Need advice for a friend in the U.S.

A cousin of mine stays in Albany, NY and about 6 months back he bought a Marantz SR4600 AV Receiver from accessories4less.com
He's happy with their service and found no issues so far. He'd heard Marantz somewhere in his friend's place 'cause he couldnt find any Marantz dealer near Albany.

He had auditioned NAD and CA receivers/stereo amps which are available with hifi dealers around Albany.
He's connected the Marantz with a pair of KEF iQ3 bookshelves as fronts for stereo and yet to turn the setup into 5.1.
Was using a Philips DVDp (less than 100$) for quite sometime now, but has recently bought the Oppo DV-981hd (230$) from Amazon.

He had auditioned B&W DM601 S3, MA RS1, JBLs, Polk, Focal, Athena & Paradigm bookshelves (don't remember the models), KEF iQ1 and PSB Image B25s before deciding on KEF iQ3s (around 400$). All these were available in & around Albany hifi stores, lemme know if you need the store names, need to check with him.

As you are having access to stuff in the US, Here are two internet direct players who give the best bang for the buck out there at low-mid budget levels. They offer 30 days money-back guarantee too. Check them out. They will outperform most mass-market brands because they deal direct and products are solidly engineered.

http://www.av123.com/products_category.php?section=speakers

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/index.html

av123 looks nice. But could anyone please suggest the entire package? DVD player, amp, 2 speakers for $800-$1000

zhopudey schrieb:

av123 looks nice. But could anyone please suggest the entire package? DVD player, amp, 2 speakers for $800-$1000 :)

Is sending her to Radio Shack an option?
At R-S she'll get the entire HT package including DVD player for $300-$500 & that should be their highest end system.
Alternatively, is sending her to Best Buy or Circuit City an option?
These 2 places are much like R-S but higher end. Here she could blow her budget easily as they have some reasonably good "toys" for the mass market.
Again, she should be able to get the entire HT package for $800-$1000 with some lower-end bookshelf speakers.
IMHO, I think the best place for her is Radio Shack.
She can even get their interconnects (which are very decent performing. they have made it to the Stereophile C list, believe it or not!) & speaker wires. So, it should be 1-stop shopping for her.
FWIW.

Best Buy wold be cool I guess. Their salesmen are well trained for this
I did my job, however. Suggested the following -

Oppo 720p HDMI player - $150
Panasonic XA57 digital reciever - $400 (300 on amazon)
Def Tech ProCinema 600 - $800
Some 720p LCD - $800-1000

Yeah, I know I said stereo earlier, but then I figured she's not particular about music. So I thought a sub-sat 5.1 would be better.

What you have suggested should work fine for her.
The Panasonic digital receivers are pretty good for the money. The new digital receivers from Panasonic , JVC etc… will easily eat most entry level av receivers from marantz and co…for breakfast. I have a friend who has one in Bangalore and it sure kicks ass.
The Deftech are pretty good for a movie lover. The oppo progressive scan dvd player is good too.
AV 123 is good for a serious HT setup but the budget will surely go up.

all of you may not like me for what I am suggesting..
A.
1. Bose Lifestyle 6 speaker system (5 speakers + acoustimass)-700 USD
2. HK HT receiver AVR 145 (in the 200-300 range)
3. speaker cables come with the Bose but IC is extra.

very neat setup with minimum wiring.most NY apartments are really small and large speakers are an overkill

instead of the HK, one option is a sony/Pioneer receiver with built in DVDP.

Believe me she will thank you for this..especailly when her friends praise it. may be worth the extra spend over budget.

B. Nakamichi Niro all in one solution. i think it retails for around 700-1100 depending on the choice. no fuss/mess and good sound and true 5 channel virtual output 1 cedntral unit with 3 speakers.

only available online at http://us.niro1.com/

If placed in the right room it is pretty amazing..but placement is important hence choice B.

Just trying to be different here

Hi Arj,

I agree with you.

I suspect that the lady would also appreciate the Lifestyle value and perceived value of the Bose & Nakamichi Products.

How does the Bose or Nakamichi system score over the Deftech pro cinema sub-sat system when it comes to convenience and size ?
The Panasonic and oppo are already slimline designs anyway.

The new digital receivers from Panasonic , JVC etc… will easily eat most entry level av receivers from marantz and co…for breakfast. I have a friend who has one in Bangalore and it sure kicks ass.

Are these available in India... Grey Market ?

How much ?

Any specific model numbers and product pointers ( Watts / channel, etc ) ?

Would appreciate the info. Thanks

CONGRATS ZHOUPEY,
Youre an International Consultant now.
Purnendu

Amp_Nut schrieb:

The new digital receivers from Panasonic , JVC etc… will easily eat most entry level av receivers from marantz and co…for breakfast. I have a friend who has one in Bangalore and it sure kicks ass. Are these available in India... Grey Market ? How much ? Any specific model numbers and product pointers ( Watts / channel, etc ) ? Would appreciate the info. Thanks

Will check with my friend and let you know the model Ampnut. It is JVC.
He got it from the US. I don't think you get these here.
The rule of the thump these days for AV Recievers is to stay with digital receivers if you are not looking for hi-end HT amplification.

Arj, I figured Def Tech are good looking enuff And I wouldn't have to spend sleepless nights due to recommending bose
I initially thought of the Def Tech mythos series, but thats out of her budget.

def techs are far better in sound (I would recommend the mirage Nanosat series as even better) but lifestyle systems like Nakamichi Niro and Bose have a "ownership value" which is much higher in the non audiophile circle which constitutes 99.99 % of the human population !!

I have a Bose based HT which draws wows and raised eyebrows in my drawing room while my Hifi in the dedicated audio room only draws a curious expression and "you need serious help" kind of looks from friends and relatives...my maid anyway thinks I am bonkers since i have told her that i prefer the area behind the back of my speakers dirty compared to her moving it around.

Well, to impress her friends, she could use the age old trick - "My speakers cost more than Bose"