At 20K, I'd be really keen to hear of a good/great 5.1 setup you know about, because I can't think of even one.
20K should include a decent sound card as well!
At 20K, I'd be really keen to hear of a good/great 5.1 setup you know about, because I can't think of even one.
Not everyone wants 2.0/2.1 in this day and age of 5.1/7.1. Also, once you experience true 5.1 like say DTS in The Transformers with the right equipment you just cannot go back to stereo, at least that's the way I feel. In fact I have gone re-ripping all my DVDs to 5.1 in Dolby Digital from the original stereo they were ripped in earlier for all my Divx rips. Just as music sounds so much better in stereo, ditto for movies in 5.1 DTS/Dolby. Great 2.0 is better than average 5.1, that's true, but the same cannot be said of a great/very good 5.1 setup. Movies are enjoyed more in surround sound, well my 2 cents at least.
Hey,
the speakers are still good n intact..
the specs of speakers are 150W and 6ohm..
What if i buy a receiver n hook it up with my comp? wud it be better? which receiver if i shud go for this?..
also, can i hook up these speakers with the receivers n connect my comp with the receiver via usb?will i additionally need a sound card too?
My budget is still 15~18k all inclusive
If you still want to use the Panasonic,
Norge amp: 6.5K
Xonar DX: 4.5K
Upgrade the speakers later.
@grim.reaper: The AE5 are 19k at bajaao.com:
Audioengine USA A5 Active Bookshelf Speakers - Now in India! -
If your budget is 15K and you don't want to use the speakers you have, pick up just the AE5. You'll be fine with onboard for some time. The card can always come later.
To each his own!
A great/very good 5.1 is very expensive, way more than a great 2.1.
A good surround receiver, center and rears required to complete the 5.1 setup would cost around 2-2.5 times the 2.1 setup. So whenever budget is a concern, getting a very good 2.1 is always a right place to start. You can definitely get the surround processor later and still use the stereo amplifier for the fronts, and get the center/rears/surrounds if you want., but very well not go that route if you are happy with the 2.1 setup.
But this advice is well known already from umpteen forums right. What I feel (again this my opinion which a lot of people might/would disagree) is that center and rears are overrated in a home theater, and I am happy without them. it's just another way to make the consumer spend more money since he is "supposed" to be missing something, but at the end he stills remain dissatisfied (7.1 has something 5.1 doesn't, 5.1 has something 2.1 doesn't, blah blah blah, what comes next?).
I never feel the requirement of a center since my fronts are close to each other (around 5-6 feet) and i get a good phantom center. Sitting away from the rear walls and close to the fronts, I don't really miss out on my rears as well. In your home theater you can always find that sweet spot unlike a movie theater! Anyway, not trying to start another 2.1 vs 5.1 war here, I would say the quest for the holy grail of HT is neverending for most, it's just that I have found mine I guess!
Bhaskie,
I am really interested in knowing your setup. From my experience it has been the other way around. 2.0/stereo is more expensive than a 5.1 setup is what I have seen. I agree both in 2.0 and in 5.1/7.1 the very high end exist, but in true stereo for the audiophile there exist very few options in the low budget segment. Case in point you would get a budget DVDP, but there are no budget CDP. An all in one HTIB like Philips, Onkyo, Yamaha etc. are found for under 30K which do a pretty good to decent job and even if they do not they are still option for someone without the budget to pick something up like this. For a music lover such things do not even exist in the lower spectrum of the budget AFAIK.
I am not putting down 2.0 here. All I am saying is that for music 2.0 is the best. Similarly 5.1/7.1 is the best for movies. Stereo music does not sound great on a 5.1 system and similarly movies encoded in 5.1 DTS or Dolby will always sound better on a 5.1/7.1 system rather than a 2.0 system. You just cannot take away from the surround sound experience, not at least for the big budget action spectacle. I still enjoy the fire engine action sequence from Terminator 3 in 5.1 and ditto for the police van action sequence from The Dark Knight again in 5.1. No high end 2.0 will compete in giving the surround sound FX that a comparable 5.1/7.1 system will give for such action sequences. Similarly no high end 5.1/7.1 system will give the pleasure of a 2.0 system for a Red Book Audio CD. That's the only point I am trying to convey here.
Anyway I think we have confused the OP no end here in our quest for audio and HT nirvana.