Home Theatre Advice

[prashant.aiyar]

Hey guys ,

After spending quite some time reading on this forum , I can confidently say I've moved on from the days of yore wherein I would have bought a Sony or Philips HTIB without blinking an eyelid.

Now , I have a budget in the range of Rs. 40,000 to Rs.60,000 and wanted to purchase a good 5.1 system ( AVR and Speakers ) with a usage of 70:30 (movies:music) . The size of my room is 18'x13' .

The speakers ( front and rear ) will have to be wall mounted due to space constraints near the TV.

I understand that the choice of a system varies from Individual to Individual, but what I need is a starting point.

Eagerly await some advice on this matter !

 

[argho]

In my view :
- by a Denon 1610 for Rs 25 K or less
- audition the speaker packages available for 35K and choose

No idea which 5.1 speaker packages you can get at this price. The only one I know of is the Polk RM705. I would suggest that you look for something better.

 

[vinsks]

i think following link with help you lot according to your requirement

http://www.hifivision.com/home-thea...ocinema-600-vs-energy-take-classic-5-1-a.html

http://www.hifivision.com/speakers/11463-tower-speakers-denon-1911-a-2.html#post161394

go through them. and keep audition.

 

[uziel]

could u just mention the ambience, whats the color of the wall, the size of the room n how many doors n windows??

 

[pannags]

Hi,
Hi,

Welcome to HFV.

One other option is the Onkyo TX-SR608, which retails for 45k in India and can be bought in the US or Europe for about 35k. This AVR has a host of features that make it future-proof for atleast the next 5-7 years.

You can then buy a pair of front speakers and complete your setup in gradual steps.

The other equivalent option is the Denon1911 (slated for release very soon) or the Marantz 5004.

The best approach is to shortlist what you feel meets your needs and audition live.

Happy HiFiing,
Pannags

 

[prashant.aiyar]

Hey guys , thanks a lot for replying ! Uziel, the HT system is to be setup in the drawing room which is adjacent to the dining area ( there's no door between the two rooms ).

The size of the room is 18'x13'. Does the colour of the wall have any role to play in the acoustics ? I'm a beginner, so pardon my lack of knowledge ! It is off-white.

Pannags, how much do the 1911 and Marantz 5004 retail for ? vinsks and argho, thank you for the tip !

 

[pannags]

Pannags, how much do the 1911 and Marantz 5004 retail for ? vinsks and argho, thank you for the tip !

The marantz 5004 I auditioned in Coimbatore was paired with a Monitor Audio 5.1 speaker set of 100wpc. The AVR alone was somewhere in the range of 40k.

Not sure of Denon 1911, as this is still not out?

I'm not sure if you'd like to try Yamaha. The prices in India seem to be very resonable and there are quite a few fans out there

 

[prashant.aiyar]

I'm not sure if you'd like to try Yamaha. The prices in India seem to be very resonable and there are quite a few fans out there

Any particular AVR or Speaker from yamaha you had in mind ?

I've only just started auditioning. Thought of starting this thread as I was overwhelmed by the number of choices available in the market !

The Denon 1610 + Polk Audio RM6750 combo sounded good. But is there any combo better than this ? Its difficult to find dealers for most of the companies mentioned on this forum in Vadodara. Have to do a lot of digging !

 

[Kittu]

You can try Yamaha 497 and 597 series of AVRs .. Again Yamaha are more musical since you have more preference towards movies I would recomend you to choose from Denon / Onkyo which have more features like 1080p upscaling etc.... Speakers better start with bookshelves and start building the system slowly . 60k is a good budget....

 

[prashant.aiyar]

The building up part is the problem. Wanted to buy the entire system in one go, one which is not too pricey and reasonably future proof. I have a WDTV Live which I'll be pairing the system with.

 

[prashant.aiyar]

The building up part is the problem. Wanted to buy the system in one go, one which is worth the price and reasonably future proof. I have a WDTV Live which I'll be pairing the HT system with.

 

[prashant.aiyar]

Just went to audition a Marantz SR3053 (22k) and Mordaunt-Short Alumni Series (5.1) (46k) combo which sounded great. But the SR3053 doesn't do DTS- TrueHD decoding which is a big problem as I want the system to be future proof .

Is the price I've been quoted good ? And any alternatives to the Marantz SR3053 receiver ? If there are any better combinations for the same price ( can't go any higher ! ) do let me know !

 

[venkatcr]

50-60K is a very odd range. If you are looking at separates, this figure only allow you to scrape at the bottom of the ladder. A reasonably good system would consist of about 40K for a receiver, and about 70K for 5.1 speakers. This does not leave much for cables, ICs, source, cabinet, and other accessories.

A better option would be to look at some top of the line HTiBs. Some 50K would get you a very good HTiB, and you will some cash left for accessories. These new HTiBs would process HD Audio.

cheers

 

[prashant.aiyar]

A better option would be to look at some top of the line HTiBs. Some 50K would get you a very good HTiB, and you will some cash left for accessories. These new HTiBs would process HD Audio.

cheers

Any particular HTiB you had in mind ? And is the Marantz+Alumni series not worth buying for that price ? Including the cost of wall mounts , wires etc. the total quote given to me was 72,500 for that combo.

 

[prashant.aiyar]

This is a bit urgent, need to get a system by next week. So guys please help !

 

[venkatcr]

Prashanth, as I said, an AVR that decodes HD Audio will cost between 35 to 45K. even assuming say 40K, you budget shoots up to 80 odd K.

Also audition Mission speakers. You can get a decent set with front floor standing speakers around that same price.

Do not do this in a hurry and regret later.

Cheers

 

[prashant.aiyar]

Hey Venkat. I won't be able to get floor standing speakers due to space constraints. About the HD audio decoding facility of the AVR , will it make that much of a difference to me ? As in , if I get a blu-ray player, the player itself can decode the audio.

Do the DTS-TrueHD and similar HD Audio formats make that much of a difference in a 5.1 HT system ? And as far as adding on to the HT goes , I do not intend on doing so for atleast another 4 years.

 

[venkatcr]

There is a very audible difference in sound between what you hear from a DVD and what your hear from a Blu-Ray. I would say a HD Audio does make a huge difference.

Since you are not planning for any enhancements for 4 years, take a little time now and buy the best you can within your budget.

Cheers

 

[prashant.aiyar]

Hmm , if that is the case , I probably should check out some other AVR's.

 

[prashant.aiyar]

The search for a complete HT system continues ! I think for the speaker package , I'll go with the MS Alumni series , firstly because I did like the speakers and secondly , there aren't many good dealers selling speakers from brands like Wharfedale, Q Acoustics etc here.

Now the AVR which I shortlisted before ( Marantz SR3053 ) seems to be too basic and after having a chat with venkatcr , I need to look for one with HD Audio decoding facilities. I dont need an AVR supporting 7 channels. Will keep my HT system limited to 5 channels and don't intend on adding any in the near future.

Can someone suggest a good AVR which will match the MS Alumni speakers and would be great for movies and reasonably good for music aswell . The SR3053 was costing 22k. So do suggest an AVR under 30k. Cant keep increasing my budget ! As it is , it has gone from 25k to 75k lol !