Setup Suggestions in 40k

[sukritkalra]

Hi everyone!

I'm a new member to the forum and have much to learn from you guys regarding how to setup a good system.

I plan on setting up a good speaker system for my room and have a budget of around 40k. I mainly listen to music (rock, jazz, blues and some pop) and mostly play my music from Audio CDs that I've purchased or from lossless downloads. Right now, I have a poor setup which consists of a Bose Companion 2 Series III speakers connected to my HP Pavilion G6 laptop.

After reading a bit on the forums, I assume that I'll need a good set of speakers and an amplifier. But, I'm not sure if I'll need a source. Is a laptop sound card good enough? I also have a media player with a digital out for audio, so I can also use that if the amplifier has a built in DAC.

I'm totally confused on how to split the budget amongst the speaker and the amplifier (and probably the source?) and am looking for suggestions of a good coupling between them in around 40k.

Could you guys please recommend some models or setups that you have used or know to be good in a normal sized room? I don't want the sound to boom throughout the house, just a good sound inside the room would be perfect!

I reside in Delhi, so if you have any suggestions of good stores in Delhi-NCR where I could go for a demo, that'd be great to know too!

Looking forward to positive responses! Thanks!

 

[afj]

at that price range, for speakers you're looking at a pair of bookshelves. the wharfedale diamonds are very good. have heard good reviews on the quads. the bose 301's are also good speakers. as for amplifiers, theres the yamaha as201. you can also check out the norge concerto gold.

a standard laptop sound card isnt great at all. you should invest in a dac at some point. there are good dacs available by iFi and schiit (around 100 dollars on amazon usa). those are the ones i would be looking at

 

[sukritkalra]

Hi!

Thanks for the reply!

I've been looking at the Wharfedale Diamond 220 Speakers and they seem good to me. I will see if I can give them a listen somehow.

Regarding the amplifier, none of those amplifiers I could find on Amazon IN or HifiMart. Do you have any store where I can get a price quote on these amplifiers?

I would be interested in investing in a DAC, but then again, I'm not sure of importing it from US and the costs. Is there a decent model available here?

 

[shibashis]

Split your budget right down the middle.
For 20K you are looking for bookshelves, Dali Zensor, Kef Q100, Wharfedale, Usher S520 and others. Rule of thumb is before investing you should listen to all available options in your budget, only then should you decide to part with your cash.

For amplifier I will strongly suggest to look out for used amps in the for sale section and olx/quikr and the likes. 20K will not get you a good new amp, used however can represent tremendous quality for the money spent.

Stay with the laptop for now, if and when you can gather around minimum of another 10k we will talk about a DAC!

I used a little Asus Xonar U3 usb sound card as my DAC at the very beginning! Small beginnings but that is the journey we undertake.

 

[afj]

Hi!

Thanks for the reply!

I've been looking at the Wharfedale Diamond 220 Speakers and they seem good to me. I will see if I can give them a listen somehow.

Regarding the amplifier, none of those amplifiers I could find on Amazon IN or HifiMart. Do you have any store where I can get a price quote on these amplifiers?

I would be interested in investing in a DAC, but then again, I'm not sure of importing it from US and the costs. Is there a decent model available here?

sorry its the rs201 yamaha Yamaha Natural Sound Stereo Receiver (R-S201BL): Amazon.in: Electronics .

as for the norge, you will have to go to their website and call them.

you should get the ifi and the schiit in india as well

 

[efernand1]

If you are looking at a 2.0 setup or 2.1, look at powered speakers line up like Swans etc. which are value for money with performance.

If a 5.1 setup, then entry level systems like Onkyo, Yamaha etc.

 

[elangoas]

Not sure how big is your listening room, but consider Taga Harmony stereo amplifier on hifimart for approx 11K and then you can get a decent BS speakers like Boston Acoustics A25/26 for 13K/16K..

BA A26 being more efficient (89db) would need less amplifier power..

For the remaining budget you can look for used DAC from our forum.. This should make a good stereo system.. USB DAC will do the job for you.. YOu can use it with your Bose companion speakers too..