Music setup requirement for living room

[ninjatalli]

Hello good folks.
A friend introduced me to this good forum when we started discussing my audio setup requirements. So here I am.

Introductions: Middle aged guy based out of Bangalore who spends the majority of his time listening to music. Most of the time it’s on headphones and earbuds but would love to have a good audio setup at home.

I’m trying to plan an audio setup for my living/dining room. It’s a 15ft (long) by 18ft (wide) room with the tv cabinet setup in the center of the 18ft wall. 15’ x 15’ x 15’ open book shelf’s on either side of the tv. There is ample space right below the tv to fit an amp and sub. Tv cabinet image below attached.



Now my previous music investments have mostly been on Portable bluetooth speakers (Soundlink mini, Boom 2, etc); but what I’m trying to replicate (and better by a margin) is my Onyx Studio (1) which I had almost 8 years ago.


Requirements: Good vocals and decent amount of bass. Am not picky but more bass is good. But I do would want good loud clear sound. There are days when I’m alone in the house and I’d just like to embedd myself within the music without a care to what my neighbours think (if you know what I mean).

I listen to a variety of music across genres but I believe my reference point falls between hard rock and EDM.

I have been going back and forth between
1. A pair of active bookshelf speakers. Have a few “shortlist” items but am open to suggestions
2. Pair of passive speakers + amp. Don’t have any shortlist but would really appreciate advice on this
3. An expensive soundbar setup (last resort). Eg Sonos Arc Ultra or Samsung HW-Q990D for 1L. But I’m really not sure if it’s worth it; against good audio setup options that fall under 1. or 2. above.

My preference is 1 then 2 and then 3. But am open to views if I should prioritise 2 over 1.


Budget: Ideally under 50k. Can push if it’s worth it.

I have been digging around for a while and the below are some as an initial shortlist
a) Elac Connex DCB41. Believe a sub would be required for my room dimensions
b) Mission LX Connect. Can’t find anyone selling this in Bangalore. Mission lists a Pune dealer as their authorised dealer; don’t see this in their website
c) Toyed with the idea of buying a Marshall speaker (Woburn) for a while but that friend has convinced me to go for other options

- - - - - - - - -

Looking for advice on how to take this forward. Any products that I should consider keeping in mind my room dimensions? Any local hifi shop in Bangalore I should visit? I don’t have product options for passive + amp setup so far; also I don’t see myself adding components over time so I (think) probably will be done with one time install and keep it till it breaks.

Looking forward to views / suggestionsj.

 

[rwnano]

Focal speakers

 

[Yogesh]

In actives Elac you are considering is good and so is QA M20.

Among Passive, You can Get Norge Amp with Indiq/QA/Mission bookshelves. You would also need add a DAC.

 

[fLUX]

Hello good folks.
A friend introduced me to this good forum when we started discussing my audio setup requirements. So here I am.

Introductions: Middle aged guy based out of Bangalore who spends the majority of his time listening to music. Most of the time it’s on headphones and earbuds but would love to have a good audio setup at home.

I’m trying to plan an audio setup for my living/dining room. It’s a 15ft (long) by 18ft (wide) room with the tv cabinet setup in the center of the 18ft wall. 15’ x 15’ x 15’ open book shelf’s on either side of the tv. There is ample space right below the tv to fit an amp and sub. Tv cabinet image below attached.

View attachment 92753

Now my previous music investments have mostly been on Portable bluetooth speakers (Soundlink mini, Boom 2, etc); but what I’m trying to replicate (and better by a margin) is my Onyx Studio (1) which I had almost 8 years ago.


Requirements: Good vocals and decent amount of bass. Am not picky but more bass is good. But I do would want good loud clear sound. There are days when I’m alone in the house and I’d just like to embedd myself within the music without a care to what my neighbours think (if you know what I mean).

I listen to a variety of music across genres but I believe my reference point falls between hard rock and EDM.

I have been going back and forth between
1. A pair of active bookshelf speakers. Have a few “shortlist” items but am open to suggestions
2. Pair of passive speakers + amp. Don’t have any shortlist but would really appreciate advice on this
3. An expensive soundbar setup (last resort). Eg Sonos Arc Ultra or Samsung HW-Q990D for 1L. But I’m really not sure if it’s worth it; against good audio setup options that fall under 1. or 2. above.

My preference is 1 then 2 and then 3. But am open to views if I should prioritise 2 over 1.


Budget: Ideally under 50k. Can push if it’s worth it.

I have been digging around for a while and the below are some as an initial shortlist
a) Elac Connex DCB41. Believe a sub would be required for my room dimensions
b) Mission LX Connect. Can’t find anyone selling this in Bangalore. Mission lists a Pune dealer as their authorised dealer; don’t see this in their website
c) Toyed with the idea of buying a Marshall speaker (Woburn) for a while but that friend has convinced me to go for other options

- - - - - - - - -

Looking for advice on how to take this forward. Any products that I should consider keeping in mind my room dimensions? Any local hifi shop in Bangalore I should visit? I don’t have product options for passive + amp setup so far; also I don’t see myself adding components over time so I (think) probably will be done with one time install and keep it till it breaks.

Looking forward to views / suggestionsj.

I would directly eliminate no.3 from your set of options. Not a good option if primary focus is music. Coming to the point for
i) I use a Qacoustic M20HD , give them space and proper positioning they sound fantastic. The onboard dac is quiet competent and under 40k you get a complete package which is well optimised overall. The only con here is they dont have hdmi arc , each time you turn on the TV you will need to.turn on the speaker and select the input ( it has an auto shutdown feature if the input remains idle for a while) .

The Elac seems a better choice since it has hdmi arc, SQ wise I am not sure but knowing its Elac will sound good.

Another major downside is chances of breakdown is much higher vs passives & repairs would be expensive comparatively.


ii) Passive speaker - This is a good option provided you go used in this budget of 50k else with today's pricing you will not get a lot of value. The options in this price range would be Qacoustic / Elac/ Mission, higher the model you can go for in Qacoustic the better they are, if you can snag up a used Concept 20 & Maranatz PM6006 nothing like it. The likelihood of needing repair here is minimal and would more likely due to user error or power fluctuations vs due to units themselves.

You will get a better fidelity here vs the active but will not be as aesthetic & easy to operate for your family ( unless they are also very much into it).

Personally I would say go for active and use it till it breaks. If you enjoy the experience then look to get into passive setup in future