Audio setup for Person with depression, Anxiety

[bluebell]

I need recommendations for audio setup. Below are the considerations.

This is for my mother who has depression and anxiety and I want her to be entertained or occupied. She is not into watching TV much. So a pure audio setup will do. She will be playing slow music/listening to stories or speeches. She is not very tech Savvy and is computer illiterate (Though I can change that). I think she will be more comfortable using a tablet rather than PC/Laptop.

I am looking to install speakers either in the hall/bedroom.

The hall is 28*13 and opens into a 15*11 kitchen. The bedroom is 13*13

What I am looking for is speakers which have great clarity. No need for woofers/ special effect speakers. She is easily irritated and can get cranky so usually it's soft music.


Please recommend something which will please her.

Budget us 25 thousand +budget for tablet.


I hope I have asked the right questions. Help me with this!!

Thanks.


Edit: More info

Thanks for all the replies. I will have to read and google for some time to understand bit about some of the components mentioned here!!

We have the below at home presently


Sony DVP-NS575P/S Progressive Scan DVD Player, Silver

SONY WEGA TV KV-21HFV100


Forgot to mention. She hates to hold a phone to her ear for a long time (Read more than 5 minutes ) and as a result we are not able to talk to her as much as we would like to and comfort her. I was thinking if we have a tablet and a good speaker system probably we can speak to her using the loudspeaker option and probably give an impression that the conversation is more personal. (For this the sound from the speakers has to be clear and not annoying like cheap phones)


For the above option the cdplayer or portable stereo option won't work and we need a tablet/phone. A tablet is preferred because icons and buttons are bigger and navgiating will be easier.

Offtopic: Thad E Ginathom, I have seen you on teambhp and it took a while to comprehend your username.

 

[Bharadwaj Bunga]

I hope I have asked the right questions. Help me with this!!Thanks.

It is pretty hard to get a stereo receiver and speakers in your budget.

Try active speaker systems such as:

1. Sonodyne PQube.

2. Wharfdale conalt bluetooth speaker.

3. BA soundware.

If you can stretch your budget, I'd suggest a stereo receiver and a pair of bookshelves.

 

[Saket]

Since she has anxiety, I will advise against bass heavy speakers. Soft mid range delivering set up is what you should be aiming at. Since you do not need anything fancy, I will suggest that you can buy a simple CD player with USB facility and pair that up with mellow speakers/ small boxes. In case you do not find such players with bigger manufacturers, you can even scan the local markets. They have plenty of such stuff. It will also be well within your budget.

 

[rohitmusic]

My humble 2 cents:

Try to get a setup that has a soothing sound.. that is calming and relaxing..

So the setup has to be warm sounding rather than keeping aim of clarity. In this case I think the setup should give a nice warm and engaging sound.

I find the vintage gear to have similar sound so if you are okay with that then please do consider it.. A good idea would be to invest in some basic CD player. I have found elderly family members to prefer a CD which they can simply put and music starts playing. Infact I must confess that sometimes I too am so lazy to start up the entire music system in such a case a simply plug and play helps a lot. Just start one button and sound starts playing! This is very very important for elderly people as per my personal experience.

Some warm sounding gear that comes to my mind is NAD amplifier and PSB speakers. In your budget you might want to look into used gear and most audiophiles take really good care of their equipment. Please see the for sale section on the forum.

Caution: Please try to avoid any setup with emphasis on high frequencies that will just lead to listening fatigue. I think the best setup in this case is a warm sounding one with emphasis on vocals and mid bass without too much boom.

I think best bet would be getting an amp with the bass/trebel control so sound could be adjusted to liking. This could be critical in such situation. so listener can easily adjust the sound as per mood/liking.

Hope you find the right setup. Best of luck!

 

[cha_indian]

I think Bose acoustimass is a good speaker for clarity. They sound very clear and do not add any colour to sound....

 

[srinisundar]

I think Bose acoustimass is a good speaker for clarity. They sound very clear and do not add any colour to sound....

+1 to above and we will not feel where the music is coming from.

Or +1 to Sonos Play 3 + Sonos bridge with combination of streaming songs from your iphone/ipod/any android phone to stream music.

Regards

 

[z@m]

Just a thought....if the source will be a tablet, perhaps you could consider high quality headphones and a headphone amp. Cans of the noise-cancelling variety are adept at keeping stress-inducing ambient sounds at bay.

 

[ranjeetrain]

Please go for a Tripath chip based amp.

Get a medium sized speakers from a one-box mini-system. Sansui / Aiwa / Nakamichi, Sony (in my order of preference). Apart from Nakamichi, rest will be cheap to get (may be 3-6k for the pair).

Add a Neela Daant (bluetooth) dongle to stream music from a smartphone and pair it with her phone.

You can put together a very good system well under your budget.

 

[elangoas]

If the playback is from tab, then you will need either a network based system (or) Bluetooth capable.... I believe most tabs should have bluetooth support...

Since this is for your mom, don't take the risk of matching components...You are unsure if she may (or) may not like it....Instead buy the one that has everything into one and really compact....

Compact Hi-Fi Systems

Mini Systems | ONKYO Asia and Oceania Website

You will get the updated prices from your nearest Onkyo dealer in your city...

 

[sachin_k5]

Hi bluebell, why not buy a sony/phillips boombox? I bought one for my mother in law and she is able to use it very easily due to the simplicity of the buttons and usage.

Switch on -> Load CD -> Press Play.

With the saved money her favorite music/spiritual/meditation cds can be purchased. Hope she recovers quickly.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

What music does she have? eg It would be no good buying a CD player for someone who has a cupboard-full of cassettes!

Might she not be happier with an all-in-one box? Even a portable?

 

[rohitmusic]

Bluebell,
On second thoughts I too feel a compact system should do the job in this case. It will just simplify a lot of things. Matching of system can be and is quite tricky at times and tweaking it constantly just changes the focus to the equipment rather than enjoying the music.

Like suggested some of the compact systems - the likes of Onkyo, etc might just be what you are looking for. Alternatively a decently powered amp with decent sized speakers might just be sufficient.

 

[bluebell]

Thanks for the replies. Added more information to the first post.

 

[Audio_Freek]

Please go for a Tripath chip based amp.

Get a medium sized speakers from a one-box mini-system. Sansui / Aiwa / Nakamichi, Sony (in my order of preference). Apart from Nakamichi, rest will be cheap to get (may be 3-6k for the pair).

Add a Neela Daant (bluetooth) dongle to stream music from a smartphone and pair it with her phone.

You can put together a very good system well under your budget.

+1 On that, A Small Amp Topping and a Set of Entry level speaker would be fine like Audioengine.

People with Depression would feel tired to keep changing the tracks and get wired when some thing not working on a Complex system.

Just a Tablet Or a Mibile phone with steaming international FM's would be good choice. Recently Only I have noticed Hundreds or FM are available and they are Genre specific too.

Some channels for Old Film Music, Devotional music, Speeches would be easily available.

 

[poppy]

Hi Chief,
I am not suggesting anything here because there are much experienced people are here just felt like post this :thumbsup::thumbsup: to you for the way u take care of ur mom and so much concerned about her feelings.
Hats of to you.

 

[karanmalhotra86]

Why not just go in for a Bluetooth speaker, sound bar? Something simple. Like the JBL Flip, or the Bose Sound-Bar Mini. I'm sure there are more of those, even in the high-up brands.

If you are going to use a tablet, then Bluetooth would be your best friend. I personally use a JBL Flip paired with my Nexus7 to listen to music, watch videos etc.

Is there a reason you want to go high-end in this case? I'm asking this because in case your mother does not like the system, it should not end up being an investment in something that won't be used.

Cheers!

 

[magma]

first of all

let me say
my prayers are with her

concentrate more on the the music than a music system
even a two in one will do

keep her as busy as you can
though she will shy away at work

get her involved with your life

 

[Staxxx]

Hi bluebell, why not buy a sony/phillips boombox? I bought one for my mother in law and she is able to use it very easily due to the simplicity of the buttons and usage.

Switch on -> Load CD -> Press Play.

With the saved money her favorite music/spiritual/meditation cds can be purchased. Hope she recovers quickly.

Strangely even though I am a audiophile who loves to tinker with components, in the case of my mother (who hates loud sounds etc.) she is happiest with her boom box. She finds it so reassuringly easy to play. I tried to get her a nice small stack of individual components and she was very uncomfortable. She stopped listening to her music. I am with Sachin...the best is something simple and something she does not have any stress about looking after or thinking that it is so special that she gets hesitant about using it...

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

she is happiest with her boom box.

Unless bluebell's mum is used to hifi separates, I'm sure that this is the way to go.

The worst thing that could happen is that she gets introduced to hifi ...and starts worrying about her next upgrade!

 

[keith_correa]

My 2 paisa worth: Get a simple boombox. With large buttons. Can't go wrong with those. And I hate to say this but symptoms of depression and anxiety have nothing to do with the system that you choose - don't choose a system based on what she suffers from. You should not be asking us what to get, you should be asking her what she is comfortable with.

I'm with Magma on this: K. I. S. S. and concentrate more on the music.

I hope she gets well soon.