Entry Level HTib - Onkyo HT-S3800 vs Yamaha YHT-1840 vs Pioneer HTP-074

[RaghavendraMuppuri]

Hello Experts !!

I am new to this forum. I want to buy an entry level HTib setup. Could you please help me in choosing the best one. I have very minimal knowledge on home theater systems.

Below are few options i have come across in my research online.
Onkyo HT-S3800 (I have seen lot of negative reviews on this particular model in Amazon. Seems it has issues with HDMI card.)
Yamaha YHT-1840
Pioneer HTP-074 (Not able find reviews for this product online.)

I saw that Onkyo HT-S3900 is available in US. Is this an upgraded version to 3800?

Budget ~ 30K to 40K (40K is maximum budget)
Living room size: 15 x 13 feet
Viewing distance ~11 feet
Sources: DTH STB, Phones via Bluetooth, Laptop
Content usage: Movies ~ 70%, Music ~30%
Expectations: A decent surround sound system with crystal clear sounds especially dialogues.

Please suggest any other models that are better than these and also DIY setup options that fits my budget.

 

[elangoas]

Budget ~ 30K to 40K (40K is maximum budget)

Below are few options i have come across in my research online.
Onkyo HT-S3800 (I have seen lot of negative reviews on this particular model in Amazon. Seems it has issues with HDMI card.)
Yamaha YHT-1840
Pioneer HTP-074 (Not able find reviews for this product online.)

Yamaha YHT 1840 from the above list is a better choice as it has sub pre-out.. The other two models have passive subwoofer.. A must feature when you decide to upgrade subwoofer..

I saw that Onkyo HT-S3900 is available in US. Is this an upgraded version to 3800?

Looks like it is the upgraded model.. But that too has passive subs..

So yamaha YHT 1840..

 

[Krishroy2004]

Yamaha YHT 1840....
Your 70% usage will be movies and for movies, Subwoofer plays an important role. In YHT 1840 you will get a SUB pre-out to connect an active subwoofer. Add an active sub later when budget permits.
For dialogue clarity you need to replace the center speaker with a good one if required.

 

[RaghavendraMuppuri]

@Praveensk @elangoas @Krishroy2004
Thank you very much folks for the response.

I have made a list of dealers in Bangalore to go and audition these HT sets. I am not in a hurry and I want to take time to decide on it.

I will update once I have done couple of auditions.

Definitely, your inputs mean a lot in this process.

 

[efernand1]

Hello Experts !!

I am new to this forum. I want to buy an entry level HTib setup. Could you please help me in choosing the best one. I have very minimal knowledge on home theater systems.

Below are few options i have come across in my research online.
Onkyo HT-S3800 (I have seen lot of negative reviews on this particular model in Amazon. Seems it has issues with HDMI card.)
Yamaha YHT-1840
Pioneer HTP-074 (Not able find reviews for this product online.)

I saw that Onkyo HT-S3900 is available in US. Is this an upgraded version to 3800?

Budget ~ 30K to 40K (40K is maximum budget)
Living room size: 15 x 13 feet
Viewing distance ~11 feet
Sources: DTH STB, Phones via Bluetooth, Laptop
Content usage: Movies ~ 70%, Music ~30%
Expectations: A decent surround sound system with crystal clear sounds especially dialogues.

Please suggest any other models that are better than these and also DIY setup options that fits my budget.

Welcome to HFV!

As suggested by others, compare the specs, audition and also explore what upgrade possibilities are there in the near future as sooner or later the upgrade bug will bite you!

Possibly you may need to stretch your budget a bit to get something worth....so keep that in mind.

Also if going ahead for an online purchase, please check on warranty and after sales service....most online purchases are NOT supported or entertained by Onkyo or Yamaha ...unless purchased from their portals or authorised dealers.....

It is always better to check which dealer is offering the best rate along with warranty.....then you reach out to the brand (Yamaha / Onkyo) via email to check if warranty will be entertained if the purchase is made etc.

Also do read the dedicated owner threads we have for most brands (Taga, Yamaha, Pioneer, Onkyo, Marantz etc.) here first hand owner review and feedback is available

All the best!

 

[RaghavendraMuppuri]

Hello Guys !!

I have auditioned Yamaha YHT-1840 and ONKYO S3800. I could not find any difference between them.

One dealer advised another combination - Yamaha AVR 3067 with JBL cinema 510 5.1 speakers with an active sub-woofer. This setup sounded better than the above two. And he quoted 35K for this setup. But I found these are old model products. Is it OK to buy this and is it worth the price he is quoting?

Same dealer(DNI Home theater) quoted 28K for Yamaha YHT-1840.

Please advise.

 

[MaSh]

Hello Guys !!

I have auditioned Yamaha YHT-1840 and ONKYO S3800. I could not find any difference between them.

One dealer advised another combination - Yamaha AVR 3067 with JBL cinema 510 5.1 speakers with an active sub-woofer. This setup sounded better than the above two. And he quoted 35K for this setup. But I found these are old model products. Is it OK to buy this and is it worth the price he is quoting?

Same dealer(DNI Home theater) quoted 28K for Yamaha YHT-1840.

Please advise.

In this hobby nothing is New. Whats New today is obsolete in a couple of months. So dont decide based on that. Look at the Input options, Sound Quality and flexibility in terms of future speaker upgrades. So considering that, I guess the suggestions from the dealer which sounded better is the better option.

MaSh

 

[RaghavendraMuppuri]

Hello @MaSh

Thank you for your response. This clarifies my confusion. Definitely, Yamaha 3067 + JBL speakers sounded better, I guess active sub gave that difference.

I also auditioned, Denon 550BT + Polk tl1600 speakers(Price ~ 80K). This is better than the above setup, but it is way above my budget.

So for now, I am leaning towards Yamaha AVR + JBL speakers, and I may buy this week itself.

Another Dealer suggested Yamaha 3067 + Polk tl1600 (Price ~ 50K). It is tempting to go for this, but I felt Polk is a little better than JBL, for me it did not justify the price difference. This is just my feeling.

Please let me know if I should explore any other options in the budget 30K to 50K.

 

[ajuvignesh]

Hello Guys !!

I have auditioned Yamaha YHT-1840 and ONKYO S3800. I could not find any difference between them.

One dealer advised another combination - Yamaha AVR 3067 with JBL cinema 510 5.1 speakers with an active sub-woofer. This setup sounded better than the above two. And he quoted 35K for this setup. But I found these are old model products. Is it OK to buy this and is it worth the price he is quoting?

Same dealer(DNI Home theater) quoted 28K for Yamaha YHT-1840.

Please advise.

I would avoid the 3067 just because it doesn't support HDCP 2.2. You can go with the Yamaha AVR, HTR 3072.

I was in the similar dilemma and went with yht 1840. I'm happy about the purchase. Had 3072 was available then, I would have gone with it plus taga harmony's 5.0 setup. I already have an active sub and studio monitors for music needs, my 1840 is just right for casual movie watching. Also, please spend some money on basic acoustics. Cheers.

 

[MaSh]

Hello @MaSh

Thank you for your response. This clarifies my confusion. Definitely, Yamaha 3067 + JBL speakers sounded better, I guess active sub gave that difference.

I also auditioned, Denon 550BT + Polk tl1600 speakers(Price ~ 80K). This is better than the above setup, but it is way above my budget.

So for now, I am leaning towards Yamaha AVR + JBL speakers, and I may buy this week itself.

Another Dealer suggested Yamaha 3067 + Polk tl1600 (Price ~ 50K). It is tempting to go for this, but I felt Polk is a little better than JBL, for me it did not justify the price difference. This is just my feeling.

Please let me know if I should explore any other options in the budget 30K to 50K.

Stick to your budget and get the setup that sounds best to you. It's a never ending road where there is a better combination at every 10k intervals. You can see people hunting for the 'best' setup even with a couple of lakhs as budget on this very forum. So stick to your budget.

Remember, this is not your last setup, you will upgrade in a couple of years, so get what sounds good to you today.

MaSh

 

[RaghavendraMuppuri]

Hello Guys,

I finally bought a HT setup. Yamaha HTR-3067 + JBL cinema 510 speaker set. Price = 34.5k

I just finished watching a movie in that and the experience is pretty good. Very clear sound and bass is more than I want.

Guy who came for installation had not calibrated the system. I am not getting enough volume from the surround/rear speakers. I increased the level for those two speakers in settings, but still no improvement.

Please give me some pointers to learn how to calibrate the system. I want to learn more about the audio and acoustics. Please advise.

 

[dr_rocket]

Hello Guys,

I finally bought a HT setup. Yamaha HTR-3067 + JBL cinema 510 speaker set. Price = 34.5k

I just finished watching a movie in that and the experience is pretty good. Very clear sound and bass is more than I want.

Guy who came for installation had not calibrated the system. I am not getting enough volume from the surround/rear speakers. I increased the level for those two speakers in settings, but still no improvement.

Please give me some pointers to learn how to calibrate the system. I want to learn more about the audio and acoustics. Please advise.

What was the source of the movie. Was it 5.1 ?

 

[MaSh]

Hello Guys,

I finally bought a HT setup. Yamaha HTR-3067 + JBL cinema 510 speaker set. Price = 34.5k

I just finished watching a movie in that and the experience is pretty good. Very clear sound and bass is more than I want.

Guy who came for installation had not calibrated the system. I am not getting enough volume from the surround/rear speakers. I increased the level for those two speakers in settings, but still no improvement.

Please give me some pointers to learn how to calibrate the system. I want to learn more about the audio and acoustics. Please advise.

Can you post the screen shots of your speaker level and crossover settings after running the auto setup?

Do you have a Bluray player? Play a Bluray cd or download one of those Dolby or DTS or atmos demo tracks. That will give you a baseline. You could also ask the dealer to give you a couple of tracks to check.

The surrounds' contribution is about 10% only in an entire movie. They are for giving an immersive feeling not necessarily distinct speaker playback like the fronts and centre.

MaSh

 

[RaghavendraMuppuri]

Hello @MaSh

I have done auto calibration using YPAO and then tuned the levels of individual speakers for my liking.

I have watched a movie, file has proper DTS audio(unfortunately size of the movie is >10GB). Difference is pretty noticeable.

Also, I have turned off the Virutal Cinema front, and then I experienced the proper surround sound effect.

Now the setup sounds almost like in a theater I am more than happy

Only thing I did not understand is the crossover. Auto calibration set it to 160.

 

[shankara.kris]

Leave the crossover settings like that as it is correctly determined for your satellite speakers.

 

[MaSh]

Hello @MaSh

I have done auto calibration using YPAO and then tuned the levels of individual speakers for my liking.

I have watched a movie, file has proper DTS audio(unfortunately size of the movie is >10GB). Difference is pretty noticeable.

Also, I have turned off the Virutal Cinema front, and then I experienced the proper surround sound effect.

Now the setup sounds almost like in a theater I am more than happy

Only thing I did not understand is the crossover. Auto calibration set it to 160.

That's fine. Since you are using satellites which do not have much of low-end. Hence the high crossover. Let it be.

Glad you are enjoying your setup. Let it burn in for a while. By then you'll be doing more tweaking.

MaSh

 

[Manishpatel722]

Hello Guys,

I finally bought a HT setup. Yamaha HTR-3067 + JBL cinema 510 speaker set. Price = 34.5k

I just finished watching a movie in that and the experience is pretty good. Very clear sound and bass is more than I want.

Guy who came for installation had not calibrated the system. I am not getting enough volume from the surround/rear speakers. I increased the level for those two speakers in settings, but still no improvement.

Please give me some pointers to learn how to calibrate the system. I want to learn more about the audio and acoustics. Please advise.

Hi, i am in talk with one person for used system..
He has 3067 + jbl510 =rs27k slightly used
3072in htib with nsp40 speakers n 100w active sub woofer(8inch ns050) = rs 31k pack piece but without bill..

3072 is recent one with Bluetooth av receiver n hdcp2. 2 compare to other..


In dilemma wgich one should i go for..?? N price to negotiate?

Thanks

 

[efernand1]

Hi, i am in talk with one person for used system..
He has 3067 + jbl510 =rs27k slightly used
3072in htib with nsp40 speakers n 100w active sub woofer(8inch ns050) = rs 31k pack piece but without bill..

3072 is recent one with Bluetooth av receiver n hdcp2. 2 compare to other..


In dilemma wgich one should i go for..?? N price to negotiate?

Thanks

Hi

Audition both systems with the content you will use (music and movie clip) to decide what sounds good to you and what features you will really use based on your actual budget.

Remember what sounds good to one person does not necessarily sound great to the other person due to personal preferences and adjustments....also what sounds great at a dealers treated room may sound bad at your home / untreated room you will place the system in......dont rush decide wisely trust your ears....nothing is future proof....features keep getting added with changing models every 6-9 months...

 

[esakthi]

Hello Guys,

I finally bought a HT setup. Yamaha HTR-3067 + JBL cinema 510 speaker set. Price = 34.5k

I just finished watching a movie in that and the experience is pretty good. Very clear sound and bass is more than I want.

Guy who came for installation had not calibrated the system. I am not getting enough volume from the surround/rear speakers. I increased the level for those two speakers in settings, but still no improvement.

Please give me some pointers to learn how to calibrate the system. I want to learn more about the audio and acoustics. Please advise.

Looks like a Nice deal to get it for 34.5k. Can you please let know the dealer name in bangalore ? It'd be helpful.

 

[James Ck]

Hi, i am in talk with one person for used system..
He has 3067 + jbl510 =rs27k slightly used
3072in htib with nsp40 speakers n 100w active sub woofer(8inch ns050) = rs 31k pack piece but without bill..

3072 is recent one with Bluetooth av receiver n hdcp2. 2 compare to other..


In dilemma wgich one should i go for..?? N price to negotiate?

Thanks

Do you anyone/dealer of Yamaha and others in Delhi??