My proposed HT in my living room - A casual discussion

[ssf]

My brother-in-law wanted to change his TV and asked me along for the purchase. He was looking at the Panasonic LCD 42". Kept next to it was the Pana TH-P42X30D Plasma which was selling at 39,990/-. When I asked the sales person, whom I knew from my earlier purchases, which TV he would recommend, he said that he would recommend the Pana 42 Plasma without hesitation. When I asked him about burn-in / IR he said that the TV has a 3 year warranty and in the very rare instance of the TV giving any problems, he would replace the TV. He went on further to state that in the case the TV has a problem after say 2 1/2 years, he would replace the TV with that period's current model !!! Now, I don't know how many of his assurances will finally make it into the fine print, but I really liked his confidence in the TV. I asked him how it would compare to the pana kuro and he politely corrected me by telling me that the pioneer Kuro was one of the best he has seen.

My brother-in-law has a cable connection and plays DVD's on occasions. No Blue-ray, no Dish and he is not looking to change anytime soon. I thought that the HD ready plasma was perfect for his viewing and seeing that it was quite reasonably priced, I told him to purchase it.

The TV is now sitting majestically in my in-laws place. For the first 10 days, they will be watching tv programs in Zoom 3 aspect setting. Color / contrast is at 45. The picture looks quite natural. I went quite close to the TV to find out if I could hear the TV buzzing with it on mute but not a sound from it. My sis-in-law was telling me that it sometimes feels like the person on TV is in the room when they watch the TV !!!

I am now officially a Panasonic plasma fan and am eyeing the Pana 65" plasma along with the Samsung D8000 64" plasma for my future buy.

 

[vinay]

Some times a person recommends something with great confidence and is mostly right to the suggestion offered but in rare cases the recommendations are not in order due to lower knowledge etc.

It is very true that one can not be sure about the assurances offered, especially when the sales guy change faster then we can imagine, lure of higher commission etc.

So i think among the best way out is to take the assurances in writing, if there is a hesitation to confirm in ink, then it is any one's guess for what to conclude.

V.

When I asked the sales person, whom I knew from my earlier purchases, which TV he would recommend, he said that he would recommend the Pana 42 Plasma without hesitation. When I asked him about burn-in / IR he said that the TV has a 3 year warranty and in the very rare instance of the TV giving any problems, he would replace the TV. He went on further to state that in the case the TV has a problem after say 2 1/2 years, he would replace the TV with that period's current model !!! Now, I don't know how many of his assurances will finally make it into the fine print, but I really liked his confidence in the TV.

 

[kaverao]

Hi guys, Just for knowledge:- How much does a reasonably good projector (for home movies) cost?
How much does the (minimalistic) installation of it cost?.
Pls let me know. Thanks.

 

[ssf]

I will shortly be giving my requirements for additional plug points / electrical points to the contractor of my flat under construction and I have a very basic question with regard to the electrical points at the main HT location which will house the TV, AVR etc.

Does one have multiple plug points for each of the devices or does one plug in a stabilizer into one socket and connect everything into this stabilizer with or without a spike buster ? Will doing so result in any overloading of that point ? What is the accepted best practice ? I don't think I will be able to use an online UPS though.

 

[Santy]

Keep the electrical points well below the entertainment unit to hide it from view.

You could have 2/3 set of interlinked connections like I have using spike busters.

[1] TV+ AVR + DTH + Spike => [2] DVDp + Mediaplayer + Subwoofer + Spike => [3] DAC and Amplifier.

This is just an example and it depends on your equipments. By this way, when I switch the mains, it would be just the TV and DTH which is all my family members would need. AVR in HDMI passthrough.

Then for movies, I switch on the next connection [2] and also power up the AVR. When I need only music, I switch the next in series [3] and allow the AVR to go back to standby.

Good quality spike busters with high current rating cause no risk in overloading. Avoid those with push type power button and individual buttons for each plug.

Having said that since you are yet to design the electricals, the method I have suggested can be done easily without spike busters, ie 3/4 set of outlets with respective switches.

Stabilizer is a good thing to have but many do not bother.

 

[ssf]

A very logical and orderly way of going about connecting AV devices, thank you. I will ask for 4 sets of outlets with respective switches to be installed below the entertainment unit. Once this is in place, I will have the flexibility to plug in stabilizers / spike busters if required.

 

[ssf]

My mom's 21" Onida CRT TV went on the blink a couple of day's ago and she like many of us can't do without a TV and her favorite serials. I used this as an excuse to get myself a new TV. Well, this TV is not for my viewing but will be installed in my mom's room when my flat is ready which is a year away. For the moment, I will be using this TV and my 30" Samsung CRT will be shifted to my mom's room.

My mom is not a videophile. Neither is my wife. Come to think of it, nor am I !!! A reasonably big TV with a reasonably good clear picture would make us all quite happy. So I purchased the entry level 42" Panasonic Viera TH-P42X30D for Rs. 34000/- My friend advised me against spending Rs. 650/- odd for a HDMI cable as he had a few with him which he told me that he will give me the next day.

Immediate delivery and table top installation. Reliance Digital HD DVR to TV via composite cables. Switched the TV on an was impressed with the quality of HD channels. Picture Mode - Cinema. SD quality was not as good as I thought it would be but overall I was pretty happy with the TV. Reflections, yes it is there if one goes looking for it but I don't think my wife noticed.

The HDMI cable was given to me by my friend the next day and immediately on returning from work, I changed the composite cable to HDMI. Switched the TV on and on the top left corner I could see a 1080i/50hz message. The signal coming from the STB over the HDMI cable was now being upscaled to 1080i (If I am not mistaken) seeing that this is a HD ready TV and not full HD. Picture quality was noticeably better, HD was really good. I was one happy customer.

Having some time on my hands seeing that I have decided to cut down on my whiskey due to a growing tummy, I sat down to look at it's networking features. Turned my BSNL wireless modem on and tried to connect it to the TV over wireless but failed. I am assuming that this TV does not have an inbuilt wireless modem. So I went about connecting the bsnl modem to the tv via lan. Set it up, connected without any issue, went to shoutcast and was browsing a few channels in no time at all. Connected my wife's phone to the TV's USB slot and I was able to play the songs on the mobile on the TV connected to the Sony MINI with ease. My attention then turned to the media player on the TV. But then, since I had all my media on my desktop computer, to connect to the TV I would have to invest in a cheap hub at the very least. Something which I might do in the coming days just for the heck of it as I don't have any great collection of songs on my computer.

As of now, I am leaving the TV on in Zoom 3 mode with picture / contrast / color at 40 when I go to work to break it in. I had the channel tuned to Nat Geo HD when my Mom comes over to tell me to tune it to Zee so that she can watch it while it is broken in !!!

Phew, long post.

Pretty decent stuff for a TV costing 34000 rupees I should say. I had paid around the same amount for my samsung tv more than a decade back !!!

This purchase does give me an idea as to what I can expect from my proposed future purchase of a plasma 64/65" TV.

 

[van]

ssf,

congrads on the purchase...enjoy...

 

[ssf]

A big thank you to all who have contributed to this thread. Your suggestions were most helpful.

The internal wiring of my Flat has been completed. As you can see from the pictures, most of the AV cabling (for surround speakers, Ethernet cables to bedroom etc) will be running under the floor.

The TV wall. 10 sockets less than a feet from the ground which will be hidden by the AV rack/unit with the switches on the adjacent wall. The subwoofer cable too runs to the adjacent wall. The TV HDMI cable conduit length is a bit too much though.






One conduit runs to the ceiling which will then run above the false ceiling, a provision for a projector's HDMI cable.



Concealed cabling for surround speakers which will run on the floor and then into the wall.



Ethernet Cables which will run through the floor to the bedroom.



Not perfect, but might just work !!!

What it should finally look like, hopefully !!! :lol:

 

[ssf]

A lizard tried to have an affair with my Sony GR88 stereo amp. Although sparks did fly, literally, the affair did not last long as both got fried, the poor things. Hauled the amp to the Sony authorised service centre only to be told that parts were not available for the 15 year old Sony and hence, unreparable. He was polite enough to thrust a catalog under my nose saying 'Exchange offer, Sir' which I refused with a forced smile, telling him that I won't be buying any more Sony products as I was not looking forward to be told sometime in the future that parts are not available.

This created a problem for me though. No amp = No music, that with 2 pairs of tolerable speakers lying around. Was not looking forward to spending 80-90 thousand on an AVR before completing the interiors of my flat so I was left with the thought of investing in a stereo amp.

Rega Brio-R ? tempting. However, with a price tag of Rs. 47-50 thousand, my mind wandered towards the likes of Niam XS, Roksan etc. Dreams being one of the very few things being free, reality and good sense prevailed.

I have now booked a Topping TP60 from ebay for 23000 odd. Interestingly, this was available at dinodirect for around 10000 but that site did not inspire my confidence. It may be reliable though, I don't know.

I have a feeling that I will be pretty satisfied with the topping which at a future date will be paired with a KEF Q300 after which there probably won't be any sonic upgrades for atleast a year.

Change title of thread to 'Proposed stereo system in my living room ?' One wonders. :lol:

 

[ssf]

While waiting for my Topping TP60 TA2022 to arrive, I got a bit impatient and on an impulse, bought myself a Sennheizer Wireless Headphone (Darn you Ebay !! :lol Decent enough sound. I was surprised at how involved I was when watching a movie on Star Movies HD. Lots of little sounds that I would have otherwise missed when watching on a regular HT / Stereo setup.

Although an impulse buy, I feel that a headphone has it's place in a Audiophile / Videophile's setup.


Sennheiser USA - Cordless Headphones - RS 120 - Wireless Stereo Sound - Personal Audio

 

[ssf]

My Topping TP60 has arrived but unfortunately without the adapter. I have sent an email to the seller regarding this.

Can members please point me to a compatible adapter on ebay for the Topping TP60. The topping requires 110 watts I think, so an adapter of 150 watts should do I guess. I was looking up on some on ebay but am not sure if they are the right ones.

This one for example.

250 Watt Step-down Voltage Converter 220volts to 110 volt 250 watt 250watt | eBay

Regards,

Sunil

 

[ssf]

Taking advise from the forum, I got myself a step down transformer done locally and I am very happy with it. I am enjoying the Topping TP60 as of now with my existing custom speakers. Am in the process of getting myself either a KEF Q300 or a Quad 12L2 and a beautiful stand to go with it.

That should keep my happy for a while.

For the apartment speaker cabling (front, sorrounds and zone2) I have purchased DAC SPK14 AWG OFC DUAL SPEAKER CABLE and DAC AVX02W SUBWOOFER CABLE and 4 pairs of DAC Gold Banana plugs from HIFiMart. The person doing the electricals of the apartment has pulled the cables through the concealed pipes which are mostly running on the floor for sorround and zone2 points.

Cat6 cables purchased and installed from HT point to bedroom.

Now all that is left to do is to actually buy the HT equipment for which funds are short !!! :lol:

 

[denom]

Hi ssf,

Do give the R300's a listen too(Keep the price point aside & just listen to them ). IMHO, the 12L2's aren't in the same league as the 11L2's. They work better as surrounds. Pls do listen to them & then take a call.

 

[ssf]

Hi Denom,

I have been closely following the R Series on another forum and my very long term plans are to get a R300/R500 and partner it with a Niam Nait 5i or so. But that is a very long term plan.

Thanks for the heads up on Quad. That has put me in a bit of quandary though. At this point in time, I will not be able to audition any speakers and I am looking at a net / phone purchase to be delivered home. I don't see the Quad 11L2 for sale on HiFiMart.

Would the Rega RS1 be an option to consider ? It does have a sensitivity of 90db which might bode well for the Topping TP60.

Regards,

Sunil

PS: Currently listening to Crossover vocalists, jazz vocals, smooth jazz, blues, a bit of classicals etc

 

[denom]

Hi Sunil,


Playing russian roulette with speakers eh??? Would not recommend you to play this game!
You read my mind regarding the Rega RS1's! If you could travel to Bangalore, that would be great as you would be able to hear them with your topping & that would be the best thing to do!

Have not heard the RS1's personally, but the reviews seem to give them a big thumbs up. Need to listen to them myself

 

[ssf]

Playing russian roulette with speakers eh??? Would not recommend you to play this game!

:lol:

I am an easy man to please, Denom. I am looking for a speaker whose strong point is the mid-range. The Q300's are my first choice. Only if I am not able to order this online / by phone will I be looking at other options.

I like the Rega reviews but I feel that it will be too small a speaker for my 210 sq ft+ adjacent dining + open kitchen.

Do post your reviews of the Rega RS1's on audition. The reviews go a long way in helping lazy old folks like me decide on a speaker.

 

[ssf]

I have received my Quad 12L2 bookshelf yesterday from HiFiMart. I have read that it needs to be run in for a few hundred hours or so. I was surprised to find that the tonal qualities of this speaker, especially the mid-range is very similar to my existing speaker. The vocals and the instruments on both sound very much alike but with the harshness a lot less on the Quads. Which is a good thing because I really like the midrange of my existing custom speaker. The Topping TP60 is able to bring out quite a bit more low end out of the Quad than on my old speaker.

The quad to me right now seems like its leaning slighlty on the bright side but nothing that I can't live with. Also, my entry level sony DVD player through which I am right now playing my CD's may not be doing justice to this speaker.

Now that I like the sound signature of the Quad, it makes things much simpler for me. I think I need to partner it with the amplification and source which brings out the sound very close to that I like.

No upgrades, amplifier or source-wise for a while though due to budget constraints

Looking forward to placing them on stands.

 

[ajay124]

Sunil

Congratulations. Replacing the dvd player with a cd player will actually reveal what your new speaker is capable of. Or you could do what I have done. Connect your computer to a Cyrus 6VS2 amp. You may find a used one for 15k-20K. Small size, budget price and stupendously good sound. The more I listen to Cyrus, the more I love it. I would love to audition the Cyrus mono blocks in my bigger set up. I am using a humble pair of Onkyo BS and 40 rupees a meter speaker cables in my smaller set up. I have experimented and finally found a perfect placement for the speakers. They are perched on a tall pile of hard bound Russian literature. With Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekov and Gogol propping up your system, you can't go wrong!

I have been surfing and listening to music since 5 in the morning. The sweet, detailed and musical reproduction of Cyrus would put most mega budget, mega power amps to shame. Been listening to my favorites - Phil Ochs, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Roy Orbinson....

 

[ssf]

Ajay,

The Quad 12L2 and the Topping TP60 is my first entry level audiophile stereo system. I like the sound signature of the topping. I am yet to try out how Quad fares with Flac files / streaming music played from the laptop through the topping. Will try it once my wife gets her laptop home.

Interestingly, I did not have placement problems with my huge floorstanders (sealed) but it looks like the tiny bookshelves are giving me a bit of a problem with placement. The quality of bass sometimes feels like it would require absorbers to be placed behind the bookshelfs to clean up. I will have to start experimenting with placement once I get my bookshelf stands.

Overall, I am pretty happy with the sound and it is good enough for the kind of music that I listen to and the volume levels that I listen to it in.

Over a period of time, when I will be upgrading, I will definitely look at the Cyrus 6VS2.