Hello .. looking for advice on home theatres and Plasma TV's

[sriramiyer]

Hello All,
I am a newbie to this area and am looking for advice on buying home theatres and Plasma TV's. I have a world space radio and an ipod .. need to buy everything else

I have recently moved into a new flat and am looking at buying a home theatre, Plasma TV, DVD Player and a CD Player.

For the home theatre.. I am evaluating between the Onkyo HT S-5100 (quote ~ 40K) and the HT S-5105 (quote ~ 30 K)
For the TV .. Plasma seems to have better color quality compared to the LCD's I have reviewed ..am looking at 42 inch Samsung Plasma PS42A450 (quote ~ 60 K)
DVD Player .. not sure .. sony DVP-NS708 (quote ~ 5.5 K).. will appreciate advice on optical cables
CD Player .. again not sure .. read about Liverpool CBX-300 CD Receiver on Onkyo site .. not sure of quality and price ...look forward to hearing from any of you who have experience with this system. Any advice on what is a good option for playing cassetes ..would a walkman be good enough

Finally, please let me know if the above combination of components is sensible for a 15 feet by 12 feet hall. I am not really keen on a 7.1 system and feel a 5.1 system should be good enough. I dont want to run too many cables in my hall. Is a 7.1 system really better ?

My budget is around 1 lakh .. please advise if any other combination will give me more bang for the buck.

50 % music and 50 % movies / TV ... my wife mainly listens to indian classical music .. so looking for a system that has good fidelity...not Necessarily loud.

regards
Sriram Iyer

 

[prakasse]

Hello All,
I am a newbie to this area and am looking for advice on buying home theatres and Plasma TV's. I have a world space radio and an ipod .. need to buy everything else

I have recently moved into a new flat and am looking at buying a home theatre, Plasma TV, DVD Player and a CD Player.

For the home theatre.. I am evaluating between the Onkyo HT S-5100 (quote ~ 40K) and the HT S-5105 (quote ~ 30 K)
For the TV .. Plasma seems to have better color quality compared to the LCD's I have reviewed ..am looking at 42 inch Samsung Plasma PS42A450 (quote ~ 60 K)
DVD Player .. not sure .. sony DVP-NS708 (quote ~ 5.5 K).. will appreciate advice on optical cables
CD Player .. again not sure .. read about Liverpool CBX-300 CD Receiver on Onkyo site .. not sure of quality and price ...look forward to hearing from any of you who have experience with this system. Any advice on what is a good option for playing cassetes ..would a walkman be good enough

Finally, please let me know if the above combination of components is sensible for a 15 feet by 12 feet hall. I am not really keen on a 7.1 system and feel a 5.1 system should be good enough. I dont want to run too many cables in my hall. Is a 7.1 system really better ?

My budget is around 1 lakh .. please advise if any other combination will give me more bang for the buck.

50 % music and 50 % movies / TV ... my wife mainly listens to indian classical music .. so looking for a system that has good fidelity...not Necessarily loud.

regards
Sriram Iyer

onkyo 5100 is 39K
Panasonic plasma tv PV8 @ 54K
pioneer dvd 610 for 7K

Thanks,Prakash

 

[RAC]

Panasonic plasma tv PV8 @ 54K


Thanks,Prakash

THE PV8 can be got for a cheaper rate than that from Devi International.

 

[sriramiyer]

onkyo 5100 is 39K
Panasonic plasma tv PV8 @ 54K
pioneer dvd 610 for 7K

Thanks,Prakash

After poring through various threads on this forum, lots of very useful advice from many of you and many auditions at various showrooms.

I have finalized the setup more or less along the lines recommended above, with one change ..have decided to go with the OPPO 980. Thought a summary of the reasons for my choice will help others in their evaluztion (have also pasted links that I think will be useful)

42 inch Plasma
Am choosing the Panasonic PV8 over Samsung A450 .. primarily because of the overwhelming majority of recommendations being pro PV8 ... I auditioned both but couldnt do a side by side comparison...to my eyes the PQ on both looked very good The gist of recommendations made on this forum were that the Panny is better for SD content and the Sammy for DVD's ... I am likely to watch more SD and finally the panny is about 5K cheaper ..hence the choice. If I had found a user who recommended the 3D option on the samsung after actual usage ..might have made a different decision

Found the thread below useful in this evaluation
http://www.hifivision.com/television/2363-question-42-pv8-user-8.html#post28262

Home Theatre

At one point in my evaluation, based on recommendations on this forum, had made up my mind to not go with a package option, put together a system by putting best of breed components. But finally after several auditions and based on budget, a significant personal constraint .. cant use floor standing speakers in my hall because of a toddler and perception of overall value, have decided to go with the Onkyo 5100 package. I found the system to be very good for movies. I did find an Onkyo AVR + Elac speaker package to be significantly better for music but realized, I was comparing apples and oranges ... bookshelves vs floor standing speakers. The plan is to go with 5100 for now and replace the bookshelves with better speakers (Elac / Wharfedale diamonds) at some point in the future. My perception .. I get a complete system to start with and should be able to expand .. the 5100 comes with a powered sub woofer, ipod dock etc which seem to make a strong VFM deal.

think others may find this thread particularly useful in a HTIB evaluation

http://www.hifivision.com/what-should-i-buy/2922-want-buy-assemble-home-theater-system.html

and this link has a useful summary of the 5100

Onkyo HT-S5100 Black 7.1 channel home theater system 7.1 channel home theater system at Vanns.com | features

DVD Player
The popular choices on this forum were the OPPO 980 and the Pioneer 610.. have decided to go with the OPPO 980 .. havent actually seen either of the two choices .. both not available in showrooms in bangalore but the reviews the OPPO has received on the web are unanimously positive and almost all users seem to be delighted with its performance. Finally it isnt obscenely expensive .. hence the choice though have to find somebody to get it for me from the US.

this link is useful
OPPO DV-980H 1080p Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI and 7.1CH Audio

Now that the choices are made .. all I need to do is to get the above at the best possible prices I can find .. hopefully somebody offers me a special christmas discount

 

[hifiashok]

If you are looking at the Oppo for video, look at the 981HD or the 983H.

The Oppo 980H is audio optimised. The 981HD is video optimised.

The 983H is the best of both, but on the expensive side.

 

[hifiashok]

Also, Oppo is available in India and via OppoDigital direct (takes 4 days to reach India from the US).

There is a thread here referring to who all carry it. I'm more or less certain Absolute Phase carries them, other than Sound of Music.

 

[sriramiyer]

If you are looking at the Oppo for video, look at the 981HD or the 983H.

The Oppo 980H is audio optimised. The 981HD is video optimised.

The 983H is the best of both, but on the expensive side.

The impression I get from going through the OPPO site (OPPO DV-980H 1080p Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI and 7.1CH Audio) is that the difference in video quality is not dramatic and wont be noticable in a 42 inch plasma display.

Has anybody noticed a perceivable difference between the 980 and 983 and will it be worth paying double ?

 

[hifiashok]

I'll concede that. The display needs to be able to do 1080p for the 981HD or the 983H to make a significant difference. Also, the software needs to be as well pressed. Not too many of those around.

I needed an SACDP (for audio) so went for the 980H. I also needed a DVDP (for video) so went for as 981HD. Also, separate rooms, at this time.