HELP Required for setting up home Theater

[jk_chaos]

Alright folks!! Started off my hi fi journey with a stereo set up, now all set to explore the HT world.. I am looking for a 5.1 cinema system in my living room. I have already bought a Panasonic P42U30D for the screen, a Sony BDP S 370. Now comes the part of gettin the right speakers and AVR..
I am on a very tight budget say 30 - 35k and I need to fill up my room with thunderous explosions and gun shots . My Hi Fi dude says in this budget the best thing that can suit my needs is the Onkyo HTS-3400. Although I am game for it I wana actually build up a system. So how do I go about this?
Suggest me some good avrs that can decode formats like Dolby True HD and DTS HD.. Its a medium sized room that I have, hav to check on the dimensions..

Would be great if you guys could help me work out on a system.. I know the budget sounds crappy but well open to upgrades in future..

 

[rocksterraghu]

At 30-35k, you could get a Denon instead. I have heard Onkyos and IMHO they are bright. In that budget, you could only get a HTiB and the choices are few.

 

[jk_chaos]

Changed my plans by a great deal..

Now looking to buy either the Denon 1612 or the Onkyo TX SR 508.. Which would you reccomend??

Also I have been offered a fresh pair of Wharfedale diamond 8.1s at Rs 8,000 with a 1 yr warranty.. Is this a good deal??

Currently my plans are geting the AV receiver, use my old philips tower speakers as a pair of fronts, get the wharfedales as rears. The Sub and center speaker add it on as I have money.. Would that be a good Practise??

Looking for your Suggestions

 

[jk_chaos]

GUYS!! Help would be appreciated

 

[baijuxavior]

GUYS!! Help would be appreciated

FYI, I received my denon 1612 today. I will recommend this for your use. It is 5.1 but can be made 7.1 using additional stereo amp. Currently I have hooked it with the speakers of my John Barrel 5.1 HT and it sounds better. I will need to update the HT or invest in a pair of book shelves for front LR. Remember never to increase the sound above a safe limit as the speaker impedance may be lesser than the recommended 6 ohms. I set the maximum volume to -20db or 61.

As for the warf, please visit group buy sale threads and you can get better options than the 8.1.

 

[jk_chaos]

How much did the 1612 cost you?? The tvm dealer has stopped dealing with DENONs and he has only ONKYO's with him.. yesterday after a lot of conversation, i found out the ONKYO TX SR 308 may do the job... Whats ur say on that??

 

[baijuxavior]

Sorry for the delay in replying. Denon 1612 cost me 27.5K shipped to my home. You can buy it from Cochin profx. Price will be the same. Onkyo 308 is a very basic AVR. You should consider avrs like denon 1312, 1612, yamaha 471, 371 etc. All are within 20-28K.

 

[manoj.p]

I would suggest buying good front 3 speakers and a good sub. For your budget, look at the diy speaker kit group buy, arranged by captrajesh. Then add some cheaper, small surround speakers. That will be WAY better than any htib kit that you will buy. The grub kit will be louder, but not so great sounding. The diy speaker kit will be leaps better than it.

also, if I were you, I would start buying system in parts rather than buying cheaper htib kit due to budget. Meaning, if budget is concern, then start with an avr and stereo speakers and may be center. Then as budget allows later, add subs and surrounds. That way you are not settling for lower quality.

 

[jk_chaos]

@Manoj, Even i am doing the same, As far as my limited knowledge is concerned, the main elements in an HT is the center channel speaker and the subwoofer, correct me if I'm wrong there and this is where I plan to invest the max. to start off I need a receiver, which still i am confused of buying. For the pair of fronts, i have been wharfedales at cheap cost. The major problem is the lack of proper dealers at where I am, no good brands to demo etc. Here the dealer now only stocks Onkyo, Boston Accoustics and Wharfedales. tht is how my choices came down..
Thanks to your advices I have the yamaha RX 471. Onkyo TX SR 508 and Denon 1612 shortlisted.. Should make a move n buy one of these in a couple of weeks time!!

 

[venkatcr]

Also I have been offered a fresh pair of Wharfedale diamond 8.1s at Rs 8,000 with a 1 yr warranty.. Is this a good deal??

They stopped production of 8 series along time ago. So it cannot be a fresh pair.

Cheers

 

[hydra]

...You can buy it from Cochin profx. ...

@baijuxavior, I didn't know ProFX had opened in Cochin! Where are they located?

 

[baijuxavior]

Profx is opposite maharajas college ground mg road. I haven't visited personally. It is there in the profx website also. The shop manager is one mr. Ajithan.

 

[aakashr]

Alright folks!! Started off my hi fi journey with a stereo set up, now all set to explore the HT world.. I am looking for a 5.1 cinema system in my living room. I have already bought a Panasonic P42U30D for the screen, a Sony BDP S 370. Now comes the part of gettin the right speakers and AVR..
I am on a very tight budget say 30 - 35k and I need to fill up my room with thunderous explosions and gun shots . My Hi Fi dude says in this budget the best thing that can suit my needs is the Onkyo HTS-3400. Although I am game for it I wana actually build up a system. So how do I go about this?
Suggest me some good avrs that can decode formats like Dolby True HD and DTS HD.. Its a medium sized room that I have, hav to check on the dimensions..

Would be great if you guys could help me work out on a system.. I know the budget sounds crappy but well open to upgrades in future..

Hi, a good 5.1 will be a perfect match to go with your panny plasma tv. well, with your budget you could go for the onkyo HTS 3400 which is not bad for 25k. But what I would really want you to go for is denon AVR1311/1312 with a good entry level 5.1 satellite speaker system. Some of the good ones are:

Boston Acoustic XS
Wharfedale moviestar cinema 65+
Polk Audio RM 6750
JBL Cinema 300
Jamo 102HCS5
JAMO S 426HC3 5.0 system (Floorstanding speaker system)

suggest you to demo the above and look at your budget to see which one can squeeze in. If need be, you might want to stretch it a bit. all the above systems are pretty good. all the best and do let me know your final choice.

another option could be just getting really good front speakers for now in your budget and then build up your system bit by bit, which is actually the right way to do it. you will end up getting really good front speakers which is the most imp part of a 5.1 system. choice is yours.

Regards

 

[jk_chaos]

Hey! Thanks for your replies guys.. But finally i settled for the Onkyo HTS 3400, mainly coz I had a dealer for the same in my city... and it didn't disappoint.. Its filling up my room the way I wanted it to.. It was my dealer only who insisted to get the 3400 rather than seperates as he knows I am more of a music guy and seldom do I watch movies.. So he was like this one would be the perfect partner..