Speakers, soundbars and gaming audio.

[fishbowlhead]

My friend and i have a basic 2.1 LG soundbar with sub. For £110 its a pretty good package, good base, clear voices good overall sound quality. My pal is now thinking of upgrading good quality surround sound and going all in on something of good quality.

I know we’ve got some real audio nuts here so what would you recommend? His budget is up to £1000, so anything up to that.

Thoughts people?

[charlesr]

Music? Or just game/cinema?
The former needs decent 2.0 full range speakers.
The latter you can get away with satellites and sub and amp

https://www.richersounds.com/tv-home-cinema/home-cinema-packages/marantz-nr1510-black-cambridge-audio-s225-white.html

I know that's slightly too much. Just an example. Plus you need to buy cables and stands probably too.
A good amp will make a difference.

https://www.superfi.co.uk/monitor-audio-mass-5-1-speaker-package

[beecee]

depends if you want small satellite speakers or floor standers and book shelfs? a separate system is always the best way to go as you can upgrade as required or funds allow, start with a decent amp, with a good stereo pair, then add center/rear/sub as required.

https://petertyson.co.uk/denon-avr-x1600h-dab-av-receiver

or

https://petertyson.co.uk/denon-avr-x1600h-av-receiver

paired with these

https://www.richersounds.com/tv-home-cinema/floorstanding-speakers/q-acoustics-q3050-matte-graphite.html

and a center to match

https://petertyson.co.uk/q-acoustics-3090ci-centre-speaker

or

https://petertyson.co.uk/q-acoustics-concept-centre-speaker

then add a sub and satellites if you want 5.1.

or bundle offers

https://petertyson.co.uk/denon-avr-x1600h-av-receiver-with-spektor1av

https://petertyson.co.uk/denon-avr-x1600h-av-receiver-with-q3010iav

[wakka]

Lots of good advice above. Another tip is that, while a good amp is important, you should always be spending more on your speakers. Plus, remember to factor in the cost of speaker stands and speaker wire. No need to go mad with either of these - the sky’s the limit in terms of price - but they are almost always sold separately.

[fishbowlhead]

He’s definitely not going to want to get involved with amps, just a good set of satellite speakers with 5.1 upwards that will cover the latest standards. Basically he wants a box that has everything in it to just set up and go and will sound very good, not the best.

This is for 99% gaming I should add, he never watches tv or films.

[beecee]

you need still would need an amp for the 5.1 satellites, its no difference other than the size of the speakers between a satellite set up and speaker (bookshelf etc) set up.

[charlesr]

If he doesn't want an amp, about the closest he'll get is something like a soundbar with centre channel built in plus wireless sub/rears.

https://www.richersounds.com/tv-home-cinema/home-cinema-packages/samsung-hw-q800a-swa-9500s-black.html

[fishbowlhead]

Ah ok just had a look at those packages, comes with amps anyway. What I meant to say is he doesn’t want to deal with buying everything separately and trying to figure out himself what’s needed next etc.

Both those packages look like nice set ups ill pass those along.

Many thanks guys much appreciated.

[wakka]

Agreed with Charles. If he wants the simplest, most fuss-free setup, he is best off with a soundbar which incorporates wireless rear speakers. That means no separate amp required, no speaker wire required, and everything you need to get going in a single box.

One thing I would add - it sounds like he isn't a huge audiophile, so £1k may be more than he needs to spend.

A quick bit of googling reveals this recent release from Sony:

https://www.whathifi.com/news/sony-launches-the-ht-s40r-soundbar-with-wireless-rear-speakers

There aren't any reviews yet - but at £349, it might be worth him trying that to see if he's satisfied with it before plumping for something at the £1k mark.

[fishbowlhead]

Very interesting seems like a nice neat set up for the money. Sent him the link. Will do some digging as well.

[dataDave]

Aren't those Sonos setups much cop?

I've not demoed one myself yet, but they look very user-friendly at least.

[MartyG]

Only thing with Sonos I'd be weiry of is that they've rendered older versions of their speakers useless in the past - the speaker are good, but for this reason, I wouldn't touch them: https://www.engadget.com/2019-12-31-...alls-flat.html

[Brad]

Only thing with Sonos I'd be weiry of is that they've rendered older versions of their speakers useless in the past - the speaker are good, but for this reason, I wouldn't touch them: https://www.engadget.com/2019-12-31-...alls-flat.html

That's not quite true. The deal is this:
If your system comprises entirely non first gen equipment then you're golden. Use all the latest stuff no problem.
If however you have one or more bits of older equipment, that can't work with the new infrastructure then you have two options (well, three):

1. Do their obsolescence trade-in like you linked to
2. Keep your old kit, carry on using their old software. All you'll miss out on is new features mostly to do with streaming providers
3. Sell your old kit to someone who doesn't mind doing 2) and replace it with new gear.

I had one old Bridge that meant I couldn't use their latest stuff. I lived with this for about a year without issue. I still got some bug fixes even. Eventually I tried to see if their claimed "you don't need a bridge anymore" was true and when I found out it was I took the bridge out the system and let everything upgrade.

It's not perfect and, like when Sony said they were taking the Vita store down, a very poor message went out initially that they back tracked on.

My system in the TV room has a soundbar and 2 rear Ikea/Sonos bookshelf speakers that can be used for music or as a surround sound system when watching TV. Overall I'm really happy with it.

Your sentiment is right though; to protect your investment you should get standalone components and use an open source solution for streaming. Sonos is a convenience compromise.