reubensm
Well-Known Member
Friday last week was an important day for me, as I got to meet and spend time with Mr. Kuruvila (yes, that's true for those wondering why we haven't met earlier). We've been planning to meet up since Feb but the dates kept getting pushed due to work committments from my end. Finally, I got to make the trip in between a weekend trip to my wife's place.
First of all, Mr. Kuruvila's hospitality was amazing. With wify visiting her hometown after nearly 8 months, she was bent on shuttling about in our car, meeting her friends and family, hence I had to take a couple of buses to Mr. Kuruvila's. He picked me up and drove me through a rubber estate to his home (reminded me of my wife's ancestral home which has a similar backdrop). It was nice to meet his family, and also catch up with his son, whom I had met previously but could not spend time with.
We walked straignt into his hall and he showed me some equipment which included his B&O system, the Sansui tube amp, the Thorens turntable and his Garrad with the ceramic cart. He played some pieces on the Thorens and Garrard turntables and I was able to re-affirm my opinion that ceramic carts don't sound that bad after all, if they are played through proper equalization. All music was played on his vintage Pioneer speakers and sounded surprisingly good. Honestly I have never heard Japanese speakers sound like that. I would assume, Mr. Kuruvila has spent considerable amount of time trying out different combinations to get the right match between his equipment. Also got a chance to take a look at his vintage 15 inch Goodmans.
We then went over to his bedroom and I got to see the NAK 1000, his JP broadcast turntable and his Dual. It was truly a revelation to hear the 1000 play through a Nak-1 amp and AR speakers. Its was simply outstanding. And to see the condition the deck is in, all beat up, without cabinet and front panel, it was amazing to note how this was rescued. I would say that getting to see this deck in action was the highlight of my trip. After listening to some tapes and then, the JP and Dual, we went over to his main listening room.
I was amazed to see 2 Garrard 301s at the same time. I have never seen 2 together. Also the Micro Seiki, the Linn LP12, the Technics SP25 and the Lenco L75. It was like visiting a Hall of Fame Gallery. He played the Garrards, the Micro Seiki, the LP12 and the Lenco for me and the difference between the direct drive, idlers and the belt drive was clearly evident. Having heard the 301, LP12 and L75 before, I knew what to expect but I thought the Micro Seiki sounded more complete, the idlers sounded quite punchy while the Linn was free flowing. What struck me more was the use of multiple phonostages. While, the sound of the tube pre-power combo was as expected, I was surprised to hear the NAD PP2 and a couple of home brewed preamps (one of which was the CNC whith a PSU). Of the preamps on offer, and from what I heard, the PP2 sounded very impressive but it was the Yaqin (12B I think it was) tune phono preamp which stood out. What contributed to its sound was the fact that Mr. Kuruvila has replaced the stock Chinese Tubes with Mullard ones (I think, if I recall correctly). I was surprised to hear the CNC preamp sound so good. Though I felt that some more work needs to be done on its PSU. I am sure its performance would be better if a ripple-free PSU is used (perhaps an imported one like FRIWO) or a high quality transformer (perhaps a toriodal tranny) is used. The CNC sounded a tad brighter than the NAD and Yaqin but again, it is difficult to make such a judgemental statement as the carts and turntables were not constant. The heart of the system is without doubt, the KLH vintage speakers. The sound coming from these are very special and i think this is the key to Mr. Kuruvila's setup. The primary 301 with a 3012 and SME plinth (based on the loricraft philosophy was truly impressive. I was also impressed by the other 301 and L75 plinths. So I have decided that Mr. Kuruvila will take care of my 401 and L75 builds. We sat down and listened to pieces from different records, all sounding way nice. In between we also sat down and talked about various topics of interest including the history behind some of his pristine records and equipment.
Mr.Kuruvila then took me around the house which is virtually like a museum. My wife would have thrown me out if I had a Kitchen counter like his. Was good to see some vintage Grundig, Philips, Garrard and Normandy gear (and hear an old malayalam record through the radio). He then showed me some of the turntables he has for sale, including a Sony turntable which I must confess, has the most impressive platter I've ever seen. Also got to see an old Philips changer and the old Garrard needle based vintage 78rpm record player. Was amazed to see such a huge collection of records, well stored. Mr. Kuruvila said that he had nearly 1000 records for sale, could not look through these due to the lack of time, that's something I'll do during the next visit.
Mr. Kuruvila also demonstrated his famous record cleaning technique and did a comparison between the cleaned side the stock side of the LP. That was interesting as I could not hear any ticks or pops from the cleaned side.
As the sun set and dusk set in, we had one final listening session with the NAK 1000 and I also got to meet one of his technicians (who appeared very knowledgeable and knew his stuff). I promised to be back with my 401 and L75 for plinths following which I would be also brining in the GX630D for a good clean up, lube and general service. Mr. Kuruvila's son was kind enough to drop me by the bus stop and we spoke for some time, while I attempted to soak in the calmness and beauty of the surroundings.
Unfortunately we could not take any photos as my son and wife took the camera along with them. Will be meeting him again in a couple of months and will share some pics.
Thanks Mr. Kuruvila, for the hospitality, the conversations, the listening sessions, the tips & advice and more importantly, the chance to meet up with you.
First of all, Mr. Kuruvila's hospitality was amazing. With wify visiting her hometown after nearly 8 months, she was bent on shuttling about in our car, meeting her friends and family, hence I had to take a couple of buses to Mr. Kuruvila's. He picked me up and drove me through a rubber estate to his home (reminded me of my wife's ancestral home which has a similar backdrop). It was nice to meet his family, and also catch up with his son, whom I had met previously but could not spend time with.
We walked straignt into his hall and he showed me some equipment which included his B&O system, the Sansui tube amp, the Thorens turntable and his Garrad with the ceramic cart. He played some pieces on the Thorens and Garrard turntables and I was able to re-affirm my opinion that ceramic carts don't sound that bad after all, if they are played through proper equalization. All music was played on his vintage Pioneer speakers and sounded surprisingly good. Honestly I have never heard Japanese speakers sound like that. I would assume, Mr. Kuruvila has spent considerable amount of time trying out different combinations to get the right match between his equipment. Also got a chance to take a look at his vintage 15 inch Goodmans.
We then went over to his bedroom and I got to see the NAK 1000, his JP broadcast turntable and his Dual. It was truly a revelation to hear the 1000 play through a Nak-1 amp and AR speakers. Its was simply outstanding. And to see the condition the deck is in, all beat up, without cabinet and front panel, it was amazing to note how this was rescued. I would say that getting to see this deck in action was the highlight of my trip. After listening to some tapes and then, the JP and Dual, we went over to his main listening room.
I was amazed to see 2 Garrard 301s at the same time. I have never seen 2 together. Also the Micro Seiki, the Linn LP12, the Technics SP25 and the Lenco L75. It was like visiting a Hall of Fame Gallery. He played the Garrards, the Micro Seiki, the LP12 and the Lenco for me and the difference between the direct drive, idlers and the belt drive was clearly evident. Having heard the 301, LP12 and L75 before, I knew what to expect but I thought the Micro Seiki sounded more complete, the idlers sounded quite punchy while the Linn was free flowing. What struck me more was the use of multiple phonostages. While, the sound of the tube pre-power combo was as expected, I was surprised to hear the NAD PP2 and a couple of home brewed preamps (one of which was the CNC whith a PSU). Of the preamps on offer, and from what I heard, the PP2 sounded very impressive but it was the Yaqin (12B I think it was) tune phono preamp which stood out. What contributed to its sound was the fact that Mr. Kuruvila has replaced the stock Chinese Tubes with Mullard ones (I think, if I recall correctly). I was surprised to hear the CNC preamp sound so good. Though I felt that some more work needs to be done on its PSU. I am sure its performance would be better if a ripple-free PSU is used (perhaps an imported one like FRIWO) or a high quality transformer (perhaps a toriodal tranny) is used. The CNC sounded a tad brighter than the NAD and Yaqin but again, it is difficult to make such a judgemental statement as the carts and turntables were not constant. The heart of the system is without doubt, the KLH vintage speakers. The sound coming from these are very special and i think this is the key to Mr. Kuruvila's setup. The primary 301 with a 3012 and SME plinth (based on the loricraft philosophy was truly impressive. I was also impressed by the other 301 and L75 plinths. So I have decided that Mr. Kuruvila will take care of my 401 and L75 builds. We sat down and listened to pieces from different records, all sounding way nice. In between we also sat down and talked about various topics of interest including the history behind some of his pristine records and equipment.
Mr.Kuruvila then took me around the house which is virtually like a museum. My wife would have thrown me out if I had a Kitchen counter like his. Was good to see some vintage Grundig, Philips, Garrard and Normandy gear (and hear an old malayalam record through the radio). He then showed me some of the turntables he has for sale, including a Sony turntable which I must confess, has the most impressive platter I've ever seen. Also got to see an old Philips changer and the old Garrard needle based vintage 78rpm record player. Was amazed to see such a huge collection of records, well stored. Mr. Kuruvila said that he had nearly 1000 records for sale, could not look through these due to the lack of time, that's something I'll do during the next visit.
Mr. Kuruvila also demonstrated his famous record cleaning technique and did a comparison between the cleaned side the stock side of the LP. That was interesting as I could not hear any ticks or pops from the cleaned side.
As the sun set and dusk set in, we had one final listening session with the NAK 1000 and I also got to meet one of his technicians (who appeared very knowledgeable and knew his stuff). I promised to be back with my 401 and L75 for plinths following which I would be also brining in the GX630D for a good clean up, lube and general service. Mr. Kuruvila's son was kind enough to drop me by the bus stop and we spoke for some time, while I attempted to soak in the calmness and beauty of the surroundings.
Unfortunately we could not take any photos as my son and wife took the camera along with them. Will be meeting him again in a couple of months and will share some pics.
Thanks Mr. Kuruvila, for the hospitality, the conversations, the listening sessions, the tips & advice and more importantly, the chance to meet up with you.
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. Excellent write-up Reuben. Reading this took me back to Vinyl Bungalow Kottayam. I tell you, that Bungalow is placed in such a lovely location that it is a vinyl lovers dream house and once you enter, its mesmerizing....
