[aravind.anand]

I am sure many on this thread might want to hunt me down for this - but after much introspection, and after looking at my bank account statement, and my rented house's room configuration, I have actually ordered a Sound base !

Spare me

I have actually ordered a ZVOX 450 sound base from snapdeal at the moment. First choice among sound bases was actually the Cambridge Audio TV5 - which was not available in India, and thus the second on list ZVOX got my pay cheque.

An audition of the JBL Cinema Base when I was strolling along a mall had a big influence on this sudden decision.

[MDe]

I have been on the lookout for a good sounding HT system in the range of about 50-60K max. The room size is 10x20, but the viewing distance is about 12Ft from the TV. I am looking at a system with good clarity and bass on the system with atleast a future looking system which would be decent for the next 2-3 years min. So far I have checked Yamaha YHT2910 with the speakers. The AVR provided on this system looks decent in terms of spec, but I was pretty unimpressed with the sound of the speakers. There was absolutely no clarity on the vocals on this one which ticked it off my list. I also thought of using the Yamaha AVR 3067 with Bose Accoustimass 10, but that would shoot the budget big time. And I read the reviews for Bose and wasnt happy to spend that much money for the speakers.
I did check the forums and saw Definitive Technology 800 speaker set to be pretty good for my requirement but they are not available in Hyderabad at all. So all the good ones like Polk and Wharfedale and not an option for me. This brought me to Onkyo S5700. I havent really heard the system so far but on paper it looks like a good spec system. It also looks extendable in case I want to just change the speakers that come with it.I did visit the Onkyo showroom but they did not have S5700. Instead they gave me a demo of S3700 which was also impressive. Just that it doesnt come with Wifi and S5700 does.
So based on the experience on the forum, what combo do you think will work best for my requirement and budget?

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by MDe

I have been on the lookout for a good sounding HT system in the range of about 50-60K max.

What features are you wanting? I have a network capable Yamaha AV receiver with floor standers and shelf speakers for rear etc that cost close to 3L and I have a Bose Cinemate Series II for the living room purchased at 30k from the US. In terms of SQ and ease of use the Bose wins anyday. If you are wanting more complex uses, phone app etc then probably not. I think the Bose Cinemate is definitely one of my better purchases! I am an amateur listener with no real refined tastes for music or movies. I prefer auto setups to fiddling with too many settings and this is where the Bose wins big. Try to listen to it at a Croma and then decide.

[Aston Singh]

Originally Posted by MDe

I have been on the lookout for a good sounding HT system in the range of about 50-60K max.

If you are not really looking for a surround sound system then you can check out Harman Kardon's SB350 soundbar. This thing costs 50k and it comes with a wireless subwoofer. Subwoofer is 200 watts RMS and trust me its enough to shake your 10x20 room!
This system is adequately loud but what I really like is the sound quality. Sweet sounding system indeed and this was pretty much the best option at this price. i checked out a lot of options including Bose, Klipsch, Yamaha - most of them were going over 50k easily.
This thing has lot of connectivity options including bluetooth which I really wanted since I listen to a lot of music.

Let me know if you want to know any specific details. I'll be happy to help.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by MDe

I have been on the lookout for a good sounding HT system in the range of about 50-60K max.

At your price point, I can only think of this;

https://pioneer-india.in/product/htp-rs49/#features

Yes; it isn't the best out there. Really good Home Theatre isn't cheap. This one will sure beat the lousy single driver sub satellite set up's out there. Comes pretty well equipped on the receiver side too.

[sachinayak]

Got this recently from Dubai, for around 7.5K INR.
http://www.lg.com/au/sound-bars/lg-L...-and-subwoofer

Bought it primarily as it had a wireless subwoofer and offered Bluetooth connectivity.

Am not a music buff, so cannot give a highly indepth review, but my primary purpose was to connect to my flat-panel TV, the sound quality of which was pretty ordinary. For the price, I would think it does the job, pretty well.

[MDe]

Originally Posted by Aston Singh

If you are not really looking for a surround sound system then you can check out Harman Kardon's SB350 soundbar. This thing costs 50k and it comes with a wireless subwoofer. Subwoofer is 200 watts RMS and trust me its enough to shake your 10x20 room!

Thanks for the recommendation. I was looking for a proper 5.1 experience. I know the soundbars these days do a god job, but it will have its limitation on surrong

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

At your price point, I can only think of this;

https://pioneer-india.in/product/htp-rs49/#features

Yes; it isn't the best out there. Really good Home Theatre isn't cheap. This one will sure beat the lousy single driver sub satellite set up's out there. Comes pretty well equipped on the receiver side too.

This definitely looks pretty good. I need to locate the local dealer and have a look. I did want small speakers but if this is good, I might make arrangements at home

Originally Posted by diyguy

What features are you wanting? I have a network capable Yamaha AV receiver with floor standers and shelf speakers for rear etc that cost close to 3L and I have a Bose Cinemate Series II for the living room purchased at 30k from the US. In terms of SQ and ease of use the Bose wins anyday. If you are wanting more complex uses, phone app etc then probably not. I think the Bose Cinemate is definitely one of my better purchases! I am an amateur listener with no real refined tastes for music or movies. I prefer auto setups to fiddling with too many settings and this is where the Bose wins big. Try to listen to it at a Croma and then decide.

I am looking for the usual passthroughs and HDMI connections. WiFi enabled system is a good functionality that should keep me happy. I saw some where bluetooth play was also working very well. I have heard Bose Cinemate and SoundTouch systems. After listening to SoundTouch, Cinemate sounds a little low. In fact this was my first choice when I started searching. But with the small bar, it wasnt filling up the space I have very well, so decided against it. Soundtouch or Accoustimass 10 modules were pretty out of budget so I left it at that.

The latest is, I have made a booking for Onkyo S5700 system. I will hopefully get to hear it in 3rd week of May. I heard S3700 and it had pretty good quality. 5700 should be a notch higher as it has 130W RMS channels with an active Sub. So looking forward to that now.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

[jaaz]

Can someone guide me through connecting Optical Cable ?

TataSky STB, Home Theatre & TV. All the three have Optical Cable connector. Should I connect Optical Cable directly from STB to Home Theatre or to the TV ?

Please suggest the best combination to connect between these 3 items, to get better Audio. Or the HDMI will do the same. Whether TataSky HD STB utilises the Optical Cable connector? Thanks in advance.

[Mr M R K]

Originally Posted by jaaz

Please suggest the best combination to connect between these 3 items, to get better Audio. Or the HDMI will do the same. Whether TataSky HD STB utilises the Optical Cable connector? Thanks in advance.

I have connected the STB - TV, Xbox - TV and Blue-Ray player - TV all via HDMI cables to 3 HDMI inputs in my TV; and TV - Soundbar via Optical. This way the sound output will always be fed to Soundbar irrespective of the input device.
This also utilises my soundbar's 'auto wake' feature that works with Optical input, so it switches ON when the TV is ON.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by jaaz

Please suggest the best combination to connect between these 3 items, to get better Audio. Or the HDMI will do the same. Whether TataSky HD STB utilises the Optical Cable connector.

I think when you have a HT, everything must go through the HT.
STB->HT->TV
STB to HT video via HDMI and Audio via optical and both to HT.
If you have additional inputs in future, for eg a PS3, that should go to HDMI2 of the HT. However your audio in that case will be via Hdmi and not optical. To overcome this I tried an optical splitter, but it didn't work. So I make do with Hdmi audio from my STB and have optical from the PS3.

[jaaz]

Thanks Mr M R K & diyguy.

Mr M R K, that's an excellant combination. So, you've a dedicated Audio output to the Sound bar.

diyguy - I'll try the combination suggested by you. Right now, I've connected STB -> TV via HDMI and HT->TV via HDMI in ARC slot. Right now not using any other Devices like Playstation etc., Now additional queries pop out:

My TV Model is Sony Bravia X8500C Android TV..
& HT Model is Sony BDV-E4100..

1. I don't use HT all the time, particularly, night times, to avoid disturbance to the neighbours. So, What'll happen, If the HT is switched off ? STB-> HT -> TV.

2. If I connect both HDMI as well as Optical Cable, Is it possible to split Video via HDMi and Audio via Optical Cable ?

3. STB->HT via HDMI or both HDMI and Optical Cable for better Audio reproduction. Or both are same ?

[Shreyans_Jain]

I am looking for a soundbar in the 50k price range.

I sampled the Bose Cinemax 15 but was rather underwhelmed by its sub.

I scouted the net and have shortlisted Klipsch R10b, Yamaha YAS203 and Denon DHT-S514. The Yamaha soundbar seems to be getting great reviews but Amazon does not allow international shipping for this model. Will be grateful if someone can help me choose. Any other options or suggestions are welcome.

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by jaaz

Can someone guide me through connecting Optical Cable ?

TataSky STB, Home Theatre & TV. All the three have Optical Cable connector. Should I connect Optical Cable directly from STB to Home Theatre or to the TV ?

Let me share my set-up with you.

1. Tata Sky to TV using HDMI cable
2. Tata Sky Optical output to Home theatre optical input using optical cable

I get audio from both TV and Home Theatre. (Dolby Digital)
You can adjust sound delay in TV or home theatre to sync both of them.
Or better still, mute the TV.

[vishal9999]

Looking for a good music system.
Usage: 70% Music & 30% Movies, Watching TV.
Room Size: 12 feet x 10.5 feet.
Looking for one wireless speaker.
Budget -1 lakh, should be upgradable in future.
My shortlisting is the following after lot of research
Receiver:
Denon AVR-X1200W 7.2 channel A/V receiver
Onkyo TX-NR646

Bookshelf Speakers:
ELAC Debut B6 (Not available in INDIA –but my first priority)
KEF Q100 (Not available in INDIA)
Polk Audio TSi100 (Not available in INDIA)
DALI ZENSOR 1 (Available in INDIA)

Wireless Speaker: (Not sure about IP rating availability to be used in Bathroom)
SONOS PLAY: 1 Compact Wireless Speaker
Definitive Technology W7


Subwoofer:
Pioneer SW-8MK2 –Designed by Andrew Jones
Polk PSW10
Monoprice 9723
The BIC America V1020 (Not available in INDIA)

Kindly suggest availability in Pune and best setup for Music with great bass.

[jayded]

Originally Posted by vishal9999

Looking for a good music system.
Bookshelf Speakers:
ELAC Debut B6 (Not available in INDIA –but my first priority)
KEF Q100 (Not available in INDIA)
Polk Audio TSi100 (Not available in INDIA)
DALI ZENSOR 1 (Available in INDIA)

ELAC Debut series is available in India through KEIHIFI, based out of Mumbai.
The price quoted for a paid of B6 is 32K, retail.

http://www.keihifi.com/index.php