[tomraven99]

Originally Posted by avimal

Looking for upgrading my onkyo htr 580. Will yamaha htr 3072 be an upgrade? My onkyo is old and does not support bluetooth and has issues with fm reception hence the upgrade.

Isn't that a downgrade from a 7.1 receiver to a 5.1 system? Better invest in an Atmos compatible receiver in 2021. Prices should come down in a few months.

[infotech58]

I am trying to help by BIL decide on a home theater system and any inputs and recommendations will be appreciated.

Need:
- good sound quality for movies (think Disney+ content)
- should be able to play music via bluetooth/airplay
- no learning curve / simple to use / plug and forget (think: Toyota in cars)
- no time for constant tweaking (sis and BIL: both are extremely busy individuals)
- will be used in a rectangular room (approx. 15'x25')
- budget: INR 3 lac

Options being considered:
- Bose Lifestyle 600 (though concerned about suitable placement of rear speakers - do not want to drill to walls and speaker stands with wires may not be best suited with kids around)
- JBL Bar 9.1 (my recommendation) - one pro is wireless sub and completely wireless and detachable (battery powered) rears
- Sonos Arc (not sure if available in India)

[adi_sun]

Originally Posted by infotech58

I am trying to help by BIL decide on a home theater system and any inputs and recommendations will be appreciated.

Need:
- good sound quality for movies (think Disney+ content)
- should be able to play music via bluetooth/airplay
- no learning curve / simple to use / plug and forget (think: Toyota in cars)
- no time for constant tweaking (sis and BIL: both are extremely busy individuals)
- will be used in a rectangular room (approx. 15'x25')
- budget: INR 3 lac

My suggestion is to go with a Bose sound bar+ wireless woofer + wireless rear (power cable still required) but there will be no wires running from the main unit

It might be 8/10 on sound but its 10/10 on aesthetics and no fuss usage

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by infotech58

I am trying to help by BIL decide on a home theater system and any inputs and recommendations will be appreciated.

I'd go JBL. Can be used as a sound bar and when your BIL feels like going surround sound, he can detach the speakers from the main unit and place them behind. Totally wireless rear speaker solution. When it comes to designing and building speaker systems, JBL are at another level.

Not that you can go wrong with a Bose. I suspect that the Lifestyle 600 is going to cost a whole lot more than the JBL and not do much more in terms of sound quality.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by infotech58

Need:
- good sound quality for movies (think Disney+ content)
- should be able to play music via bluetooth/airplay
- no learning curve / simple to use / plug and forget (think: Toyota in cars)
- no time for constant tweaking (sis and BIL: both are extremely busy individuals)
- will be used in a rectangular room (approx. 15'x25')
- budget: INR 3 lac

They can have a full fledged reference quality multichannel component setup in that kind of budget and in that size of a room which will keep serving them for decades. Not only the equipments, but they can have a bit of sound acoustics treatment along with wire concealing solutions in that kind of money.

As you said your BIL and sis are extremely busy fellas, short sessions of fine quality music listening will rejuvenate their busy days by adding freshness and joy and the enjoyment of fine music improves by multiple folds on a fine system, consider this advantage as well with a 'proper' audio system.

Another advantage is no capping on audio resolution bandwidth in a proper wired setup.

Yes, the initial setup will require some planning and time but no need for any tweaking or fiddling with equipments once its done properly.

Options being considered:
- Bose Lifestyle 600 (though concerned about suitable placement of rear speakers - do not want to drill to walls and speaker stands with wires may not be best suited with kids around)
- JBL Bar 9.1 (my recommendation) - one pro is wireless sub and completely wireless and detachable (battery powered) rears
- Sonos Arc (not sure if available in India)

There are two types of wireless systems, first types may not require audio signal wire but come with power wires which need to be plugged into the power socket. So not truly wireless.

Another types are battery operated, true wireless but then they need regular batery charging and will have to be thrown out of window once the batteries will die after 3-4 years since the companies don't provide reliable and working batteries at reasonable price after few years. Similar story like mobile phones, most of the time you have to replace the perfectly working phones after few years due to one single problem – battery. And what to say about sound quality, they feel good only until you experience dedicated audio systems for long durations.

My suggestion will be to have few audio listening sessions at dedicated home theatre stores before taking a call, its worth spending time before finalising an audio system.

[avimal]

Originally Posted by tomraven99

Isn't that a downgrade from a 7.1 receiver to a 5.1 system? Better invest in an Atmos compatible receiver in 2021. Prices should come down in a few months.

Yes in terms of channels. I changed my house and i can only put 5 speakers now. Can you suggest any good atmos compatible receiver?

[infotech58]

Originally Posted by adi_sun

My suggestion is to go with a Bose sound bar+ wireless woofer + wireless rear (power cable still required) but there will be no wires running from the main unit

Is there a pre-packaged bundle that Bose offers for this?

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Not that you can go wrong with a Bose. I suspect that the Lifestyle 600 is going to cost a whole lot more than the JBL and not do much more in terms of sound quality.

Bose is 3x the cost of JBL Bar 9.1 and has noticeably better sound quality for certain kinds (such as: true atmos). Other than that, they are pretty similar.

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

They can have a full fledged reference quality multichannel component setup in that kind of budget and in that size of a room which will keep serving them for decades.

Another types are battery operated, true wireless but then they need regular batery charging and will have to be thrown out of window once the batteries will die after 3-4 years since the companies don't provide reliable and working batteries at reasonable price after few years.

Agreed. They got the idea of getting a good sound system after listening to my custom set up (Marantz/Martin Logan/SVS & Denon/Klipsch/SVS). I am trying to suggest them to explore the custom configuration option too.

Planned obsoleteness is a concern for JBL Bar 9.1 but then again, it is much lesser cost than other options and a replacement (of full system) after 5 years may not hurt that much.

[kotirajendra]

If they don't have a dedicated home theatre room then why invest in a 7.1 or 9.1 etc.
If its going to be in the living room, then with that kind of budget they can get good floor stander that eliminate need for woofer. Also the installation will be cleaner and wont disturb the interior decor.
5.1 etc cannot provide very good music capability for the reason that audio for movies needs different capabilities than music. The budget is spread across many different components and needs fairly high powered amp.
Not so with 2 channel setup where the budget is fully dedicated to a great receiver, amp and speakers.
The stereo receiver must have native airplay/chromecast capabilities to enjoy music streamed from apps which is the default these days. It should also have an optical input to receive from the TV.
IMO, this experience will more than suffice.
AT my place I have dedicated stereo system in one room and another hooked to TV in another room. The optical out of TV goes to a DAc thats connected to the amp.

For e.g: Marantz M-CR612 True HiFi Network System + Floor stander from wharfdale or PSB.

[tomraven99]

Originally Posted by avimal

Yes in terms of channels. I changed my house and i can only put 5 speakers now. Can you suggest any good atmos compatible receiver?

Lot of options now however they may be over priced now considering the covid situation. Denon Avr s950h, X2500H and Marantz models SR 5014 or 6014.
Some of them feature atmos height virtualization.

[kotirajendra]

AGain for Atmos and such, they require lots of speakers all around the home theatre (room). Without such setup, atmos over compromise systems like sound bar etc is just snake oil.

[4WheelPilot]

Originally Posted by infotech58

I am trying to help by BIL decide on a home theater system and any inputs and recommendations will be appreciated.

Instead of Bose 600, you can try Bose Soundbar 700+ Bass Module 700 + Rear Speakers. There is another surround rear speaker which is for sale in US but not in India yet.

Unless you need the console, you can go with the above configuration instead of Lifestyle 600.

Bose doesn't have Atmos yet but trust me, the sound output is amazing. Sad thing is that there are so many offers in US but hardly anything in India

[tomraven99]

Originally Posted by kotirajendra

AGain for Atmos and such, they require lots of speakers all around the home theatre (room). Without such setup, atmos over compromise systems like sound bar etc is just snake oil.

Of course there is no point in atmos with just 2 speakers. 5.1 minimum setup is required. However the sound stage is immersive like no other. Two good floorstanders, small satellite rear and overhead speakers would blow out any sound bar out of the water. Plus most of these receivers have room correction setup mics which is the most important step in getting a good output if your room hasn't been treated.

[kotirajendra]

Atmos needs minimum 5.1.2 . The .2 refers to 2 ceiling speakers.
There are so called atmos enabled speakers that claim to direct output to ceiling and the reflection will give the pseudo effect of ceiling speakers. Those who want to beleive in such constructs are welcome to spend their money on it. Frankly I am a purist and believe in paying 100% to buy 1 great thing rather than 25% each in buying 4 sub-par things.

If you really want to enjoy dolby atmos go to a atmos enabled movie theatre. They should have an array of ceiling speakers to provide the experience.

[tomraven99]

Not entirely true. Well and good with 2 or 4 ceiling speakers. But for 5.1 systems atmos height virtualization provides a much better experience with atmos soundtracks than ordinary 5.1. And most of those atmos enabled sound bars are junk except for the high end ones and I doubt even they have room correction algorithms. And believe me you can buy the most expensive speakers but if your room isn't treated it will still sound like crap.

[arpanjha]

I would like to have an opinion of the experts here regarding a setup I wish to do in my new apartment. I have an L shaped living room, a screenshot of the floorplan I have attached below.
I am primarily looking for having a great music experience, and the movie or home theatre experience is secondary. I have been looking at a few combinations, but I am a bit confused. I want to fill the entire area with fulfilling sound, not just the area infront of the TV (marked zone 1). I will be spending considerable time around zone 2. So, initially I was looking at getting a setup with a Bose soundbar 500 with base module 500 both below the TV, surround speakers on the opposite wall at two corners, and a Bose smart home speaker 300/500 on zone 2, considering that all of these work together. Should this setup be sufficient for the kind of music experience I am looking for?
What I got to know is that I cannot sync two sets of surround speakers in one system, otherwise another set of surround speakers in zone 2 would have sufficed.

Also, on the other hand, I am looking at some other brands such as Polk Magnifi Max Sr and combining another set of Magnifi Max Sr1 speakers. How does this compare upto the above Bose setup? Can anyone suggest a better alternative setup?