HIFI and AV/Advice

[John]

Can someone advice me My brother has about a £1000 to spend and has the following
Lumley Lamprose 200 loudspeakers
Vincent av Processor
Bose 5 channel speakers
A switching system for hifi av system I am not sure why they went down this route
A laptop and dvd player
He is not into hifi like me just wants to have the best of both worlds
So far my thoughts are Stans DAC so he can use the laptop for music but have no idea around the power amp
I borrowed his speakers for few months and due to the Ribbons they have a nice soundstage with plenty of detail plus the bass is quite good for such small drivers. In the past he was using a Thule power amp and it just did not have enough grunt for the bass and he wants something that will allow the Lumleys to play close to their potential but without losing the flexiablity of driving two systems
Sorry when it comes to av systems I am at a complete loss

[Stratmangler]

Hi John

What exactly is your Brother trying to achieve ?
What does he want to do ?

Chris

[John]

he wants to have a hifi system in one room and av system in another using same amp to power both

[Macca]

John

My suggestion is that he sell the Vincent and buy a quality (Denon, Yamaha,Sony, Onkyo etc.) 5 or 7 channel AV amp either used or discounted - say £300 tops - this will be perfectly competent with a DVD film soundtrack unless we are talking about a huge room. The level of sound quality we require for stereo music is just not needed when there is visual, dialogue and plot to distract us, IMHO.

He can then spend the rest on a quality DAC and a power amp that will suit the Lumleys in a seperate room. As I have no idea as to what power amp/DAC the Lumleys might like that is as far as I can go.

Regards

Martin

[trailer]

What about a second hand Arcam AVR350? You can pick one up for around £400. Not many bells and whistles but great sound quality.

[Alan Sircom]

I'm sorry, I'm not going to be much help. If anything, my suggestion is going to make life more difficult for you. I've tried to integrate hi-fi and AV systems many times in the past and few make the grade. If they use different speaker brands, you can almost guarantee disappointment in either the hi-fi or the AV side. More often, both sides.

Here's what I recommend, and it also isn't the most popular choice for most AV guys. Get five identical loudspeakers (squat floorstanders are perhaps the best option). If possible, place the equidistant to one another, as if you were describing a circle round the main viewing position. Starting with the loudspeaker ahead of you, place the front speakers 30° from the centre, and the surround speakers ideally about 135° (but anywhere between 110° and 150°) from the centre position. The closer you can make the two sides mirror one another, the better. This is best positioning as laid down by the people who record the stuff. Ideally, this works with the viewing position slightly toward the front or rear of the room (not with the sofa in the centre of the room) - if you have to compromise, move the sofa to the rear of the room and just have the speakers describe an arc based on the centre of the room and adjust the room set-up in DSP accordingly.


Personally, I'd choose the five speakers that fit the bill the best and then choose a receiver that delivers the goods for the money. If you can't choose five identical speakers, at least choose centre and surround from the same range by the same brand. It's a back-to-front way of choosing a system, but it works in this context.

[John]

Thanks everyone I been away for awhile I will put forward the ideas and see what e thinks