Need help to buy home theatre system under 30K [mostly to watch movies and occasionally for music]

[mannan2812]

Hey Forum, I have 65" oneplus led but the sound of inbuild speaker is very distorted and not that great at high volumes. I made a decision to buy home theatre preferrably 5.1ch system and hook it with the led which is placed in living room of size 15ft*30ft. After some searches on internet, I found these three capable candidates
1. Sony S40R
2. Logitech Z906
3. Yamaha yht 1840
Almost every review is inclined towards Z906, but the main problem is after sale service of logitech in India and infamous console problem of this system. Let me know your opinion guys and feel free to recommend any other system apart from these three. Thanks!

 

[spirovious]

3rd option, that is Yamaha YHT1840 looks good.

 

[RajithKumar]

Yamaha HTiB (3rd option).will be good.

 

[sagittarianajay]

1. Below I have suggested better options that SONY S40R.
2. Logitech Z906 is an old and classic model (Date First Available March 24, 2011). Its cost has increased over years. It is a capable system from performance perspective. Please check and confirm it has connectivity options you want or not. A friend has been using it for long and is content with it.
3. I do not know much about Yamaha YHT1840.

Below are additional recommended models from me and reasons behind them. It may add to your confusion though.

These are best rated Dolby Atmos soundbar surround systems currently (under INR 100,000):

1. Samsung Q990B
2. Samsung Q950A

Now you can consider a Q series Samsung soundbar system which may have DNA of the above soundbars.

Samsung owns JBL. Both Samsung and JBL have wide range of soundbars for every budget. You can filter for your budget. There should be ~3 models for each brand. Attached screenshot of a option from Samsung which has good discount as of today. Amongst Samsung and JBL, I find JBL to be BASS heavy.

I have a 11 years old, 1000W Sony DVD home theater installed at home in a room 11 feet x 20 feet. The bass is ground shaking (8 inch woofer).
But that system is bass heavy. More like party speakers than a movies one. In the model I own there is NO option to regulate BASS individually.

In current Sony models you get dedicated button on remote to regulate bass. It is a boon. 1000W Sony models should be most powerful options for your large room. Two models from Sony that you can consider are -
- SONY HT-S700RF (has tower surrounds) - Please check screenshot attached. The price keeps fluctuating so u need to track.
- SONY HT-S500RF (has satellite surrounds)

You can negotiate, use credit/debit card cash back offers to get the prices closer to INR 30,000.

I suggest you look for these in priority:

1. Dialogue intelligibility
2. Total power output
3. Surround effect

Whichever model you choose I strongly suggest you keep checking its price on Croma. It changes everyday and you may possibly get the cheapest price in the world for the model (even cheaper than USA). For instance I almost bought Samsung Q950A in October last year for INR 64,000. The price was a steal. However I did not like its music performance.

For your room size Sony should be most suitable from options I have suggested.

You can audition them at Croma, Reliance Digital or Vijay Sales.

In 2020 I got a very good deal for my 55 inch Sony TV from Vijay Sales. So, you can negotiate from them as well.

NOTE: Assuming Croma, Reliance Digital and Vijay Sales are available near you.

 

[sunilkm]

Yamaha yht 1840 is a good HTIB system

 

[volksjger]

I would Suggest that you try to get Samsung Q800B. If it isn't coming under your 30k budget. Then I would suggest Q600B. They are really fantastic. If you have an earc for your TV, then I am sure you will love them. But try to aim for Q800B atleast. I couldn't suggest any other. I am very impressed with them. Sony S40R, Logitech or Yamaha that you mentioned won't even come to these soundbars in your budget.

And by the way I suggest getting it from Croma. They give the best discounts on Audio. I got Q950A for 65k and Q800A for 30k during Diwali sale 2021. Worth the investment.

 

[alladinkachirag]

From the options indicated I would vote for Samsung 990B. I have a Samsung 800 series soundbar, and it has changed the watching experience by leaps and bounds. Disclaimer that I do not own any other soundbar. However, I have a full suite of Monitor audio RX series that is setup in my living room, and is damn good with Denon 2308 amp (limited capabilities I know). The samsung soundbar is in bedroom where "no wires" is the main theme and samsung does come to life with that.

 

[Venkyrenga]

I had the Z906 for a few years. They are very good for the price especially for movies.

 

[Vinod.R]

If you are serious about building a good HT system, then start used.
Look for used AVR and a pair of speakers within your budget.
This forum sales threads are a good place to start. Friends, family, known people in the hobby are also a good place to start.
Then build the whole thing piece by piece.
All sound bars and the stop gap systems you mentioned are only basic time pass.
Just my two rupees.

 

[cat]

SONY HT-S700RF

SONY HT-S500RF

Is the bass if these HTIBs better than the Logitech z906 and JBL bar 5.1 (510W)?

 

[cat]

From the options indicated I would vote for Samsung 990B. I have a Samsung 800 series soundbar, and it has changed the watching experience by leaps and bounds. Disclaimer that I do not own any other soundbar. However, I have a full suite of Monitor audio RX series that is setup in my living room, and is damn good with Denon 2308 amp (limited capabilities I know). The samsung soundbar is in bedroom where "no wires" is the main theme and samsung does come to life with that.

If you are serious about building a good HT system, then start used.
Look for used AVR and a pair of speakers within your budget.
This forum sales threads are a good place to start. Friends, family, known people in the hobby are also a good place to start.
Then build the whole thing piece by piece.
All sound bars and the stop gap systems you mentioned are only basic time pass.
Just my two rupees.

My primary desire is for deep bass, and I recently went down the rabbit hole researching setups. My budget is around 60k, and initially, I thought I needed a whole AVR setup. The plan was to start with just the AVR (eating my whole budget) and 2 speakers to get the setup started and then wait for a couple of years to save up and get a powerful subwoofer. But then I saw the comments about the JBL Bar 5.1...

The JBL Bar 5.1 (510W) is going for 60k on Amazon, I want to make the right choice. So, here's my dilemma:

How much would an AVR setup cost to match the bass of the JBL Bar 5.1/Logitech z906?

How's the overall sound quality of JBL bar 5.1/z906 compared to an AVR setup? Is it a night and day difference?

Are there advantages to the AVR route beyond upgradability and longevity?

Some folks say the Logitech Z906 competes with the JBL for bass. Should I consider it?

Both JBL and Logitech only offer 1 year warranty. How long do these systems typically last? Compared to an AVR setup?

----

Budget Breakdown:

AVR: Initial 3.1 setup would cost around 50k for AVR + 60k subwoofer + 60k speakers, requiring me to save up for each piece.

JBL Soundbar: One-time purchase (50-60k)

Logitech z906: One-time purchase (30k)

Is the overall sound quality of soundbars/HTIBs THAT bad compared to a custom HT setup?

Basically, if the JBL bar 5.1 or Logitech z906 can deliver as powerful bass but with a slightly worse sound quality, that might be okay. But can they compete with a custom HT setup for that deep, room-shaking experience - the kind of bass that is not just a weak rumble in the seat but is powerful enough to be physically felt rumbling through your chest and travelling down your body?

 

[gurujee]

I have no expereince in sony or jbl but I will suggest to stay away from logitech z906. I had one in 2012 for 2 years. The console was very sensitive to slightlest voltage fluctuation, have exchanged it twice with service centre which was a headache as it requires to exchange the whole set instead of the console alone. Regarding the quality, it was below average. The price was 12k at that time. And today at this price it is an absolutely 'no'.

Regarding the bass, i went next with used pioneer avr (slightly used @18k) and Yamaha 5.1 set (12k). While logitech had a 8inch subwoofer, yamaha had 6.5inch subwoofer, and one can't believe until one hears it, the yamaha was not only louder it was also much more textured and musical.

If wiring is not issue, and you like multichannel HT expereince, I will definitely suggest to go for AVR+Speaker+Subwoofer route.

 

[cat]

If wiring is not issue, and you like multichannel HT expereince, I will definitely suggest to go for AVR+Speaker+Subwoofer route.

Hey, so someone is offering me their old Yamaha HTR-3066 & Jamo S426 5.0 speakers for 40k. He's been using them for 6 years already, which makes me a bit skeptical about the price. You can actually find the same speaker package for around 30k. The avr doesn't really hold much value, especially since its already too old and some folks on reddit have mentioned having issues with it, like distortion and power failures. So there might be some problems down the line and I might end up needing to replace it soon. Basically, he's asking for 20k for the speakers and 20k for the avr. Personally, I think 28-30k is a more reasonable price for the whole setup.

While logitech had a 8inch subwoofer, yamaha had 6.5inch subwoofer, and one can't believe until one hears it, the yamaha was not only louder it was also much more textured and musical

What exactly does "textured" mean? Is it about the way the bass hits you? I saw many YouTube comments talking about the z906 having 'brutal lows' '25hz', but I'm not sure if the hz number is more important than the actual quality of the bass. Do you have any idea how much it would cost to get a separate subwoofer that could match the bass of the Logitech z906 that you were using before?

 

[cat]

I have no expereince in sony or jbl but I will suggest to stay away from logitech z906. I had one in 2012 for 2 years. The console was very sensitive to slightlest voltage fluctuation, have exchanged it twice with service centre which was a headache as it requires to exchange the whole set instead of the console alone. Regarding the quality, it was below average. The price was 12k at that time. And today at this price it is an absolutely 'no'.

Regarding the bass, i went next with used pioneer avr (slightly used @18k) and Yamaha 5.1 set (12k). While logitech had a 8inch subwoofer, yamaha had 6.5inch subwoofer, and one can't believe until one hears it, the yamaha was not only louder it was also much more textured and musical.

If wiring is not issue, and you like multichannel HT expereince, I will definitely suggest to go for AVR+Speaker+Subwoofer route.

Do you happen to know which separate subwoofer has a bass equivalent to the z906?

 

[gurujee]

Do you happen to know which separate subwoofer has a bass equivalent to the z906?

https://yamahamusicstore.in/ns-sw300.html

Mission MS-450 Sub Subwoofer

The Mission MS-450 Sub is a high-powered 15" long-throw subwoofer in any home cinema or stereo system for room-shaking performance.

hifimart.com