Home Theater under 22k

[sidsweb]

Hello Experts,

i am planning to buy a home theater for my medium sized bedroom...

maybe not really a home theater, but a surround sound system, MAINLY for listening to music.(I am a lot into Trance/Dance, and electronic music).

Movies are not really a priority, as i rarely watch movies from orignal dvds, coz i download em' from torrentz,,(all divx's, so they dont really contain real 5.1 channel sound).

and also, i have read in this forum that HTiBs are not really good when it comes to music as a priority, so can anyone suggest any good Home theater system, Or else a SEtup with good sound and subwoofer for sure.(coz electronic music is nothing without bass!)

firstly i was considering Sony, Samsung and Philips models..but i am waiting for ur opinion as this forum says the sony's not good for music.....and i dunno bout others.....

i really have no an idea about others like Denon, and onkyo...and would be really happy if you guyz help...i really dont want to waste my money on some crappy sound system...:sad:

P.S.: a dvd player is preferred anywayz, coz i do own some dvds, and yeah USB IN (FOR pen drives and stuff for divx and mp3) AND HDMI OUT IS A MUST..!

I am currently residing in Gurgaon, if anyone has an idea of a good shop here for auditioning some systems.

PLZ SUGGEST...Thx in advance.

if we dont reach a conclusion here, i am planning to most probably go for Samsung HT-TZ315 (5.1 channel home theatre system HT-TZ315 - Home Theatre Systems - Home Theatre | SAMSUNG)
or Philips HTS3568 (Philips - DVD home theater system HTS3568/98 - 5.1/7.1 Home theatres - Home theatre - Sound and vision)

 

[hemantwaghe]

Can you stretch r budget?
DVD with USB & HDMI will be around 4 K
Yamaha set Receiver + 5.1 Speakers around 20 K
Onkyo will be similar - onkyo will be better than yamaha

Also check JBL+ Harmon @ 25 K
A lot of retailers offering discounts -just reserch and ask opinion on forum...

 

[moserw]

Well none of the HTIB options will sound even decent for music. Don't really know why you want a surround sound setup if all the content in terms of music and movies is only 2.0 stereo.

My suggestion would be for a budget DVDP with USB and other options from Philips and Audioengine A5 speakers. They will sound a lot better than anything else at 22K.

If you have a PC then the best option would be to go for a 5.1 speaker package and use the remaining money on a good soundcard and upgrading h/w like HDD, RAM, etc. if needed. This will give you the most bang for buck and also the best SQ.

 

[linenthu]

If you need a descent sound setup.... just stick with the stereo thing... cos there are htib packages that will burn your ears...if you're not concerned about using a sub and also surround sound then have a look at Harman/Kardon Sound Sticks II it has got a sub @ 20 watts and 10Wx2 satellites ...This can also be used with yor pc....you'll get it around 10-11k INR and a DVD player will cost merely around 5K INR.....You can select the DVDP of your choice or with some help from HT experts in this forum....I'm also searching for a good stereo setup so if I find anything will tell you....

 

[sidsweb]

thx guyz for ur posts,

i guess u guyz are right.

@moserw

u got it right....i already have quite a high end pc,and also, all my music is in it only!...also, i have got the following outputs already on my pc's back panel (all standard 3.5mm jacks)

Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out
Rear Speaker Out
Side Speaker Out
Front Speaker Out

So, any speaker set specefically you recommend ?, coz i have no idea about any company who sells these, ....also, can i get them in gurgaon? (UNDER 20K)

 

[moserw]

What soundcard do you have? Surprising for a PC to have so many analog outs. For 5.1 you will have lots of options in terms of PC speakers starting from right 4K in Creative, Altec Lansing, etc. But even then they will be PC speakers, not that anything is really wrong with PC speakers, but they are mainly made for gaming, movies, and music only in terms of MP3 rips and such content. To really enjoy music you will have to move away from PC speakers. For your budget Audioengine A5 is quite simply the best route to go. Just Google and read reviews about them. They are very, very good.

Another option is the Altec Lansing MX 5021 speaker set. Even though they are PC speakers they are still made primarily for music listening on the PC and they are really good for this. What's even great is they cost only around 6.5K or so. Other options for 2.1 are there in JBL and HK too and they do sound quite good costing from around 12K and upwards.

For around 8K you can get an Asus Soundcard the Essence STX and this soundcard comes with 2 analog outs for true audiophile use of the PC. I have this card and it just rocks. Also, since you have music on your PC get cPlay and ASIO4ALL (check this forum for them or just Google them). cPlay will amaze you with the SQ you get from your PC. It will leave behind many CDPs in fact it's that good.

Considering you already have a high-end PC that's like 80% of the work done. You can use the 20K budget on a good pair of speakers and a good soundcard. If you have a good soundcard then all the more better.

So consider all these options and decide which way to go.

thx guyz for ur posts,

i guess u guyz are right.

@moserw

u got it right....i already have quite a high end pc,and also, all my music is in it only!...also, i have got the following outputs already on my pc's back panel (all standard 3.5mm jacks)

Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out
Rear Speaker Out
Side Speaker Out
Front Speaker Out

So, any speaker set specefically you recommend ?, coz i have no idea about any company who sells these, ....also, can i get them in gurgaon? (UNDER 20K)

 

[linenthu]

What soundcard do you have? Surprising for a PC to have so many analog outs. For 5.1 you will have lots of options in terms of PC speakers starting from right 4K in Creative, Altec Lansing, etc. But even then they will be PC speakers, not that anything is really wrong with PC speakers, but they are mainly made for gaming, movies, and music only in terms of MP3 rips and such content. To really enjoy music you will have to move away from PC speakers. For your budget Audioengine A5 is quite simply the best route to go. Just Google and read reviews about them. They are very, very good.

Another option is the Altec Lansing MX 5021 speaker set. Even though they are PC speakers they are still made primarily for music listening on the PC and they are really good for this. What's even great is they cost only around 6.5K or so. Other options for 2.1 are there in JBL and HK too and they do sound quite good costing from around 12K and upwards.

For around 8K you can get an Asus Soundcard the Essence STX and this soundcard comes with 2 analog outs for true audiophile use of the PC. I have this card and it just rocks. Also, since you have music on your PC get cPlay and ASIO4ALL (check this forum for them or just Google them). cPlay will amaze you with the SQ you get from your PC. It will leave behind many CDPs in fact it's that good.

Considering you already have a high-end PC that's like 80% of the work done. You can use the 20K budget on a good pair of speakers and a good soundcard. If you have a good soundcard then all the more better.

So consider all these options and decide which way to go.

I don't understand the term High-end PC.... is it some kind of workstation with Xeon Nehalem-EP or Core i7 with DDR3 RAM,quickpath etc or just a pc with quad core extreme or core based with some gigs of DDR2 RAM ....

 

[moserw]

I don't understand the term High-end PC.... is it some kind of workstation with Xeon Nehalem-EP or Core i7 with DDR3 RAM,quickpath etc or just a pc with quad core extreme or core based with some gigs of DDR2 RAM ....

Well me neither, but I'm assuming its a new one with at least dual core or a powerful enough processor to play video and audio.

Most HTPC systems or low end systems are a joke in fact. They are being sold as HTPC machines designed to do only thing and do it well which is a load of crap. Well for starters they would not even handle cPlay.

 

[sidsweb]

Well, not really high end, I just used a phrase...actually it's just a 2 yrs old HP Pavillion desktop..HP desktops usually have all these audio outs onboard.

and by high end i meant that I have upgraded it to arnd 3 gigs of ram and have bought a ZOTAc nvidia 9800 gt 1GB graphics card..so it's quite high end for me as it does the job of playing all the latest games in high settings..

AND THX A LOT GUYZ, I AM GOING OUT TONIGHT AND WILL TELL YOU WHICH ONE I BOUGHT. I will KEEP uR ADVICE IN MIND. Gonna take a look at altec lansing's offerings too, as if they gave me nearly equal sound quality, why waste more money...

THX A LOT GUYZ, keep up the good work.

 

[moserw]

Check for stereo output since music is the main criteria. Altec Lansing Z5500 are THX certified and have a great subwoofer, but not very good for music. For games they rock.

Better to carry an Audio CD and hear for yourself if auditioning is an option which is really difficult with PC vendors.

Well, not really high end, I just used a phrase...actually it's just a 2 yrs old HP Pavillion desktop..HP desktops usually have all these audio outs onboard.

and by high end i meant that I have upgraded it to arnd 3 gigs of ram and have bought a ZOTAc nvidia 9800 gt 1GB graphics card..so it's quite high end for me as it does the job of playing all the latest games in high settings..

AND THX A LOT GUYZ, I AM GOING OUT TONIGHT AND WILL TELL YOU WHICH ONE I BOUGHT. I will KEEP uR ADVICE IN MIND. Gonna take a look at altec lansing's offerings too, as if they gave me nearly equal sound quality, why waste more money...

THX A LOT GUYZ, keep up the good work.