Complete noob regarding home entertainment.
Can you guys/girls point me towards a good entry set for a smallish living room?
I’m not picky but it would be nice if it looks clean, sounds good and has some options regarding connectivity.
And is it better to get something like Sonos of would you opt for a more traditional stereo setup?
Cheers!
Any thoughts on budget? Or form factor?
If you want something “all in one” that could go on a sideboard / double as a soundbar on a TV bench then the only thing that I’ve heard that comes close it “hifi” is the Naim Mu-So. They are pricey but they do everything you probably want. You could get an original second hand if you want. Or if that’s too big then the Mu-So Qb would be the second choice.
If you’re happy to go for a traditional separates set-up then the options are pretty much infinite! Luckily you probably only need to get a “smart” amplifier nowadays so you can stream. (Unless you want to get into vinyl or have a CD collection). For a small room, bookshelf speakers will do; floorstanders will sound “boomy”.
The best thing to do is go to a hifi store and take a look at what fits your budget and what will fit in to your living space. There’s a suprising difference with how different manufacturers “voice” their products so make sure to take a listen if you can.
What kind of connectivity do you need for it? Are we talking just wired or would you want something wireless like Bluetooth or Apples Airplay?
My old studio monitors moved into my living room when I upgraded my music room. Can’t recommend it enough.
Are we talking about surround setups? It largely depends on the room, furniture placement, doorways/openings, windows etc.
If you live in the states, a lot of hifi stores or even places like Best Buy should have demo showrooms and personnel that can guide you towards a specific setup.
For traditional surround setups these days, I have always been a fan of 5.1.2. That means 5 speakers (2 bookshelf or columns on your front left & right, one center, and 2 bookshelf or columns on your back left & right) 1 subwoofer, and 2 Atmos speakers. If you have drywall ceiling then it’s fairly easy to buy and install in-ceiling speakers. I used Micca M-8C’s. Real bang for your buck. If you are renovating a room, all the better to do your audio runs to a patch panel.
Connectivity options depend on your choice of AVR. I think wireless support for stuff like Apple AirPlay make things a breeze for connectivity on the fly or parties.
This for me too!
Anything else just colours the sound and I go into synth snob mode 
I suppose it really depends on what you want to play?
Do you want to stream music (if yes from local files on your pc, or via a streaming service), play CDs, play records?
I think in current times with it being so easy to quickly Bluetooth or cast music from your phone to a decent set of speakers, that you need to think a lot about how a stereo hifi system will work for you in practice, because it will probably be slightly more effort to use than not.
There’s so many options, it’s worth thinking about something that looks good as well as sounds good, something that will look nice in the room and entice you to use it.
I have one of Yamaha’s musiccast turntables. We probably only have 30 of our absolute favourite records between us on vinyl but having them propped up next to the player they look nice and shout ‘play me’. But for the rest of the time the turntable can do spotify or internet radio or whatever.
Is it also going to be for watching movies and stuff in addition to music?
Can’t go wrong with a good ol’ 5.1 system
Two towers, two surrounds, one centre channel and one subwoofer.
Use them all for movies/tv, and then switch to just the two towers in stereo and the subwoofer for music, would be my advice
Only you can decide this. I would opt for a late 70s Sansui reciever and nice JBLs + a BT box but thats my preferences. Modern sleak stuff is unsexy to me. Check out some hifi webstore whats feels good to you. Maybe Argon.
Here are the aspects I want nowadays:
multiple additional audio inputs (CD, vinyl, cassette)
Bluetooth and WiFi connection
multiple HDMI inputs (game, internet box, blue ray)
capability to separate audio from video
I got myself a Marantz nr1603 more than 10 years ago and I’m missing BT (only AirPlay) and still use my old mixer for the vinyl player, but otherwise it answers all my needs.
The unevenly spaced tiles would spoil any audiophile aspirations, for me 
I don’t recommend Sonos speakers as a main listening system, but I know a couple of people that bought Sonos Amps and paired them with regular speakers (Klipsch and KEF) and have been very happy with those.
It’s relatively expensive for what you get if you’re looking purely at “specs,” but it has automatic input switching and an HDMI ARC input.
That way it “just works” when they switch on the TV, if they start playing a record, if someone wants to AirPlay to it, or do single/multi-room playback via Sonos/Roon.
If it’s not just for you, a typical amp/avr with manual input switching is going to be “too complicated” and people won’t use it - even if it’s only the slightest of inconveniences to switch it on and cycle through to the right input.
Sonos have had some issues with the new app recently, but that mostly seems to have been causing problems for people with big systems that have a mixture of new/old hardware.
I wouldn’t expect it to be an issue for a new system, and I hear it’s mostly resolved now.
We’ve not run into any issues here with their portable speaker (Move).
Please don’t use Bluetooth (SBC) for music on a good speaker system.
Nice, Naim Audio is serious for sure! 
Whatever you go for, keep your hands off Devialet. Too expensive and too much processing going on inside. I think it may even apply more generally for “audiophile” products.
I have good experience with Klipsch as well
Some people don’t like the sound or look of them, but I love the copper look and they are really mid range price-wise.
Agree as well on Bluetooth - if you want bluetooth connectivity I guess go for a JBL speaker just don’t expect magic even from the stereo link setups. I am not a fan of how they EQ audio and this will also cause latency delays when you are trying to use them as speakers for direct line-in input.
It can be very convenient though, if your daughter wants to dance on the table or a friend have the hand on the playlist.
I do recommend Blutooth convenience over audiophile religion 
I find the pairing process to be rather inconvenient to be honest.
Especially with the way that paired devices try to reconnect or take over the connection when switched on or move within range.
AirPlay/Sonos is higher quality and works far more reliably in my experience.
All they require is that you’re connected to the WiFi network.
I agree, but Android doesn’t use AirPlay very nicely, in my experience.
So yeah, I’d prefer to have BT like any portable speaker, those are everywhere for a reason.
WiiM might be worth looking into.
I have the WiiM amp and since then they’ve added WiiM amp Pro, which is my least favorite thing a company could do with modest upgrades over the recently released base model.
Aside from my gripe about base models and pro model releases, this thing has tons of options and I love the speaker sync which is tightly synced for cross room play.
Streaming options built in too.
Also for speakers, I’ve been amazed at the Dali Spektor speakers. I got them after reading about it and they sound nice for small speakers. A sub would be a good thing to add on, but they still sound good.
