Advice on Home Theatre Amplifier

[ash_edged]

Hi guys !

I recently bought a

Sony 46" HD Ready LCD
Sony KDL46S2530U KDL46S2530U

and got surround spekers from US

BOSE Acoustimass 10
Bose Acoustimass 10 Home Theater Speaker System with 5.1 Surround Sound

Now I am in a fix of what amplifier should I buy with these ?

I dont have a clue as to what might be the best option help me out here. My budget for the amp is about about £400

[Fillmore]

My 2cents

The options are vast depending on your budget.
You need to checkout the prices in the UK.

Be sure to look for the following in your AVR

- HDMI input and outputs
- At least 1 digital Co-axial and one or more Optical input sources
The more the better because you would want to connect the following

- Your TV
- Your DVD player
- Your Gaming console
- Your CD player if you have a dedicated one for music

- While testing the Amp besides Movie Surroundsound do make sure
you take your own music CD's and check the Stereo ouput.
( Note the AVR needs to be setup right for Stereo to sound good.
I have experience with ONKYO sounding awful with the default setting,
You change this and the same AVR sounds great. )

- Support of the most common decoding of
DTS,DTS/ET,Dolby Digital/ DD EX , Dolby/DTS TrueHD, ProLogic II
THX (This is just a certification not a must, They would have omitted
going for this certification to keep the costs low)

Disks you can use to test your Amp.
Music
- Eagles DTS ver of Farewell tour, or Hell Freezes over
- Any other CD for music based on your preference

(The speakers matter here, No offense to you, but in my opinion Bose is not worth the price. There are other speakers that are far better in the same price range. But this is another topic so leave it )

Movies for surround sound
- 300 (Has awesome surround sound)
- Kill Bill ( Fight sequence )
- Ice Age ( opening shot just prior to the titles)
- Bugs Life (to check for minute sounds like breathing, walking etc.. )
Its also good to buy a DEMO DVD, THX has these DVD's available.

Once you are all set with this check the following Amps, select the model
based on your budget.

- Onkyo ( TX-SR875 is great lower models are also equally good)
- Denon ( hyped up a lot , but good quality)
- Arcam (AVR280 is great, check lower models for your budget)
- Yamaha ( cheap amps )
- Sony ( STR-DA1200ES cheap model)

For a low budget with quality I would recommend Onkyo, though some on
this forum might not agree
cheers:

[greenhorn]

I hate to do this to you , but
intellexual net · m k i v
I hope you got them as a gift!

[low_bass_makker]

I am very sorry to say but why BOSE.

intellexual net · m k i v

[ash_edged]

Thanks Fillmore !

Finalised on Onkyo ... dont want to take Yamaha or Sony as I have had them earlier. I know I told the same about BOSE to my brother he chose them and got from US as the LCD was my choice. Guess illl have to live with it for the next couple of years !

Cheers guyz !

[low_bass_makker]

Originally Posted by ash_edged

Thanks Fillmore !

Finalised on Onkyo ... dont want to take Yamaha or Sony as I have had them earlier. I know I told the same about BOSE to my brother he chose them and got from US as the LCD was my choice. Guess illl have to live with it for the next couple of years !

Cheers guyz !

Chalo it is better than nothing. Enjoy music and movies.

[Blue Thunder]

Hi ash_edged, Onkyo is a good choice. Bose is not my favourite speaker brand, but as you said, you did not have a choice.
Could you please give details about which model of amplifier/receiver u finalised on? Thanx.

[vintagepoint5]

I am using Bose Acoustimas-6 (5 cube speakers) Bose Woofer connected
to Yamaha Rx640RDS Amplifier with Sony Digital TV. It gives me very good sound effects, specially I tried on movies like Conair, Fast & Furious, Terminator 3. Anyway you already finalized on Onkyo that is also very good Amplifier.

Cheers!

[srasania]

I have a 46 inch Sharp Aqous D64U series, on which I've attached this Pioneer 5.1 system..and works like a charm..
Pioneer - 860W 5.1-Ch. Home Theater System/DVD/CD - HTP-2950DV

I would strongly suggest pioneer...the AV receiver has been good for me..with 2 digital co ax inputs and 1 optical input, along with a few other normal stereo inputs and an ipod input jack on the front too..
plus, according to best buy sales reps, the pioneer dvd upconversion is the best among all the upconverting dvd players (the dvd player included with this system was 1080p upconverting player).
I've connected my HD Set Top Box, PS3, VCR, Pioneer DVD player, Netgear Wireless Media Adapter and CD player to the AV receiver..everything works well..I suggest Pioneer by personal experience..but Onkyo (a bit more expensive) as well as Yamaha(same priced as Pioneer) would be other alternatives..
-sr

[csentil]

All AVR's in India are highly expensive compared to the US. If you can get someone to carry it for you then you would save almost 50% on cost.

Get one with HDMI as that's the way to go.

I personally have a Harmon Kardon and its very good. Denon/Pioneer/Onkyo are also excellent. Onkyo in Indian showrooms costs twice as much as in the US !!

[agnisumita]

Originally Posted by csentil

All AVR's in India are highly expensive compared to the US. If you can get someone to carry it for you then you would save almost 50% on cost.

Get one with HDMI as that's the way to go.

I personally have a Harmon Kardon and its very good. Denon/Pioneer/Onkyo are also excellent. Onkyo in Indian showrooms costs twice as much as in the US !!

Hi - I'm thinking of buying a Panasonic projector that is not yet marketed in India and an Onkyo AVR. I'll be going to USA soon. Do you know whether the warranty for either of the equipments would be valid in India or not? Or would I have to send them back to USA if something goes wrong within the warranty period. Do you know anyone who got similar gadgets from USA? Thanks for your input. Agni.

[Fillmore]

If you are going to get a Projector from the US, plan up the entire setup upfront and better to buy all the accessories you will need cause all of these will be cheap in the US when compared to India.

1. I assume you will be mounting it on the ceiling
Purchase the ceiling mount brackets (if it does not come free with the projector)

2. Did you consider where you would be placing your DVD Player?
Placing it on the ceiling would require you to be able to access to the dvd player to insert / remove DVD's + I think the remote has to have a direct line of view to the front panel of the player.

3. If you place it somewhere on a table, measure the length of cable you will need to connect the DVD player to the projector, I guess in the US such long HDMI cables would be available (matters only if your projector is a HD ready projector, Even otherwise you have to do the same for component)

4. If your ceiling is not high and you can place the DVD player near the projector mounted on the ceiling, Consider the Audio co-axial/optical cable you will need to run from DVD player to AVR.

5. Given the cost of the projector / lamps, For usage in India it would be wise to power it via a good quality voltage stabilizer so plan on the electric wiring for that. A direct power point on the ceiling might not serve the purpose here. (don't get this from the US)

6. Might as well buy a screen as well.

[agnisumita]

Originally Posted by Fillmore

If you are going to get a Projector from the US, plan up the entire setup upfront and better to buy all the accessories you will need cause all of these will be cheap in the US when compared to India.

1. I assume you will be mounting it on the ceiling
Purchase the ceiling mount brackets (if it does not come free with the projector)

2. Did you consider where you would be placing your DVD Player?
Placing it on the ceiling would require you to be able to access to the dvd player to insert / remove DVD's + I think the remote has to have a direct line of view to the front panel of the player.

3. If you place it somewhere on a table, measure the length of cable you will need to connect the DVD player to the projector, I guess in the US such long HDMI cables would be available (matters only if your projector is a HD ready projector, Even otherwise you have to do the same for component)

4. If your ceiling is not high and you can place the DVD player near the projector mounted on the ceiling, Consider the Audio co-axial/optical cable you will need to run from DVD player to AVR.

5. Given the cost of the projector / lamps, For usage in India it would be wise to power it via a good quality voltage stabilizer so plan on the electric wiring for that. A direct power point on the ceiling might not serve the purpose here. (don't get this from the US)

6. Might as well buy a screen as well.

Thanks Fillmore - I'm thinking of going for the new Pany AE 2000 which is 1080P. I'll get the bracket for the ceiling mount from whereever I would end up buying the PJ. But my main concerns are regarding warranty. Anyone having any idea/experience of having to use the warranty for similar gadgets from the US? Thanks.

[csentil]

Originally Posted by agnisumita

Hi - I'm thinking of buying a Panasonic projector that is not yet marketed in India and an Onkyo AVR. I'll be going to USA soon. Do you know whether the warranty for either of the equipments would be valid in India or not? Or would I have to send them back to USA if something goes wrong within the warranty period. Do you know anyone who got similar gadgets from USA? Thanks for your input. Agni.

You need to get international warranty. Otherwise it is not valid. Some companies provide International warranty free, some for a charge. You have to call and check.

However damage during transit would not be covered !!

[shenbag63]

Originally Posted by agnisumita

Hi - I'm thinking of buying a Panasonic projector that is not yet marketed in India and an Onkyo AVR. I'll be going to USA soon. Do you know whether the warranty for either of the equipments would be valid in India or not? Or would I have to send them back to USA if something goes wrong within the warranty period. Do you know anyone who got similar gadgets from USA? Thanks for your input. Agni.

Last year I've bought a Onkyo-504 DVD player and a Onkyo-575 receiver from US (onecall.com) and carried to India. Almost 99% of the online dealers and stores (Best buy/Circuit city) will not provide international warranty. But I've checked with the Onkyo service center in Chennai before buying the stuff that they can service these models (for a fee, of course) if something went wrong. So you can follow the same strategy and check with your local service center whether they can be serviced.

Also both my DVD and AVR work only in 110 V. I got a 220 V to 110 V converter fabricated (Rs.3200) locally.