My home theatre setup...your views please

koushikp

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Hi,

Have been auditioning a lot of speakers and amplifiers for a good entry level 5.1 setup which can also handle music very well, and I have finally zeroed in on the following setup..I am new to the hifi world so would be great if you guys can share your views whether this is good or should I look at anything else..Remember, I am on a budget, and this setup is stretching it to the hilt almost..

Mordaunt-Short Avant 904i as front speakers

Mordaunt-Short Avant 905i as centre

Wharfedale Diamond 9.0 as the surrounds

Subwoofer MS Avant 309i or Wharfedale SW150 (these are front firing, would bottom firing be better for placement?)

Cambridge Azur 340R 5.1 A/V Receiver

Cambridge Azur 540D (V2) DVD player

Getting 16 gauge OFC cabling done for all the speakers
 
Hi Kaushik,
My knowledge of AVR s is poor so need to clarify whether the CA receiver will have the grunt to drive the above combo well?
Maybe u need a bigger amp?
 
It very essential to match all the speakers.Other wise the blending of sound won't be good.
Can you check Mordaunt-Short Avant 903i for surrond ?
 
Are you going to use it with a Plasma/LCD? How important is HDMI to you?

Your choice of AV receiver is a bit weak - it has 50w per channel, no pre-out section, and none of the multi-room features that make the CA 640R an attractive option. You could do much better with an AVR from Marantz or Denon if you buy from the grey market (while considering the risk of doing the same). E.g., Marantz SR-3001 should be under 20k and most of the same features but quite powerful and very good for music as well.

For speakers I suggest:
Center channel - MS Avant 905i
Front - 906i
Surround - 903i (bipolar, better for movies) or 902i (bookshelf, better for multichannel music)
Sub - 309i

This way you have a capable stereo system as well as multichannel thanks to good front floorstanders.

For source, see if you can get a Denon 1930 on the grey market, or Pioneer 600AV abroad, or CA DVD-89 (cheaper than 540D). If music is not important and you will add a CD player later then just get a 6k DVD player from Sony, Philips, etc.
 
Yeah for movie you may want to put the sub in some corner(not a must,plz experiment).bottom firing may have little edge in movies specially corners(I have read,no exp)
 
hi guys, thanks for your inputs..I considered the wharfedale 9.0s as the surrounds only because they can mounted on wall with brackets so it can be directed towards the listening position, the 902is are quite heavy, the brackets may not hold (thats what the retailer told me at least)...i will definitely recheck this aspect..And i did not want the bipolars for the same reason, they cant be directed, the surrounds will be 1 feet higher than the ear levels so i thought of this solution...lemme see how i can work around it

on the amplifier, the retailers all suggested cambridge so i thought that would be good, and it sounded amazing also..I will definitely check out the Marantz Amp, any idea how much the 3001 costs with bill? cause even the CA amp is not cheap, its 26k after discount with bill..

on the source side..I am basically looking for a decent upscaling DVD player which can handle music reasonably well within 15k (dont mind if its from the grey market)...think the Denon is pretty expensive so dunno...some suggestions will be really helpfull...
 
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You have to consider timbre matching between your speakers! This is why mixing very different speakers is a bad idea - clear tonal differences. The MS speakers tend slightly towards bright while Diamonds tend towards warm - not a good idea to mix the two. Do not let the ease of mounting be an issue as there is always a solution for that.

The Marantz AVR may be nearly twice as expensive at the official price. No doubt the CA is a fantastic receiver but I would recommend you get the 540R at a minimum. It has pre-outs and more power, giving you a wider choice of (present and future) speakers.

For speakers, you can save and get 902i for both front and rear -- the 904i is just the same but in a floorstanding cabinet.

For the DVD, you can get the Cambridge Audio DVD-89 for 12k and it upscales well to 720p (it does 1080i but not as well). If SACD/DVD-A are not important to you, get the CA 540D V2 for 3-4k more. The Denon 1930 would be better but either grey market or from abroad -- not "officially" here as it costs nearly double, i.e. 32k.

What city are in you in?
 
hi particleman,

I live in Mumbai, any idea where i can source stuff in grey which is reliable here??
 
My tuppences worth-
Having speakers of the same make & lineup would be better since the tone would be the same-wld apply to the S/W also.
Marantz would be significantly better as a receiver-balanced detail, control, adequate reserves of power.
Try to get an Oppo DVD player(981 or 980 or 970, in order of pref).
Its a great player for both Video as well as Audio-google for reviews.
 
Hmmm, so basically you have been sold to what the dealer told you :)

My dear friend, look around, you can much better for that money. Go for a package deal and you will get more sound per Rupee.
 
Hmmm, so basically you have been sold to what the dealer told you :)

:) not that dude..its just that they sounded well the front two with the amplifier i mean..i didnt really check the surround sound so much cause that will hardly be used except for ambient sound in movies...but now that i see DV89 plays SACD...hmmm I am also thinking going for the wharfedales would be stupid..
 
hi guys,

got a good deal on both the marantz and the cambridge 540R...marantz 4002 22k in grey and the cambridge 540R V3 at 28k with bill...now which one do you think i could go for...and I changed the DVD player to CA DV89...superb deal at 12k...thanks particleman for ur suggestion...it plays both sacd and dvd-a...
 
hi guys,

got a good deal on both the marantz and the cambridge 540R...marantz 4002 22k in grey and the cambridge 540R V3 at 28k with bill...now which one do you think i could go for...and I changed the DVD player to CA DV89...superb deal at 12k...thanks particleman for ur suggestion...it plays both sacd and dvd-a...

Hi,

I personally was in a similar situation. I bought a CA 540R V3 with Quad 11L front speakers only. But however, I was interested in only CD playback.

Your situation is slightly different. You are interested in SACD and DVD-Audio playback. Now you have to think how you will channel the signal to your receiver. There are two options. (1) HDMI for audio (2) Analog output (6 cables).

In the first case, none of the CA receivers are capable of receiving audio via HDMI. So your only option from the above choices are CA DV89 + Marantz 4002. I think that the Marantz can receive audio over HDMI, but please check.

If you are okay with analog cable solution, then both receivers are possible. I selected the CA over Marantz. However, in this case the audio conversion to analog will be done in the player. In this case, the DV-89 might be a little weak. I would suggest atleast 540D DVD player which would be around 15-16k.

In short, please give a thought to how you want your signals to be routed.

Regards,
Prasad Redkar.
 
Koushikp:
You should audition as many products as you can before taking a decision. Even for the ones you have shortlisted, you will have to weigh performance against features and this is the critical part. The Marantz is excellent for music (performance) but offers fewer options such as lip-sync correction, DSD over HDMI, deep colour, etc. (features). An Onkyo or Yamaha might give you these features but may not sound as good for music at this price point. You should probably focus on the features that matter to you and see if performance is compromised by the AVR of your choice.

PNRedkar raises a good point about hi-def audio. Note that the Marantz does not do DSD over HDMI (found in v1.2, while the 4002 is v1.1 and v1.3 repeating) so decoding will be done by the player. On the other hand, the Marantz does support 7.1 LPCM so you are in better hands for BluRay. The Cambridge DVD89 is also a HDMI 1.1 device so it will output SACD/DVD-A in analog mode only. Its quality is fair but not outstanding as Prasad has rightly pointed out. Its a good all-in-one solution but you can do better with separate DVD and SACD players.
 
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