Home theatre set up

[pechetti]

Hi all of you,

I am planning to set up a home theatre.
i live in vishakhapatnam.
i have been to the JBL shop here and auditioned.
Harman kardon AVR 255,
FS JBL studio 190
Centre JBL studio 120c
Sub JBL studio 150p
note very sure about the sorround speakers.
This whole package is costing about 1.15L

Can you suggest something better setup at the same price.
As my budget is limited to about 1L.

With a denon 1911/1912 which speaker setup work well, Wharfdale diamond 10.5 or Polk audio 500/400 tsi

I will be mostly watching movies/TV and music sometimes only.
Guys help me in this, as my knowledge is very limited.
i keep reading the posts got awareness and some idea about the HT set up.

 

[Kittu]

In that budget you will get Denon + Paradigm 5.1(front towers) with Velodyne sub. Way better than what you have posted.

Many other combinations also can be considered in that budget.

 

[Flash]

You can do a lot better than the Harman Kardon / JBL setup you mentioned for a 1.1 lakh budget

Denon 1911 (A/V reciever) - Rs 32,000
Wharfedale 9.6 (Front Towers) - Rs 35,000
Wharfedale 9cs (center Channel) - Rs 11,000
Wharfedale 9 DFS (Rear dipole) - Rs 11,000
Subwoofer (Klipsch SW 450/ wharfedale SW 150) - Rs 23,000

------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL - Rs 1,12,000

These are appox prices but with cables etc should work out to around 1,1lakh or less

This is defintily way better than the harman/jbl setup. more musical and definitly VFM

Denon's compliment the Wahrfedale 9 / 10 very well . However I feel the 9.6 is way better than the 10.5 having heard and used both. the 9.6 dedicated midrange as well well as bigger woofers (8 inch x 2)
the 9.6 is comparable to the 10.7 similar specs except for the larger woofers on the 9.6
Infact with the 9.6 you could do without the sub for a short while and save on some quid.
A fellow HiFiian member has reviewed the 9.6 very well please take a look at the review

The 10 series is a newer series and there has been subtle changes to the cabinet design and some addition to bling on the cone surrounds etc. Sonically very little to differentiate between the 9 and 10.

For example
Most people prefer the 9.1 / 9.2 to the 10.1 / 10.2


However i would suggest that you audition the 9's as well as the 10's and decide which one you like better. bec at the end of the day what sounds nice to your hear may not sound nice to mine and vice versa


CONS of the setup i mentioned above
- You may have cops knocking on your front door for violating sound norms

 

[dlkanth]

with ur budget ,u can really go for good set than the JBL
with 1911/1912
Paradigm speaker 5.1 with velodyne 10" sub
Tannoy speaker 5.1 with velodyne 10" sub
Jamo s606 with a Jamo 250 sub
try have a feel of these before u finalise..

 

[jagdish_p]

Hi all of you,

I am planning to set up a home theatre.
i live in vishakhapatnam.
i have been to the JBL shop here and auditioned.
Harman kardon AVR 255,
FS JBL studio 190
Centre JBL studio 120c
Sub JBL studio 150p
note very sure about the sorround speakers.
This whole package is costing about 1.15L

Can you suggest something better setup at the same price.
As my budget is limited to about 1L.

With a denon 1911/1912 which speaker setup work well, Wharfdale diamond 10.5 or Polk audio 500/400 tsi

I will be mostly watching movies/TV and music sometimes only.
Guys help me in this, as my knowledge is very limited.
i keep reading the posts got awareness and some idea about the HT set up.

Trying to decide on a speaker combination is really confusing with so many options available.

I will list some of the factors based on my experience.

a) Is it a dedicated Home Theater room where you can freely crank up the volume with out complaints from neighbors and other family members? You will have to factor this for the wattage.
b) I feel even book shelve speakers are equally good. This might be a good option if space is a constraint .
c) You cant go wrong if you stick to a reputed brand , get all the 5 speakers from the same series so that the sound matches.
d) Ultimately you will have to decide based on your audition in the show room. This can be confusing - carry your own music CD/USB so that comparison is easier.

 

[pechetti]

Many thanks for your suggestions.

I shall audition the wharfedale during my visit to hyderabad.

Regarding the Paradigm set up, can you confirm if this the set up you have suggested.

FS Monitor 7, CC190, ADP190 and Velodyne impact 10

Can some one tell me where i can find these in Hyderabad.

Also between Denon 1911/1912 which is a better option.

As pointed out by Jagadish, at present i live in a top floor of an apartment.
There might me issues with the sound levels.

Any way very soon i shall be building my own house with a seperate TV room. hence this will also be solved.

await your feed back to help me take a decision.

I shall decide between the Wharfedale and Paradigm.

The Jamo S606 doesnot have any good reviews in this forum.

Thanks once again to all for guiding me.:clapping:

 

[aakashr]

You can do a lot better than the Harman Kardon / JBL setup you mentioned for a 1.1 lakh budget

Denon 1911 (A/V reciever) - Rs 32,000
Wharfedale 9.6 (Front Towers) - Rs 35,000
Wharfedale 9cs (center Channel) - Rs 11,000
Wharfedale 9 DFS (Rear dipole) - Rs 11,000
Subwoofer (Klipsch SW 450/ wharfedale SW 150) - Rs 23,000

------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL - Rs 1,12,000

These are appox prices but with cables etc should work out to around 1,1lakh or less

This is defintily way better than the harman/jbl setup. more musical and definitly VFM

Denon's compliment the Wahrfedale 9 / 10 very well . However I feel the 9.6 is way better than the 10.5 having heard and used both. the 9.6 dedicated midrange as well well as bigger woofers (8 inch x 2)
the 9.6 is comparable to the 10.7 similar specs except for the larger woofers on the 9.6
Infact with the 9.6 you could do without the sub for a short while and save on some quid.
A fellow HiFiian member has reviewed the 9.6 very well please take a look at the review

The 10 series is a newer series and there has been subtle changes to the cabinet design and some addition to bling on the cone surrounds etc. Sonically very little to differentiate between the 9 and 10.

For example
Most people prefer the 9.1 / 9.2 to the 10.1 / 10.2


However i would suggest that you audition the 9's as well as the 10's and decide which one you like better. bec at the end of the day what sounds nice to your hear may not sound nice to mine and vice versa


CONS of the setup i mentioned above
- You may have cops knocking on your front door for violating sound norms

perfect setup!!! I totally agree

 

[Kittu]

htstore.in call lokesh and talk to him. He can ship to your place. Bangalore is a better place compare to HYD for AV systems. So you can make a weekend trip to bangalore , audition few setups and decide.

 

[Flash]

As posted by another Hifian the differences bewtween 1911 and 1912

-1912 is network capable using LAN/usb Wifi adaptor, 1911 is not
-1912 has 6 HDMI 1.4 inputs, 1911 has 4
-1912 has no 1080p upscaling, 1911 has
-1912 has Apple Airplay, 1911 has no airplay but you can control the iphone/ipod connected via usb port in the front using the denon remote (music only).

Its up to you whether you find these features feasible for the price premium

I infact did an audtion of the Paradigm Monitor 7 ver 9 a week ago.

It speakers lacked bass severely. I actually thought something was set up incorrectly on the Denon 2311 which it was hoked on it.
Its got decent mid and high and gives u a wide soundstage. Lower the serious lack of Midbass and Lower bass is what i found inexcusable for the price point. However due to its diminutive size would have WAF (wife acceptance factor) but coupled with a sub it should do the job
I next reviewed the Klipsch reference series floor standers ( RF - 42 , RF -52, Rf -62 )
IMO the RF-42/52 is in your price band. and pretty decent. However because of its horn tweeters it can cause fatigue after several hours. But for movies yes they do sound good and relatively flat response in the mid/ low frequencies. it beat the paradigm hands down.

I am planning to put up a detailed review on the speakers I auditioned when i find the time

If you give us some details of the room where you are planning on setting up your HT it would help us guide you better
Questions

1. Size of Room (LxB)
2. Sitting postion relative to front speakers
3. Distance between left and right speaker (very important for soundstage)

Most large floorstanders come into their element with the pile on of db's. which may not be a good thing for you Bookshelves may also be a good option for a kickass sq considering you are going to add a fairly decent sub.

-F l a s h-

Many thanks for your suggestions.

I shall audition the wharfedale during my visit to hyderabad.

Regarding the Paradigm set up, can you confirm if this the set up you have suggested.

FS Monitor 7, CC190, ADP190 and Velodyne impact 10

Can some one tell me where i can find these in Hyderabad.

Also between Denon 1911/1912 which is a better option.

As pointed out by Jagadish, at present i live in a top floor of an apartment.
There might me issues with the sound levels.

Any way very soon i shall be building my own house with a seperate TV room. hence this will also be solved.

await your feed back to help me take a decision.

I shall decide between the Wharfedale and Paradigm.

The Jamo S606 doesnot have any good reviews in this forum.

Thanks once again to all for guiding me.:clapping:

 

[avidyarthy]

Most important info desired ......... how big is your room?

 

[pechetti]

The room size is 15' x 15'
The seating position will be about 11' relative to front speakers
The distance between the left and right will be about 4'.
There is a false ceiling and for surround speakers i have wired at all 4 corners of the room.
All the wiring is via pipe inside the false ceiling.

 

[Flash]

Your room size is pretty decent for the floorstanders. Although a square room is not the ideal setup for HT because because deep bass sound waves misbehave or "pile up" in square or extra-long rooms. They produce "standing waves," which result in areas with bass peaks where you'll hear way too much bass, and "nulls," where you'll hear virtually no deep bass. Sometimes these areas of too much or too little bass will vary every one or two feet.
However with proper placement wrt your seating position you should be able to overcome standing waves and nulls


If possible try and distance the front speakers atleast 6 feet apart to get a better soundstage and wider dispersal. because at the present 4 feet you mentioned relative to your sitting position 11 feet away . you will not be able to discern sounds coming from the left channel and the right channel.
Example - A movie scene where a car is travelling from left to right you would (may) not hear the actual sound panning from left speaker to right.
However we dont live in a ideal world and you can do well with your existing plan.

The wharfedales i mentioned earlier are warm speakers and perfect for the late night movie / music session without causing too much fatigue however they are bassy and can go pretty low down. the problem with the 9.6 is that it is power hungry and most users add a power amp and get it connected to their pre outs of their avr to get the best out of it, but thats a costly proposition.
However most people would be more than happy driving it with a decent AVR like the 1911/1912 for movies

the Klipgsch RF 45/52/62 because of it high sensitivity are fairly easy to drive however there is a difference between the wharf's and the Klipsch

The klipsch are bright because of their horn tweeters. since you are new into HT.
a quick explanation of Bright vs warm speakers

Warm speakers (wharfedale Silk dome tweeters) : sound balanced the highs are not overpowering and can be a little too laid back or mellow. for example in a movie scene when played at a loud volume of Gun shots / Car Horn / car Crash would not have your ears ringing or make you lift your remote to turn the volume down but you would at the same time may not put you at the edge of the seat (and I mean MAY)
Generally with warm speakers you could probably watch 3 movies back to back without ear fatigue

Bright speakers (Klipsch Horn tweeter) : the trebles sort of over power the other ranges the same movie scene of Gun shots / Car Horn / car Crash would probably have your ears ringing or make you turn down the volume a wee bit however it would definitly put you at the edge of your seat. but with bright speakers ear fatigue sets in a lot faster after a single movie or probably an hour of music you may want to switch it off to give your ears a break. Horn tweeters i feel tend to sound over processed

IMO... Klipsch reference series is fantastic for Movies. Wharfedales are fantastic for both movies / music.

You should audition both and you will immediately realize the difference between the sonic signatures.

Some people like Horn while some Silk dome. it all boils down to personal preference

For me personally.

Wharfedale / British Speakers for Music , late night movies, long sessions, for background listening when you have friends over or just want to relax

Klispch for Movies and movies only sounds fantastic for that application. but could be overbearing after a short while it tends to scream at you.

Then there are Paradigm Monitor 7, which gives you the best of both worlds but lack bass extension and depth.

There are a lot of other brands. So audition , audition, audition.

 

[pechetti]

Dear Flash,

Many thanks for the detailed explanation. basis your information, i am more inclined towards the wharfedale.
I will be travelling to bangalore end of the month.
I shall audition the Wharfedale, Paradigm and the Tannoy with Denon 1911.
One thing i need to mention here, all of you have given me a very good insight into the world of HT.
with the kind of information available here,its amazing!

Thanks and rgds
:thumbsup:

 

[Flash]

YOUR WELCOME ... All the best with your search.

Dear Flash,

Many thanks for the detailed explanation. basis your information, i am more inclined towards the wharfedale.
I will be travelling to bangalore end of the month.
I shall audition the Wharfedale, Paradigm and the Tannoy with Denon 1911.
One thing i need to mention here, all of you have given me a very good insight into the world of HT.
with the kind of information available here,its amazing!

Thanks and rgds
:thumbsup:

 

[Kittu]

Dear Flash,

Many thanks for the detailed explanation. basis your information, i am more inclined towards the wharfedale.
I will be travelling to bangalore end of the month.
I shall audition the Wharfedale, Paradigm and the Tannoy with Denon 1911.
One thing i need to mention here, all of you have given me a very good insight into the world of HT.
with the kind of information available here,its amazing!

Thanks and rgds
:thumbsup:

Wharfedale you can audition at vectors.
Paradigm & Tannoy @ Htstore.in.
Polk RTI & KEF IQ @ profx.
Monitor audio @ Audio planet.

Happy auditions.

 

[avidyarthy]

@ 1 L .... VFM purchase would be Wharfedale from your perspective. If you could stretch it by 25-30 K more, you just might be able to go in for Monitor Audio. They beat the Wharfs in all departments, which is noticeable.

 

[amanojp]

Hello Friends ( Flash & Kittu In particular),

I have decided to go for the DENON AVR 1612.

My room size is - 17 ft x 12ft
Listening preference - 70% Music ; 30% Movies

Kindly suggest :

1. Floor Speakers - (Make and Price)
2. Woofer/Sub - (Make and Price)
3. Satellite speakers - (Make and Price)
4. Centre speaker

My Budget is @1,00,000/- for the whole package (5.1)

P.S. - I have the cabling for speakers already in place.

Thanks for your inputs.

Manoj

 

[Flash]

Hello Friends ( Flash & Kittu In particular),

I have decided to go for the DENON AVR 1612.

My room size is - 17 ft x 12ft
Listening preference - 70% Music ; 30% Movies

Kindly suggest :

1. Floor Speakers - (Make and Price)
2. Woofer/Sub - (Make and Price)
3. Satellite speakers - (Make and Price)
4. Centre speaker

My Budget is @1,00,000/- for the whole package (5.1)

P.S. - I have the cabling for speakers already in place.

Thanks for your inputs.

Manoj

Hi Manoj,

I think you can go for the same setup i recommended pechetti. Do visit the first page of this post

But since you mentioned your preference is 70 % music 30% movies.
An AVR will never give you the same SQ as a Stereo Amp.
Music is recorded in 2 channel. and a 5.1 defeats thats purpose.
But since budget is a constraint with most of us. and buying seperate components is out of the question an AVR will also do just fine albeit with not the same levels of sound quality as a good stereo amp
However IMO if you are looking for good (large) floorstanders. the Denon 1612 may come in a tad underpowered.
for example, I have a Denon 2106 which i like to abuse, I was using it to drive a Wharfedale 9.6 and the Wharfedale's always sounded as if they needed more power/juice into them . I had to crank the volume really high to get the best of of them.
Even with the approx 125wpc @6 ohms i felt the speakers were not coming into their element. at lower volumes a lot of detail was missing. Biamping did not help as well.
I had to borrow a friends Emotiva XPA 2 power amp and connect it to the preouts of the AVR to see if it made any difference.
And yes it was like listening to a completely different set of speakers. the sound was clearer, more detail, wider soundstage, oodles of bass/ clarity etc etc.


Alternatively if can look at Klipsch / Tannoy / MS / Paradigm 7
Klipsch Reference series has a relatively high sensitivity which means the Denon 1612 would be able to drive it fairly easily. The paradigm 7's are pretty sweet but you will need a sub for sure
I am not saying the wharfy's cant be driven by the 1612. they definitely can.

Another alternative would be to look for receivers which have preouts so if in the future the upgrade bug bites you and you decide to add a power amp you can always do so You would end up with a pretty sweet setup and thats the only reason I still have my Denon 2106

Another point to add if you zero in on the wharfedale 9.5 / 9.6 I am pretty sure you will not need a subwoofer.
I have had my windows and cabinets 30 feet away rattle with heavy Dubstep bass tracks
that could having you save a good 20 - 25k on a sub and give you more to spend on your AVR.
You can always look for a sub after a couple of months when u save up some more cash.

I was watched a movie last night with my wife " The Rite " (thriller / Horror) in a pure 2.0 setup with just the wharfedales and a Toshiba Projector. We were sitting approximately 24 feet away from the speakers / screen and my wife actually asked me if I had installed a subwoofer in the sofa or behind it during a hard hitting scene in the movie. she felt the sofa vibrating and the window behind our sofa rattled.
I bought a very pleasant smile to my face.
My room dimensions are fairly large approx 12 feet x 26 feet plus a 10 feet opening to the right which extends to a dining room which is another 11 x 14 feet approx

Cheers Manoj and all the best with your auditions.

 

[Flash]

Hello Friends ( Flash & Kittu In particular),

I have decided to go for the DENON AVR 1612.

My room size is - 17 ft x 12ft
Listening preference - 70% Music ; 30% Movies

Kindly suggest :

1. Floor Speakers - (Make and Price)
2. Woofer/Sub - (Make and Price)
3. Satellite speakers - (Make and Price)
4. Centre speaker

My Budget is @1,00,000/- for the whole package (5.1)

P.S. - I have the cabling for speakers already in place.

Thanks for your inputs.

Manoj

You are based in Pune rite .
You can drop by at my house for a quick audition of the 9.6 / Emotiva, if you feel like I am based at NIBM road.
I may have the Klipsch RF82 hooked on as well. However they are over your budget but a good point of reference between bright and warm speakers
sometimes its just better to hear a setup in a house than an acoustically treated AV showroom.
I recently moved to pune from bombay and still have a lot of setting up to do

I can pm you my tel number if you are interested. Music Auditons / Snacks free of cost. Alcohol on actuals :clapping:

Cheers

 

[amanojp]

wow... Thats most considerate of you Mr Flash... Let me know your number.. will try callup.... btw I stay in Pimpri
thanks,
Manoj