Audio my gf's looking for a home theatre system

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Skilled
My girlfriend's planning to have a home theatre system hooked up in her living room to complement the 40" LCD screen that she has yet to buy (which I shall also need suggestions for).

Now since it's going to be for her entire family, I'm not too keen on getting into the assembled component business. So here's what I've short-listed so far.

Sony HT-DDW1500 or DAV-DZ820KW

Then JBL has a couple of good systems as well. Here's one that looks interesting: JBL DSC 1000

Price along the lines of these products listed here is manageable. If she can get something better for cheaper that's nice as well. So please speculate and suggest at will. It would be much appreciated :)

Danke
 
^^50k is out of budget man. 35k is the sweet spot. What do you think about the products I've mentioned?

I'll keep in mind what you've suggested anyhow. Thanks.
 
^^In that case, JBL is not a bad idea... it'll sound better than sony for sure hehe. You might wanna take a look at desi stuff like sonodyne and telome as well. They'll probably be better than JBL. Couple that with an elcheapo yamaha receiver and you are in business ;).
 
Of the ones you have mentioned, the Sony HT-DDW1500 look good. I dont know how they sound. Sometimes the speakers that look good dont neccesarily sound as good, so no comments there. But on feature and on looks they seem to the best. The JBL one look really cheap and substandard (again just look), I have no idea about the sound.

The ideal combination should be something that looks big and good, has decent features and sounds great as well. I suggest you demo these home theatres and decide for yourself, or follow chaos's advise and buy an a Yamaha reciever and couple it up with some good speakers.
 
I was in a similar situation like u ...my dad had given me a budget of 40k and i went and finalised a sub 40 SONY home theatre system....until a MUSIC ENTHU filled my ears with some noble words......which im passing it on to u :)...............
in case in the future which im sure u / ur gf will like everyone here....might want to upgrade.....and there will be new file formats which will be out which the system wont be able to play...talking abt video here......well at that time the 'resale' value will be nothing but CRAP....also i was said that u are going for it ..BECAUSE of its LOOKS....and the 'dhinchak' light effects , the buttons and wat not.........wat i was suggested and wat i did was as follows......
i was advised to go in for a all seperate system......ie. AMP / PLAYER / SPEAKERS.
Advantages :
1) better sound output than most of the "same level costing" all - in - one systems out there...
2) better resale.......(almost carries the same resale value )

about 3 yrs back i ended up buying Mordaunt Short Speakers + Sony DVD Player + Yamaha AMP.

so if i were u i would look out for individual components.......my advise check out the home theatre systems from YAMAHA currently available....too good to sound and light on the pocket as well....
 
^^trust me, Tracerbullet knows about all that....

OK Mr Tracerbullet. You have two options

1. If your girlfriend is in the slightest bit geeky, go buy a component system for her AFTER first showing her Dad how much better it sounds than regular stuff. You'll be a hero.

2. If she isn't buy Sony. Get a cheaper model that doesn't blow the budget, or if you want to spend, get 5 point surround and play some nice DVDs on it. You'll be a hero.

In short, your object should be to become a hero.

If you already are a hero, stay away from the whole HT buying process. Things can only get worse.
 
hanzy said:
so if i were u i would look out for individual components.......my advise check out the home theatre systems from YAMAHA currently available....too good to sound and light on the pocket as well....
Click to expand...

As Kingkrool rightly mentioned, I know the difference between component based and hifi systems! The Sony systems I've linked to above ARE NOT hifis. Please have a look at them before making assumptions. Thank you for your advice anyhow.

Okay I went to the JBL showroom today and got a demo of the DSC-1000. It was pretty nice but the JBL Cinesystem 132 was even better at 45k. Essentially the five speakers and sub-woofer in the Cinesystem are the same as the DSC-1000 - the difference between that this one comes bundled with the 25k Harmon and Kardon AVR 132 receiver. Check this link. Also, apparently there's a special offer where you get 15% off if you buy the set before the 10th of March with an American Express card from any of the JBL showrooms. I'll probably settle for this. Keep the suggestions going though.

If you already are a hero, stay away from the whole HT buying process. Things can only get worse.
Click to expand...

That advice is incredibly true. But well, it's a bit too late for the staying away bit now. You know what they say: when life throws lemons at you, make lemon juice.
 
There is really no need for the girlfriend tag. It mite as well be for you. We are intrested in the products you need and not the person intrested to buy.
 
ColdPlay said:
There is really no need for the girlfriend tag. It mite as well be for you. We are intrested in the products you need and not the person intrested to buy.
Click to expand...

WTH is that? 'We'... who's the we? You? TB's mentioning a scenario d00d...Advise or don't freakin post. Just keep away from OT BS posts that don't help someone making a decision. You say you are interested in the products, have you mentioned even one product or brand.

apologies TB for hitting out on your thread, but this annoyed me. Sorry mods.

I was in the vicinity of a sonodyne showroom and immensely enjoyed myself. They're pretty cheap too. As Chaos rightly says Yamaha amps are terrific VFM. I take it you're looking at 5.1 (home theatre). Nothing in Jamo for that budget. 5.1 is tricky as the amp will be cheaper than a stereo, but not so with the speakers.

Suggest mating the Yamaha amp to Sonodyne's. I'm not sure about players so refrain from commenting.

^^ Chaos which 5.1 wharfdale setup will come within 40K (assuming 15~20K on the amp)? Also what is the difference between Jamo's 'C' and 'E' series of floorstanders?

^^ kingkrool - right you are ;) , but then how many of us can really follow that advice...burnt my fingers twice already :p anticipating round three :eek:hyeah:
 
So finally settled for the JBL 5.1 speaker set and the Harmon and Kardon receiver worth 45k. The total damage was around 38,250 Rs. This is because American Express had a special discount where you get 15% off if you bought anything from Atria Mall at Worli before the 11th of March.

Quite a great buy for that price point, I should think. Thanks for all the help everyone!
 
ColdPlay said:
There is really no need for the girlfriend tag. It mite as well be for you. We are intrested in the products you need and not the person intrested to buy.
Click to expand...

are you serious or are you just trying to be cool? you do realize that most people on this website tend to be more tech-savvy than normal people right? if he was buying something for himself, he'd probably prefer something with features and good quality over something that's simply easy to use and built with the common consumer in mind. he was right in mentioning that it was for his girlfriend and her family. the only thing there was really no need for was your own post.

anyway @ tracerbullet, i'm glad to hear you bought JBL. personally, i'm a big fan of their products. i've owned a couple though i don't remember the model number off my head but they sounded great for the price range... roughly around the budget you posted. the best part was that they were loaded with features but ALSO simple to use at the same time. my mom who doesn't know much about handling stuff like these was able to use them fine when the rest of the family wasn't around. i might have missed the link here but could you please specify the model number of what you bought? my dad wants to add another home theater system and he's a fan of JBL as well. the stuff you bought is probably newer than the ones we currently have at home.
 
^^ I picked up the JBL Cinesystem 132. Here's the link. Sahil International is the official distributor for JBL's stuff in India. Go here for its website.

I'm quite impressed with the Cinesystem 132. It's easy the best I could pick up for 38k - this was after a 15% discount though. I doubt the offer's still valid. I had even looked at some Sonodyne stuff for about 45k, I'll look up the brochure and post the exact model and specifications tomorrow.
 
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