denon/Boston acoustics system on sale - opinion needed

[vaibhav]

Gentlemen,

Im likely to break the cardinal rule of audio purchase - 'listen before you buy'. Thanks to some interesting marketing program, denon has teamed up with boston acoustics and made available a 5.1 channel system with an AVR by denon and the speakers by BA for a killer pricing of $500 + shipping (local to US). I would end up getting the system here in India for about INR 27K ($550 = cost of system, local ship from sears.com .

It can be seen here (on amazon): Amazon.com: Denon DHT-589BA 5.1-Channel Home Theater System: Electronics

Is it worth it? Can i do better for the money (like get an amp only? and later add speakers - floorstanders locally)
advice advice, decisions decisions ....

thanks in advance.
cheers!
Vaibhav

 

[venkatcr]

Some points:

• The Denon 589 is a very basic amp that does not support high definition audio. You may find this a bit troublesome when you start using Blu-Ray which is not far away.
• Though Boston Acoustics is good in speakers (they make great speakers for cars), I am not sure how good they are in HT packages. The MCS 90 is not even listed in their website, so it may be more a distress sale.
• You have just converted the US pricing at 49 Rs. This does not include customs and other charges. Generally the you use a slightly larger number to convert.
• The system will be 110 volts so you have to add anothe 10K for stabiliser and step down transformer.

If you use local speakers from Indian manufacturers to keep costs down, you will be able to build a very decent HT system.

Cheers

 

[anm]

Is sears.com delivering to India?? What about custom duties etc?

regards

Gentlemen,

Im likely to break the cardinal rule of audio purchase - 'listen before you buy'. Thanks to some interesting marketing program, denon has teamed up with boston acoustics and made available a 5.1 channel system with an AVR by denon and the speakers by BA for a killer pricing of $500 + shipping (local to US). I would end up getting the system here in India for about INR 27K ($550 = cost of system, local ship from sears.com .

It can be seen here (on amazon): Amazon.com: Denon DHT-589BA 5.1-Channel Home Theater System: Electronics

Is it worth it? Can i do better for the money (like get an amp only? and later add speakers - floorstanders locally)
advice advice, decisions decisions ....

thanks in advance.
cheers!
Vaibhav

 

[afj]

i;ve heard boston acoustic speakers (on a denon amp for that matter) and wasnt too impressed with it. muddy, boomy... wouldnt recommend it even at that price. like venkat said if thats your budget then look at indian manufacturers. if you want to increase your budget then there are other systems out there

 

[vaibhav]

Guys,
Thanks for all the tips. I wouldnt probably pay duty, etc since the value is within a few K USD and i can open the box just to prove that its a personal use item. But the point of voltage convertor is valid.
That said, the point about the system doesnt being as great is more valid. So, what should i buy (assuming i get an amp for about INR 20K) - and i think i will find an amp / receiver for for that money. Am not in the blue ray league for many many years to come ... so no worries there. but bad sound really kills my happiness. Which local speaker brands are you folks referring to?
thanks again
V

 

[venkatcr]

If you want to go in for a 5.1 set immediately the two good choices are Energy Take 5 for about 25K, and the Q-Acoustics 1010i for about 40K. Energy uses satellite speakers and could sound tinny to some ears, while the Q-A uses small bookshelves and sounds fulsome.

Regarding Indian speakers, I am sure some member from Delhi would be able to help you. Chennai has Craftel who make good speakers for very reasonable prices (and really big ones too), and there are a few manufacturers such as Norge in Mumbai.

Cheers

 

[vaibhav]

@venkatcr - thanks for the response and the tip. Can Energy be auditioned in delhi area?
cheers!
Vaibhav

 

[rallynut]

dont know much about the denon package but second venkats opinion regarding boston acoustics speakers for cars as i use them in my getz.very detailed sound.imo an entry level avr with a package like the q acoustics 1010i should be very very nice.cheers