Jamo A102 HCS with Marantz 1506 (Not in india yet) Compatiblity

T

thirumalkumaran

Adept
Hi All,

Planing to venture into Compact home theater...(mostly for movies)
After trying to get Bose Cinemate 520, and dropping it due to the price (Went from 1.3 to 1.67L)..
Now searching for alternatives...

Finally after going through many details.. found the below to suit the power efficiency and space.
Marantz 1504 (Currently available)
Jamo A102HCS5 (With 210 sub)

But 1504 seems to be outdated and a new model 1506 is launched in US, which has better features like Wifi, Bluetooth, hdmi 2.0 etc.. which is a substantial upgrade.

OK, Coming to the query.. I like a bright sound signature, which I'm sure the components selected gives.
But, is 50W per channel enough for the A102?

Anybody using the combination or known the compatibility of the combination to work fine?

BTW, The room dimensions are 18ft W x 17ft D.
The viewing distance is at 10ft from screen and the surrounds will be hung from the ceiling..

How might the performance of this setup be at this condition...

Help needed guys!!!
 
Bright sound signature
Onkyo > Marantz >HK>Denon >Yamaha
It's a general opinion, but every amp can be tweaked to get a comfortable sound signature.

Is 50w per channel enough for a102? yes, but will be less for the Room size.

Jamo generally considered for a Dark sound signature, consider wharfdale or definitive technology for bright sound. The jamo 210 SW is quite puny for your room. Invest in a good SW.
 
@drkrack thanks a lot for your info mate...

Can the speakers be changed to Wharfedale ms100?
I'm OK with moving the amp to Onkyo, but I'm not sure we can have the efficiency in space or power compared to Marantz..

if nothing seems to work... can you please suggest a compact speaker for the home theater?

One more thing: Though the room is 18x17, I'm planning to keep the speaker location within 10ft x10ft..
 
Usually I select the speakers first and then go for a matching av receiver.

There's lots of subjective variations in speaker choices. Probably that's why you have so many different audio companies.
The best approach is to audition one self and decide. Speaker systems last for generations, so investing time and money is worth it. Take your time for auditioning.

If you are interested in complete 5.1 package with approx 1L budget there are plenty of options.

Glad that you got rid of Bose brand image from your head, we can precisely concentrate on SQ.

Complete 5.1 from same manufacturer my suggestions would be Definitive Technology procinema 600 or 900 series depending upon your budget. Sourcing from USA would be much cheaper, but be careful about AC voltage compatibility.
B&W 5.1 is a bit costlier but a better option IMHO.

If going for different manufacturers instead of complete 5.1 & Since movie watching is a priority here go for a better SW. Like SVS Pb1000 @40k or SVS Pb2000 @ 60k. Speakers Polk, Wharfedale, Klipsch, Mordant, CW many good options available.
 
Wow!!! thats a detailed reply...
honestly i had to read it thrice for this noob mind to get it...

Gone thorugh the Procinema 600 looks enticing. But, not sure where I can audition in bangalore and the price...

It seems I need to start auditioning from scratch... Any help on auditioning would be greatly appreciated.
Anyother comapct speaker suggestions apart from below...

Jamo A102
Wharefadale ms-100
Wharefadale MS 65+
BA XS5.1
pioneer 1135xs

P.s: Infact I like the sound signature of Bose more than what i auditioned.. I currently have a Soundlink mini and C5.
The major reason put me off is the price they are asking for the setup which is much more than Polk RTi and receiver combined.
 
^^ Thanks buddy...
I learnt that the AJ Series takes more room..
thats not a problem with center and surrounds...
but the info that they need to be kept 3 ft from the wall sends a shock as we dont have the luxury of leaving that much space..
that's why i resorted to wall mount compacts.
 
thirumalkumaran said:
^^ Thanks buddy...
I learnt that the AJ Series takes more room..
thats not a problem with center and surrounds...
but the info that they need to be kept 3 ft from the wall sends a shock as we dont have the luxury of leaving that much space..
that's why i resorted to wall mount compacts.
Click to expand...

Also pioneer isn't the bright sounding one. Pioneer AV receiver is OK but speakers suck.

Definitive technology is bit difficult to find a demo, What's your location?

If you've liked the Bose, Wharfedale in general is more brighter. Bose high end >2.5L are really good, but home cinema series are mediocre, good flaunt value though.

Onkyo receiver bundle with Thx certified 7.1 @90k, is good option too. My only concern with bundled 5.1 is the supplied Subwoofer & Centers are always weak. Definitive technology bundle is far better that way. Buying 5 speakers and supporting with a dedicated SW like SVS pb 1000 enhances your movie experience by many folds.

Audition yourself and decide, don't take my word or anyone for that matter, reviews are still confusing.

Word of caution about showroom auditions : the acoustics & equalization are well planned, it won't sound the same at your house. Listening in someone's house is better. Use Olx sellers for audition if possible [emoji12].
 
thirumalkumaran said:
But, is 50W per channel enough for the A102?
Click to expand...
1. First question is 50W at what distortion levels?

I can have the same amplifier perform at various power output levels:
1 W at 0.001% THD
10 W at 0.05% THD
25 W at 1% THD
50 W at 5% THD
100 W at 10% THD
etc

2. Most of the speakers are built with about 85 dB sensitivity at 1 meter. Therefore even with a clean 1 watt amp you should be able to get decent sound levels (85 dB is pretty loud).

3. Oh, but with every doubling of distance, you lose 6dB of loudness. So at 3 meters you will have about 75 dB at your position.
Not too loud, since you perhaps want 96 dB at your location. Therefore we aim to have +21dB.

4. With every doubling of amp wattage you get only +3dB increase loudness. Hence, to get a 21dB increase, we will require 2^7 = 128 W.
Now let us revisit the first question. The amp can provide 128 W, but the distortion it produces, is it audible to you? Typically anything above 1% THD starts becoming awful sounding. So based on this, my amp is actually incapable of providing anything more than 25W of clean power.

5. Most of the foo foo high priced consumer grade AVRs (like Onkyo, Bose, Sony, Pioneer, Denon, Marantz etc) write RMS power rating, but conveniently forget to place a THD figure next to it.
Not surprisingly, Stereo amps from the SAME manufacturer (like Denon, Marantz) will always sound 10 times better (especially at loud sound levels) simply because they distort less at greater power output.
 
OK....

Just auditioned the AJ5235xt Pioneer...
One word fantastic VFM.. and very responsive to the equaliser to tune to bright sound as my liking...

But... the BS22 surronds are reaay huge for ceiling mount...
Can that be swapped to a compact satellite like the ones from Jamo 102?

if yes... can anybody recommend if the same A102 sattellite can be used? (Both are 6 ohms)
 
If the surrounds are big, they are a good thing.. and everything can be wall- mounted. Dont worry about that .. else use stands.
How much is the AJ costing you?
 
The most common thumb rule in speaker system is " Size matters, the bigger the better" ..

Kindly update your audition experience in detail, will help many others.
 
delhiboy1 said:
If the surrounds are big, they are a good thing.. and everything can be wall- mounted. Dont worry about that .. else use stands.
How much is the AJ costing you?
Click to expand...
Auditioned them with DNI Bellandhur... Umesh is a very friendly person...
But price quoted is MRP. as I was not taking it right now did not speak about discounts etc...
The audition was a very preliminary one... need to fix another appointment with them again with my discs and sources...
Will keep you posted guys...[DOUBLEPOST=1439970364][/DOUBLEPOST]Guys.... I think I'm finalised with Pioneer AJ5235xt... (Though its huge it seems a good tradeoff)

So far the price seems to hover at 51k hifi mart or 49K Snapdeal (No stock)
but it is only $549. Any ways to import them at cheap prices..?
Does it affect the warranty etc... your advice guys...?

Moreover, if marantz is underpowered any alternatives..?
 
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