Korean Job Discussion Forums

SHANE02 · Joined: 04 Jun 2003

My old Kenwood AMP is about to die and it's about time to update and get a home theatre sys. Im looking at this.

http://www.interpark.com/product/MallDisplay.do?_method=detail&sc.shopNo=0000100000&sc.prdNo=23288249&sc.dispNo=016001

I've never had 5.1 before so I have no idea really what I should look for. I just assume I need an decent amp and the speaker set up. I will be getting a new HD LCD tv in the near future too so with that in mind, are there any special things I should look for when purchasing home theatre?

I don't need top of the line gear. Just good quality.

Thanks.

ulsanchris · Joined: 19 Jun 2003 Location: take a wild guess

if you are getting a new HDTV then you might want to take advantage of HDMi. If you do that will increase the cost of your av/receiver by quite a bit.

SHANE02 · Joined: 04 Jun 2003

Yes thanks. Just read up on HDMI.

rocklee · Joined: 04 Oct 2005 Location: Seoul

How big is your room? If its 4mx4m or smaller then maybe you don't really need big powerful speakers (even good computer speakers will do).

How many people? If its just for yourself, do you really need 5.1? I use a pair of headphones which gives me all the dynamics and range of a theatre.

esetters21 · Joined: 30 Apr 2006 Location: Seoul

SHANE02 · Joined: 04 Jun 2003

esetters21 · Joined: 30 Apr 2006 Location: Seoul

I have a lower end Glanz system (Revolution 200TS). It has 2 optical inputs and 2 coaxil/audio inputs. It is not the greatest for straight audio (cd music), but it does a good job of producing 5.1 sound for DVD's when you take the time to dial in the sound to your preference. It's never going to be my system from home (Yamaha RZ-1 receiver/tuner with Carver 7.1 CineSeries speakers), but it is more than enough for my small apartment Laughing

. Hope this helps somewhat.

SHANE02 · Joined: 04 Jun 2003

That's the one i saw actually. Thanks for the info, it's helpful.
Your home setup sounds sweet.

mrsquirrel · Joined: 13 Dec 2006

http://waveon.huiplus.com/eng/b_03_3.php

Found these the other day for people living in boxes like me.

bassexpander · Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Location: Someplace you'd rather be.

How much is your budget?

Receivers are overpriced in Korea, and they keep 3 year-old stock and sell it at the same prices as retail new. Do your research.

I'm looking at the new Onkyo TX-SR506 coming out in a few weeks. That or the 576 (which may be called the 606 here -- not sure). Price is around 600,000 won.

You might want to look into Yamaha receivers. I'm looking at those, too, and prices are closer to $400 for what you'd want.

HDMI is a screwey beast with all sorts of issues and problems with recievers. Just because a receiver says it does it doesn't mean it does it well (or at all, really). Some receivers even have audio/video delay problems through HDMI which produce lip-flap.

SHANE02 · Joined: 04 Jun 2003

ulsanchris · Joined: 19 Jun 2003 Location: take a wild guess

I think i will be getting the onkyo tx-sr605. It is very well rated, and the folks at cnet claim it to be future proof, well at least for a few years. I will be pairing that with a set of Jamo speakers. Will be going cheap on the DVD player though, cause blueray will be big in a few years here. Or i might try to build my own multimedia centre computer with the help of a friend.

bassexpander · Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Location: Someplace you'd rather be.

Well, I looked around at Techno-mart, and the prices are about as high as they are on the net. Not many dealers around, and you don't save much going with the internet.

The Onkyo 605 was out-of-stock at Techno-mart. You can still get it off of Enuri:

http://www.enuri.com/search/Searchlist.jsp?searchkind=1&es=&keyword=onkyo

Prices are so much higher here... am tempted to buy back home (prices are nearly half) when I visit, but don't want to worry about service if something goes wrong. Hmm...

Yamaha also has a 663 model coming out VERY soon, and should be similar in spec. Will want to make sure it has blu-ray "deep color" ability, though.:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1007939

The current 661 Yamaha goes for closer to 430,000 won.

Easter Clark · Joined: 18 Nov 2007 Location: Hiding from Yie Eun-woong

^

I wouldn't shell out all that cash on nice equipment unless you are able to really turn up the volume (which you can't do in most apartments in Korea). Otherwise you're better off buying some nice computer speakers, as another poster said. Well, either that or go to a DVD 방! I'd put more won into the picture and less into the sound. Just my two cents'.

bassexpander · Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Location: Someplace you'd rather be.

1 to 2 million is not big money when it comes to Hi-Fi.

My speakers alone cost 1.5 million here, and they're small (Paradigm Mini-Monitors with a matching Center Channnel). I've got two cheap/dirty little Inkel speakers for surrounds.

And I'm not even counting the price of the Paradigm PDR-12 sub, which I had to import. That would easily bring 500,000 here.

I'll be spending between 600,000 and 1.2 million on either an Onkyo, Yamaha, or Marantz.

There is more to sound than just the ability to make more noise. Better amps with less distortion and a lot of headroom produce a wider sound stage and dimension. With a good system, you can actually point to areas around the room and tell where the individual instruments are.