 which I could offer at £329.00
https://www.richersounds.ie/p-203235-pioneer-vsx933-av-receiver-black-atmos-av-receiver.aspx

You might also require more speaker cable and a sublink.

Let me know your thoughts.

2Tractors

Thanks Kenny for the quick and detailed reply.  Three final questions!
 
Can you give me a price on say the Sony or the Pioneer plus just the Bronze 2 Fronts (no sub)?
 
Can any/all of the AVRs turn on automatically once the TV is turned on or via network standby and controlled from an app ?  Trying to reduce the number of remotes (and the time spent looking for them).
 
Are the MA Radius worth considering as they are a nice small size but I have not heard them in person?
 
Thanks

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

2Tractors wrote: »

Thanks Kenny for the quick and detailed reply.  Three final questions!
 
Can you give me a price on say the Sony or the Pioneer plus just the Bronze 2 Fronts (no sub)?
 
Can any/all of the AVRs turn on automatically once the TV is turned on or via network standby and controlled from an app ?  Trying to reduce the number of remotes (and the time spent looking for them).
 
Are the MA Radius worth considering as they are a nice small size but I have not heard them in person?
 
Thanks

Hi 2Tractors.

For the Sony 1080 with the Bronze 2's would be £625.00

The VSX933 with the Bronze 2's would be £554.00

The Radius are a very good speaker and do look the part but you would need the subwoofer and the 90's and 45's are not very base driven at all.

You should be able to turn on the HDMI control on the amp which would allow for turning on the TV when the amp was powered on.
This will be done in the setting on the amplifier.

2Tractors

Hi Kenny,

Thanks for you help on this and apologies for the delay (only putting together the finances for this now).  Sticking with a 2.0 or 2.1 setup, which amp is best for streaming music between the Denon, Sony, Yamaha & Pioneer.  Probably an 80/20 split between TV & Music?

Thanks

Richersounds.ie: DavidS

2Tractors wrote: »

Hi Kenny,

Thanks for you help on this and apologies for the delay (only putting together the finances for this now).  Sticking with a 2.0 or 2.1 setup, which amp is best for streaming music between the Denon, Sony, Yamaha & Pioneer.  Probably an 80/20 split between TV & Music?

Thanks

Hi 2Tractors,

Kenny's off today so I hope you don't mind me replying on his behalf.

For streaming I would say it would be between the Denon and the Sony. There is no video streaming on either but they will both stream music via Bluetooth and Wifi. It really comes down to sound quality. The Sony just pips the Denon in my opinion, it was also the What Hifi award winner last year for best AV receiver in it's class.

Let me know what you think.

Kind regards

David

2Tractors

Thanks David

can I get a quote for the Sony 1080 and a pair of  MA Bronze 2 in black delivered to Meath please.  And also how much extra for the sub.

Thanks 

Richersounds.ie: DavidS

2Tractors wrote: »

Thanks David

can I get a quote for the Sony 1080 and a pair of  MA Bronze 2 in black delivered to Meath please.  And also how much extra for the sub.

Thanks 

Hi 2Tractors,

The total price for a Sony STRDN1080 and the Monitor Audio Bronze 2 would be £649 including shipping.

Let me know what you think.

Kind regards

David

2Tractors

Richersounds.ie: DavidS wrote: »

2Tractors wrote: »

Thanks David

can I get a quote for the Sony 1080 and a pair of  MA Bronze 2 in black delivered to Meath please.  And also how much extra for the sub.

Thanks 

Thanks David,

can you quote that in EUR too. And do you have any recommended subs to go with it?

Richersounds.ie: DavidS

2Tractors wrote: »

Richersounds.ie: DavidS wrote: »

2Tractors wrote: »

Thanks David

can I get a quote for the Sony 1080 and a pair of  MA Bronze 2 in black delivered to Meath please.  And also how much extra for the sub.

Thanks 

Thanks David,

can you quote that in EUR too. And do you have any recommended subs to go with it?

Hi 2Tractors,

Apologies Kenny had already quoted the Bronze 2s with the STRDN1080 for £625 so the Euro price would be 739.

I would recommend the Monitor Audio Bronze W10 with these speakers as it would pair very well and the other Bronze components can be integrated into the system if you do ever decide to add them down the line.

Let me know what you think.

Kind regards

David

2Tractors

Richersounds.ie: DavidS wrote: »

Apologies Kenny had already quoted the Bronze 2s with the STRDN1080 for £625 so the Euro price would be 739.

Great. How do I proceed with the order?

Thanks

Richersounds.ie: DavidS

2Tractors wrote: »

Richersounds.ie: DavidS wrote: »

Apologies Kenny had already quoted the Bronze 2s with the STRDN1080 for £625 so the Euro price would be 739.

Great. How do I proceed with the order?

Thanks

Hi 2Tractors,

If you PM me back with your contact number I can call you for details.

Kind regards

David