[NPV]

Thanks for your response Behemoth.

Originally Posted by Behemoth

I would not recommend mixing the brands Elac + Energy, as they have different sensitivities and tonalities and the sound may not be coherent and will require intricate level balancing to get the right effects.

Absolutely, that was not what I meant, let me clarify. The dealer's suggestion was to get the front floorstanders+center of Energy CF50 and for the surrounds I can go with Energy CF 30 (the next lower range in same brand). Likewise if I decide on Elac FS 100 series, the surrounds can be from the Elac 50 series.

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Best way is to carry your Amp with you and then try pairing with as many options and then take a call on the sound based on how you like your sound - take some good music cds as well as some DVDs to do the audition.

Yes, will do that, right now I'm trying to collate the specific sources that I'd like to use for the audition so that it's easy to play the same on the various speakers and then decide (try to!).

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Hi Narayan,
Could you please mention how much NR709 costed, also any idea how much 609 would cost.

A friend and I were looking for the AVR so we tried our best at bargaining. The NR709 seems to be in short supply in Bangalore, most dealers seem to have the newer current year model NR717 which is pretty much same in terms of features. Price wise, the best offers we got was 65k and finally we managed to get 2 of them for 60k a piece. However, we're not sure if we really got a 'deal' since the MRP on my AVR's box says 60k while my friend's says 70k (both are imported from Thailand by Onkyo India)
No idea about price of 609.
Sorry for the long post!

[nitinralli]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

That's a cool collection you have built! Actually this type of setup is best for both worlds as Music and home theater setups have different requirements, but most people end up with one as a compromise due to budget and space constraints! For this setup, what is the video setup you are using? I am on the lookout to upgrade my video and am confused between 65 in panasonic plasma, 70in Sharp lcd or an HD projector. All suggestions welcome!

Thanks a lot.

Well this setup of NAD and Marantz is just for my music kidda. As for the home theater, I currently use Samsung 46" LCD with Yamaha 5.1 with Esota 5.1 speakers. I would suggest you to go for a 70" Sharp LCD as personally i didnt like the contrast ratio of Plasma for movie viewing (but like it for games though), so its up to your preference. As for the projector, i would love to have that given the size it can project, however not sure if its ideal for a standard room. Are you planning to put this system in a regular size room or a larger room like basement etc. For e.g. i am thinking of making a theater room in my basement which is not being used at all, so in that case i would go with projector eye's closed as its an ideal place to have it (no external lights coming in). So if its a normal room inside your house, then i would personally suggest a LCD. My 2 cents

[autotranny]

Guys, unlike all of you my requirement is to downgrade my sound set up .

Presently I'm using a Philips HTS5520. In my own house in Kerala, I had done dedicated (hidden) cabling for the front and rear satellite speakers. The sound set up was not great, but satisfactory at best.

Ever since we moved to Hyd, this whole thing has created a big mess in my living room with tangled speaker cables everywhere. Not the prettiest sight i must admit. So I have decided to send it back to my home in Kerala.

Now I'm just left with a Sony Bravia 32' LCD TV with absolutely disappointing sound. So what do you guys suggest. I have a 5k budget (yeah! you heard it right).

The options that I have.

1. A used Boston Accoustics Soundbar - available online
2. Any 2.1 or active bookshelf speakers. - I dont know which one to buy ?

I remember that in Kerala there used to be lot of these 'local' speakers (mostly manufactured in Delhi) which gave pretty decent performance. Are you guys aware of any such place in Hyd ? Can i connect these directly to my LCD TV ?

[CaliforniaKnight]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaKnight

Man its after sometime that I have company regarding the Acoustic Research Speakers..anyways...Heres my setup:

Sony wega Tv
Denon amplifier (had Yamaha, Nakamichi earlier)
Acoustic Research Front speakers( had, Tannoy,Jamo, Bose,Mission,Jbl,Polk audio n lots more earlier)
Acoustic Research Rear Speakers
Acoustic Research (status) Center speaker
JBL sub woofer
Sony DVD player (had toshiba and 2 sony models earlier)

More or less the same and I cant believe my previous post was in 2005

Sony EX 720, 40"
Denon AVR 4306
Acoustic Research Front speakers
Acoustic Research Rear Speakers
Acoustic Research (status) Center speaker
Acoustic Resarch 12" Subwoofer
Sony DVD player
WD Live

..and Yes I am very happy with the performance of AR speakers,sadly they do not make them anymore!

Originally Posted by CaliforniaKnight

More or less the same and I cant believe my previous post was in 2005

Sony EX 720, 40"
Denon AVR 4306
Acoustic Research Front speakers
Acoustic Research Rear Speakers
Acoustic Research (status) Center speaker
Acoustic Resarch 12" Subwoofer
Sony DVD player
WD Live

..and Yes I am very happy with the performance of AR speakers,sadly they do not make them anymore!

you still get AR speakers in other parts of the world - i was using lots of recent AR speakers

here are some pictures of mine

[CaliforniaKnight]

Originally Posted by naughty001

you still get AR speakers in other parts of the world - i was using lots of recent AR speakers

here are some pictures of mine

I know AUDIOVOX AR speakers are available,but those cant actually hold a candle near the original AR's.Its like buying a NAKAMICHI these days!!

Originally Posted by CaliforniaKnight

I know AUDIOVOX AR speakers are available,but those cant actually hold a candle near the original AR's.Its like buying a NAKAMICHI these days!!

guy .... your information is very outdated, Audiovox sold the rights to a Chinese company a long time ago, Audiovox has absolutely nothing to do with current AR speakers, and Audiovox basically is only in charge of AR cables nowadays

I can tell you that the set that i had actually sounds a lot better than many "name branded" speakers that i have listened to

I have replaced that set with a complete surround set of Dali Ikon speakers (these are the ones made in Denmark with scanspeak drivers) and those AR's of mine were better than these in certain aspects and the Dali's are better in other aspects

so while what you say is true in that the current range of AR is not as "high end" as the older stuff it doesnt mean that they are bad in fact the situation is exactly the opposite

The AR stuff available here in South Africa is actually way better than mainstream brands like Sony and Pioneer and Samsung and is closer to the specialist brands, depending on the amount you wish to spend ie the branded stuff will obviously have high end stuff that AR wont be able to compete with but in its priceranges the AR stuff is not bad at all and is definitely better than the entry level ranges of the "name brands"

[CaliforniaKnight]

Originally Posted by naughty001

The AR stuff available here in South Africa is actually way better than mainstream brands like Sony and Pioneer and Samsung and is closer to the specialist brands, depending on the amount you wish to spend ie the branded stuff will obviously have high end stuff that AR wont be able to compete with but in its priceranges the AR stuff is not bad at all and is definitely better than the entry level ranges of the "name brands"

1.All I said is a fact be it outdated or not!
2.Can you name what AR speakers are available now?I am not asking old stocks,but present lineup since you say its available.
3.You compare it to Sony,Pioneer and Samsung????

The reason why i compared it to those brands is that its priced at the same level but outperforms those substantially

as i said you will not find much information on these speaker systems on the internet .... I have looked and maybe because my search engines are restricted to English I have not found anything at all

but physically they are to be found at retailers here and the person i bought mine from actually has been to the factory in China that makes these to have a look at the ranges and they have some products that are exclusive to their retail stores which are also slightly different from the regular range

here are some South African retail links to some of the speakers - remember that these particular models are priced to a similar level that Sony and Pioneer are priced here

http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/28832...er_system.html

http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/27123..._Speakers.html

the set that i had which is called the XP series was the top of the range and was around three to four times the price of these hence why i compared them to my Dali speakers .....bear in mind though that the Dali's are way more expensive than that AR set as well but they performed to a level where they could easily be compared to the more expensive speakers in certain respects

This AR range has almost nothing to do with Audiovox as i have mentioned earlier .... note maybe audiovox does collect royalties on sales etc and may still have some economic rights over the usage of the name (i have absolutely no idea of the intricacies of the situation) but they have no say in the design and manufacture of these speakers as far as i have been told

and YES definitely the older stuff is much better but this new stuff is not bad and IMHO provides 90% of the performance of speakers that cost around 4 times as much .... the only thing im unsure about in respect to these speakers is how long they will last and how much punishment and abuse they will handle because i only used them for around two to three years and then moved them on to upgrade to what i felt should have been better only to find out that the amount i spent on the upgrade would have been better spent elsewhere because there was nothing wrong with how those AR speakers performed against the new stuff i purchased

[CaliforniaKnight]

Look at the Logo's even that's been amended. Anyways good to know that the Chinese made ones are available there.I dont think its available anywhere else and thats just what I wanted to point out from the beginning of this debate.

Originally Posted by CaliforniaKnight

Look at the Logo's even that's been amended. Anyways good to know that the Chinese made ones are available there.I dont think its available anywhere else and thats just what I wanted to point out from the beginning of this debate.

sure it might not be available near you for now .... but that doesnt mean that it does not exist NOR will it mean that its not available everywhere else - im sure that South Africa is not the only place where its available

as the brand gains momentum you never know whether it might reach your area too and its not a bad item for its price - to me its a terrific competitor to brands like wharfedale and castle and to some extent the entry level stuff from brands like Monitor audio and B&W and generally cheaper than those

[MK3]

Could you please help me in deciding a entry level home theater system? My interests are (i) Sound quality (ii) Karaoke (iii) In future i might get a Game Console, so it would be amazing if the home theater could support connection from console.

I am confused between Philips HTS 5530, Philips HTS 3541 and Sony BDV E290.

HTS 5530 - 1000W, Sound effect seems good with 3D angled speakers but don't have latest changes like optical audio out, internet ready. Also it takes time in jumping to tracks in USB pen drive and supports maximum of 32GB USB. Only DVD Player.

HTS 3541 - Only 300W output, but is internet ready and can support external HDD of 1Terabyte. Is Blu Ray Disc player.

BDV-E290 - 1000W, future ready, hdmi 1.4, 3D Blu-Ray Player.

Compared to all above three, i feel sound quality to be marginally better in 5530 > E290 > 3541 in that order.

My budget was 15000, i stretched to 20K to include BDV-E290. I did come across Onkyo 3400 but its a little outside my budget.

Please advice/suggest!

[MK3]

Never mind, i have finalized on Philips HTS 5520. Hope i have made the right decision. HTS 5520 in E-Zone cost me 14000.

[Schnellster]

I have an onkyo reciever with the stock center speaker. I'm looking to upgrade my center speaker to Yamaha NS-C310. Unfortunately I dont get that here in hyderabad. Can you suggest an alternate center speaker that I can buy anywhere in India? Also, what are the custom duties like if I import NS-C310 from japan? - It costs 7K change INR after conversion. http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/a...ommend_item_en My Budget : 10k

[joslicx]

Is there any case for buying a hifi system in these times?

wifey is hankering for sometime now to have a music system at home. We are not big time audiophiles so not considering too big an outlay. Now I am confused if I should go for a hifi system (Sony has some models from 7k till 25k) or a home theater.

I am thinking of keeping a budget cap of 15k. I have a Samsung 5 series LCD that I want to hook to the music system. I am bit reluctant about 5 channel system as it would mean some exposed wires in the drawing room :( will not be a pretty sight.

what are my options? Can any gurus help?