how good or how bad is the combination

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HI Friends,

I have auditioned the follwing combination Onkyo TX-sr304E reciever, Onkyo skw204 sub and Pure Acoustics Junior speakers (front tower, book shelves surround). I have gone thorugh the specfication and it seems to be decent buy. Request you guys in the forum to suggest me about the performance and also any other brands/makes for the budget of abt 35K.
 
TechGadget. Did you like the sound? Did you listen to music? How was it for movies?

Cheers

PS, I have changed my comments and removed the text 'This seems a good combination for the budget'. Moser is more competent in answering questions on HTIBs and particularly Onkyo HTIBs.

Cheers
 
Last edited:
HI Friends,

I have auditioned the follwing combination Onkyo TX-sr304E reciever, Onkyo skw204 sub and Pure Acoustics Junior speakers (front tower, book shelves surround). I have gone thorugh the specfication and it seems to be decent buy. Request you guys in the forum to suggest me about the performance and also any other brands/makes for the budget of abt 35K.

techgadgets,

Can you give a breakup of the cost? The AVR is same as in the entry level Onkyo HT3100 which costs around 19K for the entire package of AVR, speakers/passive sub. For 37-38K you can get the much powerful Onkyo HT5100 which comes with a more powerful AVR and 7.1 system speakers/active sub.

I have not heard the Pure Acoustics, but going by specs the Junior C & S are evenly matched with the HT5100, but the Junior F are more powerful. To summarize, factors weighing in favor of the HT5100 are the 7.1 system i.e. 2 additional surround speakers and HDMI which is not present in the AVR TX-SR304E.

Above all else though, carry your DVDs and music CDs/mp3s and listen for yourself between both sets before you finalize...

FYI - Check between both AVRs and you will see the AVR with the HT5100 comes with a lot of other features too like an iPod dock.

http://www.onkyoindia.com/products/HT_Packages/home_style/ht-s5100/index.htm

http://www.onkyoindia.com/products/av_components/av_receivers/txsr-304/index.html
 
HI Moserw,

The Sub which i am looking here is active one. I listened to the movies/music played by that guy and it was quite good compartively better than 3105, unfortunately i did not carry my dvds. Do u have anything else in mind for the same budget if so let me know.. Also do tell me which cables (HDMI/COaxial) shuld i purchase to enhance the performance.
 
HI Moserw,

The Sub which i am looking here is active one. I listened to the movies/music played by that guy and it was quite good compartively better than 3105, unfortunately i did not carry my dvds. Do u have anything else in mind for the same budget if so let me know.. Also do tell me which cables (HDMI/COaxial) shuld i purchase to enhance the performance.

Onkyo 3100 is only 19K. Listen to Onkyo 5100 (around 37K) and 5105 (not sure but around 31K I think) and then compare. As I have said I have not heard Pure Acoustics myself, but 35K is a good amount of money and going for an AVR without HDMI does not make sense. Also, 5100 is also with an active sub so even that's taken care of and what's more the sub with the 5100 package is more powerful at 290 W compared to the 230 W of the SKW-204.

Coming to the cables, Bandridge is good VFM and their coaxial cable is under Rs. 500 and will do a great job. Don't really spend a lot of money on cables, but if you go with HT5100 package then a HDMI cable is the better route to go over coaxial/optical.
 
Thanks for your suggestion Moserw, i will take a demo of s5100 and decide. But when it comes to s5105, apart from HDMI all other features are still below the model which i specified.
Also i have a doubt as how can i connect two HDMIs to my DVD player as most of the DVD have just one HDMI port at the max ( i will have HDMI from DVDP to my TV for PQ) and from the AVR HDMI where will i connect for the sound output. Please let me know how can i get this connections right.
 
techgadgets,

Can you give a breakup of the cost? The AVR is same as in the entry level Onkyo HT3100 which costs around 19K for the entire package of AVR, speakers/passive sub. For 37-38K you can get the much powerful Onkyo HT5100 which comes with a more powerful AVR and 7.1 system speakers/active sub.

I have not heard the Pure Acoustics, but going by specs the Junior C & S are evenly matched with the HT5100, but the Junior F are more powerful. To summarize, factors weighing in favor of the HT5100 are the 7.1 system i.e. 2 additional surround speakers and HDMI which is not present in the AVR TX-SR304E.

Above all else though, carry your DVDs and music CDs/mp3s and listen for yourself between both sets before you finalize...

FYI - Check between both AVRs and you will see the AVR with the HT5100 comes with a lot of other features too like an iPod dock.

ONKYO SIGHT & SOUND - INDIA

ONKYO SIGHT & SOUND - INDIA

True but one thing 340E + onkyo spk230 will give you better HT sound due to
active sub.I listened that last year.
 
Also i have a doubt as how can i connect two HDMIs to my DVD player as most of the DVD have just one HDMI port at the max ( i will have HDMI from DVDP to my TV for PQ) and from the AVR HDMI where will i connect for the sound output. Please let me know how can i get this connections right.

HDMI has capabilities to carry video and audio signals. To take advantage of this you need to connect as follows:

(DVD) -- HDMI -- (AVR) -- HDMI -- (TV)

Make your AVR the center of the hub by routing everything through it. So if you have a STD, do a similar configuration.

This way only one cable goes to your TV and that will be from the AVR.
 
True but one thing 340E + onkyo spk230 will give you better HT sound due to
active sub.I listened that last year.

Spiro,

Onkyo 5100 also is with active sub and a more powerful AVR than the 340... Also the sub in the 5100 is more powerful than the sub in the package. Finally, the speakers are evenly matched and 5100 is with HDMI. 5100 scores on all fronts...

Thanks for your suggestion Moserw, i will take a demo of s5100 and decide. But when it comes to s5105, apart from HDMI all other features are still below the model which i specified.
Also i have a doubt as how can i connect two HDMIs to my DVD player as most of the DVD have just one HDMI port at the max ( i will have HDMI from DVDP to my TV for PQ) and from the AVR HDMI where will i connect for the sound output. Please let me know how can i get this connections right.

techgadgets,

The AVR in 5105 is 130 W/Ch, 8 Ohms compared to 100 W/Ch., 6 Ohms in the 304 so more power to 5105 and it is also with HDMI. Speakers are at 130 W so they match the Pure Acoustics except for Junior F. Sub however in the 5105 is passive and not active, guess that's why it costs less than the 5100.

Coming to HDMI, you can do what marsilians has said and make the AVR the hub for all connections. Otherwise go with HDMI from DVDP to TV and with digital coaxial/optical from DVDP to AVR for audio.
 
TechGadget. Did you like the sound? Did you listen to music? How was it for movies?

Cheers

PS, I have changed my comments and removed the text 'This seems a good combination for the budget'. Moser is more competent in answering questions on HTIBs and particularly Onkyo HTIBs.

Cheers

Hi Venkat,

On sat i auditioned the model which i posted, i was impressed by this combo then the HTS-3105.. but i will listen to 5100/5105 before i finalise.. but my budget is max 35 i cant exceed that at any cost.. so i am keeping my options open...
 
Hi Venkat,

On sat i auditioned the model which i posted, i was impressed by this combo then the HTS-3105.. but i will listen to 5100/5105 before i finalise.. but my budget is max 35 i cant exceed that at any cost.. so i am keeping my options open...

techgadgets,

I don't remember the exact details of the speaker package but there was a unit at X-Cite in Hyderabad from Yamaha for 26K. Speakers were from Yamaha with active sub but I don't remember the exact details. I do remember that the AVR was RX-V363. Do check out for such units/packages in Yamaha too. Don't know if you have X-Cite in Bangalore though.

BTW my parents and sister were in Bangalore just a couple of days ago and were talking about Vijay Mallya's mall. Hopefully, I should be able to visit in January and catch up myself...
 
Spiro,

Onkyo 5100 also is with active sub and a more powerful AVR than the 340... Also the sub in the 5100 is more powerful than the sub in the package. Finally, the speakers are evenly matched and 5100 is with HDMI. 5100 scores on all fronts...

True I was comparing with 3100.
HTS3105 also has active sub.
 
Spiro,

Onkyo 5100 also is with active sub and a more powerful AVR than the 340... Also the sub in the 5100 is more powerful than the sub in the package. Finally, the speakers are evenly matched and 5100 is with HDMI. 5100 scores on all fronts...

True I was comparing with 3100.
HTS3105 also has active sub.

My apologies spiro...
 


techgadgets,

Don't even consider 3100/3105 (I am aware both are with passive and not active subs). Based on your budget of 35K and based on the system you were going for I recommended/and would still recommend Onkyo 5100 for the same reasons as more powerful AVR, HDMI and better bang for the buck. 3100/3105 are very good VFM systems (19K range) and do everything that's required for DVDs/Divx rips with Dolby Digital and DTS, but no HDMI which is not really required since a digital coaxial/optical will do just as fine and HDMI can go from DVDP to TV instead of via AVR which only means you will need one more additional HDMI cable. Since you already were spending 35K for the Onkyo 304 AVR and 204 sub and Pure Acoustics speakers, my recommendation still is for the 5100 as for more or less the same price you will get a more powerful AVR with HDMI, a more powerful sub and speakers on par with Pure Acoustics package.

Better still you could go for 2 sets of 3100/3105, LOL!!!

Jokes apart, at the end of the day you have to be happy so please audition and decide...

Hi Friends..

one more question, can anybody tell me what is HDMI Pass-Thru* and what difference does that make from normal viewing?

Pass through means exactly what it says i.e. the signals will be passed through without any processing. SD i.e. 720480 or 720576 needs to be converted to HD Ready or Full HD i.e. 1024768, 12801080 or 19201080 (or any variation in between with each TV manufacturer going his own way) and this conversion can be done by the DVDP, the AVR or the TV itself. In pass through the AVR will not do any upconverting and only pass through the signals for the upconverting to be done by the TV.
 
On reading the various threads on ONkayo, I had decided to buy one of the 5105 HTIB, and had gone to the Onkyo showroom in BLR, last evening, and he quoted 25k for the same package(Onkyo 304E + Onkyo SKW204 + Pure acoustics Dream nano), and 25k for Onkyo HTIB - 5105, also he mentioned that the offer was there only for couple days, that is till today.
Now I am really confused which one to buy, to go in for the package that he is offering or the 5105, since both are of the same cost.
Thanks in advance.
VS

techgadgets,

Can you give a breakup of the cost? The AVR is same as in the entry level Onkyo HT3100 which costs around 19K for the entire package of AVR, speakers/passive sub. For 37-38K you can get the much powerful Onkyo HT5100 which comes with a more powerful AVR and 7.1 system speakers/active sub.

I have not heard the Pure Acoustics, but going by specs the Junior C & S are evenly matched with the HT5100, but the Junior F are more powerful. To summarize, factors weighing in favor of the HT5100 are the 7.1 system i.e. 2 additional surround speakers and HDMI which is not present in the AVR TX-SR304E.

Above all else though, carry your DVDs and music CDs/mp3s and listen for yourself between both sets before you finalize...

FYI - Check between both AVRs and you will see the AVR with the HT5100 comes with a lot of other features too like an iPod dock.

ONKYO SIGHT & SOUND - INDIA

ONKYO SIGHT & SOUND - INDIA
 
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