Audiophile Kuruvila Jacob @ Vinyl Bungalow Kottayam

[Record Player]

Gentlemen I would like to share my travelogue on my visit to Mr. Kuruvila Jacobs Vinyl Bungalow at Kottayam. I must say it was some experience that I will never forget. I spent two days with Mr. Kuruvila Jacob at his lovely home on 16th & 17th February 2013. A fantastic gentleman who is incredibly passionate about Vinyls and Turntables and most importantly MUSIC. He very happily welcomed me into his home and all it all started from there. Every nook and corner of his house was filled with Vinyls, Turntables, Vintage audio equipment and so on and so forth. Even one of the restroom sinks had a DIY record cleaning machine . We connected very well as I am also a huge music enthusiast from childhood. I was taken to the master audition room and right after, my jaws dropped. This is the first time my eyes have seen a Garrard 301 in mint condition. And guess what, there were 2 Garrard 301s!!! Simply amazing. From now on, I call them Sir Garrard. I also got to experience the Lenco L75 with the custom arm pod. We spent most of our time in the master audition room listening and discussing various Genres of music. The experience was like I was at Carnegie Hall. We also spent a lot of time with discussions of modding vintage turntables.

Here's a quick list of the equipment I got see and audition in person:

Two of the worlds greatest Garrards Sir Garrard 301
Valve Amplifiers, Lenco, Denon, Technics and many more.

Thank you Mr. Kuruvila Jacob in welcoming me into your home and for a fantastic experience and learning you have shared with me. Here's a small tribute from me to you my friend and your fantastic Vinyl Bungalow .
My tribute with some photographs as I believe Photography captures Thought

Note: Please expand to see high resolution photos.

Looking forward to meeting you again...

 

[sachu888]

Nice pics :clapping:,Mr Kuruvila is truly a gentleman.

Regards,
Sachin

 

[ukjeyaraj]

Nice pics. Kuruvila Sir, gr8 setp there.

Thanks to OP for sharing the pics. Loved the sparkle in one of the Garrard 301 pic.

 

[sunder]

Jacob-ji, you have dedicated yourself to your great work to satisfy your own heart and mind!!! Have a blissful listening!
-sunder.

 

[spirovious]

A great set up which must be sounding great either,thanks for sharing.

 

[sreejithsreedharan]

Hi All,

I too had a great luck to visit Vinyl Bungalow...
It was an awesome experience, which i will cherish in my heart..
Regarding the "audio experience".. I am truly spell bound, don't have enough words to describe the feeling.. "Music Feeling"..

Thanks to Kuruvila Sir..

Sreejith

 

[Nikhil]

Thanks for sharing the experience! Great to see an "old school" audiophile in his element.
That is an incredible collection of TTs and vinyl records.

 

[tirthankar]

Excellent setup.

Curious to know what are the sonic differences between the garrard and the lenco, both being well regarded idlers.

 

[kuruvilajacob]

Excellent setup.

Curious to know what are the sonic differences between the garrard and the lenco, both being well regarded idlers.

The Garrards deliver with a little more authority than the Lencos. There is something about the Garrards that I have not experienced in any other player. There is more 'life' in what comes out of a Garrard. A well modified Lenco cannot be far behind. But my favorite is the Garrard with SME 3009 arm and Goldring 1006 cart

 

[malvai]

try the Garrard with a longer arm bro... it gets even better! and use a cart like Ortofon SPU/denon 103/Koetsu (ANY model).... the sounds gets better and better!

personally, i find the lenco to be livelier, and the Garrad a lot fleshier with better PRAT.

Both tables are classics and like you, my fav would be the Garrard. between the Garrad 301 & 401, I like the 401. Its a bit darker, but somehow more addictive.

Another table that I LOVE is the thorens TD 124.

The 124 is a wee bit more "flowing"....

So, in order my fav's are:
1. Garrard 401
2. Thorens TD 124
3. Garrard 301 (grease bearing)
4. Garrard 301 (oil bearing)
5. Lenco
6. Technics SP 10
7. Technics 1210/1200
8. The older Micro Seikei DD tables
9. The Denon DD's
10. Some JVC DD's

 

[Audio_Freek]

OMG the vinyl Collection makes me freak ,Its almost looking like a Vinyl Library,People nowadays tend to handle CD's and DVD's and moving towards digital formats and this is awesome.

I felt its a Vinyl and RP museum

Great stuff and my best wishes for more enhancements Sir

 

[tirthankar]

Is it only me who is missing the pictures showing the vinyl collection?

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Well, there are some in on of the pics. And when I say "some," I really mean, "a lot." Like several times the number of LPs that I have ever lived with, even where communal households had joint collections and all music was vinyl. And Jacob has a whole house filled with this stuff?

 

[kuruvilajacob]

try the Garrard with a longer arm bro... it gets even better! and use a cart like Ortofon SPU/denon 103/Koetsu (ANY model).... the sounds gets better and better!

personally, i find the lenco to be livelier, and the Garrad a lot fleshier with better PRAT.

Both tables are classics and like you, my fav would be the Garrard. between the Garrad 301 & 401, I like the 401. Its a bit darker, but somehow more addictive.

Another table that I LOVE is the thorens TD 124.

The 124 is a wee bit more "flowing"....

So, in order my fav's are:
1. Garrard 401
2. Thorens TD 124
3. Garrard 301 (grease bearing)
4. Garrard 301 (oil bearing)
5. Lenco
6. Technics SP 10
7. Technics 1210/1200
8. The older Micro Seikei DD tables
9. The Denon DD's
10. Some JVC DD's

Yes, I do have a Garrard 301 with SME 3012 and Denon 103. It is really fantastic TT with wider sound stage and favorite of many visitors to my listening room. But the 301 with 3009 is my favorite because I like the vintage warmth that I prefer. I am yet to add a Thorens 124 to my collection. But the real surprise packet is my Micro Seikie MR 103 Idler. It delivers better PRAT than most players with the exception of Garrard 301s. But the Micro Seikie will perform better with some slight modification.

 

[square_wave]

Hey Kuruvila,

What are those amplfiers ? One of them look like a primaluna to me.

 

[kuruvilajacob]

Hey Kuruvila,

What are those amplfiers ? One of them look like a primaluna to me.

Yes, it is Primaluna Prologue One. It matches very well with my KLH Model 5. Some say you cannot get extended bass from Valve amps. I would like to prove them wrong. The speakers are my pride. They are very good in delivering excellent mids. There are two mid drivers in each speaker box. It can put many modern speakers to shame.

 

[square_wave]

Thanks. The KLHs are classics. Will definitely try and vist your home when I am in kerala next time. I used play around with some old classics from sansui and nakamichi. These classics have something to them which touches your soul. I once pursued a classic AR-3 from acoustic research from a gentleman in Trivandrum. He refused to part with them

 

[kuruvilajacob]

You are most welcome to visit me. I am using a AR 925 floor standers in my bedroom with a NAD 7155. Yes, nothing like these vintage stuff. They make you want to listen and listen and you don't get the ear fatigue I have experienced while listening to some new gear.

 

[reubensm]

This is an epic post. I always wanted to visit Mr. Jacob but can never find the time. I was on track to speak with him sometime last week but had to travel to Dubai on a quick trip and could not make it. When work gets in the way of hobby, it is usually hobby which takes 2nd place. I maintain a home about an hour and a half from Kottayam, so during my next visit, I hope to visit him. Thanks Record Player, for the wonderful post. Kuddos to Mr. Jacob!!

 

[GeorgeO]

Kuruvilla is an extremely pleasant person and I hope to visit him soon-plans to visit him on multiple past occasions have not happened. His place is not for a short visit-one has to be prepared to spend adequate time to fully enjoy the experience. I have had the pleasure of hosting him at my place once and we have mutual acquaintances.