Apertura Armonia floorstanders

[panditji]

I have spoken to and met enough retailers who will sell it to me locally.. Getting them here is something I can easily take care of since I have been importing goods from all over for the last 10 years..anyways, no point commenting further as the moderator might delete my comments...

I have gone OT on this thread and therefore apologies...

 

[Fiftyfifty]

The Magnepans are not your standard box speakers. Even the top brands can come with, or develop defects. If there is a local dealer, the defective equipment can be returned/exchanged. I have had to do this in the past. With something like Magnepan, we will really get stuck if there is a need for attention.

 

[panditji]

Dear Sir, the local dealer was not even taking guarantee for damage for delivery from Mumbai to my house.. If something gets damaged after 1 year, we will have to ship the speakers to Mumbai and they will send the speakers to the USA for repair... That is a process which will take 5-6 months atleast...

I know of a gentleman in Delhi who bought the Nagra mono blocks from the Indian dealer at a substantially higher than international price and the dealer has still not repaired the amp since the last 3 years... I am willing to live with the risk and travelling to another country to get it repaired but not dealing with someone who disrespects me and charges me a higher price on top of that with no after sales support...

 

[prem]

Great Panditji. At least I know whom to reach out to in case i have difficulty getting a piece of equipment from abroad.

The reason I mentioned it was difficult in case of audio vision was because in the past I did try getting a Martin Logan from abroad but finally I had to settle for buying from audio vision. I don't think they sell Logan any more.

In fact when looking at the Logan I was keen on the Magnepan. They were the dealers then too. Twice I went for demo. Both times something went wrong and it stopped working. So I decided to go for the Logan. This was probably about 13 to 14 years back. Even then, they were like this only. But fortunately they were nice to me.

 

[tuff]

Dear Sir, the local dealer was not even taking guarantee for damage for delivery from Mumbai to my house.. If something gets damaged after 1 year, we will have to ship the speakers to Mumbai and they will send the speakers to the USA for repair... That is a process which will take 5-6 months atleast...

I know of a gentleman in Delhi who bought the Nagra mono blocks from the Indian dealer at a substantially higher than international price and the dealer has still not repaired the amp since the last 3 years... I am willing to live with the risk and travelling to another country to get it repaired but not dealing with someone who disrespects me and charges me a higher price on top of that with no after sales support...

That's absurd. A dealer's sole purpose to exist is to support professional after sales service.
I bought used speakers from an FM and i believe i am the third guy to get them. they must be 5/6 years old. but so far no problems at all. My first Maggies were bought in 1992 the mg.6 which were fine until i sold them in 1999 when i returned to India. A friend of mine bought them and is still using them, without any issues. So my guess is that maggies are well built to serve for a good quarter of a century. My guess is that most speakers at that level are built like an ox. In the end, luck plays a vital role regardless of what you buy. I see people buying Sony,Samsung TV's for about the same price and then face the problem of panel issues and what not. SO i believe a bit of risk factor will always be involved when buying 'exotic' products. Just my opinion.

The bright side. Magnepans have no competition in its price range, especially if you like the sound signature and huge sound-stage. For some they do not cut it, which is fine as a personal preference. But frankly, one simply has to listen to these beauties and make the judgement for oneself.
Last note, if I had the money to buy the 1.7i, I would have gone ahead and bought without hesitation. I am pretty sure they will not blow up like some high end Samsung phones. Some times it's just life.

 

[panditji]

The new 1.7i is a great speaker and has better bass than the 1.6.. Do spread the word around if anyone is interested...

 

[Fiftyfifty]

There is little doubt that the 1.7i is a great speaker.
But no feedback or comments from anyone on the Apertura Armonia?

 

[tuff]

This is the distributor for them according to apertura website. You are in luck as they are in Pune.
OCEANIC SOUND & VISION - 1156/5 Exhibition Road, Off 93 MG Road, Camp, Pune 411 001, India
Phone : + 91.20.26342658
Contact : oceanicsound2001 @ yahooo.com

I have never heard them so cannot comment. call them up and see if you can get an audition of the same.

 

[square_wave]

I had gone down this path a few years back and picked up the big fun 17 from Blumenhofer which is slightly lower than your max budget. While the big fun 17 is the most popular model from the stable ( and a high value ticket into high end sound ) you might be able to go up to the bigger models if you up your budget a little.

This is a very highly regarded brand in Germany and its neighbouring countries. Recently I was in Netherlands and happened to visit one of the biggest (friendly too) dealers in Amsterdam.
High-end audio advies bij A10Audio

They stock Raidho as well as blumenhofer among many other top tier speakers. Conversations and auditions later I realized how much value the blumenhofer availability in India at pricing on par with German prices is !!

Do audition and explore this brand as well.

 

[Fiftyfifty]

I had gone down this path a few years back and picked up the big fun 17 from Blumenhofer which is slightly lower than your max budget. While the big fun 17 is the most popular model from the stable ( and a high value ticket into high end sound ) you might be able to go up to the bigger models if you up your budget a little.

This is a very highly regarded brand in Germany and its neighbouring countries. Recently I was in Netherlands and happened to visit one of the biggest (friendly too) dealers in Amsterdam.
High-end audio advies bij A10Audio

They stock Raidho as well as blumenhofer among many other top tier speakers. Conversations and auditions later I realized how much value the blumenhofer availability in India at pricing on par with German prices is !!

Do audition and explore this brand as well.

Sounds good! Would you know a dealer in India where I can audition these?

 

[amit11]

I'm in the market for a pair of floorstanders in the Rs. 2 to 3 lac range to match a Cary 200.2 Power amp and Bryston 2.0 pre. I came across the Apertura Armonia, which sounded very nice, sweet and amazing 3 dimensional soundstage. However, not many reviews or discussions on this or other forums. On the other hand there is PSB Imagine T2, very highly rated, week reviewed and recommended.
Anyone has experience with Apertura? And any recommendations?
Many thanks

In Pune, Oceanic sound and vision used to keep Apertura. They are on MG road.

 

[terrible]

Why don't you guys write a mass email to the manufacturer and take Audio Visions case. That might be the only way. Tell them what a major hinderance the distributor in India is.

 

[soundbuff]

With apologies to the OP,

I am just wondering if instead of the 1.7 , we were to think of the MMG, the chances of getting a group of buyers would become more realistic. An MMG is about 40K INR. Add vat and shipping, its still about 60 to 65 K INR.

The 1.7 is a bigger outlay and fewer people might be willing to get into a group buy. So also (AFAIK) the MMG is a buy direct proposition, and the company would be more willing to talk to a group of individual customers, even if they are not in the US

More experienced hands than I are around. Panditji please chip in with what it would cost to get a group buy, should it be possible, for the MMG. Also a sense of what kind of numbers are we to aim for?

 

[sidvee]

Going OT to the OP's query, however I used to have a pair of MMG's 15 years ago, loved them but couldn't provide enough rear spacing. Now I can, so count me in for MMG's group buy.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[panditji]

I am in too... Would be great people can PM me their names and Maggie speaker preference...Let me check with Magnepan and get back with the approx. costs and whether Magnepan will entertain us... I don't mind the .7 also....

 

[sidvee]

Pm sent Panditji. Also since this is turning into a Maggie group buy thread, kindly open a new post with that heading and we will let this thread continue as per OPs queries.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[tuff]

I might be in too.Not sure yet, if MMG's will be a bigger improvement than the MC1's i have.
Lets see how the pricing works out. I am sure there will be more FM's joining in 'if the price is right'.

 

[Fiftyfifty]

From what little I know, panel speakers will not be as sturdy or long lasting as regular speakers. It is possible that, sooner or later, some need will be felt for servicing or replacement of panels. I can't understand how this will be managed if we directly import!
BTW there's MMG Super, priced slightly higher than MMG, but said to be better.

 

[prem]

Fiftyfifty you could look at Rethm Bhava. It appears to be an interesting speaker. It's priced at 1.25 l. I use Rethm Saadhanas and am very happy with them

If you want to get an idea of the Rethm sound you are welcome to come home and hear them. I stay in Mumbai. So it's probably a 4 hr drive for you. You could also arrange for a demo at Audiovision on that same day. When it comes to Maggies, Logan, Rethm, etc, its best to hear them first to see if they float your boat. None of these speakers sound like conventional dynamic speakers and more importantly they are demanding of the ancillary equipment

 

[Fiftyfifty]

Fiftyfifty you could look at Rethm Bhava. It appears to be an interesting speaker. It's priced at 1.25 l. I use Rethm Saadhanas and am very happy with them

If you want to get an idea of the Rethm sound you are welcome to come home and hear them. I stay in Mumbai. So it's probably a 4 hr drive for you. You could also arrange for a demo at Audiovision on that same day. When it comes to Maggies, Logan, Rethm, etc, its best to hear them first to see if they float your boat. None of these speakers sound like conventional dynamic speakers and more importantly they are demanding of the ancillary equipment

Hey Prem, really appreciate your invitation to hear the Rethm. I did consider the Rethm Maarga and spoke with Jacob. From what I understood, these are high sensitivity speakers more suitable for low powered Class A tubes. I am afraid that my 200Wx2 Cary may be a bit overpowered for speakers like these. I realize this is a mere technicality but, if I am buying a new pair of speakers, I guess I should also take the amp power into consideration. The speakers may still sound good and I can be careful with the preamp volume control. But there's still a risk of a spike or other disturbance in my Cary circuitry damaging the speakers. While such an eventuality is very unlikely, other things remaining equal, I would look for speakers that can handle power corresponding to my amp.

In the meanwhile, I have been auditioning speakers that will be more in line with the Cary. Heard the new Quad Z4, the Quad S5, Apertura Armonia (all ribbon tweeters), PMC Twenty series (transmission), Tannoy Gold Reference (single driver), Dali Epicon, PSB Imagine T2 and several others. All good! I am, perhaps unfairly, comparing them to Martin Logan ESL (electrostatic) and find that none of them even come close in terms of sound stage, imaging and naturalness when comparing them with electrostats. While the electrostats can handle a lot of power, they have their own set of problems in Indian conditions. The other option is Magnepan, but there are horror stories about the dealer.

I am therefore leaning towards Logan ESL. With the lower humidity in Pune and careful use, they should give me 8-10 years. Before taking a decision, I would like to hear the Martin Logan Motion 40 and 60X. These are not electrostats but the company claims that the folded dome tweeters come close to the ESL sound.

Will be grateful for suggestions. Thanks everyone