Advice on Setup for a newbie

[dorian_gray]

Hi there, please advise me on what kind of AV Receiver+Speaker setup I should go in for based on the following info :

1.I will primarily be listening to music, but would like to hook up my DVD and TV as well ocassionaly.

2.I live in a rented accomodation so I cant go about knocking up the walls .....so Im looking at floorstanding speakers only.

3.All my music is on a laptop, so I should be able to hook it up easily.

4.Kinds of music I listen to : Rock,Blues,Jazz,Choral

5.Size of room : approx 15 X 12 feet

6.Location : Bangalore

7.Budget : 40K

An additional question : Is it cheaper to shop for the equipment in Singapore ?

Thanks!

 

[krishnenduk]

for a budget of 40K, IMHO u can go for HTIBs from Onkyo, yamaha etc..

But if u're more serious about music, then a stereo amp + a pair of floor standers will serve ur purpose nicely than multichannel AV receivers...

Think more about ur preference, do auditions if possible and findout the right ones which suits ur purpose.....

 

[afj]

if youre into music a stereo set up for the same budget will give you much better sound quality. at that budget i would go for bookshelves over floorstanders. again you'll get much better sq. you could use speaker stands. check out monitor audio bronze, kef iq series, wharfedale diamonds and ushers. apparently at the price point nothing beats the ushers right now. once you decide on that we can look at a stereo amp.

yes it is cheaper to shop for equipment in singapore if you can avoid transport and customs - which you should be able to if someone carries it for you while travelling

 

[swami69]

hi,
Budget - 40K
Preference - Music and connect DVD and TV "occasionally"
Suggestion :
stereo int amplifier
Speakers - a good pair of Bookshelf speakers
Buying from Singapore - yes, it will be cheaper and i bought all my equipments from there and brought it to chennai.

Stereo amplifier - you can get an entry level amp from CA, Marantz, NAD in the price range of Rs. 15000 to 18000 - e.g. NAD C326, Marantz PM7003 or CA650 - all these were quoted in the range of SGD 500 few months back if i remember it right.

Speakers - Sure, you can get descent bookshelves at Rs. 15000 to 20000 from Mission, MS, KEF, MA etc., Not exactly sure about the model number, but popular ones though and in the range of SGD 450-600.

Total approx weight would be 10kgs (AMP) + 13kgs (speakers), so 23 kgs and if somebody travels on Air India Express or Tiger Airways, you can opt for 30 kgs and bring this stuff. As the total value will be around Rs.35000, even if customs put penalty, it will be only for the amount over Rs. 25000 which is free allowance. But, i should say, they never stopped me in several of my trips (may be i was lucky!).

Another option :
Buy the AMP from Singapore and go in for the speakers locally so that you do not have weight and duty issues, but overall save some money.

Hope this gives you an idea and if you want some information on where to buy these stuff in Singapore, please let me know and i can help you with what i know.

Note : Since your connection to DVD and TV is occasional, you can still use this quality setup by connecting the video out from DVD to the TV directly and use the audio outh into the integrated amplifier. Sure, you will not have the surround sound etc., but it will not be bad considering the components involved even in a 2ch SETUP.

swami

 

[dorian_gray]

Hi guys, thanks a lot for your replies.This forum is superb!

The stereo amp + speaker setup will definitely suit my needs perfectly.

@swami69 : can you tell me where I have to look in singapore ? I know someone living there so they can probably go and check prices etc, even before I go there.

Whats the deal with the 25K limit ? Does it mean one can get stuff worth 25K without being taxed?

Cheers