Stereo (or 2.1) System for Music and Movies (Budget ~30K)

[saicode]

Hi

I am looking for a good quality HiFi system for music and movies for our apartment for around 30K.

Initially I was thinking of getting a 5.1 system but its difficult to have many speakers spread across the living room because of our boisterous dog, and for the same reason we cant have floor standing speakers as well.

We recently auditioned Polk Audio Soundbar 5000 and even though we really liked the clutter free setup, we found the sound a bit muffled compared to other bookshelf systems in the showroom.

So now I am thinking of getting a 2.1 speaker system. 2 bookshelf speakers with a decent amp first and then a subwoofer.

I went through many posts on this forums and finally eying on:
1. Sonodyne SiA 310 Stereo Amplifier
2. Sonodyne Sonus 1501 V3 Bookshelf speakers
3. Subwoofer - need your suggestion, want to buy it later

Now, I would like to know if the above combination is good for our need, or there are some better options available for similar budget.

(I am a total newbie in the HiFi world, so apology in advance if I am asking some silly questions now or in future!)

 

[efernand1]

Hi

Depending on your room size and budget, you need to select your system carefully....otherwise you will end up disappointed that by spending a little extra, you could have got better!

What is the room size? You may want to consider Marantz or Cambridge Audio amplifiers....if you are going to connect a subwoofer later, it would be wise to ensure that you have a amplifier with Sub out / LFE out / Pre Out....

If your budget is tight, there is DNM and Norge who have products which may appeal to you...

Norge Audio

DNM enterprise | DNM Audio | DNM product | DNM Audio product | dilip bajaj | audio equipment | Audio Dealer in mumbai | Audio Dealer in andheri | Audio Dealer in india | sound equipment | speakers | Graphic Equalizers | Amplifiers | Audio Card Reader

Here are some 2.1 speakers that can be hooked to a integrated amplifier

Boston Acoustics SoundWare XS 2.1

Sonodyne PQube 2.1 Active Speaker System

Amplifiers

Sonodyne SiA 320 Stereo Amplifier

Cambridge Audio Topaz AM10 Amplifier

There are also other Bookshelf speakers like Bostons A25 / A26 and Cambridge Audio S30 or S50s you may want to consider...

In Bangalore there are a good number of Audio dealers and you can audition the same and make a wise purchase....remember check the rates with atleast 3 dealers and warranty options....

 

[saicode]

I would like to explain what's confusing me about the above Sonodyne combination: Although I have read great things about Sonodyne Sonus 1501 V3 , the speakers look cheap in terms of fit and finish, and I went to Chroma near Brigade Road for audition and surprsingly they were distorting/cracking like crazy with bassy music!

I have seen many suggesting -
NORGE 1515 Stereo Amplifier with CAMBRIDGE AUDIO S30 Bookshelf Speakers are great value for money stereo. But I like deep bass and would like to have option for subwoofer in the future, and Norge does not seem to have it (is there any other Norge model that has subwoofer preamp output).

And also, I can't seem to find Cambridge Audio S30 at any Indian online store!
Does anyone know where is it available?! Is there any store in Bangalore it's available off the shelf?

 

[saicode]

Deleted_
Duplicate post.

 

[saicode]

Thank you efernand1 for your reply.

I am concerned if the the Sonondyne is good value for it's cost (please see my prev post)

Here is the room size and layout:

 

[saran]

Yes Sonodyne really looks cheap and on one occasion i have seen the driver almost protruding out a bit from the cabinet, Also the sound is good but not the best in that budget.
Boston Acoustics A26 is a Wonder full speaker for the price and will be much much better than sonodyne 1501 with good Bass. pair it with a used maraantz or norge and you are good to go , infact I have S30 and compared it with Boston accoustics A26 and A 26 wins hands down with a little more bass and has better soundstage and comparable midrange.

 

[saicode]

Is there any place where I can audition Cambridge Audio S30 and Boston Acoustics A26 in Bangalore?

 

[tumpa]

Hi, I am a new joinee in the forum. I am from Kolkata, can anyone tell me about Allied Acoustics, they make stereos and speakers system. I want to buy Yamaha A-S500, with that Amp, I want to use Allied Acoustics' floor standers TS803, they are asking Rs15000/- for a pair. I have tight budget. Can anyone tell me about this company ? Link is Allied Accoustics

Please help.

 

[saicode]

Could anyone suggest some budget Amp matching Cambridge Audio S30 with pre-amp output for sub woofer?

Tumpa, why don't you start a new thread with your question, you would have better chance of getting some answers from members.

 

[Subha15011976]

Hai Saicode if you are interested in 2.1 powered speaker system, then have a look at "Edifier S730". Digital Power Speaker with 10 inch Subwoofer - S730 | Edifier
See at amazon Amazon.com: Edifier USA S730 2.1 Multimedia Audio Speaker System: MP3 Players & Accessories

 

[elangoas]

I would like to explain what's confusing me about the above Sonodyne combination: Although I have read great things about Sonodyne Sonus 1501 V3 , the speakers look cheap in terms of fit and finish, and I went to Chroma near Brigade Road for audition and surprsingly they were distorting/cracking like crazy with bassy music!

I have seen many suggesting -
NORGE 1515 Stereo Amplifier with CAMBRIDGE AUDIO S30 Bookshelf Speakers are great value for money stereo. But I like deep bass and would like to have option for subwoofer in the future, and Norge does not seem to have it (is there any other Norge model that has subwoofer preamp output).

And also, I can't seem to find Cambridge Audio S30 at any Indian online store!
Does anyone know where is it available?! Is there any store in Bangalore it's available off the shelf?

Sonodyne Sonus 1501 is a fine speaker for the retail price... I have heard it many times & used it too....Not too sure why you felt it was cracking...

Anyways from you pic, i see that you might either wall mount the speaker (or) keep it close to the wall... in such instances, a front ported speaker is better than a rear ported one....

May be if you have time, try the Sonus 1501 again with your material again to re-evaluate again.... Juz make sure to keep the tone controls set to o (or) flat... If the sales person there is not aware, feel free to do it yourself....

Reg the amplifier, you can either choose from Sonodyne Sia 310/Sia 320 Both have pre-outs and within your budget of 15 ~ 18K foor amplifier....

Or you can buy it from hifimart where you get 10% discount throughout the year...

 

[grunthos]

Initially I was thinking of getting a 5.1 system but its difficult to have many speakers spread across the living room because of our boisterous dog, and for the same reason we cant have floor standing speakers as well.

Given your "boisterous" dog, how do you plan to mount the bookshelves ? On stands or on the wall ? If stands, I think bookshelves are more unstable than floorstanders.

If you are planning on wall mounting anyway, then I think you should go for a 5.1 system like Boston Acoustics Soundware XS and wall mount both fronts and the surrounds. The satellites are quite small, so wall mounting is quite easy. And they are a highly regarded 5.1 HTIB. Same with Onkyo 3400/3500. And they fit your budget very well

If you're going for separates for better sound quality than HTiB, then Sonodyne is not the way to go. With due respect to Sonodyne owners, I thought the Sonus V2 floorstanders that I tested (admittedly couple of years back) were quite average sounding. The forum's preference for "foreign" brands like Wharfedales & Monitor Audio is well justified. You should up your budget to 40k and get the NAD 316/CA Topaz in amps and try the PSB Alpha B1/Dali Zensor 1/Wharfedale 10.1/Boston A26 etc. A search for entry level bookshelves on this forum will give you loads of options.

 

[saicode]

Thanks grunthos, elangoas and Subha15011976.

Elangoas: I was also really surprised hearing Sonodyne Sonus 1501 craking badly!! May be they the settings were wrong...

One more thing is, when I tried connecting my phone to Sonodyne Sia 310 amp with RCA-3.5mm jack the volume went down significantly. How should a phone/ipod be connected to the Sonodyne amp?

One thing that put me off was the finishing of the speakers, even though 1501 is a very reasonably priced speaker but I felt the material and fit-and-finish of the speaker very disappointing, even for it's price.


grunthos: Your suggestions are similar to what I have been arriving after doing quite a bit of research....
Boston Acoustics Soundware XS 5.1 would need a AVR right? And that puts it out of my budget. I have read good reviews about Onkyo HT-S3400 but my wife is not keen on having (bigger)speakers and wires all over the place...

Now I was thinking just buying a CA-Topaz AM10/AM5 amp with CA s30 speakers and add a subwoofer later. It would have been within my budget for the time being. But CA S30 speakers are not available anywhere!

Boston Acoustics A26 and Wharfedale DIAMOND 10.1 are out of my budget (along with the amp).

So I was thinking (please forgive my ignorance if its a stupid idea) what about combining Boston Acoustics SoundWare XS 2.1 with CA-Topaz AM10/AM5? SoundWare XS 2.1 is available at a dirt cheap 11.5K price at HiFiMart, it includes a subwoofer and I can easily replace them later with better speakers.

But my worry is, if its going to sound like a multimedia speaker, as I already have Logitech z2300 in the study room dont want to another set of similar sounding speakers.

Any idea/suggestion about combining CA-Topaz AM10/AM5 with Boston Acoustics SoundWare XS 2.1?
How would they compare with bookshelf speakers in terms of music and movies? or it is just a bad idea?

 

[arjit_b]

Hi
I'm no expert, but I was the same boat as you, initially was looking for some simple setup for my t.v. , had similar budget yours, I had arrived at soundware xs 2.1.

Finally I bought swan m50w, they are essentially computer speakers, but are pretty good that ..just check them out...with a decent dac they should work out fine, they are well within your budget

 

[jkarthik]

Boston Acoustics Soundware 2.1 is nice for music.
You can consider connecting Marantz or Nad Stereo amplifier to the above. It will be a nice combination. Just look out for the used one which you can get in the range of 10k to 15k.

Sorry, don't have any idea about CA amps.

 

[saicode]

Thanks Arijit and Karthik for your suggesions and for going through my long post!

Arijit: Where did you buy swan m50w from, can't seem to find them anywhere online.

Karthik: Have you compared Boston Acoustics Soundware 2.1 with some decent bookshelf speakers? how do they compare? What amp did you use with Soundware 2.1?

 

[arjit_b]

I bought them though hifinage, they also have an online store in Amazon, so you can go for an emi option like me

 

[jkarthik]

Saicode,

Sorry for the delayed response.

I had auditioned this speaker sometime back in my friend's house. The amp he used was Marantz PM6003. Excellent combination and well suit your budget and very good for a small room. (80 sqft to 120 sqft).

Yes, I compared this speaker with Mission MX1 with the same amp. It is a decent BS, lots of details and a reasonable bass.

 

[elangoas]

Elangoas: I was also really surprised hearing Sonodyne Sonus 1501 craking badly!! May be they the settings were wrong...

One more thing is, when I tried connecting my phone to Sonodyne Sia 310 amp with RCA-3.5mm jack the volume went down significantly. How should a phone/ipod be connected to the Sonodyne amp?

One thing that put me off was the finishing of the speakers, even though 1501 is a very reasonably priced speaker but I felt the material and fit-and-finish of the speaker very disappointing, even for it's price.


grunthos: Your suggestions are similar to what I have been arriving after doing quite a bit of research....
Boston Acoustics Soundware XS 5.1 would need a AVR right? And that puts it out of my budget. I have read good reviews about Onkyo HT-S3400 but my wife is not keen on having (bigger)speakers and wires all over the place...

Now I was thinking just buying a CA-Topaz AM10/AM5 amp with CA s30 speakers and add a subwoofer later. It would have been within my budget for the time being. But CA S30 speakers are not available anywhere!

Boston Acoustics A26 and Wharfedale DIAMOND 10.1 are out of my budget (along with the amp).

So I was thinking (please forgive my ignorance if its a stupid idea) what about combining Boston Acoustics SoundWare XS 2.1 with CA-Topaz AM10/AM5? SoundWare XS 2.1 is available at a dirt cheap 11.5K price at HiFiMart, it includes a subwoofer and I can easily replace them later with better speakers.

But my worry is, if its going to sound like a multimedia speaker, as I already have Logitech z2300 in the study room dont want to another set of similar sounding speakers.

Any idea/suggestion about combining CA-Topaz AM10/AM5 with Boston Acoustics SoundWare XS 2.1?
How would they compare with bookshelf speakers in terms of music and movies? or it is just a bad idea?

@ saicode - As i suggested earlier, you may try the Sonodyne again juz to see if the settings are fine with stereo amplifier....Juz make sure all the setting on the amplifier are set to "0"....

Yes.. 3.5 mm Jack is the best way to connect a stereo amplifier.... What was the content that you were playing... Mp3 ?

If you are going to wall mount the speaker, front ported speakers might be better.....

Saicode,

Sorry for the delayed response.

I had auditioned this speaker sometime back in my friend's house. The amp he used was Marantz PM6003. Excellent combination and well suit your budget and very good for a small room. (80 sqft to 120 sqft).

Yes, I compared this speaker with Mission MX1 with the same amp. It is a decent BS, lots of details and a reasonable bass.

You mean Boston Acoustics Soundware 2.1 is better than Mission MX1 BS speaker ? Strange.....

You are comparing a sat+sub combo with a BS speaker.....

 

[saicode]

Arijit: Thanks! I checked it out. M50W is not available Hifinage or amazon.in.
They have Swan M20W, which looks like a stripped down version of M50W and has one way satellites.

Karthik: Thanks for getting back. I guess you meant Mission MX1 was better, right?
How did the Boston Acoustics Soundware 2.1 sound compared to the MX1? Did it have enough details?

Elangoas: Thank you. I thought there might be something wrong with the setting as the Sonodyne guy was not present and the Chorma guys were struggling to give a demo.
So I might give it another try.

Now, I tried it with 3.5-RCA cable, and it was 320kbps MP3... there was a major volume loss.
I have tried the same with a Marantz amp and had the same issue, but when I connected to PolkAudio Sourroundbar 5000 via bluetooth the same tracks sounded just fine.
It looks like there is a lot of signal loss when I am trying to connect with 3.5-RCA cable.

I noticed many amps (including Sonodyne) as a 3.5 AUX port on the front panel, is that meant for MP3 player and phones to connect via 3.5-3.5 cable without the signal loss issue?