PLEASE suggest speakers 4 pc within 20k

[Wildchild]

Hello everybody! Hope all you and your dear ones are already having, and further going to have a musical and wonderful 2010!

I am a music lover to say the least. Have been listening to almost everything(from the 40s to this day) on this beautiful planet on a custom made 2500 W rms system since my school days at Kolkata.

Now I have Creative Audigy SE card on my workstation. I need to buy speakers for it.Budget 20k
Requirement: I need it for my 14'X 10'X8'(LBH) room. I'll be using it mostly for music (85%, rest for movies). I'll be playing from Indian/Western Classical vocal/instrumental ,to Film music, to rock pop, reggae, instrumental, world music, folk music from across the globe.
I want a punchy bass and all my frequencies clear as well . Sometimes I compose music too for my projects (different tracks to create spatial surround sound). Want to connect with my synth keyboard too.

I know 20k is too less to have a decent setup(later on I plan to invest much more to satisfy my needs for a entirely new decent setup)but for the time being I need to know what would be the best option to connect to my workstation pc.Give me the details of the retailers at Lamington road if possible.

Should I go for Pc speakers like a simple Creative T7900(to utilise all the features of the Audigy card,cmss upmix,etc) or a Logitech Z5500?(is it good for music?) I liked Altec Lansing's MX5021 sound, but want to go for a 5.1 HT

Liked somewhat the sound of Onkyo HTS 3100, would like to have HTS 3200 what are their current prices in Mumbai? .Can anyone tell me where to get these in mUmbai at the correct price? I was surprised to see that E-Zone offered HTS3100 bundled with a Sansui dvd player at 17.5 k in 2008, and now after 2 years they are selling it with a philips dvd player at 23k? So what is the actual price of Onkyo HTS 3100, and HTS 3200?

Or shall I go for a fully assembled set within my budget?(If somebody makes good amplifiers in Mumbai and matches them wid proper speakers, please help me)

Also, where can I audition Onkyo/creative/various sets in Mumbai? Suggest other brands too, pls.

As you can see, I'm utterly confused and need to buy speakers within the next few days.What is the best I can get at Need your expertise and valuable suggestions on this asap. Thanks a lot in advance, n God bless u all! tk care.

 

[Wildchild]

Wow, what a great and active forum! with so many experts and music lovers around, almost 50 views and not a single suggestion...:sad: Even people with disrespect for good brands,( remember "Onkyo-Ponkyo, Denon-Mennon, unknown Chinese Korean kachada thread? " ) get so many replies and decent suggestions. Yes I have been reading almost all the threads of your forum as well as the other national/international forums for the last couple of months and getting informed with reviews of everything in the range of 20 k and beyond. I have been calling up dealers/distributors across the country to get the right mrp, mop of certain products(Called up Hansaveni, Chennai yesterday for HTS 3200. I liked their price 22k but don't have anyone in Chennai who can courrier the set to me at Mumbai ).I've been auditioning different setups for the last 4 months..So, it is not that I haven't done any homework and just came up with a question to find a easy solution.

For years I have known that a 2 speaker stereo system is the best option for music, but I need a 5.1 setup to compose music(digital spatial surround). Thats why I just wanted to have your suggestions for options around 20 k(for pc speakers, thats enough I guess). I know everyone is busy, and I'm being impatient, but I really expected some suggestions(or may be these days they are reserved for higher budgets only)..

I'll be saving couple of lakhs in the next 6 months to get started on building a decent HT set up to my satisfaction. For that I'll be using the official sources/help as we have 4 recording studios in our office. Thanks, God bless!

 

[bansal98]

I do not have much experience with computer-based music systems and speakers but you can find out the reviews about them on the Indian site techtree.com.

As far as I know, you have already listed all the good brands known for PC audio.

 

[corElement]

I was going to get a logitech z5500 to upgrade from a creative t7900 ( which sucks - dont even think about getting it ) and the only thing stopping me from getting a z5500 was that logitech has shit support and the z5500 controller dies in less than 1 years- the fuse blows constantly - the subwoofer dies in less than 3.

If you have 4 studios in your office - you should know noone can tell you which speaker will sound better for your ears - and even more so for your pocket.

If youre going to get a ht in 2 years - get the z5500 - only 14k consider it a 14k youll be parallel investing for 2 years. If you get access to onkyo in mumbai which im sure you will then go for the 3200 - dont need anything more, screw the proper ht.

 

[psychotropic]

why don't you get two pairs of Audioengine 2 speakers?

Orrrrr, you could lift you rbudget up a bit and get two Topping TP 20 amps, and two pairs of Cambridge Audio S30 (available for 8k as has been recently verified by a friend). 12k per pair = 24k for what will be a not merely decent, but stunning setup for the price

 

[audiodelic]

The logitech z5500 is crap for music mid range is non existent whereas the subwoofer is pretty good, should be good enough for movies just because of the boom added by the sub.

If you want accurate speakers in that budget there is Audioengine A5 and would perfect match since you have a decent soundcard also, even A2 with a subwoofer should be good or two pairs of a2's for 4 channel is an option.

 

[audiodelic]

why don't you get two pairs of Audioengine 2 speakers?

Orrrrr, you could lift you rbudget up a bit and get two Topping TP 20 amps, and two pairs of Cambridge Audio S30 (available for 8k as has been recently verified by a friend). 12k per pair = 24k for what will be a not merely decent, but stunning setup for the price

+1 the ca speakers are also a good choice

 

[Wildchild]

Dear all, thanks a lot for your inputs.
@ bansal98
I have already done that.But their reviews seem to be too much oriented towards "THX Certified" etc.. Moreover, there, the emphasis is on games and movies, whereas my focus is more on music. Thanks neways.

@ corElement
Thanks 4 ur inputs, I am afraid nw to go for Z5500. I have read about the fuse problem in many forums but never heard abt the controller and the sub. Have you or any of your friends experienced thiis personally? Also, please let me know where in Mumbai can I get Z5500 for 14k? I've asked the retailers and the dealers at Lamington, and the lowest quote was 16.7k.
Personally I would prefer Onkyo HTS3200 but the in Mumbai, it is quoted in the range 28-33k, whereas at Chennai , it is 22k!! Wish I had someone coming from Chennai to Mumbai!
I'm not asking our studio guys, coz I knw what they 'll suggest wl be way out of my range! Listening to a good song in those rooms is an amazing experience. The've invested crores in those magnificent equipments..Many TVCs, songs for the movies are recorded here with celebs frequenting all the time..

I even thought of asking the Chennai stores to deliver the 3200 box to a DTDC courrier ofc there, who in turn will deliver it to me at Mumbai, but ppl who have done this before have many horrendous experiences and the net is full of such complaints..

@ all: Any idea, how to go abt it? is there any other way?

@ psychotropic
Thanks, this seems to be a good option but is there any place where I can audition it? (in Mumbai) Also, what would be the total

cost?

@ audiodelic : I have read gr8 reviews abt A2 and A5s.. Here the power amps are inside the speaker, I want my amp to be
separated from the speakers. Also, I've heard that Z5500 has a boomy bass which dominates other frequencies.But, any speaker that can reproduce all frequencies without distorting, will be fit to be my pc speakers as I can handle the frequency distribution at the source, using various settings or softwares even.

So the final question to all:

Where can I get Onkyo 3200 in Mumbai at MOP(and not MRP).ie, 22k?
Is there any way of getting it safely from Chennai to Mumbai ?
Is there any way to source it from the US etc? Are there any agencies offering such services?

Thanks again! tk care.

 

[corElement]

@ corElement
Thanks 4 ur inputs, I am afraid nw to go for Z5500. I have read about the fuse problem in many forums but never heard abt the controller and the sub. Have you or any of your friends experienced thiis personally? Also, please let me know where in Mumbai can I get Z5500 for 14k? I've asked the retailers and the dealers at Lamington, and the lowest quote was 16.7k.
Personally I would prefer Onkyo HTS3200 but the in Mumbai, it is quoted in the range 28-33k, whereas at Chennai , it is 22k!! Wish I had someone coming from Chennai to Mumbai!
I'm not asking our studio guys, coz I knw what they 'll suggest wl be way out of my range! Listening to a good song in those rooms is an amazing experience. The've invested crores in those magnificent equipments..Many TVCs, songs for the movies are recorded here with celebs frequenting all the time..

I even thought of asking the Chennai stores to deliver the 3200 box to a DTDC courrier ofc there, who in turn will deliver it to me at Mumbai, but ppl who have done this before have many horrendous experiences and the net is full of such complaints..

@ all: Any idea, how to go abt it? is there any other way?

if youre not finding the 3200 take the 3100 its cheaper , not much of a difference I think.

z5500 u can haggle and bring it down to 14-15 and if they dont give u tell them to give you gift or something.

 

[Wildchild]

@ corElement
There's quite a lot of differences in those two..and 3100 too is costing 23k in Mumbai Ezone, Croma etc..
Also, did you face the problems of the controller and Sub in Z5500?

Right now, I'm still working at the studio, meeting deadlines..Sunday and V-day plans got screwed up royally!

Will wt 4 ur reply ..tk cr. Wl log in again at 1 am.Thx

 

[corElement]

I havnt faced any problem because I never bought it lol- but I know people irl who have faced problems and logitech didnt replace parts for months because they have no spares even if its in warranty. They have to import and if controller goes bad only hope is buying from us ebay replacement 2nd hand. And they DO go bad mind you.

the 3100 is a rip off at that price, I'd suggest you look in other stores were you are or ask members in this forum who are in mumbai who can tell you where to get well priced hifi audio stuff. A good thing you can do is build up over time. say 5 months.

i'll find out some options and let you know.

 

[techboy]

For music for this budget the obvious choice would be:
Audioengine A5
OR
Wharfedale 9.1 + Norge AMP

The Wharfedale will give better bass of the two, perhaps. But overall both should be comparable systems. Any of these will beat any Philips, Onkyo or Sony HT irrespective of price(maybe barring the greatest onkyos, though I doubt even that) and also crush the entry level Bose HTs and speaker systems.

Later on you can add a sub Polk PSW110 for 13k if you want. But for this price it won't get better.

And for maximum performance add Asus Xonar STX or at least Xonar DX.

If music is what you want, then I would personally recommend the Wharfedales as the AEs are nearfields and require you to be sitting within 1-2 feet from each speaker.

No Logitech speaker system can compare to even the cheapest of Bose systems leave alone Polk or Wharfedale.

 

[afj]

if youre main preference is music why do you want to go for 4 speakers. 2 would give you much better sound quality

 

[pawsingh]

I have been using Z5500 for more than three years now. No major issue at all. It is running as good as it was three years ago.

I do feel the vocal is bit low on this one, otherwise a good buy. Cannot say how it stands in comparison to other 5.1 as i have not tried any other brand.

Go for a good 2.1 than a 5.1 if your major concern is listening to music.