Onkyo S3300 vs Denon DHT390XP vs Sony DAV-DZ610

scorpianbites

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Hi,

I am confused between these HT systems (My budget is 30K max.):
1) Onkyo s3300
2) Denon DHT390XP

Can someone highlight major differences, pros, cons about these. Is ONkyo good for music as well?
Or can I go for purchasing my HT in steps. If yes than how should I go about it?

Also I have one more doubt: How do LCD, DVD player and this AVR connectivity works w.r.t. Picture and Sound.
 
Hi SB

1st of all, welcome to HFV. Let me try to help you out with your queries.

30k is a budget that even I had when I bought my HT components recently.

Onkyo HT-S3300 --> Have not had a demo on this, but had a look at the specs on the US website. Specs are impressive, with a nice receiver sporting 4 HDMI 1.4 inputs, 1 HDMI output, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA decoding etc. So in other words it's future proof. However, the subwoofer is a passive one (meaning, it's not separately powered and level has to be controlled only from the receiver). A powered subwoofer is always better even if it's just 100 watts RMS. Speakers in this system may not be upto the mark either. However, this can be overcome by getting better front and centre speakers some time later when you can afford it.

As for the Denon DHT-390XP, the package is good but the receiver is very basic. Only 2 HDMI inputs, does not support HD audio decoding etc. Subwoofer in this model is huge but does not produce very impressive bass. I had a demo on this model at Reliance Digital here in Chennai and was not very impressed. They had a deal for 34k, including a Pioneer DV 220 DVD player. Croma had the same model for 29k without the DVD player.

Onkyo HTIBs are generally good value for money and are nice for movies.

If you are ready to look at other options, you can check out what I bought recently for around the same budget.

I actually had a budget of 25k total but stretched it to 30k. I picked up a used 2007 model Yamaha RX-V459 receiver (non-HDMI model but good one, 90W RMS per ch, 6.1 config) for 9.5k. Got it from a used hifi components dealer from whom I've purchased a few times before for myself and my friends. They've been in this business for more than 10 years and are trustworthy to do business with.

Next for the speakers, I considered models like a satellite package from Yamaha (NS-P110, grey, 100W/ch RMS with powered subwoofer), Wharfedale MovieStar 70+ system (5 bigger-than-satellite speakers with a powered subwoofer) etc. The Yamaha set at the Yamaha Music Square here was 12k while I found the same package for 8k on Ebay India brand new. The Wharfedale set was 33k brand new (best price 30k) while a used demo set was offered to me for 23k.

Apart from these, I had a long-time desire to get floorstanders and decided to use this opportunity to check out options.

The Yamaha 3-way floorstanders NS-8390 were offered for 14k at the Yamaha Music Square while the centre/surround package NS-P60 was offered for 10k. So the total came to 24k for a brand new set. However I contacted another known hifi store in Chennai and managed to crack a deal with him for 19k total for the speakers.

I must say these speakers are excellent. The speakers are quite powerful and produce good bass. Mid-range and treble are very good too. Centre and surround speakers are big and dialogues are very clear since the centre speaker uses 2 mid-bass drivers and a tweeter. I have set up everything at my place and even wall mounted the surround speakers which look more like mini bookshelves.

I plan to add a subwoofer after a month or two, but for the moment am delighted with the way the speakers are performing. I am listening only to audio CDs, MP3s and DTS CDs now since the next big item on our purchase list is a 50 inch plasma.

So this entire setup cost me less than 30k, since I went for a used AV receiver. If you're very particular about getting only a new AVR and speakers, then I guess you don't have much of a choice for a 30k budget and would have to restrict yourself to the Onkyo or Denon HTIBs. Other cheaper HTIBs from Samsung, LG, Sony etc would not have a separate receiver and would have an integrated DVD player/amplifier unit with a passive subwoofer.

If you can stretch your budget to 40k or more, then lot more options are available. I am sure the others here can contribute with some info on those.

Hope that helps!!

Warm regards,
Venkat
 
Onkyo 3300 is most advansed with HDMI 1.4.

i read somewhere that onkyo3300 is not gud for music. Is it that bad? how is that compared to any sony,samsung HT w.r.t. "Music"?

Also, i read on this forum, many people suggest to go for stage upgrade of HT if budget is a issue.

Can you recommend a gud AVR plus speakers (decent enough for 6 months) combo and later go for better speakers/sub-woofer (compatible with AVR)?
 
i read somewhere that onkyo3300 is not gud for music. Is it that bad? how is that compared to any sony,samsung HT w.r.t. "Music"?

Also, i read on this forum, many people suggest to go for stage upgrade of HT if budget is a issue.

Can you recommend a gud AVR plus speakers (decent enough for 6 months) combo and later go for better speakers/sub-woofer (compatible with AVR)?

Do not compare Onkyo with Sony or Samsung..... Compare onkyo with Denon , Marantz and other brands which are in the same lines.... If your budget is 30k you shld probably look @ Denon 1610 with some bookshelf speakers (you may need to streach 5k more ) If you want some used ones you can open a new thread in the wanted section of the forum.....
 
The Yamaha 3-way floorstanders NS-8390 were offered for 14k at the Yamaha Music Square...

Just curious. Shouldn't it be called a 2-way speaker since it has only 3 drivers? I have Yamaha floor-standers (NS50) which are also called 3-way but they have 4 drivers.
 
i read somewhere that onkyo3300 is not gud for music. Is it that bad? how is that compared to any sony,samsung HT w.r.t. "Music"?

Also, i read on this forum, many people suggest to go for stage upgrade of HT if budget is a issue.

Can you recommend a gud AVR plus speakers (decent enough for 6 months) combo and later go for better speakers/sub-woofer (compatible with AVR)?

I got onkyo HTib,then upgraded to Tannoy spk,supra cables & now I am enjoying my setup.You can think with 3300 similar.Most of the AVR are pure for music.Still-
Denon can sound better than onkyo for music.Seperate systems are costly.eg.
Denon 1610(25k)+Q acoustic pack(58k?)

So all depends on budget.Onkyo are gr8 for mov & may sound good with music(not best).
 
Hi Guys,

Finally I have got my HT Setup by having Onkyo 3300 and WD Live.

Apart from MKVs , BRRIPs which it is playing, are amazing to watch. But I am facing a problem in WD LIVE (OR in onkyo3300):

It recognizes and plays most MKVs which have audio codec like DTS, AC3 in digital (5.1) sound.

But there is NO sound coming when it plays a MKVs with audio codec showing AAC (Digital) (i.e. when u look in Options >> Audio it shows 1/1 ENGLISH AAC (DIGITAL) )

However there was a movie in which audio codec was AAC (Pls Note its just AAC not AAC Digital) (i.e. when u look in Options >> Audio it shows 1/1 ENGLISH AAC), there sound was coming but it was shown as PCM sound track i.e. stereo sound.

I dont have any knowledge of audio codecs and their tech. details, but any of you experts and onkyo owners please guide me as to what setup am I missing or Is onkyo not capable of playing AAC (Digital)?

(It does play AAC (without digital) in PCM mode, What is the difference in AAC and AAC (DIGITAL)?)
 
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I guess the problem lies with WDTV here. Maybe you can upload a part of the file on WD forums for people to test and let you know if they are able to play or not.
 
But there is NO sound coming when it plays a MKVs with audio codec showing AAC (Digital) (i.e. when u look in Options >> Audio it shows 1/1 ENGLISH AAC (DIGITAL) )


(It does play AAC (without digital) in PCM mode, What is the difference in AAC and AAC (DIGITAL)?)

Were you able to play these files with sound if connected directly to a TV via HDMI i.e. the audio decoding is done by WDTV.

If not, believe the support issue lies with WDTV. If it plays with a direct connection to TV over HDMI, need is to identify how to make it work on HTIB - Which may be just selecting the audio input or output type (not sure on HTiBs)
 
Were you able to play these files with sound if connected directly to a TV via HDMI i.e. the audio decoding is done by WDTV.

If not, believe the support issue lies with WDTV. If it plays with a direct connection to TV over HDMI, need is to identify how to make it work on HTIB - Which may be just selecting the audio input or output type (not sure on HTiBs)

yeah gud idea ... will do it today and let u guys know ...
 
i think, when u make it AAC(Digital) the WDTV sends the RAW signal to Apt to decode
and none of the amps that i know are capable of decoding AAC

when u leave the ouput as AAC, the WDTV decodes it, and sends the audio in analog to amp, which purely outputs it, and skips processing/decoding
 
Hi Nikhil,
Many thanks for your Help.
Further to our telecom please find below my address.
Name: Vasudev
#147, 6th cross, 3rd Block,
T.R. Nagar, Basavangudi,
Bangalore-560028
Mobile: 9886183437.
 
Hi,

I am confused between these HT systems (My budget is 30K max.):
1) Onkyo s3300
2) Denon DHT390XP

Can someone highlight major differences, pros, cons about these. Is ONkyo good for music as well?
Or can I go for purchasing my HT in steps. If yes than how should I go about it?

Also I have one more doubt: How do LCD, DVD player and this AVR connectivity works w.r.t. Picture and Sound.

I will any day buy a onkyo (atleast in Mumbai)..As most of them has already mentioned that its passive subwoofer going in for denon makes sense..but wait a minute did u chek the performace of both the system...I felt that the onkyo 3300 had far better performance than the denon...moreover from my earlier xperience for denon avr (my father got it from saudi) ther was no service backup ..the guys at denon informed me that its obsolete and parts are not available (the AVR is hardly 4year now)

Go in for a pwerful system in onkyo incase u feel that the 3300 sub is not that powerful enough for ur kind of music 5300 is a steal at ~50k (in mumbai) or you may buy a seprate denon avr along with klipsch or M&K I am sure it will sound great (dont know where the speakers will be available though :eek: ) google it !!
 
Dear Friends
I planning to go for Onkyo 3400 when i visit the shop in banglore I saw Onkyo HT sr 800 & he is offering 35k,can any one tell me about the models and futures & HDMI verion.

Regards
Krsihnamurthy
 
HI venkat,

you shared gud stuffs. Cheers mate..

Dude help me to get a Av receiver and speakers package for around 30-50K ?
 
Get the Wharfedale EVO 4.2 3-Way Standmount Speakers at a Special Offer Price.
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