Onkyo vs Denon + speakers??

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this forum...looking forward to buying a HT...options are

Amp -
- Onkyo 606
- Denon 1909

Speaker set...(The larger confusion is on these )
- Jamo 606 with Sub200/250
- Elac 100 Series ( FS127+Sub111+BS123+CC121)
- Elac 50 Series ( FS57+Sub50ESP+CC51+WS55)

Usage...
1. Bedroom for the HT...18X12 room...I have a PS3, Sony Bravia V series 40" LCD - Music + Movies.
2. I also want to use the Zone 2 to set up a pair of Tower Speakers in the Drawing room - 40X12 - Music only.

I could also plug in my Bose Music System to this unit...

Any advise here would be appreciated and local reference points for retail in Bangalore would be welcome.
I have tried ProFx Shop on MG Road though not too impressed with their Sales approach....almost non-existent.
Also been to Modern World, Domlur - good response but will never call back even if he promises to revert.

Cheers,

Mads

Hi,

It depends on your likings.
For mov 70% Onkyo ,or Denon.

Onkyo 606 video scaler has some issues.It is upto 1080i & dont fit proerly to TV screen.

Mads:

Regarding your speakers, I wo0uld suggest you audition a few other speakers also to understand what is available in the market. Some of the good brands are Wharfedale, Mission, Mordaunt Short etc. That will broaden your viewpoint and enable you to pinpoint what you are looking for from your speakers.

Cheers

Hi Mads

Denon is a bit laid back AVR so you need a speaker that has a bit of a higher treble. The onkyos are a bit high on treble, so you may want speakers that emphasize just a bit on the mid and lower ranges.


So go by what venkat has suggested and listen to a few other speakers and pick one up that matches the AVRs. What sort of music do you listen to by the way and how much vs. watching TV?

Hi,

I listen to a lot of Country, Rock and high lead music...my wife is into slower instrumentals more...

On the moveis side, I see more action and drama. kids love musicals...so it is fairly varied.

Will check out the Wharfdale and MS speakers tomorrow. How is Elac rated ...dont read much on them here...??

Is there a consensus on which AVR sould one look for - I gather from the forum that the Denon1909 scores over the Onkyo 606...is Onkyo 875/875 considerable upper end....any idea on comercials on these in India?

Since i am planning on setting the 2 zones and one dedicated to music on a 2.1 and the other for Movies+Music on a 5.1 (or maybe 7.1)...pls advise on both separately...

Mads

zone 2 though configurable is a real pain in the neck to setup irrespective of the AVR you use.

Personally, I think Onkyo is one of the brands that rushed to the market with lots of bells and whistles and nifty feature set without doing a good job on quality and reliability. In a number of cases their implementations are not right leading to downscaling on video and their AVRs tend to get very hot even under normal usage. Comparitively Denon's are better in my opinion.

No flames for anyone, again my personal opinion.

Instead of zone 2, I'd invest in a second system though there is the extra budget requirements.

Hey Mads,
Welcome to Hifivision.
Regarding your query on Denon 1909, it is a very good receiver, with all the bells & whistles read latest HD decoding options & video upscaling features.
The Onkyo 606 is the direct competition to the 1909.I don't know anything about the Onkyo 606's upscaling issue but the Denon & Onkyo have won many awards. Listen to both & let your ears and eyes be the judge.

The Onkyo 805 and 875 are truly in a different class.
Both the models are THX Ultra2 certified so you can be sure about the Power delivery these receivers are capable of .
Both the models have extensive Zone2 and even zone3 support.
You can also Bi-Amp your main speakers if you are not using zone2.
Abroad the 806 and 876 are available now but I'm not sure of it's availability in India.

For speakers you can also consider Polk Audio Rti series in addition to what other friends have suggested.If you like Rock you'll love Klipsch Reference speakers.Receiver matching is very important for Klipsch speakers.And many complain of extreme treble response but I tell you, once the initial break in period is over it'll be just awesome, be it music or movies. In fact Klipsch speakers have very high sensitivity so you can drive them with lower powered receivers easily.
You need to audition these speakers quite extensively.A mere 1 or 2 hrs is not enough.Try with different settings, different music, with music of your choice.

If your priority is more into music & sound quality than video upscalability then you can also consider Cambridge Audio CA 540 & 640R Av-receivers.
Marantz is another strong receiver.

A complete good quality 5.1/7.1 speaker package may be very expensive.
If you can build on time to time basis, get the Receiver & main speakers first.
Then later you can get the center, surrounds and Subwoofer.
Have I confused you a lot? Forgive.
I'm just as excited as you are...

So enjoy AV hunting.
Happy Pongal, Sankranti, & Happy NewYear

Best Regards,
Samuel

I am sure they will be available from Onkyo India, The prices of these products should be in the range of 75,000 to 100,000.

Cheers

Please also consider AVRs from Yamaha....the new ones are very good.

Hi All

I did some listening to as advised and settled on the Denon 1909...found it better and more to my liking.....

now the qs on speakers...I dont have a very fancy budget and what i have seen is

- Elac FS 57...liked them but unfortunately not in stock where i saw...
- Jamo HCS 606 - did not like too much
- Polk Audio - TSi400 series - seems ok..need to check again
- Morduant Short 906 & 908 - liked them

I personally liked the MS 908 but would want to hear from you on the Polk audio TSi400 TS...

Anyone in Blr has any idea where i cd get the Elac FS 57 wd be nice...Elac FS127 series is too expensive for now...

Thanks ...

Mads