Please help newbie to decide on his first system

krishnenduk

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Kottayam, Kerala
I am a newbie in the AV field. And I want to purchase a 7.1 Home Theatre setup for my room of moderate size. I did some net search on the receiver and speaker setups. But confused to make a decision. As the amount I can raise for the setup is maximum 50000Rs, I cant take a chance. I also dont know which one sounds better, the seperates or the HTIbs. My usage would be 50% for music and 50% for movies.

To all audioholics in this forum, please suggests a 7.1 A/V surround receiver of maximum 20000Rs which has sufficient power to shake my house and is feature rich which offers good value for money
And for the rest 30000Rs. please suggest a good 7.1 speaker combination. As I am from Kerala I cant audition all the packages available as the dealers may not have the stock. So please suggest a good setup that offers good value for money.
 
I am a newbie in the AV field. And I want to purchase a 7.1 Home Theatre setup for my room of moderate size. I did some net search on the receiver and speaker setups. But confused to make a decision. As the amount I can raise for the setup is maximum 50000Rs, I cant take a chance. I also dont know which one sounds better, the seperates or the HTIbs. My usage would be 50% for music and 50% for movies.

To all audioholics in this forum, please suggests a 7.1 A/V surround receiver of maximum 20000Rs which has sufficient power to shake my house and is feature rich which offers good value for money
And for the rest 30000Rs. please suggest a good 7.1 speaker combination. As I am from Kerala I cant audition all the packages available as the dealers may not have the stock. So please suggest a good setup that offers good value for money.

7.1 AVR for 20K??? not possible

7.1 speakers for 30K??? wont be great...

Can you audition Onkyo 5100 and see. it is a 7.1 system with active subwoofer and good receiver. Also you can get it for 40-42k and within your budget of 50k. Put that remaining amount on good speaker cables/stabilizer.

Thanks,
Prakash.
 
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I suggest you buy the 7.1 surround processor with two front speakers and the subwoofer for now and add the center and surrounds later when you have more money. This way you can purchase high quality units and it will sound great every step of the way.
 
okai... thanks.... I can stretch my budget more for receiver upto 30000 Rs.. can u tell me which all 7.1 a/v receivers are available which offers good VFM?
 
okai... thanks.... I can stretch my budget more for receiver upto 30000 Rs.. can u tell me which all 7.1 a/v receivers are available which offers good VFM?

At 30k,all AVR features almost same.

If you need for mov,then Onk576 is good as it has Dolby HD decoder,hense VFM.

Denon,Yam are also good for same budget.
You can even try Pioneer as it is good for both Mov & music.
 
what about Onkyo TX-SR606 1225W 7.1 Channel A/V Receiver? can anyone quote its price?

which receivers are good for music?? please mention the receiver names also///
 
I am from Kerala I cant audition all the packages available as the dealers may not have the stock. So please suggest a good setup that offers good value for money.

You can audition Denon,Onkyo from Hi Fi link in Cochin and yamaha from the YAMAHA MUSIC SQUARE-COCHIN.

Cheers
santhukp
 
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hii all,

sorry for the delayed response........

I am now in an utter confusion.... dont know which receiver to opt, one with onboard video processing or not!!! pls tell me is the video processing (scaling) capability so important in a receiver.. i am confused in b/w three receivers.... Onkyo TX-SR 506 & Onkyo TX-SR 606 & Onkyo TX-SR 705?? pls recommend me one as i am going to use it for music more than movies...

the speakers i am going to pair is the Wharfedale 9 series as a 2.1 setup for the time being.....
 
dont know which receiver to opt, one with onboard video processing or not!!! pls tell me is the video processing (scaling) capability so important in a receiver...

i am going to use it for music more than movies...

Music more than movies... you should be able to easily decide whether you need HDMI capability or not on the Receiver :)

Unless you have (or going to) too many HD video sources (PS/3, DVDP, BDP etc.), don't bother about HDMI switching in the Receiver and get an upscaling DVDP (Rs.5k+) when you have the cash...

It is only worth upscaling a good DVD, all other sources that we have currently (cable, STB etc.) may not be worth/VFM upscaling... It might take another 5yr for us to have decent SD or HD quality on cable/STB, but you may want to change your receiver in 5yr anyways...
 
thanks for the quick reply.....

i am going to use the receiver with my HTPC, STB and Philips DVD player and needs to connect the HTPC to receiver using the HDMI connection... which of these receivers do audio processing through HDMI?

What about Denon AVR-1909 840W 7.1 Channel A/V Receiver? Which one offers better VFM, Onkyo TX-SR 606 or Onkyo TX-SR 706 or Denon AVR-1909?
 
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Hi Krish,
Of all the options that you've given the Denon 1909 and the Onkyo 606 are head-on competitors. Both have almost similar specifications and excellent value for money.
It's only their sound signatures that is different which is also debatable.
Some say the Denon sounds good with music and the onkyo sounds best for movies.But I think a good speaker selection will make all the difference.

The Onkyo 706 is a better option if you can afford.It can upscale anything to Full HD, THX Select2+ certified, Bi-Amp capability,certified 4ohms performance,etc.
THX doesn't mean much to many but it's guaranteed and reliable power output at all levels,
and since you want House Shakin power.:yahoo:
The 706 also has lots of usable connectivity options and for future upgradation and RS 232 port is also included.

I suggest you have a good audition with both Denon and Onkyo and the speakers of your choice.You can't go wrong with any of them.;)
Cheers,
Samuel

PS: For Speakers do audition the Polk RTi series and the Mordaunt Short avant range if possible.
 
hiii all,

I thought of buying Onkyo 705 for my setup and the quoted price was 45K. Now heard that its discontinued nd onkyo 706 is comin... but the price for 706is around 56K and so its not come in my buget.. :sad::sad::sad:
 
hiii all,

I thought of buying Onkyo 705 for my setup and the quoted price was 45K. Now heard that its discontinued nd onkyo 706 is comin... but the price for 706is around 56K and so its not come in my buget.. :sad::sad::sad:

Krishnendu, have you decided on your budget for the reciever? And where do you plan to buy it from? Have you auditioned any of these?

As far as Hdmi is concerned, if you want it to be of any use, dont go for a model with hdmi pass through(like onkyo 506)! I think you can try to get the 576, which had video pass through but extracts hd audio and plays it on the speakers. since you have an htpc/upscaling dvdp, upscaling is not a priority.


I think 606 costs around 40k. 576 will be in your budget. also try options from denon, yamaha and if possible sony.
I see that you have shortlised wharf speakers. Good!
 
hiii iaudio,

thanks for the advice.. bfore three weeks i didnt even know what is a receiver and all the related stuff!!! now i know a drop in the ocean... first i planned for a budget of max 50K for the setup...

but now i want a receiver which is future proof atleast for some years..... thts y i opted for one with video processing... i am thinking of it as a lifetime investment.. i really dont know video scaling needs to be given of much priority!!!

this forum is amazing as i am learning new new things daily!!!

now my budget is 45K for the receiver and 35K for 2.1 speaker set.. i will make 2.1 setup to 5.1 gradually!!!! my preference will be 60% for music and 40% for movies!!!!! I am from Kerala and i talked with hifidemoroom persons in trivandrum.. they told me that onkyo is well established in India, and so its better to buy from them considering their service.. they also told me that they can also arrange setups from other brands also.........

but anyways in a confused state now.....:sad:
 
but now i want a receiver which is future proof atleast for some years..... thts y i opted for one with video processing... i am thinking of it as a lifetime investment.. i really dont know video scaling needs to be given of much priority!!!

You can talk about an investment for 10 to 15 years in audio. But I am afraid it is not possible in video. Over the last 5 years, we have moved from 480i Analogue and CRTs to LCD/Plasmas, 1080P, and pure digital processing. With digital processing and the high rate of progress in integrated chips, the rate of technical improvements in image processing will only accelerate. To a large extent, Asus is showing the way with their new PC based multichannel audio. I am sure the day is not far away when high end video processing such as those using HQV Reon or VRS will come down to a small video processing board on a PC. Oppo did that on a DVD Player, and I am sure it will become common place by the year end. Already many medium and high end AVRs are powered by VRS or Reon processors. I am sure Fardoudja is also working very hard to bring technologies to beat VRS and Reon.

Companies such as Anchor Bay, Silicon Optrix, Vivace and others are already working on 1800P and above for release by 2010. Remember, these technologies are already in place in high end labs and in professional studios. In addition, technology to deliver something close to 500GB on a single disc is already in place. This means the capacity to show a movie with a resolution that is some 20 times better than a Blu-Ray!!

For displays, TV companies are delivering quantum jump in display technology literally every year. From a contrast ration of 2000:1 just a couple of years ago, we are today looking at 40,000:1, 100Hz, and 24FPS which is the closest you can get to a movie on a film.

now my budget is 45K for the receiver and 35K for 2.1 speaker set.. i will make 2.1 setup to 5.1 gradually!!!! my preference will be 60% for music and 40% for movies!!!!! I am from Kerala and i talked with hifidemoroom persons in trivandrum.. they told me that onkyo is well established in India, and so its better to buy from them considering their service.. they also told me that they can also arrange setups from other brands also.........

Though Onkyo, Denon, and Yamaha are good in different ways, you must first decide your priority.

When you say 60% for Music, and 40% for movies, I would say it is a vague statement.

How do you listen to music now? What equipment do you use now? Have you heard audiophile equipment? Can you differentiate between a good and bad amplifier? Do you understand what distortion is, and can you 'hear' distortion at say 20 watts? What is your main source of music - CDs, MP4, Radio, Tape? How much music (say CDs) do you have with you? How many hours do you spend a day listening to music with no disturbance? Have you heard a few songs so many times that you know every nuance of the song? Do you know when the singer breathes in deep? Do you know exactly when a drum beat will start, and when the violins will take over?

The point I am trying to get to here is that any AVR will deliver decent sound for music and pretty good sound for movies. AVRs from companies such as Onkyo, Denon, and Yamaha will work very well for movies and reasonably well for music.

How to differentiate between the three? Only by your own ears. Why? Simply because your taste in music and the way you listen to music is unique and individual.

If you are particular about music the way I am talking, none of these AVRs will work for you. One of the best option is to get an inexpensive stereo amp from Norge or a lower version from NAD or CA. This will satisfy your music needs. You can then get a budget AVR to satisfy your movie needs.

If you want to combine the two, and you are at least a partial audiophile, none of the three models may suffice. It may be better to look for an AVR from NAD or CA at the budget level that will deliver exceedingly well for both movies and music, particularly music.

Many of us will recommend may products based on our own auditioning or use. Will this work for you? I doubt it unless we both have the same taste in music and listen to music in the same way. And, that my friend, is impossible.

Prioritise and let us know how serious you are in terms of your percentages in terms of music vs movies.

Cheers
 
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hiii iaudio,

thanks for the advice.. bfore three weeks i didnt even know what is a receiver and all the related stuff!!! now i know a drop in the ocean... first i planned for a budget of max 50K for the setup...

but now i want a receiver which is future proof atleast for some years..... thts y i opted for one with video processing... i am thinking of it as a lifetime investment.. i really dont know video scaling needs to be given of much priority!!!

this forum is amazing as i am learning new new things daily!!!

now my budget is 45K for the receiver and 35K for 2.1 speaker set.. i will make 2.1 setup to 5.1 gradually!!!! my preference will be 60% for music and 40% for movies!!!!! I am from Kerala and i talked with hifidemoroom persons in trivandrum.. they told me that onkyo is well established in India, and so its better to buy from them considering their service.. they also told me that they can also arrange setups from other brands also.........

but anyways in a confused state now.....:sad:

Krishnendu, I am from Kerala too, Cochin to be precise. I bought my onkyo 506 not too long ago. I was confused, and i guess I am still confused about how to go about quenching my need for good music and to a lesser extent ht

Unlike your speakers, your avr is not really a lifetime investment. Avr, however future proof will be obsolete in a few years! If you have to keep up, you have to accept that you will be changing your avr for the latest one two years down the lane!

The same doesnt really apply for a stereo amp though! You find something that suits your taste and budget, you dont have to throw it out for features or technology. The only way you outgrow it is when you start yearning for better sound quality, or need to go for a more powerful one to drive difficult speakers.

Think about how much hd content you have, whether you will be renting/buying/downloading hd content on a regular basis to warrant the TRue Hd capabilities.

I would still maintain not to be worried about video upscaling, it can be done by a decent player like a Pioneer dv610, or even lg dv388, or better still the oppo's. The upscaling on the entry level avr s isnt anything great either!

If you can take your time and audition well before you buy.
Venkat sir, has covered everything in his post, I am just putting across my version of what has been said.
 
Thanks for the well furnished reply friends....

I bought Onkyo TX SR 705 and wharfedale 9.5 speakers and now using it in stereo mode...

i would like to make my 2 channel setup to a 7.1 setup// which all speakers in wharfedale 9 series should i buy to make it a 7.1 setup??
 
Wharfedale Linton Heritage Speakers in Red Mahogany finish at a Special Offer Price. BUY now before the price increase.
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