Need suggestions for my 1st HT

[Sanchitpkl]

Hello everyone,

I’ve been planning to setup a HT in a budget as low as possible.

I’ve auditioned QAcoustics 3020i, 3090ci and 3010i as a 5.1 package and really liked it. Please help me out with the below queries:

i. In a tight budget, is it the best available bookshelfs?

ii. Is 3030i or Concept series really worth the extra money, considering this is my 1st HT and lot of time in future to explore?

iii. Should I consider buying the subwoofer right now or just the bookshelfs would be fine and give sufficient bass? If yes, please suggest some budget friendly subwoofer options.

iv. In order to cut down on the budget, should I look at considering other cheaper surround speakers instead of 3010i? Room size being around 18x12, TV setup unfortunately in the left side corner of the room, and no space between sofa and rear wall, will have to suspend the speakers on side walls.

v. Last but not the least, my usage being 60% Movies and 40% Music, which AVR to go for? Experts here recommend Denon for movies and that too higher models which will increase the budget. Would Denon 550BT be sufficient to drive these QAcoustics speakers? If not, which model to atleast go for? And, dealer is recommending to go for Marantz 1509/1609, offering at 33k/45k very slightly negotiable, should I consider Marantz 1509 or Yamaha 5.1 channel AVR?

 

[OM_2K19]

My two cents, Denon 550BT will never do justice to QAcoustics speakers. At least go with X2600H if not a higher version like X4700H.

 

[Sanchitpkl]

My two cents, Denon 550BT will never do justice to QAcoustics speakers. At least go with X2600H if not a higher version like X4700H.

Denon 1400/1500/1600H and 2400/2600H are not available with most of the retailers. Plus out of my budget range as well.
If not 550BT, would Marantz 1509 or Yamaha 385/485 be powerful enough to drive Q Acoustics?

 

[Prodigy]

Denon 1400/1500/1600H and 2400/2600H are not available with most of the retailers. Plus out of my budget range as well.
If not 550BT, would Marantz 1509 or Yamaha 385/485 be powerful enough to drive Q Acoustics?

I have a 9 months old Marantz 1509, hardly used. Picked it up for my dad but he does not seem to use it quite often. From what I know it may have been used for about 300 hrs till now. PM me if you may be interested.

Regards,
Som

 

[OM_2K19]

Denon 1400/1500/1600H and 2400/2600H are not available with most of the retailers. Plus out of my budget range as well.
If not 550BT, would Marantz 1509 or Yamaha 385/485 be powerful enough to drive Q Acoustics?

On any given day, Yamaha 485 will outperform Denon 550BT in every way. I heard Marantz 1509 is good but never used Marantz personally though.

 

[sujithblaze]

For q i would suggest to get atleast yamaha 585 or denon x2600 even if its pre owned

 

[fLUX]

Hello everyone,

I’ve been planning to setup a HT in a budget as low as possible.

I’ve auditioned QAcoustics 3020i, 3090ci and 3010i as a 5.1 package and really liked it. Please help me out with the below queries:

i. In a tight budget, is it the best available bookshelfs?

They are a VFM setup no doubt about that. I had a similar setup other than having Concept 20 as fronts and 3020i as rears. I preferred Qacoustics over Elac & Dali i had auditioned for stereo music, but its again a personal choice.

Concept 20 are much more refined and worth purchasing over the 3020i since you have music as 40% of your usage towards music. For movies alone you will do fine with a 3020i as well.

The bass in the Concept 20/3020i would not be sufficient for movies/music. You will need to invest in a subwoofer. But save up for a decent subwoofer then only invest in one, this setup is a real good setup and will not sound equally good without a decent subwoofer. The cheapest budget friendly sub would be the Yamaha NS-300 followed by Polk HTS10/HTS 12/ QAcoustics QB12. Recommended sub is QB12/HTS 12 since your room size is quiet decent.

If you are extremely cut on budget , you can look for something cheaper than the 3010i for surrounds and maybe used as well.


Denon 550BT for this setup is not at all recommended, X1400H/1500H/X2400H/X2500H/X2600H/V485 is recommended, the Marantz NR1509 would also do well and since @Prodigy has one for sale you can look at getting that as you will save quiet a bit over a new AVR (AVR's have only a year of warranty and majority of the times nothing happens within that time period). If you ever feel the need for more power in future you can add a power amp as the fronts have option for a power amp in the NR1509. If not open to previous option and denon X1400h and above are not available , go for the V485 and not the X550BT.

 

[Prodigy]

Hey I actually read your complete thread now. If you are planning on a full QAcoustics set up, I would not go with 1509, it is definitely going to struggle without a sub. Moreover since your preference is 60% movies I again feel the QA3090i will not be able to give you the level of satisfaction that you may have got in a demo room.
Couple of days back me and fm @musiz_craze met a common friend who had a semi treated dedicated HT room around the same size as yourself where he is driving 3050i, 3090i & 3020i with Marantz 6014 and it lacked a lot of vocal clarity. The dialogue coming from the Center and the towers had a different tonality all together.
Infact he was better off watching a movie without a Center.
So I think you should do some more audition and if you have anyone in the same city who has a similar set up hear it out once there.
Marantz 1509 is an excellent AVR to start off and you have good a good price from your dealer on that. You may want to look at speakers that’s 8ohms with sensitivity >89/90db so that you can really enjoy movie watching.
Since you are in a tight budget, I would suggest with something like Polk S15’s for L & R and a Matching Center and OWM3 for surrounds.
You can even add a sub to top it off and should have a great movie watching experience.
From what I know, all this should come to you within your budget easily.

Just my 2 cents!

Regards,
Som

 

[fLUX]

Hey I actually read your complete thread now. If you are planning on a full QAcoustics set up, I would not go with 1509, it is definitely going to struggle without a sub. Moreover since your preference is 60% movies I again feel the QA3090i will not be able to give you the level of satisfaction that you may have got in a demo room.
Couple of days back me and fm @musiz_craze met a common friend who had a semi treated dedicated HT room around the same size as yourself where he is driving 3050i, 3090i & 3020i with Marantz 6014 and it lacked a lot of vocal clarity. The dialogue coming from the Center and the towers had a different tonality all together.
Infact he was better off watching a movie without a Center.
So I think you should do some more audition and if you have anyone in the same city who has a similar set up hear it out once there.
Marantz 1509 is an excellent AVR to start off and you have good a good price from your dealer on that. You may want to look at speakers that’s 8ohms with sensitivity >89/90db so that you can really enjoy movie watching.
Since you are in a tight budget, I would suggest with something like Polk S15’s for L & R and a Matching Center and OWM3 for surrounds.
You can even add a sub to top it off and should have a great movie watching experience.
From what I know, all this should come to you within your budget easily.

Just my 2 cents!

Regards,
Som

Thats surprising, i found 3090i to lack the finesse in delivering action scenes and little muffled but from a vocal clarity perspective sounded fine to me, maybe because my room is of a smaller size I did not face the issue. He would need yo go for a sub unless he opts for a 3050i instead of a 3020i , the 3020i/Concept 20 are very shy in terms of bass quantity. I personally did not like Polk S series for music , for movies they should do fine I believe.

 

[Cooladitya007]

I have a 9 months old Marantz 1509, hardly used. Picked it up for my dad but he does not seem to use it quite often. From what I know it may have been used for about 300 hrs till now. PM me if you may be interested.

Regards,
Som

If you don't mind can you share asking price over here/pm.

 

[Sanchitpkl]

They are a VFM setup no doubt about that. I had a similar setup other than having Concept 20 as fronts and 3020i as rears. I preferred Qacoustics over Elac & Dali i had auditioned for stereo music, but its again a personal choice.

Concept 20 are much more refined and worth purchasing over the 3020i since you have music as 40% of your usage towards music. For movies alone you will do fine with a 3020i as well.

The bass in the Concept 20/3020i would not be sufficient for movies/music. You will need to invest in a subwoofer. But save up for a decent subwoofer then only invest in one, this setup is a real good setup and will not sound equally good without a decent subwoofer. The cheapest budget friendly sub would be the Yamaha NS-300 followed by Polk HTS10/HTS 12/ QAcoustics QB12. Recommended sub is QB12/HTS 12 since your room size is quiet decent.

If you are extremely cut on budget , you can look for something cheaper than the 3010i for surrounds and maybe used as well.


Denon 550BT for this setup is not at all recommended, X1400H/1500H/X2400H/X2500H/X2600H/V485 is recommended, the Marantz NR1509 would also do well and since @Prodigy has one for sale you can look at getting that as you will save quiet a bit over a new AVR (AVR's have only a year of warranty and majority of the times nothing happens within that time period). If you ever feel the need for more power in future you can add a power amp as the fronts have option for a power amp in the NR1509. If not open to previous option and denon X1400h and above are not available , go for the V485 and not the X550BT.

Hi, Thanks for your support.

i. Totally agree, Concept 20 would be a better option than 3020i. Let me check with the dealer and try to get a better deal.
If it gets out of my budget, hope QA 3020i would also be worth it, considering it's going to be my 1st HT and will be huge upgrade from TV stock 20W speakers.
ii. Can you please suggest alternate cheaper options for Surrounds other than 3010i. And, should I be worried about brand-timbre matching or that only matters for Front & Centre channel?
iii. Basis the feedback from many fellow FMs that Marantz is good for Music. So which AVR would be better for my 60% Movies usage preference
- Yamaha 485 (~34.5k) or Marantz 1509 (~33k).
Will Yamaha 485 be able to drive these QA BS. Even if Denon 1400/1500/1600H gets available, price difference would be around 10-15k. Would it be really worth it?

 

[Sanchitpkl]

Hey I actually read your complete thread now. If you are planning on a full QAcoustics set up, I would not go with 1509, it is definitely going to struggle without a sub. Moreover since your preference is 60% movies I again feel the QA3090i will not be able to give you the level of satisfaction that you may have got in a demo room.
Couple of days back me and fm @musiz_craze met a common friend who had a semi treated dedicated HT room around the same size as yourself where he is driving 3050i, 3090i & 3020i with Marantz 6014 and it lacked a lot of vocal clarity. The dialogue coming from the Center and the towers had a different tonality all together.
Infact he was better off watching a movie without a Center.
So I think you should do some more audition and if you have anyone in the same city who has a similar set up hear it out once there.
Marantz 1509 is an excellent AVR to start off and you have good a good price from your dealer on that. You may want to look at speakers that’s 8ohms with sensitivity >89/90db so that you can really enjoy movie watching.
Since you are in a tight budget, I would suggest with something like Polk S15’s for L & R and a Matching Center and OWM3 for surrounds.
You can even add a sub to top it off and should have a great movie watching experience.
From what I know, all this should come to you within your budget easily.

Just my 2 cents!

Regards,
Som

Hi Som, Thanks for your guidance and feedback. It's very challenging to do much auditions and visiting someone with similar setup during this alarming Covid situation, thus depending and relying on 2-3 nearby local dealers and honest unbiased opinion from everyone here.

Local dealer didn't have Polk BS for auditioning, only had Elacs Debut and Dali Oberon near my budget, which were more expensive than QA.

Since QA setup comes within my budget, should I still consider and try to audition Polk S15 setup you suggested? Would it be a better option than QA for my usage (60% Movies and 40% Music)

 

[fLUX]

Hi, Thanks for your support.

i. Totally agree, Concept 20 would be a better option than 3020i. Let me check with the dealer and try to get a better deal.
If it gets out of my budget, hope QA 3020i would also be worth it, considering it's going to be my 1st HT and will be huge upgrade from TV stock 20W speakers.
ii. Can you please suggest alternate cheaper options for Surrounds other than 3010i. And, should I be worried about brand-timbre matching or that only matters for Front & Centre channel?
iii. Basis the feedback from many fellow FMs that Marantz is good for Music. So which AVR would be better for my 60% Movies usage preference
- Yamaha 485 (~34.5k) or Marantz 1509 (~33k).
Will Yamaha 485 be able to drive these QA BS. Even if Denon 1400/1500/1600H gets available, price difference would be around 10-15k. Would it be really worth it?

Yes the QA3020i are also quiet good , will sound better than stock TV speakers. Concept 20 is kind of a speaker which grows on you over a period of time, so if budget permits go for it

What is the price you are getting the 3010i at ? See if you can get hold of Taga 806S/Pioneer SP-22 BS for surrounds , they would be considerably cheaper and do just fine.

The Yamaha 485 do good for music as well as movies. They will have sufficient amount of power to drive the Qacoustics, the Marantz were good for music but lack a little power and you might need to get power amplifiers for the fronts in future. If you go the used route you could use the saved money for Power amp in future.

 

[Sanchitpkl]

Thats surprising, i found 3090i to lack the finesse in delivering action scenes and little muffled but from a vocal clarity perspective sounded fine to me, maybe because my room is of a smaller size I did not face the issue. He would need yo go for a sub unless he opts for a 3050i instead of a 3020i , the 3020i/Concept 20 are very shy in terms of bass quantity. I personally did not like Polk S series for music , for movies they should do fine I believe.

I don't have space for 3050i thus, will have to settle down with the BS only.

Regarding the sub, as you suggested Yamaha NS-300 followed by Polk HTS10/HTS 12/ QA QB12... HTS 12 and QA QB12 are pretty expensive, won't fit in my budget at all. Will Yamaha NS-300 be enough for my space

Polk S series would be better than 3020i for Movies or just comparable? If both are equally good, would prefer to go with QA.

Yes the QA3020i are also quiet good , will sound better than stock TV speakers. Concept 20 is kind of a speaker which grows on you over a period of time, so if budget permits go for it

What is the price you are getting the 3010i at ? See if you can get hold of Taga 806S/Pioneer SP-22 BS for surrounds , they would be considerably cheaper and do just fine.

The Yamaha 485 do good for music as well as movies. They will have sufficient amount of power to drive the Qacoustics, the Marantz were good for music but lack a little power and you might need to get power amplifiers for the fronts in future. If you go the used route you could use the saved money for Power amp in future.

I'm getting 3010i at around 20k.
How's Polk OWM3 for surrounds? There's not much price difference between the two.
However, considering absolutely no space between rear wall and listening position, will have to install surrounds on side walls, and design and dimension-wise, Polk OWM3 would look better and less obstrusive.

 

[Sanchitpkl]

Yes the QA3020i are also quiet good , will sound better than stock TV speakers. Concept 20 is kind of a speaker which grows on you over a period of time, so if budget permits go for it

What is the price you are getting the 3010i at ? See if you can get hold of Taga 806S/Pioneer SP-22 BS for surrounds , they would be considerably cheaper and do just fine.

The Yamaha 485 do good for music as well as movies. They will have sufficient amount of power to drive the Qacoustics, the Marantz were good for music but lack a little power and you might need to get power amplifiers for the fronts in future. If you go the used route you could use the saved money for Power amp in future.

And, is it really worth spending the extra 10-15k for Denon X1400H/1500H, in comparison to Yamaha 485?
[FYI: Don't really need the 7.2 channel AVR as of now, as for next 4-5 years, I'll be moving around in rented places and thus, no plan of Atmos/Ceiling speakers. Would rather go for the latest 7.2 AVR when required]

 

[fLUX]

The Yamaha 485 should be fine for your usecase. But why do you want to go for a new AVR if you dont want the latest one, look around in the used market on OLX as well and see if you find anything which fits your bill at a much lower price. Compare the 2 channel and all channel specs from online, anything similar/better than X1600H/V485 should be fine. The extra amount charged by Denon for the X series gives you better features in terms of formats supported/HDR/DV and also better room calibration via MultiEQ than any other similar budget AVR offerings from other brands.

 

[Sanchitpkl]

The Yamaha 485 should be fine for your usecase. But why do you want to go for a new AVR if you dont want the latest one, look around in the used market on OLX as well and see if you find anything which fits your bill at a much lower price. Compare the 2 channel and all channel specs from online, anything similar/better than X1600H/V485 should be fine. The extra amount charged by Denon for the X series gives you better features in terms of formats supported/HDR/DV and also better room calibration via MultiEQ than any other similar budget AVR offerings from other brands.

Thanks @fLUX. Will look out for used high-end AVRs.
I'm getting new Denon S650H at around 40k, should I consider it as an alternate choice over 1400H/1600H? I don't have much idea about the difference between S and X series.

And, please help me out with 2 more queries:
i. Surrounds: How's Polk OWM3 for surrounds? There's not much price difference between these and QA 3010i (~20K). Since I need to install the surrounds on side walls, so less obstrusive design and less power hungry, will Polk OWM3 be a better choice?
ii. Subwoofer: HTS 12 and QA QB12 are pretty expensive, won't fit in my budget at all. Will Yamaha NS-300 be enough for my space? (18x12 ft living room, open kitchen included in this space)

 

[fLUX]

Use below site for high level spec comparisons

Denon AVR-S650H vs Yamaha RX-V485 Detailed Comparison

Read our detailed comparison of the Denon AVR-S650H vs Yamaha RX-V485 to find out their common strengths and weaknesses, advantages and disadvantages, and decide which one to choose.

www.zkelectronics.com

The S650H seems to be a good buy at 40k if you cant get hold of a 1400h/1500h at a similar price. Power spec wise seems similar to the V485 though but the presence of MultiEQ XT adds good value, also there is no 4k upscaling in the S650H which should be fine unless you are going to use it with a 4k display anmd intend to upscale lower resolutino content.

For surrounds the Polk OWM3 are well rated, you can opt for it. Not a neccesity to timber match fronts and surrounds.
I dont know if NS-300 can fill a room that size , but if you cannot increase your budget thats a good subwoofer with decent reviews.

 

[musiz_craze]

Hey I actually read your complete thread now. If you are planning on a full QAcoustics set up, I would not go with 1509, it is definitely going to struggle without a sub. Moreover since your preference is 60% movies I again feel the QA3090i will not be able to give you the level of satisfaction that you may have got in a demo room.
Couple of days back me and fm @musiz_craze met a common friend who had a semi treated dedicated HT room around the same size as yourself where he is driving 3050i, 3090i & 3020i with Marantz 6014 and it lacked a lot of vocal clarity. The dialogue coming from the Center and the towers had a different tonality all together.
Infact he was better off watching a movie without a Center.
So I think you should do some more audition and if you have anyone in the same city who has a similar set up hear it out once there.
Marantz 1509 is an excellent AVR to start off and you have good a good price from your dealer on that. You may want to look at speakers that’s 8ohms with sensitivity >89/90db so that you can really enjoy movie watching.
Since you are in a tight budget, I would suggest with something like Polk S15’s for L & R and a Matching Center and OWM3 for surrounds.
You can even add a sub to top it off and should have a great movie watching experience.
From what I know, all this should come to you within your budget easily.

Just my 2 cents!

Regards,
Som

@Sanchitpkl
You can pickup 1509 from @Prodigy as it has preout for LR. As @Prodigy said make sure it's 8 ohm with high sensitivity. If you still tight on your budget taga and pioneer is also a good deal. Then you can invest little more on subwoofer.

Its a good deal to get 650h for 40k but it lacks in Audyssey multieq.

You can keep an eye on sale from thread. If you Lucky enough you will get any nice deal.

 

[fLUX]

@Sanchitpkl
You can pickup 1509 from @Prodigy as it has preout for LR. As @Prodigy said make sure it's 8 ohm with high sensitivity. If you still tight on your budget taga and pioneer is also a good deal. Then you can invest little more on subwoofer.

Its a good deal to get 650h for 40k but it lacks in Audyssey multieq.

You can keep an eye on sale from thread. If you Lucky enough you will get any nice deal.

650H seems to have MutliEQ as per specs, the X250BT/550BT both dont have MultiEQ