Confessions of a Confused Newbie

[ValarMorghulis]

Hi All,

After going through most of the threads in this section I am utterly and thoroughly confused!

Looking to buy a Home theatre pretty soon. I have the following issues/ concerns:
1. Budget of Rs 30k.
2. Availability of Service/ repairing issues in case of any malfunction.

I live in Pune and am going to use it for Music: Movies & Series == 40:60
I love mostly Rock and instrumental with a few pop tracks (with good bass & 'thump') thrown in. My living room is around 25ftx20ftx10ft with a Sony Bravia 42W70B LED.

I have narrowed it to two choices:
1. Sony BDV-E4100 (Rs 30,390/-) Pros: 1000W RMS, tallboys, Wifi, bluetooth, etc. Cons: Its not Yamaha
2. Yamaha YHT-196 (Rs 27000) Pros: Good Sound clarity. It is Yamaha after all. Cons: 600W RMS only. No DTS. Additional BD Player costs. 2yr Old model. No USB (criminal)

Every single thread/ post in this forum advocates YHT but I can't bring myself to peace to buy a 2yr old model :sad:. My other friends say there isn't much difference between the two and service by Yamaha would probably be slow since they have limited (only 1) centres in Pune.

Please help.

 

[shibashis]

You said it yourself, every single thread is advising you to go with YHT, then where is the problem?
What will matter to you is the sound quality and not the age, that should be the guiding logic anyway. If it is then stay clear of Sony or Phillips or others.
best solution for you should be to get a Pioneer / Yamaha / Onkyo / Denon AVR and look for a couple of used quality (Wharfedale, Dali, Polk, or even Sonodyne) bookshelves as front speakers, then gradually build a complete setup slowly.
You will be rewarded for your perseverance. Do not worry about a 2 year old model, what matters at the end of the day is the sound. With this start you have a potential to build a really good system compared to anything mainstream HTiBs has to offer.

 

[humblebee]

If you are a movie fan, the biggest issue would be the missing DTS...
Will cause problems...will require some solution in some way ... cannot be ignored.
Sony is not so bad...

And if new piece & brand name matters to you then there is a Pioneer (equivalent to Yamaha) HT Package that is around Rs 40k. I have listened to this in Reliance Digital and it was decent. Save for some time & meanwhile search for it.
Also maybe you can get some Holiday Deal.