Which Home theater system?

[Rudra Sen]

Thread merged.

Originally Posted by RX135

Rudra/Navin, are you listening, gentlemen?

Rudra has no clue on home theatre systems. Besides..

Navin please help clueless RX

[navin]

RX, Sorry i dont come by here so often. ICE keeps be busy.

PM me if you have questions.

1. what are you using for your video (29" CRT TV, 42-52" Plasma, 72-90" projector screen)?
2. What are your applications (any serious audio only use for example)?
3. What is your budget and what does it cover Video? Amp? Speakers?
4. What is your WAF? Wife Acceptance Factor? How big can the speakers be?
5. How loud do you listen and what do you listen to?

To start I'd look at a 5 speaker set from brands like B&W, Infinity, KEF, Monitor Audio, DCM or Wharfdale etc...mated to a good HT amp from say Onkyo, Denon, Yamaha, Harmon Kardon, Marantz etc... add in a good sub from REL or Velodyne etc...this would cost you Rs. 75-90K. If your budget is less we can start trimming. if you can allocate more i'm gonna start grinning! :-)

[RX135]

Originally Posted by navin

RX, Sorry i dont come by here so often. ICE keeps be busy.
1. what are you using for your video (29" CRT TV, 42-52" Plasma, 72-90" projector screen)?
2. What are your applications (any serious audio only use for example)?
3. What is your budget and what does it cover Video? Amp? Speakers?
4. What is your WAF? Wife Acceptance Factor? How big can the speakers be?
5. How loud do you listen and what do you listen to?
To start I'd look at a 5 speaker set from brands like B&W, Infinity, Whafdale etc...mated to a good HT amp from say Onkyo, Denon, Yamaha, Harmon Kardon, Marantz etc... add in a good sub from REL or Velodyne etc...this would cost you Rs. 75-90K. If your budget is less we can start trimming.

Thanks Navin! Although I am seeing help from an audio guru, my requirements will be just primitive by your standards.
1) I am planning to by 29" Wega.
2) I have no budget as such, but definitely nowhere close to 75-80K. I don't think my ears can do justice to such high quality system. (Remember, I started search with HTIB Sony box worth 16K).
3) WAF factor is not a big issue. She would not mind if the system is good.
4) I don't listen very loud, but I prefer clarity and not too much bass which drowns subtle instruments.
5) I am in Pune, so please bear in mind service related issues.

[devarshi84]

Just a persoanl suggestion from my own experiences.

though you have a large budget dont go overboard. decide what are your needs and then base the purchase based on those needs. A 7.1 channel dolby prologic is useless for a music oriented system but great for a movie setup. Hence decide your priorities and maybe you will be able to make a good choice.

[RX135]

Originally Posted by devarshi84

though you have a large budget dont go overboard. decide what are your needs and then base the purchase based on those needs.

Spot on. I am not a serious audiophile, though I enjoy a good sound system. But again, I could not differentiate sound quality between a Yamaha, Sony, Panasonic and Bose home theaters put next to each other in a "Best Buy" (or "Circuit City"?). So that tells about my limitations.

[navin]

Dont bother about 7.1. Few movies have 7.1 information. 5.1 or 6.1 is adequate. besides WAF might objec to 8 speakers (7.1). WAF is usually satisfied with 3 speakers (2.1) and you can at best hope to sneak another pair in (4.1). 6.1 will allow you to sneak in 2 more.

4.1 can work with a phantom center but since you get a lot of 5.1 speaker kits it might make sense (commercially) to get a AV reciever and a 5.1 speaker kit.

with a 29" TV dont get to carried away with the HT AV system as the system will sound larger than the image the TV provides.

I still need a budget (trust me I do - I get carried away otherwise). 40K for a reciever and speakers? Or it that too much.

[rchimni]

Hi , You can check out Designer Audio at Koregaon Park , they have a nice range of Wharfedale and a few others , pm incase you need the address..

[RX135]

Originally Posted by navin

Dont bother about 7.1. Few movies have 7.1 information.
with a 29" TV dont get to carried away with the HT AV system as the system will sound larger than the image the TV provides.
I still need a budget (trust me I do - I get carried away otherwise). 40K for a reciever and speakers? Or it that too much.

Navin, thanks a lot and I am kind of embarassed for bothering you with a petty requirement. I can not go bigger than 29" since my room dimension is around 16-18 feet long and 12 feet wide. It has dining area attached in L shape (not included in above dimensions). I talked to wife and she has not too many issues with speakers et.al., but then one never knows.

Problem with technology is that is keeps evolving at such fast pace. If I give up on 7.1 today, in another 6 months it becomes standard benchmark. But, 5.1 or 6.1 is fine as you suggested and it is more likely to be VFM. Let's say I can shell out between 20K and 30K. Going any higher only means not doing justice to a good sound system :( (I know, you might eventually conclude that I deserve only that 16K sony HTIB, which I started with).

[navin]

At 20-30K the HTiB's offer very good value. for a system with seperates you would be looking at 40K+ with 60K being a nice price point. 20K for the AV reciever and 40K for 5 speakers (no sub). I have heard Kef's Cresta series and for the price they were nice. Now i'm told they are being sold at a discount. take a look at posts 1-7 on this thread....
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8155 (Floorstanders for a basic HT setup)

[RX135]

Thanks! Any thoughts over,

a) Which HTiB? I would say Sony, but anything better than that?
b) About custom made system, Which AV receiver and which speakers? (In order of your preference)

(Got any nice reference material for reading? )

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by navin

At 20-30K the HTiB's offer very good value. for a system with seperates you would be looking at 40K+ with 60K being a nice price point. 20K for the AV reciever and 40K for 5 speakers (no sub). I have heard Kef's Cresta series and for the price they were nice. Now i'm told they are being sold at a discount. take a look at posts 1-7 on this thread....
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8155 (Floorstanders for a basic HT setup)

How are the Sonodyne box packs ? They don't have a large range as such, but do have products for entry level HT customers .. they should also fit @rx's budget ..

I used their Uranus system (separate deck,amp,13band eq) extensively during the late 80's .. and really liked it ..

[Sam Kapasi]

There is a JBL HTiB called the Xcite. FOr under 20K. WIth a built in amp. As far as I know it's the only serious sound solution in that range. you could take a look at www.fxaudio.com

Just to make it clear, I'm only suggesting it, because it's the only one in a low range (with an amp) and it sounds very decent for the money. Not because it's a JBL lol.

[RX135]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

There is a JBL HTiB called the Xcite. FOr under 20K. WIth a built in amp. As far as I know it's the only serious sound solution in that range. you could take a look at www.fxaudio.com

And do I reliably get it in Pune? I checked JBL site and it says there is one dealer in Pune, no service center or showroom.

[satish_appasani]

RX135, last year I was in the same situation. I wanted to buy a hometheater. Luckily my wedding happened, and both my sisters left the choice to me for the gifts. What more can I ask for. Sometimes it helps having sisters.

First I decided between good music or good movie experiance. I choose the later.

Then I shopped for the tv. I was getting pulled towards Sony 29". But checked others too and felt LG 29" quality is on par with Sony in pic quality with default settings and cost 8000 less.

The home theater part, I was not sure what budget my younger sister had for me. I wanted to be a good boy and went for the Philips HT at 16000. I felt it fits my bill for movies. Actually it sounded better than it's bigger brother. Later did i know that my sister had another 9000 for me. Me, a poor soul. :(

This setup is going to rock me for another 10 years.

Couple of months back when my best friend was returning from US, I bugged him to get monster component cable. He couldn't find Monster, but brought a Philips component. After installing the cable, it did not make the difference to me between coaxial and component. The picture is too good in either of them.

When I showed Troy movie to some relatives, they were spell bound even after two hours after the movie is over. Even the minutest sounds are audible.

[RX135]

Originally Posted by satish_appasani

RX135, last year I was in the same situation. I wanted to buy a hometheater. Luckily my wedding happened, and both my sisters left the choice to me for the gifts. What more can I ask for. Sometimes it helps having sisters.

Nice to know that Satish. I am fine with the gift from sister part, but not sure if my wife would like that wedding part again