HT setup: Speaker selection

[astrixgaul]

Hi,

Finally its time for me to take a plunge in the HiFi world.
I have been following this forum for quite a while and picking up wise advice from the gurus, I decided to take the route of separates and to build in stages.

My requirements:
50% movies (DVD/BlueRay/downloaded/TataSkyHD)
50% music (CD/FLAC/mp3). I have affinity to all kind of music (rock/jazz/classical/Bollywood)

Room Dimensions:
I have one room 14x12 which I can use as dedicated room for Audio/Video nirvana
Other option is to use my living room (16x14) which is already having my 47 TV

Budget : Rs.150000/- for FS + AVR + PRJ (PRJ already ordered wiping off 43K)
(Center, sub & Rear to be added later)

My expert level in HiFi Speakers: Learner

After going through the threads of other members I could arrive at the following.

AVR:
Marantz SR5008 / Denon X2000I am more inclined towards Marantz, though most of the dealers are advising against it because of the lack of support. But MZ audio informs me that they are going to open service centers in major cities in coming 3 months.

Speakers:

Dali Zensor 7 :
Thanks to grunthos for an exhaustive review. I did the audition for Zensor5 & Zensor7 and also IKON 6. I was impressed with Zensor 7. Zensor 7 + Denon X2000 in a stereo setup was quite good, the sound was warm & sweet.
Price quoted for the FS: 59000/-
Heard the IKON 6 also and that was even better but a bit expensive for me @ 97K

Tannoy Mercury V4i:
I missed grunthos comments on these speakers as he couldnt audition them because of unavailability. Thanks to the inputs from vinodsapsd, I checked the Tannoy series.
I didnt have my music collection on that day with me. Saw the opening sequence of Fast & Furious 5 on a 5.1 setup. Also heard Hotel California. The sound was good, detailed, with no harshness whatsoever.
Price quoted for the FS: 48000/-
Didnt hear the Revolution DC6T which is also getting good reviews on international sites, but will try to audition them also, just to get the feel of it, though @104K they are out of my budget.
A small observation here; I find the Tannoys both (Mercury V4i & Revolution DC6TSE) are ranked above the DALI Zensor7 in the ranking done here. I am not aware of the process by which it is done, so I am not relying on it blindly.

Tannoy Sensys DC2
These are available at a good price in the second hand market. Havent heard them, need opinion. Can they be a good option ?

Wharfedale Diamond10.5:
Did the audition for them as well, in a stereo setup as well 5.1 setup. Few words which come to my mind, melodious, clarity, couldnt find anything amiss.
Price for FS: 48500/-


Help required from the Gurus !
- After Auditioning all the above speaker, I am in a confused state.
- Almost all the speakers sounded good to me, may be my songs selection couldnt bring out the difference or it just that I failed to feel it.
- Should I go for Zensor 7 ?
- Or Should I go for Mercury V4i, being lower in the cost and highly ranked.
- Or should I stretch my budget and go for the premium range IKON 6 or Revolution, given the fact that I dont want to do an upgrade in next 10 to 15 years.

Thanks

 

[jkarthik]

Also consider PSB image Tower speakers. Well pair with Marantz AVR.

 

[aakashr]

stick with Marantz AVR, very musical sound signature. From the list my pick would be Tannoy Mercury V4. Also demo other speakers and then decide.

 

[astrixgaul]

@jkarthik, Thanks for your suggestions, the Tannoys are inching closer to the finishing line !

@aakashr, Yes Marantz is the choice till now. Thanks for reinforcing my confidence.

More comments, suggestions from the experts.....
- Whats your take on IKON6 & Revolution DC6T ? Is it worth sweating out for them ?
- How does Zensor7 fair against Mercury V4i ?
- And any user experience of Sensys DC2 Tannoy ?

Thanks

 

[grunthos]

Hi,
Tannoy Mercury V4i:
I didnt have my music collection on that day with me. Saw the opening sequence of Fast & Furious 5 on a 5.1 setup. Also heard Hotel California. The sound was good, detailed, with no harshness whatsoever.

Hi, just want to make sure, did you listen to the Tannoy Mercury V4i in stereo mode ? Usually most speakers sound better in 5.1 mode. And that Hotel California video is staple of all hifi showrooms for a reason. If possible, try your own playlist with all speakers ... it helps you evaluate better

Also, have you tried the PSB Imagine T5/6 ?
They are more expensive, but everyone seems to think they are the best floorstanders under the 1L mark. Since you have a healthy budget, you should definitely evaluate them

(I am personally always biased towards Dalis though :lol

 

[efernand1]

Hi

Good decision to stick with Marantz AVR....true performer AVR which does excellent justice for music in stereo mode.

There are a lot of floor standing speakers. Have you checked on Focal speakers? They pair well with Marantz. Even the B&Ws pair well with Marantz. There are ample demo videos over YouTube to help you decide or shortlist certain brands.

The Dali Zensor 7 is good. From a long term perspective, you need to decide on easy available spares and after sales service.

Since you are purchasing the AVR from MZ Audio, why don't you consider the Boston Acoustics speakers?

Boston Acoustics A 360 Home Theatre Package

Lets be honest to ourselves, although we say we will not change the system atleast for 10-15 years..this will never happen.....as technology changes, new formats etc come in and we get enticed to have the best and upgrade. Your best bet now it to stick with the Marantz and pair it well with Bostons which is true value for performance and quality.

Hope this helps.

 

[triumph]

Do Polk tsx440 even get near these speakers ?? I could only audition those. Could anybody give me an insight ? Is there any exchange policy for speakers in hifi Mart ? My budjet for FS are low . I am currently using Polk tl1600. I dream of buying those audiophile speakers. Profx r willing to take my speakers in exchange with Polk tsx 440. Is it a good choice ?

 

[afj]

you should definitely audition the kef q series. marantz is a good amp. apart from that you can look at onkyo / denon / yamaha in no particular order

 

[sameerg]

now , when u r considering/auditioning floor-standers , just like to reinsist that make sure mid bass and low bass is tight - otherwise u will have feeling of something is missing when u listen in stereo mode.

I recently bought q acoustics 2020i small bookshelf speakers. as i wanted something wall mountable. superb speakers for the price. very neutral. especially due to soft dome tweeters. And boy o boy ... they are very tight ! i love listening sound of Tabla on those. since they budget speaker and with small cones(5") . They feel burdened for bass heavy tracks. still they never loose their composure and do their best. but instrument separation gets affected. to solve this , I have ordered wharfedale spc-8 sub-woofer to relieve the bass frequencies. this is a sealed sub so hopefully will give me tight bass.

Coming back to floor-standers - it will be hard to find new floor-standers in 50k. cabinet needs to be very well build to get that tight bass. I use to have QUAD 22L2 which is the perfect example of great cabinets. keep auditioning, u might find it. where about you live ?

 

[astrixgaul]

@sameerg, thanks for your inputs. I am in NOIDA.

Developments so far in my quest for Audio Nirvana:

AVR:
Bought MARANTZ SR 5008 : So the AVR chapter is closed now.

Speakers:
Scanning second hand market for good deals. Missed few good ones by whisker, so still waiting.

Meanwhile I am having a good time with my Projector. (ACER 6510BD), though still without a screen, just on the wall. with makeshift PC speakers connected to projector. Great viewing experience, thanks to FM's who pointed to ACER model good deals, on US websites.

 

[Gopal Singh]

dear astrix price of Marantz sr 5008 and from where?

 

[astrixgaul]

@gopal singh, I have sent a PM giving you the contact number. Price was Rs.48K.

 

[Sunny_gurgaon]

Hi Astrix,

Bro... send me the PM too.. i am also looking for MARANTZ SR 5008.. give me the contact person details.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sunny_gurgaon]

this is the same right.. with 4K up-scaling

Marantz SR-5008

 

[astrixgaul]

@Sunny_gurgaon
PM sent with contact details and yes this is the same Marantz SR-5008 which you have referred to in the link.

 

[bharath_rbk]

Hey Astrix,
Could you please provide me the contact details also of the dealer? Even though I have been member of the forum long time now, never had posted anything. So couldn't send you the PM. I hope you could PM me. Thanks in advance.