Which bookshelves/floor-standers for Living room setup?

[harty]

Hi.
I am planning to buy either Denon 1611 or Onkyo TX_SR508.
Since Living room (18x12 ft) with an attached dining room(11x12) in an L-shape is the only place I can set it up, I am looking at a pair of FS or BS to go with it.
The problem with FS is that my stupid TV stand design is such that there's no floor space to the TV's right to put a FS.
I was wondering if putting a 3' FS on the right side on the TV base (20" high) would be too much? Or can I still get reasonable output from the FS?
Or would it make more sense to go for a pair of BS, and later throw away my TV-stand and then buy the FS? (Though this would pain me a lot since I really like this piece of furniture, and plus it cost me >15K to get it made)

I have only auditioned the JBL and Polk TSi for the FS, and again Polk TSi for the BS.
Planning to audition the Wharfs, Mission, MS this week. I was told that Sonodyne have packed out of Bangalore and no longer selling here? Is that true? Or is there someplace where I can audition them?

Forgot to mention, my budget is in 10-15k range for the fronts if BS, and ~20K if FS.

- Harty

 

[Kittu]

If your plan is to have a 2 channel setup why go for AVR? , only if you want to upgrade in future then go for AVR. You can get 100 times better clarity from a Stereo amp for a two channel setup.

Also start with a pair of bookshelf speakers , getting a decent quality FS under 20k is very tough. If you are going for Polk's listen to RTI series. I am sure stand mounted bookshelf's will fit nice next to your TV unit.

 

[jasper83]

Try to wait out n increase the budget to around 30 . WF Diamond 9.5 are very good but the pair costs 30k.

 

[harty]

AVR, because I plan to connect my DishTV box, Boxee, DVD Player (and in future bluray) to this same setup.
My usage is gonna be 40% music, 30% movies and 30% DTH/Net-sreaming.

Definitely planning to extend this setup in future to 5.1. But main hindrance to that is how to make space for FS fronts. Hence I asked if it is possible to keep the FS fronts on my TV base which is 20" high, or is it a strict no-no? Considering that most of the music listening would be done not sitting in front of the speakers but at random places around the house, is it still important to have FS tweeters at ear level while seated right in front of the speakers? I can understand that for movies, but considering it's only 30% usage, I can compromise on that, if the FS on my TV base give me decent music while me (or wifey) are moving around the house.

- Harty

 

[iaudio]

Harty, if you are planning a 5.1 set up, you can very well go in for bookshelves rather than FS. More so, because of your 20k budget

 

[harty]

20K is an approx budget. I could increase it, but only if I am sure I can get good results by placing the FS fronts on my TV-base. If doing so is going to compromise the sound output, I'd rather go with BS.

 

[novice-akki]

@ harty, if you are inclined towards FS over BS speakers then definitely audition Mission 34i (FS) IMHO they'll be difficult to beat for FS in range of 20 K INR...recently bought a pair of m34i (new) in delhi, NCR....and if you look well enough you may get the Wharfedale 9.5 FS for 25 K INR (bargain deal).

 

[jay.vyas84]

Hi,

I bought a pair of Warfedale diamond 9.5 today at Vector system, bangalore (right after the St. josesph commerce college, brigade road. After eva mall) at 25.5K.

I had already auditioned Jamo, Elac, Klipsh, yamaha(sad), KEF, Polk Audio. However, the moment i heard Warfedale.. I knew that what i was looking for. Hence, suggest go ahead and audition it. (Carry your audio disk while auditioning speakers.. It helps).

If you are tight on budget you can go for Warfedale Vardus VR400 (17k after discount in the same store). I was highly impressed by VR400 however, Diamond 9.5 stands out.

Also, from what i heard during auditions is you shouldnt compare BS with FS.. FS stand out with much better base.

In nutshell, different speakers sound different so audition them and pick the ones which suit your taste!!!

Hope the info helps

Good Luck!!!

Jay..

 

[jasper83]

Congratss Brooo .....

I love Diamond WF 9.5 .....award winning stuff

 

[harty]

Thanks for all your inputs. Appreciate it.
Finally, booked today. Denon 1611 + Polk TSi200.
I'd auditioned Wharfedale 9.2, 10.1, Jamo 426, Elac, Q-accoustics. Wanted to audition Mordaunt-Short, but I could find only one dealer in bangalore (audio-planet), and Mr. Palani of audio-planet is a very busy man. Wasn't able to find a slot for more than a week. So I just let it go.
My impressions:
I found Wharfe-9.2 and TSi100 as well as 200 to be really good. Wharfes are slightly laid-back, with reasonably tight bass and smooth highs. But somehow, I wasn't able to feel the music when I closed my eyes. Amp was set to direct mode, with proper speaker connections and rightly positioned speakers. But just couldn't find the sweet spot that jolts me.
Whereas Polks are slightly bright, with really good bass (not the boomy type). I feel the mids in TSi are slightly subdued, but livable. Even the tiny 100s pack a nice punch. But I found the bass in 200s to be slightly more tight, and was able to present a better soundstage. So went for it.
They're delivered today, but waiting for the speaker cables, which the installation guy will get tomorrow.
This is my first step. Hopefully in a year's time, when my kid is able to understand the meaning of "NO", I'll move these to surrounds or another room, and get myself a pair of floorstanders.