Suggestion on Speakers & HT Setup

[agastya]

Hi,

I'm a newbie to a/v stuff and in the market for a HT setup in phased manner (prior to this I was using a YAS sound bar). Usage would be 70% music and 30% movies. Speakers -> Subwoofer -> AVR -> Center Speaker -> Surround. Not sure if this is the right path. Please advise.

If get a pair of bookshelf speakers & subwoofer now, can I upgrade them to a proper HT setup later? If so, can you please suggest some good speakers. I'm thinking of Edifier R1855DB and Edifier T5 Powered Subwoofer for now. Source for this would be TV and Phone. Budget would be around 20k.

Another question on this is, since these bookshelf and subwoofer are powered, will there be any issue in connecting to an AVR later.

Thank you!

 

[gourav]

Speakers -> Subwoofer -> AVR -> Center Speaker -> Surround. Not sure if this is the right path. Please advise.

This can't work.

Speakers essentially have two components, amplifier and the speakers themselves. In a home theater setup, the amplifier is in the AVR and the speakers are just speakers. These are called passive speakers. (This is a simplification for understanding and not technically correct).

Edifier R1855DB is an active or powered speaker pair. You can't connect them to an AVR later.

If you want to build a home theater, the first purchase needs to be an AVR. Because if you buy passive speakers, you won't have anything to connect it to.

Sadly, AVR prices start around 30k. AVRs below this price are hard to find. You can find some used options at best. Good bookshelf pair will also cost at least 15k. So if you want to start only with an AVR and bookshelf, you need a budget of at least 45k for a new set.

 

[agastya]

This can't work.

Speakers essentially have two components, amplifier and the speakers themselves. In a home theater setup, the amplifier is in the AVR and the speakers are just speakers. These are called passive speakers. (This is a simplification for understanding and not technically correct).

Edifier R1855DB is an active or powered speaker pair. You can't connect them to an AVR later.

If you want to build a home theater, the first purchase needs to be an AVR. Because if you buy passive speakers, you won't have anything to connect it to.

Sadly, AVR prices start around 30k. AVRs below this price are hard to find. You can find some used options at best. Good bookshelf pair will also cost at least 15k. So if you want to start only with an AVR and bookshelf, you need a budget of at least 45k for a new set.

Thank you Gaurav. I was in the assumption that active speakers can be connected to an AVR via pre-out ports.

Is it advisable to start with an active subwoofer + a pair passive speakers (music only at an initial budget to 25k) and then buy an AVR. Currently AVR is out of budget.

Thanks again!

 

[gourav]

Yes, active speakers can be connected to pre-out ports. But entry level AVRs, or even mid-range AVRs for that matter, don't normally have pre-out ports for speakers, only for subwoofer.

You can't connect passive speakers to a subwoofer. So you can't buy just subwoofer and passive speakers.

IMO, the best option for you would be to buy active speakers for now and think about an HT a year or two down the line. You can sell your active speakers then. Or else you can look for HTiB deals on OLX. You can also look at Logitech Z906 or Sony's all in one home theater systems. While these won't give the same sound quality as dedicated AVR+speakers setup, they are budget friendly.

 

[agastya]

IMO, the best option for you would be to buy active speakers for now and think about an HT a year or two down the line.

Thanks again Gourav. I guess this make sense for now. I did try finding some HTIBs from Yamaha and Sony - they are discontinued and not sure about their service.

One last question - Does this combination make sense for music only, Edifier R1855DB + Edifier T5 Powered Subwoofer. May be for an year.

 

[gourav]

Yamaha HTiBs are not available anywhere right now, very difficult to find. Sony HTiBs should be available though. Check reliance digital if you are interested in them. They are not highly recommended though, in general.

Edifier R1850DB, the predecessor to 1855DB, has very good reviews and 1855 is pretty much the same speaker with slight changes. This set is good for both music and movies.
Regarding the sub-woofer, I don't really know if the T5 is good or not. I guess it will pair well, being from the same brand. Check reviews online. I don't suppose it will be available for audition anywhere.

 

[efernand1]

Thanks again Gourav. I guess this make sense for now. I did try finding some HTIBs from Yamaha and Sony - they are discontinued and not sure about their service.

One last question - Does this combination make sense for music only, Edifier R1855DB + Edifier T5 Powered Subwoofer. May be for an year.

This is available over Amazon

Amazon Yamaha 5.1

 

[agastya]

Thank you! I have got Edifier 1855DB, so far looks like a best buy for now.