DFI - AV/Hi-Fi & Allied Gear Discussion Thread

[A chauhan]

for music, why 5.1? there're umpteen 2.0 passive speakers to go with your amp (what amp is it btw?).

I just want to have such experience, don't ask about my amp :biggrin2:

cable management? didn't get you. DSP effects are not used that widely I think. many good models don't seem to have it. they provide for user-customization, which frankly I think is not needed when you're at a level where you'd prefer neutral or 'reference-level' sound. for surround-sound processing, obvious yes, dolby and DTS and their various codecs.
other functions - amplification, provision of internet radio, Bluetooth, audio-video streaming, audio and picture-processing, allows for connections for multiple devices (I think this is what you meant by cable-mgmt.?).........

By cable management I meant avoiding multiple amps and connecting every cable to one AVR :biggrin2:

a stereo integrated amp (preferably w/ DAC) is ALWAYS preferred over an(y) AVR for sole music-listening purpose!

Right !

Can you suggest a good entry level AVR with 4 or 8 ohm output, 100 watts per channel, with just basic audio and picture-processing, enabling multiple connections but without fancy features like Internet radio etc. ?

 

[A chauhan]

I have read some good reviews of Sony IV 300 HT. What do you guys think about it ?

http://www.sony.co.in/electronics/sound-bars/ht-iv300

@OneGrimPilgrim @aditya10r @An Angry Potato
@gekko

 

[aditya10r]

I have read some good reviews of Sony IV 300 HT. What do you guys think about it ?

http://www.sony.co.in/electronics/sound-bars/ht-iv300

@OneGrimPilgrim @aditya10r @An Angry Potato
@gekko

It's nice but overpriced.

Search for other options.

It should not cost more than 15k.

I have bought a 43 inch Micromax uhd smart TV and a Micromax soundbar for 53k total.

 

[A chauhan]

It's nice but overpriced.

Search for other options.

It should not cost more than 15k.

I have bought a 43 inch Micromax uhd smart TV and a Micromax soundbar for 53k total.

Actually if you look at its features I.e. Avr features it will appear fine, it's a fill gap n between an HT and an AVR, it can decode many Dolby formats, with usb it plays almost all the video and audio formats, can easily be fit with PC, TV aur dth. Have a look it's almost an AVR though not upgradable or customizable :-

AMPLIFIER/RECEIVER
Total (Reference) 1000W
Front (Reference) 125W, 30%, 3 ohms
Center (Reference) 250W, 30%, 6 ohms
Surround (Reference) 125W, 30%, 3 ohms
Subwoofer (Reference) 250W, 30%, 6 ohms
Number of amp. channels Standard (5.1ch), All front (5.1ch)
S-Master 24bit
Digital Amplifier Yes
HDMI In/Out 2/1
Night Mode (Normal/Plus) Yes
LPCM 2ch/6ch/8ch out Yes/Yes/Yes
LPCM (2ch/5.1ch/7.1ch) via HDMI Yes/Yes/Yes (HDMI in; except 7.1ch)
DTS 96/24 Yes (HDMI in; Yes)
96k/24Bit PCM Yes (HDMI in)
DTS-ES (MATRIX6.1/DISCRETE6.1) Yes(as DTS Core)
DTS/DTS-HD Yes/Yes
DTS/DTS-HD (HR/MA/LBR) Yes/Yes (Yes/-/Yes)
Dolby Pro Logic/ Dolby Pro Logic II/Dolby Pro Logic IIx Yes (HDMI in; Yes)/-/-
Dolby Digital Yes
DTS HD/DolbyTruHD/Dolby Digital+ Yes (HDMI in; Yes)
DTS Yes
Digital live house mode Yes
Clearaudio+ Yes
Movie Yes
music Yes
Digital Music Enhancer Yes
Football Yes (Enhance/Narration cancel)
USB Port Yes
BRAVIA Sync Yes
Dimmer Yes
LAN WOW (Wake-up On WiFi)

Function
Wi-Fi capability Yes(2.4GHz & 5GHz)
Miracast Yes
VACS Yes
USB MEMORY Yes
USB keyboard Yes (101 only)
TUNER (FM/AM) 20 (FM)
TV Yes (Opt/HDMI ARC)
HDMI 1/HDMI 2 Yes/Yes
bluetooth Yes (A2DP (SINK), AVRCP)
Screen mirroring Yes (Screen Mirroring)
FM Yes
Coaxial Yes (Coax)
Audio Yes (Analog)
USB Yes

HDD
File System (FAT32, NTFS, exFAT) Yes(FAT32, NTFS)
External HDD (Read, Copy/Move) Yes(Read)

I/Os
bluetooth 1
USB 1
HDMI In/Out : 2/1
Opt. In/Out/TV(CEC) : 1
Coax. 1
Analog Input Assign 1

Main Unit
Front Speaker Unit 2
Center Speaker Unit 1
Surround Speaker Unit 2
Subwoofer Unit 1
Weight (Approx.) 1.6kg
Supplied Accessories HDMI Cable x1 , FM Lead Antena, Batteries, Warranty Card

Front Speaker
Model SS-TSIV300
Speaker Type Micro Satellite
Speaker System 1 way
Enclosure Type Bass Reflex
Input Terminal Push Type
Front Grille Type Fixed
Front Grille Material Metal
Speaker Unit 1 unit
Full range unit 65mm
Impedance 3ohm
Front Speaker Size (W x H x D) for L,R 114 x 100 x 102mm (whole speaker, vertical) x 2
Front Speaker Weight for L,R 0.41kg x2
Supplied Cable Length 2.5m

CENTER SPEAKER
Model SS-CTIV300
Speaker Type center
Speaker System 1 way
Enclosure Type Bass Reflex
Input Terminal Pig Tail
Front Grille Type Fixed
Front Grille Material Metal
Speaker Unit 1 unit
Full range unit 65mm
Impedance 6ohm
Size (W x H x D) 114 x 100 x 102mm (whole speaker, vertical)
Weight 0.44kg
Supplied Cable Length 2m

SURROUND SPEAKER
Model SS-TSIV300
Speaker Type Micro Satellite
Speaker System 1 way
Enclosure Type Bass Reflex
Input Terminal Push Type
Front Grille Type Fixed
Front Grille Material Metal
Speaker Unit 1 unit
Full range unit 65mm
Impedance 3 ohm
Surround Speaker Size (W x H x D) for L,R 114 x 100 x 102mm (whole speaker, vertical) x2
Front Speaker Weight for L,R 0.41kg x2
Supplied Cable Length 7m

SURROUND SETTINGS
2ch STEREO Yes
Dolby Prologic Yes(-48K)
DTS Neo:6 Music / DTS Neo:6 Cinema Yes(-48K) / Yes(-48K)

Subwoofer Unit
Model SS-WSIV300
Speaker System Subwoofer
Enclosure Type Bass Reflex
Active/Passive Passive
Input Terminal Pig Tail
Front Grille Type Fixed
Front Grille Material Metal
Speaker Unit 1 unit
Woofer Unit 180mm
Cabinet Material Wood
Impedance 6 ohm
Size (W x H x D) 245 x 350 x 325mm
Weight 6.2kg
Supplied Cable Length 3m

PLAYBACK CODEC (AUDIO)
DSDIFF (DSD) Yes (USB)
DSF Yes (USB)
MP3 Yes (USB)
WAV (LPCM) Yes (USB)
WMA Yes (USB)
AAC Yes (USB)
FLAC Yes (USB)
ALAC Yes (USB)
AIFF (LPCM) Yes (USB)

PLAYBACK CODEC (VIDEO)
VC1 (.m2ts, .mts) Yes (USB)
Motion JPEG (.mov, .avi) Yes (USB)
Xvid HD 1080 Yes (USB)
WMV9 (.wmv, .asf) Yes (USB)
AVCHD AVCHD Disc Format Forlder Yes (USB)
MPEG-1 Video/PS (.mpg .mpeg, .m2ts, .mts) <.VOB, .VRO> Yes (USB)
MPEG-2 Video/PS, TS ( .mpg.mpeg, .m2ts, .mts) <.VOB, .VRO> Yes (USB)
MPEG-4 AVC (.mkv, .mp4, .m4v, .m2ts, .mts) Yes (USB)
MPEG-4 Simple Profile Yes (USB)

TUNER
Preset Channel (Sirius/XM/FM/AM) 20 (FM)
FM Range 87.5-108MHz/100K
Auto Tuning Yes
FM Mode Yes

Video Features
A/V SYNC Yes
BRAVIA Sync Yes
HDMI Quality - Deep Colour Yes (HDMI input: No)
HDMI Quality - x.v.Color (xvYCC) Yes
HDMI Quality - Audio Return Channel Yes
HDMI Quality - 3D Pass Through Yes
HDMI Quality- DSD to LPCM conversion out Yes(88.2kHz/44.1kHz)
Up Scaler (4K) Yes

 

[A chauhan]

Entry level AVRs are underpowered as I felt during demo, and to get a moderately powered AVR I'll need to spend at least 70k to 80k and I am in no mood of spending that much.

I think I should rather settle on 1/4th priced Sony IV 300 which is only 10-15% less in quality (as some AVR lovers have claimed in some audio forums) and will serve me for at least 3 years with lots of codecs, thereafter I might think of buying a good AVR.

 

[OneGrimPilgrim]

@A chauhan - sorry for the late response. IV300 is a decent system. and which entry level HTiB did you audition? just found a pre-owned but unused yamaha yht-298 sold for 25k.

 

[A chauhan]

@A chauhan - sorry for the late response. IV300 is a decent system. and which entry level HTiB did you audition? just found a pre-owned but unused yamaha yht-298 sold for 25k.

I didn't ask its name, since I went there with some other purpose, but it was Yamaha, since the dealer mentioned YPAO, most possibly it was 2910. However my plan is changed now, I'll just get a Phillips 5.1 for my pc, will get Yamaha next year.

 

[A chauhan]

After all considerations - until the musicians start recording in 5.1 format, stereo is the way to go

 

[Haldiram]

Afaik we use AVRs for these reasons :-

1. Matrixing and Dolby audio
2. DSP effects
3. Cable management

So my question is - can DAC if used with amplifier fulfill that purpose ?

Just get a Yamaha 1840. It has everything you need. DAC, Amp, AVR all included in one unit. (28k)

https://in.yamaha.com/en/products/audio_visual/home_theater_systems/yht-1840/index.html

 

[Haldiram]

After all considerations - until the musicians start recording in 5.1 format, stereo is the way to go

What will they record in 5.1 anyway? It's a movie format for 3D surround sound. It has no use for music. If you are a music lover, there a world of earphones waiting for you. Enjoy it will full noise cancellation.

 

[A chauhan]

What will they record in 5.1 anyway? It's a movie format for 3D surround sound. It has no use for music. If you are a music lover, there a world of earphones waiting for you. Enjoy it will full noise cancellation.

Actually I like rooms filled with clean music, so headphones are a turnoff for me though they produce more cleaner music.

 

[Haldiram]

Meanwhile, these earbuds cost 90,000 rupees only/-

Shure SE846

Lollypop lagelu! bitches!

 

[Twinblade]

Just get a Yamaha 1840. It has everything you need. DAC, Amp, AVR all included in one unit. (28k)

https://in.yamaha.com/en/products/audio_visual/home_theater_systems/yht-1840/index.html

I purchased yamaha 1840 for 32.5K. Don't buy online as yamaha does not offer warranty for that. Also, tune the system yourself because the technician they sent to my place set it for unnatural base, so all explosions would create a cracking sound. Once tuned the sound is pre makkhan. The base rattles all my glassware and windows, which is pretty awesome for a 10 inch sub. 1840 also has a preamp out for active sub, so i may invest in an active sub this year.

I also intend to purchase an LDAC bluetooth receiver, but LDAC being propreitory sony tech, no other company is making it and sony only integrates LDAC codecs with their devices. So for the time being I play music from my Sony TV outputted through optical out. Also, sony restricts DSEE-HX to its phones and walkman players only.

Sony advantages:
DSEE-HX (for improving the sound quality of low bitrate mp3)
LDAC (bluetooth codec with near lossless audio, now made part of all android devices with bluetooth 5 and android 8 or above, but works only with sony bluetooth receivers / headphones)

Yamaha advantages
Gareebon ka bose :bounce:

After all considerations - until the musicians start recording in 5.1 format, stereo is the way to go

Ehh, all 5.1 systems have a 5 channel stereo mode, if you want that.

 

[Haldiram]

Yamaha advantages
Gareebon ka bose :bounce:

Yamaha is a very good set of speakers. I heard Bose in their demo showroom. It has a warm tuning with recessed treble and bass which gives a more smudgy overall sound signature (FM radio type 'rounded off' /blunt sound) which sounds soothing at the cost of clarity. Yamaha has good separation between highs and lows. Bass is punchy, treble is crisp, instrument separation is better than Bose.

Bose has a U-shaped EQ setting tuned for pleasing the masses. Yamaha is actually more clinical and audiophile grade, the price difference notwithstanding. They have done the same thing with their earphones.

PS : The bluetooth transmitter eventually cuts down bandwidth by half, no matter what they claim. It can carry 128kbps songs just fine but if you play FLAC or even 320k, it lowers the bitrate before transmitting.

PPS : Bose has a high bitrate bluetooth enabled stereo speaker for 16k-ish called Bose Soundtouch 10.

 

[Haldiram]

I also intend to purchase an LDAC bluetooth receiver,

Audio Technica has come out with their LDAC device.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audio-technica-at-pha55bt-bt-headphone-amplifier-ldac.870245/

I'm not sold on the whole wireless thing. The loss in quality is not worth the wireless convenience. Seems like a downgrade to go from 320kbps MP3 to LDAC (24-bit-96hz-128kbps) instead of upgrading to wired FLAC format.

I'm looking for a good pair of earphones in the 5k to 7k range :

Shortlisted these :

RHA MA 750
Shure 215
Audio Technica E40
Audio Technica IM01

Any suggestions?

 

[Twinblade]

^^ LDAC supports 996 Kbps and AptX supports 576 Kbps if I remember correctly.

 

[Haldiram]

^^ LDAC supports 996 Kbps and AptX supports 576 Kbps if I remember correctly.

Right. It's 996, not 128. Sorry about the confusion. I meant to say that LDAC is still lower than the FLAC - 1428 kbps. If you play blueray movies, then the sample rate is even higher. All of that will be missed in LDAC.

 

[Haldiram]

Question to people who've played on laptop keyboard and a dedicated gamepad >> which one feels more intuitive and immersive?

 

[A chauhan]

Question to people who've played on laptop keyboard and a dedicated gamepad >> which one feels more intuitive and immersive?

I have not played with laptop keyboard but regular keyboards and gamepads as well.

IMO in the beginning you might like the keyboard but if you want to play like a pro then use gamepad, it takes time to get used to it but it's better.

 

[Haldiram]

I have not played with laptop keyboard but regular keyboards and gamepads as well.

IMO in the beginning you might like the keyboard but if you want to play like a pro then use gamepad, it takes time to get used to it but it's better.

Which one to buy? Isme bhi wireless ka latency/lag wala issue hota hai kya?

Btw, per discussion above, I spotted a AptX wireless earbud on Macworld. Bluetooth 5.0 Qualcomm chip + LDS antenna. Placed and order for the black version. Tech Specs and design aesthetics looks really appealing.

This one >> https://www.macworld.com/article/34...ound-quality-isnt-the-only-thing-going-f.html

They also have an LDAC version but it is in neckband form-factor, not fully wireless earbuds.