Just thought of narrating my baby steps to HT world, as its the day I procured one major addition to my HT setup.
Early days -
Baby steps to HT usually starts with an HTIB, unless you have surplus cash to jump in
. As any other newbie, I started my HT entry using an LG HTIB. It was a huge leap from regular TV, and threw me out of my seat first when I heard it. I still remember the day I bought my LG HTIB during the thanks giving sale of 2005 for $199, along with 5 other friends. We cleared the stock in the shop that day I guess. Was really happy to own a home theater which came back to India with me
2009 - 2010 timeframe -
Second step in HTIB was when I realized that LG is not at all a brand in HT. It was during a home theater demo by Yamaha in Bangalore in 2009. I was blown away by the shear performance of the system, and I still remember the movie - Terminator JD which they played. The same instance, I started hating my 4 year old LG HT It triggered exploration to HT world, and that search introduced me to hifivision. Considering the financial situation, I decided to start with a basic system in place and almost finalized on Denon, but later cancelled that plan as I was constructing my house and cash flow was indeed an issue. The LG was there to stay with me.
The itch to own a professional system continued, and went out of control in 2010 when I discussed that with like minded friends. My friend, who was an HT component distributor in my place suggested Onkyo HTS330 a 5.1 channel receiver + matching speakers. He even arranged a demo at his place, and man I was unable to take it any longer. Within a day, I was the proud owner of Onkyo HTS3300. Meanwhile, my newly built house had a dedicated HT room which welcomed Onkyo with open arms.
The growth phase -
HT room grew as time progressed, first with a false ceiling and then with floor/wall/ceiling carpets to contain echo. Soon I witnessed first death in my HT - My sony bravia 32" LCD within an year of purchase. With the help of my friend, I procured Acer H5370BD projector from US for ~420$ as a replacement, which made it a real HT.
Smaller additions including an LG BR player, asus oplay, chromecast, an xbox 360 etc came in as years passed by.
The present -
I frequent audio exhibitions, and one such helped me to realize that HTIB is still an HTIB and real experience is with good speakers, especially with active subs. The itch started again and even took me to a level when I tried to add locally assembled active subwoofers. Though it was giving good base, I later realized that it was not what I really wanted.
The research continued, and finally I decided to settle down with pioneer andrew johns speaker set. Then I realized that it is a hot selling entity in the market, and availability both retail as well as online was low. (By the way, I hate waiting with cash in my hand ) Went out and auditioned couple of speakers, and liked polk audio tsx220b bookshelves. Ordered through ebay and waited almost 20 days. Finally the seller cancelled the order and reimbursed the amount citing low stocks. What next?
Went out to my good old friend who is now running a full fledged HT shop, and auditioned couple of other bookshelves, but he advised me to go for tower speakers since according to him a bookshelf needs a matching stand to perform better, together will cost near a floor standing speaker. Auditioned multiple ones including jamo, yamaha, pioneer, onkyo, klipsch and paradigm. Klipsch and Paradigm were discarded due to price, pioneer due to lack of availability (non AJ were there, but didnt like it anyhow), dropped yamaha due to lack of clear base and finally zeroed in on two options - onkyo skf4800 and Jamo S426 both at same price tag. Auditioned it back to back, and finalized onkyo skf4800, due to its strong base compared to jamo. Bought a pair for 24k, and added to the HT. The tall boy really brought out the life in my HTS3300, and converted it to a real movie theater. The three way speaker is handling lows,mids and highs extremely well and has jelled in really well. It is overpowering my passive sub, and forming a very good sound stage in my HT. Though I could find lot of positive reviews for Onkyo skf4800 overseas, I have not seen one for the same in any Indian web sites. Surprised, as it is one which is throwing real good performance at an affordable price range. Will suggest that strongly, if any of you have an inclination towards onkyo speakers.
Next step -
My wish list is long including a leather recliner, an AC, an atmos enabled reciever etc, but my immediate need is a good center channel, matching surrounds and finally an active sub. Matching speakers from Onkyo - sks4800 was available, but smaller central channel didnt impress me. Research will resume as soon as I find a way to get enough funds + the finance minister approves ;-)
Suggestions are most welcome
Early days -
Baby steps to HT usually starts with an HTIB, unless you have surplus cash to jump in
. As any other newbie, I started my HT entry using an LG HTIB. It was a huge leap from regular TV, and threw me out of my seat first when I heard it. I still remember the day I bought my LG HTIB during the thanks giving sale of 2005 for $199, along with 5 other friends. We cleared the stock in the shop that day I guess. Was really happy to own a home theater which came back to India with me2009 - 2010 timeframe -
Second step in HTIB was when I realized that LG is not at all a brand in HT. It was during a home theater demo by Yamaha in Bangalore in 2009. I was blown away by the shear performance of the system, and I still remember the movie - Terminator JD which they played. The same instance, I started hating my 4 year old LG HT
It triggered exploration to HT world, and that search introduced me to hifivision. Considering the financial situation, I decided to start with a basic system in place and almost finalized on Denon, but later cancelled that plan as I was constructing my house and cash flow was indeed an issue. The LG was there to stay with me. The itch to own a professional system continued, and went out of control in 2010 when I discussed that with like minded friends. My friend, who was an HT component distributor in my place suggested Onkyo HTS330 a 5.1 channel receiver + matching speakers. He even arranged a demo at his place, and man I was unable to take it any longer. Within a day, I was the proud owner of Onkyo HTS3300. Meanwhile, my newly built house had a dedicated HT room which welcomed Onkyo with open arms.
The growth phase -
HT room grew as time progressed, first with a false ceiling and then with floor/wall/ceiling carpets to contain echo. Soon I witnessed first death in my HT - My sony bravia 32" LCD within an year of purchase. With the help of my friend, I procured Acer H5370BD projector from US for ~420$ as a replacement, which made it a real HT.
Smaller additions including an LG BR player, asus oplay, chromecast, an xbox 360 etc came in as years passed by.
The present -
I frequent audio exhibitions, and one such helped me to realize that HTIB is still an HTIB and real experience is with good speakers, especially with active subs. The itch started again and even took me to a level when I tried to add locally assembled active subwoofers. Though it was giving good base, I later realized that it was not what I really wanted.
The research continued, and finally I decided to settle down with pioneer andrew johns speaker set. Then I realized that it is a hot selling entity in the market, and availability both retail as well as online was low. (By the way, I hate waiting with cash in my hand
) Went out and auditioned couple of speakers, and liked polk audio tsx220b bookshelves. Ordered through ebay and waited almost 20 days. Finally the seller cancelled the order and reimbursed the amount citing low stocks. What next?Went out to my good old friend who is now running a full fledged HT shop, and auditioned couple of other bookshelves, but he advised me to go for tower speakers since according to him a bookshelf needs a matching stand to perform better, together will cost near a floor standing speaker. Auditioned multiple ones including jamo, yamaha, pioneer, onkyo, klipsch and paradigm. Klipsch and Paradigm were discarded due to price, pioneer due to lack of availability (non AJ were there, but didnt like it anyhow), dropped yamaha due to lack of clear base and finally zeroed in on two options - onkyo skf4800 and Jamo S426 both at same price tag. Auditioned it back to back, and finalized onkyo skf4800, due to its strong base compared to jamo. Bought a pair for 24k, and added to the HT. The tall boy really brought out the life in my HTS3300, and converted it to a real movie theater. The three way speaker is handling lows,mids and highs extremely well and has jelled in really well. It is overpowering my passive sub, and forming a very good sound stage in my HT. Though I could find lot of positive reviews for Onkyo skf4800 overseas, I have not seen one for the same in any Indian web sites. Surprised, as it is one which is throwing real good performance at an affordable price range. Will suggest that strongly, if any of you have an inclination towards onkyo speakers.
Next step -
My wish list is long including a leather recliner, an AC, an atmos enabled reciever etc, but my immediate need is a good center channel, matching surrounds and finally an active sub. Matching speakers from Onkyo - sks4800 was available, but smaller central channel didnt impress me. Research will resume as soon as I find a way to get enough funds + the finance minister approves ;-)
Suggestions are most welcome
