Please suggest HTS for 30-40k and 5.1 Speakers 10-15k

Jasku

Skilled
Hi all,

I am going to be moving homes, and require a HTS for the informal living room and a set of 5.1 or even 2.1 speakers for the formal living room.First off, let me say I am a complete novice wrt HTS, and this will be my first ever setup, the closest thing to a HTS I have experienced are my trusty Z2300 still totally am satisfied with em.

Anyways here are the requirements:

Budget - 40k

1) Family living (24x16)feet - HTS - Please suggest a system within 40k, will go a bit extra if its totally worth it, we are a bit stretched with the spending on the house, if you can make it scalable, it would be great. The HTS will be coupled with a 55' HX750, and will have PS3,HD DTH, Bluray player(unlikely) HTPC and Xbox (later), this is all I can think of, please point out if I am missing on any other devices. It will be predominantly for watching football matches, movies, and gaming. I have had points setup for a 7.1 speaker system in the hall, the points are 2 at the corner where the TV will be, 2 at the opposite of the room, and 2 in the center in line with the seating. I know 7.1 setup sounds ambitious given the budget, hence please suggest a scalable solution.


Budget 10-15k

2) Formal living (22x14)feet - 5.1 speakers- I have points on 4 corners (close to the ceiling, the ceiling is pretty low) of the room for speakers, this would be for when friends come over and want to listen to some light music, the control initially I thought will just have a 3.5mm jack and use and ipod/iphone. But now I feel, I may add a receiver later if it makes sense.

Other considerations:

1) I was also thinking, if its possible to connect the family living receiver to the formal hall speakers just in case want to listen to the audio of some match/tv in that room, not a high priority, but if its possible, that would be great.
2) Also, in the future if I wanna setup a projector in the formal hall, would it be practical for me to have the HTS stream to the projector? or I am I asking for too much.
 
Sony has been making some great receivers for the American market. If you can get somebody to carry one for you from there, it would save you quite a lot of money.

http://reviews.cnet.com/av-receivers/sony-str-dn1030/4505-6466_7-35332546.html

Start off by buying a good receiver and two front speakers like the Whaferdale Vardus 300

http://www.hifimart.com/wharfedale-vardus-300-floorstanding-speakers-174

Add the rest of the components later.

Thanks for the suggestions, looks like the receiver is not launched in India, do these products carry international warranty? I can source it from the states, but wouldnt it be better to get something with local warranty?

That gets me wondering the mainstream HTS that all of these guys offer ranging from 10-70k with Blu ray players, how inferior are they to a custom setup?

I also looked at the DN1040, its got 8 HDMI input ports and a slicker UI compared to its older sibling, and its only $30 more, do you think this one would make more sense? Another quirk here is that the 1030 is available through Amazon global but the 1040 aint.

The floor standers will give me a decent enough experience to start off with, despite the lack of a discrete sub woofer.

Lastly, products on hifimart carry Indian warranty?

Please also suggest speakers for the formal living room.
 
..... products on hifimart carry Indian warranty?
.

Yes. Check their website as well as their forum (it is the best in India for all sorts of audiophilic advice). Most of those so called esoteric brands that you will see have their distributors in India.
Go for customised setup rather than a whole package from one-brand.

In case of speakers - servicing is an extremely rare possibility & it would greatly help if you actually audition them (better still with the AVR that your intend to buy).

For an AVR - Chose between Denon > Yamaha > Pioneer [Do not chose Onkyo as they are ridiculously overpriced aka Bose]
 
Yes. Check their website as well as their forum (it is the best in India for all sorts of audiophilic advice). Most of those so called esoteric brands that you will see have their distributors in India.
Go for customised setup rather than a whole package from one-brand.

In case of speakers - servicing is an extremely rare possibility & it would greatly help if you actually audition them (better still with the AVR that your intend to buy).

For an AVR - Chose between Denon > Yamaha > Pioneer [Do not chose Onkyo as they are ridiculously overpriced aka Bose]

Thank you @terence_fdes sir.

I was just wondering, I am not an audiophile, like I said I have been extremely happy with my Logitech Z2300 over 7 years with the on board sound. I need something that would suit the size of the room and a decent setup, wouldnt something like a Yamaha YHT-298/299 or a Onkyo S5500 suffice?

I really like the Sony STR DN1040 interms of the networking capabilities and number of HDMI inputs, but apprehensive about importing it, are AVR prone to failure?

As for auditioning these setups, people from Chennai can someone point me as where I could actually experience all this audio equipment? I think Pro Fx on Casa Major road is a possibility?
 
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Thank you @terence_fdes sir.

I was just wondering, I am not an audiophile, like I said I have been extremely happy with my Logitech Z2300 over 7 years with the on board sound. I need something that would suit the size of the room and a decent setup, wouldnt something like a Yamaha YHT-298/299 or a Onkyo S5500 suffice?

I really like the Sony STR DN1040 interms of the networking capabilities and number of HDMI inputs, but apprehensive about importing it, are AVR prone to failure?

As for auditioning these setups, people from Chennai can someone point me as where I could actually experience all this audio equipment? I think Pro Fx on Casa Major road is a possibility?


The voltage difference might also be a problem. See if you can find it on some European site like amazon.de or amazon.co.uk.

Importing it is always a hit and miss. Talk to a few Sony dealers or importers and see if they can get one for you through the official channels. Expect to pay a premium for it though.
 
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I think Pro Fx on Casa Major road is a possibility?


Yes I believe that is one. @bottle may be able guide you for some other shops as well.

Importing an AVR isn't a bad idea if you can have someone lug it all the way from the US. AVRs also tend to be heavy so keep that in mind. Most AVRs do not come with a voltage selector switch - you may have to invest in a step-down transformer of adequate wattage as well.

For the AVR, ensure that it has decoding for Dolby Tru-HD and DTS-HD MA. You will need these for the playback of bluray discs which come with these formats. HDMI 1.4a as well. An Ethernet port also wouldn't hurt. If I were you I'd choose one of those low-profile marantz NR based AVRs.
 
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Thanks for those pointers @Gannu

I am still confused though, I would prefer buying the AVR too from here, but the difference is disheartening. Anyways I have shortlisted a couple AVRs

1) Marantz NR 1501 -26.5k A nice looking slim AVR with 7.2 channel output, with no network capabilities, which is kinds hindering my decision. Seems underpowered for the room size?
Link - http://www.hifimart.com/marantz-nr1501-slimline-7-1-av-receiver-191

2) Pioneer VSX 822 -31.5k Seems like a balanced AVR, but it is 5-6k dearer than what I would like to spend, but seems to have all the bells and whistles.
Link - http://www.hifimart.com/pioneer-vsx-822-av-receiver-392

Now the most confusing part, please help with speakers, do I go with the BS type or FS, and suggest some decent ones to look for. It looks like Polk has a 3 year warranty, so would lean towards them.

The ones on my radar-

FS:
1) Wharfedale 300/400
2) Polk Rsi T500

BS:
Boston Acoustics Soundware XS 5.1 - really like these, but I hear they arent too good for movies.
Wharfedale Diamond 9.1

The quest for a HT has been more complicated than what I had anticipated, but its been fun, been reading a lot, will try and go to Pro FX over the weekend, but please help me with what type of speakers will suit my requirements (room size, movies, gaming, sports, music).
 
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The quest for a HT has been more complicated than what I had anticipated, but its been fun, been reading a lot, will try and go to Pro FX over the weekend, but please help me with what type of speakers will suit my requirements (room size, movies, gaming, sports, music).

I am glad you are enjoying your quest to build the best HT system within your budget. The choices that we have in India today are really quite phenomenal (from what it used to be a few years ago).

There are scores of people who even today will walk into any Mall & just pick up a HT package from Sony/Phillips/Videocon/Samsung/LG and this IMHO is the most foolish thing to do. Simply because these offer all run-of-the-mill systems where the build quality of all components is mediocre.

Today most of us already have a huge collection of music & movies [Full HD / Blu-ray ] with dts sound; dts-hd ma etc & from 5.1 to 9.2 channels. In order to reproduce audio in it's pristine form, we need to cafefully chose and pick each of the components that are essential in making the experience fruitful. Starting from an AVR/Speakers/Blu-ray player down to the choice of cabling - these are the basic things. For the more serious audiophiles - they will want 'separates' (a multichannel amplifier and surround processor)

.....But separates aren’t for everyone. Today’s A/V receivers are no slouches, as long as you mate them with speakers of appropriate sensitivity. In fact, you could argue that a more cost-effective way to fill a large room is to buy more sensitive speakers and use them with an AVR. Another argument for AVRs is that most of them have some modern niceties often missing from separate high-end surround processors, such as room correction, low-volume listening modes, satellite radio, Internet radio, PC networking, iPod docking, and Bluetooth compatibility. Still, the larger-scale, unlimited speaker selection and that final increment of performance are the tipping points for those who demand separates. Click here for more on separates vs. receivers.
- how to chose an HT system
For speakers do not rush - based on the size and accoustics of your room you will have to see what is best FS or BS. Even here you can mix different brands. Check these links
Dolby HT Speaker Guide
http://lifehacker.com/5977261/five-best-living-room-speaker-sets
http://www.hifivision.com/home-theater/36525-home-theater-n00b-speaker-placement-wires-fs-bs.html
Advantages of a 5.1 vs 7.1
http://hometheater.about.com/od/hometheateraudiobasics/qt/5-1vs7-1diff.htm
Home Theatre Surround Sound
The subwoofer is the most important part of a 5.1 or higher setup

Wharfdale price list
cinebels

If you have a decent PC at home (or high end) you can connect it through HDMI into your AVR - so watching all those HD/3D movies will be a mind-blowing experience. In this case, there is no need to go for those AVR's that have video-upscaling or 4K passthrough; wi-fi capability or Android and Windows 7 or 8 compatibility (additional features that you pay more).

AVR's - some models to consider
Marantz - 1402; 1403 (new 2013 model)
Denon - 1612; 1713
Yamaha - 373; 473; 573
Pioneer - 822; 823k

I do not recommend Onkyo as the models that are available in India are mostly dated and largely over-priced (check Onkyo US website for prices and then see the shit that is here in India)

Lastly - unlike recomendations for PC builds which we give on TE all the time. One should never go ahead and book/place order for a HT system WITHOUT AUDITIONING the entire system. In fact most folks carry around their own audio/video files onto a 8/16GB pen drive and request the shop to demo these. You can also download these specific files so that you are able to test the entire range of the AVR/Speakers.

Cheers
Terry
 
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