New system for 60k-1lac

[peeyushag]

Hello all,

Please help me choose AVRs and speakers for a home theater system. If there are specific questions you'd like me to answer, please do so.

Thanks a ton,
Peeyush

 

[forever.pramod]

Please mention your room size and usage (%ge of Music and Movies).

 

[peeyushag]

The room is the living/dining room in the house. It's about 35 feet*13 feet, with the dining room not physically partitioned from the living area. A table top counter separates them. The living area is about 18 feet*13 feet.

The usage would be Movies:Music - 60:40

Thanks.

 

[dheerajin]

So go for onkyo mid level AVR..

The room is the living/dining room in the house. It's about 35 feet*13 feet, with the dining room not physically partitioned from the living area. A table top counter separates them. The living area is about 18 feet*13 feet.

The usage would be Movies:Music - 60:40

Thanks.

 

[peeyushag]

Thanks Dheeraj. Can you be specific as to why you've made this recommendation. Also, can be particular about which AVR and speaker model I should try?

Thanks a ton.

I was reading across the forum and people seem to like the DENON and Polk combination for movies and the BA speakers for music. I hope I've got that right, could you educate me a little on the same?

I wouldn't mind building out my system over another couple of years and making it really top-notch. How would you recommend me going about it then?

 

[rayvonnee]

Thanks Dheeraj. Can you be specific as to why you've made this recommendation. Also, can be particular about which AVR and speaker model I should try?

Thanks a ton.

I was reading across the forum and people seem to like the DENON and Polk combination for movies and the BA speakers for music. I hope I've got that right, could you educate me a little on the same?

I wouldn't mind building out my system over another couple of years and making it really top-notch. How would you recommend me going about it then?

Get A Very Good AVR+ FloorStanders and then go on a adding the rest of the speakers+sub gradually. This will be costly but you will be extremely satisfied by it. However This may take a long time but it will be worth it. So go ahead and audition. If you are ready to forego the warranty have the AVR imported or brought by someone travelling abroad. These will be cheaper especially if you are considering the onkyo. But mind you onkyo will not honor the warranty and will not service the AVR. Buy speakers only which impress you and not someone else. Finally its you who is going to hear them. So audition and choose the best you can get for your budget.
All The Best. Consider Reading previous posts on HFV and make a list of them. Then audition them and see which appeals to you.

 

[dheerajin]

Audion the onkyo...just heard from many that..after sales service is best from onkyo. Any HT setup sounds impressive if it has good center channel and subwoofer , so try to do mix n match for these.Surround you can buy cheaper speakers ,as they hardly makes an audible difference.Front speaker should be according to your taste of listening to music.so try to research in the forum and do as much audition you could do in your city.

 

[peeyushag]

Ok. So I auditioned at the ProFX store in Kolkata and these are my thoughts.

All AVRs in the 40-50k range.

Systems tried:
1) Denon 1000
2) Pioneer AVR
3) Yamaha Amps (~37k)

Speakers (~70k) :
1) Polk TSX 440
2) KEF (I'll get the number later)
3) HECO

So we ended up only listening to audio and not even auditioning the video. The AVRs ended up to be really disappointing and they jarred often, e.g. drums in Trust by Megadeth, guitar bass in Rylynn, etc. The best AVR + speaker combo for audio was KEF + Denon.

The amp on the other hand was excellent. It drove all the speakers well and the Yamaha + HECO combination was excellent. I didn't try it with the KEFs because I've got my eyes set on a wood (floorstander) speaker and the KEFs were small.

I'm at loggerheads now. The audio was not up to the mark for these systems and I'd really appreciate someone else chiming in.

Thanks Dheeraj and Rayvonee. These guys don't retail Onkyo. How is Onkyo in comparison to the others in the 40k range? Any other opinions?

 

[peeyushag]

Yamaha A-S500
KEF e305
HECO Victa Prime 700

Ok. So I auditioned at the ProFX store in Kolkata and these are my thoughts.

All AVRs in the 40-50k range.

Systems tried:
1) Denon 1000
2) Pioneer AVR
3) Yamaha Amps (~37k)

Speakers (~70k) :
1) Polk TSX 440
2) KEF (I'll get the number later)
3) HECO

So we ended up only listening to audio and not even auditioning the video. The AVRs ended up to be really disappointing and they jarred often, e.g. drums in Trust by Megadeth, guitar bass in Rylynn, etc. The best AVR + speaker combo for audio was KEF + Denon.

The amp on the other hand was excellent. It drove all the speakers well and the Yamaha + HECO combination was excellent. I didn't try it with the KEFs because I've got my eyes set on a wood (floorstander) speaker and the KEFs were small.

I'm at loggerheads now. The audio was not up to the mark for these systems and I'd really appreciate someone else chiming in.

Thanks Dheeraj and Rayvonee. These guys don't retail Onkyo. How is Onkyo in comparison to the others in the 40k range? Any other opinions?

 

[rayvonnee]

Yamaha A-S500
KEF e305
HECO Victa Prime 700

You really have to hear onkyo to tell the difference. One package comes to my mind is the onkyo ht-s5600 7.1 home theater package. Check out onkyo higher end thx series also. Audition dali zensor,Jamo, Boston acoustics and some more which others may suggest. You may like something which someone else may not. So believe what you hear. For me the Polk really went on well. So went for what I liked. Also profx is very cooperative and will offer some discounts too. You need to bargain well.

 

[rayvonnee]

For music I forgot the main leader in AVR. Please check out marantz avrs they are the best for music. Don't go by the 50watts rating. These marantz amps are quite capable of driving hefty speakers. Marantz avrs stand out for music. Have a listen. The more you listen more you will be able to differentiate between your preferences.