Audio setup - specific for listening to ghazals

[screwgauge]

Hello folks,
Greetings from Gurgaon!

I am a software engineer and in my mid 40's We are in the processing of renovating our apartment and in the process, I might able to get my own study (which I have long wanted) and a small room to enjoy music.

I primarily listen to Ghazals - Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ghulam Ali, Mehdi Hassan, Jagjit Singh, Talat Aziz etc. I also like listening to Ustaad Rashid Khan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Thurmis and light Indian Classical music. I use TIDAL for all playback and we also have a Spotify subscription.

I have an old Onkyo home theatre which hasn't been used in ages. We have a Devialet Phantom (Silver) in the living room which we share in the family for casual listening. A week ago I also picked up a FiiO M11 Pro and Campfire Solaris for portable listening and am enjoying it so far.

I am here specifically seeking advice for a player + amp + speakers setup specifically for Ghazals. What would be an ideal setup for a budget of around 5L? Would you advice consulting with a dedicated audio store? I am aware of Bass N Treble, Sound by Design and a few others.

Thanks for all your suggestions
Cheers,
Suman

 

[Yogesh]

Indiq PA and FS are known for their vocal quality. You could get Blusound Node2i/CA CXN V2 Streamer + Denafrips Aries II DAC + Indiq Platinum Spatak PA + Indiq Diamond Achal FS. Spend rest on cables and media. You are set.

For Ghazals one can also look at Tube Amps. You can get one custom built or buy readymade. 300b and EL34 tubes are known for their vocals, mid range. Rest of the chain can remain same.

Also, You can add look at adding a CD player if you are comfortable with physical media.

 

[nvnaveen]

Indiq PA and FS are known for their vocal quality. You could get Blusound Node2i/CA CXN V2 Streamer + Denafrips Aries II DAC + Indiq Platinum Spatak PA + Indiq Diamond Achal FS. Spend rest on cables and media. You are set.

For Ghazals one can also look at Tube Amps. You can get one custom built or buy readymade. 300b and EL34 tubes are known for their vocals, mid range. Rest of the chain can remain same.

Also, You can add look at adding a CD player if you are comfortable with physical media.

+1 for the above setup..
U will be super happy for the Amp+ speaker sound stage & u can premium quality & no regret , also u can save money too.
I have Platinum achals & supre happy for their vocal & instrument details balanced when u listen to clean music all types of tastes Jazz r ghazals or name it any..
This is my personal experience & many other users too have same feel . u also have option of 15days return policy if in case u didt like u can return & get ur full money back only transport charges will deducted. thats the quality & confidence brand is keeeping up , till now no return done & satisfied customers .

 

[Naturelover]

Rethm, Kochi
Acoustic Portrait, Bangalore
Both are high quality Indian brands

And Lyrita too from Delhi

 

[Yogesh]

If you want to go tube way, Lyrita makes good Tube amps and good horn speakers. Anode accoustics also for Tube Amps.

 

[Deleted member 15865]

A divergent option: Since the music you’d like to listen to is vocal-centric and emotive, with no electronic/deep bass, and you have a good budget, why not consider Harbeth P3ESR or Spendor Classic? These can get you the best in terms of vocal magic. Pair with amps recommended by the respective user communities.

 

[Pratyush J]

Hello folks,
Greetings from Gurgaon!

I am a software engineer and in my mid 40's We are in the processing of renovating our apartment and in the process, I might able to get my own study (which I have long wanted) and a small room to enjoy music.

I primarily listen to Ghazals - Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ghulam Ali, Mehdi Hassan, Jagjit Singh, Talat Aziz etc. I also like listening to Ustaad Rashid Khan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Thurmis and light Indian Classical music. I use TIDAL for all playback and we also have a Spotify subscription.

I have an old Onkyo home theatre which hasn't been used in ages. We have a Devialet Phantom (Silver) in the living room which we share in the family for casual listening. A week ago I also picked up a FiiO M11 Pro and Campfire Solaris for portable listening and am enjoying it so far.

I am here specifically seeking advice for a player + amp + speakers setup specifically for Ghazals. What would be an ideal setup for a budget of around 5L? Would you advice consulting with a dedicated audio store? I am aware of Bass N Treble, Sound by Design and a few others.

Thanks for all your suggestions
Cheers,
Suman

+1 to @Yogesh and @nvnaveen . @screwgauge, Being a proud owner of Indiqaudio Tower Achals and Saptak since early this year and after having auditioned number of branded ones including QA, Paradigm, Elac, KEF, Monitor Audio, I can vouch for Indiqaudio towers and their amps. The towers have very very lively vocals, which will make your Ghazals come alive, trust me. You can have Node2i paired up with a good R2R DAC + Saptak + Achals

You can never go wrong with Indiqaudio products, more so when they are backed by exceptional service including 15 day trial, custom laminate shade and 3 year warranty. Read that their 2nd group buy has turned out to be even more successful than the 1st one.

Talk to them once and you will yourself realize why they are so much loved on this forum. Here is the ownership thread on them.

 

[Murty P N]

Hello folks,
Greetings from Gurgaon!

I am a software engineer and in my mid 40's We are in the processing of renovating our apartment and in the process, I might able to get my own study (which I have long wanted) and a small room to enjoy music.

I primarily listen to Ghazals - Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ghulam Ali, Mehdi Hassan, Jagjit Singh, Talat Aziz etc. I also like listening to Ustaad Rashid Khan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Thurmis and light Indian Classical music. I use TIDAL for all playback and we also have a Spotify subscription.

I have an old Onkyo home theatre which hasn't been used in ages. We have a Devialet Phantom (Silver) in the living room which we share in the family for casual listening. A week ago I also picked up a FiiO M11 Pro and Campfire Solaris for portable listening and am enjoying it so far.

I am here specifically seeking advice for a player + amp + speakers setup specifically for Ghazals. What would be an ideal setup for a budget of around 5L? Would you advice consulting with a dedicated audio store? I am aware of Bass N Treble, Sound by Design and a few others.

Thanks for all your suggestions
Cheers,
Suman

There’s a Naim super uniti all in one player and Totem forest floor standars are available if you are interested, please see on website for details.

 

[Debojit]

A divergent option: Since the music you’d like to listen to is vocal-centric and emotive, with no electronic/deep bass, and you have a good budget, why not consider Harbeth P3ESR or Spendor Classic? These can get you the best in terms of vocal magic. Pair with amps recommended by the respective user communities.

Very true! I have recently changed to a Spendor Classic and the amplifier is leben. Loving the combination

 

[fLUX]

Hello folks,
Greetings from Gurgaon!

I am a software engineer and in my mid 40's We are in the processing of renovating our apartment and in the process, I might able to get my own study (which I have long wanted) and a small room to enjoy music.

I primarily listen to Ghazals - Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ghulam Ali, Mehdi Hassan, Jagjit Singh, Talat Aziz etc. I also like listening to Ustaad Rashid Khan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Thurmis and light Indian Classical music. I use TIDAL for all playback and we also have a Spotify subscription.

I have an old Onkyo home theatre which hasn't been used in ages. We have a Devialet Phantom (Silver) in the living room which we share in the family for casual listening. A week ago I also picked up a FiiO M11 Pro and Campfire Solaris for portable listening and am enjoying it so far.

I am here specifically seeking advice for a player + amp + speakers setup specifically for Ghazals. What would be an ideal setup for a budget of around 5L? Would you advice consulting with a dedicated audio store? I am aware of Bass N Treble, Sound by Design and a few others.

Thanks for all your suggestions
Cheers,
Suman

I have not listened to a Rethm live but have seen a lot of praise being heaped on Rethm and Lyrita especially for genres & artists you have listed. Intend to get an audition of Rethm series in future possibly from someone locally and pair with a nice tube amplifier , would be pretty much my endgame setup for music if I end up liking them.

At a cost level I think Rethm speakers range 1.5L + onwards , about 70k-1L on a good R2R DAC(Soekris, Denafrips etc) , 37-51k on a blusound node2i and tube amp about 2L+ ( leben cs300x) & such vocal based numbers would be sounding heavenly I guess.

 

[bloredude]

Hello folks,
Greetings from Gurgaon!

Welcome to the forum. You haven't mentioned whether you are looking at all shiny new toys or are you open to preloved stuff as well.

In my opinion, I would go for with a loudspeaker with a large LF driver. A tube amp, and an old school DAC.

For the speakers, B&T had a demo Jamo R909. That would be an awesome pair of speakers and can be had at a reasonable price since its a demo unit. If you have love for desi startups, contact Lyrita Audio. They have a model Horn Grande which is great speaker for what you listen to.

For amplifier I second the Leben suggestion. Or any tube amp. Hifimart sells Dared amps which are a good value. Lyrita Audio also has a good amp GM70 that will be of interest if you choose to go that way.

For the DAC stay with 50-60k. A vintage DAC would be ideal but you may opt for a modern R2R converter.

Keep the cabling at the basics level to begin with. Good cables that do the basics right. Belden, Canare, Mogami et el.

 

[arj]

Hello folks,
Greetings from Gurgaon!

I am a software engineer and in my mid 40's We are in the processing of renovating our apartment and in the process, I might able to get my own study (which I have long wanted) and a small room to enjoy music.

I primarily listen to Ghazals - Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ghulam Ali, Mehdi Hassan, Jagjit Singh, Talat Aziz etc. I also like listening to Ustaad Rashid Khan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Thurmis and light Indian Classical music. I use TIDAL for all playback and we also have a Spotify subscription.

I have an old Onkyo home theatre which hasn't been used in ages. We have a Devialet Phantom (Silver) in the living room which we share in the family for casual listening. A week ago I also picked up a FiiO M11 Pro and Campfire Solaris for portable listening and am enjoying it so far.

I am here specifically seeking advice for a player + amp + speakers setup specifically for Ghazals. What would be an ideal setup for a budget of around 5L? Would you advice consulting with a dedicated audio store? I am aware of Bass N Treble, Sound by Design and a few others.

Thanks for all your suggestions
Cheers,
Suman

Ghazal is a very tough genre to get right due to the focus on Tonal inflections and the nuances which make it speacial and you will need a speaker which gets the mid spot on and matching amplification

5 lakh is a very good budget and please take your time.

Harbeth/Spendor/Rethm/Proac are a few which come to mind which produce tone beautifully. once you decide the speaker then decide the right amp which can bring it to life and each one will have a different match.

Please do listen to the setup very well and not buy blind..unless it evokes a feeling you will not really enjoy it.

 

[vinothkumar]

Very true! I have recently changed to a Spendor Classic and the amplifier is leben. Loving the combination

Unbeatable combo indeed.

 

[Debojit]

Unbeatable combo indeed.

Thanks!!

 

[kochumvk]

Considering the budget and purpose,
I think you might like to have the Scanspeak illuminator or revelator as your midbass driver. That will do justice to the vocals.
If not, I will at least stick to a paper cone midbass-based speaker. For the amp, if you prefer to see details can look at a Luxman or even Yamaha AS- XXXX line they have a rolled-off high treatment.

For streaming, CXN V2 can be a good option. That one is running Wolfson DAC chips. I will think you might find ESS DACs to be too detailed for your taste. SO you may steer clear of them (Such as the Projects and many mid, mid-high-end Chinese DACs). You should love the AKM based DACs.

I know these are not specific products but I hope these can direct towards many.
All the best for your new wonderful setup.

 

[raj12345]

Considering the budget and purpose,
I think you might like to have the Scanspeak illuminator or revelator as your midbass driver. That will do justice to the vocals.
If not, I will at least stick to a paper cone midbass-based speaker. For the amp, if you prefer to see details can look at a Luxman or even Yamaha AS- XXXX line they have a rolled-off high treatment.

For streaming, CXN V2 can be a good option. That one is running Wolfson DAC chips. I will think you might find ESS DACs to be too detailed for your taste. SO you may steer clear of them (Such as the Projects and many mid, mid-high-end Chinese DACs). You should love the AKM based DACs.

I know these are not specific products but I hope these can direct towards many.
All the best for your new wonderful setup.

Which tweeter shall you suggest to pair with a scanspeak/revelator midbass for the best performance

 

[Kannan]

Here is my two cents. Since you specify it is a study, I presume a relatively small room and possibly a working desk for you.
I perceive a near field listening.
Since the budget is quite high, I am sure you can spare 5% of it to trial.
For the rest 95% as the amount is big, you can audition mutiple gears including the suggestions by other members to finalize which would mean spending quite sometime. In your 95% budget, block some money for treating the room a bit for which you can take some expert advise or do it yourself if you are awarr about acoustics.

In the meantime, in the 5% or the 25000 max, invest in some good active bookshelf for near field listening.
It can remain your secondary clutter-free setup and give an idea of how your room behaves before jumping into the higherend gear.

You can look at Swams, Audioengine and a few others.
My friend recently got the Swans and us very satisfied with its performance, especially with respect to vocals.
Get something that also offers wireless connectivity.

Happy hunting.

 

[sandeeprao]

Hello folks,
Greetings from Gurgaon!

I am a software engineer and in my mid 40's We are in the processing of renovating our apartment and in the process, I might able to get my own study (which I have long wanted) and a small room to enjoy music.

I primarily listen to Ghazals - Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ghulam Ali, Mehdi Hassan, Jagjit Singh, Talat Aziz etc. I also like listening to Ustaad Rashid Khan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Thurmis and light Indian Classical music. I use TIDAL for all playback and we also have a Spotify subscription.

I have an old Onkyo home theatre which hasn't been used in ages. We have a Devialet Phantom (Silver) in the living room which we share in the family for casual listening. A week ago I also picked up a FiiO M11 Pro and Campfire Solaris for portable listening and am enjoying it so far.

I am here specifically seeking advice for a player + amp + speakers setup specifically for Ghazals. What would be an ideal setup for a budget of around 5L? Would you advice consulting with a dedicated audio store? I am aware of Bass N Treble, Sound by Design and a few others.

Thanks for all your suggestions
Cheers,
Suman

Hi Suman,

In case you have not made the final decision do visit Lyrita in Delhi (Sarita Vihar) you won't regret it - just on the music preference.

I went to demo the setup - Gazals, coke studio, and jazz is what I tried and they were phenomenal.

Cheers

 

[screwgauge]

Yes, haven't decided yet. Will audition the Lyrita for sure.

 

[bhooshaniyer]

Indiq PA and FS are known for their vocal quality. You could get Blusound Node2i/CA CXN V2 Streamer + Denafrips Aries II DAC + Indiq Platinum Spatak PA + Indiq Diamond Achal FS. Spend rest on cables and media. You are set.

For Ghazals one can also look at Tube Amps. You can get one custom built or buy readymade. 300b and EL34 tubes are known for their vocals, mid range. Rest of the chain can remain same.

Also, You can add look at adding a CD player if you are comfortable with physical media.

Superb recommendations there.

Here is my two cents. Since you specify it is a study, I presume a relatively small room and possibly a working desk for you.
I perceive a near field listening.
Since the budget is quite high, I am sure you can spare 5% of it to trial.
For the rest 95% as the amount is big, you can audition mutiple gears including the suggestions by other members to finalize which would mean spending quite sometime. In your 95% budget, block some money for treating the room a bit for which you can take some expert advise or do it yourself if you are awarr about acoustics.

In the meantime, in the 5% or the 25000 max, invest in some good active bookshelf for near field listening.
It can remain your secondary clutter-free setup and give an idea of how your room behaves before jumping into the higherend gear.

You can look at Swams, Audioengine and a few others.
My friend recently got the Swans and us very satisfied with its performance, especially with respect to vocals.
Get something that also offers wireless connectivity.

Happy hunting.

A very analytical and incremental approach to system building. Software engineering design much Kannan?