5.1 Home Theatre (Help choose between - Bose vs Dali vs Wharfedale vs maybe Polk)

[dee_dee]

My hunt continues...

Did a second round of audition with stuff that we watch the most at home.
TV Series (Couple of episodes of Bones)
Movie (Harry Potter 7 - part 1)
Music (Assorted)

The Wharfs (9.6, auditioned at Alliance 4 in Goregaon) felt dull. (It was not in their audition room, so there was quite a bit of disturbance from outside sounds).

Also listened to Wharfedale Vardus. Have ruled out Wharfedale.

Listened to the Dali Ikon 7 (entire set up) & the Lektor 6 (front & center).

Both sound amazing. For music & movies.

The Ikon 7 is WAY out of budget (1.02 lac for only the fronts). Could still stretch for the Ikon 6. The on-wall rear speakers look good.

Wanted to know if any of the experts have a view on these questions:

1) Barring the price difference, what would set apart Ikon 6 from the Lektor 6? There are ribbon tweeters on the Ikon 6 & dome tweeters on Lektor... how does it impact sound?

2) Also, would there be any issue in pairing Dali Ikon/Lektor with the Klipsch SW 450 subwoofer?


(AVR will be Denon 1912)

 

[Flash]

The Wharf' floorstanders need considerable about of amp power for them to begin to sing. at lower volumes they do sound dull and lifeless, infact a lot of details will be lost and it sounds recessed However crank up the volume and they come alive. with most mid range AVR's like the 1912, 609 etc they sound pretty dull till they reach -8db or so on the volume dial. However pair them up with a Decent AMP. and they sing

Anyway getting down to Ribbon tweeters vs dome Tweeters on the Dali's

For 70% movies its not going to make much of a difference, however if u compare it to Horn loaded den yes . huge difference. At the end of the day it all boils down to

In terms of music Ribbons have an extended feel especially for music which features percussion sucj as triangles, cymbals etc. They sound better with Jazz, Classical. They sound delicate and balanced in the sweet spot of your listening area. It could help with Movies as well but only marginal

However Dome tweeters have a better off-axis response. so music/movies will still sound good and uniform if u are not sitting in your sweet spot or have family members skewed around the room

So both are pretty decent.


- F l a s h -

My hunt continues...

Did a second round of audition with stuff that we watch the most at home.
TV Series (Couple of episodes of Bones)
Movie (Harry Potter 7 - part 1)
Music (Assorted)

The Wharfs (9.6, auditioned at Alliance 4 in Goregaon) felt dull. (It was not in their audition room, so there was quite a bit of disturbance from outside sounds).

Also listened to Wharfedale Vardus. Have ruled out Wharfedale.

Listened to the Dali Ikon 7 (entire set up) & the Lektor 6 (front & center).

Both sound amazing. For music & movies.

The Ikon 7 is WAY out of budget (1.02 lac for only the fronts). Could still stretch for the Ikon 6. The on-wall rear speakers look good.

Wanted to know if any of the experts have a view on these questions:

1) Barring the price difference, what would set apart Ikon 6 from the Lektor 6? There are ribbon tweeters on the Ikon 6 & dome tweeters on Lektor... how does it impact sound?

2) Also, would there be any issue in pairing Dali Ikon/Lektor with the Klipsch SW 450 subwoofer?


(AVR will be Denon 1912)

 

[dee_dee]

Thanks a ton, Flash

Kind of enamored by Dali floorstanders at present.

Some more questions for the audiophiles.

On the surrounds: From what I've read around the forum, the surrounds don't make too much of a difference and hence require much less attention. I am not too enthusiastic about the boxy Lektor 1s as the rears (will look out of place in a living room with sleek lines).

1) Any suggestions on good-looking, effective satellite surrounds?
2) Anything in particular to take care of while using mix & match surrounds? (in terms of wiring etc, so there is no lag).

 

[Flash]

You are absolutely correct, Surrounds in a HT are purely for effects. Preferably use a dipole/ bipole speaker for rear as they create a more diffused effect and does not make their present felt .
There are a lot of bipole and dipoles you can use. they are sleeker than the average bookshelf. VFM try the 9dfs . should do the job pretty well and since they are relatively flat they dont call on attention and should bled well with the sleek lines of your living room .
Klipsch / Polk also has some good Dipoles as wel.
But dont stress too much on your surrounds any decent dipole will do . Avoid satellites completely

However Do make sure though that your center channel is matched to your Dali line. or else u would have a tonal mismatch .

Well for lag etc etc etc.. thats what your AVR inroom calibration is for. and should take care calibrating it properly.
In terms of wire a 16 guage should be fine for rears .

 

[TheCoolestOne]

Dee Dee, Is the hunt still on or have you zeroed on the Speakers & Sub

My hunt continues...

Did a second round of audition with stuff that we watch the most at home.
TV Series (Couple of episodes of Bones)
Movie (Harry Potter 7 - part 1)
Music (Assorted)

The Wharfs (9.6, auditioned at Alliance 4 in Goregaon) felt dull. (It was not in their audition room, so there was quite a bit of disturbance from outside sounds).

Also listened to Wharfedale Vardus. Have ruled out Wharfedale.

Listened to the Dali Ikon 7 (entire set up) & the Lektor 6 (front & center).

Both sound amazing. For music & movies.

The Ikon 7 is WAY out of budget (1.02 lac for only the fronts). Could still stretch for the Ikon 6. The on-wall rear speakers look good.

Wanted to know if any of the experts have a view on these questions:

1) Barring the price difference, what would set apart Ikon 6 from the Lektor 6? There are ribbon tweeters on the Ikon 6 & dome tweeters on Lektor... how does it impact sound?

2) Also, would there be any issue in pairing Dali Ikon/Lektor with the Klipsch SW 450 subwoofer?


(AVR will be Denon 1912)

 

[dee_dee]

Dee Dee, Is the hunt still on or have you zeroed on the Speakers & Sub

Yup, closed on the:
Lektor 6 for front & the Lektor center.
Klipsch SW 450.
1912 Amp.
Surrounds - yet to be decided.

Now waiting for home interiors to get done before setting things up

 

[roseboy24]

How about quad 22L2 pairing with quad center and decent surround .

 

[anshul]

Depa .. thanks such a detail information. I am planning for option 3, please suggest, where you took these price, i am getting same in delhi around 10 to 20 percent more the prices yoy given , please advise if you know some good store in delhi or in ypur city

i appriceate your quicq reply

Hi Audiophiles...

My first post! I've spent the last two days auditioning speakers in Mumbai (must've listened to Hotel California about 88 times!). The whole exercise is to talk my partner out of splurging for a Bose Lifestyle V 25 (1.9 lac)!

Need some help / opinions to take my final decision.

Facts:
Room Size: 20ft x 15ft
Listening distance from front speakers: 12 ft
Usage: 70% Movies: 30% Music
Budget: 1.0 to 1.5 lac, including AVR & 5.1 Speakers (Not a constraint)

Option 1 (Dali + Klipsch SW):
AVR: Denon 1912 (38.5k)
Front: Dali Concept 6 (39k)
Center: Dali Center (11.6k)
Rear: Dali Concept 1 (15.5k)
Sub: Klipsch SW 450 (23k) [Found the Dali SW to be super expensive at 41k]
Total: 1.28 lac

Option 2 (Polk):
AVR: Denon 1912 (38.5k)
Front: Polk RTI A3 (22k)
Center: Polk CSI A4 (14k)
Rear: TSI 100 (11k)
Sub: PSW 110 (13k)
Total: 1lac

Option 3 (Wharfs + Klipsch SW):
AVR: Denon 1912 (38.5k)
Front: Wharfdale 9.6 (35k)
Center: Wharfdale 9CS (11k)
Rear: Wharfdale 9DFS (11k)
Sub: Klipsch SW 450 (23k)
Total: 1.18 lac

Option 4: Anything else that you could suggest.

If you can share your views on the choice of Front, Center & Rear, it would be really helpful.
(More or less decided on the SW (Klipsch SW 450) & the AVR (Denon 1912).

Want to spend the money I save from not splurging on a Bose, on a bigger TV. :clapping:

Thanks,
Deepa