Getting the right AVR... pls help

First Thing first....Lithos NOA1 Sub Sat combo is NOT gonna give you the satisfaction atleast for Rock, Pop, Hip-hop, trance........Its more more suitable for soft vocal based music which are mid-heavy. I have heard them at one of our fellow member's place for around 2 hours at a stretch and came to this conclusion.

Next, for an AVR, if music is anywhere your Priority its Marantz, Sonodyne, HK in that order. All the AVRs that you have listed are just mediocre for music and I would definitely reccommend you to stay away from them if MUSIC IS YOUR PRIORITY. If its only HT then all of them are good performers.

As far as AVR vs Stereo amp is concerned, Basically for music a Stereo amp wins almost everytime......but but but, if you opt for a Marantz AVR then you have the best of both worlds. All the Marantz AVRs perform too good in Stereo and infact it would beat almost all Stereo amps in 20k budget.

So if you are willing to spend 20k for a Stereo amp then better spend 25k and get a Marantz SR-4500. It would give you the best bang for buck and best of both worlds in that price range.

For speakers I would suggest you to re-think if you are into Fast and Punchy music.

thanks Abhi for a prompt reply. I would not be listening much to trance and stuff but western classical / Herb Albert (Jazz)slow/classical rock / abba kind of old classics / Queen /... hence my opting for a noa1 and i heard first hand reports from members in this forum only who use a noa1... but the Marantz is interesting.. i did check out a Marantz a lil early in my search and it was good but the sales guy in reflexPro in chennai told me a whopping 40K and that it was highend Denon.. and i never went back there...25K for a SR4500 and I'd take it anytime (AVR 1706 of Denon retails at 29K)..Do let me know where it retails for 25K.. about speakers - wot would be your suggestion as the building blocks of a 5.1 HT. the sonodyne(AV 300R???)..i keep hearing abt it..the outlet in Chennai is getting refurbished due to the recent rains..but the sonodyne - how reliable is the build quality and stuff?

About the Noa-1, I was particularly not happy with the performance of the Sub, it has got one 5" Driver which hardly does any justice to the low frequency.
I would suggest you look at the Diamond 9 package. It has 5 Diamond 9 Bookshelves (which has got 5 star rating in what-hifi) and a 150 watt active sub which is again too good.

Or else you can simply get the Sub and 2 Bookshelves initially and later on get the rest of the system.

As far the AVR is concerned, the price I have quoted for marantz is easily available at Bangalore, you can talk to Audio Planet in Bangalore, there is a person called Mr.Palani, give him my reference and I think he should be able to give you at that price. If you can find a SR-4400 then you can even get it at under 20k.

Mr.Palani's number: 9845019192, 080-25523126

As far Sonodyne is concerned, they look very well built, but since I dont own it so cant say much. But musically its way ahead of Denon and Yamaha.

Thanks Abhi for your rapid responses...

And thanks so very much for those contact details also..

I guess I need to listen to a Sonodyne before I make any decision...

Point on the wharfdales well taken.. will give them a listening to..

Thanks a ton..

hey nimz...with my limited knowledge of audiophile stuff i can suggest for speakers do checkout polk audio rti4 and B&W 303..they are damn good for bookshelves and more livelier than the wharfedales...of course the wharfe diamnd 9 are damn good but have a sort of laid back sound...sweet none the less...polks are brighter...

abt marantz...i totally agree with abhi...cos recently i checked out marantz sr4400 paired with bose 301s at one of my friends place...it sounds much better..at least better than my yammy rxv457...

nindo

Hi !

Good for music AVRs are Marantz & NAD. But a stereo Amp is anyday better for music than an equivalent AVR. I have NAD stero Amp and Marantz AVR.

Speakers? Depends on your budget and availability in your area. May be you could start with good quality 3-way floorstanders which will serve you for music and 2 channel movie experince. Later add surrounds and sub.

Regards

Dr. Sanjay Dhawan

Thanks Nindo and thanks Doctor.

Suggestion well taken. Just thinking that if am gonna get a 2.1 spkr system initially, i better get a stereo amp then go for a HT wen i get the rest of the spkrs.. that puts me on a diff proj altogether.. looking at Pulz (good for home use?), sonodyne integrated amp(wil be listening to them shortly), NAD (so far havent seen them in chenna..any idea abt the cost for a NADC320BEE)

reg floor standers...well.. there are schools of thought which evangelise a sub sat combo as a better distortion free mode over a 3 way spkr.. sounds logical as some of the reasons being that the bass is better off near the walls and the tweeters away from them...

Logical or not.. guess it depends on how ur ears take it..

Lets see where my ears take me

Hi Nimz,
2.1 Spkr system is not a bad idea.......but two things are very important in this config:

1. The sound quality from the Sub. Since it dominates the complete range of low freq so it should really sound good, tight, musical, non-boomy, deep and with authority.

2. The sub and the sat/.bookshelves should match tonally.

Now the first one is a bigger problem, because its difficult to get those kind of sub in a budget.
Options are:
1. Wharfdale SW-150 (18k)
2. Definitve Technology (22k)
3. Velodyne (25k)

There are other options as well like Tannoy, B&W but all in 25k+ range.
If you want to stick to entry level sub then
Wharfadale, Sonodyne, Boston have subs which can do good.

For the Second problem, you have to audition 2.1 combos and check out the system synergies yourself. To Start with you can check out
1. Wharf Diamond 9 bookshelves
2. Boston, Polk Bookshelves
3. Sonodyne Genie1 and Genie2 Satts.

1. Wharf Diamond 9 bookshelves 2. Boston, Polk Bookshelves 3. Sonodyne Genie1 and Genie2 Satts.

why not include athena

Arre Bhai kahan chale gaye the.............I though you went for 14 years of Banwaas...........

thanks Abhi

And abhi, i guess i'd be safe in tonal matching if i get sat and sub from the same manufacturer!!!

Wharfedale and Boston - i will check out.. Do let me know abt some good stereo integrated amps which I can check out too this weekend along with these spkrs...

1. SiA 102R (currently unavailable in Chennai in fact the entire Sonodyne showroom in Chennai I heard is being refurbished.. the prop there was kind enuff to tell me that he wud gimme a call once everything is set)

2. NAD C320 BEE (is it beyond 25K??

anything else here i need to consider...

thanks a ton guys.. do keep em coming..

You are somewhat right about tonal matching within the same family but you can always try out better combinations even if they are from different brand. The wharf sub is better while the sonodyne genies are very good. Now you can definitely expect the best of both worlds if they are matched. A bit of your initiative might be needed.

For the amp, Nad320bee is around 20k and is a very good option.
You have other options in the form of Pulz, Marantz, Rotel. All of them would be within 25k range. Pulz is the cheapest at 15k around.
You have to see whose sound characteristics you like most because all of them sound different in some ways or the other.

I would still say, for a sub-satt combo the Marantz SR-4500 AVR would give you the best bang for the buck both from utility and Sound quality point of view. Its also priced at 25k and I liked them more than the entry level Pulz, Sonodyne and even upto some extent the NAD 320bee. Its really warm and musical for stereo and gives you all the punch and details of HT. Do listen to it before deciding.

Thanks Abhi..

I guess the Marantz does have a reputation going by the opinions on this forum...

I would want to listen to the NAD also.. pretty elusive in Chennai Marantz is available in a couple of places here in Chennai...

Any major diff in the marantz 4500 and 4400?? let me google it out too.. but suggestions welcome.

Just a curiosity - Wotz the forum members preference for
music?
Sub sat combo or floorstanders or bookshelves??? and y.. just a matter of personal taste or anything else.. just asking!!

Hi,

Try Marantz with 3 way floor standers, u will not regret later. If budget is a constraint, pick up bookshelves + sub.

thanks Nietzsche

Bookshelves + Sub / Sats + sub

Whats the major difference here?

Sats would focus more on highs and mids.. whereas a book shelf would have a good bass response too.. but when u have a sub to complement the low freq.. hmmm.. am getting confused here...

and again those floorstanders.. never looked at one yet.. as i was given in to the science of a sub sat combo...

I am learning...

hey nimz..

even i went thru the same phase u r goin thru, just some time back...

its pretty simple if u look at it from a layman angle...

when listening to a sub/sat combo you will feel the higher freq and the lower freqs kinda divided..i mean u can feel the bass comin from a different sound spectrum in your room...in bookshelves the whole freq band is more stuck-together and especially the mids are prominent as compared to a sattelite spkr...best is u ll hear thru towers (IMO)...all freq levels are distinct , at the same time sound as if emerging from the same point... but the sound can get muffeled/unclear if played in small rooms...

again all these are just general observations made by me and will surely differ depending upon the construction of the spkrs, the room acoustics and above all your ears...

just listen to as many brands and types of spkrs as possbl and make sure to note the diff u find among them...orelse it ll get reall messy when finally u feel its high time to go ahead and buy...

nindo

For music = Good Floorstanders + Good Stereo Amp
For Movies = Good AVR + Good Center + Bookshelves + Sub

See the setup that I have in my profile. Boomy bass of the heavy thump or Dhak Dhak of subs does not appeal in music although it adds great effects in the movies.

Regards

Dr. Sanjay Dhawan

thanks everyone..

and the good Doctor has an impressive line up of equipment. Gonna look at some floor standers today n tomoroww..

Kef / Polk Monitor series / wharfedales (if i get a chance)

let see how it goes.. will keep u posted

Hi all,

Listened to the Polk, KEF and a brand called Kilpsch.

Was introduced to the Mordaunt Short and the Montior Bronze speakers...

Could compare only the Denon and Yammy AVR on the same set of speakers... the bass was evident on the yammy... kinda rattled stuff!! not my taste

Marantz - unavailable..mebbe i'd just take all ur word for it and go get it...

Doctor - you have the NAD C320 and the Marantz. Could u give a brief overview on their merits.. checked out the coda 90 series too.. pretty cool.. was offered 32K for it after a 15% discount.. listened to the iQ5 - WOW (to my rather amateur ears); the Polk monitor too was decent enough.. low end bass was a bit lacking..but cost effective!!!

next weekend its the Bostons and the Mordant Shorts..

Anyone heard the Monitor Bronze floor standers???? reading abt the drivers and the crossover.. looks like the mid range should be pretty focussed compared to other floorstanders...

Keep Rocking!!

Nimz

Marantz and NAD - both are great. Decision should depend on whether you are primarily into music or movies. Or where are you willing to compromise?

And if you have already finalised a DVD player as your source then you have already compromised on the music. So you might as well go for Marantz AVR. Also try out NAD AVR if you can.

Boston Vs. Mordaunt - I found Boston better.

Regards

Sanjay

Hi Abhi.pani,
I read your recommendations on entry level stereo integrated amps. How are the Yamaha Ax49* amps in comparison to NAD,Rotel, Sonodyne etc. It's available around 15K in Bangalore.
Bibs

Hi Bibs,
First of all you wont get NAD, Rotel in that range of 15k is anyway not available. Sonodyne has one amp at 12k and another pre-power (intorduced recently) for 25k.
If you are very tight with the budget then look at Pulz.

thanks Doctor...

Bibs - u listened to the yammys? my expereince with them is that they are a bit too loud on the bass!!

Well Abhi - my options have narrowed down now:

1. A good AVR + decent spkrs (book shelves)
2. A good spkr (Kef coda / Monitor Bronze 4 + decent amps (probably stereo amps - sonodyne integrate amp )

Has anyone checked out these SiA 102R - any opinions? and also the Monitor Bronze 4 too!!!

For Phase 2 of my HT setting up:

Option 1 - move the book shelves to surround duty and get good floor standers

Option 2 - Get a good AVR - use the stereo int amp as a pre amp to the AVR and get surrounds...

Whatcha think????

If you are looking at pure stereo, then look at good bookshelves like Monitor Audio, Tannoy, Acoustic Portrait, Kef iQ.

Kef Coda is just average IMO.

Sonodyne amp is good but doesnt perform as good at whwn you crank it up. so if your speaker sensitivity is high then the Sonodyne is a good choice (as you wont have to crank it up for listening at louder volumes) else look at other options.

Hi,

Couldnt listen to the Coda... but the side firin woofers kinda looked cool

listened to the iQ5 coz that was only wired up.. and me thuought the same KEF brand so how diff can the sound be?

Anyways all the shops are now calling me and asking me wen am gonna buy the speakers i auditioned??? like do u guys go in for an audition only at the final stages of your purchase..???

And y are the hi end amps/ receivers have Gold finish - better heat radiation?? or just a life style statement?
Just a curiosity???

Keep Rocking!!

Hy Buddy,
Dont ever think that the Coda and iQ5 are anywhere similar sounding !!! You would be totally dissapointed. The side woofers you saw in the Coda looks good but sounds very mediocre. Some may say that its bass is tight and non-boomy but IMO bass is hardly there so where is the question of Boominess ?? iQ5 is leagues ahead of Coda and if you can afford iQ5 then nothing like it..

nimz schrieb:

Option 2 - Get a good AVR - use the stereo int amp as a pre amp to the AVR and get surrounds... Whatcha think????

dude i didnt get you there...is it possible to use a stereo int. amp as preamp to av recv. to get better sound...? cos if its so, i can think of gettin a decent stereo int. amp to back-up my yamaha rx-v457....

thanx / nindo

Even you are able to get the pre-amp from a Stereo amp and feed to a AVR, its only 2 channel of pre-amp signal, what about the rest of the channels.

Anyway I dont think AVRs have the option of pre-amp input..

i guess ben knows abt the preamp thing cos he's got the rxv450 which is not very different from rxv457..

whatsay ben...?

nindo

No i tried it and u cannot bypass the on board premap of the yammy.

howeveer, u can take pre outs from the yammy(550 and above i think) to feed power amps if u want that kind of setup and use the yammy 450 as a processor.

Even you are able to get the pre-amp from a Stereo amp and feed to a AVR, its only 2 channel of pre-amp signal, what about the rest of the channels. Anyway I dont think AVRs have the option of pre-amp input..

Agree with Abhi here, u will need atleast 3 stereo amps to pre-amp all the channels, plus I am not sure how beneficial this would be coz the amplified signal will then go again to the pre-power amp combo of the avr. Secondly u need to decode the digital signal into 5.1 (6.1 or 7.1) before feeding for pre-amp. Some of the higher end avrs provide pre-amp out for all channels (Denon 1906/Marantz 4600). Theoretically if your player has 5.1 (6.1 or 7.1) channel analogue out, u can do without an avr, unless u r really keen on the DSP effects and the radio. You can take a multichannel amp and feed the analogue signals from your player directly. Though there are other factors to consider here like whether your player's DSP will be as effective as your avr's DSP.

I am not sure how this works out practically? Has anyone tried this?

i think connecting a good 5/6/7 ch amplifier dierectly to a audiophile class dvdp with multichanel output plus the decoders will be a very good option...

and may be at a lower budget too...

what say...

nindo

verynewone schrieb:

Even you are able to get the pre-amp from a Stereo amp and feed to a AVR, its only 2 channel of pre-amp signal, what about the rest of the channels. Anyway I dont think AVRs have the option of pre-amp input.. Agree with Abhi here, u will need atleast 3 stereo amps to pre-amp all the channels, plus I am not sure how beneficial this would be coz the amplified signal will then go again to the pre-power amp combo of the avr. Secondly u need to decode the digital signal into 5.1 (6.1 or 7.1) before feeding for pre-amp. Some of the higher end avrs provide pre-amp out for all channels (Denon 1906/Marantz 4600). Theoretically if your player has 5.1 (6.1 or 7.1) channel analogue out, u can do without an avr, unless u r really keen on the DSP effects and the radio. You can take a multichannel amp and feed the analogue signals from your player directly. Though there are other factors to consider here like whether your player's DSP will be as effective as your avr's DSP. I am not sure how this works out practically? Has anyone tried this?

Arasu, has the setup with the amps and the DVD player taht u are talking about.
and i am looking to adopt this as well.
however, i might go in for a dedicated rocessor as i my DVD player is pretty good but does not have on board DVD decoders.
alternaticvely i might sell my receiver and go for one with pre outs.

I am thinking of this......

Sonodyne Surround Processor Connected to 3 Stereo Power amps
Amps I am considering are Pulz power amp or Laya Audio (Arasu's) power amp.

To save money I can also go for 2 Stereo amps for the fronts and the rears and a mono bloc for center.

Prices are:
Sonodyne Processor: 14000
Pulz Power amp: 9000 each
or
Laya Audio Power amp: 10000 each

Overall in around 40000 I will have all seperates with REAL 130 watts RMS (at the least) with a Remote and all essential DSPs.
I am still wondering what this will do....

Overall in around 40000 I will have all seperates with REAL 130 watts RMS (at the least) with a Remote and all essential DSPs. I am still wondering what this will do....

Interesting...

One thing this will do is create a jungle (or shall we call it a city) of wires and amps...

What will happen to volume control if you have different amps? Have u considered the sonodyne multichannel power amp (the 6 channel power amp)? Any idea about its price?

BTW nimz, abhi's idea could one more option for you as well. U can add more amps and speakers later. The only problem would be your better half may not like your city

Volume control is there on the Surround Processor itself.
Ya, the sonodyne 6 channel amp costs 30k.

About the jungle.......ya you have to do neat wiring.

Hello all,

Excuse my ignorance here... I read in some review that I trawled on the net that the NAD C320 BEE can be used as a seperate Pre amp too.. hence was thinking half baked on those lines. My apologies...

anyways, it seems to have set off a line of thought...

Abhi's idea looks interesting but if i go for it with my half baked knowledge of things... well!!!

Well ashutosh, dont confuse me with many more choices.. am just waiting for the sonodyne shop to be up in chennai soon.. then its either the Marantz or the sonodyne stereo for me... cant wait am already visualising a different system in my house everyday!!!

Abhi, does the Marantz from Mr.Palani (Audio Planet) come with a warranty?
Can I approach him if any service is needed?
Does he help with the initial set-up at home?
I am presently in the US, and I wanted to zero-in on the Sonodyne or Marantz before I get back, so that I cud go for it immediately.

Juggy, though i know Palani personally and have got my car system installed at his palce..i want to put in a word of caution.

it seems they did the wiring for kspv at his home for his active 2 way crossover.

the result..the crossover blew!
one channel is now non fucntional.
Also, the car installtion was not up to the mark at all...too many problems did i face.

So i would advise that u insist Palani himself come and do the installation.

Thanks Sachi. Point taken!