[rajneeshmakhija]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

...AV receivers too have suffered from failing HDMI boards...

Originally Posted by diyguy

My Yamaha receiver's hdmi board has gone kaput for the output ...

Guess it's the season when AVR are going kaput.

I'm having to deal with a similar on my Onkyo THX SR-608. The unit is 6+ years old, and I got it from the US, and am using it with a step down transformer. I powered it on after a long period (was away), to find that I have no sound output, whatsoever. It switches between the inputs without any issues, but absolutely no audio output. Some light googling indicates that this is an issue with the HDMI boards on Onkyo AVRs from that era.

Any tips on technicians/engineers who will be able to help fix this? I'm in Navi Mumbai, BTW. Thanks!

[barathvajan]

Hi Friends,

Considering the space and TV i have, I am looking to buy a soundbar, specifically Yamaha YAS 306. I reaslly loved the sound from it.
It costs 36K from authorised dealer. Yesterday in amazon sale, I found it for 34k with 1750 additional cash back. So effectively 3750 saving from authorised dealer.
Is it ok to go ahead and buy from amazon (seller is amazon fullfiled)?
Also, I see a bose cinemate 15 soundbar in snapdeal for 50.5k with 2k discount thrown in. Also it has option of interest free EMI.
The advantage bose has over Yamaha is
1. Smaller than Yamaha
2. Universal remote
3. Dedicated sub woofer

I haven't had a chance to get demo of the cinemate 15. But during review of Yamaha, i felt that dedicated sub in not necessary for Yamaha (sub can be added if required). The bass it produces is sufficient for the use I have.

Give your inputs on which one to consider.

Barath

[deathwalkr]

do check out the philips fidelio b5 as well

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by barathvajan

I am looking to buy a soundbar, specifically Yamaha YAS 306.
Also, I see a bose cinemate 15 soundbar in snapdeal for 50.5k with 2k discount thrown in.

i have two bose cinemate series II at home, not soundbars but stereo speakers as well as a Yamaha receiver setup in 5.1 config in my bedroom. Both brands are good but I favor the bose for the simplicity and quality of sound. Am not an audiophile and I do not have a fine discerning ear but am very happy with the bose.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by barathvajan

Give your inputs on which one to consider.

I recently got a Pioneer SBX-N700 soundbar, and found it quite nice for its price. Not sure if it’s available in India.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by rajneeshmakhija

It switches between the inputs without any issues, but absolutely no audio output.

Yupp; that does sound like the series that suffered from problems.

Can you check if the analogue inputs work? Like AUX/Video RCA inputs, etc (TV/CD, PC, GAME, CBL/SAT). My guess is they won't considering they are all governed by digital input switching.

[JMaruru]

Are there any good HT AVR's sold in US, which support dual voltage? As there is significant price difference between India and US prices would like to carry back one.

Please advise.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Are there any good HT AVR's sold in US, which support dual voltage?

Bose will work. My Yamaha is single voltage. I purchased both bose and Yamaha from the US.

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by diyguy

Bose will work. My Yamaha is single voltage. I purchased both bose and Yamaha from the US.

Any particular models you have in mind?

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Any particular models you have in mind?

i imagine every bose HT will satisfy your dual voltage requirement. A 110v unit is good too as my Yamaha avr RX-A810 works just fine with a 1kv step down.

[S_U_N]

I had trouble finding a dealer for demo of Philips Fidelio B5. So, I tweeted Philips and I got a very quick response (that too on Sunday evening). The next morning, a manager called me and offered to arrange for a demo.
On Tuesday, I had a demo lasting more than 90 minutes at my home with the manager and a technician. It was a very positive experience in interacting with the team. Full marks to Gibson - the company handling the audio division for Philips.

Moving on to the product itself.
The product B5 is an innovative and well designed wirefree solution. The main selling point is the detachable speakers which can act as surround sound speakers (and also as standalone bluetooth speakers).
After some initiate struggle in getting things running and a few reboots with the various gadgets, the audio started playing.

The soundbar is quite tall and obstructs the IR sensor on my TV and there is no IR blaster (or whatever technology that repeats the signal). So, this was going to be a problem.

Tested audio quality via Bluetooth with FLAC files and normal MP3
Tested DTS 5.1 channel sound (movie Captain America) for surround sound experience
Tested DTS 5.1 channel sound (Hindi movie) for surround sound experience
Tested YouTube directly from TV's inbuilt app (again to see if there is any surround sound experience).


Even at full volume 46, the sound does not crack - if you know what I mean.
However it starts sounding a bit unnatural at high volumes. It sounds better by reducing the Treble to around -1 or 0 on a scale from -6 to +6.
The bass is pretty OK and I found it was better to keep it around +2.

There are music, voice and movie modes where the product does some equilizer settings automatically in the background. There is no other equilizer setting available to end users other than the modes specified.

During music playback, I felt that the sound was good, but perhaps missing something. I am not an audiophile, but I had a feeling that something was missing.

During movie playback, I felt that the surround sound effect was a bit disappointing.
I have not tested with BluRays, since I do not have any, but I have high quality movie content (3.5 GB and above per movie) with high bitrate. My media center is my Raspberry Pi 3.

I really did not get the experience that I was looking for with the surround sound.

So, overall a tad disappointed.

At Rs. 49000 directly from the company, I believe I should get a better sound output.

Of course, for those who really want to see no wires hanging around, with a bit of a compromise on the sound quality, this might be a great option and perhaps the only option in Indian market?

[deathwalkr]

@49k it never is a good buy considering the HT options you can set up at that sort of budget.

Hopefully the prices do come a bit so that more people can buy this amazing soundbar.

And i echo your opinion on music playback. Even FLACs don't sound all that good. But bluray concerts are amazing

Listening to fear of the dark by iron maiden and feeling the crowd sing along in surround mode makes you feel you are right there

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by rajneeshmakhija

I'm having to deal with a similar on my Onkyo THX SR-608. The unit is 6+ years old, and I got it from the US, and am using it with a step down transformer. I powered it on after a long period (was away), to find that I have no sound output, whatsoever. It switches between the inputs without any issues, but absolutely no audio output. Some light googling indicates that this is an issue with the HDMI boards on Onkyo AVRs from that era.

Any tips on technicians/engineers who will be able to help fix this? I'm in Navi Mumbai, BTW. Thanks!

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Yupp; that does sound like the series that suffered from problems.

Can you check if the analogue inputs work? Like AUX/Video RCA inputs, etc (TV/CD, PC, GAME, CBL/SAT). My guess is they won't considering they are all governed by digital input switching.

I have the same problem with the Onkyo Receiver that my sister got from Dubai. I carried it from Kerala to Bangalore in the hope of fixing it. No sound output from any of the input modes.

Was planning to take it to the Onkyo Service Center. But they are not picking up the phone and I heard some not so nice reviews about them.

Any other recommendations in Bangalore for Receiver issues? Also, in this case, is the HDMI board replacement the only option? How much would such a replacement cost?

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Any other recommendations in Bangalore for Receiver issues? Also, in this case, is the HDMI board replacement the only option? How much would such a replacement cost?

HDMI boards going kaput in Onkyo Receivers is quite common now and can cost about 10k rupees (If I remember correctly, this is the amount that a friend mentioned).

Why not try the Onkyo service center in Indiranagar ? I had a recent receiver service experience that was surprisingly good despite all the not-so-good feedback on various sites.

[barathvajan]

Originally Posted by S_U_N

I had trouble finding a dealer for demo of Philips Fidelio B5. So, I tweeted Philips and I got a very quick response (that too on Sunday evening). The next morning, a manager called me and offered to arrange for a demo.


At Rs. 49000 directly from the company, I believe I should get a better sound output.

Of course, for those who really want to see no wires hanging around, with a bit of a compromise on the sound quality, this might be a great option and perhaps the only option in Indian market?

Hi
I feel 49K is bit too much. I had auditioned the same soundbar in Viveks chennai and they are offering it to me for 43k (republic day offer). Still i felt the sound quality is not worth the money.
For the price you can try the Bose Cinemate 15 (50k). In my opinion, that should have better quality sound (haven't listened though).
You can alternatively try the Yamaha YAS 306. I liked the sound better. Costs 34 to 36k. You can throw in a sub later for extra punch.
Have nice listening.
Barath