Upgrade to 5.1 HT - within 2.5 lakhs

[Acuity]

Guys,

Please help me with speaker and receiver selection.

I want upgrade my 2.0 system into a 5.1 system. I currently have a Yamaha AS-500 amp with Monitor Audio BX2 bookshelf speakers. I am thinking of using these BX2 speakers as side speakers. So I need 3 more speakers, a Sub and a receiver. The room is a dedicated HT room and is 11' x 18', it is already wired for a 7.1 setup but methinks 5.1 is adequate. I would like to spend Rs 1.5 - 2.5 Lakhs on the upgrade (limit to 1.5 if it suffices).

I am looking for detailed and engaging sound with well defined (not boomy) bass: 75% movies / 25% music. I would prefer to stick with Bookshelfs and not Floorstanders - as my listening volume is actually quite low. I am considering Monitor, B&W, KEF, PSB and Tannoy - and anything good that I can see in a demo.

In Hyd "Audio People" has only Monitor Audio speakers, I demoed the Bronze BX5 and Silver RX2 and found it satisfactory (but not really amazing).

At Vector I demoed B&W for the fronts but they had only Dali side speakers - so I could not know how good the B&W fronts were by themselves. I had them switch off the side speakers, but it sounded bad - kind of incomplete. I think the receiver was outputting limited sounds to the fronts and a whole segment of sound meant for the sides was missing, - not sure if that's the reason. But at the end of the day I could not tell what B&W sounds like in a 5.1 setup.

At Pro FX I auditioned KEF q300. The speakers when played in a 2.0 setup were gems for music, but in a 5.1 Pro FX used Polk center and side speakers - and unfortunately I'm NOT a fan of Polk, and the setup didn't sound very good. Same problem as above: how do I know the sound signature of KEF when using a very different sound tone for centers and sides.

At Pro FX they had the Yamaha RX A820 receiver. I am incidentally considering this model - but they said they cannot hook it up to the KEF speakers I was considering. Something about inability to change wiring.

I want to avoid travel to other cities just to audition stuff (good sound is important, but I'm hoping it shouldn't be that hard). I'm thinking of going just by reviews and recommendations from you guys... so please help me out.

In my shoes what would you do? Which 3 front speakers, sub and receiver would you go for?

Thanks,

 

[prosenjit]

as you have a good budget i suggest nad avr..1 lakh...sq and sq only..if you belive like this..
otherwise there are onkyo avrs..for cinemas very good...but no comparison with nads
speaker is personal choice to choose from so many brands..
sub..svs and svs only as u have a nice budget------60k..70k
a 40k centre..50k bs...same brand and line..

remember in a cinema centre and sub are the main players..others are supprots..so never compromise in them

 

[Acuity]

Thanks Prosenjit, I just saw the specs of NAD, sorry I forgot to mention I need Airplay.

 

[Acuity]

During a recent audition, the salesguy told me that Marantz is better than Denon which is better than Yamaha in terms of premium-ness. Do you agree with that? I'm asking from just the reputation / quality point of view.

I am thinking of getting the Yamaha Aventage A820 or A830 as I am travelling out of the country, and it is considerably cheaper to get it from outside India. Any suggestions on how to bring it back: can I just check it in? I surely can't hand-carry it since its more than 7kgs.

 

[Dirac]

If you are ready to go for aventage series, I would advice to audition the high end pioneer series.
The digital amplification technology of pioneer is sheer magic.

 

[tradecina]

me too,I just saw the specs of NAD, sorry I forgot to mention I need Airplay.

 

[anm]

dont go for airplay in avr. buy a simple appletv for less than 100 usd - it will be better quality. plus any further changes to airplay specs, you can upgrade just by spending another 100 usd. Keep avr only for basic things - good amplification, hdmi switching and passthrough of 3D, maybe 4k.
For everything else, get a decent media player or htpc with blu-ray.

 

[Shivam]

If you plan for the Yamaha receiver then do audition Wharfedale speakers with it.

(I have a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 10.7 for sale which you can consider for front speakers if you opt for the Yamaha AVR.)

 

[alphacentury100]

If you are gonna buy the receiver abroad, then i would suggest you to go for Denon, as denon sells for much much much less price outside India. Marantz, Yamaha and Pioneer sell for comparitively less price in India so it would be pointless to import them.
Marantz may be better than denon as they sell for much less money in India, But Yamaha is a great receiver too, especially the Aventage series. Yamaha just lacks Audyssey.
If you are gonna purchase inside India, then I would advice you to go for Marantz 7008(about to be released) or Yamaya 1020 or 1030 or the Pioneer 56 series receivers. However if you are planning to buy outside India , then go for Denon 3313 as it will be running under great discount since it is getting replaced. You can easily find the denon for $800 even in Amazon.com.

 

[alphacentury100]

And for speakers, Please audition the KEF R300 (3 way bookshelf speaker), LS50 and the R100 with the R600C or the R200C- centre channel(both 3 way speakers). These speakers are really amazing performers and have great value for money relatively, period.

 

[alphacentury100]

If you are gonna buy from US, then also look into the Emotiva Pre-Pro, Power amp stuffs. They are great value for money and good performers too.

 

[Acuity]

If you are ready to go for aventage series, I would advice to audition the high end pioneer series.
The digital amplification technology of pioneer is sheer magic.

And for speakers, Please audition the KEF R300 (3 way bookshelf speaker), LS50 and the R100 with the R600C or the R200C- centre channel(both 3 way speakers). These speakers are really amazing performers and have great value for money relatively, period.

I would very much like to do that, but auditioning in Hyderabad is so painful as I explained in my OP. As I said ProFX refused to switch speaker wires from a Marantz to a Yamaha A820 receiver which was plugged in and sitting in the shelf just below it!!

It seems like all the hifi stores have moved to "Consulting" to Architects which is to say their sale is treated more as an architectural component for the HT interiors. They push expensive glossy looking stuff (probably with good margins) and many of their customers may not even audition. The stores are just too lazy to demonstrate their products properly. Is it just me or is there something going on?

I may just have to do the inevitable: spend an extra day in another city just to audition stuff :indifferent14:

 

[Acuity]

But guys... would appreciate your inputs. If you had to choose between Marantz 6007, Yamaha A820, Denon 2313, Pio LX56. How would you rank them from a sound quality point of view.

Pl help, I'm finding it hard to understand the different amps (since speakers, acoustics and everything changes from store to store)

 

[prosenjit]

dont go for airplay in avr. buy a simple appletv for less than 100 usd - it will be better quality. plus any further changes to airplay specs, you can upgrade just by spending another 100 usd. Keep avr only for basic things - good amplification, hdmi switching and passthrough of 3D, maybe 4k.
For everything else, get a decent media player or htpc with blu-ray.

I second this and again suggesting you go for nad if you concentrate on SQ..
see the basic things..dont go for any feuture which can be bought in a stand alone device..

 

[jagdish_p]

Guys,

Please help me with speaker and receiver selection.

I want upgrade my 2.0 system into a 5.1 system. I currently have a Yamaha AS-500 amp with Monitor Audio BX2 bookshelf speakers. I am thinking of using these BX2 speakers as side speakers. So I need 3 more speakers, a Sub and a receiver. The room is a dedicated HT room and is 11' x 18', it is already wired for a 7.1 setup but methinks 5.1 is adequate. I would like to spend Rs 1.5 - 2.5 Lakhs on the upgrade (limit to 1.5 if it suffices).

I am looking for detailed and engaging sound with well defined (not boomy) bass: 75% movies / 25% music. I would prefer to stick with Bookshelfs and not Floorstanders - as my listening volume is actually quite low.


Thanks,

During a recent audition, the salesguy told me that Marantz is better than Denon which is better than Yamaha in terms of premium-ness. Do you agree with that? I'm asking from just the reputation / quality point of view.

I am thinking of getting the Yamaha Aventage A820 or A830 as I am travelling out of the country, and it is considerably cheaper to get it from outside India. Any suggestions on how to bring it back: can I just check it in? I surely can't hand-carry it since its more than 7kgs.

You have a good sized room and a good Amp and more importantly a good budget . Don't limit yourself to book shelves solely because your listening volumes are low. Even I was thinking on the same lines initially - however changed and went ahead to purchase Floor Standers based on inputs from this forum. Good Floor Standers are much more detailed even at low volumes. Yes book shelves are a better option compared to FS at the same price point. Also ensure that all the front three speakers are from the same series.

Marantzs are are supposed to be more musical compared to Yamahas and Denons. I got my Yamaha AVR from US as checked in baggage. No problems. Retain the original packing and place it in another suitcase with plenty of clothes around.

 

[alphacentury100]

But guys... would appreciate your inputs. If you had to choose between Marantz 6007, Yamaha A820, Denon 2313, Pio LX56. How would you rank them from a sound quality point of view.

Pl help, I'm finding it hard to understand the different amps (since speakers, acoustics and everything changes from store to store)

Go for the Marantz 6007 or the Pioneer LX56, The rest are a level below.
Pioneer has strong amplification section 135W at 8 ohms, but it is class-D amplifier, but marantz has only 100w at 8 ohms.
The marantz may have better sound signature. The preouts are very useful.

 

[Acuity]

as you have a good budget i suggest nad avr..1 lakh...sq and sq only..if you belive like this..
otherwise there are onkyo avrs..for cinemas very good...but no comparison with nads.....

dont go for airplay in avr. buy a simple appletv for less than 100 usd - it will be better quality. plus any further changes to airplay specs, you can upgrade just by spending another 100 usd. Keep avr only for basic things - good amplification, hdmi switching and passthrough of 3D, maybe 4k.
For everything else, get a decent media player or htpc with blu-ray.

Hello anm and prosenjit, I am now considering a NAD receiver, thanks for suggesting it. AppleTV does not support DLNA, any suggestion on what I can add to the NAD which will allow me to stream Movie files from my NAS DLNA and also my music from my iPhone.

I have ripped all my dvds and CDs to my NAS (WD Mybook Live), My newer music is on my iPhone, and airplay is really cool.

Unfortunately Marantz, Yamaha and Pioneer AVRs do NOT support video streaming over DLNA. :annoyed: It came as a shocker to me, as I thought it was a safe assumption when they claim to be dlna 1.5 compliant!

 

[Santy]

But guys... would appreciate your inputs. If you had to choose between Marantz 6007, Yamaha A820, Denon 2313, Pio LX56. How would you rank them from a sound quality point of view.

Why not go for a pre/pro + power amp combination? Gives maximum bang for buck. The following will be tough to beat combos that can give AVRs costing 1.5x to 2x of its price a good run for their money.

Emotiva UMC-200 ($600) + Emotiva XPA5 ($999) or
Emotiva UMC-200 ($600) + Sherbourn PA7 ($599)

Excl shipping / customs. It may force you to stretch your budget by may be 20% presuming that you have frozen other components of HT, but they are fully worth it.

 

[prosenjit]

^^
correctly advised..

imo only one thing is to consider..
the pre area of NAD vs 600 usd stand alone pre-pro...

it is difficult to decide who is the winner..even i am very much interested to know that

 

[Acuity]

Thanks guys, I am quite open to a pre-pro receiver with an Amp, and I'm ok with increasing the budget if it gives better SQ.

After researching NAD and Emotiva models, now I am totally confused on which pre-pro and Amp combination to consider. ?:sad:? Is Emotiva available in India?

Unfortunately both NAD and Emotiva Pre-pro receivers are low on features. How about using the Marantz SR5007 or SR5006 as a pre-pro, it has rich features which I can surely use.

Is it possible to audition pre-pro and amp combinations in Hyd or Blr?

Thanks