Onkyo HTS 3500 vs Denon DHT 1312 XP

[prosenjit]

I advised you before...
go separate..but step by step...the 5.1 package items are not that good..
if budget is less...go for sonodyne..highly VFM...bookshelf for 9k...centre for 6k...
avr...25k....
40k expense for now...
get a 12.5k...astonia sub...highly vfm....later while good in budget...

more later buy rears.....

 

[shibashis]

I have been swinging back and forth between an amplifier and stereo speakers for music, or a HT solution with good SQ for music as well. Music is my first preference, but somehow do not wish to let go of the advantage of a HT as well. Budget is limited, and this is just wistful thinking at times.
Music : Movies : : 60:40
How does this idea rate with fellow FMs?
I get a moderate quality AVR (Denon 1513 or a similar quality Onkyo) perhaps, add fronts as to my liking, perhaps Sonodyne because of their VFM, provided I like the sound.
I have an Edifier DA 5000 Active connected to my computer with an Asus Xonar D2X. How about use the sub from Edifier and its satellites for rears for now? Add good center and rears later on? My room size is small, does this sound like a good idea to you people?
My Asus Xonar can act as the DAC, and my PC will be the source of music and Movies.

How is this sounding as an idea? If experienced FMs think this could be given a go, then suggest me a moderate AVR for music, please please remember can not break bank here!

Thanks.

 

[prosenjit]

for music go for amp rathar than avr
norge or sonodyne budget products

 

[Nero9]

purchased Pioneer RS 32 from reliance digital @ 36,990. Tomorrow delivery ll let u know my review shortly.

 

[hifimahesh]

Congrats man!!!

 

[Rupam]

purchased Pioneer RS 32 from reliance digital @ 36,990. Tomorrow delivery ll let u know my review shortly.

So Nero9 you have finally nailed it :yahoo:
Congrats and let me know the feedback. Its very imp for us. I'm still on the hunt......... :sad:
still in the lurch between separates and HtiB.

 

[Rupam]

I have been swinging back and forth between an amplifier and stereo speakers for music, or a HT solution with good SQ for music as well. Music is my first preference, but somehow do not wish to let go of the advantage of a HT as well. Budget is limited, and this is just wistful thinking at times.
Music : Movies : : 60:40
How does this idea rate with fellow FMs?
I get a moderate quality AVR (Denon 1513 or a similar quality Onkyo) perhaps, add fronts as to my liking, perhaps Sonodyne because of their VFM, provided I like the sound.
I have an Edifier DA 5000 Active connected to my computer with an Asus Xonar D2X. How about use the sub from Edifier and its satellites for rears for now? Add good center and rears later on? My room size is small, does this sound like a good idea to you people?
My Asus Xonar can act as the DAC, and my PC will be the source of music and Movies.

How is this sounding as an idea? If experienced FMs think this could be given a go, then suggest me a moderate AVR for music, please please remember can not break bank here!

Thanks.

Hi shibashis if Music is your preference and you also enjoy occasional movies on your system, then I would advice you to go for Yamaha AVRs. They are very musical and also strong in surround.
You can demo Yamaha RX-V373 which won What Hi fi Award for AVR ( read review Yamaha RX-V373 review from the experts at whathifi.com.
Yamaha RX-V373 review | Expert Reviews
For speakers you need to demo personally as music is a very personal choice. But you should be looking for slightly warm sounding speakers for your system. I think you can start with a pair of bookshelves / FL then gradually add other speakers.

 

[truly_deep]

I advised you before...
go separate..but step by step...the 5.1 package items are not that good..
if budget is less...go for sonodyne..highly VFM...bookshelf for 9k...centre for 6k...
avr...25k....
40k expense for now...
get a 12.5k...astonia sub...highly vfm....later while good in budget...

more later buy rears.....

Whats your opinion on the Marantz SR6006 AVR for primarily movies ?

 

[shibashis]

Thanks Rupam.
Since posting that message, I have you could say settled on buying a Yamaha AVR. Possibly a 371 if I still can get one, if not a 373. I think that will be a good choice for me. I am eager to know what is the difference between (specification and performance wise both) a 371 and 471, or 373 and 473 apart from networking features. I have an Airport express already, so do not need Airplay support built in or for that matter other networking features. I would like to stick to the basics: good audio quality.
Another concern of mine is whether the 37* series will be good enough to drive front floorstanders, is it going to be good enough to exploit a pair of floorstander's true potential.

Would like to know your opinion and if you have had any experience on these.
Thanks.

 

[shibashis]

for music go for amp rathar than avr
norge or sonodyne budget products

For pure musical experience I should go for an amp rather than an AVR, but I do enjoy movies too from time to time. And just can not push my budget enough to accommodate two different setups for music and movies. So am looking at a reasonable solution for Music:Movies (60:40) with perhaps an AVR which is decent for music as well.

And perhaps give myself enough headroom to upgrade in another 3 years time or so

 

[soulforged]

In my experience, the two AVRs that are most musical are Marantz and Yamaha. I have owned both. I'm, of course, considering only the usual suspects that includes the above mentioned names along with Denon and Onkyo.

Marantz AVRs continue to have the slightly warm, sophesticated sound that Marantz is known for. But this also makes matching them with the right speakers very important. Yamaha on the other hand are a bit more aggressive sounding but extremely musical. On certain departments, my Yamaha 463 outshone my NAD 320. While the NAD still scored in overal musical experience, 463 was not far behind.

Yamaha would also score higher on the cost front. You can actually do pretty well with an entry level Yamaha and save up the money for better speakers.

What is your choice in music (sorry if you have already mentioned this, I haven't really gone through your entire thread). If you are inclined to modern popular music, rock etc. go with Yammy, if you are into Jazz or hindustani kinds, go for Marantz. For western classical, I'd personally go with Yamaha for the additional edge and reserve energy that it provides.

Apart from these 4, another AVR that I found performing quite well with music was Pioneer 1021. If you have the budget, you can also consider Anthem or Arcam. They'd kick any budget stereo amp's @$$ any day!

 

[shibashis]

In my experience, the two AVRs that are most musical are Marantz and Yamaha. I have owned both. I'm, of course, considering only the usual suspects that includes the above mentioned names along with Denon and Onkyo.

Marantz AVRs continue to have the slightly warm, sophesticated sound that Marantz is known for. But this also makes matching them with the right speakers very important. Yamaha on the other hand are a bit more aggressive sounding but extremely musical. On certain departments, my Yamaha 463 outshone my NAD 320. While the NAD still scored in overal musical experience, 463 was not far behind.

Yamaha would also score higher on the cost front. You can actually do pretty well with an entry level Yamaha and save up the money for better speakers.

What is your choice in music (sorry if you have already mentioned this, I haven't really gone through your entire thread). If you are inclined to modern popular music, rock etc. go with Yammy, if you are into Jazz or hindustani kinds, go for Marantz. For western classical, I'd personally go with Yamaha for the additional edge and reserve energy that it provides.

Apart from these 4, another AVR that I found performing quite well with music was Pioneer 1021. If you have the budget, you can also consider Anthem or Arcam. They'd kick any budget stereo amp's @$$ any day!

soulforged, I think your last post was meant for me.
You asked me my musical preference, this then could be a long post
but I will keep it short. I listen to a lot of classic rock, perhaps progressive rock too (Pink Floyd, CCR, Neil Young, Led Zep...) then plenty of blues and blues rock and Indian classicals, some Country as well, and then I can die by Dylan and Leonard Cohen.
Now you are going to suggest me Marantz, are not you?
I hope it does not go beyond my budget...
The more I am reading, the more I am leaning toward Yamaha, more and more each day.

 

[Rupam]

Update :
Yesterday, I went to Reliance Digital and auditioned Yamaha YHT 196 (Rs. 20,000), PIONEER HOME THEATRE SY HTP071 (19500) , and Pioneer HTP-RS32. (36,990)

The Demo room was located in a corner of the shopping floor and there was 3 glass walls. AS soon as I saw the room, I was worried about the room acoustics. Anyway the sales guys' enthusiasm was encouraging.
As soon as I sit on the sofa, The sales man popped Transformers Bluray.....:

The first was Yamaha YHT 196.

Impressions: Sounds a bit mild for HT but the sound does have depth and spaciousness. The upper frequency response is sweet. The centre channel was very good rendering the timber of of the voice accurately but lower frequency does not have the adequate punch. Adding another woofer might help. But I was looking for DTSHDMA Dolby TrueHD decoding support which was not present here. So I move to the next model>

Pioneer HTP-RS32>

Looks are impressive with black floorstanders.

Impressions: Sound is powerful. Bass is ample but the bass is not tight and fast. It sounds overblown. During the Demo I felt that upper range of frequencies nearly 12kHz and 16 kHz (just below the cymbals) were predominant. Thus the system sounded harsh to my ear. The sound stage were a mess. The transformers battle sounded like I have put my head into a concrete mixer truck.
I don't know may be the room acoustics are culprit ? But again the dialogues sound hollow and the centre channel speaker lacks warmth and boldness of the floorstanders. Thus causing a timber matching problem. In chaotic scenes the sound of centre channel drowned in floorstanders power.


at the end, it was time for PIONEER HTP071.

Impressions: The same scene was played upon my request. The sound is indeed better that HTP-RS32. The subwoofer is decent and better that Yamaha. But the satellite speakers failed to reproduce a engaging 5.1 sound-stage. Anyway the dialogues were crisp and clear. Overall its a good system but can not satisfy my expectation.

Between these 3 I think Yamaha is winner on sound quality.
And at the end of the demo, I am still searching for the sound which will
be my ultimate nirvana.............
BYW, later during conversation, I understood that the salesman was pure noob at HT. :sad:

I will be back with some more demo experience in next week. Till then Chao...

 

[Nero9]

thanks for the review mate. based on ur liking u ll differently like denon and onkyo models.

what you felt for the pioneer htp rs 32 model was exactly correct. i took audition for all the models except pioneer rs 32 and finally bought it coz am fancy about FLS speakers. after playing around all the settings for 2 weeks.

1. i would say this system was purely for music listening purposes only.
2. if you want to watch movies in this HT consider replacing the center speaker coz it was muddy no voice clarity at all.
3. i would not recommend this model to anyone unless u r having a dedi room for this HT coz the bass was very heavy it ll shake ur house.

 

[mekakkar]

Hey i recently bought YHT-196 from reliance for 20990. I also bought 2 year extended warranty for Rs1800 plus i got a Philips 2900 Bluray Player for Rs2500. I just fell in love with these speakers when i went for demo.
The guy also showed me Sony Muteki (Looked very huge but the sound was a total bummer). Saw JBL and Onkyo Speakers also. Found the bass not up to the mark as sub-woofers were not that good. I personally enjoy a little heavy bass so i liked HTP-RS32's Sub Woofer but i did not like the design of the tower speakers. Hope to buy its sub-woofer and add to my YHT-196 soon.

The build quality of YHT-196 is very solid. I also liked the curvy looks of the speakers.

Positives for YHT-196
1. You can add additional Sub Woofer making it 5.2 channels.
2. Has 3 HDMI inputs.

Negatives for YHT-196
1. No AUX input. (Need to buy 3.5mm to RCA Cable if u want to listen music from your phone, ipod etc)
2. Does not Support DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD
(These days BluRay Player has become a necessity so i think the support for these would be taken care of by the bluray player)

Recently watched Superman Return on the YHT-196. Would say that loved the audio output. The Sub woofer is very nice and provides the required punch.

 

[darshanjoshi]

Hey i recently bought YHT-196 from reliance for 20990. I also bought 2 year extended warranty for Rs1800 plus i got a Philips 2900 Bluray Player for Rs2500. I just fell in love with these speakers when i went for demo.
The guy also showed me Sony Muteki (Looked very huge but the sound was a total bummer). Saw JBL and Onkyo Speakers also. Found the bass not up to the mark as sub-woofers were not that good. I personally enjoy a little heavy bass so i liked HTP-RS32's Sub Woofer but i did not like the design of the tower speakers. Hope to buy its sub-woofer and add to my YHT-196 soon.

The build quality of YHT-196 is very solid. I also liked the curvy looks of the speakers.

Positives for YHT-196
1. You can add additional Sub Woofer making it 5.2 channels.
2. Has 3 HDMI inputs.

Negatives for YHT-196
1. No AUX input. (Need to buy 3.5mm to RCA Cable if u want to listen music from your phone, ipod etc)
2. Does not Support DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD
(These days BluRay Player has become a necessity so i think the support for these would be taken care of by the bluray player)

Recently watched Superman Return on the YHT-196. Would say that loved the audio output. The Sub woofer is very nice and provides the required punch.

Which Reliance you bought BDP2900 for Rs.2500??

 

[max8084]

Guys, I bought Denon DHT 1312XP for 32000 from beat99 in mumbai. I auditioned Onkyo HTS 3500 and Denon DHT 1312 XP both the systems at the same time and felt Denon was much better in sound quality.

Its very very loud and shakes my whole house even when on 40% volume.

 

[cheenu4u55]

I went to reliance digital chennai and auditioned denon 1312 yesterday, Sound was really good. I think denon is better compared to onkyo. They offered 31 k for the system with a free LG Blu ray player(if EMI down payment just 499 ) . looks like a good deal, isn't it?

 

[Rupam]

As I have opened this thread, my responsibility to conclude.....

I'm happy to say that I finally purchased my home-theater system. :yahoo:

I finally decided not to buy HTiB and get a Denon 1513 and Wharfedale Moviestar MS-100 HCP 5.1 . I can say that in this price you can't have anything better in India (in abroad ofcouse you can) in this price range.

REVIEW AND PICS COMING SOON........

 

[jaivelu]

@ Rupam, congrats man..... The combo will rock the house. I too heard the Wharfedale MS-100 HCP 5.1. and I really loved the sound very much . Its a clean setup.

Share the price, review and pics please, if possible take a video and share please. )

Happy for you man...:clapping: