[navin]

Originally Posted by mashmash

Yes thats because: (+-3db)
Polk Rti A3: 40Hz-27kHz
Kef q300: 42Hz - 40kHz
Z1: 53 - 26,500
Z3: 50 - 26,500

A friend recently bought the 550i and its sounds fantastic. However, these subs are also have a known issue with one of their caps going bad very soon. Symptom being a thump every time you switch it on.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

That's interesting. The Rti A3 goes lower than the Dali's but in real world listening you can never feel that. ProFX seems to be handling the 550 issues well as well.

1. Please do not read too much into paper specs. Most companies use different testing parameters and procedures. I happen to know the procedures used by both Polk and Dali (unless they have changed them in the last 15 years) and their rooms are very different. Instead of clogging this channel with a load of techno gobbledygook my recommendation is to LISTEN. Trust your ears. Vid6639 talked to me on the phone and he knows I can drone on indefinitely given half the chance.

2. The problems with the 550 is not uncommon. Even the JBL 260P has this issue. The cap in my son's 260 blew once and went leaky the second time. If it goes again I intend to replace it with the SVS PB-2000 (around 70k I believe). Only reason I am holding on to the JBL is in memory of Sam. Fortunately my son's main speakers (4312E) have enough bass so if the sub goes he can live without it for a while. Another reason to have main speakers with "some" bass.

[akbaree]

Originally Posted by akbaree

...
I will be going to ProFx and HiFiMart tomorrow to audition Kef and Wharfedale.
...

I heard a few Polk, Kef and Wharfedale today. I felt Kef were more versatile (I did through lot of different genres at these speakers) and precise. Wharfdale had more base and were very very good at some songs but less than impressive at others.

Originally Posted by navin

...
my recommendation is to LISTEN. Trust your ears

From what I heard, I may go with Kef Q500
Or

Originally Posted by navin

...
Another reason to have main speakers with "some" bass

Kef Q700

Originally Posted by akbaree

I will be mostly listening to music. ...

Keeping this requirement in mind, I did some research and have shortlisted following

1. Marantz NR 1506 AV Receiver
2. Marantz MM 7025 Stereo Amplifier

...

Now the question in my mind is... to light up Q500/Q700, should I go with Marantz SR 5010 (and save some moolah) or the above combination will have real perceptible advantage with that extra amplification - especially while listening music?

[adimicra]

Recently bought Velodyne Impact 12subwoofer and I am very satisfied with the performance, probably the best at this price.
For movies, I would rate it 10/10.
For music, my rating 7/10 but I guess most subs at this price will struggle with music somewhat.

[pdma]

Finally I bought a Home Theater.
I have been planning from years but never figured out what to buy as I have almost zero understanding of these devices. I thought I will invest time when I am really serious. Thanks to a very close friend who has come to my rescue and showed me a 3 year old 5.1 - Infinity by Harman Kardon. The owner is well known to him and he relocated to UAE about an year back. The system was being occasionally used when they come home every 3-4 months and they wanted to sell it off.
So this is what I picked up from him,
- 5 Infinity Speakers and the Sub Woofer.
- Onkyo 9.1 Amp
- Stepdown Transformer ( The whole system was brought from USA and hence runs on the stepdown).
- Compete wiring for the speakers.
- All the cables to and from the Amp.

The quality is amazing and I really love the speakers and the woofer with zero distortion.
Thanks a ton to my friend who is an audiophile and assured and explained what and how this system is a very a good setup for the price Iam paying.

The price of the system as per amazon.com (amp+5.1) is around 1300 USD.
The owner asked us for 25,000 INR, and I did not think that there is any need for negotiation 😃.
I am very happy for what I got vs what I spent.

Cheers,
Pradeep.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by pdma

The price of the system as per amazon.com (amp+5.1) is around 1300 USD.
The owner asked us for 25,000 INR, and I did not think that there is any need for negotiation 😃.

congratulations and a great price for a very good setup.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by pdma

Finally I bought a Home Theater.

Congrats Pradeep on the steal deal. Lucky you. I think you made a right choice supported by an expert friend. Can you post some pics of the set up?

[diyguy]

Got my Sony tv fixed by Sony technical support. They charge 1200 service fee and cost of components. A very small ic went kaput that causes the negative images it seems. It was as small as a small black ant. Took the technician 10 mins to replace and about 15 more mins to wrap it all up. Amazing and wonderful service when compared to LG. LG guys insisted that I have to change the board (similar issue) and that cost me 7000rs while Sony cost me 2200rs. Very happy and back to clean viewing.

The technician did not need any diagnostics to know what the issue was. He saw the negative images and knew right away the fix and ordered the ic. Replaced it and worked just great!
I think this should be a major deciding factor when choosing which tv to purchase!!

Now need to find someone to fix my Yamaha AVR.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by akbaree

I heard a few Polk, Kef and Wharfedale today.

Which Polk series did you hear?

If you are going to spend money on the lines of what a Kef Q700 costs, I would seriously recommend that you spend some time listening to a Polk Audio Rti A9.

When I was in the market for a speaker 3 years ago, KEF's were on my mind as the old iQ9 had me sold over their superb sound. Trust me, when I heard the Q900, they turned out to be rubbish in comparison. It was all bass and the concentric driver unit was taken over by the huge bass units + passive radiator. I am no audiophile but this speaker was not worth 100k (at the time). I still don't think the Q series is remotely close to the quality of sound the old iQ series had.

Though I did not buy a Polk, the A9 had a much better sound compared to the Q900. Polk's are generally associated with a lot of bass but this speaker was accurate. Yes; they can go really low when you need them. With the correct amplification, this is a superb speaker. For the asking price, for a floor stander, this speaker gets it right on the sound.

Another option that tends to get ignored for obvious reasons is the Bose 901. This is their flagship speaker. You can argue that for similar money, you must be stupid to buy a Bose. Not this particular speaker system. This is the oldest and the best sounding speaker from Bose. Give them a listen if you can.

[sj_koova]

Added Boston A25 bookshelf speakers to Zone-2 of my Yamaha A2050.
I have wired them from home theater room to my home-office room on the same floor and is used only for casual music listening.

I actually bought this pair to add height channel to the home theater. But after hearing it for a week I thought it fairs really well with music. It sounds sweet with very clear mid-range and vocals. It is not as bright or crisp as my Klipsch RP-260F floor standers however it is tonally more suited to my taste because I listen to melodies mostly.
Klipsch is so accurate that it picks up details of the entire range so well and draws my attention too much into the details. It works for movies but that level of over engagement is stressful for music after an hour of listening. On the other hand, A25 misses out on a lot of details, especially the low-end but fills the room with more pleasing vocals.

Like Navin said, you really can't go with the specs of the speakers. They are all very different and you have to listen to them before making a purchase decision.

Boston A25 is really a tiny wonder and I love them already!

And the best part is, Yamaha's AV controller App allows me to control individual zones from phone itself. I can power on the zone-2 of receiver sitting in the office room and play music from my preferred input choice. I am glad I bought a receiver with multi-zone feature.

[pawan_pullarwar]

So, I bought TSX 440T + Denon AVR-X520BT ( Denon for 29K only) .

Now I have biggest issue with my speaker.

When we listening TV it sounds just too good, even we completely zeroed down the TV volume and listen to 440 only, very crisp and clean sound with pretty good sound effect.

But the issue with the music, the separation of instruments only come alive when I listen it at volume level 40 and above from the receiver. The volume which I want to listen the music is 25 to 30. Between 25 to 30 level volume, speakers do not produce the sound I am expected. When I increase the volume to 40, it produces the superb sound. I have tried listening with Bluetooth 320KBPS mp3 songs, USB and CD player with original audio CD 1.4MBPS, but all resulted the same.

Is there anything can be done ? :(

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by pawan_pullarwar

Is there anything can be done ?

This is a inherent problem with budget end AV receivers. In fact; this is a problem that plagues a lot of receivers. It is only when you go high grade do things start to improve. My 50k Pioneer 1122 suffers from the same problem. The dynamic range of the receiver is basically weak. Another aspect is power. The claimed 60 watt (As an example) isn't really there as quality power. There is little you can do about it. Fiddle with the various sound enhancement parameters.

If you can trade in the receiver for a better one, nothing like it.

[navin]

Originally Posted by akbaree

Now the question in my mind is... to light up Q500/Q700, should I go with Marantz SR 5010 (and save some moolah) or the above combination will have real perceptible advantage with that extra amplification - especially while listening music?

between
1. Marantz NR 1506 +
2. Marantz MM 7025
or
1. Marantz SR 5010

I would go the former. I have NOT heard the 1506 or 5010 but have heard the 7025 and I believe it will have far better ability in controlling the woofers than the power amplifier included in the 5010.

I use a 15" TC Sounds subwoofer and my main tower have a pair of 8" SEAS woofers. In general the bigger the main speaker you get the bigger the sub you should get so you can crossover lower for the main speakers and the subwoofer's LF ability is better utillised.

[pawan_pullarwar]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

There is little you can do about it. Fiddle with the various sound enhancement parameters.

If you can trade in the receiver for a better one, nothing like it.

I tried lots of sound settings, whatever were available with Denon receiver, but still the result is same.

Or shall I sell 440 and buy smaller speaker 110 or 220. Yesterday I listen 110B at the store and at 60 volume they were sounded equivalent to almost 35 of 440. Also they were producing pretty good separation. Listening small speakers at 40 volume will not be very loud. Is what I am started to think now.

[akbaree]

Originally Posted by navin

between
1. Marantz NR 1506 +
2. Marantz MM 7025
or
1. Marantz SR 5010

I would go the former. I have NOT heard the 1506 or 5010 but have heard the 7025 and I believe it will have far better ability in controlling the woofers than the power amplifier included in the 5010.

I use a 15" TC Sounds subwoofer and my main tower have a pair of 8" SEAS woofers. In general the bigger the main speaker you get the bigger the sub you should get so you can crossover lower for the main speakers and the subwoofer's LF ability is better utillised.

Thanks Navin. I am not sure about the role of HDAM modules (included in 5010 and not included 1506). Do they have any role to play in the chain when I am outsourcing amplification to external power amp via pre-out.

I am asking this question because Marantz is advertising HDAM modules vastly improve audio in SR series receivers. I am not sure if that would be the case when using external amp?

From Marantz Glossary:
HDAM
Marantz developed its own discrete circuit boards to replace standard IC's. These HDAM's consists of discrete surface mount components with short mirror image L/R signal paths. Those devices are doing exactly the same thing as the Op-Amps, but outperform the regular IC Op-amps dramatically in terms of the Slew Rate and reduced noise level, resulting in a much more dynamic, accurate and detailed sound. Over the years Marantz developed different types of the HDAM to improve quality and to fit to the special requirements of a product category like CD or amplifier.

[navin]

Originally Posted by akbaree

I am asking this question because Marantz is advertising HDAM modules vastly improve audio in SR series receivers..

HDAM is SMD only useful at mV levels. The 7025's power supply should be far better than the 5010.

You'll do yourself a favour if you stop reading and start listening. I barely read any reviews or marketing material. I trust my own ears.