Team-BHP - The Home Theater thread

Hi Navin,

Hats off to you. Saw the pics. Its just simply awesome. Shows the amount of work you have put in.

I dont have any technical knowledge and i just let my ears do the math.

I need your suggestion. I had nearly made up my mind on the 2.1 Bose HT system however after reading through the thread and other reviews, it seems that what i get with Bose is a very plain jane system without too much functionality to change or mix the sounds the way i would want to depending on my mood and my usage (Movies, Music, Gaming etc)

I am settling down in life now and have zeroed in on a modest 32 Inch Sony Bravia LED TV. I want your advise on whether you can suggest me some decent HT Systems which i can checkout with good quaity sound as i have only heard Bose and a few Sony & Philips which didnt provide great clarity. For me, i need Bass that can be heard but not loud and thumping. Clarity and crispness is what i am looking for.

Need your help please. I was looking at Onkyo HT-S5500 and HT-S5400 7.1-Channel Home Theater Systems. Would you be able to help me advice if these are good value for money. My room size is between 100 - 150sq ft area.

Thanks in advance Sir.

Cheers,
Raj

My best friend wanted my advice for a decent HT system at a decent price. Went to the Vijay Sales showroom at Pune Rly Stn and picked up Yamaha YHT 196 for 27k. Also picked up sony Blu Ray player for another 9k. He has been enjoying at least 3 Blu Rays (mine) per day and is totally addicted to the sound quality.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Desmosedici (Post 3029663)

I dont have any technical knowledge and i just let my ears do the math.

I need your suggestion. I had nearly made up my mind on the 2.1 Bose HT system however after reading through the thread and other reviews, it seems that what i get with Bose ...I am settling down in life now and have zeroed in on a modest 32 Inch Sony Bravia LED TV.

Need your help please. I was looking at Onkyo HT-S5500 and HT-S5400 7.1-Channel Home Theater Systems.

This is a bit outside my normal area of expertise. The link posted earlier is my first HT system. I understand stereo a little better.

From what I understand 2.1 is stereo. HT means 5.1 or more channels.

That said if you are considering Bose, please also look at Focal's Dome, KEF's KHT packages, B&W MT series, and maybe even Paradigm's CT 100 series, Polk's TL or RM series, etc. These are all 'lifestyle' systems which means they have moulded plastic or extruded aluminum enclosures and feature a satellite with a 4-5" woofer 1" tweeter mated to a 10" woofer.

All the above manufacturers also sell bookshelf speakers that can be mated to an active subwoofer (with the AVR doing the processing). While I have nothing against Bose in particular I find most of their offerings too expensive for the quality of sound they offer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by navin (Post 3029822)

This is a bit outside my normal area of expertise. The link posted earlier is my first HT system. I understand stereo a little better.

From what I understand 2.1 is stereo. HT means 5.1 or more channels.

While I have nothing against Bose in particular I find most of their offerings too expensive for the quality of sound they offer.

Thanks a lot for the pointers Navin. I will do my due diligence research on those that you have mentioned. Except for Focal and Polk, i have not heard of the other brands but now will check out what all is on offer.

Thanks again. :)

I have a Logitech Z5500 5.1 THX certified home theatre setup. A 10" woofer with heat sinks is the icing on the cake. With optical and analog sound inputs but no separate A/V receiver it is one beast. Got it for 18k nearly 2 years back and its worth every Rupee.

Check out the youtube video where in the woofer sucks in an empty water bottle.

Hi Bhpians,

How good is Pioneer VSX-522K? I got an offer for this around 17K in Audio store,Chennai. Kindly share your views/suggestions on buying this AVR. Earlier, I was looking for Onkyo s-3500 (23K) and DENON 1312xp (30k), ignore both due to Passive sub and lack ARC(denon) issues.

I'll buy this AVR and connect to my existing 8ohms tower speakers and 2 AIWA surround speakers with a sub. Later I'll upgrade these with better speaker packages. I'm really looking for your suggestions/inputs on the same

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jebs (Post 3038255)

How good is Pioneer VSX-522K? I got an offer for this around 17K in Audio store,Chennai.

Saw your question on hifivision too.

Close your eyes and buy it. At 17K, it is a steal.

If you can fund for a VSX-1122-K, this would be much better provided your source can give you the same pricing standards as the 522-K.

What are your speakers specifications? The 522-K has a real output of about 50 watts per channel which is not much. You have to keep in mind that this is a budget receiver.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan (Post 3038509)

Hi Sandeep,

Thanks a lot for your response. Below are my speakers specs,

Two tower speakers:
8" MI 8850 decibel
Impedance 8 ohms
power 50W NDM
100W Max

Dainty - Sub woofer
sub-250 SPP
(white) 4ohms (Red) 8ohms
130w RMS
260w max

I've got these speakers from my relative and he gave the above specs list. I'm not clear about this. My only worry is, saving my AVR if something goes wrong ( wrong speaker configuration). I'm a real newbie on this but slowly gaining knowledge makes me lot of confusion and worries.

Looking for your help to proceed further with these specifications. Also, I need to purchase the center speaker as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jebs (Post 3038537)

Looking for your help to proceed further with these specifications. Also, I need to purchase the center speaker as well.

You can go ahead with the 522-K. Don't drive it too loud with those speakers. Just to play it safe, I would use a Cooler Master USB powered laptop cooler to keep the amplifier temperatures stable. It will cost you around Rs. 1000. You position the laptop cooler above the amplifier to drive out hot air.

Is the sub woofer active or powered? You cannot use a passive sub woofer with the 522-K.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan (Post 3038553)

Thanks man. Actually the sub is not powered and guess it's active only. If any issues in the connectivity of speakers, will it blow the AVR?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jebs (Post 3038561)

Thanks man. Actually the sub is not powered and guess it's active only. If any issues in the connectivity of speakers, will it blow the AVR?

You can destroy any AV receiver if you over drive them (Play it too loud). Budget AV receivers come with very low power handling and its a good idea to keep them cool.

If you sub woofer is passive, then it can't be used with this receiver and most receivers. I would advise against any sub woofer being driven off the receiver. It should be a powered sub woofer. Don't buy a sub woofer it it is not self powered/Active.

Well explained! I'm pretty much clear now. Just read active v/s passive sub differences.
Since mine is not self-powered, I have to invest now for active sub as well along with center speaker.

Now, I've two choices,

Pioneer VSX-522K with JBL 200 package (32K flat)
Denon 1312 XP @ 32K

Which is the better option? I have read enough reviews but couldn't come to a conclusion. Please suggest me

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jebs (Post 3038809)

Which is the better option? I have read enough reviews but couldn't come to a conclusion.

I recommend the Pioneer + JBL combination. The Pioneer gives you the added bonus of music playback through USB. This is not the deal breaker for sure.

Need to build/Buy a home theater. Have the following available.

1. A Samsung 51PSE8000 Plasma
2. A Samsung Tab2 android phone
3. Creative Audigy2 Soundblaster cards (both for laptop and Desktop)
4. Sony V919AV hi-fi system (unit dead, 5 working speakers no woofer)
5. An Optical cable
6. A laptop AMD Athlon 2.4GHZ/ 1.5gb, 60gb, WI-fi, Bluetooth
7.A Desktop Intel Core2DUO 2.0 ghz, 2 gb/ 240gb/ Ethernet.

Can I Make something happen here?

Quote:

Originally Posted by devarshi84 (Post 3039405)

Can I Make something happen here?

Yes but you need to spend a little.

1. You need a AV receiver.

2. You need a sub woofer.

The Av receiver from most major brands suck as Onkyo, Denon, Yamaha, Pioneer will cost you no less than 25K. You connect your Sony speakers to the AV receiver though I highly suspect they will sound trash. This is something only you can tell. How did they sound with their own partnering equipment?

A sub woofer from a reputed brand like Polk Audio will set you back by about 15K.