New surround sound system recommendations

[AdamBrunt]

Hi all,

I currently have a very old Yamaha VS-10 home cinema 5.1 system which has been close to dying for several months. The system includes a fairly basic amp ( with a few sound processing outputs ), sub woofer, center and 4 satellite speakers.

We have just had all our downstairs floors redone which needed all the speaker wire to be taken up so was thinking now would be a good time to upgrade.

Requirements are:
- Digital optical input
- Dolby Digital and DTS processing as a minimum
- Subwoofer
- Bluetooth speakers (if possible) to keep it all neat and tidy

Have been looking at sound bars recently but they don't seem to come in 5.1 form and don't seem to be as good as separates either.

Anyone know if such a system exists at a not too astronomical price?

[shteve]

Personally I'd still run cables to the places where you'd want a speaker. "Wireless" speakers are all well and good, but a power cable is harder to hide than a speaker cable (assuming you've even got power points where each of your speakers are). And then there's the minor delay as they cut in when they receive a signal.

[AdamBrunt]

Originally Posted by shteve

Personally I'd still run cables to the places where you'd want a speaker. "Wireless" speakers are all well and good, but a power cable is harder to hide than a speaker cable (assuming you've even got power points where each of your speakers are). And then there's the minor delay as they cut in when they receive a signal.

Power points aren't a problem but I hadn't considered possible delay in the rear speakers as being an issue.

I might stick with wired rear speakers but the other half is a bit OCD about how the wires would be hidden on hard wood / vinyl flooring

[shteve]

I bought "flat" speaker cable and ran that along the top of the wall/ ceiling edge rather than along the floor. Did it the same time as we were wallpapering so it's under the paper. You hardly notice it.

[alsemail]

I used D-Line trunking to hide it, once painted it looks just like it should have been part of the skirting board the whole time.

[barrynorton]

Ive been very happy with my LG sl10yg soundbar with rear speaker add ons. The rear speakers are wired but connected to a Bluetooth receiver so the wires are all behind where I sit. It has Dolby atmos and dtsx encoding.
Everyone who has heard it have been suitably impressed.

[AdamBrunt]

Originally Posted by alsemail

I used D-Line trunking to hide it, once painted it looks just like it should have been part of the skirting board the whole time.

Might check that out. Does the trunking come in various widths ( or small enough to just handle two thin speaker wires ) and easy enough to cut/manipulate round corners ?

Originally Posted by barrynorton

Ive been very happy with my LG sl10yg soundbar with rear speaker add ons. The rear speakers are wired but connected to a Bluetooth receiver so the wires are all behind where I sit. It has Dolby atmos and dtsx encoding.
Everyone who has heard it have been suitably impressed.

So the wiring on the rears is for power rather than sound ? Do you experience any delay/sync issues with the rears ? Also does it come with a subwoofer option ?

[barrynorton]

Originally Posted by AdamBrunt

Might check that out. Does the trunking come in various widths ( or small enough to just handle two thin speaker wires ) and easy enough to cut/manipulate round corners ?



So the wiring on the rears is for power rather than sound ? Do you experience any delay/sync issues with the rears ? Also does it come with a subwoofer option ?

No. The rears are arranged as follows. There is a small powered box that connects to the soundbar by Bluetooth. ( same for the huge subwoofer ). Then there are audio cables to the satellite speakers.

I’ve not noticed any lag or sync issues apart from sky sometimes which is normally sorted by turning both on and off again.

[AdamBrunt]

Sadly I think the LG might be way over my budget [ certainly compared to the D-Line trunking ]

[alsemail]

D Line comes in a variety of profiles. The very smallest may not be the best solution for you as it would look odd with your skirting as it looks too small.

The packs at screwfix are a decent price compared to what some are selling them.

I used this one - https://www.screwfix.com/p/d-line-mi...s/706FG?tc=IT5

It runs rear speaker cables and a Cat 5 cable with ease. It's easy to cut with a small hacksaw and comnes with parts for inside and outside corners. The trunking itself opens along the main runs to allow access but the corners don't open. The most basic of DIY skills are required. Measuring and cutting, that's it. It's even self-adhesive.

[AdamBrunt]

Originally Posted by barrynorton

Ive been very happy with my LG sl10yg soundbar with rear speaker add ons. The rear speakers are wired but connected to a Bluetooth receiver so the wires are all behind where I sit. It has Dolby atmos and dtsx encoding.
Everyone who has heard it have been suitably impressed.

Took another look at the SL10YG over the past couple of days. Or rather its 'lesser' sibling the SL8YG as it came up as an alternative to the Sony HT-ZF9. All 3 of them are very impressive but the LG ones rule themselves out due to being too wide

Also checked out the Yamaha Musiccast system ( mainly cos of a cashback deal Yamaha are running ) but the rear speakers look odd and the subwoofer, sadly, is just slightly too big for the space I can put it in.

[Raigmore]

Originally Posted by AdamBrunt

Took another look at the SL10YG over the past couple of days. Or rather its 'lesser' sibling the SL8YG as it came up as an alternative to the Sony HT-ZF9. All 3 of them are very impressive but the LG ones rule themselves out due to being too wide

Also checked out the Yamaha Musiccast system ( mainly cos of a cashback deal Yamaha are running ) but the rear speakers look odd and the subwoofer, sadly, is just slightly too big for the space I can put it in.

Oddly enough, I checked out the LG SL8YG, Yamaha Musiccast 400 with Musiccast 20 rears and the Sony HT-ZF9 plus the optional rear speakers for the master bedroom. I was put off by the additional gizmo for the LG rears and rather tacky build quality of the Yamaha subwoofer and so settled on the Sony.

Not an easy decision because unlike my wife, I don't like Sony as a company because they are becoming too big for their boots.

[AdamBrunt]

Originally Posted by Raigmore

Oddly enough, I checked out the LG SL8YG, Yamaha Musiccast 400 with Musiccast 20 rears and the Sony HT-ZF9 plus the optional rear speakers for the master bedroom. I was put off by the additional gizmo for the LG rears and rather tacky build quality of the Yamaha subwoofer and so settled on the Sony.

Not an easy decision because unlike my wife, I don't like Sony as a company because they are becoming too big for their boots.

Pretty much the same reasoning here.

The annoying thing for me is that the 'need' for wireless rear speakers seems to be bumping up the specs, and price, of the sound bar. The stuff we actually watch doesn't actually need Atmos - just DD 5.1 and DTS would be enough - but such a combination doesn't seem to exist.

And just when I am about to click 'buy' from Amazon for the Sony ( at just under Ł700 ), the other half quite rightly says "maybe white speaker cable along the skirting wouldn't be that bad?" ... which then negates the need for a soundbar at all as I much prefer separates anyway (and brings the price right down)

[alsemail]

You wouldn't see the cable with the trunking and wouldn't notice the trunking at all once it's painted as it looks like skirting architrave.

It's a simple, cheap job.

I haven't even painted the stuff in the TV room as I need to do the whole room (I'll get round to it eventually) and it's barely noticeable unless you're looking for it.