Kindly rate the order of the speakers as per quality

[Bloom@83]

One thing that I have always felt in public forums is any question posted and discussed has a bit of something in learning curve to some. (Not for all). I did manage to pick out a few more vector elements that can atleast aim to narrow down my search or better even the desire to plunge into this costly pleasure or not. If I had an intention to spend right away, I would have posted such a question but some of the decision making is still pending and I have drawn a line thinking 4-5 more months I will save before I spend. There were some extraordinary answers and I thank this forum on a whole. Yet out of my limited knowledge branding order was something I thought I could count in but I got enough indicators to understand nothing beats an audition and heresays and popular opinions can't substitute what the ears have got to say. I will set out listening to audio systems in these few months of holiday time I have set forth. Thank you all.

For my first stereo , I spent exactly a year and a half auditioning most of the brands (and a few others ) within various price brackets , having started from just a list recommended by forum members to learning many things about my listening preferences (that I myself wasn’t aware of prior to audition).Finally bought something that was not there in my initial list.

In the end it’s you who will live with the speakers , so what sounds best to your ears can only be decided by you and not by reviews , recommendations and charts (which only helps in narrowing down to a certain list ).

Finalize the speakers first through audition , after which FMs can suggest which amps match or synergise best with those speakers within a given price range.

 

[Love4sound]

@Love4sound / @fLUX - Please advise on how @Donivlapog should proceed with his HT set-up.

Since he is in Chennai he can visit few showrooms and have a demo. Max home theatre,Volumate,av integration,Audioholic’s are few good dealers in Chennai and has some of the speakers mentioned in his list for demo. Others have covered most related to this post so don’t want to repeat. Demo just to get an idea of the sound signature and how they perform.Check out max clearance sale

 

[Donivlapog]

Since he is in Chennai he can visit few showrooms and have a demo. Max home theatre,Volumate,av integration,Audioholic’s are few good dealers in Chennai and has some of the speakers mentioned in his list for demo. Others have covered most related to this post so don’t want to repeat. Demo just to get an idea of the sound signature and how they perform.Check out max clearance sale

Love4sound, I know you have guided many in finding their right HT setup. You are one of the most helpful forumers out there and many a times I have found your advise or recommendations bang on target. Huge thanks and respect. I shall approach those dealers you have recommended gradually and will keep you updated. Cheers!

 

[Love4sound]

Love4sound, I know you have guided many in finding their right HT setup. You are one of the most helpful forumers out there and many a times I have found your advise or recommendations bang on target. Huge thanks and respect. I shall approach those dealers you have recommended gradually and will keep you updated. Cheers!

Just sharing and giving back what I have gained from this forum

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

1) Yamaha 2) Pioneer 3) Polk 4) Elac 5) JBL/Harman 6) Bose 7) Q Acoustics 8) Klipsch 9) Taga 10) definitive technology 11) KEF 12) Jamo 13) Dali 14) Bowers and Wilkins 15) Focal 16) Marshall. TIA.

That’s like rating maruti, Hyundai, Tata and so on.. all these brands makes different types of cars for different budget and different use cases. Can’t say one is superior. Too many variables are in play here.

 

[jenson]

1) Yamaha 2) Pioneer 3) Polk 4) Elac 5) JBL/Harman 6) Bose 7) Q Acoustics 8) Klipsch 9) Taga 10) definitive technology 11) KEF 12) Jamo 13) Dali 14) Bowers and Wilkins 15) Focal 16) Marshall. TIA.

At their entry range I'll rate them as, follows..
1. Dali
2. Klipsch
3. Jamo
4. Elac
5. Bowers and wilkins

 

[fLUX]

@Donivlapog Our ratings wont mean much , personally for HT in terms of value I found QAcoustics setup to do really and paired with a good sub can do great for stereo too. I had a QAcoustics setup with Concept 20 fronts, 3090i center and 3020i as rears and the primary reason I had gone for this setup was the Concept 20 also were amazing for music listening & I had auditioned Dali & Elac back then & opted for the QAcoustics over the other two. The Klipsch also are good choice for movies due to their easy to drive nature but can sound a little bright for music. I am yet to try IndiQ for movies so not sure on how it would perform for HT but for stereo listening they are really good.

My main advise would be to go for very good LCR , @Love4sound @vikramdesigner recently went for XTZ as their LCR , IndiQ LCR (can get respective owners from GB thread) and @amrutmhatre90 recently got a QAcoustics 3050i/3090c based setup, I myself use Focal Aria 926 & Focal CC900 as my LCR for HT (primarily got for stereo listening)

I would say if movies is the primary area of focus you can achieve VERYsimilar level of engagement with even a decent bookshelf & center (Concept Series Qacoustics/ Diamond Series of IndiQ/ ELAC Reference series/Dali Oberon/ XTZ Spirit/95 series) as agaisnt even higher end bookshelf/floorstanders and spend the money saved on a kickass single/dual sub setup.

 

[Love4sound]

I actually use xtz for center alone. LR I am using Dali z3. These are decent entry level LCR and serve well for movies in a smal room and decent for stereo as well.

 

[fLUX]

I actually use xtz for center alone. LR I am using Dali z3. These are decent entry level LCR and serve well for movies in a smal room and decent for stereo as well.

Oh , I thought you changed LR also to XTZ.

 

[Love4sound]

Oh , I thought you changed LR also to XTZ.

Nope only sold the Dali vocal as I wanted improvements with vocals at low volume levels and xtz is doing a good job. At very low volume levels also I hear each and every dialogues very clearly without having to concentrate much.

 

[Donivlapog]

I appreciate all your inputs. If I choose a Polk audio fusion 5.1 plus Denon 550 combination for about a lakh, will I miss something or is it a good choice?

 

[Love4sound]

I appreciate all your inputs. If I choose a Polk audio fusion 5.1 plus Denon 550 combination for about a lakh, will I miss something or is it a good choice?

You only need to decide if that will be enough. For me no that won’t be enough but there are many who are happy with systems that’s even lesser in cost and specs. It’s very subjective and varies for each individuals based on their expectations after auditioning a variety of HT set ups

 

[fLUX]

You will miss something even out of systems costing 10x more , its all a question of how much are you ok with missing.Denon 550BT is an ok receiver to be honest and used to retail at about 29k before the shortage.

Personally I would stick to either
i) Receiver - Yamaha V4A , V6A , VX585,VX479 ( used or NOS stock with an initial testing warranty of a month) / Denon X1600H,2600H,2700H / Marantz NR1509.1609,SR5013 . The SR5013 or X2600h would be the best choice and NR1509 would be the bare minimum for me. Since you already have TOTL TV a good & more recent AVR will make sure it supports the necessary video standards (like DV, HDR10, 4k 120hz etc)

ii) Speakers - I would rather go for a piece by piece with LCR of same brand, a budget surround and a sub from one of the top brands. You can get hold of a 3020i/3090c LCR at under 35k , surrounds at about 10-15k and a good subwoofer can be added at about 40-50k (dont skimp on the sub as this can really result in a subpar movie experience).

or if with a very strict budget

i) Receivers make a good deal of difference as there is a lot of post processing to get the desired surround effects and also ability to optimize the speaker for the room with EQ/Distance and levels. I will not get anything less than Marantz NR1509 here
ii) Speaker - A 5.0 set with getting some money back for the sub if possible ( Polk TL1600 , Elac Cinema 5 , Taga 606) and a Yamaha/Taga sub under 30k

 

[Donivlapog]

You only need to decide if that will be enough. For me no that won’t be enough but there are many who are happy with systems that’s even lesser in cost and specs. It’s very subjective and varies for each individuals based on their expectations after auditioning a variety of HT set ups

Then I will wait for those 5-6 months save more and go for some good stuff as recommended here. My plan A still on course.

 

[amrutmhatre90]

@Love4sound @fLUX are spot on when it comes to getting a HT. One is never satisfied even if you spend a alot. It comes down to you, what suits you and what satisfies you.
Ask me, I have spent a lot in this past one year upgrading my HT and nearing perfection what I desire. If you ask me, better start investing slowly and get things one by one but quality products instead of going all out. These will help you build a very good HT setup which you can use for years.

Start with a good AVR and good speakers for LR or LCR, then add surrounds and a sub. But I know it is quite difficult to have patience, one wants the best from day one. If money is no concern buy a 7 channel AVR and good speakers, but it will set you back 1.5 lakhs atleast.

 

[Donivlapog]

You will miss something even out of systems costing 10x more , its all a question of how much are you ok with missing.Denon 550BT is an ok receiver to be honest and used to retail at about 29k before the shortage.

Personally I would stick to either
i) Receiver - Yamaha V4A , V6A , VX585,VX479 ( used or NOS stock with an initial testing warranty of a month) / Denon X1600H,2600H,2700H / Marantz NR1509.1609,SR5013 . The SR5013 or X2600h would be the best choice and NR1509 would be the bare minimum for me. Since you already have TOTL TV a good & more recent AVR will make sure it supports the necessary video standards (like DV, HDR10, 4k 120hz etc)

ii) Speakers - I would rather go for a piece by piece with LCR of same brand, a budget surround and a sub from one of the top brands. You can get hold of a 3020i/3090c LCR at under 35k , surrounds at about 10-15k and a good subwoofer can be added at about 40-50k (dont skimp on the sub as this can really result in a subpar movie experience).

or if with a very strict budget

i) Receivers make a good deal of difference as there is a lot of post processing to get the desired surround effects and also ability to optimize the speaker for the room with EQ/Distance and levels. I will not get anything less than Marantz NR1509 here
ii) Speaker - A 5.0 set with getting some money back for the sub if possible ( Polk TL1600 , Elac Cinema 5 , Taga 606) and a Yamaha/Taga sub under 30k

My dilemma is as follows - initially I was thinking of something just above the internal TV speakers. I bought HTRT3 and it did offer me some better sound output. However many started saying a real HT is something you must go for not this shadow of a mirage of an illusion Mickey mouse HTIB. Now that got me started. But then the technology behind audio is overwhelming. And secondly i started thinking if I could keep it short and simple with satellite speakers and a entry level AVR instead of going big at the onset. After getting familiar with audio technology with experience I can upgrade later.

 

[Donivlapog]

it will set you back 1.5 lakhs atleast.

I could flaunt on HT right away. But I am taking my own time. And have written down all options suggested.

 

[jbkar]

It's going to be like a Prime time Debate with A***b G*****i

 

[Donivlapog]

It's going to be like a Prime time Debate with A***b G*****i

No debate here. Just discussing.

 

[Enkay78]

May I suggest something?
You research yourself to a data set.

1. Make a budget range: check all the speaker brands, types- bookshelf or floorstanders
2. Check their measurements - there are many online websites/ or do a google search.
3. Check out the reviews of the speakers.
4. Even check out the reviews from hifivision
5. Audition if you can.



Make your personal score….based on what you want.
THEN make your own list considering the pros and cons.

THEN off course make your buy.

I have personally gone through such research. Check whether this may help you https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/SpeakerTestData/
Check out Stereophile/Audioholics……but done go my AVSFORUM or Audiogon.

Active studio monitors (Pro) are what I like. Somehow. And affordable range. (My logic : when these are good for sound engineers why not for us? IF we want transparent non-colored sounds of the source)

You may be surprised to know what options you can have from cheap to very expensive.

( for example: I don’t like Polk speakers. But the new Reserve 200 measures well…..almost like a Genelec, and there are rave reviews.)