A stingy 7.2.4 HT set-up in a living room !!

[Vinod.R]

A extremely frugal but deadly setup Elangoas.
Nice frugal buys to set up such a system for less money.
There are a lots and lots of positives but a few negatives that I would like to mention, please don't take it wrongly:
1) Too many boxes: A 5 channel emotiva etc might have reduced the number of boxes. You could have bought something like Yamaha z9 or Denon AVCA1SR for like 50k and saved space. Yamaha easily gives 170w RMS all channels driven at 8 ohms.
2) Electricity consumption. These old amps will drink electricity despite running as power amps as their circuitry will also be consuming power including their individual displays.
3) Aesthetics. I hope WAF is not in play here.
4) A pre power combo might also come at this budget as long as one compromises a few codecs.
5) Electronic protection equipment may be strained CVT etc.
6) Cabling will be a nightmare.
7) In a HT setup subs play a very important role and experience. Please make sure the subs don't lag the system.
These are just my opinions and should be taken as such. Once again if I have offended you Elangoas my sincere apology.

 

[elangoas]

Very good setup Elango with quality components at a reasonable budget. I am sure this would be a good reference for people on a budget Pls let us know how it sounds after you set it up.Your brother is indeed lucky to have you for guidance.

Thanks for the kind words.. It is up & running for 5 months time now.. Defnetly happy and lucky that he agreed and encouraged my suggestions..

A extremely frugal but deadly setup Elangoas. Nice frugal buys to set up such a system for less money

Thanks for the kind words..

These are just my opinions and should be taken as such. Once again if I have offended you Elangoas my sincere apology.

Absolutely none @Vinod.R.. What better than getting a feedback from a fellow enthusiast?.. Appreciate your feedback.. Cheers !!

1) Too many boxes: A 5 channel emotiva etc might have reduced the number of boxes. You could have bought something like Yamaha z9 or Denon AVCA1SR for like 50k and saved space. Yamaha easily gives 170w RMS all channels driven at 8 ohms.

True.. Agreed.. Too many boxes could be the eye sore.. But wanted to try use route to be cost-effective.. Some of the 2 channel amps have Dolby Prologic capability.. Later when he decides to upgrade to multi-channel power amplifier, the existing two channel stereo receiver / power amps can be re-used to expand from 4 heights to 6 heights.. Like some of them have done in AVS forums.. Have thought of this and will be trying at some point, but focusing now to complete some absorption in the room..

2) Electricity consumption. These old amps will drink electricity despite running as power amps as their circuitry will also be consuming power including their individual displays.

True.. Agreed.. Each one is rated well over 400 Watts consumption.. But not really a concern for more power consumption..

3) Aesthetics. I hope WAF is not in play here.

Of-course there was concern.. But have planned to shift it sooner and make the room more tidy..

4) A pre power combo might also come at this budget as long as one compromises a few codecs.

Once he upgrades ( if he agrees to upgrade to multi-channel power amps), then will be considering a dedicated processor in near future..

5) Electronic protection equipment may be strained CVT etc.

Sorry.. Didn't get the CVT.. Do you mean power draw?.. If so, There are abt 7 - 8 dedicated 20 Amps switch and each equipment is connected separately..

6) Cabling will be a nightmare.

Yes.. Too many wires.. No escaping that.. But have thought abt, when we plan to re-position the entire unit to a half-wall embedded in the room..

7) In a HT setup subs play a very important role and experience. Please make sure the subs don't lag the system.

Sure.. For now he has dual DIY passive subs powered externally.. But sooner planned to double it and make it Quad sealed sub.. A single bass array kind of set-up, behind the screen..

Thanks again for the detailed feedback..

 

[Nitin K]

Most welcome Elango. Great to know it sounds good as well and worth the effort.

 

[Rakesh123]

@elangoas Just got through this complete thread,a fantastic and budget friendly setup.....Your brother is lucky and your zeal towards HTs and suggestions to build cost effective systems within budget(Whatever)are so inspiring.

 

[elangoas]

@elangoas Just got through this complete thread,a fantastic and budget friendly setup.....Your brother is lucky and your zeal towards HTs and suggestions to build cost effective systems within budget(Whatever)are so inspiring.

@Rakesh123 Thanks for the kind words.. We don't have dedicated room, but happy to have tried few things, and this keeps us going !!.. Have planned for multi subs & some room treatment too in the coming days..

 

[superczar]

Thanks for the kind words.. It is up & running for 5 months time now.. Defnetly happy and lucky that he agreed and encouraged my suggestions..



Thanks for the kind words..



Absolutely none @Vinod.R.. What better than getting a feedback from a fellow enthusiast?.. Appreciate your feedback.. Cheers !!



True.. Agreed.. Too many boxes could be the eye sore.. But wanted to try use route to be cost-effective.. Some of the 2 channel amps have Dolby Prologic capability.. Later when he decides to upgrade to multi-channel power amplifier, the existing two channel stereo receiver / power amps can be re-used to expand from 4 heights to 6 heights.. Like some of them have done in AVS forums.. Have thought of this and will be trying at some point, but focusing now to complete some absorption in the room..



True.. Agreed.. Each one is rated well over 400 Watts consumption.. But not really a concern for more power consumption..



Of-course there was concern.. But have planned to shift it sooner and make the room more tidy..



Once he upgrades ( if he agrees to upgrade to multi-channel power amps), then will be considering a dedicated processor in near future..



Sorry.. Didn't get the CVT.. Do you mean power draw?.. If so, There are abt 7 - 8 dedicated 20 Amps switch and each equipment is connected separately..



Yes.. Too many wires.. No escaping that.. But have thought abt, when we plan to re-position the entire unit to a half-wall embedded in the room..



Sure.. For now he has dual DIY passive subs powered externally.. But sooner planned to double it and make it Quad sealed sub.. A single bass array kind of set-up, behind the screen..

Thanks again for the detailed feedback..

Hey Elangoas
Just went through the complete thread.
this is brilliant work to say the least.

Just one suggestion - that also echoes what some others said.
As tempting as all channel external amplification sounds, using some of these old amps may actually be a bit counter-productive.
The electrolytic caps on old electronics are prone to leakages and while most of these amps will work, the output may be just a tad bit off!
Learnt it the hard way when trying to use an old Harman Kardon AVR 500 which was messing up the o/p subtly

Add the fact that current amps will likely use a better design + your onkyo amp is high tiered enough fr it to have better components than at least some of the amps you are using

I think just offloading maybe LR or at max LCR will leave your AVR with more than plenty of power reserves - surely worth trying it out

 

[elangoas]

Hey Elangoas
Just went through the complete thread.
this is brilliant work to say the least.

Thanks for the kind words @superczar

Just one suggestion - that also echoes what some others said.
As tempting as all channel external amplification sounds, using some of these old amps may actually be a bit counter-productive.
The electrolytic caps on old electronics are prone to leakages and while most of these amps will work, the output may be just a tad bit off!
Learnt it the hard way when trying to use an old Harman Kardon AVR 500 which was messing up the o/p subtly

Thanks for the inputs. Got it. I tried the external power amps for surr, surr back & heights as i didn't spend too much money on it. I think 15K odd for 3 stereo amps as power amps. The idea was to try, without spending much. Overtime will move to dedicated power amps..

Add the fact that current amps will likely use a better design + your onkyo amp is high tiered enough fr it to have better components than at least some of the amps you are using

Right.. Latest gen AVR should handle it better..

I think just offloading maybe LR or at max LCR will leave your AVR with more than plenty of power reserves - surely worth trying it out.

The Rotel 5 channel power amp does the duty for L-C-R and front heights as these were the farthest speakers from LP.. For the rest of the channels i used stereo amps as power amps for rest of the channels.. Sure will try that too. The idea of adding power amps was to provide more continuous power to surrounds, surr back and heights..

 

[superczar]

Thanks for the kind words @superczar



Thanks for the inputs. Got it. I tried the external power amps for surr, surr back & heights as i didn't spend too much money on it. I think 15K odd for 3 stereo amps as power amps. The idea was to try, without spending much. Overtime will move to dedicated power amps..



Right.. Latest gen AVR should handle it better..



The Rotel 5 channel power amp does the duty for L-C-R and front heights as these were the farthest speakers from LP.. For the rest of the channels i used stereo amps as power amps for rest of the channels.. Sure will try that too. The idea of adding power amps was to provide more continuous power to surrounds, surr back and heights..

The Rotel looks good - If the primary 3 are offloaded (+2 more in your case) , the rest of the channels, with limited information will be a seriously minuscule load on the AVR amp - kind of like a truck designed for carrying iron bars loaded with a few cotton bales

 

[elangoas]

The Rotel looks good - If the primary 3 are offloaded (+2 more in your case) , the rest of the channels, with limited information will be a seriously minuscule load on the AVR amp - kind of like a truck designed for carrying iron bars loaded with a few cotton bales

Ha ha.. Good example.. Right.