[smsrini]

Home theater – My budget is 150,000 for the complete set up including the AV receiver and the speakers. What I am looking is for a set up which brings out the clarity in sound and also has a very tighter bass effect. Though don’t mind stretching a bit if justified well. I have auditioned the following brands so far,

a. Klipsch RF 62 series with onkyo 705 series – I found these speakers very loud and really didn’t enjoy the audition
b. Elac 100 series with onkyo 705 series – Much better compared to Klipsch
c. Jamo 606 series with onkyo 705 series – Same qualities as Elac
d. Usher, with Marantz receiver – Very mild, and looks like most suited or a 2 channel
e. Polk, KEF, and other Pro FX brands – which didn’t make an impact
f. Mordaunt Short Mezzo 6 series with Cambridge receiver – Was impressed with the package and sounded really good. The speakers were quoted around 150,000 and the reciever i guess was around 31,000

Now my dilemma is if Mordaunt Short is the best VFM product in the market, and are there any other brands which can be compared to this one?

Also audition Wharfedale Diamond 9.5, 9.x CS, Diamond 9 DFS bipolars with a SW150 Sub.

how about monitor audio and Acoustic Energy ?

KEF IQ5 is a very good floor stander.

Lighting – I am yet to see the products available in the marker for a remote controlled lighting system, has any member used any such system and what would they cost?

Legrand has some remote controlled lighting options. Any home automation company can give you a remote touch panel lighting controller.

Acoustics Material – I need a big help from all here to choose the right material for the acoustics, is it important to have sound dampeners on all sides of the room including ceiling and floor area?

visit hifivision.com . It has some good examples of a dedicated HT room created by people in Mumbai and other places.

[aggressive_anush]

Ok. not exactly home theatre, but i'm looking for speaker advice.

The speakers are going to be used for listening to both classical as well as heavy metal.
The room is quite large, so would bookshelves do or would i need floorstanders?
Also the budget for the speakers + amp is about 80k

I demoed a few speakers this weekend.
Heard the Jamo C607 which i really liked.
Another option was the Polk RTi A7

I also heard the polk tsi 400 and 500 as well as the KEF iq5 but didnt like them at all.

Any suggestions for which speakers i need to be looking at?

[gopalnayak]

Originally Posted by given2fly

A friend is looking to buy an HT under 15K. He has shortlisted Sony DAV-DZ270as a probable choice. Anything else that he should look at or is this a good deal?

Sony DAV-DZ270 850W 5.1 Channel DVD Home Theatre at the best price in India! Sumaria.in

Is your friend is OK with a HT system without a DVD player, please ask him to look at HT-S3100 from Onkyo. It should cost <20k.

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by aggressive_anush

Ok. not exactly home theatre, but i'm looking for speaker advice.

The speakers are going to be used for listening to both classical as well as heavy metal.
The room is quite large, so would bookshelves do or would i need floorstanders?
Also the budget for the speakers + amp is about 80k

I demoed a few speakers this weekend.
Heard the Jamo C607 which i really liked.
Another option was the Polk RTi A7

I also heard the polk tsi 400 and 500 as well as the KEF iq5 but didnt like them at all.

Any suggestions for which speakers i need to be looking at?

80K for stereo or 80k for surround? You can check monitor audio and dali at ARN located at Coles Road, Frazer Town. I got my Usher bookshelves from him.

[aggressive_anush]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

80K for stereo or 80k for surround? You can check monitor audio and dali at ARN located at Coles Road, Frazer Town. I got my Usher bookshelves from him.

80k for stereo. Will check out monitor and dali this weekend.
What would your recommendation be? Would i need bookshelves or floorstanders ?

[Fillmore]

Originally Posted by aggressive_anush

80k for stereo. Will check out monitor and dali this weekend.
What would your recommendation be? Would i need bookshelves or floorstanders ?

For best sounding stereo get 3 way floor standers.

[redfire]

Considering your room (you stated its large) and your taste for metal, I would recommend floorstanders. I hope gurus can give you better advices.

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by aggressive_anush

80k for stereo. Will check out monitor and dali this weekend.
What would your recommendation be? Would i need bookshelves or floorstanders ?

If its stereo then Usher speakers are your best. Available at the same place. Add a Marantz PM7001 or a similar amp and you are good to go.

@filmore and redfire: Buy a speaker for the sound and not the number of drivers or x-way crossover. I personally listen to a lot of rock/metal and had a 50k floorstander earlier. I upgraded to a 100k bookshelf from it because I felt it did everything better. Do not just write off two way speakers simply because they look small. Its much easier to get a great sounding 2-way than a 3-way or x-way for the same money.

[im_srini]

Hi guys, I'm a Hi-Fi n00b - so most of my buys are based on magazine reviews, which I'm assuming are unbiased.

'What-Hi-Fi' has been singing the praises of the 'B&W 685 Theater' series for the past few months now (I think, the series consists of a pair of 685s, a pair of 686s, a HTM62 center, & an ASW608 sub).

My usage would mostly be for gaming (XBox 360), regular TV (set-top-box), & an occasional movie (both DVD & Blu-Ray).

Would really appreciate some feedback on these speakers...

[VSG12777]

Hi guys

I am considering getting a new home theatre system for our new apartment which is getting ready. My wife and I would probably move in sometime in Jan 09. The hall size is around 20x18 feet I think. It may be slightly bigger. The apartment's size is around 1100 square feet, 2 bedrooms. It's a rectangular hall (longish) with a sit-out at one end and the main door at the other end (to the right).

I don't want to spend big money on the system as I don't really believe in putting in lakhs on a home theatre system.

At present we live with my parents in a 2000 square feet 3 bedroom apartment where the hall is similar in pattern with a sit-out but it is bigger overall - 24 ft by 20 ft probably. I use a Sony HT-DDW 840 Home Theatre In A Box which I purchased in April 2003. It's a 5.1 system, 600 watts RMS (100 watts per channel, including subwoofer), satellite speaker type (not floor standers). The effect is pretty good and we've been enjoying Tamil, Hindi and English DVDs on this system for the last few years. The max volume is 63 and to get a good effect I have to raise the volume to around 45 and even higher in quieter scenes. I've never raised it above 53-54 though. For English action movies, generally 45 is more than enough. The 100 watts subwoofer is pretty good too - front firing, active subwoofer with a separate power cord and level control. I use a Pioneer DV-676 player (which I brought back from Australia in 2006) and video is connected thru S-Video cable to our Thomson 29 inch CRT TV while audio is connected to the Sony receiver thru a Toslink optical cable. This Sony system cost me 33k in 2003. A similar system is available for 5-10k less nowadays.

I recently visited a ProFX showroom here (since I'd heard a lot about it) and I saw many of their systems on display, though I did not have a demo on any of them as I did not have enough time that day. The executive who attended to me recommended a package comprising the Denon AVR 1509 receiver (5.1, 130W RMS per channel) and the ProFX Fusion 5 speaker system (floor standing tower 3-way front units, 2 way centre unit, bi-polar surrounds - supporting upto 150 watts per channel) - all for 38k.

Is the above a good deal ? I haven't had a demo on these yet but the receiver looks really good and it's the latest entry level model from Denon (which itself costs 24k). It's got HDMI switching - 2 HDMI inputs and 1 HDMI output I think. Power is pretty good and specs are good too.
I'm attaching the PDFs of the Denon receiver and the ProFX speaker system with this post. Please do check it out and let me know if this is a good deal.

As for the visual part, I plan to get a Samsung 50-inch full HD plasma which is part of their latest range of TVs. This unit's MRP is 140k, while the Samsung showroom offers it for 130k on the phone and a better price is promised in person. They are willing to work out a good package overall since I plan to purchase other appliances for the house as well - washing machine, refrigerator, split A/C units etc. For the DVD player, I plan to get a Pioneer DV 610 which is also their latest top of the line DVD player which plays everything - DVD, DVD Audio, SACD, DivX, WMV, WMA, MP3 etc on CD/CDRW/DVD/DVD-RW/DVD+RW.

I plan to get a Blu Ray disc player a little later when prices come down a bit, though this is tempting now itself, since I find original Sony Blu Ray movie titles on sale at shops like Odyssey and Landmark for Rs. 899/- per title.

(1) Should I go for the Denon - ProFX package for 38k ?
(2) If not, what would be the next best option with a blu ray player if possible (am willing to go in for a satellite speaker system to cut down on cost & maybe lesser wattage too) ?

Look forward to your advice guys.

Thanks and warm regards,
Venkat

[vikram_d]

Originally Posted by aggressive_anush

Another option was the Polk RTi A7

If I remember the model number correctly the RTi A7 is a tower speaker. If it is then I have the same ones and I personally don't find them suitable for music. They are good in a home theater environment but not for music. I find them lacking bass.

[jassi]

Originally Posted by VSG12777

For the DVD player, I plan to get a Pioneer DV 610 which is also their latest top of the line DVD player which plays everything - DVD, DVD Audio, SACD, DivX, WMV, WMA, MP3 etc on CD/CDRW/DVD/DVD-RW/DVD+RW.

I plan to get a Blu Ray disc player a little later when prices come down a bit, though this is tempting now itself, since I find original Sony Blu Ray movie titles on sale at shops like Odyssey and Landmark for Rs. 899/- per title.

why dont u combine the bluray and dvd player and get a PS3 - at 24k list its the best bluray/dvd player so far and you get to game on it too Infact most bluray reviews rate disc load times on ps3 faster than full fledged bluray players!!
the last bluray disc I bought in India was for rs.2400 - if prices have gone down to 899/- thats as cheap as US !! awesome news

[deepakhon]

I just purchased a Samsung 40" 650 LCD TV. I am looking for a Home Theater (HT) with a budget of around 20-30k. It should be able to provide a HD interface. I am not too well versed with HT systems as I have not done enough research myself yet. What are the parameters I should be considering while buying a HT system?

At present, I have a 8 year old Sony HT, which sounds alright, but just alright. I heard some HTs while shopping for the TV at my neighbourhood Sony showroom, but I was not too impressed with what Sony had at offer. I have heard that Onkyo and Yamaha have some good models in that range. Any recommendations to me?

I plan to watch a lot of Planet earth and some Nat Geo DVDs in addition to action movies.

[kb100]

Hi Gurus

I have just bought the PV80 and now amp - an old Yamaha AX400 - needs an upgrade.

I was thinking of the Denon 1909. Most reviewers seem to think this is a shade better than the well regarded Onkyo 606.

I also need inputs on the speakers - a cheap and best option - wharfadales?? or is the ProFX Fusion series any good?

Originally Posted by VSG12777

I recently visited a ProFX showroom here (since I'd heard a lot about it) and I saw many of their systems on display, though I did not have a demo on any of them as I did not have enough time that day. The executive who attended to me recommended a package comprising the Denon AVR 1509 receiver (5.1, 130W RMS per channel) and the ProFX Fusion 5 speaker system (floor standing tower 3-way front units, 2 way centre unit, bi-polar surrounds - supporting upto 150 watts per channel) - all for 38k.

Is the above a good deal ? I haven't had a demo on these yet but the receiver looks really good and it's the latest entry level model from Denon (which itself costs 24k). It's got HDMI switching - 2 HDMI inputs and 1 HDMI output I think. Power is pretty good and specs are good too.
I'm attaching the PDFs of the Denon receiver and the ProFX speaker system with this post. Please do check it out and let me know if this is a good deal.


(1) Should I go for the Denon - ProFX package for 38k ?

VSG - are you sure they are giving BOTH for 38 k? I saw on their website that this is worth 24 & 40 respectively!

Let me recommend you upgrade the Amp to the next in line - Denon 1909 - this will give you a lot of video upscaling facilities - you can upscale alll of your SD content (cable/Dvd etc) to full HD!!

[VSG12777]

Hi Jassi

Yes, I saw these original Blu Ray disc titles by Sony on sale at Odyssey/Landmark last weekend for Rs. 899/- per movie. Not all of them were latest titles, but many good ones were on sale like SWAT, etc. The price printed on the back of the blu ray disc box was Rs. 1799/- though. These guys were probably pushing them off for half the price.

As for the PS3, well I agree that for 24k it's a steal but the higher end version is more expensive right ? And I read that blu ray movie quality on the PS3 wasn't as good as standalone players. Is this so ? How much worse is it on the PS3 compared to standalone blu ray players ? Another thing is, a separate remote has to be purchased for blu ray movie menu functionality etc. Just like DVD player remotes for us to navigate thru chapters, titles etc. But, overall it does seem to be a good deal. If it can play blu ray movies almost as well as standalone blu ray players I seriously don't mind giving this unit a shot.

Can the PS3 play DivX/WMV/WMA etc as well ? JPGs ? MP3s ? I shall anyway check this out on the net for more info.

For the rest of the audio system I have described (with the PDFs attached), what is your opinion ? Look forward to hearing from you then.

Warm regards,
Venkat