Yet Another Post Requesting for a Home Theatre Suggestion (~INR 1.5L)

[Mavrik_666]

Long time lurker; first time poster. Please bear with the long and detailed post.

I'm looking to build a home theatre system for my living room [Dimensions (LxW) 11x17)]. Distance from seating to screen ~ 9 feet.

Usage - 50% movies & casual viewing. 50% Music.

Sound Signature preference: Smooth and balanced sound with good depth, accurate detail and quality bass.
Not interested : loud, "in-your-face" sound with booming or muddied bass. Unclear vocals. unexciting highs

Eventual goal is to build an 5.1.2 Atmos system. Not sure where to start. Willing to build it in phases provided I get good long-term value.

• Looking at Denon 1700H for AVR. As per my auditions, my perception is that Onkyo (393 & 494) and Pioneer AVRs are performing inferior to the Denon.
• Looking at:
  
  • Yamaha AVRs as well but have been told that Yamaha doesn't have good after sales service; please advise.
  • Planning to visit Dynox for demoing Fyne Audio 302s, 301s and 300s.
  • Planning to demo Q Acoustics 3020i as well for fronts and rears.
• Please advise any other speaker brands and models that I should be looking at.

Auditioned Gear, Location & Impressions:

1. Polk TL1600 (ProFx Blr) - Plenty loud but too Noisy; not enough detail. Decent surround performance
2. Polk Fusion T Series (Modern World Domlur) - Good surround performance but no depth in sound
3. Q Acoustics 3030i Stereo mode (Modern World Domlur) - Crisp clear sound; accurate detail and depth. Shortlisted.
4. Jamo S807 (Cinebels Blr) - Crisp clear sound; good detail but something was off; couldn't point my finger at it.
5. Klipsch R50M (Cinebels Blr)) - Crisp clear sound; good detail but too bright for my taste.

PS: A part of me is tempted to just give up and take the easy route of going with a full Sonos Beam system but unsure about longevity and customizability.

 

[RajithKumar]

If budget and speaker positioning is not a constraint,for this room dimensions 7.2.4 is easily possible .
Go for Denon x3000 series atleast or Marantz sr6000 series. If it is Yamaha then it should be Aventage series.
Planning and placement is very important to build a HT followed by room acoustics.
If u like Q acoustics go for it.
If not try to audition speakers like Jamo D500 or D600 which are THX certified (though Jamo and Klipsch are from same parent company ,I personally prefer Jamo which are beautiful smooth sounding speaker with a rich texture and also I personally don't like Klipsch for their brightness/ harshness and overated sensitivity figures on the spec sheet),
Also try auditioning speakers from Xtz , Emotiva Airmotiv series ,Dali Oberon series,Fyne audio etc.
Good luck !

If budget is a constraint then build it step by step.
Front L , R followed by center and subwoofer then surrounds and finally heights.

 

[Mavrik_666]

If budget and speaker positioning is not a constraint,for this room dimensions 7.2.4 is easily possible .
Go for Denon x3000 series atleast or Marantz sr6000 series. If it is Yamaha then it should be Aventage series.
Planning and placement is very important to build a HT followed by room acoustics.
If u like Q acoustics go for it.
If not try to audition speakers like Jamo D500 or D600 which are THX certified (though Jamo and Klipsch are from same parent company ,I personally prefer Jamo which are beautiful smooth sounding speaker with a rich texture and also I personally don't like Klipsch for their brightness/ harshness and overated sensitivity figures on the spec sheet),
Also try auditioning speakers from Xtz , Emotiva Airmotiv series ,Dali Oberon series,Fyne audio etc.
Good luck !

If budget is a constraint then build it step by step.
Front L , R followed by center and subwoofer then surrounds and finally heights.

Thanks for the detailed reply. I have auditioned Marantz but I think it sounds a bit bright for my ears; can get a little fatiguing. I plan to avoid Yamaha based on the same reason.

I have demoed Onkyo and Pioneer as well but they don't sound that great to my ears.

I'm currently left with Denon as my only choice which sounds a bit warm and will probably cut down the harshness off the highs.
But my concern is that I'm being quoted some unreasonable prices; X1700H @80k and X2700H @98k. No scope for further negotiation.

• I have demoed Dali Spektor 2s and Spektor 1s for surround with Spektor Vokal for centre. - Pretty good speakers for the money.
• Also demoed Fyne 302s - Loved the sound signature with great mids and highs and decent bass.

Both these are definitely shortlisted.

I will take one more demo for each of these speakers and then decide.

Meanwhile will have to search for someone who can quote reasonable AVR prices.

 

[bansalp]

But my concern is that I'm being quoted some unreasonable prices; X1700H @80k and X2700H @98k. No scope for further negotiation.

As mentioned in the other thread, these prices are way too high. The price for the X2700H mentioned by you is barely 10% less than the price quoted to me for X3700H.

 

[RajithKumar]

Thanks for the detailed reply. I have auditioned Marantz but I think it sounds a bit bright for my ears; can get a little fatiguing. I plan to avoid Yamaha based on the same reason.

I have demoed Onkyo and Pioneer as well but they don't sound that great to my ears.

I'm currently left with Denon as my only choice which sounds a bit warm and will probably cut down the harshness off the highs.
But my concern is that I'm being quoted some unreasonable prices; X1700H @80k and X2700H @98k. No scope for further negotiation.

• I have demoed Dali Spektor 2s and Spektor 1s for surround with Spektor Vokal for centre. - Pretty good speakers for the money.
• Also demoed Fyne 302s - Loved the sound signature with great mids and highs and decent bass.

Both these are definitely shortlisted.

I will take one more demo for each of these speakers and then decide.

Meanwhile will have to search for someone who can quote reasonable AVR prices.

The prices seems to be very high.Check for alternate dealers

 

[jgm]

Long time lurker; first time poster. Please bear with the long and detailed post.

I'm looking to build a home theatre system for my living room [Dimensions (LxW) 11x17)]. Distance from seating to screen ~ 9 feet.

Usage - 50% movies & casual viewing. 50% Music.

Sound Signature preference: Smooth and balanced sound with good depth, accurate detail and quality bass.
Not interested : loud, "in-your-face" sound with booming or muddied bass. Unclear vocals. unexciting highs

Eventual goal is to build an 5.1.2 Atmos system. Not sure where to start. Willing to build it in phases provided I get good long-term value.

• Looking at Denon 1700H for AVR. As per my auditions, my perception is that Onkyo (393 & 494) and Pioneer AVRs are performing inferior to the Denon.
• Looking at:
  
  • Yamaha AVRs as well but have been told that Yamaha doesn't have good after sales service; please advise.
  • Planning to visit Dynox for demoing Fyne Audio 302s, 301s and 300s.
  • Planning to demo Q Acoustics 3020i as well for fronts and rears.
• Please advise any other speaker brands and models that I should be looking at.

Auditioned Gear, Location & Impressions:

1. Polk TL1600 (ProFx Blr) - Plenty loud but too Noisy; not enough detail. Decent surround performance
2. Polk Fusion T Series (Modern World Domlur) - Good surround performance but no depth in sound
3. Q Acoustics 3030i Stereo mode (Modern World Domlur) - Crisp clear sound; accurate detail and depth. Shortlisted.
4. Jamo S807 (Cinebels Blr) - Crisp clear sound; good detail but something was off; couldn't point my finger at it.
5. Klipsch R50M (Cinebels Blr)) - Crisp clear sound; good detail but too bright for my taste.

PS: A part of me is tempted to just give up and take the easy route of going with a full Sonos Beam system but unsure about longevity and customizability.

Good morning

Were you able to finalize your setup?
How much are they quoting for Jamo S807?
As you shortlisted, QA 3030i bookshelves perform better than Jamo towers??
I heard Andrew Robinson saying in the review that QA3050i doesn’t go well with Denon…. It may be the case of 3050i only… just mentioned, thought it might be helpful for you…. not to confuse
In one of the threads I saw a link shared by FM, Denon 1700 for 65K from a dealer in Chennai… don’t know presently what’s the status…pls check.

BTW I am also in the same situation as you

 

[Mavrik_666]

Good morning

Were you able to finalize your setup?
How much are they quoting for Jamo S807?
As you shortlisted, QA 3030i bookshelves perform better than Jamo towers??
I heard Andrew Robinson saying in the review that QA3050i doesn’t go well with Denon…. It may be the case of 3050i only… just mentioned, thought it might be helpful for you…. not to confuse
In one of the threads I saw a link shared by FM, Denon 1700 for 65K from a dealer in Chennai… don’t know presently what’s the status…pls check.

BTW I am also in the same situation as you

Jamo towers sounded slightly better than the QA 3030i to my ears; Jamos felt more musical whereas the QAs felt analytical and thus less fun. As of now, I'm removing the QAs from my shortlist.

If you are looking for bookshelves, give the Dali Spektor 2s a try. Priced lower than the QAs but better sounding.

 

[suku_patel_22]

you are looking for bookshelves, give the Dali Spektor 2s a try. Priced lower than the QAs but better sounding.

I've read reviews that the QA center channel is better than Dali Spektor Vokal. Did you hear the Vokal?

 

[jgm]

Jamo towers sounded slightly better than the QA 3030i to my ears; Jamos felt more musical whereas the QAs felt analytical and thus less fun. As of now, I'm removing the QAs from my shortlist.

If you are looking for bookshelves, give the Dali Spektor 2s a try. Priced lower than the QAs but better sounding.

Okay

Not specifically bookshelves… but to minimize the budget I thought they would be helpful. Also they will sit comfortably somewhere on the table or wall… though I don’t have any space constraints.

Have you thought about KEF T series?? Some one suggested me those, since I am looking a living room setup. It may easily cross the budget I suppose…

 

[jgm]

Thanks for the detailed reply. I have auditioned Marantz but I think it sounds a bit bright for my ears; can get a little fatiguing. I plan to avoid Yamaha based on the same reason.

I have demoed Onkyo and Pioneer as well but they don't sound that great to my ears.

I'm currently left with Denon as my only choice which sounds a bit warm and will probably cut down the harshness off the highs.
But my concern is that I'm being quoted some unreasonable prices; X1700H @80k and X2700H @98k. No scope for further negotiation.

• I have demoed Dali Spektor 2s and Spektor 1s for surround with Spektor Vokal for centre. - Pretty good speakers for the money.
• Also demoed Fyne 302s - Loved the sound signature with great mids and highs and decent bass.

Both these are definitely shortlisted.

I will take one more demo for each of these speakers and then decide.

Meanwhile will have to search for someone who can quote reasonable AVR prices.

Any luck finding AVR at good price? What about speakers?

 

[jgm]

What’s your opinion about height speakers for the atmos in 5.1.2 configuration? Can it do the job? One dealer suggested me Jamo 807 with height speakers.

 

[jgm]

What’s your opinion about height speakers for the atmos in 5.1.2 configuration? Can it do the job? One dealer suggested me Jamo 807 with height speakers.

Just to add… I mean height speakers which are placed above the FL and FR like Jamo S8.

 

[hifimaddy]

Just to add… I mean height speakers which are placed above the FL and FR like Jamo S8.

I would suggest you go with ceiling speakers or even height speakers , but if you have a curved roof or find difficult to set ceiling speakers go with inbuilt atmos setup on floorstanders.

 

[jgm]

I would suggest you go with ceiling speakers or even height speakers , but if you have a curved roof or find difficult to set ceiling speakers go with inbuilt atmos setup on floorstanders.

Height speakers you mean the one which is mounted on the wall (where TV is) touching the ceiling… right? Slightly slanted…

 

[hifimaddy]

Height speakers you mean the one which is mounted on the wall (where TV is) touching the ceiling… right? Slightly slanted…

Yes