Need suggestions for HT system

@Love4sound Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll keep that in mind. I shall decide after audition.
@msaab90 Thanks you for the info. I’ll definitely listen to them.
For the past few days I’ve gone through various threads and my inference is that one can never be happy with a single AVR for music and movie both. Compromises bound to happen ( at least in the low to mid price range). If some one is serious about music he should buy a good stereo amp and an avr for pure movie experience. Please correct me if I’m wrong. I should not comment amongst the experts. Apologies if I’ve hurt someone.
You've nailed it. The wisdom dawned on me after multiple upgrades, but I enjoyed the journey. I am using an amp switch to cycle between my stereo amp and AVR. The upshot is that stereo amp doubles as power amp for front channels when in HT mode so I don't need a beefy AVR. Using Marantz 1509 for powering center and surrounds. But this is complicated and requires matching components by experimentation.
 
I am using tube power amplifier Primaluna prologue 4 with a passive pre built by the venerable Viren Bakshi.
 
Since my speakers( Zu Omen) are 97db sensitivity with 12ohm impedance the power amp matches well.
 
Ok. Though these technical names sounds like gibbelerish to me, they must be good. I’ll catch up with the terms in a few months( at least hope so). Thanks for sharing.
 
Finally bought my first FS and it is Dali Spector 6. I went for an audition in Sound by Design, Gurugram, Delhi. Tested Polk audio T50, Dali Zensor 3, Zensor 7 and Oberon 7 with the Cyine amp and a SACD player. subsequently I also tested these with my Harman Kardon stereo amp and it’s integrated CD player.
Oberon 7 was pretty impressive.
Zensor 7 was boomy and bright.
Zensor 3 was good with balanced and controlled bass response.
Polk T50 was just not worth listening
But I was surprised with Spektor 6. It really came as a surprise. It had at par Bass response compared to Oberon 7 with slightly lesser clarity and separation in instruments. Vocals were also comparable. But with a very good pricing for Spektor 6. Hence I went for this gem.
Point to note is my old and mighty Harman Kardon amp with 65 watts per channel out put effortlessly drove all the speakers with such warmth and grace.
Thanks to all the forum members for ur valuable guidance throughout the process. :)
 
Last edited:
Enjoyed zensor 3 for couple of years. Do consider damping at the first reflection points, makes a big difference at a reasonable cost. Have fun with your new speakers!
 
You have received lot of detailed responses from members.. Here are my inputs..

1. Does 7.2 is worth investing over 5.1 now in the initial stage as the content available over streaming services mostly consists of 5.1 ? I would like to invest in a good quality avr down the path if I get hooked up in the movie thing.

Now I’m planning to delve in to the home theatre concept and dedicated a 11 ft X 15 ft room for this purpose.

GIven it is a dedicated room, i would suggest a 9.2 AVR, and with your room size you can do 7.1.2 (or) 5.1.4 Atmos set-up, depending on which side of the room you intend to use..

Pioneer LX 303 / Onkyo TX-RZ 730 are some more choices to consider..

Given that prime, netflix offer multi-channel content for movies and web-series, others would catch up soon, you should consider a 9.1 set-up than 7.1..

2. Would the marantz with its 50 watt output per channel be able to drive the FSs adequately? Or I should be going with BSs.

Let the subwoofer do the majority of the lows and you can settle for BS, which should be adequate for your room size.. Consider skipping FS and consider dual subs as it is a dedicated room..
 
You have received lot of detailed responses from members.. Here are my inputs..





GIven it is a dedicated room, i would suggest a 9.2 AVR, and with your room size you can do 7.1.2 (or) 5.1.4 Atmos set-up, depending on which side of the room you intend to use..

Pioneer LX 303 / Onkyo TX-RZ 730 are some more choices to consider..

Given that prime, netflix offer multi-channel content for movies and web-series, others would catch up soon, you should consider a 9.1 set-up than 7.1..



Let the subwoofer do the majority of the lows and you can settle for BS, which should be adequate for your room size.. Consider skipping FS and consider dual subs as it is a dedicated room..

Thank you @elangoas for the suggestions. Now that I’ve bought a pair of FS for the front R and L, I’ll be using my old Harman Kardon BSs as surround. I’m planning to build the system slowly. Hence I’ll wait for some time and go for a 9.2 AVR. regards
 
Setting it up my new Denon x 1400h. First impression is pretty underwhelming. No bass and absolutely flat audio output. I shall attempt the EQ set up at night. Hope it will improve the output.
 
Denon & Dali - too soft
Marantz & Q Acoustics - perfect*
Marantz & Dali - doubtful movies punch but excellent for music & musical genre films.
My latest vote goes to Onkyo AVR with Q Acoustics for best* movie experience.
 
Setting it up my new Denon x 1400h. First impression is pretty underwhelming. No bass and absolutely flat audio output. I shall attempt the EQ set up at night. Hope it will improve the output.
Is the AVR brand new? If so, it will take some time to settle in or "burn in". I have the same AVR and it took a week, plus fine tuning with audyssey.
Until I got a dedicated stereo Amp, the denon was doing a pretty good job with music for me.
Be patient with new gear - will open up after 40-50 hours :)
 
Setting it up my new Denon x 1400h. First impression is pretty underwhelming. No bass and absolutely flat audio output. I shall attempt the EQ set up at night. Hope it will improve the output.


You could try the Audyssey app approx Rs. 1600/- as it gives you more tonal controls by adjusting the MultiEQ filter frequency range as compared to the standard room correction in the Denon. I am happy with it thanks to Siju's suggestion. But you will have to calibrate with the mic again with your phone & receiver on the same wifi connection.
 
Thank you members for your valuable suggestions. Ran Audyssey multEQ XT yesterday night. Sound quality is much improved. Now fiddling with various audio settings.
@Sukhi Gill Now there’s no turning back :). Already have bought the avr. But I’m liking the combo.
@Jayant_S yap it’s brand new. Gonna give the time to burn in. I’m hoping for the best.
@Nitin K ok. I’ll try the app. Thanks for letting me know.
 
Thank you members for your valuable suggestions. Ran Audyssey multEQ XT yesterday night. Sound quality is much improved. Now fiddling with various audio settings.
@Sukhi Gill Now there’s no turning back :). Already have bought the avr. But I’m liking the combo.
@Jayant_S yap it’s brand new. Gonna give the time to burn in. I’m hoping for the best.
@Nitin K ok. I’ll try the app. Thanks for letting me know.
Congrats, give feedback after a while.
 
Thank you members for your valuable suggestions. Ran Audyssey multEQ XT yesterday night. Sound quality is much improved. Now fiddling with various audio settings.
@Sukhi Gill Now there’s no turning back :). Already have bought the avr. But I’m liking the combo.
@Jayant_S yap it’s brand new. Gonna give the time to burn in. I’m hoping for the best.
@Nitin K ok. I’ll try the app. Thanks for letting me know.
I'm sure you'll warm up to your new setup in a week or so. Happy listening :)
 
@Dr Sarkar there are lots of settings in denon that can make the sound more enjoyable. But let’s keep them for later stage. Right now as you have got the basics via audyssey done .. read and work on room treatments. These are low cost but necessary changes that you need to make to ensure that you hear cleaner sound rather than noise due to reflections etc. The position of speakers and subs and rest of the home decor items are all related and requires careful placements. Work on them and you shall enjoy ur setup to its best . Let us know if you are interested in optimising settings on avr , sub or anything else in the chain and we shall be glad to assist.
 
Thank you @argentum246 for the guidance. After calibration the sound has improved. There are some issues, still lingering. But I’m trying to get the settings right. I’m always thankful to this excellent forum for guiding us to towards audio nirvana. Regards
 
Follow HiFiMART on Instagram for offers, deals and FREE giveaways!
Back
Top