the purpose & intent of my writeup was to address the "budget" audience, i want to push the cost down for setting up a basic system that creates a cinematic experience.
Good stuff and fairly noble wish. I am sure there is a market for products at such a price point.
I do build systems comprising of hi end components like the Arcam, Denon, Rega and have put together CDP's using the CDPro transport coupled with Burrbrowns, just to make a point that i'm not oblivious to "Quality".
This is good to know since you will be in the best position to see how much you are sacrificing by going with low cost alternatives. While I know that there is a point of diminishing returns with equipment beyond certain price point, you are still playing in the range where additional budget will get you better experience IMO.
IMHO there are lot of experts who are paid to push the cost northward and can consult on the "regular" AV components.
This statement I take offence to...While I am not an expert to any extent, I have been dabbling in HT and music gear for close to 10-12 yrs seriously. I first listened to analog audio around 1983 timeframe in a 2.0 system one fine summer afternoon. At no point have I been approached to offer suggestions that lead to buying more expensive items. I have not spoken to even one member in person re: such an issue. Also, no expert has offered to upsell me on components on this forum. If you are refering to dealers, then not sure if they fall in the experts bracket either, as I have seen lots of potato heads around the world both in retail and special audio stores.
But what about folks who desire music and cinematic experiences? who get intimidated by the 1lac and above notion for a basic system?
This need not be the case for atleast 3 reasons.
* If a person is happy with the stock speakers on their TV, then they have reached the goal of getting 'cinematic experience' - they don't need a HT system at all. A lot of guys I have seen are happy with movies playing off of their PCs and audio with PC speakers. Why would you even suggest an HT system for these folks? IOW, who is your target audience?
* You can assemble off the shelf systems for much less than 1 lakh.
* If you pull the BS out of the marketing and sales pitch then you could get lot more people to adopt HT gear. Unfortunately this is not the case due to ever changing technology. Hence you have forums like this that can make it less blurry for someone to get upto speed rather quickly.
I refuse to believe that they cannot/don't deserve a system to fit their pockets. I have such systems running for the last 2yrs successfully. I feel happy when i join friends for a movie at their home.
No one has forced you to think that expensive (this is also a relative term) systems are required for HT I presume.
Well, there is a psychological angle to "the best gear" its all subjective. The "quality" of any system is a perception, allow me to elaborate, i have done blind tests on music lovers comparing different brands and combination thereof of CDP's/DVDP's, Receivers & speakers at best my attribute agreement statistical analysis has shown little variation that is attributable to the particular hardware used.
While I agree sound is perception based, I am confused with above statement where you mention blind tests as well as statistical analysis. Could you elaborate please?
While there are numerous variables that cause 'good sound' to be perceived, such as other components in the chain, room acoustics, listening levels, cables, music type, the source, ...., I will also disagree that a cheap 1000 Rs. player will not play with the same quality as a 10K machine (though it may not be 90% worse). My ipod does not give me the same listening pleasure as my audio setup driven by a Cary source.
Coming to the point of warranty & serviceability: This setup is for music enthusiast who know how to tweak/repair, experiment or risk their setup for the sheer thrill of putting a cinema system within their reach.
You are contradicting yourself here, on one hand you are talking about budget conscious buyers and on the other you are asking the same folks to 'experiment or risk their setup'. This is not a prudent option.
Again, I have nothing against you buiding low cost systems, but you have to line up your facts and not take swipes at folks such as me who have no commercial interest in any feedback on this forum.
Good luck to you on your endeavours.