I had gotten a pair of Sonus Faber Lumina IIs as a stop-gap measure, with the idea of spending time to listen to what's new in the world of speakers of late. The Luminas are fantastic speakers, especially given their size. For vocals, jazz, etc they could be all the speaker one needs to enjoy the music. But with large scale symphonic music, they are let down a little: small drivers in a small enclosure can only move so much air.
I did audition - and loved - the sound of the SF Sonettos and had nearly settled on the 5s. However, I wanted to check other alternatives before springing for the speakers, but work and other stuff kept me from doing so. I did have a chance to listen to Focal Arias and they are magnificent audiophile speakers for people who want to appreciate the sound coming from them - but to my ears, they sounded artificial and absolutely lacking in any kind of musicality.
I had started a thread earlier about trying out the Indiqs at their studio in Bangalore and had really liked their sound:
www.hifivision.com
Last week, I decided to break out of my holding pattern re alternatives to the Sonetto and asked Amit to audition the Indiqs at home. They arrived yesterday and I have been listening to them, as well as A/Bing back and forth between them and the Luminas. For the purpose of comparison, I tried to level-match by ear (which is certainly NOT reliable), and also changed the levels up and down at random, so that one speaker was occasionally louder than the other.
Here are my impressions, based on my standard list that i use to audition audio gear:
- For vocals (male and female): there is very little difference between the two. Difference in levels is likely the biggest culprit in explaining any perceived differences in sound. Here, my general philosophy kicks in: if you are straining to hear a difference, or if you cannot swear the difference exists, dont worry about it and just enjoy the music. I'll call it a tie
- For instruments (violins, piano, cello): the SFs do a better job of reproducing the leading edge of the note - when the bow hits the strings. The Indiqs do a better job of reproducing the body and reverb (the trailing edge). The sound is just "fuller", for want of a better word.
- Mid/upper bass (second octave and upwards) was more present on the Indiqs. Here, I suspect it is a matter of the listener's preferences. For someone wanting a more detailed sound, the Luminas do a better job. For someone wanting the concert hall feel (where the bass decay tends to hang around a little and mix with the subsequent notes, and the highs tend to get absorbed a little by the concert hall and people), the Indiqs feel closer to the music.
- Where the Indiqs win is in dynamics and ability to just go louder. While the driver isnt that much larger - 6.5" vs 6" - the enclosure is significantly bigger and overall, the sound is more muscular. I was (finally) able to crank up Iron Maiden's "Run to the hills" to a level that did it justice - something I was not able to do with the smaller Luminas. Similarly, the thunderous finale of Shostakovich's 11th came closer to the goosebumps of the live performance on these speakers.
- Soundstaging/imaging: not checked. Am indifferent to them.
Long story short - when I had first heard them, I had the feeling that i could be very happy in the long term with these speakers, and the home audition just reinforces that belief. I am well past the stage of trying to find the perfect sound (wasted shed tons on money doing that when I was younger) - and I have given up all audiophile pretensions. I just want the music to sound nice and to involve me the way it does in a concert hall, and beyond that, I couldnt be arsed. These speakers do that. Would the Sonettos, at 6x the price, do a better job? Maybe. Would it be significantly different? Unlikely - while I cannot directly compare the sound of the Sonettos with these, I can compare my emotional reaction to both speakers, and based on that, I dont know if spending the additional 4L would be worth it.
I am going to try to use this momentum to listen to the Lintons as well - had an imperfect audition of them, but they have potential. But even if the Lintons dont work out, my Lumina IIs are getting replaced.
(As an aside: I also have a pair of Mishra Golds on audition, which i want to use in a different room - will post my thoughts on them in a few days as well)
I did audition - and loved - the sound of the SF Sonettos and had nearly settled on the 5s. However, I wanted to check other alternatives before springing for the speakers, but work and other stuff kept me from doing so. I did have a chance to listen to Focal Arias and they are magnificent audiophile speakers for people who want to appreciate the sound coming from them - but to my ears, they sounded artificial and absolutely lacking in any kind of musicality.
I had started a thread earlier about trying out the Indiqs at their studio in Bangalore and had really liked their sound:
Auditioned Indiqs today
It's been on my list for a while, but i managed to make it out and listen to Indiq speakers today - specifically, the Diamond Achal and the Signature Mishras. Source was Spotify. Yeah yeah, lossy audio, I know. But it is more than suitable for providing a sense of the tonality and timbral...
www.hifivision.com
Last week, I decided to break out of my holding pattern re alternatives to the Sonetto and asked Amit to audition the Indiqs at home. They arrived yesterday and I have been listening to them, as well as A/Bing back and forth between them and the Luminas. For the purpose of comparison, I tried to level-match by ear (which is certainly NOT reliable), and also changed the levels up and down at random, so that one speaker was occasionally louder than the other.
Here are my impressions, based on my standard list that i use to audition audio gear:
- For vocals (male and female): there is very little difference between the two. Difference in levels is likely the biggest culprit in explaining any perceived differences in sound. Here, my general philosophy kicks in: if you are straining to hear a difference, or if you cannot swear the difference exists, dont worry about it and just enjoy the music. I'll call it a tie
- For instruments (violins, piano, cello): the SFs do a better job of reproducing the leading edge of the note - when the bow hits the strings. The Indiqs do a better job of reproducing the body and reverb (the trailing edge). The sound is just "fuller", for want of a better word.
- Mid/upper bass (second octave and upwards) was more present on the Indiqs. Here, I suspect it is a matter of the listener's preferences. For someone wanting a more detailed sound, the Luminas do a better job. For someone wanting the concert hall feel (where the bass decay tends to hang around a little and mix with the subsequent notes, and the highs tend to get absorbed a little by the concert hall and people), the Indiqs feel closer to the music.
- Where the Indiqs win is in dynamics and ability to just go louder. While the driver isnt that much larger - 6.5" vs 6" - the enclosure is significantly bigger and overall, the sound is more muscular. I was (finally) able to crank up Iron Maiden's "Run to the hills" to a level that did it justice - something I was not able to do with the smaller Luminas. Similarly, the thunderous finale of Shostakovich's 11th came closer to the goosebumps of the live performance on these speakers.
- Soundstaging/imaging: not checked. Am indifferent to them.
Long story short - when I had first heard them, I had the feeling that i could be very happy in the long term with these speakers, and the home audition just reinforces that belief. I am well past the stage of trying to find the perfect sound (wasted shed tons on money doing that when I was younger) - and I have given up all audiophile pretensions. I just want the music to sound nice and to involve me the way it does in a concert hall, and beyond that, I couldnt be arsed. These speakers do that. Would the Sonettos, at 6x the price, do a better job? Maybe. Would it be significantly different? Unlikely - while I cannot directly compare the sound of the Sonettos with these, I can compare my emotional reaction to both speakers, and based on that, I dont know if spending the additional 4L would be worth it.
I am going to try to use this momentum to listen to the Lintons as well - had an imperfect audition of them, but they have potential. But even if the Lintons dont work out, my Lumina IIs are getting replaced.
(As an aside: I also have a pair of Mishra Golds on audition, which i want to use in a different room - will post my thoughts on them in a few days as well)
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