Surround Sound System, less than £350

fazza82

Hi all,
Moneysavingexpert has come up trumps with previous posts, so I thought I'd ask you all this too.

Recently moved house with the gf and now I can actually get my own SS I want to know which the best is money (MAX £350) can buy.

I have a Sony KDL 40EX503 television, the standard xbox 360 and tend to watch all my films through a hdmi connection from my laptop (Dell XPS15).
I'm looking for preferably a system without a dvd player as it wouldn't be used.
A 5.1 system would more than suffice as the room isn't huge and wouldnt lend itself to anything more.

The only issue I may have is that as I have the old 360, it doesn't have hdmi connections .

Could someone tell me if the Onkyo HT-X22HDX + SKS package would allow for SS use with the standard xbox 360?

Also, I am open to any ideas thrown at me.
Thanks for your time.

scheming_gypsy

http://www.hyperfi.co.uk/yamaha-rxv363-hdmi-receiver-p-1082.html

which leaves you £230 for some speakers.

fazza82

Cool, I like that...
Now I'm not lazy, just oblivious to what makes good quality speakers. 'Cause I guess what is the point in having a system that decodes DD when the speakers aren't of a decent enough quality..
What, I'm asking is... Any advice on speakers? haha

Still, open to other ideas though. I suppose it would be easier if it was a package. Right?

fazza82

As I was checking out onkyo before, hear-say that they're a decent brand (never actually heard of them before).
Onkyo SKS-HT528 5.1-Channel Home Theatre Speaker System ?
http://www.hyperfi.co.uk/onkyo-sksht528-51channel-home-theatre-speaker-system-sksht528-p-1347.html

fazza82

ONKYO HTS3405?
http://www.uk.onkyo.com/en/products/ht-s3405-35475.html

scheming_gypsy

To be honest i'm not a fan of packages; unless you're spending closer to four or five figures, they're not great.

I'm running Mission speakers which cost me a few hundred quid, but they're proper floor standing and wall mounted rather than the poncy little ones you get with packages. With decent speakers being quite big and not easy to ship, you could find a bargain on eBay that's pick up only.

googler

Consider a quality 2.0 system in preference to a cheap 5.1 system.

Our TV and DVD sound goes through a Quad 99 amp and a pair of Quad 11L speakers, was around £1000 at prices when bought.

We've never felt the need for either a subwoofer nor effects channels.

almillar

Something along these lines for your budget, goto the Richer Sounds website for an idea on prices.
Cheap AV amp (this includes HDMI switching, make sure you get at least 1 optical in for the sound from your older XBOX 360) £150
Good stereo speakers £100 (go second hand for much better kit btw)
Subwoofer £100 - again, gumtree might be good, big stuff and hard to post.
That's your budget used up. I'm sure you, or family, must have speakers lying around, use those for the rears. You are going without a centre, but the good stereo speakers will deal with this just fine. You just set the amp up correctly. This will sound better than a speaker package, and you can upgrade later.

fazza82

I understand what you are saying, but not being very comfortable on knowing what to get is the main issue. An all in one package seems to be the simplest way of knowing whether the speakers will be compatible and work well with the AV reciever or player.

One last question..
I know I said no dvd player preferably, but this has a bluray drive and seen as I have a sony tv I'm thinking is this a better option..

Sony BDVE370
http://www.richersounds.com/product/1-box-home-cinema-systems/sony/bdve370/sony-bdve370

fazza82

Basically, unless someone says otherwise (has a horrible experience or really doesn't rate the make) for me it's a toss up between.
http://www.richersounds.com/product/1-box-home-cinema-systems/sony/bdve370/sony-bdve370

or

http://www.richersounds.com/product/1-box-home-cinema-systems/onkyo/hts3405/onky-hts3405-blk
£269 btw i phoned to ask

~Best buy for the price? (quality, spec, speakers)

Thanks for the advice

scheming_gypsy

if they're your options then it's the second one.

Open both links and scroll down to where it says 'audio inputs', when you find it on the second link stop and see if there are enough to plug your other stuff into it. On the first one, scroll to the bottom and then back up to search for it again and then scratch your head.
the Sony one is a BluRay 5.1 system which means it'll do 5.1 for the BluRay but you can't put anything else through it