1st Stereo setup for around ₹50000

[saketgyani]

Hello!

I'm Saket from Bombay and am super stoked to buy my first set of bookshelf speakers and an integrated amplifier.

This setup will be used to play music and also be hooked to my existing TV that plays mainly Netflix and Hotstar via a Chromecast.

I'd say, the stereo setup will be used 50-50 for music and TV.

For music, the source is going to be mainly an iPhone and an iPad streaming Apple Music and Amazon Music. I will be saving up to buy a record player in around 6 months or so.

This setup will be in my small (typical Bombay) living room of 15ftX10ft. Listening distance is around 8ft. Please refer to the plan view I drew and attached.

I listen to various types of music. Blues, Jazz, Rock N Roll, Indian Classical and some Fusion.
Mainly Led Zeppelin, Cream, B B King, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Lee Morgan, A R Rahman, Mehdi Hassan, Coke Studio Pakistan and so on.

Need your suggestions to find bookshelf speakers and an integrated amplifier for a total budget of around ₹50000.

I am a little biased towards Dali. I auditioned Zensor 1 with Marantz NR1508 Receiver at The Shop near JVPD Circle. Fell in love with that combination. Used a receiver only because of the lack of a Marantz amp at the store. Also, tried the same Zensor 1 speakers with Yamaha RS202 receiver and that combination sounded nothing like the earlier one and left me disappointed in that combination.

I was told that the Marantz receiver had the signature Marantz sound that is present in all their amps and receivers.

I feel like buying Dali Zensor 1 or Skeptor 2 and pairing them up with Marantz PM5005 integrated amp.

I am going to audition Wharfedale Diamond 220's with Marantz PM5005 at HiFi Mart later this week. Let's see how that goes. Shall update here.

It would be great if anyone would be kind enough to suggest other speaker - amp combinations based on my taste in music and my room size.

Thank you for reading through this and I hope I make a good choice.

Cheers!

 

[ttarasu]

I feel like buying Dali Zensor 1 or Skeptor 2 and pairing them up with Marantz PM5005 integrated amp.

IMHO skeptor 2s will serve you good for music than Zensor1.I have both Dskeptor2 & DZ3 ,use DS for music DZ3 for movies.
If you love Dali sounds go for Dali skeptor2s.

 

[gowmara]

Don’t buy PM5005 , it is entry level with less watts. Go with 6005/6006. I had pm6004 with zensor 3. It is good combo

 

[arjuraj]

go for 6000+series!!

 

[raghupb]

Don’t buy PM5005 , it is entry level with less watts. Go with 6005/6006. I had pm6004 with zensor 3. It is good combo

This setup will be used to play music and also be hooked to my existing TV that plays mainly Netflix and Hotstar via a Chromecast.

I'd say, the stereo setup will be used 50-50 for music and TV.

For music, the source is going to be mainly an iPhone and an iPad streaming Apple Music and Amazon Music. I will be saving up to buy a record player in around 6 months or so.

PM5005 is an analog input only IA with 40/55W for 8/4 ohms
PM6005/6006 is a DAC inclusive IA with 45/60W for 8/4 ohms

The main difference is digital inputs (1 Coax plus 1/2 Opt)
There are other minor spec variations, that end user may use to choose between the two series (not that it matters that much).

Please don't judge 6005/6006 as higher power vis-a-vis 5005. 5W on max power is hardly noticeable.

Choose the amp after listening to it with whatever speakers sounds good to your ear.
Your decision should also be based on what you plan to use as sources.
Eg. someone already having an out board DAC may settle for PM5005, if not PM6006 is a good choice (higher price for in built DAC)
Both Marantz series have phono inputs for TT integration.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[MaSh]

Marantz and Dali is indeed a good combination for sure. As mentioned above dac option is the only major difference between the 5 and the 6 series. With 5 you have the flexibility of using your own dac is or even try out different DACs. Can do with 6 series too, but then you end up having redundant DACs. Wattage difference is hardly a difference.

If trying out wharfedale, try then with an onkyo or a Yamaha, marantz might sound dull.

MaSh

 

[rsponline]

hifimart was selling qacoustics 3020i + marantz 6006 for 52K earlier. Now it is out of stock.

https://www.hifimart.com/package-de...ustics-3020i-plus-marantz-pm6006-package.html

 

[saketgyani]

IMHO skeptor 2s will serve you good for music than Zensor1.I have both Dskeptor2 & DZ3 ,use DS for music DZ3 for movies.
If you love Dali sounds go for Dali skeptor2s.

Thanks for the suggestion. Will definitely keep it in mind.

 

[saketgyani]

PM5005 is an analog input only IA with 40/55W for 8/4 ohms
PM6005/6006 is a DAC inclusive IA with 45/60W for 8/4 ohms

The main difference is digital inputs (1 Coax plus 1/2 Opt)
There are other minor spec variations, that end user may use to choose between the two series (not that it matters that much).

Please don't judge 6005/6006 as higher power vis-a-vis 5005. 5W on max power is hardly noticeable.

Choose the amp after listening to it with whatever speakers sounds good to your ear.
Your decision should also be based on what you plan to use as sources.
Eg. someone already having an out board DAC may settle for PM5005, if not PM6006 is a good choice (higher price for in built DAC)
Both Marantz series have phono inputs for TT integration.

Cheers,
Raghu

Thanks for your inputs.
My TV doesn’t have digital output for sound. It has RCA jacks. So DAC won’t be useful (as far as I know. Please correct me if I’m wrong).
Apart from an inbuilt DAC, wattage is the only difference between PM6006 and PM5005. Of course 6006 does come with a toroidal transformer so I’m tempted to audition it.
Thanks for your suggestion, appreciate it.

 

[saketgyani]

Marantz and Dali is indeed a good combination for sure. As mentioned above dac option is the only major difference between the 5 and the 6 series. With 5 you have the flexibility of using your own dac is or even try out different DACs. Can do with 6 series too, but then you end up having redundant DACs. Wattage difference is hardly a difference.

If trying out wharfedale, try then with an onkyo or a Yamaha, marantz might sound dull.

MaSh

Thanks for the suggestion.
Makes sense. Will audition Wharfedale with Yamaha and Onkyo.
Would you recommend Q Acoustics 3020i? What amp do they sound well with?

 

[saketgyani]

hifimart was selling qacoustics 3020i + marantz 6006 for 52K earlier. Now it is out of stock.

https://www.hifimart.com/package-de...ustics-3020i-plus-marantz-pm6006-package.html

Very eager to audition this combination.

 

[raghupb]

Thanks for your inputs.
My TV doesn’t have digital output for sound. It has RCA jacks. So DAC won’t be useful (as far as I know. Please correct me if I’m wrong).
Apart from an inbuilt DAC, wattage is the only difference between PM6006 and PM5005. Of course 6006 does come with a toroidal transformer so I’m tempted to audition it.
Thanks for your suggestion, appreciate it.

Too much hype has been built around toroidal transformers.
EI transformers built to spec perform well too.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[saketgyani]

Too much hype has been built around toroidal transformers.
EI transformers built to spec perform well too.

Cheers,
Raghu

Yes, Raghu. I guess.
Got to hear it to differentiate.
Shall go for an audition later this week and write a post here with my experience.
I’m currently interested in:
Dali Z1 / S2 with Marantz PM5005 / 6006
Q Acoustics 3020i with Marantz PM5005 / 6006
Wharfefe Diamond 220 with some Yamaha or Onkyo amp as suggested by Mash.

Let’s see how it goes.
Shall keep you posted.

Thanks!

 

[raghupb]

Dalis you have short listed may need a bit of power to shine or come alive.
Their sensitivity specs are lower than many comparable units.
Keep this in mind when auditioning.
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[saketgyani]

Dalis you have short listed may need a bit of power to shine or come alive.
Their sensitivity specs are lower than many comparable units.
Keep this in mind when auditioning.
Cheers,
Raghu

Yeah. Shall keep it in mind while auditioning.
But if I was to just guess, it would be fine as the listening distance is 8feet in a 15X10 room.
Shall try to position myself and the speakers during audition the way they’d be at my place.

 

[MaSh]

Thanks for the suggestion.
Makes sense. Will audition Wharfedale with Yamaha and Onkyo.
Would you recommend Q Acoustics 3020i? What amp do they sound well with?

Yes QA 3020 are lovely speakers, slightly low on bass I feel, but otherwise very good speakers. You cant drive them with Marantz or even a Nad.

MaSh

 

[saketgyani]

Yes QA 3020 are lovely speakers, slightly low on bass I feel, but otherwise very good speakers. You cant drive them with Marantz or even a Nad.

MaSh

Thanks for the insight.
Shall audition them too later this week.
Nad is out of budget so I’ll have to settle with Marantz or Denon.
Will let you know how I found the speaker amp combination.
Cheers!

 

[ttarasu]

Too much hype has been built around toroidal transformers.
EI transformers built to spec perform well too.

Sharing this https://www.soundstage.com/maxdb/maxdb071998.htm

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[saketgyani]

Wow!
Never thought about that!
Lots of people have complained about the whizzing noise from the PM6006, I guess that's due to off-the-shelf toroidal transformer.
Bad idea to buy an entry level (inexpensive) amp that has a toroidal transformer as; according to the article, it is extremely expensive to manufacture a toroidal that somewhat takes the DC offset in its stride.
Thanks for the link.
Very enlightening!

 

[saketgyani]

As per the article:

But putting an EI-frame in a tightly packed multi-channel amp or receiver is just about impossible...there just isn’t enough room to stay away from the radiated magnetic field. In those applications, you will almost always find toroidal power transformers.
But in general, being able to connect the core of the EI-frame transformer electrically to the chassis of the component and the air gaps created by the two-piece laminated core give even 'off-the-shelf' EI-frame transformers some performance capabilities beyond what you can get from 'off-the-shelf' toroidal transformers.

Swaying towards PM5005 now. Simple integrated amp not at all crammed up with options. Just amplify the signal and deliver it to the speakers.

Feel like I'm pretty gullible as an audio noob. One day I'm all for Caravaggio and the other day I'm all for Monet.