raghav3276
Member
Hello,
Recently bought Harman/Kardon avr 70 plus JBL Cinema 300 for this Diwali... and Diwali it is..!!
I've seen that there are not much reviews around for H-K or JBL so I decided to write one, considering it might give an edge to a few..
The images attached below shows my current setup (for a room size of 6x8 feet) :
AVR : Harman/Kardon avr 70
5.1 Speaker System : JBL Cinema 300
Display : 42" LG Cinema 3D(42LA6910)
PC : Dell Inspiron 660s(i5 3330s 2.7GHz + 8GB RAM + 1TB HDD + NVIDIA GeForce GT 620(1GB) + Intel HD Graphics(2GB) + Windows 8.1)
First, a bit of history..
Its been a long time that I desired to have a decent set of HT system. I decided to go for it this diwali setting up a budget of 30K. These were the following things that I've auditioned :
Onkyo HT-S3700 : Newly arrived. Played a demo Blu ray of some Jakie Chan movie. The surrounds and the sound quality was pretty good, but lacked bass. This was quoted for around 30k.
Harman/Kardon avr 70 + JBL Cinema 300 : Played fast and furious 6 blu ray. The sound was just amazing. The surrounds were just out of this world. The bass was punchy. But, it lacked all the new technologies like bluetooth streaming, 4K, etc etc.. It was quoted for around 65k. That was way out of my budget and I took it for granted at that point of time.
Yamaha YHT-2910 : Actually I was aiming for YHT-1810, but there wasn't a demo piece of it. So, had to audition this. Played 2012(movie) blu ray. I couldn't experience the "power" of the sound. Further played an audio file(flac format). It was quiet impressive when compared to the movie experience.
1810 was quoted for around 33k and 2910 for 47k.
Denon DHT X500 : This is an HTiB from Denon. Even this didn't impress me. It followed the same line as that of yamaha 2910. Quoted for around 45k.
The person(and many of the online reviews) suggested me that, for a good sound output, it is always better to go for separates, and so, he suggested a configuration :
Pioneer vsx323 + Yamaha NS-8390 Front towers + Yamaha NS-P8900 centre and surrounds + Yamaha YST-SW012 Sub : Played Aashiqui 2-"Chahun Main Ya Na" video. The vocals were just out of this world..!! Soft n crispy.. Even the music quality was fine. This was again quoted for around 61k. And again, considering the price, I even took this for granted.
As this was my first HT, I wanted to do it right. Considering the quality and price, I had to raise my bars a bit higher. So, I decided to pull the budget to 55k.
I planned to audition the previous configuration again. This time played fast and furious blu ray. I was disappointed. The sound seemed very rough, the bass was very low, the surrounds weren't even felt.. The mp3's output was just horrible. I told the same thing to him and suggested me to try Polk Audio TL1600. This was pretty good when compared to the previous speaker system. But, lacked bass and couldn't feel the surrounds..
I though of giving H-K+JBL another try... and that finally, quenched my thirst.. Even the mp3 sounded amazing.. After a hard bargain, I got this for 57K.
Now coming to the actual review : Its been two weeks since I purchased the set and finally thought of writing a review.
Setup :
The AVR is connected to the PC via HDMI, forwarding it to the TV, also via. I've connected the speakers through Oxygen Free Copper Cables. In the AVR, the crossover settings are pulled down to 80Hz and in the sub, it is dialed to max. I learnt about this setup through various online posts(I am still not sure, how much difference is this making). Currently I am using XBMC as a software driver from PC.
Looks :
The setup fitted just perfectly in my small room. The AVR has a stylist look, especially at night, mostly putting the volume dial at the center of gravity.(I've attached an image below). The sub has somewhat of a unusual outlook. It has a more casual look than a serous look, which most subs have. Its in the form of a cone, pointing upwards. I like it though. The PC, TV, AVR and the 5.1 speakers are just perfectly "packed" inside this small room.
Music:
My preferred choice of music is movie songs, mostly melody kind. Listened to many, many, many songs so far and am loving it. The vocals are good, the music is warm and the bass sits just right for the song. Currently I am streaming the songs from my phone to XBMC through DLNA. I mostly prefer the Dolby ProLogic II over DTS Neo:6. I feel that Neo:6 just absorbs the vocals and give more edge towards the music. Where as in PL-II, the center speaker occupy the vocals and the music is surrounded all over the place. Adjusted the panaroma mode, dimension and center width of the PL-II Music mode such that the song is just perfect. Even at low volumes, especially at nights, I could hear every syllable of the singer.
Movies :
Movies watched so far : How to train your dragon 2, Transformers 1 and 3(dark of the moon). This movie review is considering Transformers 1. I choose this movie because it has a lot of pretty good sound effects. The movie was DTS encoded. I mostly like the metal sounds made by the transformers, when they are, you know, transforming... And my god, I was living the movie. Enjoyed each and every sound coming out of the movie : splash of the water, breaking of glass, helicopters circulating, guns, missiles, explosions and of course the transformers. The bass was like a punch in the throat, every time. The bass is tight and evenly spread across the room. The surround effects were just "fantabulous". The sound was all over the place, circulating me. There was much space available for the vocals to sit, thus giving a good dialogue delivery.
Guess I will have a splendid experience throughout..!!
Well, that's all folks.. about my first HT system.. and finally in the voice of Optimus Prime, "This is just the beginning..."
Recently bought Harman/Kardon avr 70 plus JBL Cinema 300 for this Diwali... and Diwali it is..!!
I've seen that there are not much reviews around for H-K or JBL so I decided to write one, considering it might give an edge to a few..
The images attached below shows my current setup (for a room size of 6x8 feet) :
AVR : Harman/Kardon avr 70
5.1 Speaker System : JBL Cinema 300
Display : 42" LG Cinema 3D(42LA6910)
PC : Dell Inspiron 660s(i5 3330s 2.7GHz + 8GB RAM + 1TB HDD + NVIDIA GeForce GT 620(1GB) + Intel HD Graphics(2GB) + Windows 8.1)
First, a bit of history..
Its been a long time that I desired to have a decent set of HT system. I decided to go for it this diwali setting up a budget of 30K. These were the following things that I've auditioned :
Onkyo HT-S3700 : Newly arrived. Played a demo Blu ray of some Jakie Chan movie. The surrounds and the sound quality was pretty good, but lacked bass. This was quoted for around 30k.
Harman/Kardon avr 70 + JBL Cinema 300 : Played fast and furious 6 blu ray. The sound was just amazing. The surrounds were just out of this world. The bass was punchy. But, it lacked all the new technologies like bluetooth streaming, 4K, etc etc.. It was quoted for around 65k. That was way out of my budget and I took it for granted at that point of time.
Yamaha YHT-2910 : Actually I was aiming for YHT-1810, but there wasn't a demo piece of it. So, had to audition this. Played 2012(movie) blu ray. I couldn't experience the "power" of the sound. Further played an audio file(flac format). It was quiet impressive when compared to the movie experience.
1810 was quoted for around 33k and 2910 for 47k.
Denon DHT X500 : This is an HTiB from Denon. Even this didn't impress me. It followed the same line as that of yamaha 2910. Quoted for around 45k.
The person(and many of the online reviews) suggested me that, for a good sound output, it is always better to go for separates, and so, he suggested a configuration :
Pioneer vsx323 + Yamaha NS-8390 Front towers + Yamaha NS-P8900 centre and surrounds + Yamaha YST-SW012 Sub : Played Aashiqui 2-"Chahun Main Ya Na" video. The vocals were just out of this world..!! Soft n crispy.. Even the music quality was fine. This was again quoted for around 61k. And again, considering the price, I even took this for granted.
As this was my first HT, I wanted to do it right. Considering the quality and price, I had to raise my bars a bit higher. So, I decided to pull the budget to 55k.
I planned to audition the previous configuration again. This time played fast and furious blu ray. I was disappointed. The sound seemed very rough, the bass was very low, the surrounds weren't even felt.. The mp3's output was just horrible. I told the same thing to him and suggested me to try Polk Audio TL1600. This was pretty good when compared to the previous speaker system. But, lacked bass and couldn't feel the surrounds..
I though of giving H-K+JBL another try... and that finally, quenched my thirst.. Even the mp3 sounded amazing.. After a hard bargain, I got this for 57K.
Now coming to the actual review : Its been two weeks since I purchased the set and finally thought of writing a review.
Setup :
The AVR is connected to the PC via HDMI, forwarding it to the TV, also via. I've connected the speakers through Oxygen Free Copper Cables. In the AVR, the crossover settings are pulled down to 80Hz and in the sub, it is dialed to max. I learnt about this setup through various online posts(I am still not sure, how much difference is this making). Currently I am using XBMC as a software driver from PC.
Looks :
The setup fitted just perfectly in my small room. The AVR has a stylist look, especially at night, mostly putting the volume dial at the center of gravity.(I've attached an image below). The sub has somewhat of a unusual outlook. It has a more casual look than a serous look, which most subs have. Its in the form of a cone, pointing upwards. I like it though. The PC, TV, AVR and the 5.1 speakers are just perfectly "packed" inside this small room.
Music:
My preferred choice of music is movie songs, mostly melody kind. Listened to many, many, many songs so far and am loving it. The vocals are good, the music is warm and the bass sits just right for the song. Currently I am streaming the songs from my phone to XBMC through DLNA. I mostly prefer the Dolby ProLogic II over DTS Neo:6. I feel that Neo:6 just absorbs the vocals and give more edge towards the music. Where as in PL-II, the center speaker occupy the vocals and the music is surrounded all over the place. Adjusted the panaroma mode, dimension and center width of the PL-II Music mode such that the song is just perfect. Even at low volumes, especially at nights, I could hear every syllable of the singer.
Movies :
Movies watched so far : How to train your dragon 2, Transformers 1 and 3(dark of the moon). This movie review is considering Transformers 1. I choose this movie because it has a lot of pretty good sound effects. The movie was DTS encoded. I mostly like the metal sounds made by the transformers, when they are, you know, transforming... And my god, I was living the movie. Enjoyed each and every sound coming out of the movie : splash of the water, breaking of glass, helicopters circulating, guns, missiles, explosions and of course the transformers. The bass was like a punch in the throat, every time. The bass is tight and evenly spread across the room. The surround effects were just "fantabulous". The sound was all over the place, circulating me. There was much space available for the vocals to sit, thus giving a good dialogue delivery.
Guess I will have a splendid experience throughout..!!
Well, that's all folks.. about my first HT system.. and finally in the voice of Optimus Prime, "This is just the beginning..."
