Dubai Deals

[thekinge]

Hi All,

There are some good deals available on mid range AV equipment at present in Dubai.

The deals themselves are listed in this format:
<#>. <Product name> - <condition (boxed / demo)> - price

I am listing all prices in AED. You can use sites like XE - Universal Currency Converter to get current rates for AED to INR.


1. V V & Sons

The major dealer for AV equipment in Dubai is V V & Sons and they're offering a warehouse clearance sale. After spending some time, I am listing below the deals that I thought were interesting.

However please note the following terms attached to the warehouse clearance sale:

1. No manufacturer warranties
2. V V & sons offer a 3 month warranty on items purchased. However, this means that they will repair the item and if it is not repairable, issue a store credit. No refunds!
3. Some of the items on sale are ex-demo, which means they do not come boxed and may not have remote controls. You need to ask specifically if the item you're interested in comes boxed or if it is missing any accessory
4. Since it is a clearance sale, all items are first come first serve. Once an item is fully sold, they would not take any further orders
5. The clearance sale ends on 9th of May 2010, post which the prices of these items will be back to normal (which means higher)

Having said that, following are the deals by brand and prices in AED:

1.1 Marantz

1. SR5002 AVR - ex-demo - 799 AED
2. SR7002 AVR - new in box - 2999 AED
3. SR8002 AVR - new in box - 4299 AED
4. DV4500 DVD player - ex-demo - 299 AED
5. DV6500 DVD / SACD player - ex-demo - 599 AED
6. CD5001 CD player - ex-demo - 549 AED
7. PM4001 amplifier - ex-demo - 599 AED
​

1.2 Denon

1. AVR-1507 - new in box- 499 AED
2. AVR-1707 - new in box- 550 AED
3. 390 XP 5.1 HT package including receiver - new in box- 999 AED
4. DVD 2500BT Blu-ray player - new in box- 1999 AED
5. DCD500AE DVD player - new in box- 499 AED
6. DVD 1930 DVD player - new in box- 499 AED​

1.3 Onkyo

1. Onkyo TX-SR608 - new in box - 1999 AED
2. Onkyo TX-SR876 - new in box - 2799 AED​

Note: There are other Onkyo components like CD players and stereo amplifiers in sale but I did not have time to note down the prices

1.4 Wharfedale

1. Diamond 9.CS centre speaker - new in box - 250 AED
2. SW150 Subwoofer - new in box - 525 AED
3. PC10 Subwoofer - new in box - 425 AED
​

Note: There are other wharfedale speaker packages on sale as well. But the VV & Sons sale is on older Wharfedale home cinema package and they not have any offer on diamond series apart from the ones listed above

1.5 Definitive Technologies

1. Pro Cinema 600 5.1 speaker package- new in box - 1499 AED​

1.6 Jamo

1. A102 HCS11 5.1 home cinema package - new in box - 999 AED​

1.7 Klipsch

1. RB51 5.1 speaker system - new in box - 699 AED​

VV & Sons Warehouse Location:
Warehouse number 39, Street 12B
Deira, Dubai
Phone: +971 4 266 2435

Dubai is a peculiar place when it comes to addresses. Though there are street names & building names, they're seldom followed. Instead directions are given using famous landmarks! If any of your friends are going to go this place, ask them to go to the road right behind Hyundai showroom in Deira and then take the second left. The Hyundai showroom is located next to Dnata building in Deira. Dnata building is a famous landmark in Deira and those who have stayed in Dubai for a while should know it! Despite this, if locating the warehouse proves difficult, I'd be happy to guide your friends / relatives by phone.

-thekinge

 

[cooltoad]

Thanks very much thekinge for the useful info.

 

[denom]

Wow, most of the stuff is under 10k!!!! Why can't this happen in India???

 

[iaudio]

exactly! the wharf sw150 is for just 6k! Why is hifi so expensive in India?

 

[denom]

Imagine the biz audio/video companies will do if they price their products comparably in India, they will all make a killing!!! Even if 1/10th of India's population is targeted, they will earn handsomely
Gosh, i'd buy a separate system for each room in my house

 

[thekinge]

Thanks very much thekinge for the useful info.

you're welcome cooltoad!

Wow, most of the stuff is under 10k!!!! Why can't this happen in India???

exactly! the wharf sw150 is for just 6k! Why is hifi so expensive in India?

Imagine the biz audio/video companies will do if they price their products comparably in India, they will all make a killing!!! Even if 1/10th of India's population is targeted, they will earn handsomely
Gosh, i'd buy a separate system for each room in my house

denom & iaudio,

Don't get carried away!! These prices are because of the clearance factor. Otherwise, SW150 costs 1500 AED here in dubai! At that price, I think it is only 5 - 10% cheaper than India. After the clearance is over, the prices of many of these items will go up.

Ofcourse, this being Dubai, from time to time you do get good deals like these which does not happen in India

 

[alcy]

The question is, when is thekinge coming to India ?!

 

[cooltoad]

How will the Denon DCD500AE or Denon dvd1930 be for audio as compared to Marantz 5001? .(if i can add a DAC later on)Seems to be a good deal.

 

[thekinge]

The question is, when is thekinge coming to India ?!

alcy, i will be coming to India by June

 

[thekinge]

How will the Denon DCD500AE or Denon dvd1930 be for audio as compared to Marantz 5001? .(if i can add a DAC later on)Seems to be a good deal.

As far as I know, the quality of the DAC determines the quality of the music we hear and the likes of Marantz / Denon CDPs are supposed to have good quality DACs. I was wondering if it matters at all what source CDP we use if we'regoing to use an external DAC.

To play the devil's advocate, if I were to use optical out from a CD player to an integrated amp and let the amp's DAC do the digital to analog conversion, does it matter if I use a Marantz CDP or an LG CDP? Would appreciate if the senior members can answer this for me!

 

[gobble]

To play the devil's advocate, if I were to use optical out from a CD player to an integrated amp and let the amp's DAC do the digital to analog conversion, does it matter if I use a Marantz CDP or an LG CDP?

Integrated amps or preamps do not have a DAC. The receive analog input signal.

Transport quality is also going to determine jitter. So the benefits of a good external DAC may be offset if you use a poor transport and optical/spdif connection.

Regards

 

[thekinge]

Integrated amps or preamps do not have a DAC. The receive analog input signal.

Transport quality is also going to determine jitter. So the benefits of a good external DAC may be offset if you use a poor transport and optical/spdif connection.

Regards

Thanks gobble, I meant an A/V receiver. I was just going through the 3rd HFV Chennai meeting thread and there is a proposal to evaulate a good quality CDP with a normal CDP (like Sony / LG) + DAC. It would be very useful if the third HFV meet covers that!

I also have a question, does jitter apply even to pure digital signals? My understanding is that once you do digital optical out, then the CDP will just read the CD and pass it on as digital without any conversion. That to me is just reading the bits & bytes in CD and sending it, for which there should be no variation because it is digital. Is my understanding wrong?

 

[gobble]

Thanks gobble, I meant an A/V receiver. I was just going through the 3rd HFV Chennai meeting thread and there is a proposal to evaulate a good quality CDP with a normal CDP (like Sony / LG) + DAC. It would be very useful if the third HFV meet covers that!

I also have a question, does jitter apply even to pure digital signals? My understanding is that once you do digital optical out, then the CDP will just read the CD and pass it on as digital without any conversion. That to me is just reading the bits & bytes in CD and sending it, for which there should be no variation because it is digital. Is my understanding wrong?

This has been discussed before, but for your ref:
Stereophile: Jitter & the Digital Interface
Digital Interfaces - An Introduction - Part 1.1 [English] continue to article 1.2 in this link.
Edit: more links http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue43/jitter.htm

The crux of the matter is that audio sampling is "more realtime" compared to reading data cd packets ...

HTH

 

[thekinge]

This has been discussed before, but for your ref:
Stereophile: Jitter & the Digital Interface
Digital Interfaces - An Introduction - Part 1.1 [English] continue to article 1.2 in this link.
Edit: more links jitter

The crux of the matter is that audio sampling is "more realtime" compared to reading data cd packets ...

HTH

Thank you gobble, it indeed was very helpful. The article "Digital interface - an introduction" was very useful. Felt a bit nostalgic (engineering days!) reading about clock cycles et al. So external DAC or not, the transport has a role to play. Time for me to buy the Marantz CD4001 on sale I think!

 

[iaudio]

Thank you gobble, it indeed was very helpful. The article "Digital interface - an introduction" was very useful. Felt a bit nostalgic (engineering days!) reading about clock cycles et al. So external DAC or not, the transport has a role to play. Time for me to buy the Marantz CD4001 on sale I think!

thekinge, good you have realised that. I am in the same boat and aiming to add a marantz cdp soon. So go get it man!

 

[thekinge]

thekinge, good you have realised that. I am in the same boat and aiming to add a marantz cdp soon. So go get it man!

iaudio, just nursing my wallet for the wounds it suffered due to my purchase of HT package today!! Will buy this in a couple of days once the bleeding stops

 

[cooltoad]

thekinge, my brother inquired at VV&sons, Denon dcd700AE - 899AED, CD6002-999AES(Both sale without remote i guess ). Decided to choose between CD5003(850AED) and Denon 510AE(900AED). Not many reviews for the denon although seems to be a good player. Thinking of picking up Maranz 5003 as its headphone amp should be better for use with my Grado and in any case will be adding a DAC later.

 

[jitubisht]

Thanks for the list, much appreciated. Cheers!

 

[thekinge]

thekinge, my brother inquired at VV&sons, Denon dcd700AE - 899AED, CD6002-999AES(Both sale without remote i guess ). Decided to choose between CD5003(850AED) and Denon 510AE(900AED). Not many reviews for the denon although seems to be a good player. Thinking of picking up Maranz 5003 as its headphone amp should be better for use with my Grado and in any case will be adding a DAC later.

Hi cooltoad,

VV & Sons have multiple showrooms and a warehouse (VV & sons call their warehouse as pro division. Your brother may have inquired the prices in showroom where it sells for much higher. The prices I had published earlier are from the warehouse sale (pro division). Ask your brother to call this number and inquire the prices again - +971 4 266 2435.

 

[thekinge]

thekinge, good you have realised that. I am in the same boat and aiming to add a marantz cdp soon. So go get it man!

Hi iaudio, I have a question for you (since your signature says that you also have an Onkyo AVR). Have you auditioned any Marantz CD Player with Onkyo AVR? How does the combination sound?