HT setup without back speakers

[sixthsense]

To answer some initial questions as pointed out by a member :

- What is the budget with a +/- deviation? 35k +/- 5k

- Are you going to invest more, for the set-up in future, or is it one time investment? Maybe yes, if i can find a way to put the wires across my room someday. Till then only setup that can be increased is in the front.

- What are your listening preferences? Music 10% Vs Movies 90% in %age. Mostly the movies would be from Tatasky HD+ box or the Blu-ray player.

- Home theatre or stereo set-up? That's the main dilemma. I cannot go for a full 5.1 as i cannot put the rear speaker where they should be placed. So i can only go for a stereo setup , probably tower speakers.

- What genres of music do you normally listen to? Do not listen to much music at home, only get time to do that in my car. So we can forget about the music part.

- What is the volume of the room? Length, breadth, hight?It's a L shaped hall with living space of 12 x 22.

- Do you have a dedicated room for the set-up? Nope

- Are you also going to invest in the room accoustics or will the set-up act more like plug and play? More like Plug and play

- What are your current possesions (DVD/Speakers/Amps/etc)? TataSky HD+ , Mediagate HD, LG DVD Player, 42" HD TV. Will add 3D Blu ray soon and upgrade to 3D LED TV.

- Do you plan to use your current possesions with the new purchase or change them as and when the pocket permits? Probably dispose of the DVD player

- Any preference towards a particular brand (Onkyo / Denon etc) / type of equipment (Book shelfs / home theatre in a box etc)? I've auditoned Yamaha HTR 3064 (RX-V371) with Yamaha NS 8900 FS speakers and also with NS 8390. Found the combination pretty decent for the price. I also auditioned Onkyo HTiB and didn't like it at all as it was lacking in all departments and specially the vocals.

- Do you have access to foreign markets to purchase the set-up? No

So does the Yamaha HTR 3064 makes sense with the FS speakers ? And what's the difference in the speakers (NS 8900 vs NS 8390) ? Is there any way i can still get the surround 5.1 feeling without having a full 5.1 setup ?

Some other points to add:
1) I'll add a 3D TV with 3D Blu-ray player very soon, so the Receiver should be 3D compatible/pass through.
2) Any suggestion for good 3D Bluray player welcome, as i have no clue and all look the same.

Thanks in advance for all your help. I need to settle on something by Friday so any help is appreciated.

 

[sixthsense]

Any suggestions ?

 

[pupupuchi28]

To stay within your budget, Htib is the way to go. Yamaha, Denon Onkyo are all the same but I guess Onkyo has a better command in this segment. Onkyo 3400

Otherwise consider this unusual set-up.
Denon 1311 (18-19K) + Yamaha NS 8390 (13k) + Two front ported BS as rear channels (8k)...you will have to search for this.
The floor stands are well capable to replace most of the entry level subs (which anyway dont go below 30-35 hz). This actually delivers 35hz and much below and can shatter things in your drawing room. You are welcome to audition this at my place, if you want to.
You can configure the Amp to deliver the centre channel output from the fronts, wherein you will be utilising the mids of the towers to the core. Anyway the centre channel creates soung stage from the centre of the screen/TV (mostly), which the towers will do if configured well. The mids of the towers will be good enough for the speach of a movie.
Since the rear channels will have front ports, you can stick them to the walls and still enjoy surround sound. Look at Tannoy V series.
Later when your pocker permits you can get a good centre channel (the lowest one starts at 4k, Wharfedale CS). Later if you still feel the need of a sub you can go for it but the sub ranging (10-18K) will deliver the same band of frequency as compared to this tower. Otherwise shell 22k onwards (only sub) to get a reach of 25hz.

There are virtual sound bars which give surround effect. But they are not very impressive as well as cost high. I have not come accross any Virtual surround bar which costs less than 20k (some include subs) and sounds good. This is one single bar which has multiple speakers and can be placed under the TV. I have heard the one which is currently on group buy (Boston virtual surround bar) at Reliance Digital, Koramangala, Bangalore and thought it had a whole lotta punch and bass but overall surround effect was not very impressive at such a price band.

HTR 3064 is not supposed to be sold individially. They come in package with 'cheapo' speakers. You may want to check for the validity of warranty if purchased in standalone.

NS8900 has 6 ohms drivers and capable of delivering higher output (80w RMS as against 70 wRMS in NS 8390). 8900 has smaller bass drivers (6.2") compared to 8390 (8"), however has a reach of 28hz as against 35 hz in NS 8390. I auditioned both of them with 3064, during my purchase and the sales guy actually cranked the speakers when the amp was put on high volume. To me, they sounded somewhat shrill yet powerfull. NS 8900 costs 16.5k.

 

[sixthsense]

Re: HT setup without back speakers or wireless ?

Thanks for the detailed feed back. I auditioned NS 8390 again with a Blu-ray (transformers) and i felt the Bass not quite up to the mark. I still like the 8900 better, the speaker had crisp sound and the effects were good.

Though there is still lack of the full 5.1 that sounds superb. I auditioned 8900 with P150 (center and two rear speakers), and it was awesome. Added a sub and i could really feel what i would miss without the full 5.1 setup.:sad:

Now my inclination is more towards a full 5.1 setup. I have done online searches and found out that there are many generic wireless kits available which can make the rear speaker wireless. (50 watts kits are about USD 100 and 100 watts around 250 ). Even JBL and panasonic make these wireless kits.

Is anybody on this forum used them or share their experiences with these wireless kits ?

 

[baijuxavior]

While I have no experience with wireless speakers, I would suggest wired connection. Anyway you will need electicity (and so electric cables) to power the wireless speakers.

 

[venkatcr]

If you are going in for a player that can decode, look for Violet Speakers. They are the only wireless speakers in the world, and they are made in India!

There are a number of threads here. Search for them.

Cheers

 

[ajayk]

I back venkat sirs reco. Hear the violets. they look like lamps and can be screwed into lamp sockets! But cant say much about their sound as I have only seen them. If they sounds good to your ears you are set.

They are available for audition at ARN in Bangalore.

 

[sixthsense]

I read the threads for violet and looks like they are full wireless setup. All i have a issue with is the rear speakers, so i'll still prefer a good sub plus center, front L R wired and then get a wireless kit to join the rear two speakers.

In my living area i can accomodate the wireless reciever with the power plug and wires going into the 2 rear L R.

Just wanted to know if anybody on this forum has used such kits in their setup and which is a good brand or model to go with.

Appreciate all the help provided.

 

[doors666]

since you dont want to have surrounds, assuming you dont want a center channel also (doesnt make much of a sense to me), you can go for an integrated amplifier. Your bd player will give you analog out 2 channel atleast. That will save you some money and you get a better sq than an avr, specially in the lower price segments, and you can go for better speakers also.

 

[sixthsense]

Thanks for the help. I did audition quite a few setup last week and finally made up my mind and bought onkyo tx nr509 with onkyo skf 4700 5.1 speaker setup.

Went in for a 160 gb ps3 as my bluray player.

The only thing left is the issue for the rear speakers. I'll try to hard wire them using electric wires instead on speaker wires, as only electric wires can be pulled from inside the wall according to my electrician. Otherwise I'll be ordering the soundcast surround cast system from amazon for making the rear speakers wireless.

I was able to obtain Dolby digital through tatasky with the hdmi cable only without any issues as opposed to threads I've read on the forum where people could not.

Also for PS3, I had my doubts about obtaining true hd output, but I can very well confirm that true hd works fine with some adjustments in the ps3 settings.

 

[arraan]

Sixthsense...did you solve your setup with rear speakers? I am also confused how to make my rear speakers wireless (I dont want to run wires across my living room) ?. Please let me know if soundcast was any help ?

Arun Shankar
Bangalore