Need help with building a HT system

[Anands123]

Thanks Venkat for such a detailed and clear response. Surely found it helpful. Thanks to all the others as well.

I am going through with a number of auditions and getting to know something new each time. The latest is that, I am moving away from sub/ sat and considering FS included combinations. Though I was willing to go with some of the best sub/sat like the KEF 3005SE or the B & W MT 20, they were not up to the mark with simple 2.1 stereo music. They were brilliant for movies, but sounded very OK for music.

In the FS systems, for the Front L & R, I am now considering B & W 684, KEF IQ5 and Jamo C60. I heard the Wharfdale 9.5, but felt that it lacked refinement. Any other I should add to the list? Just as an update, I am more or less decided on the Onkyo 705 as the AVR.

Thanks for all your comments

 

[girl21]

where did u checked out the brands
@the shop or ataria mall...

do let me know

Thanks Venkat for such a detailed and clear response. Surely found it helpful. Thanks to all the others as well.

I am going through with a number of auditions and getting to know something new each time. The latest is that, I am moving away from sub/ sat and considering FS included combinations. Though I was willing to go with some of the best sub/sat like the KEF 3005SE or the B & W MT 20, they were not up to the mark with simple 2.1 stereo music. They were brilliant for movies, but sounded very OK for music.

In the FS systems, for the Front L & R, I am now considering B & W 684, KEF IQ5 and Jamo C60. I heard the Wharfdale 9.5, but felt that it lacked refinement. Any other I should add to the list? Just as an update, I am more or less decided on the Onkyo 705 as the AVR.

Thanks for all your comments

 

[Anands123]

B & W at A2V (Audio vision), Juhu, dynamix Mall
Wharfdale at Alliance Electronics (Near The Shop)
KEF at Atria Mall, Pro FX

Though I went to 'The Shop' in Andheri W, the experience was quite bad. The so-called owner put me on to a demo guy who spoke in mono sylables. He harldy opened his mouth and I had to figure things out myself. Also, he quoted a cost for a speaker package and then quoted a much lower figure even before I left. Just got a feeling that I should aviod that shop as it seemed to lack ethics and basic customer orientation. But, that was just my experience

 

[girl21]

hey i had a similar expereince in the Shop at andheri......when u ask the Questions, u will get the reply...knowledge wise a big zero.........funny guys out there......



just wanted to know the cost coming to:
B & W (Rs. )at A2V (Audio vision), Juhu, dynamix Mall
Wharfdale (Rs. )at Alliance Electronics (Near The Shop)
KEF (Rs. )at Atria Mall, Pro FX

----------------
which LCD TV and DVD player u have????

 

[Anands123]

I don't have the exact cost info as I am just turning directions towards FS and have been looking more closely at sub/ sat so far. However, as far as I know,

B & W 684 series would cost about Rs 1.75 lakhs for the 5.1
KEF IQ 5 would cost about Rs 1.25 lakhs
Jamo 607 would cost about Rs 1.1lakhs
Wharfdale 9.5 was about Rs 85K

Like I said, I did not document them exactly, but to the extent my memory goes. Would have info on better shops/ prices? Thanks

 

[Anands123]

After a few weeks of auditions and running around, I have purchased the Samsung 5 series 46 inch and Onkyo 705, which are yet to be installed. I am still to make a choice on the speakers. The options are

a) Wharfdale 9.5/9.1 as fronts (based on checking both and figuring what suits my room best), 9cs, 9DFS and SW150 for the sub

b) Tannoy Mercury Custom F4/F1 for the front, Tannoy Center, and Wharfdale 9DFS for the surround and Wharfdale SW150 for the sub - The dealer says that the Fsurround of Tannoy won't sound as good as the 9DFS and that it is not a problem mixing and matching the surrounds. Same reason goes with the sub, except that he does not have the Tannoy Sub.

My listening area is just 100 sq ft (10 by 10, though the area of the room is about 250 sqft) and I will sitting about 6 feet from the fronts. Also, the surround speakers are going to be parallel to my listening area as the back of the sofa is stuck to the wall. Also, I will be using it 60% of the time for movies and 40% for music.

I am confused from the auditions and following is my take.

a) The Tannoy's F4 sounded a bit brighter, but was pacier and seemed to have a bit more detail. It looked much better. The dealer said that it was a brand new piece and it will get about 30% better over time

b) The Wharfdale sounded more melodius and also seemed to have more bass. The movie experience also seemed to sound better

The Tannoys' work out to about Rs 77K while the Wharfdale comes to about Rs 60K. Both are within my budget.

The dealer has quite convinced me logically that the Tannoys are a better choice.

Can you please comment on

a) Which way to go?
b) Is mixing the brands for surround and sub going to be a problem?
c) Would Tanooy's get better over time and be able to delive better bass?
d) In case I want to upgrade in future to better speakers, which brand would be scalable?
e)In either brand, should I go for the book shelves or the floor standers? I love the way the 9.1s look when stand mounted.

Request the forum's views asap as I am hoping to close this out by the weekend, make a purchase and start enjoying it. thanks

 

[girl21]

refer to:
http://www.hifivision.com/surround-amplifiers-receivers/1878-onkyo-ht-s5100-2.html
(abbey4u: Hello with a basic review of Onkyo HT-S5100
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi to all audio/video enthusiast. I joined this forum in search of information for Home theatre system and this proved good for me.

Last week i bought the HTS 5100. My requirement was a good value for money home theater system and the HTS 5100 came by. I am not an audio enthusiast so I can't give a detailed review but overall I liked the system. It has three HDMI input (passthough) which serves the connectivity. I installed it in my drawing room and has to hook the speakers at a height of 8 ft, which is not recommended but since I had no option left I had to do that.

It sounds good both for music and movie. when compared to denon ( had 5.1 setup with Jamo speakers) at the time of demo, i found this better for movies and denon was better for music.

overall i am satisfied with my decision. one point i forgot to mention th ipod dock which is good to have feature as you can control your ipod with remote)
==========================================================

After a few weeks of auditions and running around, I have purchased the Samsung 5 series 46 inch and Onkyo 705, which are yet to be installed. I am still to make a choice on the speakers. The options are

a) Wharfdale 9.5/9.1 as fronts (based on checking both and figuring what suits my room best), 9cs, 9DFS and SW150 for the sub

b) Tannoy Mercury Custom F4/F1 for the front, Tannoy Center, and Wharfdale 9DFS for the surround and Wharfdale SW150 for the sub - The dealer says that the Fsurround of Tannoy won't sound as good as the 9DFS and that it is not a problem mixing and matching the surrounds. Same reason goes with the sub, except that he does not have the Tannoy Sub.

My listening area is just 100 sq ft (10 by 10, though the area of the room is about 250 sqft) and I will sitting about 6 feet from the fronts. Also, the surround speakers are going to be parallel to my listening area as the back of the sofa is stuck to the wall. Also, I will be using it 60% of the time for movies and 40% for music.

I am confused from the auditions and following is my take.

a) The Tannoy's F4 sounded a bit brighter, but was pacier and seemed to have a bit more detail. It looked much better. The dealer said that it was a brand new piece and it will get about 30% better over time

b) The Wharfdale sounded more melodius and also seemed to have more bass. The movie experience also seemed to sound better

The Tannoys' work out to about Rs 77K while the Wharfdale comes to about Rs 60K. Both are within my budget.

The dealer has quite convinced me logically that the Tannoys are a better choice.

Can you please comment on

a) Which way to go?
b) Is mixing the brands for surround and sub going to be a problem?
c) Would Tanooy's get better over time and be able to delive better bass?
d) In case I want to upgrade in future to better speakers, which brand would be scalable?
e)In either brand, should I go for the book shelves or the floor standers? I love the way the 9.1s look when stand mounted.

Request the forum's views asap as I am hoping to close this out by the weekend, make a purchase and start enjoying it. thanks

 

[pradski]

HI, anand,

what was the price you got onkyo 705 for.

Thanks.

 

[Anands123]

Rs 42K at 'The Shop' Andheri

 

[unleash_me]

After a few weeks of auditions and running around, I have purchased the Samsung 5 series 46 inch and Onkyo 705, which are yet to be installed.
.
.
a) Wharfdale 9.5/9.1 as fronts (based on checking both and figuring what suits my room best), 9cs, 9DFS and SW150 for the sub
.
.
b) The Wharfdale sounded more melodius and also seemed to have more bass. The movie experience also seemed to sound better
.
.
a) Which way to go?
b) Is mixing the brands for surround and sub going to be a problem?
c) Would Tanooy's get better over time and be able to delive better bass?
d) In case I want to upgrade in future to better speakers, which brand would be scalable?
e)In either brand, should I go for the book shelves or the floor standers? I love the way the 9.1s look when stand mounted.

Congratulations Anand!

My suggestion would be to go with the Diamonds package. The Tannoys mentioned are really good and from a HiFi point of view, the F1 might outperform the 9.1 ?? so musicality is there by default. But since this is mainly for the HT purposes, the Diamonds sounded better IME. Plus, on a very personal note, the Tannoys lack big when it comes to looks - the curvy Diamonds definitely looks classy to my eyes!

Mixing and matching is not really advisable due to various reasons, but if you don??t really have any other choice, then yes.

I'm not a huge believer of break-in, never really waited counting days or hours for that matter for my speakers to sound better. May be because its a very gradual process and I never happend to notice it. Anyways, lot of people believe in that concept and if they are right, then may be the tannoys might "open" up and give you more bass.

You can upgrade with in the same brands with the Evos or the Signatures. Or step up to MA RS range or the Dali Ikons etc.

If you have the space, go for the floor-standers ?? especially for the movie purposes am sure it will give you much more weight and scale to the sound. Otherwise, stick with the bookshelves.

Happy auditioning!

 

[venkatcr]

Congratulations!! You have covered 80% of your journey. 42K for the 705 sounds a fantastic steal. How did you manage that? I am assuming the B&W is out.

a) Which way to go?

The choice is ultimately yours. Close your eyes in a quite room, and think over your auditioning. Which gave your more pleasure.? Which made you smile? Which made you tap your feet? Which made you want to hear the song again? That is the speaker you have to go for.

b) Is mixing the brands for surround and sub going to be a problem?

Though technically there are no issues. mixing of brands disturbs what is called timbre matching. Each set of speakers is made with a set of wood that is chosen by the manufacturer carefully to suit his drivers. Different pieces of wood behave differently with sound, and this will become an issue when you mix brands.

c) Would Tanooy's get better over time and be able to delive better bass?

They may, they may not. There are arguments both for and against breaking-in of speakers. There are tested reports that say that the breaking-in happens in the few seconds of testing that the manufacturer does before he ships. There are also very respected viewers who swear that the sound improves over time. I have certainly seen a drastic improvement in B&W 303 over just two days. But the Wharfedales have sounded good to me from day one, and I have not noticed any perceptible difference after some 180 days.

d) In case I want to upgrade in future to better speakers, which brand would be scalable? e)

Both. Both brands have more expensive speakers in their repertoire.

In either brand, should I go for the book shelves or the floor standers? I love the way the 9.1s look when stand mounted.

I think for 100 sq feet, as I mentioned before, bookshelves should be ample. If you are choosing the Wharfedales, go for the 9.2 instead of the 9.1. It will add more volume, more punch, and improve the sound stage.

Regarding the surround being parallel to your listening area, there is no harm in that. Just place them some 3 feet about your ear when you are in sitting position. Surround sound speakers are supposed to be parallel to the viewers position in any case.

Cheers

 

[spirovious]

Hi,

I am planning to replace my old TV (CRT) and music system with a new LCD TV and a component HT system. While I was grappling with some options and trying to research a bit, I came across this wonderful forum. As adivsed by few, I have read a lot of threads and am posting my query for review and inputs. Thanks

My room is about 15 feet width by 12 feet length and about 12 feet high. One side is open leading to the dining side of the hall. The other side has a large sliding window. This is a rented place and might shift out in the coming years. I am looking at the system largely for movies (80%) and the rest for music. However, I love to have something that will sound great. As this is not a very permanent set-up, I am not keen to invest too much or try for a perfect match to this room's specifications. However, I am keen to get something that is scalable for the future. Here is a jist of what I am planning. Please comment.

The easier one first on TV, I was planning to get the SONY W series 46 inches from the grey market. It cost Rs 1lakh and the MRP is 1.6 lakhs. While I know I am running a bit of risk here, I am hoping Sony will atleast service it if there are any problems.

For the HT system, my overall budget is a maximum of Rs1.5 lakhs. As my room is not so big, I was thinking of getting satellite speakers. Was extemely impressed with the B & W MT series, costing about Rs 1 lakhs for 5.1 set-up including sub-woofer of about 200W. The other choices in short list are the mordaunt short genie and the KEF KTH series. I heard bose lifesyle systems, but was not as good as these. Especially, the lower frequencies. If tower speakers floor standing are the best way to go, then I could drop the satellite and somehow fit them in, though the room might look a bit cluttered.

For the AVR, I was thinking either the Onkyo 705 of the Denon 2308. While I am aware that for such a small room, I may not need so much power output, I am hoping that when I move into a permanent st-up, I will move these tiny speakers to another room and buy better speakers like floorstanding set-ups for the HT. In addition to good sound and picture, I am keen to have the video upconversion as well as a universal remote to control all elements with one.

Is the overall line of thinking right, and can you advice me on the following.

a) Sony W series 46 LCD TV? Or should I go for other brands instead?
b) Is it OK to buy it from the grey market (huge savings and hope SONY will not have problems)
c) Are the speaker type and brand choices good? Any other?
d) Are these amplifiers OK? Brand, power output?

Look forward to getting some inputs. thanks a ton!

Hi,
Your short list is good.

I will suggest this way-

1. LCD- sony w series (dont contain 100 hz,but new series abt to come)

2.AVR- Denon 2808

3.Spk - Kef KHT 3005 (awarded, looking roomsize)

4.DVD player - Denon,Pioneer 610,Philips 5996

My question to you which grey market did you aproach?
I m in Mum.
You are saving 50000 on LCD .I will take this way-

Gray market>no warrenty>savings>keep it for servicing if youare not lucky with piece else enjoy.

 

[spirovious]

hey i had a similar expereince in the Shop at andheri......when u ask the Questions, u will get the reply...knowledge wise a big zero.........funny guys out there......



just wanted to know the cost coming to:
B & W (Rs. )at A2V (Audio vision), Juhu, dynamix Mall
Wharfdale (Rs. )at Alliance Electronics (Near The Shop)
KEF (Rs. )at Atria Mall, Pro FX

----------------
which LCD TV and DVD player u have????

My experience was good with THE SHOP

They gave demo whichever I needed ,I spend 1 hr there.Mr.Sunil attended me.

 

[spirovious]

After a few weeks of auditions and running around, I have purchased the Samsung 5 series 46 inch and Onkyo 705, which are yet to be installed. I am still to make a choice on the speakers. The options are

a) Wharfdale 9.5/9.1 as fronts (based on checking both and figuring what suits my room best), 9cs, 9DFS and SW150 for the sub

b) Tannoy Mercury Custom F4/F1 for the front, Tannoy Center, and Wharfdale 9DFS for the surround and Wharfdale SW150 for the sub - The dealer says that the Fsurround of Tannoy won't sound as good as the 9DFS and that it is not a problem mixing and matching the surrounds. Same reason goes with the sub, except that he does not have the Tannoy Sub.

My listening area is just 100 sq ft (10 by 10, though the area of the room is about 250 sqft) and I will sitting about 6 feet from the fronts. Also, the surround speakers are going to be parallel to my listening area as the back of the sofa is stuck to the wall. Also, I will be using it 60% of the time for movies and 40% for music.

I am confused from the auditions and following is my take.

a) The Tannoy's F4 sounded a bit brighter, but was pacier and seemed to have a bit more detail. It looked much better. The dealer said that it was a brand new piece and it will get about 30% better over time

b) The Wharfdale sounded more melodius and also seemed to have more bass. The movie experience also seemed to sound better

The Tannoys' work out to about Rs 77K while the Wharfdale comes to about Rs 60K. Both are within my budget.

The dealer has quite convinced me logically that the Tannoys are a better choice.

Can you please comment on

a) Which way to go?
b) Is mixing the brands for surround and sub going to be a problem?
c) Would Tanooy's get better over time and be able to delive better bass?
d) In case I want to upgrade in future to better speakers, which brand would be scalable?
e)In either brand, should I go for the book shelves or the floor standers? I love the way the 9.1s look when stand mounted.

Request the forum's views asap as I am hoping to close this out by the weekend, make a purchase and start enjoying it. thanks

Hi,

I posted my ans late then came to know you went for Sam & Onkyo.

I own Onkyo avr & tannoy f1 custom.
To me the combination is good for Music,Better for Movie.

As you said your room is 10 * 1o ft I will suggest dont go for Towers,
simply bcose sound may be heavy than sweat.

you can go for 4 Tannoy F1 custom & centre with velodyne SW.
Bass & treble are balanced.Bass goes below 60 Hz for F1.

I got Tannoy from Alliance4,they specially ordered for me.

 

[Anands123]

Extremely helpful inputs, great people and a wonderful forum indeed Thankyou all for taking your time to reply.

Getting to the point, I installed my HT system over the weekend -

TV - Samsung 5 series 46"
AVR - Onkyo 705
DVD player - CA DV99
Speakers - All wharfdale 9.1 fronts, 9CS, 9DFSsurrounds, SW150 -subwoofer

Just learning to operate the system and get the settings in place. My feedback so far,

a) Overall it sounds great and I am feeling happy with my purchase. The DVD picture quality is excellent. The audio CDs sound great. All this when I am resonably sure that the settings and listening modes are not even optimal yet. The guy who came to install did not seem to know much about settings and calibrations. I might have to do it myself reading the manual or call for a better guy from the shop (Alliance4 in Andheri).

b) The DVD player Cambridge Audio DV99 is giving some problems with audio CDs, in that, it is skipping a lot - sometimes, just gets hung. The player had scratches on it when opened from the box and I mentioned to the guys to replace it. they agreed, but am not sure if the problem is true of the model/ brand. Need some inputs here. My other choices are Pioneer 610 or Denon 1740 (from the grey market). The picture and sound quality is so good that I am not even sure I want to go for another brand. I tried Pioneer 410 with the set-up and both picture and sound seemed a shade lesser in quality.

(Incidentally,, grey market I refer to is Alfa in Irla.)

c) The speakers sound great. I love them. I had a final audition between Tannoys and Diamonds and chose the latter. As Venkat keeps saying, it turned out to be a personal choice that I liked the tonality of the music better. It also looks gorgeous. To me the clincher was that the sound from the diamonds was sweet, pleasant on the years and sounding relativey neutral. I thought about the time I was standing about 3 feet from the stage when Mark Knopfler was performing in Mumbai and was trying to find which speaker sounded closer to that. To my non-audiophile ears, it was the Diamonds.

I will keep the forum updated with more feedback and questions.

For now,

a) Should I go for a different brand DVD player or stick to CA DV99. I love the quality of it, but the skipping issue with Audio CDs. It does the same with old and new clean CDs. But, like I mentioned the exterior looks like a used piece and new one might not have the issue at all.

Venkat, specific to your comments,
a) I read your post after finalzing the 9.1s for the front. They sound loud enough for my room and seem to have enough base. In fact, for stereo, I felt like I should switch-off the sub. Should I still change it for the 9.2s as this is the best time to do it. Maybe I am missing something that you could highlight. Also the 9.1s seem have won a number of awards.

Even I was pleasantly surprised with the price of 705. This was from 'The Shop', one of the few to have it in stock in Mumbai. Also, the others were quoting upwards of Rs46K. Only thing is that I got a gold colour though I was looking for black or silver as no one had them in stock.

Looking for inputs as usual. Thanks

 

[venkatcr]

a) Should I go for a different brand DVD player or stick to CA DV99. I love the quality of it, but the skipping issue with Audio CDs. It does the same with old and new clean CDs. But, like I mentioned the exterior looks like a used piece and new one might not have the issue at all.

Venkat, specific to your comments,
a) I read your post after finalzing the 9.1s for the front. They sound loud enough for my room and seem to have enough base. In fact, for stereo, I felt like I should switch-off the sub. Should I still change it for the 9.2s as this is the best time to do it. Maybe I am missing something that you could highlight. Also the 9.1s seem have won a number of awards.

Even I was pleasantly surprised with the price of 705. This was from 'The Shop', one of the few to have it in stock in Mumbai. Also, the others were quoting upwards of Rs46K. Only thing is that I got a gold colour though I was looking for black or silver as no one had them in stock.

Looking for inputs as usual. Thanks

Again, my hearty congratulations. I am glad you were able to get a good set up up and running and are enjoying the system.

1. I think you should return the DV99 and demand a new piece that you test in the shop with the same CDs. If the new piece also skips the CDs in the shop, ask for a full refund. I would yet try to get a new and working DV00 as it will be good for music and movies. Move to a different brand as a last resort.

2. The 9.1s are fine, Anand. Dont worry, you are not missing anything. I suggested the 9.2 as having a bit more volume as you were wondering between the 9.1s and the 9.5s. Yes, the 9.1 are award winners and very good speakers. After being played a little while they will become even better.

3. The colour is immaterial. We are looking for excellent internals. Who cares for colour. Gold also looks good. In my rack, each unit is differently coloured. I call it a multi cloloured rack.

Enjoy your system.

Cheers

 

[Anands123]

Thanks agian. I got the distributor to come home last night and connect another brand new CA DV99 DVD player through HDMI to my 705. This time around, the audio pauses continued while playing audio CDs, but I realized that the DVD was not skipping. The CA dislplay showed that it was playing seamlessly, but on the 705, "HDMI" was flashing during the brief pause. The pauses are after every 30 seconds or so for about a second or two. Very annoying indeed. Looks like the problem is with the 705. Anyone who knows a solution for this or have heard similar things before? I have spoken to Onkyo here and their service person is supposed to call me. The silver lining is that I have bought it with bill and warranty and hence have back-up on paper atleast.

 

[venkatcr]

Let us see what the Onkyo service engineer says. Could be something as stupid as a loose connection somewhere.

Another thing you can do is connect the DVD player to the AVR through a component for video and optical/coaxial digital for audio. The video will be upscaled if you connect the AVR to the TV through HDMI.

Anyhow we will await you feedback after the Onkyo service guy visits.

Cheers

 

[Anands123]

Venkat

Thanks. But, as 705 upscales only to 720p and my TV is capable of 1080p, I was wondering if it was ideal to let CA DV99 do the upscaling - in which case, I might still need the HDMI out from DV99 to AVR. I guess I am going through a 'new owner' syndrome of not wanting to compromise at all! Just like I used to hear even a small dashboard noise in my new car for the first month or so and get worried. Now, I don't even hear the engine

Anyway, the Onkyo engineer wants me to try your suggestion to rule out any defects in the DVD player. If so, he said he will attend to the AVR and do what is needed.

The Onkyo dealer in the mean time has asked me to set the Sync option to 0ms from 20ms.

The other dealer (speakers +DVD player ) is offering to try with a different HDMI cable and port.

Will update what happens next...

 

[venkatcr]

Anand, I meant that connection route only for testing and eliminating issues.

Cheers