My Home Theater Hunt....

Krishroy2004

Active Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2016
Messages
218
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Location
Patna
Hi All,

First of all, I am not an audiophile, I have tried my best to explain all things in proper way.

For any mistake my apologies.



Chapter 1:-

A few years back I entered in HT world with no knowledge. At that time I wanted a Blu-Ray home theater setup for my home and I started audition. In process, I audition some LG, Samsung, Sony HTIB in my area. I was not aware of Yamaha, Onkyo, or Pioneer. So with my little knowledge, I search each and every showroom in my locality for the best HT which I can afford.

For the audition, I carried my music cd’s, MP3’s and movie rips (5.1)



LG – First audition LG (BH6731S-FB) Blu-Ray HTIB – All the speakers were kept in front, the showroom guy chipped in my cd and plays the music in loud volume, I was enjoying the music. Then he played the movie Transformers, action sequence was sounding great. So overall it was good but not that great.

Then I moved on to Samsung.



Samsung – HT-J5100 Blu-Ray HTIB – Again all the speakers were kept in front. I listen to some music and watch movie and was not impressed at all. It was very bad, LG was far better sounding then Samsung. So I moved on.



Sony – BDV-3100 Blu-Ray HTIB - I went to a Sony showroom and the model I wanted to check was not on display. After my request, they opened a new box pack for the demo. After setup (Again all the speakers were kept in front) they played the movie Transformers, and then I was like blown out. First thing what I liked was the bass. The action sequence was amazing, I felt every punch, crash, gunshot. Immediately I decided to buy the system with no second thought. We also play some music and it was a good experience but I was so impressed by the movie part that I totally ignore the music part.



After a hard bargain, I purchased the system for 23K, it was a bit over budget for me but I managed it.

After purchase, I rushed to my home unpack the box and set it up (All front).

I was so excited that I can’t explain. It was my first personal HT setup, all was set to go. I inserted a audio cd and play the music.

HOLY CRAP….. What I have done. I was not able to believe my ears what I was listening.

My cheap 1.5K 2.1 system sound better than this. In all that excitement I didn’t notice that the system doesn’t have a high-frequency driver, only have a 3” full range driver. All my excitement was gone, I was not able to sleep that night and was regretting my decision. The next day I set it up in the proper way (5.1) check the system setting and start watching Transformers.

As the movie starts my room was filled with the effects, at that moment my sadness was gone and the smile came back. I check out some more movies and enjoy every single effect (Bullet whizzing all over my room, Car sifting from one corner to another, Jets flying over my head, Explosions) Bass was great with little boominess.

Overall it’s a great VFM system for watching movies.

I was totally satisfied with movies but not with music. With lots of question in my mind, I started to search the internet for answer. In the process, I came to know about this forum.

From different posts, I learned that to enjoy music I must have a stereo system, not a HTIB. Also get knowledge about different brands and system. I learned lots of things over here and still in process of learning.

Thanks to all of you for sharing your valuable knowledge.



The upgrade bug was knocking my head for last 2 years but was not able to upgrade because of a budget issue.

I am glad that the time has come now for an upgrade.



Chapter 2:-

Upgrade to Stereo or an AVR confusion?

I am really confused between a stereo setup of an AVR. My preference for listing music and watching movies are 50:50. I want to upgrade to a better AVR still not able to understand that if I can enjoy the music also on that. To resolve this I decided to start audition with no hurry.

My first choice will be Yamaha because I learned from different posts that Yamaha is good for both Movies and music. Also, it is locally available at Patna, so I started my audition with Yamaha.

Yesterday I visited Sound & Vision showroom for the audition of Yamaha.

The Owner of the store was very humble and helpful, he listens to my requirements first then we started the demo.

First I demoed a stereo setup then a AVR.

Stereo Setup – Yamaha RS202BL amp with NS-8390 Floor Standers and NS-333 BookShelf



  • Yamaha RS202BL amp with NS-8390 – I carried my FLAC files on pen drive for an audition but they don’t have any DAC for this amp also the amp itself doesn’t have a DAC (Analog input only). Then I try to connect through Bluetooth but the amp was not showing on my phone. So one of the showroom staff connect his phone over Bluetooth and asked me what to play. Told him to play Pink Floyd – The Wall (Another Brick In The Wall).
  • The music started and I was blown away. WOW, what a music coming out of those speakers. Hi was good vocal was clear (not crisp but clear) base was adequate, stereo separation was great. All were coming out perfectly, I laid back and start enjoying the music. Every guitar string, vocals, drums all was perfect. I ask the guy if he is playing FLAC or MP3, he told me he is playing a YouTube video.
  • Damm, I didn’t expect that. The next song I played from youtube was Billy Raffoul – Acoustic.
  • In this song, I feel that hi frequency was bright sometimes but the vocal was clear bass was great.
  • Dynamic range was great on the song Another Brick In The Wall.
  • Then we play the same songs on Yamaha RS202BL amp with NS-333 everything was great except the lows, Bass was better on NS-8390 as because of bigger driver.
AVR Setup:-

I was there for the demo of Yamaha – RX-V583 or 683 but none of these was available for demo. So they gave me a demo of RX-V483 with Bose Acoustimass 6.

The demo started with the famous Book Of ELI gunshot scene. Oh boy…. As the gunshot started bullets start whizzing all over the place. The sound was so crisp and clear, the dialogs ware coming from the tiny center speaker was clear like water. Al the details coming out of those tiny speakers was amazing, I realize my Sony was nowhere near this clarity. Details were crisp, dynamic, room-filling.

But wait…… where is the bass? The main problem with Acoustimass 6 which I feel is the bass. My 23K Sony has more bass then Acoustimass 6. Although this in my observation may differ from others.

I love my Sony for bass. Next, we check ‘Ready Player One’ and the Acoustimass again came alive with little bass effect. I miss the heart-thumping bass from the system.



So my demo ended as of now but will post more details after my upcoming auditions.



The Hunt begins again……..
 
Upgrade to Stereo or an AVR confusion?
AVR..

I am really confused between a stereo setup of an AVR. My preference for listing music and watching movies are 50:50. I want to upgrade to a better AVR still not able to understand that if I can enjoy the music also on that.

AVR will be your best bet here as your entertainment device as it involves movies too..

The Hunt begins again……..

Understand, you have had not so good experience in the past.. But, what is your budget? What are you looking to set-up?..
 
AVR..
Understand, you have had not so good experience in the past.. But, what is your budget? What are you looking to set-up?..
For now 50K.
If AVR then I will go with AVR only for now and will buy my speakers later as my budget permits.
If Stereo then Amp+FL
 
For now 50K.

Assuming you are not looking any more than 5.1 set-up, you can complete a 5.1 AVR + 5.0 speakers as of now in your budget comfortably.. When you can spend later, add the sub-woofer and finish 5.1 set-up..

If AVR then I will go with AVR only for now and will buy my speakers later as my budget permits.

It is best, you buy AVR + speakers together, so that you can start using them..
 
As I am considering Yamaha AVR only so what if I go with AVR+Front L+R.
Yamaha RX-V483 is available for - 39K and RX-V583 is available for 45K. For 6K extra, I think it's better to go with V583.
If I buy 583 and front L+R then I can use it for music listening. For movies, I can still use my Sony as they are not bad for movies.
or maybe I can use sony stock speakers for surround and center even for overhead channels.
Right now I want to buy the system for Music listening and later I will upgrade to full HT setup.
 
As I am considering Yamaha AVR only so what if I go with AVR+Front L+R.
Yamaha RX-V483 is available for - 39K and RX-V583 is available for 45K. For 6K extra, I think it's better to go with V583.
If I buy 583 and front L+R then I can use it for music listening. For movies, I can still use my Sony as they are not bad for movies.
or maybe I can use sony stock speakers for surround and center even for overhead channels.
Right now I want to buy the system for Music listening and later I will upgrade to full HT setup.

Sure.. You can go with the combo you have in mind.. Just make sure the sony satellites are compatible (At-least 4 Ohms or higher) with the AVR in consideration..
 
I would fully agree with elangoas. Go for a avr as your split between movies and music is 50:50. I would strongly recommend keeping an eye out on the 'for sale by owner ' thread. There is great value and good deals to be had there. Avr's keep propping up there from time to time.

If your Sony speaker have a impedence of above 4 ohms, most avr's will drive them.

That's said, I had a similar Sony model htib in my previous boat, and it sounded lovely for both movies and music to my dumb ears. If you are not happy with their musical performance, then I would hazard a guess, that they are not optimally setup. Can you please describe what you think is missing in the music. Maybe you can go into the settings in the Sony, and check how it is setup.

We all want instant gratification in today's world. And that includes me too. But it would be wiser to save a bit more till you can reach an avr with atmos too. If you can be a bit patient and collect more funds and wait for another year, you will have atmos avr's appearing in the classified's section. Then you wouldn't need to change your avr again till it broke down.
 
If your Sony speaker have a impedence of above 4 ohms, most avr's will drive them.

That's said, I had a similar Sony model htib in my previous boat, and it sounded lovely for both movies and music to my dumb ears. If you are not happy with their musical performance, then I would hazard a guess, that they are not optimally setup. Can you please describe what you think is missing in the music. Maybe you can go into the settings in the Sony, and check how it is setup.
At Sony site it's showing 3 ohms. Need to check localy. With Sony not getting the clarity for music what I need, no issue with movies.

We all want instant gratification in today's world. And that includes me too. But it would be wiser to save a bit more till you can reach an avr with atmos too. If you can be a bit patient and collect more funds and wait for another year, you will have atmos avr's appearing in the classified's section. Then you wouldn't need to change your avr again till it broke down.
I have all the time, no in hurry. I will go for Atmos only.
 
At Sony site it's showing 3 ohms. Need to check localy. With Sony not getting the clarity for music what I need, no issue with movies.


I have all the time, no in hurry. I will go for Atmos only.


Most Sony speakers are 3 ohms...so it may not work well and can heat up the AVR.......best is to be content with L + R and then later when budget permits add the other speakers.....most follow this route.
 
Most Sony speakers are 3 ohms...so it may not work well and can heat up the AVR.......best is to be content with L + R and then later when budget permits add the other speakers.....most follow this route.
I am also following that route only
 
Polks, Jamos, Boston Acoustics, Taga, Pioneer, Yamaha (NS series), etc. typically work well with Yamaha AVRs...

You can refer to Yamaha Owners Thread where you can get first hand feedback from users of this AVR and which FS they have paired well.
 
I have a solution in mind, what if I connect two 3 ohms speakers in a series that will be 6 ohms. I have 4 satellites, I will use them for surrounds in series. My center is 6 ohms so I can use it directly. I will buy front L+R, this way setup can be completed for now.
whats your suggestion?
 
I have a solution in mind, what if I connect two 3 ohms speakers in a series that will be 6 ohms. I have 4 satellites, I will use them for surrounds in series.

I had used the Onida KY theater speakers, which were nothing but, two full range speakers wired in series.. I think using two full range speaker in series is a good option too.. It should make it 6 Ohms.. Good one..

My center is 6 ohms so I can use it directly. I will buy front L+R, this way setup can be completed for now.

Yes.. You should be able to use your center without issues..
 
I have a solution in mind, what if I connect two 3 ohms speakers in a series that will be 6 ohms. I have 4 satellites, I will use them for surrounds in series. My center is 6 ohms so I can use it directly. I will buy front L+R, this way setup can be completed for now.
whats your suggestion?
I dont think thats technically possible. These are not resistors that you can put in series. The speakers have crossovers and the load is impedance and not resistance to be connected serially.
 
For front should I go with FS or BS

BS + sub..

I dont think thats technically possible. These are not resistors that you can put in series. The speakers have crossovers and the load is impedance and not resistance to be connected serially.

Don't think sony full range satellite speakers will have crossover.. So, it is just fine..
 
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