Wanna buy a good home theatre!!!

[bondguy2009]

Hey Guys,
Am new to Hifi vision. Just wondering if you guys could gimme suggestions to setup a new home theater system. My budget is around 70 k -90k. Can stretch a bit. but not too much. I have Samsung 42" plasma TV.
The living room is a L-shaped one and leaving the dining area the dimension is 17 x 10'3". I live in mumbai.
I have been looking at some good possibilities. Receivers, I had shortlisted Yamaha 663, Harman Kardon AV-147. Looking at other possibilities like a denon or marantz.
For the speakers and woofer I'm looking at Klipsch, PSB Alpha Series, KEF's or infinity. KEF high on my cards.
Is there any other possibility? I can consider any good advice. I auditioned the Jamo recently and didn't get what i want. I dont wanna go for a Bose, though I thought of it to be an option if i extend my budget. So, pls help me in deciding one. If you could quote the approximate price it will be of great help. :sos: Please post the best dealers for the same.

 

[srikarkav]

Hi bond,

I will let the experts here to guide u about the total setup. But i can give a suggestion on AVRs i think.


If u want the setup for pure movie wacthing go for yamaha 0r if u want it for both music and movies go for marantz.

cheers,
sri

 

[mridulgoel]

Hey Guys,
Am new to Hifi vision. Just wondering if you guys could gimme suggestions to setup a new home theater system. My budget is around 70 k -90k. Can stretch a bit. but not too much. I have Samsung 42" plasma TV.
The living room is a L-shaped one and leaving the dining area the dimension is 17 x 10'3". I live in mumbai.
I have been looking at some good possibilities. Receivers, I had shortlisted Yamaha 663, Harman Kardon AV-147. Looking at other possibilities like a denon or marantz.
For the speakers and woofer I'm looking at Klipsch, PSB Alpha Series, KEF's or infinity. KEF high on my cards.
Is there any other possibility? I can consider any good advice. I auditioned the Jamo recently and didn't get what i want. I dont wanna go for a Bose, though I thought of it to be an option if i extend my budget. So, pls help me in deciding one. If you could quote the approximate price it will be of great help. :sos: Please post the best dealers for the same.

Hey Buddy

Welcome to the forum...!!!

Have a nice time here...

Buddy, Sri is right on the suggestions for Reciever for movies, that Yamaha suits better...But for the balanced comes in the Denon...
Marantz n Cambridge plays good role for Music...

Now regarding the speakers...i would suggest you to kindly audition the Q Acoustics range of speakers as well...

There is a package for Rs.1L, that includes the 1010i 5.1 Package + Denon 1709 + Pioneer DV-610 + Speaker & Subwoofer & HDMI Cables + Mounts + Installation...A real good deal...

Check it out n audition the same n feel the difference...

 

[RAJASWAMY]

Hey Guys,
Am new to Hifi vision. Just wondering if you guys could gimme suggestions to setup a new home theater system. My budget is around 70 k -90k. Can stretch a bit. but not too much. I have Samsung 42" plasma TV.
The living room is a L-shaped one and leaving the dining area the dimension is 17 x 10'3". I live in mumbai.
I have been looking at some good possibilities. Receivers, I had shortlisted Yamaha 663, Harman Kardon AV-147. Looking at other possibilities like a denon or marantz.
For the speakers and woofer I'm looking at Klipsch, PSB Alpha Series, KEF's or infinity. KEF high on my cards.
Is there any other possibility? I can consider any good advice. I auditioned the Jamo recently and didn't get what i want. I dont wanna go for a Bose, though I thought of it to be an option if i extend my budget. So, pls help me in deciding one. If you could quote the approximate price it will be of great help. :sos: Please post the best dealers for the same.

Hi,

I am RAJA. Nice to meet you. We are a dealer of Cambridge Audio & Mordaunt Short products. Given below are prices of Receivers for your need.

CA 340R - MRP Rs.30,400/-
CA 540R - MRP Rs.37,200/-
CA 640R - MRP Rs.60,500/-

For Speakers forward your confirmation of receivers (or)
Pl visit our website: www.mordauntshort.com & Specify the Models

 

[mnemonic]

BG09-

Welcome to the forum and wish you the best with your search. Though a broad level requirement is good enough for starters, it is not sufficient to pin point the setup for you. As the gurus in the forum will say the whole process is a journey which might last months if one hasnt made up his/her mind.

I would suggest that you mention the movies/music split, what kind of movies/music you would want to listen to, which take precedence etc. In this budget, you can get a HT competent enough for movies but to get the full blown musical experience you will have to increase your budget. A Yamaha 663 plus a Wharfedale 9HCP will cost you around 90k depending on whether you purchase your 663 w or w/o warranty.

If you are more into music, I would suggest a modular upgrade- get a reciever and a pair of floorstanders ( plus a sub ) in the budget and then add the surrounds and centre as you move on. I embarked on such a journey in Jan and with a similar budget and ended up getting a 2.0 setup with a Yam 863 by April 1 week.

My pointers around speakers:

- Wharfedale Diamond 9.5 ( around 27k a pair) plus SW 150 ( 17K?)

- MS Avant 905i plus sub

- Jamo C405 ( 30k a pair) plus Jamo Sub.

- Tannoy F1 custom based HCP

- Wharfedale 9HCP

- The Klipschs are expensive and will set you back by a minimum 40 k for the Synergy F2s and people have a love/hate relationship with the way they sound.

- Venkat had setup a similar system based on the 663 with PSB Alphas for his friend and its supposed to be real good- try and read that post.

- KEF's are high on price as well- so do keep that in mind.

I didnt audition the Infinity's but I heard thier cousin JBL and wasnt impressed, but in audio, 2 lines from the same company can be as different as chalk and cheese.

I am certain that I have added more confusion but thats the way it goes in this quest, you increase the options till the point that you are actually fed up and make a decision

 

[bondguy2009]

Hey Thanx guys,
It was a quick and really good response. N thanx mnemonic that was really nice of you explain so many things. Yeah, even thought of the Alpha series and Yamaha 663. As u rightly said, the first day of my search was the easiest. now, its really getting tough. I am presently in Singapore and will be back in another 3 weeks when I will audition all the systems. But, as i've seen yamaha 663 is almost double the price as in the states. So, I need to check it out in Singapore. But, do u guys have any idea whether it will be advisable for me to buy 1 here. If I bring it what is the normal tax on it. Just incase I decide to walk inside the red channel.
Ok, back to the topic, I am sort of movies 65 : 35 to music person. More inclined to movies though i do listen to music. Mainly Pop, R&B, Some melodius hindi songs... And movies I like to watch are like The Perfect Storm, Finding Nemo, Jurassic Park, Terminator, Movies of Jason Statham 9Transporter series), Final destination sort.So, just to give an idea of my taste. should be thats it. I know this is gonna be quite some journey. So, Bare with me guys...
I will definitely take a look at Mordaunt audio and Q acoustics once I'm back. Thanx again guys.

 

[prakasse]

Hi,

One of our forum member(Nikhil) has got Yamaha RX-V663 from Singapore for 27.5K.

http://www.hifivision.com/surround-amplifiers-receivers/3511-yamaha-rx-v663-speakers.html

You can contact him for more information.

Also try Sim Lim square in Singapore.

Thanks,
Prakash.

 

[bondguy2009]

Hello experts,
One urgent thing i wanna know is whether i can buy yamaha 663 receiver from U.S. I just wanna make sure I wont have any complications to connect it here with other speakers
and as it is bcos U.S. products are 110 V. Please give me an expert comment on this. :sad:

 

[venkatcr]

One urgent thing i wanna know is whether i can buy yamaha 663 receiver from U.S. I just wanna make sure I wont have any complications to connect it here with other speakers and as it is bcos U.S. products are 110 V. Please give me an expert comment on this. :sad:

All US based products use 110 volts and 60Hz. You need to get what is called a step down transformer that takes our 220Volts/50 Hz current and converts it to 110Volts/60Hz. There are companies in India that make these step down transformers.

Other than this, US based amplifiers can be used with any speakers as long as you take care of power and impedance matching.

I don't think the pricing between Singapore and the US will be too much. I would suggest you pick it up from Singapore.

Cheers

 

[bondguy2009]

Thanx venkat,
but just saw the Price of Yamaha 663 in the Amazon website and it comes to around 370$. So, it makes a difference of about 200$ in U.S. only. then singapore might be a tad more expensive. So, that is the reason y I'm thinking of buyin from there as my sister will be coming from there. :yahoo:
So, Do u think its worth now to get it from there for this price?
And one more thing How much is the B&W 685 comes to totally. I'm also thinking of the Focal Dome 5.1 series, KEF 3005SE, PSB Alpha (Can u tell me how much it costs and who is the dealer in mumbai), PSB Alpha I'm talkin about the 5.1's (maybe Image series also) as per in their website. What do u think will best suit the yamaha 663. I know u've already setup PSB with yamaha 663. so, lemme know more about this. I just wanna tune my mind real hard befor ecoming back to india and straight away go for the auditions. Even Qacoustics 1010i caught my eyes. I know its a bit of confusion always. So, pls assist me in deciding whether to go for bookshelves or floorstanders or a combination. Just try to point out the best combination as far u think and also from the things mentioned above.
I just saw the profx website, it was very good as they've all the prices there and i think they r good prices and competitive ones. Do u have any other website like this with full price range in mumbai. Take care....
hey completely forgot to put in Monitor Audio Bronze BR2 Pack
http://www.whathifi.com/Review/Monitor-Audio-Bronze-BR2-Package. Is it available in mumbai, if yes what's the price. Thanx again

 

[venkatcr]

Thanx venkat, but just saw the Price of Yamaha 663 in the Amazon website and it comes to around 370$. So, it makes a difference of about 200$ in U.S. only. then singapore might be a tad more expensive. So, that is the reason y I'm thinking of buyin from there as my sister will be coming from there. :yahoo: So, Do u think its worth now to get it from there for this price?

Depends upon how much is the price difference. A good step down will cost you round 5K. So if you add a 100$ or so to the US price and that comes near the Singapore price, I would say pick it from Singapore.

And one more thing How much is the B&W 685 comes to totally. I'm also thinking of the Focal Dome 5.1 series, KEF 3005SE, PSB Alpha (Can u tell me how much it costs and who is the dealer in mumbai), PSB Alpha I'm talkin about the 5.1's (maybe Image series also) as per in their website. What do u think will best suit the yamaha 663. I know u've already setup PSB with yamaha 663. so, lemme know more about this. I just wanna tune my mind real hard befor ecoming back to india and straight away go for the auditions. Even Qacoustics 1010i caught my eyes. I know its a bit of confusion always. So, pls assist me in deciding whether to go for bookshelves or floorstanders or a combination. Just try to point out the best combination as far u think and also from the things mentioned above.

I just saw the profx website, it was very good as they've all the prices there and i think they r good prices and competitive ones. Do u have any other website like this with full price range in mumbai. Take care....

You can use the 663 with either floor standing speakers or with bookshelves and a good sub. Let me put it this way. If you like music a lot and particularly heavy music, see if you can combine a pair of floor standers with matching centre and surround speakers. If not, and you predominantly look at movies, bookshelves will be sufficientl. But I would again advice you to take the decision after listening to both combinations.

PSB is sold by Lakozy in Mumbai. The PSB Alphas and the image series are very good speakers for both music and movies. They are Canadian speakers, and some tend to think they are bit bright and neutral. The Q-Acoustics are also good, but I think (my personal opinion) that the PSB's will be better for music. For a detailed review of the PSB go to their website or surf Stereophile. Similarly Q-Acoustics has been reviewed by WhatHiFi.

What do I think will suit the Yamaha? A speaker is a personal choice, and all these speakers - PSB, Q-A, B&W, etc., - are all good. The best will be to audition a few and decide which one you like. You should audition them for music, and you can do that with any amplifier. If they sound good for music, I dare say they will sound good for movies. The Yamaha will work with any of these brands quite well. In a movie set up, just ensure that you buy the largest possible center speaker. Dialogues are important and a bulk of the movie sound comes from the center channel.

Regarding prices, there is a good thread running - http://www.hifivision.com/speakers/3918-pricelist-speakers.html. You should get all prices there including the B&W in that thread.

Cheers

 

[bondguy2009]

Hey Guys,
Finally bought the Yamaha 665 at about 350 US dollars.:yahoo: Anyways, I will get it in about two weeks. So, any views on the 665. And was thinking of goin for the MS or PSB speakers. Lets see. Anyways, I have a bit more time to make up my mind. It was just an offer to grab. has any1 tried this 665.
Any views for the speakers appreciated.

 

[grubyhalo]

Hey Guys,
Finally bought the Yamaha 665 at about 350 US dollars.:yahoo: ...

That's a damn fine price for the 665! Did you buy it off the Audioholics sale?

 

[bondguy2009]

That's a damn fine price for the 665! Did you buy it off the Audioholics sale?

No, bought it from the electronics-expo.com. Infact my sis bought it for me. She'll bring it to india. Any comments on 665. Is it better than the 663. Infact they had a 663 for 297 $ as it was the show piece. Infact they had a sale on the 663. for abt 370. but, all r sold out now. I didn't go for the 663 bcos they said it had some scratches. so, I thought goin for a new 665 would have been a better choice at that price. what say????

 

[grubyhalo]

No, bought it from the electronics-expo.com. Infact my sis bought it for me. She'll bring it to india. Any comments on 665. Is it better than the 663. Infact they had a 663 for 297 $ as it was the show piece. Infact they had a sale on the 663. for abt 370. but, all r sold out now. I didn't go for the 663 bcos they said it had some scratches. so, I thought goin for a new 665 would have been a better choice at that price. what say????

Haven't heard the 665 but I can't imagine it being any less impressive than the 663...

 

[bondguy2009]

Haven't heard the 665 but I can't imagine it being any less impressive than the 663...

Yeah, But the reviews rn't so good abt the 665 in US. They say it is not the successor of 663. Infact 765 is the successor. they've reduced the power to compromise for the weight. So, They all think 663 is the better one to go. Any comments from experts. Anyways, I told my sis to search for 663 n buy it. I think I'll be getting 663 rather n sit pretty as it is tried n tested.

 

[marsilians]

Yeah, But the reviews rn't so good abt the 665 in US. They say it is not the successor of 663. Infact 765 is the successor. they've reduced the power to compromise for the weight. So, They all think 663 is the better one to go. Any comments from experts. Anyways, I told my sis to search for 663 n buy it. I think I'll be getting 663 rather n sit pretty as it is tried n tested.

From the specs and pricing. the 665 is a step down from the 663. The loss in weight is due to less powerful power supply unit. However don't flip at this if you have efficient speakres. They should still be OK. On the other hand you get additional HDMI inputs. To me this is not a big deal as first of all we dont use so many HDMI inputs as in N America or Eu. Secondly you can always work around the lack of HDMI inputs by directly connecting to the TV etc.

The closer version to the 663 is 865. So, I think Yamaha is trying to market additional products in their line this way.

Couple months ago, I installed a system around the 863 and was very impressed as when I did an 663 based installed last year. I am looking to setup a system for a relative of mine and thinking of picking up an 863 for cheap. The music performance has improved a fair bit from earlier models.

 

[venkatcr]

I am looking to setup a system for a relative of mine and thinking of picking up an 863 for cheap. The music performance has improved a fair bit from earlier models.

The 863 and the 663, officially, are yet expensive.

Cheers

 

[bondguy2009]

The 863 and the 663, officially, are yet expensive.

Cheers

Yep, 663 and 863 are still expensive. Only certain stores in US are tryin to clear the stocks before the new launches become a hit of their own. Anyways, otherwise, How is the Mirage Nano sat 5.1. It has really good reviews from CNET. Even the Energy Take classics. But, they r cheap. R they good.

One more thing about the cables. As I'm doin my cabling in a week, which cables do u suggest? The electrician said he normally puts the monster ones. Can u suggest the specification of the cable that'll be good. As I told u I'll be using the Yamaha receiver. I want to know the whole cabling details. Pls give your guidance. Not very expensive. Gimme some options.

 

[marsilians]

The 863 and the 663, officially, are yet expensive.

Cheers

I am looking to source them from the US. The last one I got came to around US$ 500