Some updates:
Heard the Dali Zensor 3 and Mission MX2 by A/Bing several tracks through a Cambridge Audio stereo amp at HT Store, Jayanagar. We both felt the Zensor was the superior speaker. The mids were fuller and more forward on the Zensor but not unpleasantly so. However again no wow factor.
Dali Zensor 3 33k
Mission Rx2 28k
Heard three floor stander Wharfedale Diamond 240, Tannoy Mercury and the Dali Zensor 7 again switching between the three on various songs. The Tannoy and the Zensor had a comparable though obviously unique sound and imaging but the Wharfedale sounded extremely dull and muddy. I asked several times if the speaker was damaged but apparently not. Quite a let down. Of the three we both preferred the Zensor 7
Zensor 7 73k
Wharefedale 240 80k
Tannoy Mercury 72k
All the prices were the first quotes prices. We did not attempt to negotiate as our main purpose was to audition the speakers. They all can probably come for much less when finalizing a model.
Dropped by Siva and Jeya's place finally. They have a very nice house and both of them are extremely nice people to boot. I went here myself as my friend was not interested in an Indian brand.
We heard Siva's floorstanders with his integrated amp with the tube pre section. The Swara streaming DAC was used with it and we ran some stuff from my USB stick and some CDs.
Spent quite a bit of time listening to the system and I deliberately threw a lot of stuff probably most people buying such a speaker would not listen to - pop, some rock, metal and then we moved on to some classical, acoustic and jazz. The entire chain was extremely neutral and transparent with nothing sticking out in the sound. The imaging and soundstage was great too. Very impressive was the fact that beside one bit of acoustic treatment behind the speakers the room was a normal bare room not a carefully treated demo room like with many dealers. The speakers did quite well with the pop, rock, etc but I am sure you could put together cheaper setups if that is all one listens to. They really shone with a lot of the better recorded jazz, the dynamics were amazing with classical and the timbre of individual instruments were extremely true to life.
Unfortunately the cheaper 40K or so solid state integrated amp I was interested in was not available for demo. They are reworking the amp chassis apparently to re-release it in a few months. All in all had a great time and was quite impressed by the entire Acoustic Portrait chain.
Worth a visit to their JP Nagar home for anyone interested in great bang for the buck slightly higher up the price chain.
Lastly, paid a visit to Mukesh at Music Ranch. Heard the PSB Imagine B bookshelves (79K) and the PSB Imagine X2T. They were paired with a NAD 375 stereo amp and with the NAD streamer.
I am not sure how much the acoustic treatment in the room contributed but the combination of the PSB and the NAD is probably along with the KEF R300 at the top of my list. The sound was full and for the lack of a better word muscular. It sounded good with almost all the genres of music tried and the highs were well controlled without any hint of harshness. The Imagine B is the higher end bookshelf series with the curved cabinet, wood finish and trickle down tech from PSB high end Synchrony One series. This was the first bookshelf in all my auditioning over the last two weeks of over 10 different stand mounts that I felt could be fine without a subwoofer. The amount of bass was quite amazing considering the speaker size.
The larger X2T is from the lower Imagine X series. It didn't sound as full or as refined as the higher end Imagine B bookshelf but obviously went even lower with the bass. The T2 tower at 2.5L was also there but didn't audition that because it was getting late but would have liked to see how it sounded in comparison.
Finally revisted Profx this time at their MG Road branch to try out the R300, Q300 and Q700. Also tried a 3 way Cabasse bookshelf. All were using a 60 wpc Yamaha stereo amp. The R300 was obviously the most refined and the bass seemed more pronounced than with the Q700 which was also quite good.
So the KEF R300, Q700, PSB Imagine B, PSB Imagine X2T, Acoustic Portrait, Genelec 8010 with F One sub, and Genelec M030 were the ones that stood out for us. Quite an eclectic bunch of bookshelves, floorstanders and active monitors with budget having gone much higher than what was set initially but at least this way it is at least speakers that one has heard and sounded good to you
