Z-5500 or Onkyo 3300? Urgent Help Needed!

[viper_]

Hi Guys,

Just bought my first plasma, the Panasonic 42V20 last week and have been going insane doing research over all the stuff I need to get things going. Have spent over 10hrs a day the entire past week updating myself and making decisions.

The first decision was buying a media player to play blu ray rips, after countless hours decided on the wd tv live over the xtreamer. Have already placed on order via ebay and the unit should arrive in a day or two. Popcorn Hour C-200 was a little outta budget, else would have gone for that.

Now to the other main component of the HT setup, the speaker system to achieve 5.1 surround sound. Have been reading extensively abt all the available options and on my shoestring budget (25K max!!), I narrowed it down to two choices - Logitech Z-5500 and Onkyo HT-S3300. Neither of them are available for auditioning so the decision had to be made solely based on the reviews and comments of others.

As said earlier, had been reading so much that it was starting to get a little frustrating and out of a whim I got the Z-5500 speakers from local retailer today. And instead of coming back home and setting them up, I got back to reading up on the reviews again and doing more 'research' !!! Dunno why but I feel that I probably haven;t made the right choice in a haste. I can still return it tomorrow and get the Onkyo, but need a little advice from you guys. So here's the deal:

1. The room is 120sqft in size.
2. Have managed with just TV speakers until now and this will be my first setup. 3. The main and ONLY use will be watching movies... no gaming and no music.
4. I am not that big a fan of loud bass and will probably keep it turned down a bit. What I want in the setup is a lot of clarity. As in speech and the subtle sounds.
5. The budget is a max 25K (the 3300 just barely fit in it.)
6. Made a hasty decision and purchased the Z-5500 today! Can be returned but have only 24hrs to make the decision.

Kindly advice whether I should keep the current set or go for the Onkyo 3300. All I need is good clear sound!! Any and all advice is highly appreciated!! Thanks a lot for going through this long post pls do pist ur thoughts at the earliest possible.

TIA

 

[Kittu]

My vote for Onkyo 3300 .. While Z-5500 are musical high on bass onkyo wins in all other departments with HDMI features... Its a complete HTIB :thumbsup:

 

[alokbharti]

my vote for onkyo..
HDMI feature..
plenty of connections..
gives you an option to upgrade the speakers in future

 

[bphukon]

Hi,

Congrats on your V20 purchase, I will definitely vote for Onkyo 3300, it quickly evolved from 3100 and 3200 within a couple of years.

We call it as an all rounder HTIB. Trust me if ur talking of under 25k budget. This is the best bet and u'll never regret it.

Cheers!

 

[saketb]

You should go only for the Onkyo 3300. This is the best HTiB in the range of 25k. Best part is that it has the latest HD audio decoders like the Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.

Just do not think... return the Logitech and be a proud owner of the Onkyo HTS3300. You will not regret.

 

[rahuljonline]

Onkyo 3300 all the way. Great connectivity options, and decodes HD Audio (will work awesome with WD TV Live). Also a chance of future upgrade.

 

[viper_]

Thanks a lot for the input guys. Can somebody elaborate a little more on the sq I'll receive from the Onkyo speakers? In all the reviews I've read about it, the buyer just states that it is a very good system and they are happy with it, and that it is the best bang for the buck in it's pricecrange. And the cons a few listed were passive woofer, pos speakers, not loud enough etc...

However, when I read the reviews of the Z-5500, almost all buyers seem to be hyper-excited about it's sound quality, how crisp and clean the sound is while watching movies... that you can hear every rain drop falling, and that you can actually feel the bullets from passing next you in battle scenes etc... The only con for the Z-5500 seems to be not enough mid-range, but if I'm not wrong, that would make a difference only if I was using them a lot for listening to music, which I won't be.

If one has to compare the features of the two on paper, onkyo beats the logitech hollow... but since there is no way for me to audition them, does the same hold true for SQ as well? I have a LG RH-299H upscaling DVD player/recorder and the Tvix M-5000A from the time they out and a Tata Sky+ box. Having all of them connected to the Onkyo and have just one HDMI cable goint to the plasma would make things so uncluttered and beautiful, but still not at the cost of SQ.

So bottom line guys, solely on SQ and not taking absolutely any other feature into consideration, which speaker will give a more enjoyable movie watching experience... crisp sound and best clarity for speech and effects? Don't really care much for the loud 'boom boom' sounds.

Any and all input is highly appreciated!! And apologies once again for the long rambling, and thanx for ur patience for going through it

 

[theironhorse]

viper i own a set of z-5500 and onkyo 3100 as well..
love the sound on z-5500 and they beat onkyo anytime for movies..

however the connectivity is limited... also no hdmi .. they are just pure speakers.

not sure about the 3300. so wudnt comment..

but if its onkyo 3100 and z-5500 just taken in comparison for sq.. neday logitech
for the clear highs and 10in sub.. (that makes u movies come to life)

 

[partymonger]

Onkyo 3300 anytime dude..with those features, its a no brainer..

 

[rahuljonline]

With onkyo you can upgrade the speakers anytime, as the AVR is a very nice one.

 

[theironhorse]

yes u can upgrade the speakers for onkyo anytime.. however it wont be that useful.

if you are looking for connectivity options yes.. to onkyo
if just a matter of sq i wud still go by logi... also inexpensive by 10k.

as u wud need a dvdp/bdp or media player for the either one.

however as stated onkyo 3300 wud be able to decode latest audio formats that logi is not capable of. however if you are a bass head.. and wud use it fr music as well..

no for an onkyo.. rest onkyo-3300 owners can help you with detailed info.