Cheap Home Theater or AVR+5.1 Speakers for (PC+Laptop+TV+ipod+PS3) connectivity

[spidy86]

Hi Evryone,
I'm new to this forum ,
I wanna know about Home theater or AVR+5.1 speakers

I have a PC config, which i use for Gaming, watching movies + TV series :

1. Mobo: MSI 890GXM (Inbuilt 7.1 Realtek Sound Card and AMD SPDIF optical)
2. Proc: AMD Phenom II X4 970 BE
3. RAM: 4 GB DDR3
4. GPU: Zotac 450GTS (2GB) - using mini HDMI port
5. Display: 32" LCD panasonic (2xHDMi ports, 2XAVi Ports), connected to PC via HDMI 1
6. OS: Win 8

I was going to buy a 5.1 multimedia Speakers for PC, until I read about buying a Home theater or AVR+5.1 speakers with Remote by which i can connect PC/Laptop/TV/ipod/PS3

I dont have much knowledge of good brands and also don't want to spend much.
what I want in AVR/HT is:

1. Atleast 2 HDMI IN and 1 HDMI OUT (so that PC is always connected),
   (or) 1 HDMI IN + OPTICAL SPDIF IN and 1 HDMI OUT
   Edit: As my mobo has SPDIF optical,it would work out by connecting PC mini-HDMI OUT to TV HDMI1 and SPDIF optical to AVR/HT
2. USB INPUT - play music and movies from pen drive
3. 3.5mm Input - to play music from ipod/mobiles
4. Sound should not clitter or distort

1. FM may be optional
2. Auxillary out may be optional
3. Also i dont require collumn speakers as they will be costlier, i can go with wall mounted speakers/satellites.

also please suggest what features should i look out for,
PS:

1. Idk if 300w or 1200w is enough (I'm gonna use it in my room)

I am looking to buy it from Delhi.
If branded HT price >> AVR+5.1, then please suggest AVR+speakers
or if AVR+5.1 >> HT, then please suggest HT
PS: I wud spend from 6k to 10k, willing to save money and buy later if budget exceeds.
Also is there is any other cheaper multichannel setup which can work with PC/Laptop/TV/ipod/PS3???

 

[techboy]

The cheapest AVR will set you back 15-20k or so alone. The cheapest speaker set to go with an AVR will set you back another 20-30k alone.

Your only options are entry level Philips or Sony HT or regular computer speakers.

Anything below an Onkyo is totally rubbish. Onkyo HTs start at nearly 30k!

 

[baijuxavior]

1. All latest AVRs have a minimum of 4 hdmi inputs.
2. AVRs with USB are expensive. Moreover it will play only music. So don't give usb playback importance.
3.3.5 mm input is rare, but you can use any of the analog inputs (AVRs have plenty of analog inputs)
4. Good AVR when coupled with good speakers won't clip.
5. FM/AM and auxiliary output are available in all AVRs.

Your budget is too low for AVR+speakers. Even an entry level AVR alone will cost 25K. You can look for HTiBs which comes with AVR and speakers like Onkyo 3500/3400, Yamaha YHT 298/296 or Denon 1312 XP. But these will cost you around 30K. Check for Yamaha 196. It was available for around 20K.

 

[spidy86]

thanks techboy and baijuxavior.
1. it's clear I can't afford branded avr+speakers.
2. @techboy - local brands from Nehru/Bhagirat palace are no good???
3. f&d f700u, f2200u, f6000, edifier m3500, Philips dsp 56u, 75u, 2600u speakers comes with remote,which one is good???
4. idk much about entry lvl home theater 4m Sony and Philips so I'm gonna check dem out.
PS: can I connect pc/laptop/PS3 with them?

 

[baijuxavior]

Connectivity will be a problem if you buy ordinary 5.1 speaker systems as most of them don't have any digital audio inputs. You can connect PC to such speakers using the onboard 5.1 out.

 

[gurujee]

f&d and edifier have HDMI input? I think they haven't. I recommend if movies, esp. Games is your concern then you should go for Logitech Z906. But I should warn you this multimedia speaker system has no HDMI; only 2 SPDIF and 1 Coaxical Input and It is terrible for Music. I found out in the net that entry level HTiBs are more or less same sounding compared to highend multimedia sets, except Yamaha 298 which is quite musical but lacks the oomph for movies if your room is big.

 

[spidy86]

I was looking for hdmi in avr/gt for hasslefree connectivity btw pc/gt/tv.

 

[spidy86]

thanks guys, checked Yamaha 196 and 298 wide 20k & 30k price.
Im going to look for Philips now or am gonna opt for 2nd hand system.

@gurujee I was looking for hdmi in avr/hr so as to get hasslefree connection btw avr/pc/tv

 

[techboy]

Honestly, I have auditioned Philips and Sony HTs and they are absolute garbage. Local brands will likely be much much worse. Anything below a Yamaha or Onkyo is going to be rubbish.

However, for a complete noob a sony will do a nice job. Get a sony ht for 10k.

 

[mkrishna]

hi,
As my TV had only optical output and after a lot of search I had finally bought a soundbar for Rs12000 .It was on ebay under the name Harmony soundstage 5.1 .
It has 2 optical inputs ,2 nos of coaxial inputs and auxillary input along with FM radio. Remote is also there and works fine .
As for the sound clarity it is good and bass is also overwhelming and works on dolby movies also . But cannot expect a big home theatre experience as it is a sound bar and is wall mounted . I preffred this as i wanted to avoid wires running all around the room and the only cheapest one available with a digital optical inputs .
for further info google HARMONY SOUNDSTAGE 5.1 . This is being sold by a person in bangalore and it is a chinese replica of the item in europe under the brand Logic3 .
regards
Krishna