Upgrade HT setup

askii2

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Hi Folks,

I am likely to make a visit to Singapore in a couple of months, so am tempted to upgrade my HT setup.

Current configuration
Pioneer AVR Pioneer VSX520 is connected to Yamaha NS-7390 floorstanding front speakers. no center channel speaker. two surround speakers and sub-woofer from NS-P220 surround package.

Stereo setup is different, so this setup is used only for watching movies.

Why upgrade
The weakness in the subwoofer crossover is the primary limitation of this setup. Absence of a center speaker is another, though it's rarely felt. And the third reason is I may be visiting Singapore in a couple of months.:yahoo:

My budget is around Rs. 1L. I have thought of following upgrade options. Feedback and suggestions from fellow members will be highly appreciated.

One more thing - Generally it's not a good idea to audition products in shops, where I definitely won't buy them. So if a product is going to be bought in Singapore, I'll audition it there and vice-versa.

Room size is 22'X11'.

Option 1: Buy a new AVR and a speaker package
Given cost versus logistics, the AVR can be brought in Singapore and speaker package can be bought locally.

Yamaha RX-S600 appears good. It's a network AV receiver. It can play audio files from USB, network attached PC or smartphone, however I am not likely to use that path since I have a separate stereo setup. It's 60 W (6ohms, 0.09% THD). That's more than enough. All modern audio formats are supported (*-HD-*). It has an FM tuner, though I won't use it.

Yamaha RX-V477, is an older model. It's still good. It's 80 W (6ohms, 0.09% THD). Can play files from USB, network etc. Supports all modern audio formats (*-HD-*).

Speaker sets aren't so much better than my present setup. I'll rather prefer only buying 2 bookshelves for surrounds, and a new subwoofer. Then keep existing front setup. I won't go for a center channel speaker because it won't fit in front of the TV. I haven't studied speaker options yet.

Option 2: Buy a surround preprocessor only
Buy a surround preprocessor only from Singapore. Then drop the receiver. Instead pull-out the unused pace stereo amplifier for driving surrounds. Use stereo for fronts. Configure the surround decoder to use a 4.1 setup. This will work for now, though an upgrade later to a multichannel amplifier+speaker set will be essential.

Emotiva UMC-200 is very promising for this.
I found a review praising Outlaw Model Model 975.

Overall finding a surround preprocessor under Rs. 60000 or so is rather difficult.

Thanks.
 
As far as movie watching is concerned, a center channel is a must.... Consider different speaker position for center channel speaker... Not everyone get the speaker placement right.. So don't worry... Get a center channel from Yamaha itself as it would be better match for the rest of your speakers...

When you have good budget, why limit yourself to 477? i think you should consider Midrange RX - A series...
 
As far as movie watching is concerned, a center channel is a must.... Consider different speaker position for center channel speaker... Not everyone get the speaker placement right.. So don't worry... Get a center channel from Yamaha itself as it would be better match for the rest of your speakers...

When you have good budget, why limit yourself to 477? i think you should consider Midrange RX - A series...
Hi.. my 2nd post so far.. elangoas is right as long as it's solely for movie watching you have to definitely have a center speaker as 80% of all the movie sound are dialogues and that's what the center speaker is for..

As for center speaker positioning, there isn't much positions to play around.... if you're using a tv then it's either above the tv slightly tilted down to the sweet spot or MLP( Main listening position ) or below the tv.. if you're using your tv on a stand an also have a large center speaker then you could just stand your tv on top of the center speaker.. If you're using a large projector screen like me then you can just place the center speaker on a separate stand or on the floor will do.. unless if you're using an acoustic perforated screen then you can place the center speaker behind the screen just like in the big cinemas..

I'd suggest you to invest on a good avr when you're here in singapore then start upgrading your speakers by first getting a good center speaker then mains then surrounds and subwoofer and all.. if you're serious about enjoying movies the way they were meant to be seen then a 5.1 setup is the most minimum installation for a home theater... unless if your home theater room or space is in a large area then 7.1 or 7.2 or 9.1 or 9.2 or 10.1 or 10.2 or 11.1 or 11.2 will be necessary to fill the large space with sound and surrounds to truly enjoy home thater.. now with new surrond formats like dolby atmos and auro3d coming out already, there's room for more speakers and setups like 5.2.4 channel to max 11.2.4 channel setups.. the sky's the limit with home theater so plan properly and setup your place..

With your budget a pioneer sc-lx series avr should be wise.. but prices of pioneer avr are cheaper in hongkong.. so decide well and can pm me when u reach singapore.. cheers..[emoji2]
 
Thanks.

My Singapore visit has been changed to Hong Kong. Singapore is scheduled for next year. This is the first time I am visiting Hong Kong. While Hong Kong is known for duty-free electronics, I am not sure how it is for high-end audio.

I am pasting a photo of my setup. There is no space to keep center speaker. I am thinking wall mounting of the TV may help as I can raise it to accomodate the height of a center speaker.
 

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Thanks.

My Singapore visit has been changed to Hong Kong. Singapore is scheduled for next year. This is the first time I am visiting Hong Kong. While Hong Kong is known for duty-free electronics, I am not sure how it is for high-end audio.

I am pasting a photo of my setup. There is no space to keep center speaker. I am thinking wall mounting of the TV may help as I can raise it to accomodate the height of a center speaker.
Well in hong kong you can get alot of stuffs for dirt cheap.. try looking around... and you can place the center speaker on the floor or on a separate short speaker stand... there are center speakers that come with tilting legs so that you can place the center speaker on the floor and tilt up towards the sweet spot..
 
My hongkong visit was fully taken-up by sightseeing with family. Didn't get to visit any electronics shops.

While searching online I came across Yamaha HTR-2067. It's a very minimalistic AVR and and old model. Has been discontinued in US and some other countries. However it fits my requirements and doesn't contain any connectors I don't need. infibeam.com was carrying a substantial discount on it. So ordered it online.

Regarding speakers, I needed bookshelves with front ports so that I can mount them on the wall. KEF C series appeared very attractive. I have heard KEF Q series speakers and have an excellent opinion about the brand. I didn't quite like their horn loaded speakers. C series speakers, although I haven't heard, have excellent specifications. So I ordered 1 center channel C6LCR and 2 pairs of C1 online from profx.com

For now I'll keep existing Yamaha subwoofer and change it only if required.

I am now waiting to receive these items. Will post more info when I set them up.
 
Thanks.

My Singapore visit has been changed to Hong Kong. Singapore is scheduled for next year. This is the first time I am visiting Hong Kong. While Hong Kong is known for duty-free electronics, I am not sure how it is for high-end audio.

I am pasting a photo of my setup. There is no space to keep center speaker. I am thinking wall mounting of the TV may help as I can raise it to accomodate the height of a center speaker.
The tv should always be mounted on the wall but must be at eye level when you sit on the sofa and must not be mounted too high or too low as you will have to strain your eyes to watch.. the best option is for you to walk mount your tv and maybe hange your tv console... placing the center speaker on your console's top shelf and mounting the tv higher would not be a very good option for your setup.. just place the center speaker on the floor like i did..

6f456458f020528f66b813a6fa49604f.jpg

My hongkong visit was fully taken-up by sightseeing with family. Didn't get to visit any electronics shops.

While searching online I came across Yamaha HTR-2067. It's a very minimalistic AVR and and old model. Has been discontinued in US and some other countries. However it fits my requirements and doesn't contain any connectors I don't need. infibeam.com was carrying a substantial discount on it. So ordered it online.

Regarding speakers, I needed bookshelves with front ports so that I can mount them on the wall. KEF C series appeared very attractive. I have heard KEF Q series speakers and have an excellent opinion about the brand. I didn't quite like their horn loaded speakers. C series speakers, although I haven't heard, have excellent specifications. So I ordered 1 center channel C6LCR and 2 pairs of C1 online from profx.com

For now I'll keep existing Yamaha subwoofer and change it only if required.

I am now waiting to receive these items. Will post more info when I set them up.
I'm glad you bought an avr and speakers.. but may i ask why you chose bookshelfs over tower speakers...??
 
The tv should always be mounted on the wall but must be at eye level when you sit on the sofa and must not be mounted too high or too low as you will have to strain your eyes to watch.. the best option is for you to walk mount your tv and maybe hange your tv console... placing the center speaker on your console's top shelf and mounting the tv higher would not be a very good option for your setup.. just place the center speaker on the floor like i did..

6f456458f020528f66b813a6fa49604f.jpg


I'm glad you bought an avr and speakers.. but may i ask why you chose bookshelfs over tower speakers...??
bought them as i like the sound plus cos of space constraint.. but i've since then bought klipsch rf-7 ii reference speakers..[emoji6] [emoji111] [emoji108]

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