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just curious , what about using a DVD player with 5.1 PC speakers :D
some of them are good

You need a dolby pro logic system to get the true surround effect.

By just connecting a bunch of speakers to the dvd player and placing them all around the place, you'll have all the sounds emitted by all the speakers. No theater effect or surround effect.

you dont need pro logic to get true surround effect. as long as your source and connection is multichannel, it should do. Dolby PL /PL II is needed only to blay back stereo music in surround - ( which will sound worse actually )

just putting speakers anywhere will not work, whether it is for PC speakers or HT speakers :)

Sorry for the confusion in my post (i'm not an audio guru you see :)). I agree with your point.

If the DVD has an option where you can connect a 5.1 speaker system and adjust the output levels of the speakers (and the delays) then it should be enough. Philips DVD players have this option. All one needs is a good set of speakers, tweeters and a woofer.

Used to do that earlier.Had a VCD Player system from Aiwa. Roommate got bonus and purchased JBL 5.1 system (Not a PC Speaker system). 5.1 speaker set costed approx 40k (it was 1998) . Sound was great.

Not sure how much such a system would cost today. A 5.1 speaker system that has:

1. Remote
2. Optical input
3. Decent amplifier
4. Wooden speakers

Might cost almost as much as a complete 5.1 system.

Guys I am planning to buy a HT component system (AV receiver and speakers only) and separate DVD/(?) player. I have a simple question (i know equally difficult to answer).
If I have a budget say x for the above show much % should I spend for
1. receiver
2. speakers
3. DVD/(?) player
4. cabling.
to get the max out of the system.
Also if I have to buy these at different times (not ll at once), which should I buy first (considering 1. technological changes that happen and 2. if I have to temporarily mate it with a (crappy) mini hi-fi system)?
Approx budget I am targeting is 50K, but it can go higher if i stage my purchase.

If you have a 50k budget, get an absolute entry level receiver and source/cabling. Spend as much as you can on speakers.

If one is getting a sub, does it make more sense to have standmounts in front as opposed to floorstanders?

For an identical price, stand mounters are always better than floor standing designs. Infact IMHO any floorstander below 2lacs in India is a compromised design and one is better off with bookshelves. From then onwards, there are very many great sounding floorstanding speakers :-).

I recently purchased a pair of these

Usher Audio > Dancer Series Loudspeaker > Be-718

The floorstanding version of the same is three times the price. Go figure!

These replace your Jamo's?

What then would be a shortlist of standmounts in the INR 20K-30K range, to audition? For say an overall 50K system, to connect to a basic AV Receiver, Dvd player and to be used primarily in stereo mode.

:confused:Price notwithstanding, could you please explain what would cause this difference, and what would the difference be?

And how much for ROC??

Well its simple... in a limited budget a 2 way monitor is the easiest to get right. The more the number of drivers and more complicated the crossover, the more difficult to design. More number of drivers also means more moving mass and hence there's a higher difficulty in damping them. Another problem is that with a floorstander where the drivers are spread out, its more difficult to get the speaker to behave as a coherent point source. Imaging suffers as a result.

The obvious exception to this rule are line arrays which consist of identical drivers and image amazingly well. But then you don't get line arrays for cheap lol:. Obviously in cost no object designs, one can do a lot better but for realistic budgets which I assume is what we are all looking for, I'd anyday get a 2 way standmount.

Also if one looks around, one would find that one can get a bookshelf of a higher range compared to a floorstander at a similar price point. What one loses in bass, one gains in tonality, imaging and transparency. As I mentioned, I'm yet to find a floorstander under 2lacs which sounds good.

Disclaimer: There's the odd floorstander out there that goes against all these however they are as rare as a perfect diamond.

@shuvc: Yup the old jamos got replaced by these. Any members in bangalore are most welcome to audition my setup though I must warn that my room is untreated and causes bass resonance to bloom at times. In under 30k, there's the Usher S-520(costs 19-25k based upon finish) and the V-601 a touch above 30. Plus there are the usual brands... Monitor Audio BR2, Mordaunt Short Avant, Jamo E825 (if you can find it), KEF iQ1 etc.

The usher range is actually cheaper in India that Europe or USA taxes and duties notwithstanding. Most mags compare the Be-718 to the Dynaudio Confidence C1 in performance at half the price. In india the pricing is even more skewed. The Usher costs Rs 98000 inclusive of all taxes and Rs 22000 for matching wood+marble stands whereas the Confidence C1 is a cool 3 lacs. Cadence used to be great VFM earlier but now they have just ruined their pricing.

Thanks, RoC, makes much more sense now. Most floor standers that I have seen, and I have not seen many, seemed like stand-mounts with the cabinet extending to the floor. :p I didn't open the cabinet from behind, but I wouldn't be surprised that the bottom part is only structural. Now don't ask me which ones, I don't have any memory for brand names - old 1GB HDD upstairs, full now.

Those are two way designs. A bigger cabinet will give more bass and will extend lower but maybe a cause of problems as well. Bass management will be more difficult for sure. Somehow I've never really been convinced of a 2-way floorstanding design other than the Odyssey Lorelei which is just brilliant. Very well priced and an all scanspeak design with a ridiculously good quality crossover. The cabinetry also is top notch.

The real interesting floorstanders are all 2.5-way/3-way or 4-way design and making one with properly matched top notch drivers/crossover/cabinet is not an easy or inexpensive task. Thats the reason until I can afford a quality floorstander, I'd rather sit in the bookshelf camp :).