Do Upgrade from Sony HT-M5 to Sony shake 66d makes sense?

Yogesh Khadtare

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I own sony HT M5 explosive 1580w rms 5.2ch home theater component system from last half year. I am very well satisfied by its performance but recently I came across Sony shake 66d which shows 3000 watts RMS numbers! This thing is forcing me to think about it as investing 50k in Sony HT M5 gave me 1580w RMS & adding just 15-20k would gimme nearly twice RMS power. I have kept Sony HT M5 on my bungalow where I visit alone some weekends just to enjoy loud music. The Sony HT M5 is really good for movies. I can feel bass waves passing via my body on explosions in movies. I never tried it via HDMI with true 5.2ch setup effects but still its very amazing when I use via HDMI through lappy! Basically I am car audio freak Basshead. Honestly there isn't any powerful system in price range which can go down below 40hz as we can enjoy in high end car audio! So extreme low end frequency not my expectations from Sony shake 66d. I would be using my music system mainly for music and very rarely for movies and gaming. But in future as I will shift in my bungalow I will be using this system with desktop for gaming and movies most of the times. Please gimme pros and cons of upgrading from AV receiver type Sony HT M5 to HiFi type sony shake 66d. In future I am gonna add pair of car audio 12" subs in this setup to fulfill my extreme low frequency spectrum. My question is do this upgrade makes sense or my existing Sony HT M5 is better? It's not made in China also which makes me feel better. Another thing I am afraid of is my Sony HT M5 have 7 speakers in total and non of them have grill for safety of cones! Whereas sony shake 66d has nice protection for speakers as its kinda outdoor party machine. I have attached pic of my setup lemme know which will look better for my room. [emoji41]
c52331c8fd876ad105712687fd4de975.jpg
 
For your needs, the M-5 would not suit really because it is meant to be a movie system (at least that's what it wants to be). The shake 66-D looks like what you should have got, if you like the Sony sound. I have seen it (something that looks similar) at Sony and it looks menacing, not sure if it sounds that way too. People use Cerwin Vega for such needs too.
 
For your needs, the M-5 would not suit really because it is meant to be a movie system (at least that's what it wants to be). The shake 66-D looks like what you should have got, if you like the Sony sound. I have seen it (something that looks similar) at Sony and it looks menacing, not sure if it sounds that way too. People use Cerwin Vega for such needs too.
Alright I will get demo of Sony shake 66d once den I will decide. I am OK with Sony as no other brand can be that loud in price range of 50k and it's easy to sell sony stuff as I keep upgrading setups periodically. If I get something really competitive in all parameters most important is bass in 50k den lemme know.
 
The power requirements of HT- M5 is as follows


Power Requirements
220-240V 50/60Hz

Power Consumption
175W


Power Consumption (Standby)
0.3W

Not sure how the output is explosive 1580w rms
It seems they keep there speakers underpowered & use efficient amp enough to make those numbers even by small PSU. But whenever I switch on the receiver I can feel light dimming for a millisecond as we feel whenever we switch on some heavy stuff. & this thing bangs pretty loud compared to other home theaters.
 
It seems they keep there speakers underpowered & use efficient amp enough to make those numbers even by small PSU. But whenever I switch on the receiver I can feel light dimming for a millisecond as we feel whenever we switch on some heavy stuff. & this thing bangs pretty loud compared to other home theaters.

For the sake of discussion, If the AMP in the M5 is 100% efficient, then it can dish out what ever it consumes from mains. The sub takes a lot of current during transients and again you may have connected the system to a 5 Amps socket and the dimming is due to thin wires used in home electrical wiring.

No way that Punny little thing of an AMP is going to do in excess of 1000 Watts. I have spent close to a couple of hours fine tuning that M5 system when I was demoing, it was okay for Movies and never okay for music.

The bass was not crisp and it was all over the place and it was just mid bass, which gives you loudness. It just went louder and not lower. you may end up the same way if you buy the Shake 66 too. I am not even able to see the specs of the Amp in that thing.

This system is perfectly okay for Home party with lot of Booze ;)

I have attached pic of my setup lemme know which will look better for my room.
Edit. Oh, btw, just saw your question :p
 
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Shake 66 will be good for home party .But to enjoy real music you may need to find out some other good stuffs. (3000Watts RMS quoted by Sony .ooopss. In real world 1000 RMS watts is more than enough for a home entertainment system.)
As said by sash ,Cerwin vega damn good speakers for movie lovers .Ur heart will thud n vibrate due to the LFE created by these speakers .(I have experienced it in an audition driven by the Onkyo receivers ,u can feel the raw power of it).But for this u need to check whether it will suit your budget or not.

Finally If u love the sound of shake 66d go for it. At last you are the one going to enjoy it.Audition it properly and decide.
 
For the sake of discussion, If the AMP in the M5 is 100% efficient, then it can dish out what ever it consumes from mains. The sub takes a lot of current during transients and again you may have connected the system to a 5 Amps socket and the dimming is due to thin wires used in home electrical wiring.

No way that Punny little thing of an AMP is going to do in excess of 1000 Watts. I have spent close to a couple of hours fine tuning that M5 system when I was demoing, it was okay for Movies and never okay for music.

The bass was not crisp and it was all over the place and it was just mid bass, which gives you loudness. It just went louder and not lower. you may end up the same way if you buy the Shake 66 too. I am not even able to see the specs of the Amp in that thing.

This system is perfectly okay for Home party with lot of Booze ;)


Edit. Oh, btw, just saw your question [emoji14]
Agree. [emoji106] so have you met with any setup which is capable of Giving brutal lows & loud clean bass like car audio setups? I listen to raps, hip hops all the time. I completely agree that even sony shake 66d won't throw lows.
 
Shake 66 will be good for home party .But to enjoy real music you may need to find out some other good stuffs. (3000Watts RMS quoted by Sony .ooopss. In real world 1000 RMS watts is more than enough for a home entertainment system.)
As said by sash ,Cerwin vega damn good speakers for movie lovers .Ur heart will thud n vibrate due to the LFE created by these speakers .(I have experienced it in an audition driven by the Onkyo receivers ,u can feel the raw power of it).But for this u need to check whether it will suit your budget or not.

Finally If u love the sound of shake 66d go for it. At last you are the one going to enjoy it.Audition it properly and decide.
I always prefer VFM stuff & don't wanna invest lots bucks in just some high end brand name! I have heard lot about cerwin vega & many people suggested that brand for my taste of music but I never got chance to audition them! & another thing I read somewhere that cerwin vega is not like it was now all the production is from China!
 
What about using car subs in home guys? Anyone tried it? I am gonna make huge enclosure for subs as per TS parameters & gonna tune port low around 25hz. I think it's cheap & best way to get lows & car type bass in home.
 
I heard people saying they didn't get that bass effect when the car sub is used in a room. May be because of the car room space is very less when compared to the home room space.
Give a try and then buy.
 
Most of the electronics equipment even apple i phone is assembled from china .
Since china is having mass production capabilities and the cost of production is low ,most of the major manufacturer preferring China. You may need to rely on brand that is been manufactured from china.
 
I heard people saying they didn't get that bass effect when the car sub is used in a room. May be because of the car room space is very less when compared to the home room space.
Give a try and then buy.
Even I heard that car subs won't be audible in home they will just shake the room. But I even got suggestions that Making huge ported enclosure tuned low will work. I have pair of subs with enclosures & pair of monoblock amps lying in home. I just need some power supply to use them in home. I will give a try need a lot of trial and error though still as a project I wanna work over it. Let's see what happens. [emoji4]
 
Even I heard that car subs won't be audible in home they will just shake the room. But I even got suggestions that Making huge ported enclosure tuned low will work. I have pair of subs with enclosures & pair of monoblock amps lying in home. I just need some power supply to use them in home. I will give a try need a lot of trial and error though still as a project I wanna work over it. Let's see what happens. [emoji4]

I used to have a car sub with my PC. used it only for dubstep. and it shook the house with a mere 120wrms. You just need to figure out the right box and tuning. But you cant use it movies, good quality music, etc. Home subs are made considering the noise floor of your home (what is the lowest sound in your room). While car subs are made for the noise floor of your car, which is much much higher than your home. Thats another reason those subs are cheap. Home subs have heavier magnets to make the speakers more accurate.

So go for car subs if you will only use it for blasting loud bass like a party or dubstep music (where you dont need to go below 60hz.) They are cheap and easy to power.
 
I used to have a car sub with my PC. used it only for dubstep. and it shook the house with a mere 120wrms. You just need to figure out the right box and tuning. But you cant use it movies, good quality music, etc. Home subs are made considering the noise floor of your home (what is the lowest sound in your room). While car subs are made for the noise floor of your car, which is much much higher than your home. Thats another reason those subs are cheap. Home subs have heavier magnets to make the speakers more accurate.

So go for car subs if you will only use it for blasting loud bass like a party or dubstep music (where you dont need to go below 60hz.) They are cheap and easy to power.
Okay bro sounds similar to my requirements. But I wanna go low as much I can. I will give a try. I heard there are some brands who use same drivers for there car and home audio. Anyways enclosure design matters a lot. I have seen many people abroad using car subs in home theater system. Let's see what happens. Bdw which amp u used to power car subwoofer? Do u know any power supply which will give me 120amp DC with ease? Or should I strap power of inverter battery straight way?
 
What about using car subs in home guys? Anyone tried it? I am gonna make huge enclosure for subs as per TS parameters & gonna tune port low around 25hz. I think it's cheap & best way to get lows & car type bass in home.

Even I heard that car subs won't be audible in home they will just shake the room. But I even got suggestions that Making huge ported enclosure tuned low will work. I have pair of subs with enclosures & pair of monoblock amps lying in home. I just need some power supply to use them in home. I will give a try need a lot of trial and error though still as a project I wanna work over it. Let's see what happens. [emoji4]

First things first, Take my words with a pinch of salt.
1. A Sub with 89 dB sensitivity with X Watts input will actually sound twice louder ( +3dB ) inside a car when compared to Home due to Car Cabin Gain. At the same time, a Sub-woofer placed in Corner of a room will also have similar Gain.
2. The lower a sub goes, the more you physically feel the sub when it and less you hear. This is just quite opposite of the feel you get from your Sony system. It plays louder because it outputs more of Mid bass and not lower. Again, it depends on the capability of the Subwoofer driver, enclosure and tuning of the system. Btw, If you talking about Pio Subs, I will not recommend that for music at allThat is more or less a one note sub. Still its worth a try since they are all available.


I used to have a car sub with my PC. used it only for dubstep. and it shook the house with a mere 120wrms. You just need to figure out the right box and tuning. But you cant use it movies, good quality music, etc. Home subs are made considering the noise floor of your home (what is the lowest sound in your room). While car subs are made for the noise floor of your car, which is much much higher than your home. Thats another reason those subs are cheap. Home subs have heavier magnets to make the speakers more accurate.

So go for car subs if you will only use it for blasting loud bass like a party or dubstep music (where you dont need to go below 60hz.) They are cheap and easy to power.

Many car subwoofer driver will do excellent in home audio. A car subwoofer is built to withstand hard environments where as a home audio driver is not built that robust. A home audio driver doesnt need to work in high temperature, low temperature, humidity, rain spray, vibrations carried in from car and engine and other mechanical components and again due to pot holes. So the Magnets are actually more heavier in a car sub.

So the car sub driver is built more robust and the spiders are also strong, thereby making it more power hungry when compared to Home subs. That is why most subwoofers in home are rated with 60 to 100 watts as they just sit idle in a close environment. 100 Watts are high end in home and laughed at to be measly powered in car audio.

The reason why the Car subs are cheap is because of the volume of sales and the numero of target audience

Btw, what driver are you using in home ?
 
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First things first, Take my words with a pinch of salt.
1.A Sub with 89 dB sensitivity with X Watts input will actually sound twice louder ( +3dB ) inside a car when compared to Home due to Car Cabin Gain. At the same time, a Sub-woofer placed in Corner of a room will also have similar Gain.
2.The lower a sub goes, the more you physically feel the sub when it and less you hear. This is just quite opposite of the feel you get from your Sony system. It plays louder because it outputs more of Mid bass and not lower. Again, it depends on the capability of the Subwoofer driver, enclosure and tuning of the system. Btw, If you talking about Pio Subs, I will not recommend that for music at allThat is more or less a one note sub. Still its worth a try since they are all available.




Many car subwoofer driver will do excellent in home audio. A car subwoofer is built to withstand hard environments where as a home audio driver is not built that robust. A home audio driver doesnt need to work in high temperature, low temperature, humidity, rain spray, vibrations carried in from car and engine and other mechanical components and again due to pot holes. So the Magnets are actually more heavier in a car sub.

So the car sub driver is built more robust and the spiders are also strong, thereby making it more power hungry when compared to Home subs. That is why most subwoofers in home are rated with 60 to 100 watts as they just sit idle in a close environment. 100 Watts are high end in home and laughed at to be measly powered in car audio.

The reason why the Car subs are cheap is because of the volume of sales and the numero of target audience

Btw, what driver are you using in home ?
Very nice informative explanation. Agreed to everything you said.

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These are 12" custom made drivers from Germany. Subs are pretty heavy & claimed to be 1000w rms each. They aren't handled with care while shipping so I need to recone both. If you have some idea about enclosure volume & tuning to get maximum from this driver den lemme know. I am thinking of 2 cubic feet for each sub tuned around 25hz ported.

Another thing is I have pair of Sony Xm-gs100 monoblock amps for these 2 subs. So powering amps by inverter battery would be better option or getting Crown XLS1502 or Nx audio rx3000 DJ amplifier in home would be better? I don't wanna invest big numbers in this setup as this is just working on trial and error basis. I already have car monoblock amps with me if u have some easy way to power den in home lemme know.
 
First things first, Take my words with a pinch of salt.
1. A Sub with 89 dB sensitivity with X Watts input will actually sound twice louder ( +3dB ) inside a car when compared to Home due to Car Cabin Gain. At the same time, a Sub-woofer placed in Corner of a room will also have similar Gain.
2. The lower a sub goes, the more you physically feel the sub when it and less you hear. This is just quite opposite of the feel you get from your Sony system. It plays louder because it outputs more of Mid bass and not lower. Again, it depends on the capability of the Subwoofer driver, enclosure and tuning of the system. Btw, If you talking about Pio Subs, I will not recommend that for music at allThat is more or less a one note sub. Still its worth a try since they are all available.




Many car subwoofer driver will do excellent in home audio. A car subwoofer is built to withstand hard environments where as a home audio driver is not built that robust. A home audio driver doesnt need to work in high temperature, low temperature, humidity, rain spray, vibrations carried in from car and engine and other mechanical components and again due to pot holes. So the Magnets are actually more heavier in a car sub.

So the car sub driver is built more robust and the spiders are also strong, thereby making it more power hungry when compared to Home subs. That is why most subwoofers in home are rated with 60 to 100 watts as they just sit idle in a close environment. 100 Watts are high end in home and laughed at to be measly powered in car audio.

The reason why the Car subs are cheap is because of the volume of sales and the numero of target audience

Btw, what driver are you using in home ?

Another thing about home woofers is that the focus is more bass being audible, rather than all shaking. That's why elegant and accurate drivers which can go low and spread bass through the room are used in home subs. The difference is very clear when you compare subs. SQ is always tougher and more expensive than SPL.

I used to use a cheap sony 12" sub. With a custom self made ported enclosure tuned at roughly 45hz. The amp i used was a kenwood 8401d mono. Gain was set to provide around 120wrms clean power (although the amp was capable of more, but it was too loud.) And true to what i just mentioned, going over 120 watts just caused everything to shake and rattle. Not really much more audible.
 
Another thing about home woofers is that the focus is more bass being audible, rather than all shaking. That's why elegant and accurate drivers which can go low and spread bass through the room are used in home subs. The difference is very clear when you compare subs. SQ is always tougher and more expensive than SPL.

I used to use a cheap sony 12" sub. With a custom self made ported enclosure tuned at roughly 45hz. The amp i used was a kenwood 8401d mono. Gain was set to provide around 120wrms clean power (although the amp was capable of more, but it was too loud.) And true to what i just mentioned, going over 120 watts just caused everything to shake and rattle. Not really much more audible.
The drivers are manufactured as per need of usage. In car audio even though we can't hear the bass we can feel it easily by vibrations all over the seats, roof, dashboard etc and that's really enjoyable. But in home that flex and vibrations won't make much sense as its not that easy to shake the room built of concrete lol! So indeed to feel those lows I am thinking of adding subs in my bed storage as bass is unidirectional I can feel it while sitting on bed & enjoy the music at the same time lol. I know that sounds funny but I am gonna try it once!
 
For excellent sound that won't break the bank, the 5 Star Award Winning Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 Bookshelf Speakers is the one to consider!
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