first timer seeking advice

[delusional]

Hi,

Just registered and this is my very first post. I have just bought a place and am building my first system for it. I need two sets of speakers and amps :

1. In the main living / dining room space. This will be purely music and will need no AV aspect. This will be the main system in the house which will be higher use. Need to start with a source (mostly everything on CD and no ipod at this time).

However, the room is very irregular, and so I would also benefit from getting a sound engineers inputs, except everyone who I have spoken to says they will send someone only after I have placed the order. Also I have two little kids (sub 3 years) so anything sitting on the floor maybe "vulnerable".

2. I have a 32 inch sony Bravia for which I would like some additional sound. However, want to spend little on this as we barely watch TV though we enjoy watching movies and do that more often. This room again is irregular (not a rectangle).

My cumulative budget is 70 k, and can also put the TV speakers purchase off till later.

Lastly, some civil work is on and my contractor is putting pressure to specify where wiring and where speakers need to fit. I was originally planning on bose but have been recently enlightened - but since have just started this process I dont know what to tell him.

Am in gurgaon. Welcome your suggestions.

 

[iaudio]

Delusional, Welcome to HFV.

1. CDP+ Integrated Amp+ Speakers:

CDP - about 23k( Marantz cd6003, CA 540c, Nad 515)

Int Amp- about 20-25k- Marantz Pm5001, CA 540A, Nad 325 or contact Viren Bakshi of Lyrita Audio for a SET amp( that would be even more sweet!)

Speakers- There is about 25k left for speakers! Do you want floorstanders or bookshelves? Since you have small kids at home, are you planning to mount on wall? If so you need a bookshelf speaker which does not have rear port so that you can mount in on wall bracket close to wall. Decide that and we can consider options for that.

Edit:
For the second system, with your TV I would suggest Altec Lansing mx5021 (7k), Audio Engine A2s(10k) if you want 2.1/2 channel solution.
Else check out the logitech z5500(17k) for multichannel sound.

 

[corElement]

I was in the same situation you were in 2 months ago and I live in gurgaon as well. If you have a messenger or gtalk I'll try and help you out.
Glad you didnt go for the bose, the sound was soooo warped when I auditioned for it in mgf mall metropolitan.

 

[venkatcr]

1. In the main living / dining room space. This will be purely music and will need no AV aspect. This will be the main system in the house which will be higher use. Need to start with a source (mostly everything on CD and no ipod at this time).

However, the room is very irregular, and so I would also benefit from getting a sound engineers inputs, except everyone who I have spoken to says they will send someone only after I have placed the order. Also I have two little kids (sub 3 years) so anything sitting on the floor maybe "vulnerable".

I can understand the stand taken by dealers/sound engineers. Generally the custom is to take 75% or 100% of the consulting as advance. Their fear is what they will do if you to refuse to pay after they complete their task. Though you may say I am not like that, they usually go by experience which is not very good. In the recent past, I have heard this happening very often and regularly in Bangalore. One prospective client made a dealer/sound engineer make 22 site visits, took complete CAD drawings, and then simply threw him out saying his work was shoddy! And the client knew nothing about sound engineering !! So how would he know anything about the quality of work?

Unfortunately, unless one takes a look at the CAD drawing and unless you are ready to do some amount of room acoustics, getting any sound engineering done is a waste of time. The best would be to finalise your sitting positing and place speakers for music right in front of you facing you. Since you have children, the options may be in wall speakers or bookshelves hung on the walls. Over a period of time, you can play with the position and angle of these speakers to get the best effect you can.

If you are doing false ceiling, you can also mount speakers on the ceiling. If you do this you may not get real stereo effect.

2. I have a 32 inch sony Bravia for which I would like some additional sound. However, want to spend little on this as we barely watch TV though we enjoy watching movies and do that more often. This room again is irregular (not a rectangle).

There are three ways of looking at this. Many people feel that a 2.0 system is enough for watching movies. If this is what you believe in, get a simple stereo amplifier, connect two speakers, and you are done. If you want real surround sound effect, you have to go in for a 5.1 at the minimum. Since you are on a tight budget, you can look at a HTIB system costing some 30K or so. The third option is to go in for a sound bar made by companies such as Philips, Sonodyne, Yamaha, etc. These are a small bar that you keep under the TV. Using angled speakers, these bounce sound off the side walls to create a surround sound effect.

Essentially, you have three options. One is to work with a professional who will charge you for his service and will complete the project quickly. Second is to work with a HFV member who lives in your area and who is ready to help you. Third is to become a semi-professional yourself, learn everything and undertake the project yourself. This is time consuming.

Cheers