Home Cinema Sound System

[Johnny Townmouse]

I am going to finally update my home cinema set-up after 10 years of living with just a massive, heavy 28" Sony TV.

Firstly, I am going to get this Samsung TV and I will have it linked via a dongle to the internet and a networked hard-drive in order to see 'downloaded' films and TV on a nice big screen:

http://www.johnlewis.com/231560690/Product.aspx

I want to get a decent sound set-up, and I noticed that the John Lewis site is linking me to a 'Home Cinema Sound Bar'. I have no idea what this means, and I don't know what the difference is between that and a regular home cinema sound system, with speakers etc. They both seem to be about the same price (roughly speaking) and I was wondering if this Sound Bar thing is replacing the old system of having 3 or 4 speakers, and a sub-woofer.

How does my planned set-up sound? Is the TV decent? Also, can anyone recommend a decent home cinema sound system for less than £150? The TV plus dongle, plus network HD plus blu-ray player is going to give me a fair old kick in the goolies financially, and I am trying to be reasonable with spending. I bow to your superior knowledge on these matters, as frankly I know fuck-all about it.

[presta didwicks]

Personally, I think you'll struggle on a £150 budget.
A good sound system adds an amazing dimension to your home cinema set up but of course, you get what you pay for.
My advice would be to build up incrementally as your budget allows.
I reckon you'll need to spend most of your budget on a good sub' , as this is what gives you a nice deep kick up the arse cinema effect.
Secondly, you have to consider the size of your room, personally, I love Bowers and Wilkins speakers which don't come cheap, but some second hand 601s can be found for around £100.          http://www.ebay.co.uk/ctg/B-W-DM601-S2-Main-Stereo-Speakers-/85204167
Rears don't need to be big but will out perform the, space saving sound bars.
Onkyo and Denon both do good sounding amps, but check that they have HDMI outputs or, like me, you'll find they soon become outdated.
Your centre speaker carries voice / dialogue, so needs to be placed closely, beneath the screen, so this should be considered when buying your TV stand.
Finally, I should add that all the above is based on extensive research I carried out 7 years ago, and may well be out of date now. Despite spunking nearly 5 grand on my entire system, it is now horribly out of date, containing neither HD pictures or a single HDMI connection, still sounds great though.

[Johnny Townmouse]

Thanks Presta. I guess I can see this running to four figures with ease, and I am really trying to keep the whole set-up less than £800 all-in. I know I will have to compromise on quality, so I am just trying to get a decent set-up for my budget. I doubt it will be anything close to a high quality home cinema system that people with pimped up cribs would have, but having lived with a pretty poor TV and nothing else for my whole life, I imagine I will be impressed anyway.

My front room is very small indeed (I live in an old cottage) - probably 13 x 18 feet.

[RayB]

If you are looking for home-cinema and are not too fussed about hi-fi, Samsung do some pretty good packages, a bit more than your budget, but less than separates. It will also mean less cabling and there are some functionality benefits in having everything from one manufacturer.

If you've got Ethernet anywhere near the TV, use that for your networking, it'll save on the dongle and be a bit quicker. You can also install the Samsung All-Share software on your PC which will allow you to play media on the computer via the TV over the network.

[wasp_f15ting]

I used to have a full fledged HC but now with my current place I have a very nice TV and a Logitech Z5500, the latest itteration of it is this:-

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-099-LG&groupid=702&catid=22&subcat=165

I've had my Z5500 since 2005 and its still going strong. So the build quality is good, though by no means audiophile, they do a great job of decoding most formats that you chuck at them.