sony STRDE497 + Jamo PJ 4600

Do you want this system for music or movies? If it's for music, better get a stereo amp. You'll get a norge or a pulz under 10K. I think they'll easily beat the cheap sony avr.

vinylrecord said

I have not auditioned these...

I can understand your urgency, but unfortunately, I have no clue on the STRDE49.

However, my advice is :

1. Please DO listen to the stuff BEFORE you buy it, because after you buy it, you WILL be listning to them. Better to listen to them before you put yr money down !

2. Dont worry about a 'Correct' sound. If you like the sound, thats a GREAT reason to buy.

3. Your listning preferences will change Anyway, over time. I know, mine has movede a LOT. So dont bother about the opinions of golden ears.... Your ears and tastes are those that count.

If you have a ( genuinly ) knowledgable friend, take him / her along. Maybe the friend can give you some pointers on what to listen for, or what is good / not-so-good.

Have fun, and welcome aboard !

zhopudey schrieb:

Do you want this system for music or movies? If it's for music, better get a stereo amp. You'll get a norge or a pulz under 10K. I think they'll easily beat the cheap sony avr.

Hi Zhopudey, thanks for your response.

I need this for both movies and music, but I don't have the budget currently for a full 5.1 system. I thought I would get an AVR and decent front speakers, and add the others later.

Cheers

listen to music for at least 30 min and that too tracks which you know very well..ideally you have heard live before you decide and see if

1. you feel involved in the music for the whole time (i know it is difficult in a consumer shop but try to do your best). the first 15 min will never give you an idea of how your ears are going to be reacting long term
2. the sound is clear and articulate at all tones and not sounding artificial. pay speacial emphasis on drums (they should be clean) piano, ( again clear sounding) and violins (sound smooth..although incisive sounding os ok).that will tell you how the treble and bass is behaving

one good idea is to have a recording of your own voice reading out and try to notice how it sounds different ! someone I know likes to use the voice of the big AB or of Jagajit singh to see how the nuances of vocals are being spelt out. I think it is a swell idea.

in the end their is no "best" setup, there are only good setups and the on which you find most pleasing to the ear and the pocket is what is good for you

Doesn't everybody love a noob.

Buddy, I really suggest you listen to the PJs alongside the Sonus. Then pick the one you absolutely fall in love with!

Out of the speakers you mentioned I thimk the E350 is the best of the lot!

Hi Vinylrecord,
Welcome to the forum.
Most of us have entered the forum the way you did.
Some initial googling then some reading and observation session (to see whether you gel well with the discussions going on here) and then a tentative thinking to build a hifi (equipment and budgeting) and then a decission to leap into Hifi....

Normally once you enter the forum you may actually sway from a pure HT to a "Stereo + HT" and finally may be a "Pure Stereo" guy. At this point you want to build a system which gives you the best bang for the buck as well as serves you both for music and movies......"ITS DIFFICULT"

I am not trying to discourage you, instead I am just trying to save you from some hasty decissions and purchases.

First the discount that you have mentioned on STRDE497, please check out the prices in other stores as well. Try bargaining a bit (as if you want to buy asap). Tell them that Sony World is offering it at 10k. More often than not they would slice their price by as much as possible and give you the best possible quote (could be around 12k or even lesser). Tell them that you are planning to build a full HT so they may consider you to be a bigtime customer.
Once you have the quote then you know that even you go after a week and show the quote, they would still obilige for the discounted rate.
In the mean time you could look at other options like Yamaha RXV356/7 (would be around 13k), Sonodyne AVR300 (around 16.5k) etc...

At this point you may have to make some strong decissions.
If you think an AVR can give you the pleasure of both HT and Stereo then are Grossly mistaken.
Infact at present you would get none !! Because to enjoy HT you would need at least one center channel, a Sub-woofer and a pair of rear speakers. You can still re-use your old speakers (if you have any) for rears but for the center and the sub, you would have to spend another 20k atleast for something decent. If you dont have any exsisting speakers then you also have to buy the rears and then budget again shoots up by another 10k. Till then you dont have a HT.

For stereo AVRs hardly do any justice. Infact they sound pathetic for Stereo reproduction.

So I would suggest, it could be an wiser decission to spend the 10-12k (whatever you had kept for the AVR) on a dedicated Stereo amp (you have decent ones for this price) and buy a good pair of front speakers (we can discuss on that). In this case you enjoy awesome stereo (compared to what you get from a mini-compo Sony, Aiwa stuffs) music reproduction and also have a decent two channel HT.

Next when you have a healthier budget, you can buy the rest of the HT kit (you already have the fronts) i.e Sub, Center , AVR and rears(if you want them new).
You might also try good second hand AVR for much cheaper in the mean time.

BTW our forum member Shahrukh had a Marantz SR-4400 AVR for sale (awesome for both stereo and HT), you can get in touch with him if you are interested.

Vinylrecord,all I would say at the moment is that DO NOT let the temptation of a discount be the sole criterion in your choice!You will have to live with your purchase, so do it with care-a bit of money here or there does not matter so much.
Buying your first proper system is a bit like losing your virginity-some pain & then lots & lots of joy.
The pain is in the effort to look around ,audition various systems with your fav music in tow,discovering what types of sonic qualities are available & what is YOUR preferred sound quality, & then bargaining and buying the system.
And then, joy forever....at least till your next upgrade!
Good Luck !
Kamal
ps-since you're delhi based, do get in touch with Dr Sanjay Dhawan, a forum member-he has lots of experience & can guide your efforts.

Guys, guess I've done the ultimate stupid thing... before waiting to read all responses here, I went to SonyWorld and picked up an on-sale AVR model: Sony STR-DE897 for 15K Was tempted by the 7.1 and it seemed to have everything I wanted in terms of features.

I connected them to my old Sansui bookshelves (part of 10yr old music system), and it sounded nicer than before and the speakers sounded 'fresh and new'. I previously thought one of my speakers were gone (aawaaz phat rahi thi), but connected to this amp, I couldn't identify which one had the problem, so maybe it was an issue with the Sansui amp and not the speakers.

However the volume output was not high and I had to turn the volume upto 55 (max is 73) to fill my medium size room with sound. There was no clipping, and the bass and everything sounded clearer (but not louder, infact lesser) than the Sansui amp. Increasing the bass made the sound deeper (is that the right word?), but bass did not become louder (not sure if this is making sense) as it used to in the Sansui amp, which had a Bass Boost mode. I finally set it to +2. The treble sounded too much and I had to decrease it to -1. It sounded ok after that and I heard different types of music on it, and everything sounded good, except for lack of bass volume. I guess in my mind I was comparing it to my Altec Lansing 5.1 speakers which has an over-loud and boomy sub-woofer.

The Sansui speakers are rated at 6 Ohm 30W: is that an issue, and will it destroy the amp/speakers?

Anyway I would request all of you to not give up on this noob, and keep teaching.. student promises to learn from the masters well.

Thanks

congrats on your purchase. dont be too sad because i think even sony has its plus points. and anyway you can always upgrade later. to a valve amp preferably

but seriously, if you find an improvement in sound from before thats reason for celebration itself. a better setup can always be had later on by selling off the one you've just bought so just chill. a word of advice try playing music at a flat setting. ie. the bass and treble set at zero. you'll find more detail coming through and the music will be easier on your ears. try it for a week at least. then switch back to boosted bass and treble if you want.

the limited bass will probably be due to your speakers so you can start saving up to buy speakers. ideally all the surround and main speakers should be the same brand cos speakers from the same brand and model line will have similar tonal characteristics. you'll find tons of suggestions by going through the past threads. both brands and specific models. so your next upgrade should be speakers. then you can change your amp.

regards

by the way do you love listening to vinyls as your name suggests?

Hi Vinylrecord,
Dont be too sad about your purchase. If it sounds good to you then its for you. As Stevieboy has rightly pointed, keep your settings flat for a few days and listen. If you still want to boost the bass and treble then you can go ahead. And regarding the bass to be on the lighter side, thats one of the major reasons why AVRs arent good for music. They lack bass both quality and quantity.
Marantz is the only AVR with a decent bass that I have heard. Anyway for the speakers you can look at the following:
1. Wharfdale Diamond 8.3 : 16k
2. Diamond 8.4 : 20k
3. Sonodyne sonus 2605: 20k
4. Lyrita Audio Sequel: 16.5k (www.Lyrita-Audio.in)

I have listed only the decent Floorstanders in your budget. If you are interested in Bookshelf speakers then thats a different exploration.

stevieboy schrieb:

by the way do you love listening to vinyls as your name suggests?

Long answer to a short question:

As I child I remember listening to vinyl's on an HMV system and liking the songs more than the sound (I must be 5 yrs old). It broken down (and when I was older in school) I tried getting it fixed but there was some problem or other and it never worked.

I don't really want to admit it here, but since I've already admitted to being not so bright in my previous posts , here is one more fact: When I was in school, I used my dad's chota records to make clocks... you know, make the hole bigger in the middle with a screwdriver, fix a 70 rupees clock and give it away free to all my friends and relatives. I know this is not the nicest/brightest thing to say in a audio-lover's forum, but atleast i'm being truthful.

One thing that's still left is the HMV turntable and the speakers.. is there anything I can do with that today?

Please everyone, don't have a go at me! Main baccha tha!

Stevie: The name vinylrecord is from my early internet days, and has been my handle since last 10 years.. don't remember why exactly this was it, but now when people ask me I tell them: it's cos I love music and am old-fashioned and traditional in some ways. Nice reply, good conversation opener, and truth quotient questionable

Stevie & Abhi: Thanks for the suggestions, actually I was thinking of something else, and some more questions..

Since the current speakers are sounding ok, though low in volume
1. Would it make sense to buy a sub-woofer first, instead of floorstanding spks?
2. Should I attempt to build this sub myself, and how complicated would this be? I have a friend who is quite good with electronics, but I would prefer something simple without any electronics etc, you know build a box with right dimensions and dump in a speaker. Any designs to support this, and would this work in from this AVR?

Thanks

Hi Vinylrecord,

Would it make sense to buy a sub-woofer first, instead of floorstanding spks?

Your current speaker may just sound decent to you but believe it or not they are totally crap compared to what is available today for 15-20k. You are missing the whole purpose of hifi if you are planning to use those current speakers as your fronts.
You can definitely use it for your rears but certainly not as your main speaker. You would get many folds better sound from any of the decent sounding speakers I have listed in my previous posting. Please go ahead and listen to them at the respective showrooms.

Should I attempt to build this sub myself, and how complicated would this be? I have a friend who is quite good with electronics, but I would prefer something simple without any electronics etc, you know build a box with right dimensions and dump in a speaker. Any designs to support this, and would this work in from this AVR?

Neither is it easy to build a sub nor would I recommend you to get into this at such a nascent stage of hifi.
Please dont think of spending small amounts (chutta) here and there and build a hifi. At the end you might have spent a substatial amount but still far from hifi.
Better look at commercially available active sub-woofers from Wharfdale, Sonodyne, Boston Acoustics etc...You can get a decent one for 10-12k, its worth the money and free from risk.

You can look at good sub-sattelite combos from Sonodyne, Wharfdale and Boston, all for under 20k...they would sound good with your AVR.
Later when you have the money buy a good floorstander for your fronts and shift the sattelite to your rears.

Hi Abhi,

You're right, I guess since I've never expected these speakers to work in the first place, that's why they sound ok now.. I'm pretty sure I'll grow out of this sound in 4-5 days.

Since I have no real hurry for a HT setup(since I already have a basic one using Altec Lansing 251, in my main roon) I will start auditioning the floorstanders this weekend (i have 5 days holidays for Diwali).

Would you know where in Delhi I can hear these systems? I would actually prefer Sonodyne if all else equal since it's Indian, and hopefully better service, but on the Sonodyne site there are no listening rooms mentioned... is there any member who has these speakers?

Thanks

I used my dad's chota records to make clocks... you know, make the hole bigger in the middle with a screwdriver, fix a 70 rupees clock and give it away free to all my friends and relatives.

ouch! am just drooling at all the records that went to waste! at least you were enterprising

building a sub? well like abhi says junk the idea right away. you'll never achieve a proper match between the sub and the speakers you finally buy. especially if your pal is just a handy guy and not a speaker designer with the know how. no offence to him at all. i hope you get my drift...

viren who's on the forum has good speakers. plus PLUS he's got a great listen-and-if-you-dont-like-it-return-it and get your money back policy. you pay only shipping from and back to delhi. pm him. i've heard his stuff and am buying an amp from him.

suggest you go check out the speakers abhi has mentioned. take your amp along so you can judge better. wharfedale has a sub that will go with their diamond 9 range, it's pretty affordable. the diamond 8 range is the older version, advantage being its cheaper. i prefer the diamond 9 range.

get front speakers first. then surround speakers. then a sub. cos decent bass you'll anyway be getting from the fronts you buy. my reasoning anyway

regards

Would you know where in Delhi I can hear these systems? I would actually prefer Sonodyne if all else equal since it's Indian, and hopefully better service, but on the Sonodyne site there are no listening rooms mentioned... is there any member who has these speakers?

You can contact SDhawan, a forum member, he will help you with addresses for all the good listening rooms at Delhi.
And pleeeeeese dont close your options so soon. Keep an open mind and listen to all of them and finally buy.

Viren of Lyrita Audio www.Lyrita-Audio.in has some great entry level speakers and amps. Do give them a try.

Shahrukh schrieb:

Doesn't everybody love a noob. Buddy, I really suggest you listen to the PJs alongside the Sonus. Then pick the one you absolutely fall in love with! Out of the speakers you mentioned I thimk the E350 is the best of the lot!

Hi Vinyl,

If you are in Delhi/Gurgaon you can go to the Metropolitan mall in Gurgaon there are two shops - Cinebels (deals in Denon & Jamo/PJ) and Digitus (deals in Sonodyne) you can listen to them both (not at the same time though). If you need can forward u the phone numbers also.

I have listened to both PJ and sonus 2605. Given these options i suggest you go for the sonus. you wont regret it and after all once you buy them you have to live it whether u like it or not.

but like the amp_nut said if you like the sound then nothing great like it. belive in your ears.

regards - Sunil