Help me in buying a home theater, please.

does the budget include the receiver or is it only for the speakers(5.1),ie.including the subwoofer.
Benks

If your budget is strictly 35k then go in for Onkyo HT S 570 package. Receiver with 5.1 package at 28k.Very good value for money and with the rest you can buy a DVD player.I strongly feel you should never try to mix components if you are looking in the range of 30-40k, of course there are lots of stuff available but matching them is a headache ,So go in for prematched combo.

You can have a look here :

http://www.circuitci...WT.mc_n=57&WT.mc_t=U

Or extend your budget to 40K and go in for Onkyo HTS670. I've not seen a combo at this price with such brilliant performance.The surround speakers, although large are made from wood as opposed to plastic as other HTIB vendors do.

Look here :

http://www.pcmall.com/pcmall/shop/detail~dpno~185915.asp

Yes I agree with Sub-Boss but partly, it is true that onkyo HTS670 is one of the best HT package for only for an HT, when it comes to Stereo listening........it is difficult to be good !!!!!! Things now starting to be confusing ....Why not go for a Speaker package from Space Audio,
Package includes:
. Their top of the line Tower Speakers (its quite decent, I have heard them more than once, its 150 watts RMS at 6 ohms, 3 way speaker system)
. Two rears as Sattelites (even they were very decent and never seemed out of place in a hifi scenario)
. One centre speaker (matching the fronts)

All of them at 20k, you can then add up a AV reciever from any brand you like at 18k even the Onkyo SR502.

Now you do miss out on Sub woofer but believe me, this package will sound much better because the sub that onkyo give with HTS570/670 is the worst I have ever seen/heard, they are completely hollow and these Space floor standers will give you much better bass for that matter.
You will enjoy decent stereo as well.
You now miss out on one other thing i.e Onkyo branded speakers, but then your complete package will be much better.

How abt a philips HTIB?
Any comments on this model MX5700D ?
And what abt the Sony systems?
I mostly hear abt Onkyo and other brands like, JBL etc etc, arent Sony and Philips good enough when compared to the others?

Since you mentioned your budget is 35k you deserve better thsn Philips priced at 15000. Go in for Onkyo as the others have suggested it's a real good value for money. I own a 7.1 set up and I have heard 670 and 570 before considering others.Forget philips and sony they are real pieces of useless sh*t.Listen man before you decide.

Balu,
Forget commercial brands, even Bose is worthless for that matter. At 35k you will get philips as well as Sony but all are crap when you think hifi. I have mentioned you a system which you can enjoy in Stereo as well as HT. Where are you placed ? I may be able to help you out with dealers then..

hey don't go in for stuff like Space or other crap.Listen here they are companies popped up to make money out of the increasing market.Go by who is close to your neighbourhood and can service your components who has a dealership in your city.Don't buy Space coz you can't go running around looking for warranty from the guy who sold it to you and made a few hundred bucks.Go for proper branded ones.

have mentioned you a system which you can enjoy in Stereo as well as HT. Where are you placed ? I may be able to help you out with dealers then..

this crap or even integra research or even top of line denon costing thousands of $'s can't give you a good stereo performance.The point is AVR's are for multi channel movies and not for stereo.Good stereo is a very expensive affair.Don't get carried by cheap brands there are hundreds in bangalore or in Hungama.com.Go for a proper HT setup or stereo setup.Since you want HT forget good stereo sound. Top of line AVR's with top of line speakers can't give you decent stereo sound and from where does Space and other laloos come from.Just look at the Ad of these brands in mags and you'll puke coz they look like second hand left over stuff.These kind of brands are for people who are not informed and dream of having a great HT+stereo at 25k.
These are always interested in cheap brands and cheap sound.
Go to a co-owned showroom and listen you'll know who is flogging a cheap brand here.

. Their top of the line Tower Speakers (its quite decent, I have heard them more than once, its 150 watts RMS at 6 ohms, 3 way speaker system) . Two rears as Sattelites (even they were very decent and never seemed out of place in a hifi scenario) . One centre speaker (matching the fronts) All of them at 20k, you can then add up a AV reciever from any brand you like at 18k even the Onkyo SR502.

top of line at 20k for whole crap, just imagine the quality. Small surrounds from branded are better than 10 feet floor standers from Space.If you buy this you'll cry for your whole life and start looking for the gentleman who suggested to strangulate him.

Be an informed customer and a wise one. It's like buying a Television assembled in your neighbourhood and sold at 10k against a branded one like LG at 22k.Know the diffrence.

Balu,
Balu,
There is something that you should never forget when you buy a HiFi and i.e "TRUST YOUR EARS ONLY". This piece of suggestion is revolving all around this forum n number of times because people do get carried away by other's opinions and suggestions (even I get carried away). What you gain from this forum is some information + experiences and some recommendations/suggestions. As Trojan_Horse mentioned, you will find a lot of ads in the AV magazines about new products everyday (some cheap ones and some are genuine). But you cant go on auditioning every brand to see which are all good.....Now I have told you to try Space Audio because I liked them for the price and that too after listening many imported brands. I am open to Indian manufacturers so I do explore these people. BTW Who is doing business for charity ? Everyone is making money and the bigger brands have infact huge margins (many a times thrice the cost price or even more) which our Indian manufacturers cant do because they have to survive first and that is why they keep their overheads low and prices also low. This is just to tell you that "you can get good products at lower prices also" but you need to be interested in evaluating them. As far as Stereo and HT is concerned, it is a fact that you cannot have very good stereo output from a AVR, but it would sound much better from a dedicated Stereo speaker than a HT setup, and tomorrow you can simply add up a Stereo amp to enhance your listening further.....

As far as dealers are concerned, Space has quite a few dealers around the country, you wont have to run around with your speakers. If you can give it a try then let us know about your experiences..........
IMHO I didnt quite like the onkyo HTS570. They were simply hollow man.....it didnt kick the butt at any cost.....look at them then we can discuss more.

Abhi relax pal,

HTS570 is a good package at 28k with 5.1 speaker package and receiver with solid features.well I agree the sub lacks kick but you bur with proper positioning you can get better results and right now in our market it's the only HTP which is VFM @28k. it is very good if you don't want to experiment too much and comes at an affordable price with 0%interest 12emi's.

Agreed.....that its VFM but still.....dont know whether I will prefer them for myself if I am in the same situation....or else may be I will check them out once more to be sure.....

Abhi,

Actually keeping the sub close to a wall gives good results , as the set up in the showrooms are rather clumsy, I agree the bass is on lighter side and not thumpy, but again positining makes lotsa diffrence pal, so check out again and the features are awesome- speaker distance setting, croosover adj,decent reserve power and i actually liked the beefy looks of receiver. all at 28K is quite tempting if you are on a budget.

Thanks for all the inputs, guys.
Will defenetely get a demo and then i'll bug u all with more doubts
btw, do these Onkyo systems play MP3 format as well ?
Once again I would like to add that, i'll be listening to music for abt 70% of my time and the 30% is for the movies.

Ok...there is one more package in my mind...
Jamo has a package offer.....Its a 5.1 setup
5 sattelites (50w rms each)
1 powered Sub woofer (100 w rms)
1 Jamo DVD player + AV reciever (both of them into one cabinet)....
all at 42k...(got to bargain...they quote 48k but they easily come down)

better still is the wharfedale package of the movistar. however, it may overstretch ur budget as it is 28-30k only for the 5.1 setup. u'll have to spend an additional 17-18k (atleast) for a receiver and around 5k for a decent dvd player(phillips dvp642k).
Benks

Thanks for all ur help, ppl. I've decided to buy the Onkyo HTS670 model. Now u guys have to help me out with deciding on the cables. I have no idea what digital coaxial and digital optical cables are ! I have a onida TV and a philips dvd player, DVP 642K. what cables should i use to connect the TV and the DVD player to my receiver?

don't worry too much......all cables will be providede by Onkyo and they will do the installation.........

There lies the problem. Am getting the system from the US. so I have to do the installation on my own. So it would be wonderful if you guys can help me out with the connections, etc.

hey man watch out the sub coz from US is 110v version.won't work here and the Av receiver should have 110v to 220 v switch...and if it's not in the system .u r in trouble. Alternatively get a good voltage converter.BTW how much are you paying for the complete system.

i got it for $350 ! less than 50% of what it costs here !! i felt that we are being cheated here! anyways, i am planning to buy a good voltage convertor. That should be fine for the reciever as well as the Sub, isnt it?

yup you know $350 is 15k and the package here is 40k with discount......good buy man

Hey Sub, can u please let me know what else do i have to buy, apart from the voltage convertor to get that system to work here ? Also, am planning to buy a philips DVD player, DVP 642K. Is it a good one to enjoy the home theater effect ? Could you also tell me abt the cable connections?
Hope am not asking for too much