Music System for Home

[prish]

Hi Everyone,

I am looking for my first Music System and home theater for home.

Usage - 70% music (Rock, Hindi/English OST), 30% movies
Room size - 22 x 18 foot
Budget- Approx 50k but can go beyond it if really makes the difference.
Location- NCR
Space- Looking for something which is compact and won't take much space.

Thanks in advance.

 

[efernand1]

I assume you are looking for an AVR (5.1 or 7.1) to cater for music and movies.....

Budget needs to be increased as AVRs usually cost 25k and above, depending on the brand and model you choose...

Since your use is more music.......you need to look at Marantz or NAD or Cambridge Audio or Yamaha.....

Speakers there are a variety available.....

Best is to trust your ears, go window shopping to various dealers and audition different systems.......this will give you an idea.....demo the same song and movie scene as reference.....

Then list down all the models and brands that fall in your budget and we will help shorten that list by advising further

 

[soundbuff]

1. Would you consider buying a decent DAC and powered speaker? Separates at this price may not be much better than this.
2. Alternately consider going for a budget DAC (like the Topping), an Amp like the Marantz pm 5005 and passive speakers like the Wharfdale diamonds.
3. Spend all your money on speakers like the entry level quad S-1 and work to gradually build your set up around them. Begin with a class D amp with an inbuilt DAC.
4. Beg, borrow and double your budget!

 

[prish]

Hi Soundbuff and efernand1, thanks for the reply. I decided to go for a music system only due to various space constraints. I thought of getting something which serves both music and movies, but I feel a home theatre would be something I may not use very often and may also compromise on the audiophile experience.

For this, I auditioned:

Speakers:
Polk T50 and Q acoustic 3050i. Here I like Q acoustic 3050i out of these two. Do you want to suggest any other speaker I must try? I also tried Q acoustic bookshelf speakers but I felt it's difficult to batch floor speakers.

Shortlisted Stereo Amps:
Denon 720 AE, Yamaha 602. As I am going with music system, I think Denon would be a better choice for a better audio experience. Please suggest if you have any suggestion here.

And yes, realized that the budget needs to be increased so looking for something in a range of 70k to 1L.

Thanks

 

[efernand1]

Hi

For speakers also consider Dali Z3 Bookshelfs........Yamaha N602 will be just fine for them.......If a Cambridge Audio or NAD is available then go for it...

 

[prish]

Thanks.

- Could you please share some places where I can audition Dali and Q Acoustics, preferably in South Delhi.

- Should I go for modern AV or Stereo Amp? Is it right that buying AV just for sound may be a little compromise on audio quality?

- I am inclined towards bookshelf speakers due to space constraints. I hope I am losing anything by not going for the tower speakers.

 

[accord]

you can audition full range of Dali speakers @ TopGozmos, Noida.

 

[Naturelover]

Check with soundbydesign.in
babblergroup.com are distributors for Q Acoustics in India

Other AV dealers in Delhi
bassntreble.com
profx.com

See this thread also
https://www.hifivision.com/threads/home-theatre-shops-in-delhi-and-my-experience.73013/

 

[Haribabu]

Hi Soundbuff and efernand1, thanks for the reply. I decided to go for a music system only due to various space constraints. I thought of getting something which serves both music and movies, but I feel a home theatre would be something I may not use very often and may also compromise on the audiophile experience.

For this, I auditioned:

Speakers:
Polk T50 and Q acoustic 3050i. Here I like Q acoustic 3050i out of these two. Do you want to suggest any other speaker I must try? I also tried Q acoustic bookshelf speakers but I felt it's difficult to batch floor speakers.

Shortlisted Stereo Amps:
Denon 720 AE, Yamaha 602. As I am going with music system, I think Denon would be a better choice for a better audio experience. Please suggest if you have any suggestion here.

And yes, realized that the budget needs to be increased so looking for something in a range of 70k to 1L.

Thanks

I’m using yamaha RN-702 with Q Acoustics 3050i. Wonderful match don’t look back. Perfect match, I suggest good speaker cable for gr8 bass and punch

 

[apk]

With a limited budget, it's best to start with a stereo system, and then add on the rest of the speakers over time as your budget permits.

I used to watch movies with just a set of stereo speakers connected to them, and the effect was excellent. Of course, it helped that my speakers had 12 inch woofer drivers!

Q-Acoustics has excellent reputation, and you can easily add more speakers from the same family when you feel the itch to upgrade to 5.1/7.1

 

[prish]

With a limited budget, it's best to start with a stereo system, and then add on the rest of the speakers over time as your budget permits.

I used to watch movies with just a set of stereo speakers connected to them, and the effect was excellent. Of course, it helped that my speakers had 12 inch woofer drivers!

Q-Acoustics has excellent reputation, and you can easily add more speakers from the same family when you feel the itch to upgrade to 5.1/7.1

Thanks. But with a stereo amp like Denon 720 AE, I won't be able to upgrade, right? so just thinking if I consider AV so that I can add more speakers later. At the same time, someone suggested to go for the stereo amp only for a no-compromise audiophile experience and have a separate AV for HT experience.

 

[prish]

I’m using yamaha RN-702 with Q Acoustics 3050i. Wonderful match don’t look back. Perfect match, I suggest good speaker cable for gr8 bass and punch

I personally liked Q Acoustics 3050i after the audition. But now reading great reviews for Dali Zensor 3. So just thinking to give it a final try. And also the WHARFEDALE Wharfedale Diamond 220

 

[ONEMANARMY]

I would also suggest that you go for pre-loved equipment just so that even if you were to not like something you would not lose a lot of money.

 

[apk]

Thanks. But with a stereo amp like Denon 720 AE, I won't be able to upgrade, right? so just thinking if I consider AV so that I can add more speakers later. At the same time, someone suggested to go for the stereo amp only for a no-compromise audiophile experience and have a separate AV for HT experience.

Depends upon what your priorities are. If you absolutely don't want to compromise on your 2 channel audio, it's best to get a stereo integrated amplifier with HT bypass capability. That way, when you have the budget to extend your system to Home theatre, you can add the remaining speakers, as well as purchase an AV receiver to manage AV duties. This will give you a hybrid 2 channel & AV setup, with the integrated amplifier driving the front left and right speakers, and the AV driving the remaining speakers. When listening to 2 channel, you will only use the integrated amplifier, and while watching movies, you will need to turn on both the AV receiver and integrated amplifier. The pre-out from the AV receiver will have to be connected to the HT bypass input of the integrated amplifier for this to work, and all volume control for movies will be from the AV receiver

If you are willing to compromise a bit on the stereo quality for a more simple setup, then look for AV receivers that work well for 2 channel audio also. Good examples are Marantz, Cambridge Audio, NAD & Arcam.

 

[saketgyani]

Audition Marantz amplifiers too!
PM5005 for all analog inputs and PM6006 for its inbuilt DAC.
They go well with Dali speakers.
I have Dali Zensor 1 paired with Marantz PM5005. That's the younger sibling of the Zensor 3 and it sounds pretty good to me.
With Zensor 3, I can imagine how the spectrum broadens.

 

[Nitin K]

Have the Marantz & Dali Oberon 1 (room size 14 feet length, 11 feet width & height), very good combo & the Vocals/music is extremely smooth & no harshness at all. . Had the Pioneer, Deftech Promonitor 1000 before but the Dali's are in a different league. Good for both Music & Movies. You can take advantage of the price drop in the Dali Zensor models since they are the outgoing model. They are available in Amazon too. Your room size is pretty big hence you may need hear them first before deciding on the model of speakers. Pls note you will need a decent subwoofer too, like SVS, HSU, Rythmic, REL, PSB, Paradigm, or Velodyne . All these subwoofers are good for music & movies.
On an average you may need a budget of 75K approx for a decent setup.
You can also try Q accoustics & Mission QX series for the speakers. All the best.

 

[Ispahir]

Thanks.

- Could you please share some places where I can audition Dali and Q Acoustics, preferably in South Delhi.

- Should I go for modern AV or Stereo Amp? Is it right that buying AV just for sound may be a little compromise on audio quality?

- I am inclined towards bookshelf speakers due to space constraints. I hope I am losing anything by not going for the tower speakers.

Try AV ZONE in CR Park. They have a wide range of products to audition. Their after sales service too is pretty decent. Contact Pratham Arora 9716848484

 

[prish]

Have the Marantz & Dali Oberon 1 (room size 14 feet length, 11 feet width & height), very good combo & the Vocals/music is extremely smooth & no harshness at all. . Had the Pioneer, Deftech Promonitor 1000 before but the Dali's are in a different league. Good for both Music & Movies. You can take advantage of the price drop in the Dali Zensor models since they are the outgoing model. They are available in Amazon too. Your room size is pretty big hence you may need hear them first before deciding on the model of speakers. Pls note you will need a decent subwoofer too, like SVS, HSU, Rythmic, REL, PSB, Paradigm, or Velodyne . All these subwoofers are good for music & movies.
On an average you may need a budget of 75K approx for a decent setup.
You can also try Q accoustics & Mission QX series for the speakers. All the best.

Thanks. Could you please share if you compared Dali Zensor 3 Vs. Oberon 1?

 

[saketgyani]

Thanks. Could you please share if you compared Dali Zensor 3 Vs. Oberon 1?

Zensor 3 has a 7” woofer and Oberon 1 has 5.25” woofer.
You can compare Oberon 1 with Zensor 1 or Skeptor 2. And Oberon 3 with Zensor 3.
Choose based on your listening position.

 

[ajuvignesh]

With up to 1L budget, I think even quad bookshelves are in your reach.