Which 5.1 Speakers

[saorsa]

I intend buying an AV receiver and speakers when I get back from this trip offshore. I was thinking of the Yamaha RX-V1900 which has rave reviews, but I have no idea for speakers to compliment it. I have a fairly big room, so want floorstanders for front speakers. If someone has suggestions for an AV Receiver other than the Yamaha, I am open to ideas. I havent seen any AV mags in ages, so dont know too much about what is hot these days. My budget for the full package would be about 100,000THB, but maybe a bit more.

cheers

Edited August 28, 2009 by saorsa

[astral]

I intend buying an AV receiver and speakers when I get back from this trip offshore. I was thinking of the Yamaha RX-V1900 which has rave reviews, but I have no idea for speakers to compliment it. I have a fairly big room, so want floorstanders for front speakers. If someone has suggestions for an AV Receiver other than the Yamaha, I am open to ideas. I havent seen any AV mags in ages, so dont know too much about what is hot these days. My budget for the full package would be about 100,000THB, but maybe a bit more.

cheers

Visit the shops in Bangkok with a disk or two that you know in hand,

and ask for demos, then let your ears be your guide.

[pilou]

Very wise tip. Indeed take your favorite movies and CD's and go listen around, and trust your ears. Mind you, the best woud be to test the equipment in your own home, as the results will most probably very different than what you will hear in the shop....

You can go to

http://whathifi.com/ for reviews

and to

http://www.piyanas.com/en/index.ph

for a very comprehensive list of equipemnt available in BGK.

I have an Onkyo TX-SR503 AV receiver with an Onkyo DV-SP504 DVD reader ( because I wanted it to be able to read SACD's), and an all Mordaunt-Short speaker set, except for the sub which also is from Onkyo.. This receiver is not the latest nor the punchiest model, but it is more than enough ( enough inputs and outputs ) for my living room and watching The Lord Of The Rings at half volume fills the room....I have been able to connect my old LP player to it through a phono preamp, and it's working very well.

Good luck.

Phil

[Benjie]

I'd shoot for the Mordaunt Short MS902i's.

Cracking speakers at around 8,000 baht a pair.

[astral]

The OP is looking for a 5.1 setup, not stereo.

[saorsa]

piyanas site looks promising. the yam receiver is 10,000 cheaper there than at emporium. Mordaunt Short speakers do look reasonably priced also.

[pilou]

My actual speaker setup is composed of Mordaunt-Short Avant 906i ( front, floostanders ), M-S Avant 905i ( center ) and M-S Avant 902i ( rear, on stands). For some reason, they are not on Piyanas site, but I believe they have them available. There is a matching Sub woofer ( Avant 309i )

You can see them on Mordaunt-Short website

http://www.mordauntshort.com/content.php?COID=23

Phil

[kamalabob2]

While Piyanas is a decent shop, unlike MANY or MOST in any high end mall or even in FortuneTown, I found a lower price at HiFi Center (which is a very strange mall with few tenants remaining) on a well reviewed, excellent sounding 5.1 system from Jamo. The shop shipped it at no extra change via a transport company to Buriram Province. That shipping cost was 200 baht and I paid under 20,000 baht for that 5.1 system.

http://www.piyanas.com/productdetail.php?c...=en〈=en

Worth a listen and similar in price here as America, unlike JBL, etc... Magnet in HiFi Center is the importer, but a smaller shop on the ground floor gave me a lower price the same day.

Ninetech is an interesting operation and they seem to have the lowest prices on some very high end brands, as well as the lowest prices on several lines of Polk Audio speakers. The owner speaks and understands English, has two nice demo rooms at his headquarters, and will tell you his experience with the major chains when he attempted to sell some a low priced line of products at Makro, Big C, Tesco, Power Buy, and Emporium. www.ninetech.co.th is worth the trip if you are interested in Polk Audio speakers. The web site http://www.ninetech.co.th/product.php?cat=84〈=en is weak but the experience of comparing and buying in the store was excellent for me. Again shipping a purchase to "up country" was no hassle.

The importer of many brands of speakers in Thailand is http://www.bosswood.com/index_eng.php?brand=30 I've listen at their headquarters showroom, but I could not justify paying triple for Cerwin Vega as you see on Amazon.com The price difference here and USA on the made in China Sherwood products is just shocking. They have a once a year clearance sale in Bangkok at that showroom.

[khastan]

I really like Definitive Technology home cinema speakers and Rotel electronics. Expensive but built to last and with a after sales service second to none.

[Benjie]

The OP is looking for a 5.1 setup, not stereo.

So buy 2 1/2 pairs and a Subwoofer!

[astral]

Just adding a subwoofer to an existing set of speakers is not for the novice.

Finding suitable speakers and setting up the system so the sound blends

across the frequency spectrum is not an easy job.

[Benjie]

Just adding a subwoofer to an existing set of speakers is not for the novice.

Finding suitable speakers and setting up the system so the sound blends

across the frequency spectrum is not an easy job.

Nonsense.

Its as simple as buying it, plugging it in and adjusting the volume, the novice isn't going to have to worry about rolloff or calibration. Even if he did most mid range Amplifiers come with microphones nowadays and have an easy plug and play setup system.

It's really not rocket science, just about any normal size sub (10-12") will work fine with just about any set of normal sized speakers (woofer between 4-8") for a normal sized room (which is 95% the case) regardless of sensitivity, frequencies, wattage.

I prefer a Klipsch subwoofer but Mordaunt Short have their own range of subs as well.

[Cromarty]

Just adding a subwoofer to an existing set of speakers is not for the novice.

Finding suitable speakers and setting up the system so the sound blends

across the frequency spectrum is not an easy job.

As Benjie says, this is nonsense.

Go for a cinema (theatre) in a box if you want, but you wont get the best for your money. Although they sound pretty good. But if you already have good hifi speakers you could get yourself a decent sub and some cheap speakers for the rear.

[jrbkk64]

bought Yamaha RX-V1600 and Wharfedale back, center and front speakers (Evo 30 and 10 I think) 3 years ago at Powerbuy. Great sound and build quality from the speakers. Only the covers are a bit flimsy. I think I paid about 90k for the speakers and 45k for the receiver 3 years ago. Onkyo subwoofer.

[astral]

....if you already have good hifi speakers you could get yourself a decent sub and some cheap speakers for the rear.

You rather make my point for me.

I am sure you spent time choosing those good Hi-Fi speakers??

The rear ones are not so critical.

Getting the sub to blend in without swamping the the bass is another matter.

Mind you, judging from the cars that pass me in the street everyday,

lots of bass and very little else seems to be the norm these days.

It is also a good idea to have a centre speaker as well.

[saorsa]

Im not loking for an 'out of the box' solution. I currently have a Samsung setup like that which i got free when I bought my LCD. Time to upgrade that to a reasonable set of speakers/sub and AV receiver. Thanks for all the tips so far. I will check out pinyanas and HiFi centre in person when I get home.

One more shift to go, then it is chopper time unless I get bad weather.