How and What should i upgrade to ?

[PerfectCell]

Hi Everyone ,

Long time lurker , first time poster. I am in the process of upgrading my HTiB (the good old onkyo HTS - 3800 (i think the naming is correct)). The AVR which came along died. But I do have the speakers from it.

So I have finalized to buy a new AVR ie Denon X1400. So I have decided to upgrade my speakers. But I cant do it in a single stretch due to budget constraints. But I would like to upgrade in a sequential manner , be it a centre channel , subwoofer and the fronts and so on. My usage is mostly into movies / TV. Doesnt mean , i wont listen to music in it.

OPTION 1 : a.Keep the old onkyo fronts and centre and buy a new sub (since i have only passive sub from HTiB).
b.If so , which sub shud i buy (Room size is 18 x 12 approximately ). Few things in my mind
1. Bic F12 (34K in amazon )
2. Bic PL200ii (Is this considerable better than F12)
3. Polk HTS 10 or 12
4.Velodyne Impact 12
5.Taga Subs TSW (Dont remember the exact names)
4. Donno how much those SVS or rhythmic costs.
Since I am doing it in step by step manner , i can stretch the budget too some extent , if the sub is worth it , but it might be minimum of 6 months , since I am not in a hurry

OPTION 2 : a. Buy a Good centre channel and the old Fronts without sub for couple months and later continue with option 1

OPTION 3 : a.Was considering a good Floorstanders , since I can manage a little of bass for time being and continue with old centre channel and later buy a good sub down the line.
b.I was little inclined towards the Polk S50 / S55 /S60s series. (Wasnt sure which is adequate for my room , I was rooting for S55 to hit the sweet spot )
c.Please suggest other FLs in the same range (Especially for movies)

OPTION 4 : Any other good route will also be considered : )

Since I m not in a hurry to build things outright (even if it takes a year or so ) But i would like to build it efficiently. Thanks for reading this long post.

 

[shibashis]

Almost as a rule of thumb the very first thing to be upgraded from a HTiB is the fronts, the fronts are producing close to 80% of what you hear to begin with. Makes sense to get those sorted first, then add matching center and then a good sub.
I highly recommend the Dali Zensor line or if you can afford go up to the Dali Oberons. Zensor 5 will be just right for you.

 

[efernand1]

Hi Everyone ,

Long time lurker , first time poster. I am in the process of upgrading my HTiB (the good old onkyo HTS - 3800 (i think the naming is correct)). The AVR which came along died. But I do have the speakers from it.

So I have finalized to buy a new AVR ie Denon X1400. So I have decided to upgrade my speakers. But I cant do it in a single stretch due to budget constraints. But I would like to upgrade in a sequential manner , be it a centre channel , subwoofer and the fronts and so on. My usage is mostly into movies / TV. Doesnt mean , i wont listen to music in it.

OPTION 1 : a.Keep the old onkyo fronts and centre and buy a new sub (since i have only passive sub from HTiB).
b.If so , which sub shud i buy (Room size is 18 x 12 approximately ). Few things in my mind
1. Bic F12 (34K in amazon )
2. Bic PL200ii (Is this considerable better than F12)
3. Polk HTS 10 or 12
4.Velodyne Impact 12
5.Taga Subs TSW (Dont remember the exact names)
4. Donno how much those SVS or rhythmic costs.
Since I am doing it in step by step manner , i can stretch the budget too some extent , if the sub is worth it , but it might be minimum of 6 months , since I am not in a hurry

OPTION 2 : a. Buy a Good centre channel and the old Fronts without sub for couple months and later continue with option 1

OPTION 3 : a.Was considering a good Floorstanders , since I can manage a little of bass for time being and continue with old centre channel and later buy a good sub down the line.
b.I was little inclined towards the Polk S50 / S55 /S60s series. (Wasnt sure which is adequate for my room , I was rooting for S55 to hit the sweet spot )
c.Please suggest other FLs in the same range (Especially for movies)

OPTION 4 : Any other good route will also be considered : )

Since I m not in a hurry to build things outright (even if it takes a year or so ) But i would like to build it efficiently. Thanks for reading this long post.

Well you have listed down a lot of options...since you are based in Chennai there are ample Dealers who you can visit and hear different AVRs and speakers......list down the models and brands that sound great for your ears! Carry your favourite movie or music content.....

Mostly the route followed is to get the AVR and Fronts and the sub if possible. You can still use the Onkyo speakers as auto calibration will take care of levels, tones and impedance settings when it is being setup!

As you are able to channel more funds towards the rest of the speakers, you can start adding till you complete the system.

My advice is to hear different systems available which will help make your definite choice.....there are also dedicated owner threads for BIC America, Polk, Yamaha, SVS, Denon, Marantz which will help you in understanding pros and cons.....helps in decision making,,,,you should not regret your purchase later!

The 3800 is what you call a Home Theatre in a Box (HTiB) and surely the AVR or speakers you consider will be a big step up. Speaker cables, HDMI cables, Subwoofer cables...all these do matter to get the best playback!

All the best!

 

[sijusid]

Hello...my recommendation would be to start slowly and continuously build your system.
Take your time and plan. Audition is the best way to go forward.
I wouldn't recommend reusing any of your existing front LCR channels. As per it's spec, it has a frequency response of 80 Hz minimum. This will require a sub crossover of around 100-120 Hz. At this crossover, there is a high risk of localisation of subs, specially considering the size of your speakers (3" speaker). However at the beginning, you may use your surround speakers.

I would suggest getting a good bookshelf or floorstanders for your front left and right first along with a AVR. Dali, wharfedale, Q acoustics are some of the popular brands.

Since you are planning for future also, do take note of the available features of the AVR.

For a movie, typically the centre channel carries maximum content. But if you have good front and left with good imaging, you can live without centre channel at the beginning.

Xtz is also popular brand of subs in this forums. You can give it a listen too.

Take your time, even if it takes a month or more.....audition as much as possible...all the best on your journey..

Cheers
Siju

 

[elangoas]

My usage is mostly into movies / TV. Doesnt mean , i wont listen to music in it.

Room size is 18 x 12 approximately )

If it is a dedicated room / living room and if you can accommodate one or two subs, would be good for solid lows for both movies / music..

OPTION 1 : a.Keep the old onkyo fronts and centre and buy a new sub

Option 1 would be better IMO, as you upgrade to better subs than HTIB subs for an impactful (low freq) movie experience and still re-use the HTIB speakers until you decide to upgrade them..

If you have two subs in the room, then you can settle for bookshelf speaker + center all round the room..

 

[BOSS8055]

Since I m not in a hurry to build things outright (even if it takes a year or so ) But i would like to build it efficiently

Good thought process and stick to this.

Coming to AVR, marantz should sound musically delicious especially if you are going for Dalis like shibashis pointed. Denon is a very good one too especially for movies just like Yamaha. Onkyo you know better. Pioneer no comments. Any how electronics keep changing but speakers don’t!!

1)Get the best Centre channel you can afford.

2)If going for floor standers, you don’t need to worry too much about subwoofer right away. Invest in good ones. They are to be giving top most priority along with centre channel.

3)Calibration and then if required acoustics. You can’t guess how important it is until you have a right demo. The best sound I heard till date is not from my 7.1.4 dalis with floor standers but from cabasee 5.1 puny satellites tamed to high end Yamaha & extremer in a demo room! Even after some 7years, I still can’t forget how engulfing “sun raha hai na tu” sounded.

4)Source/File... remember that “junk in is junk out” no matter how good your gear is!

5)Subwoofer

6) Cables. No need to spend too much but decent ones should do.

7)Surrounds use the old ones for time being as they don’t make a huge difference.

When ever possible buy from a offline stores as it will be hassle free when service is needed.

Buy a online ups if possible.

All the best.