Home Theatre - What To Buy?

[george]

I was thinking of dumping my TV-to cheap-charlie stereo solution to something with surrounding sound and all the pipes and whistles. George goes home theatre!

The room is 50 sqm.

I have a proper DVD/CD/VCD player already, will buy a better LCD TV later. I need just the sound for the time beeing.

What should I buy? Is 25K THB enough? Are the packages offered at 25-30K at Lotus/BigC a ripoff? Any traps I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance for any consumer ideas.

[Thetyim]

I've got a Sony Home Theatre System and have been very pleased with it. The sound is fantastic it makes movies so much more enjoyable to watch. Cost about 30K but worth it.

[LivinLOS]

I know of fairly good entry level projectors at 999 USD now (1280x720p LCD) thats the next upgrade..

You should be able to do an ok setup with one of the HT in a box solutions in the 25 - 35 range.. Depends on your audio volume and clarity needs..

[bino]

I've got a Sony Home Theatre System and have been very pleased with it.  The sound is fantastic it makes movies so much more enjoyable to watch.  Cost  about 30K but worth it.

Of course the sky is the limit when it comes to Hi Fi and home theatre gear, but I have a Sony unit which sounds similar to what Thetyim describes- paid a similar price. It has 5 speakers and a subwoofer.

It is good enough to fill up my living room with great sound, especially from DVDs, but not great enough to annoy the neighbors!

[Mr. Farang]

I have two large Yamaha speakers, like you would find at a rock concert, and a concert-style PA system as power amplifer. You could purchase this type of setup (second hand) for around 25,000 Bhat. In addition, my house is pre-wired with stereo speakers in the ceiling, so, all of this together is really nice.

For plasma, I have a 26" Tatung, which is OK, but I have a problem switching input signal from DVD to Cable and back. It works, but it takes patience. I think other plasmas must be better!

Edited September 25, 2005 by Mr. Farang

[muldoon]

I was thinking of dumping my TV-to cheap-charlie stereo solution to something with surrounding sound and all the pipes and whistles. George goes home theatre!

The room is 50 sqm.

I have a proper DVD/CD/VCD player already, will buy a better LCD TV later. I need just the sound for the time beeing.

What should I buy? Is 25K THB enough? Are the packages offered at 25-30K at Lotus/BigC a ripoff? Any traps I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance for any consumer ideas.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

25K should buy you a pretty good single front speaker in a 5.1 setup

[Thetyim]

Of course the sky is the limit when it comes to Hi Fi and home theatre gear, but I have a Sony unit which sounds similar to what Thetyim describes- paid a similar price. It has 5 speakers and a subwoofer.

It is good enough to fill up my living room with great sound, especially from DVDs, but not great enough to annoy the neighbors!

I think we might both have the same unit Bino.

Impossible to annoy the neighbours most of them are already sitting on my sofa.

Some of them even turn up in their underwear, maybe thats why G wants one.

[bakachan]

i got one of those entry level surround sounds systems and the woofer was the same

size as the other speakers. its falls flat when there is an action scene that has

lots of bass and rumbling. The really good sounding systems have the "powered sub-woofer". you can always add on a powered sub woofer later.

but... if you live in a condo with paper walls you dont

want your neighbor thinking there is an earthquake.

or... if you hate your neighbor get a monster bass pop scarface into the dvd

[BangnaBound]

A couple years ago back home I was in pretty much the same situation as you, with about the same budget. As already mentioned, you can take to routes, all-in-one box, or components. I bought 3 systems, and set them up side by side to see how I liked them (this wasn’t in Thailand so I don’t know if you can get the same no questions asked return policy). I got 2 box systems, a Sony and a Sharp, and the third was a mix of separate components (including a pair of my old speakers).

The Sharp system was awful, the Sony sounded pretty good, and the component system sounded the best to me. However there are pros and cons to both all-in-one and components.

All-in-one

Pros: Easy to set up, easy to use, sound is more balanced out of the box, tends to take up less space, and usually has a clean looking coordinated design.

Cons: Tend to be underpowered as they are set up as 4 ohm or less instead of the standard 8 ohm which allows the maker to present them with twice the rated power. This is mainly a problem at higher volumes, or during peaks in action sequences. Also, being all in one, there is a good chance you’ll have a DVD player included in the box, so you’re paying for something you already have.

Components

Pros: Pay for what you need/want, tend to be able to get better sound (more/cleaner power, better speaker cabinets etc), and easier to repair/replace broken components.

Cons: Harder to set up, a little more complicated to use, requires a little more manual fine tuning, tends to take up more space, and tends to have a less coordinated look.

So it depends what you are looking for. If you what the best sound for the buck and don’t mind a little extra effort, go with components. If ease and appearance are a priority (nothing wrong with that) then the all-in-one is the way to go. At the end of the day, you will probably be the only one who will appreciate any difference as your family will probably not care. In fact, they may like the all-in-one better as it will probably look more hi-tech, and it will be easier for them to use.

If I was going to spend 25,000 baht on a home theater today in Bangkok, I would probably go with the amp/5-speaker system I saw the other day at Power Buy. I think it had a 5x70w Marantz Amp with 2 fronts, 1 center, and 2 smaller rear speakers. Most of the 25,000 baht package price is for the amp, with the speakers being the weaker components. With Thailand’s high humidity, I think the speakers will need to be replaced before the amp, so the money is better spent on the amp. It doesn’t have the extra sub woofer, but you could add that latter if you need more base.

Trust your own ear. If it sounds good to you, no matter the price or brand, you’ll probably be happy with it. The hard part is trying the listen to systems in the store with all that back ground noise.

[Khutan]

George;

I also have the Sony 5+1 system, I paid a bit extra and got the 100w per channel and the 200W subwoofer. I think it was 28K baht.

I think its excellent, and very good value for money.

From memory there is an 80w per channel version that woud be within the budget.

Next time you are in BKK back from HK, call me and you can have a test drive in my apartment.

[francois]

hi'

3 years ago I bought a "soken" home theater 5.1, great amplifier(all connections even out..), and nice speakers, still working fine

for only 16k baths

sony was far too expensive and the sound was less precise ...too metallic

go to a bif shop and ask for a listening of some soken they have, you might be surprised, it might be time to forget high brand as some "supposed" low are performing even better sometimes

francois

Edited September 26, 2005 by francois

[Steve2UK]

Probably a dumb question, but here goes...............

I've got a mid-price (£600/$1,000) set-up (Aego amp + 5-speaker + bass woofer) here in the UK that I'm considering bringing into LOS. No TV, obviously - but, can anyone tell me if it would be compatible with a TV that I'd buy in LOS?

[LivinLOS]

Audio equipment is the same.. Power supply in Europen is ok here.. So yes will work..

That said its often easier to sell and rebuy that import and ship stuff..

[pedro01]

I was thinking of dumping my TV-to cheap-charlie stereo solution to something with surrounding sound and all the pipes and whistles. George goes home theatre!

The room is 50 sqm.

I have a proper DVD/CD/VCD player already, will buy a better LCD TV later. I need just the sound for the time beeing.

What should I buy? Is 25K THB enough? Are the packages offered at 25-30K at Lotus/BigC a ripoff? Any traps I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance for any consumer ideas.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Add another zero & you'll get there.

I got Pioneer DVD & Amp with 5 Bose monitors, 1 Bose Bass bin & 2 Bose 4ft speakers for a snip at 210,000. The sound is excellent - especially now I moved into a detached house & can turn it right up.

Had to pay another 40K for the telly.

It just depends how good you want it...

[Thairish]

Probably a dumb question, but here goes...............

I've got a mid-price (£600/$1,000) set-up (Aego amp + 5-speaker + bass woofer) here in the UK that I'm considering bringing into LOS. No TV, obviously - but, can anyone tell me if it would be compatible with a TV that I'd buy in LOS?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes Steve your setup will work here, but you will need power plug adapters, also if your video out (assuming video passes through your amp too) is scart you will need a scart to component/s-video/composite adapter, whichever your chosen TV will take.

[francois]

hi'

I got Pioneer DVD & Amp with 5 Bose monitors, 1 Bose Bass bin & 2 Bose 4ft speakers for a snip at 210,000. The sound is excellent - especially now I moved into a detached house & can turn it right up.

are you a musician or a music expert to need what is still the best speakers (not talking about Cabasse) there is on the market.

F.Zappa used to set the speaker system for concert with Bose ....

2 wall of 8 speakers, except Pink Floyd no one had a better sound!

now everyone swear only by Meyer sound systems ...

for sure 210,000B might be enough for what your ears can't hear

meaning by this that I hope that you have a hall for this, because Bose needs a good reflection of the sound out to show their quality, in a normal room, even large, any good quality speakers will perform nearly as good as the most expensive.

there is a range of htz that the ear can hear, we often see range from 20 to 20,000 ... your ear can't hear this low or this high

but, music rendering is a real personnal choice!

if you're happy with your rig, enjoy it

not many people can afford such a sound system ...

francois

[Steve2UK]

Probably a dumb question, but here goes...............

I've got a mid-price (£600/$1,000) set-up (Aego amp + 5-speaker + bass woofer) here in the UK that I'm considering bringing into LOS. No TV, obviously - but, can anyone tell me if it would be compatible with a TV that I'd buy in LOS?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes Steve your setup will work here, but you will need power plug adapters, also if your video out (assuming video passes through your amp too) is scart you will need a scart to component/s-video/composite adapter, whichever your chosen TV will take.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Appreciated

[rossiok]

Good pair of headphones are well worth the money as well,especially if you like it "late and loud".

[george]

Good pair of headphones are well worth the money as well,especially if you like it "late and loud".

Great, I saved 24K. Bought a pair of heaphones for 199 Baht. Never been so happy before.

[solo siam]

Reckon on spending around 50k baht and you should get a really nice sounding system, albeit at entry level for home cinema.

I wouldn't personally recommend Bose (except for their outdoor speakers) or at least not their satellite/subwoofer combinations, they just dont have the dynamics, mid-range or power to do justice to a good Home Cinema Soundtrack. Same goes for the all-in-one systems.

Home Cinema Amps from the likes of Marantz, Denon, Yamaha and Onkyo are among the best available sensible options here in Thailand and the amps generally start at 18-20k.

Then you will need 5 speakers with ideally 2 pairs of identical speakers and a matching centre channel - Mordaunt Short are a good buy and quite well priced here.

Finally a powered subwoofer, generally 100W+ RMS that go-down to at least 25-30Hz, Most speaker/amp makers sell decent powered subs.

A VERY good buy in Thailand at the moment is the Soken DVI equipped DVD player which I think has just come down in price to 5,999 baht - It can upscale to 720p so would be an ideal partner for an LCD television. Its actually a rebranded OPPO unit which has been very well received in the USA. We've just bought 5 of them in-case they stop selling them.