Advice for 2.1 stereo system

[prateekatasniya]

How about corrson monitors series speakers.
It has scanspeak drivers. Made by the manufacturer of acoustic portrait.
They cost 1.5 lakhs with home delivery.
Anyone took a demo of those speakers ?

 

[MJ23Bulls]

Elangos Sir.....
....... Please advise what technicalities etc to look out for while auditioning, other than personal taste.

Though this is addressed to Elangoas, I couldn't resist referring to @gruntho's auditioning experience. Enjoy!
http://www.hifivision.com/speakers/50470-search-entry-level-floorstanders-dali-zensor-7-a.html

 

[prateekatasniya]

Setup of a subwoofer is a difficult task.. I regret buying a subwoofer for a smaller speaker. Instead I should have bought a speaker which could have gone to 35hz. Pair it with a good amp and that's it. You are ready to roll.

 

[Naturelover]

How about corrson monitors series speakers.
It has scanspeak drivers. Made by the manufacturer of acoustic portrait.
They cost 1.5 lakhs with home delivery.
Anyone took a demo of those speakers ?

This was probably the first pair but it is beyond the OP's budget
http://www.hifivision.com/showthread.php?t=64154

 

[Knightrider]

Sorry i have to disagree with the sweeping statement "Bookshelves with a nice sub will any day be better than a pair of floor standers". You would have to add a sub too to the FS pair to compare them equally and from my personal exp, an FS easily beats hands down a bookshelf.

I am guessing same.

How about corrson monitors series speakers.
It has scanspeak drivers. Made by the manufacturer of acoustic portrait.
They cost 1.5 lakhs with home delivery.
Anyone took a demo of those speakers ?

Its way above my budget, also the person who got this has entirely different taste in music so not sure abt it. But thanks a lot for making me aware of such. Maybe someday in future i might be able to afford and appreciate them.

Though this is addressed to Elangoas, I couldn't resist referring to @gruntho's auditioning experience. Enjoy!
http://www.hifivision.com/speakers/50470-search-entry-level-floorstanders-dali-zensor-7-a.html

I am leaning towawrds Dali Zensor 7 too, (based on what i listened on youtube reviews with music). B&W FS seems to sounds better than Dali, but thats way above my budget too.

Setup of a subwoofer is a difficult task.. I regret buying a subwoofer for a smaller speaker. Instead I should have bought a speaker which could have gone to 35hz. Pair it with a good amp and that's it. You are ready to roll.

Right now have dropped the idea of subwoofer for time being, its gonna be AMP+Pair of speakers. Would Dali Zensor 7 with NAD 326/526- Marantz PM6006/Pm7005 be able to do that?

 

[MaSh]

Sorry i have to disagree with the sweeping statement "Bookshelves with a nice sub will any day be better than a pair of floor standers". You would have to add a sub too to the FS pair to compare them equally and from my personal exp, an FS easily beats hands down a bookshelf.

And I have absolutely no issues with that. Would love to see some examples. That would make the view clear for all. Although, I do agree with your view, but that's not for every speaker.

MaSh

Sent from my Redmi Note 3

 

[Knightrider]

Mash,
If we remove sub out of the picture, which one would be more suitable for a room 16x14 feet, most of the time at low volume and ocassionally at moderate to mid-high levels - from among Dali zensor 3/5/7 ?
It would help me a lot in my selection.

 

[MaSh]

Mash,
If we remove sub out of the picture, which one would be more suitable for a room 16x14 feet, most of the time at low volume and ocassionally at moderate to mid-high levels - from among Dali zensor 3/5/7 ?
It would help me a lot in my selection.

That room dimension is almost same as mine. However I have not heard Dali towers. I had elac b6 with a Nad vintage stereo amp. The bass was more than enough. I do night shifts and music plays all night, at low volumes and the tight bass from the B6 never disappointed me. Yes, for movies, something like mad Max, avatar, etc I needed my sub woofer on duty. For the rest, I used to switch off the sub all together and rely on the B6 alone playing Large.

In your case I would choose between the Z3 and Z7. I heard Z3 at DNI and loved it. We demoed mad max and did a number of A B comparison with and without the sub. As expected for movies the sub did add a bit, however when we switched to music, the sub was not needed.

All this is as per my taste and preference, yours could differ from mine, hence would suggest a good lengthy audition before you decide.

MaSh

Sent from my Redmi Note 3

 

[MaSh]

In your case I would choose between the Z3 and Z7. I heard Z3 at DNI and loved it. We demoed mad max and did a number of A B comparison with and without the sub. As expected for movies the sub did add a bit, however when we switched to music, the sub was not needed.

Sorry, had to cut short as I am at work. Carrying on with another example. Same NAD stereo amp, now with Polk Audio Monitor 30 speakers. With these a Sub was absolutely needed as they themselves had no bass to talk about. Be it movies or music. However, these speaker had fantastic Mids and Highs and when played along with my 10" sub, it was just fantastic. I preferred this setup to the B6 setup, as this gave me more flexibility and opportunity to play around with setup. Speakers did what they do best and Sub did what it does best.

My current setup is Kef towers which I use for both Music and Movies. These being towers do not have same bass as the Elac B6. Not even close. However, at the same time, not that bad either. With music, its upto my mood and time of the day. At night, I do not miss the Sub at all, they have enough even at low volumes. At high volumes, during the day, the Sub is again optional. Good to have if I am in the mood to shake things up. At the same time, they are perfectly fine for Music without the sub. For movies, a Sub is a Must, and that I feel is with any speaker.

In the end, its the listeners preference for music and the speakers/amp he has. Having towers, if I had the option to pick a bookshelf that gave me some bass, I guess I will pick that, just for the flexibility and different options to play with.

Hope I could help a bit. Again, do audition, pick the speakers and then decide on the sub.

MaSh

 

[prateekatasniya]

If a subwoofer is compulsory for you then why are you buying floor standers?
Go with z3 if the low end will be delivered by the subwoofer.
Sound quality will be similar from both z3 to z7 when played with a sub.
By saving on the speaker you will be able to buy a better amplifier.
Btw which amp/avr r u thinking to buy?

 

[prateekatasniya]

Check the THD of the amplifiers you mentioned. It will help u select a better amp.

 

[Knightrider]

Sorry, had to cut short as I am at work. Carrying on with another example. Same NAD stereo amp, now with Polk Audio Monitor 30 speakers. With these a Sub was absolutely needed as they themselves had no bass to talk about. Be it movies or music. However, these speaker had fantastic Mids and Highs and when played along with my 10" sub, it was just fantastic. I preferred this setup to the B6 setup, as this gave me more flexibility and opportunity to play around with setup. Speakers did what they do best and Sub did what it does best.

My current setup is Kef towers which I use for both Music and Movies. These being towers do not have same bass as the Elac B6. Not even close. However, at the same time, not that bad either. With music, its upto my mood and time of the day. At night, I do not miss the Sub at all, they have enough even at low volumes. At high volumes, during the day, the Sub is again optional. Good to have if I am in the mood to shake things up. At the same time, they are perfectly fine for Music without the sub. For movies, a Sub is a Must, and that I feel is with any speaker.

In the end, its the listeners preference for music and the speakers/amp he has. Having towers, if I had the option to pick a bookshelf that gave me some bass, I guess I will pick that, just for the flexibility and different options to play with.

Hope I could help a bit. Again, do audition, pick the speakers and then decide on the sub.

MaSh

I heard Elac (youtube) thay definately have better bass and i liked it. Current aim is to get best speakers in my budget, so that i won't have to upgrade them in near future, and keep adding other components to the system. Sub will be added after a few months.
For music i like thumping bass (like in clubs) not boomy bass.

If a subwoofer is compulsory for you then why are you buying floor standers?
Go with z3 if the low end will be delivered by the subwoofer.
Sound quality will be similar from both z3 to z7 when played with a sub.
By saving on the speaker you will be able to buy a better amplifier.
Btw which amp/avr r u thinking to buy?

Subwoofer is not compulsory for music, my view is, if it adds to SQ then will buy it later on. But will defiantely add a sub when i get a surround system for movies.

Currently the list includes NAD C 326BEE/NAD C 526BEE, Marantz PM6006/7005. Feel free to add to the list. My preferences are Mids+thumping bass, not a fan of too much high frequencies.

Check the THD of the amplifiers you mentioned. It will help u select a better amp.

Will sure do, Please suggest amps with good THD levels.

Thanks for all of your suggestions and guidance.

 

[elangoas]

Currently plan to buy 2.1 stereo system, later on buy multichannel set up for movies and integrate it with the 2.1 stereo set up.

How do you plan to integrate stereo with mutlichannel?

Elangos Sir

Will follow your advise and Audition both i.e Stereo amps and AVRs with suggeted speakers. Planned to be done with it in less than a week. But it seems will have to wait longer to audition and decide.

Please advise what technicalities etc to look out for while auditioning, other than personal taste.

If stereo is what you are after, consider these new age fully digital amps...

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/SMS...lgo_pvid=99e05c18-3a8e-4305-9db0-4791a9b69bd3

It might look like they are less on power, but it was able to drive my Sonodyne Sonus 1501 BS (86db) to good volumes in a 150 Sqft room..

An another one for consideration - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/FX-...lgo_pvid=3d594975-2b7b-470c-965f-23f2a981c2a9

All these stereo digital amplifiers have all the digital inputs (Optical, co-axial,USB) and an anlogue input too.. SMSL Q5 Pro has sub-out too.. I have used the SMSL Q5 Pro for a good 7 months time and it did run without a glitch..

At the most you might pay 1K as duty when you import to India.. For 10K you are done with stereo amplifier which has digital inputs, so there is no need to spend on DAC..

 

[Knightrider]

How do you plan to integrate stereo with mutlichannel?

AVR Pre Outs > Stereo Amp > Stereo speakers ( as AVR Front L+R).
Is this correct?

Looks like these amps are value for money. But do they have same SQ as NAD/Marantz Amps?

 

[prateekatasniya]

Currently plan to buy 2.1 stereo system, later on buy multichannel set up for movies and integrate it with the 2.1 stereo set up.

How do you plan to integrate stereo with mutlichannel?



If stereo is what you are after, consider these new age fully digital amps...

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/SMS...lgo_pvid=99e05c18-3a8e-4305-9db0-4791a9b69bd3

It might look like they are less on power, but it was able to drive my Sonodyne Sonus 1501 BS (86db) to good volumes in a 150 Sqft room..

An another one for consideration - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/FX-...lgo_pvid=3d594975-2b7b-470c-965f-23f2a981c2a9

All these stereo digital amplifiers have all the digital inputs (Optical, co-axial,USB) and an anlogue input too.. SMSL Q5 Pro has sub-out too.. I have used the SMSL Q5 Pro for a good 7 months time and it did run without a glitch..

At the most you might pay 1K as duty when you import to India.. For 10K you are done with stereo amplifier which has digital inputs, so there is no need to spend on DAC..

Warranty with these amps ?

 

[prateekatasniya]

Out of your choices i would prefer nad amps. It has subwoofer outputs and lesser THD.

 

[elangoas]

How do you plan to integrate stereo with mutlichannel?

AVR Pre Outs > Stereo Amp > Stereo speakers ( as AVR Front L+R).
Is this correct?

Yes.. you are correct..In this fashion, AVR DAC will be used & stereo amplifier will be treated as power amplifier only.. If you need pre-outs on both AVR & stereo amplifier, then it will cost you..

These features are mostly available in Mid range AVR.. Also to use a stereo amplifier with AVR,you would need "main -in" kind of inputs on stereo amplifier..

Looks like these amps are value for money. But do they have same SQ as NAD/Marantz Amps?

Yes they are value for money.. What if the SQ is better than the brands

Warranty with these amps ?

Don't think you get warranty with these amps.. They don't have distributor in India yet.. But they should work just fine..The power supply is thru external adaptor.. Similar to laptop adaptor..

I have seen few FM here have imported to India thru aliexpress, been like 6 or more so.. So far no issues have been reported..

 

[soundbuff]

Have you called Hi Fi Mart for a talk? The guy has a good bedside manner and will walk you through options.

A less known amp which you might like is consider is french brand Atoll. I have had their entry level integrated on loan for a month now and at medium volumes it is clear, calm and composed. No clicks, hums etc. Sound quality is balanced and refinement is very very good for the money. There are plenty of inputs and a pre-out too. Headphone is good enough for my Beyer DT880s. I am not sure but they have a model with a phono or a DAC choice. It costs about 50K and I would recommend it confidently. I am playing it in a 6 lakh source and speaker set up and the limitations should have been glaring, but there are no obvious faults, like high frequency excess or sucked in midrange etc. I listen to symphonic fare and jazz mainly, and these will reveal the weakness of a set up. The only two limitations I noted was that of compression during big climaxes and also when pushed very loud and it can get hard. Having said this however I suggest you at least check it out on the net.

The distributor is in Mysore. Write to me if interested and I can connect you. It will drive most speakers of 86db sensitivity and above.

Good luck

 

[drkrack]

I heard Elac (youtube) thay definately have better bass and i liked it. Current aim is to get best speakers in my budget, so that i won't have to upgrade them in near future, and keep adding other components to the system. Sub will be added after a few months.
For music i like thumping bass (like in clubs) not boomy bass.



Subwoofer is not compulsory for music, my view is, if it adds to SQ then will buy it later on. But will defiantely add a sub when i get a surround system for movies.

Currently the list includes NAD C 326BEE/NAD C 526BEE, Marantz PM6006/7005. Feel free to add to the list. My preferences are Mids+thumping bass, not a fan of too much high frequencies.



Will sure do, Please suggest amps with good THD levels.

Thanks for all of your suggestions and guidance.

Please stop giving weight to YouTube reviews, it'll depend a lot on your side sound reproduction as well as the mic capabilities of the reviewer. Forming a opinion on those basis will lead you nowhere.

You have a decent budget get a Nad integrated amp and dali zensor 3 or 7 (specifically not zensor 5) or Polk RTI a5 or a7 or Kef Q700 with a decent SW like Taga SW 10 or Polk DSW series and you will have a setup with decent capabilities. Buy Cambridge audio 651a or Yamaha AS 501/301 or Marantz pm 6005 depending upon the your preferences. Take audition, listen and decide instead read internet reviews and decide. Take as many auditions as possible, best of luck.

I won't suggest that you use the cheap Chinese amps at 1L+ budget. Buy a dedicated DAC if you are not satisfied on board DAC.

 

[Knightrider]

=elangoas;730888]If you need pre-outs on both AVR & stereo amplifier, then it will cost you..

Intend to have mid-range and above AVR.

you would need "main -in" kind of inputs on stereo amplifier..

Do NAD 326/526 & Marantz Pm 6006/7005 have "main-in" inputs?

Yes they are value for money.. What if the SQ is better than the brands

Still a bit skeptical about it cz of lack of warranty and service support. At this stage i am not in a position to gamble.

=soundbuff;730893]Have you called Hi Fi Mart for a talk? The guy has a good bedside manner and will walk you through options.

Still in arly stages of research so haven't contacted anyone or any dealer directly. Right now am unable to travel for audition due to circusmtances.
Will start contacting people once i have sorted everything out and travel for auditions.

A less known amp which you might like is consider is french brand Atoll.
The distributor is in Mysore. Write to me if interested and I can connect you. It will drive most speakers of 86db sensitivity and above.

Do they have Dealers in Kolkata where i can audition ?

=drkrack;730897]Please stop giving weight to YouTube reviews, it'll depend a lot on your side sound reproduction as well as the mic capabilities of the reviewer. Forming a opinion on those basis will lead you nowhere.

True, i am just watching youtube videos to get a general idea about speakers, not relying on them at all. As i am unable to audition for time being, watching them as consolation to myself :sad:

You have a decent budget get a Nad integrated amp and dali zensor 3 or 7 (specifically not zensor 5) or Polk RTI a5 or a7 or Kef Q700 you will have a setup with decent capabilities. Buy Cambridge audio 651a or Yamaha AS 501/301 or Marantz pm 6005 depending upon the your preferences. Take audition, listen and decide instead read internet reviews and decide. Take as many auditions as possible, best of luck.

Till now have shortlisted NAD/ Marantz / Yamaha, once i manage time to visit Kolkata, will audition as many as possible and then decide.

For speakers have shortlisted Dali Zensor/ Wharfadle Diamond/ B&W - though out of my current budget. Will include Polk RTi and Kef.

Please add Amps and Speakers that i should audition.

I won't suggest that you use the cheap Chinese amps at 1L+ budget. Buy a dedicated DAC if you are not satisfied on board DAC.

Don't intend to use chinese stuff, may be once i have all the setups, and have spare fund after all that, will try to experiment with these chinese product.


Members please Suggest Dealers in Kolkata where i could audition all these.