Hello! In planning phase for HT + Distributed Music System for new apartment

[Mahendra]

Hi friends,

I am relatively a newbie and am planning for a home theater setup and a stereo music setup for my new flat under construction.

At the moment, I am just saying Hello! as I think I will need your valuable expert advice in the coming months.

My Requirements

1. 5.1 HT primarily for movies in living room
2. Stereo Music System in my Den
3. I have a huge digital music (mp3/etc.) collection that I want to be able to listen to in the Den, also on living room home theater, as well as in my master bedroom.
4. Music tastes are typically soft rock and western classical (no hard rock/jazz/ghazal).
5. I am already a happy user of PlayOnHD since over a year, which I will be using heavily with my HT/TV.
6. My budget for the whole thing is Rs. 2L. More quality+expense for HT, lesser for stereo music system, which can be mid-end/low-end.
7. I would have ideally liked for a wireless solution like Sonos, but it doesn't seem to be available in India & would be expensive too.

Flat Description
1. Living Room and Dining Room together form one large open space of 25'x16' (for HT) with Italian marble
2. Den area is 18'x10' with regular tiles
3. I am making a provision to run Ethernet CAT6 wiring connecting the Den to all other rooms as WiFi wouldn't be practical over such large area.

Current Status
1. I am in process of approaching a sound consultant in Pune: :: Home theater dealer in pune, Audio Dealer in pune, Lighting Dealer in pune, Professional Audio System in pune, Indoor Lighting Services, Ourdoor Lighting Services , Projector shop in pune, Audio amplifier Dealer in pune, Audio amplifier in india, He has promised free consultation for wiring & setup if I purchase equipment from him.
2. I have read earlier posts about wiring & speaker placements etc. Will need to plan for rear speakers, for which best position is nowhere near wall.
3. I wasn't sure whether to go for HTIB or assemble, but my requirement #3 above seems to mandate AirPlay-enabled HT.
4. My actual purchase and setup will be in Apr/May 2012, by which time I am hoping AirPlay-enabled amps/HTs become available in India.
5. I will be going through auditions in the coming weekends to get a better idea of what's available in Pune and at what cost.

Any suggestions or remarks, most welcome! Will keep you updated on progress.

 

[Mahendra]

Auditioned a 7.1 HT with Marantz SR5005 + Jamo Concert C607. Liked the clarity of the sound.

The Melody dealer in Pune is suggesting the following setup:

- Marantz SR5005 + Jamo Concert C607 between Rs. 1.75 - 2 Lakhs
- Panasonic PT-AE4000 PJ for Rs. 1.75 Lakh
- 8.5' Screen for 40/50K
- Motorization of Screen 30K
- Cabling 25K
- Motorization of Projector to hide inside ceiling 50K

He says the Denon 1912 is coming to India in next month or so, which I find tempting as it's AirPlay enabled.

For 7.1 rear speakers, will need to install these in the ceiling.

Are these prices reasonable/fair?

I had initially not thought or planned for a PJ setup, but for our 25'x16' area, it is appealing and I'm prepared to increase my budget, and postpone the music system in the den.

 

[sud98]

Jamo Concert 5.1 should be in the range of a lakh. I think you should have only a 5.1 and then look at a 7.1 if need be. If you are only options are ceiling based, I dont think there is a point of 7.1

I am not aware of the Marantz pricing.

In another sub-forum the Optoma motorized screen is available for 40/50k. What screen are you looking at? Dalite?

 

[Raghav]

Most of the pricing seems way too much to me. He has given you MRP of the products in India. All of them are available for discounts and many of them cheaper still in grey market.

e.g. My motorised screen which is 8' feet wide costed me Rs25k in all. Also the Panasonic PJ is easily availble for around 1.2L in many shops in Mumbai.

You need to do a lot of shop hopping evaluating various brands and dealers. Take your time as prices drop and new products are availble every 2-3 months. Many dealers I have met give free advice without any commitment of purchase. They do so in hope of business. You should not take any obligation of purchase because of such advice.

Auditioned a 7.1 HT with Marantz SR5005 + Jamo Concert C607. Liked the clarity of the sound.

The Melody dealer in Pune is suggesting the following setup:

- Marantz SR5005 + Jamo Concert C607 between Rs. 1.75 - 2 Lakhs
- Panasonic PT-AE4000 PJ for Rs. 1.75 Lakh
- 8.5' Screen for 40/50K
- Motorization of Screen 30K
- Cabling 25K
- Motorization of Projector to hide inside ceiling 50K

He says the Denon 1912 is coming to India in next month or so, which I find tempting as it's AirPlay enabled.

For 7.1 rear speakers, will need to install these in the ceiling.

Are these prices reasonable/fair?

I had initially not thought or planned for a PJ setup, but for our 25'x16' area, it is appealing and I'm prepared to increase my budget, and postpone the music system in the den.

 

[Mahendra]

After visiting the premises, the consultant suggests placing the 7.1 rear speakers on the rear wall instead of the ceiling. In the 25' length, seating would be at about 14' and 7.1 rear speakers at 25'.

I did not ask about which screen he was suggesting. Will check out Optoma/Dalite and compare with what he has in mind. Thank you!

 

[Mahendra]

Thank you! This gives me a fair idea of what I need to do and bargain aggressively. Appreciate the feedback.

At the moment, I'm more focused on the wiring requirements, and need to think of specific brands for components only as far as there are dependencies on the wiring. If prices/models keep changing so often, will need to relook at pricing at much later stage when actually choosing the components.

 

[Raghav]

Yes. That's the way forward. I have changed quite a few components (bought something different than what I planned for) since when I started construction.

I had decided to buy all my cables from DAC. Then I decided what type of system do I want where. This is very important. You need to decide now whether you want 7.1 or 5.1. Also if you want extra height speakers in front. If you want TV or Projector and if PJ then will it be on ceiling / shelf / table. Where will you place your AVR / BDP / DVD in the room? If you want stereo in your den or might want 5.1 at a later stage. Is your bedroom going to have a separate system or do you want it to be Zone 2 of another system?

All these questions need to be answered at the wiring stage which comes at least 6 months before buying any electronics. Whenever in doubt or you cannot decide leave cables for both alternatives. My advice is to choose a decent cable brand and get all of them from a single source.

Thank you! This gives me a fair idea of what I need to do and bargain aggressively. Appreciate the feedback.

At the moment, I'm more focused on the wiring requirements, and need to think of specific brands for components only as far as there are dependencies on the wiring. If prices/models keep changing so often, will need to relook at pricing at much later stage when actually choosing the components.

 

[Mahendra]

Thanks Raghav! My decisions/situation is:

- This is our final, permanent residence for the rest of our lives. The HT will be used for the next 10-15 years, so I don't want to compromise on 7.1/5.1 now and regret it later.
- I also don't want to take the risk of grey market/no bill purchases for major components like DVR/PJ, and am willing to pay the premium for warranty.

Will share layout and other questions in follow-up.

 

[Mahendra]

Attached is the planned layout for the HT.

- Since the front wall width of 10' is small for a 8.5' screen, we'll be suitably extending it with a false partition (glass or wood) of 2'.
- FS will be on both sides, AVR/BDP and Center Speaker below Screen.
- PJ in the ceiling just above or behind seating.
- Viewing distance between 12-14'.

Question:
1. Based on what I've read about room sizes/seating positions w.r.t. 5.1 vs. 7.1, I think my layout is suited to 7.1. What do you think?
2. I have two options for 7.1 rear speakers. A: Ceiling, B: Wall. Ceiling speakers would be closer to the sitting, while rear wall speakers would be 12-13' away. My consultant suggests rear wall, rather than ceiling.

Any suggestions what I should opt for?

 

[vinay]

Entertainment Room

It is the best time to make your entertainment room, when the flat is under construction. The journey in making the room is quite a tough one, if handled well with a vision, reuslts can be brilliant.

I think for music and movies both should be importantly at one place then spreading in different rooms.

It is not a good idea to buy the equipments from one source just because he will give free advice on wiring and related.

At this point there is no need to go for auditions especially when your purchase time is very far away. It is wise to shop only in Mumbai, keeping in mind the good range and price.

V.

Hi friends,

I am relatively a newbie and am planning for a home theater setup and a stereo music setup for my new flat under construction.

My Requirements

1. 5.1 HT primarily for movies in living room
2. Stereo Music System in my Den


Flat Description
1. Living Room and Dining Room together form one large open space of 25'x16' (for HT) with Italian marble
2. Den area is 18'x10' with regular tiles

4. My actual purchase and setup will be in Apr/May 2012, by which time I am hoping AirPlay-enabled amps/HTs become available in India.
5. I will be going through auditions in the coming weekends to get a better idea of what's available in Pune and at what cost.

 

[vinay]

Your room length of 25 feet is too good, rarely would one have such a glorious length, congratulations. The suggested distance of 14' for the seating is wrong.

It is much better that you take the final suggestions from forum members as a individual is likely to have loads of vested interest and most importantly there will be many of us here with range of advices, so a single adviser can never compete with us, this in turn will make you a a much better winner in terms of a great entertainment room, provided the good advices are followed well.

V.

After visiting the premises, the consultant suggests placing the 7.1 rear speakers on the rear wall instead of the ceiling. In the 25' length, seating would be at about 14' and 7.1 rear speakers at 25'.

I did not ask about which screen he was suggesting. Will check out Optoma/Dalite and compare with what he has in mind. Thank you!

 

[vinay]

It is a wise thought that to be careful now even if that means taking hard decisions etc then regret later, keeping these and other factors in mind i made my Mini Theatre.

There will be loads of suggestions, some of them will not be in order from us, some wrong items may be bought etc, so we need to be on full guard otherwise mess could be just in waiting to happen.

V.

Thanks Raghav! My decisions/situation is:

- This is our final, permanent residence for the rest of our lives. The HT will be used for the next 10-15 years, so I don't want to compromise on 7.1/5.1 now and regret it later.
- I also don't want to take the risk of grey market/no bill purchases for major components like DVR/PJ, and am willing to pay the premium for warranty.

 

[vinay]

To have a motorization of projector to hide inside the ceiling will not be Rs.50,000/- but above a lac, considering the cost of making a false ceiling and related. In Mumbai, such a lift will cost about Rs.35,000/-, depending upon the weight and size of projector.

I know of a reliable person who is very good at all type of home wiring and he can take of cables to for the equipments.

To have a projector set up a lot of planning is required and cost is also higher, but this move will be a good value for money only if one is a regular movie watcher.

In order to get a clear idea of the projector world please importantly consider to visit some forum member at your end who has such a set up or alternatively you can visit some of the forum members in Mumbai.

V.

- Motorization of Projector to hide inside ceiling 50K

I had initially not thought or planned for a PJ setup, but for our 25'x16' area, it is appealing and I'm prepared to increase my budget

 

[Mahendra]

Thanks, Vinay.

I am restricted with the # of rooms, as the 'Den' is also going to be my Home Office. So no options other than to use Living Room.

Appreciate the other advice, will try my best. Shopping in Mumbai seems a challenge currently as I rarely get time to venture outside Pune!

 

[vinay]

Mahendra,

Indeed if there are no options and living room is the way to move on, then sure be it, but there has to be a extra ordinary level of planning.

It is interesting to note that you too operate from home, same here, we are fortunate by the grace of aalah to have such a career, no need to travel locally with a host of benefits which one can only dream of.

In my case during the making of my Mini Theatre, i used to venture a lot in Mumbai, too many a times for full days, the number of stores i had visited lost count. All this was done in spite of being very busy with my trading activities in 3 markets, and many a times did not trade too.

My task grew by leaps and bounds because i wanted to complete my private theatre at one go, i did not want to do in piece meals because i feel it is not a good idea.

All this was for a mother of cause, whatever i will buy shall live with it for at least 5 years, and i did not want to go wrong with the decor or what i choose and also should not be fleeced in terms of price or advice, etc.

With a year of super extensive efforts there was finally a birth of the child which was named "Mini Theatre".

V.