Help - newbie on a budget wanting everything!

[gibikote]

Hi

Am on the verge of buying a system for home (2 kids aged 7+ and 2+) on a budget of 15K. I dont wish to spend more as I am really not sure of handling and thus wish to not repent!
As we have many audio cassettes, I was looking for something that plays that as well.
The Sony DCH-AZ1D mini hi-fi system seems to make sense to me with regard to my requirements. It will be installed in the living room, which is a compact 15' x 15' but opens into the rest of the house and dining area (large hall has been partitioned).
Sony India : DHC-AZ1D (DHCAZ1D) : Details
seems

It will go onto the 21" TV. Theres a fair bit of TV watching, which will continue. Hope to introduce DVD watching and some audio listening as well.

The options that came into mind were similar systems from Philips.
Component systems seemd much costlier and I dont wish to try that out without knowing how much time we will be spending on serious movies/music.

Does anyone have/tested the AZ1D? No reviews on the net.

All suggestions/comments welcome.
Thanks!

Sridhar

 

[unleash_me]

Budget is always a constrain(15k), but if you can stretch it to 19k, I believe you can have a proper Onkyo HTIB, entry level but still anyday far better than the Sony you checked out.

IMHO, apart from that glossy look and eastman color display, all you will find in that model will be meaningless boomy bass.

 

[soundofmusic]

Hello Sridhar

If you cant stretch ur Budget wait for sometime and buy separate components , these are much better then Sony ,Philips , Samsung etc etc in terms of reliability and sound quality and there is always an option to upgrade.

regards

 

[gibikote]

thanks guys...

so how does one go about it? I mean, what do I get first? I need a DVD player, and the cassette player is unreliable too.
~ 3.5K will get me a DVD player which is DVix compatible as well.

Any suggested roadmap?

Any users of the AZ1D around?

thanks again in advance.

 

[unleash_me]

You can check out-

a) ONKYO SIGHT & SOUND - INDIA

b) DVD-HD870 hyper vision - DVD players SAMSUNG

OR

DVP5986K/98 - DVD Player with HDMI and USB - Players and recorders - Recorders, DVD and home theater - Philips

You shoud find these players in your price range, if you look around.

Best regards.

 

[gibikote]

Re: Help - newbie: Sony AZ1D... or....?

thanks for the suggestions.

anyone around who has heard the AZ1D?

 

[gibikote]

hi

am now more in favour of the Sony AZ33D, which has a USB port as well.
Sony India : DHC-AZ33D (DHCAZ33D) : Details

Funny thing is that the AZ series are very tall systems. The speaker being tall is not a problem, as it will be on top of a stand or bookshelf. Not sure how/where to place the main unit (190 x 381 x 317 mm).
All the TV/Entertainment stands I have seen locally have smaller areas to fit a music system (eg Damro, Godrej etc.).

Anyone seen appropriate furniture for such a tall system?
Any comments on choice of AZ33D?

Thanks!

 

[gibikote]

Thanks Unleashme and Soundofmusic for the inputs.

It certainly makes sense to up the budget by not too much and get better quality like the Onkyo Gladiator.

After reading many posts here, I also could consider an AVR with 2 front speakers to start with (+ DVD player) and add the other speakers later on. However, most threads here in this direction seem to be of budgets ~ 35K and above. Or would I still be able to do that in my budget (AVR + 2 speakers). I can make the purchase either in Chennai or Bangalore (I am in a town midway between).

As mentioned, this would be for TV viewing + DVDs.

And yes, I will need help as to how to get my audio cassettes also integrated into this.

Thanks.
Sridhar

Budget is always a constrain(15k), but if you can stretch it to 19k, I believe you can have a proper Onkyo HTIB, entry level but still anyday far better than the Sony you checked out.

IMHO, apart from that glossy look and eastman color display, all you will find in that model will be meaningless boomy bass.

 

[unleash_me]

Sridhar,

That would be a welcome idea. Unfortunately, to set up a seperates or components based system; you will need a lot of time and patience with the current budget you have allocated. Under 20k, you might have to settle for a really sad entry level amp from Onkyo, Yamaha etc. Then you will have to fund for a set of speakers, again a huge compromise on quality. Please don?t think that I'm trying to make you feel bad or disappointed. Hi-fi in India is still very expensive. This could probably be the reason why you started looking at the likes of Sony and Phillips.

I would still like to suggest you a decent HTIB from Onkyo. If you can pick it from Bangalore, then you might want to make use of the ongoing Ugadi sale. The Onkyo MasterBlaster is going on for 19K only. This is the higher version of the Gladiator.

Check it out here - ONKYO SIGHT & SOUND - INDIA

All the best.

 

[gibikote]

Thanks again.

any suggestions re how to get my audio cassettes to play into such a system??

regards,

Sridhar,

That would be a welcome idea. Unfortunately, to set up a seperates or components based system; you will need a lot of time and patience with the current budget you have allocated. Under 20k, you might have to settle for a really sad entry level amp from Onkyo, Yamaha etc. Then you will have to fund for a set of speakers, again a huge compromise on quality. Please don?t think that I'm trying to make you feel bad or disappointed. Hi-fi in India is still very expensive. This could probably be the reason why you started looking at the likes of Sony and Phillips.

I would still like to suggest you a decent HTIB from Onkyo. If you can pick it from Bangalore, then you might want to make use of the ongoing Ugadi sale. The Onkyo MasterBlaster is going on for 19K only. This is the higher version of the Gladiator.

Check it out here - ONKYO SIGHT & SOUND - INDIA

All the best.

 

[unleash_me]

There will be a Tape/Aux Input in the reciever.

 

[Kamal]

Hi Sridhar,
First of all, DONT GET THE SONY System!!!
It sounds bad to start off with & starts giving trouble as soon as the warranty period is over.I know two people who've got totally fed up & are currently using their systems to just listen to FM-the've had enough of repairs.
Get the Onkyo HTIB suggested above, & as to your cassettes, find somebody who'll transfer them onto CD's for you-really no point in picking up a cassette deck since cassettes as a medium appear to be fading away...
You could also look around for good quality second hand stereo system(Amp + Speakers), & mate it with nice DVD player as a source for starters.

 

[gibikote]

thanks again for your patience everyone...

the choices (and thus decisions) dont seem to reduce, but thats fine. I am not sure how much time (mainly that)/additional budget can be allocated...

am tempted to go tangentially towards something like
Sony India : DAV-DZ556KB (DAVDZ556KB) : Details

or

Sony India : Mini

its mainly the time and limited understanding and choices locally here, possibly my laziness to go and check things out in B'lore/Chennai etc.

the decision is far from made... but the matching TV stand furniture needs to be decided too... and patience in the home departments is running short

 

[lakshmant]

many a time people fall for sony or other low end brands based on marketing. Please consider spending for an onkyo or a JBL HT system by stretching your budget a bit you will never regret it. I am pretty sure you will start hating your sony within a year or less. As it is a one time investment please plan wisely, do not go by what sales people tell you they just SELL.

 

[Kamal]

Sridhar, just scratch these mini combos off your mind.Think quality musicality.

 

[gibikote]

thanks everyone.

some more clarification please. I know you guys must be going 'oh my!' out there... but your patience has been wonderful indeed. Please correct me if I go wrong here.

for musicality within my budget, I would need to:

1. build starting from an amplifier, front speakers, attach dvd player and a mini system (for the audio cassettes)
2. get used i.e. second hand components from somone who is upgrading.

for 75% TV viewing, 20% dvd viewing (I dont think these numbers will change in a hurry), how do I build this up?

thanks and regards,
Sridhar

 

[ranjeetrain]

Hi Sridhar,

Couldn't help participating here

Okay, to the business, Please skip the Sony DHC-AZ1D and DHC-AZ33D. I will not buy them even for 8k. They don't even reproduce full audio spectrum, let alone reproducing faithfully.

Sony MHC-GNZ888D has acceptable sound for the money, so does DAV-DZ556KB. But the word of caution here, please don't even think of using DAV-DZ556KB for music. These will satisfy you to an extent.

If it only for music, I will very strongly recommend Norge Audio to you. Visit Norge Audio Look at 4242 and 2060 amps. Club Millenium Bookshelf or TWR 125 speakers. Entire setup will cost you less than 15k. And I am sure you will be pleased with the sound.

 

[ranjeetrain]

Just to add to the above, I have listened to all the Sony systems you have mentioned.

 

[gibikote]

lovely... thanks!!

Hi Sridhar,

Couldn't help participating here

Okay, to the business, Please skip the Sony DHC-AZ1D and DHC-AZ33D. I will not buy them even for 8k. They don't even reproduce full audio spectrum, let alone reproducing faithfully.

Sony MHC-GNZ888D has acceptable sound for the money, so does DAV-DZ556KB. But the word of caution here, please don't even think of using DAV-DZ556KB for music. These will satisfy you to an extent.

If it only for music, I will very strongly recommend Norge Audio to you. Visit Norge Audio Look at 4242 and 2060 amps. Club Millenium Bookshelf or TWR 125 speakers. Entire setup will cost you less than 15k. And I am sure you will be pleased with the sound.

 

[gibikote]

Thanks Ranjeetrain & Kamal,

ok; am in conversation with Mr. Bajaj of Norge, and this road-map seems to be within budget and practical too.
Norge 4242 with bookshelf/tower speakers to be added

For the source I still need to go for a combo (same reasons of practical, budget). I have to now choose a mini/micro that plays everything I need to, is OK and has the connections required. Again, as there are no reviews on these models and they are not on the shelves here, kindly suggest the ones to choose/avoid.

Sony-CMT-DF1 5W x 2 ~ Rs 7000
Philips MCD196 ~ Rs 7000
Philips FWD132/98 60W RMS ~ Rs 8000
and a few from Samsung - DX55, 56, DT8 all between 10-13K

All suggestions welcome (as has been till now).

Thanks!

Sridhar

Hi Sridhar,

Okay, to the business, Please skip the Sony DHC-AZ1D and DHC-AZ33D. I will not buy them even for 8k. They don't even reproduce full audio spectrum, let alone reproducing faithfully.

If it only for music, I will very strongly recommend Norge Audio to you. Visit Norge Audio Look at 4242 and 2060 amps. Club Millenium Bookshelf or TWR 125 speakers. Entire setup will cost you less than 15k. And I am sure you will be pleased with the sound.