Page 1 of I need a good 5.1 system

In a week or two I should be trotting down to Comet to get myself a replacement DVD/VHS Combo player along with a nice new Phillips 32" flatscreen DVB Widescreen TV.
Now I need a good 5.1 system to go with it. ANy suggestions? I need one that can do DTS, and has an amp with more that 1 input (I have 2 DVD players).

Thanks for any help.

the Acoustic Energy Aego P5`s TRUELY AMAZING (£550 though)

Please don`t get a combo DVD/VHS!! I dont like combos because if one part breaks then its stuck to the working bit. Better and cheaper to get seperates.

If you must get the Panasonic as it got a good review. Mate bought the Toshiba and took it back as it was crap.

I`ve already got a (cheap) stand-alone player; an Eclipse DVD-695, but it has a handful of compatibilty issues (mainly Disney), and has an annoying habit of defualting to subtitles on for everything.

Having a combo unit is a way of adding an extra player to get around those titles that are very problematic on my Eclipse. My current combo is a Samsung SV-DVD1E, which has been giving me nothing but grief. When set to RGB out, the black levels flicker; WHen playing in quasi-PAL, the top of the screen distorts; The bottom of the picture often breaks up; and recently the drive tray has started opening by itself.

Apparently Samsung acknowledge problems with this model, so I`m having my money back. I`ve been investigating the replacement model, the SV-DVD3E, and the troubles seem to have been fixed from what I`ve seen and heard. So I`ll get one of those. It`s £100 cheaper too.

The one annoying thig with the Samsung COmbo players is their clumsy menu access. It`s really slow, and tends to cut prematurely. Things such as interactive games are impossible to play on these machines as a result.

£550`s a bit too much.

If you are seeking value for money look at Richer Sounds, for example there is a Pioneer VSXD810 AV receiver DD 5.1 & DTS, 120 watts all round for £200 saving £250 and for example Eltax Liberty speaker package which includes front floor standers a centre and bi-polar rears all for £150, so you`d be well sorted for £350. Incidently I bought my Toshiba DVD multi region player for £120 about a year ago from them and so far it has played anything from anywhere faultlesly.

Why not dump the Eclipse and get a new player that play everything.

How much is the new Samsung Combo? Most I have seen are £200 +.

For just over that you can get a Pioneer 350 DVD player ( £100 Amazon) and a JVC S-VHS VCR ( about £108)

Another option if your going to replace your DVD player and want a Dolby Digital System.

What Video gave the Pansonic SC-DM3 System the 2002 Award. Its only £350 + Delivery below. I can e-mail you the review if you want?

http://www.empiredirect.co.uk/productdetailsnew.asp?modelcode=PAN-SCDM3&affiliateid=65

This item was edited on Sunday, 9th March 2003, 16:21

re: "Why not dump the Eclipse and get a new player that play everything."

Because there`s no such thing. Eventually you come across problems with every player. My Eclipse is technically `everything` compatible, it`ll do RCE etc. Secondly I need a new VHS player anyway. I need both a new VHS and a new DVD, and by buying another combo unit I get both together, and keep the Eclipse as a back-up. Despite it`s Anti-DIsney stance, it`s still a very good player. I have been considering getting a Cyberhome to replace it at some point, but that`s in the future. The Samsung COmbo DVD3E is £199, but I can get a discount which`ll probably bring it down to about £150. See, if I get a new VHS and DVD seperately, I still only end up with one player, and am buggered if I then hit a compatibilty issue. Having over 400 disks already, that`s somethig I`d like to avoid.

Thanks to all for the 5.1 advice. I`ll be passing a Richer Sounds later this week, so I`ll drop in and have a look.

"the Acoustic Energy Aego P5`s TRUELY AMAZING (£550 though)"

I can vouch for this system.

Was looking to jump into the surround sound arena at Christmas and did a lot of looking around in magazines and websites for advice on the best value and the AE Aego P5 kept popping up again and again. It`s won a host of awards and sounds great. And it`s a tiny package which will find around even the most cluttered of rooms.

Got mine from Unbeatable.co.uk for 480 quid. :o)

J.

iv been warned off combos... thru many sources.

u could probly pick up a decent VHS player and a decent DVD player for about the same money, if not cheaper.

as an example... the sanyo HV-DX1E combo player... the last write up i saw of it came to the conclusion of it just being a convience of being a 2 in 1 box... but had a drap performance and was more expensive than gettin a seperate DVD and VHS set up.

£100 will get u a VERY decent DVD player these days... my year old Dansai 852 £99 from tesco last year has served me very well... and it has played everything iv tried (cept the nightmare on elm street 5 disk box set )

and i believe theres a Wharfdale DVD-M3 out for around £100

and seeing as combos seem to start at around £200... then that leaves £100 to get a videoplayer... which is will get a damn good one too!

on the 5.1 set up

eltac have some good systems available thru richer... theres the cinema 6 sat/sub package or the earlier mentioned floorstander version.

iv heard good things about the accousic energy apeio p5 mentioned earlier. or else theres the mission sets some with subs some without...

best bet is to look around, then audiution some before u buy, see which sound best to you

This item was edited on Monday, 10th March 2003, 05:21

Your best best is to trundle along to your local Richer Sounds tell them what you want & how much money you can afford & walk out smiling with arms laden down with new equipment. Just remember, your 5.1 system is only as good as your budget

Good luck

Lee