Delhi Audiophile get_together-Dec'09

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Kamal said:
Friends, SKR has arrived, & I just spoke to him.
The get together is confirmed.
Date & time- Sunday,27th Dec; time 10:30 AM onwards.
Address : B 7/3, (2nd Floor) Safderjang Enclave,opp Deer Park, near HDFC Bank.
Mob-Santosh Kumar ( SKR )- 98104 60716.
Kamal - 93101 09993.
Bring some of your music that you'd like to share, lets get together & have a blast!
P.S. AmitNoida shall be bringing his Leben 300 Amp & Viren, his EL84 based Pushpull amp & the Russian 6C33CB SET Amp- we might have an exciting shoot out!
We would also get to audition SKR's truly High end system-Spkrs=Avant Garde Duo,Sonic Frontiers SFL2 Pre & Power Amps,Redwine Audio Amp,AudioAero Capitol CDP, Clearaudio TT with SME5 tonearm,I/Cs Eichmann/Auti,Spkr cable Cards Golden Reference, Power cond PS Audio,etc...& lots of great CDs & Vinyl.
Plz do post your pucca confirmation.
Regards,
Kamal
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I hate you guys! I really wish I was there and got a chance to know my fellow delhi audio dudes :)

That is an absolutely fantastic equipment list. You guys will have TONS of fun without a doubt.

When I come down to Delhi, we HAVE to do this again. I'm very curious to hear comments about the comparison between the Redwine Audio Amp and the Leben amp. Which Redwine Audio amp is it? The latest 30.2 or the older version?
 
srramanujam said:
It will be interesting to hear the results of Leben - Lyrita shootout.
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Ramanujam,

It is pointless to do a comparison at this stage when the Leben is just out of the box and not burnt in at all. From my experience, before the burn-in the overall musicality, microdynamics, refinement and tonal clarity will be less. Please remember that all these qualities are some of the strengths of the Leben. I do not know why experienced people like kamal and viren want to do this comparison right now when Amit does not even have his speakers to burn in the Leben.
This comparison should not have taken place at this meet. SKR had loads of other equipments to be listened to. BTW, I myself asked Amit in this forum for the first time to take his new amp to SKR's place. But shootout? Whose idea is that and why? What purpose should it serve at this stage?

I went to Mahiruha's place to listen to 15 wpc SET of Lyrita. But, interested folks, if you take a look at mahi's thread you would discover that I went to his place for an audition after quite a few weeks. If I am really interested to find out about an equipment, why should I listen to it before it is in its optimal condition. I have a fair idea now how these amps sound.

However, it seems from Rajiv's reactions, his mind is already made up :).

Regards.
 
Point taken Asit. I was there at Santosh's place yesterday and we did like Viren's amplifier better than the Leben but the Leben was just 2 days out of the box. Of course Viren's amp sounded much better than the Leben but I think a shootout after 2 months will be a real test of the capabilities of both the amps.
A detailed review would be given by the other members present there on Sunday.

A huge thank you to Santosh sir for being such a wonderful host and letting us enjoy his fabulous system and a superb music collection. He has a very varied taste in music and has LPs ranging from Billie holiday to The Pet Shop Boys to Larry Carlton, Stan Getz.
 
Asit wrote-
"I do not know why experienced people like kamal and viren want to do this comparison right now when Amit does not even have his speakers to burn in the Leben." &

"I went to Mahiruha's place to listen to 15 wpc SET of Lyrita."
Whoa, Asit cool down, friend!
First of all, Amit does have speakers(Usher BE 718) & he was able to put some burn in.
Acc to Viren, tube amps reveal 90 % of their sonic signature out of the box ,with more time the sound settles down a bit, sounds smoother esp in the mids & highs.
Viren being a mfr of valve amps was naturally keen to hear the Leben( so was everyone else, but with a difft perspective) & his own amps on a high end system with high qlty cables & all-SKR's system is very revealing as you wld appreciate, & he's in Delhi for only a short while so this oppy could'nt be foregone. I grant you that a listen after adequate burn in would have been better, but I've listed the constraints we faced.So try to be not too angry, pal.
Incidentally, Amit is now looking for speakers for his Leben & a SS amp for his Ushers......
Whats your opinion of Virens Russian 6C33CB SET?
Did you listen to it paired with the Cantons?
I'm waiting for SKR to mail me the snaps that he took & then I'll post abt the Sunday session.
 
Thanks Sumit!

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Could recognize few faces but could you introduce the rest for us please?

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I see beer :)
 
panditji said:
Point taken Asit. I was there at Santosh's place yesterday and we did like Viren's amplifier better than the Leben but the Leben was just 2 days out of the box. Of course Viren's amp sounded much better than the Leben but I think a shootout after 2 months will be a real test of the capabilities of both the amps.
A detailed review would be given by the other members present there on Sunday.

A huge thank you to Santosh sir for being such a wonderful host and letting us enjoy his fabulous system and a superb music collection. He has a very varied taste in music and has LPs ranging from Billie holiday to The Pet Shop Boys to Larry Carlton, Stan Getz.
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Let me first thank Kamalji and all forum members who came yesterday to my house and enjoyed various tube amps courtesy Amit and Viren. Leben is really a cute looking amp. I did not know it was just 2 days old till I read Asit and Panditji's comment today. I agree with both that we cannot comment about any amplifier without proper burn-in of say about 2 months.
I am sure Amitnoida is going to enjoy it very much after about 200 hours. Even yesterday it sounded very good considering it was just 2 days old.

Both the amps brought by Viren were sounding great and all the members present really enjoyed them. These amplifiers are great value for money and beyond that. I remember hearing Viren's amps 2 to 3 years back but his current amps are much much better and huge improvement from what i had heard before.
thanks once again. I have still a few bottle of beers left.
SKR
 
Hi Kamal,

Why did you think I was angry? I just wanted a fair comparison, that's all. It's very difficult to get a fair evaluation unless the best efforts are taken. It's very difficult to gauge somebody else's mood when you do not get to see them. So, please give me the benefit of the doubt. But, for the benefit of the audiophile community of at least HFV, there should be fair comparison with all equipments and cables burnt in and warmed up. I think you will change your pre-conceived ideas about me once you see me. Ask Venkat, we have met near Chennai for a few hours recently. I usually talk very little and would do anything to ensure fairness and honesty even if it involves my mother, my son or my wife. You would not know how many things I have sacrificed in my life to ensure fairness and honesty. When I met Venkat, some of this was actually discussed because I was a little disturbed about something (having to do with my son's cricket career).

In the recent thread (by AMITNOIDA) where Amit was looking for speakers for his friend's amp, until a few days ago, he did not have any speakers. If you read that thread, it was me for the first time in this forum who suggested to Amit that he should take his amp to this meet.

Yes, I have heard the Lyrita SET at mahiruha's place and I gave my view (reasonably detailed) in mahiruha's amp thread. If you have not read that thread, please do. Even in that thread, you would notice that I asked mahiruha to get burn-in information from Viren on the Lyrita set-up. I visited mahi several weeks after the set-up arrived.

I consciously avoided a comparison between my amp and his because of many reasons. But if mahiruha agrees (I'd hope he does, and he lives just 10 minutes away), we can do a fair comparison in the same set-up and some other people can be called to judge them.

But frankly, for many reasons (not all of them very decent) I am not too keen to do it. I am very happy with my system, so is mahiruha. Isn't that enough? But I WILL do it and host as many people as my apartment can hold and post the results, if rankings make you happy.

Some people do not even believe in burn-ins. I have seen burn-ins but they widely vary with equipments. The 90% theory as you wrote in your post can at best be a guess. Well I own a Leben CS300 amp, and I think I should know a bit better.

Regards.
 
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Kamal said:
Incidentally, Amit is now looking for speakers for his Leben & a SS amp for his Ushers......
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Kamal, let me share in open forum that I am not looking for any amp and spkr right now. My purpose for going to SKR's place was mainly to listen to his Omega speaker pairing with Leben and I carried my Leben for this purpose, so that I can share my experience with my friend. Yes, I admit that I had told you guys about my future plan for two set-ups - one for my bed room (based on Leben) and another at my drawing room (may be with an SS amp). But that future is no less than distant future.

My experience with Leben and Usher BE-718 is really very short (only for 3 days), but I believe that it will be a lovable match after proper placement of the speakers (especially more separation form the rear wall) in my smallish room. The trebble and mid range of the speaker is absolutely brilliant and Leben is extracting fairly loud sound with full details. The only problem I am facing with bass, which did show big improvement today when I have pulled the speakers upto about 3.5 ft from the rear wall as advised by Sridhar.

Yesterday, I had used the combo as audio for the movie 'Star Trek' in 1080p resolution in my PC monitor (22"). The dialogues were absolutely clear, even the breathings of 'Jim' and his friends, when they were falling down in space before pulling the parachute, were stunningly audible.

I should convey my special thanks to Santosh for the wonderful arrangement and his all good advises for a newbie like me. Wow! what a great combination of speakers and amplifiers! It was really a treat to both eyes and ears.
 
Hello guys,
I am interested to know about your experience regarding the vinyl. Did you use Viren's phono amp or some other phono pre. A detailed description of the TT will be also beneficial since I am looking a decent TT.

@Asit well your points are really valid. To me music is all about enjoyment.Well a HFV meet in Calcutta isn't a bad idea not for the shootout sake but meet some like minded people and have a good time.
Thanks.
 
It was a wonderful afternoon, thanks to Mr. Sontosh's warm hospitality and gesture. The auditions were simply amazing, the music and beer combination was really good. I was really delighted to meet fellow audiophiles from Delhi in person and we all shared some very useful knowledge among each others and I would say that I have rather gained more from their experiences. Overall it was a very good Sunday afternoon with some really good and warm sounding music. Since all of us share the similar passion which added a lot of fun factor to the occassion.
Looking forward to more of these kind of gatherings in the near future.
 
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First and foremost, a big thanks to SKR for a wonderful afternoon... The music, the beer and then the food all made a fine day for me.

I met some old friends, made some new ones and learned new things..
 
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Hi,

"Shootout" was the wrong word, comparisons is more like it.

Since "skr" has a range of high-end components, I was interested in hearing how my amps paired with his components. And, I assumed (now confirmed by Amit) that Amit would be interested in hearing his Leben with the Omega bookshelf speakers. The Omega's turned out to be an earlier model, using Fostex drivers, probably the same ones I use in my speakers. So, that was another interesting comparison for me.

As "skr" was in Delhi for a short visit, this was the only time we could get together.

This was the first time I saw and heard the Leben 300 amplifier. We listened to it with the Omega's for a reasonably long time. The Leben is a beautifully constructed amp. It is very smooth and balanced in its musical presentation. I'm sure the sound will open up some more with extended breakin. Definitely a music lover's amp!

We then switched to listening with the Lyrita amps, first paired with the Omega's and then the Avant Garde's. Being bookshelves, the Omega's were limited in their low frequency response. The transmission line design of the Lyrita Harmony One's definitely give a fuller response. The Avant Garde's were full range.

First up was the Lyrita Integre Two, which is comparable in design to the Leben 300, being a push-pull, but uses the BEL EL84 output tubes. All I will say is that it was enjoyable listening to music through this combination - it was not lacking in any way.

Next up was the Lyrita 6C33C SET amp. I wanted people there to experience the difference in musical presentations between single-ended and push-pull tube amps. The sound was smoother and more immediate, but I'm not sure that the differences were obvious in such short a listening session. Sometimes, a smoother and cleaner presentation does not grab your attention, till you realize on extended listening that that's what music is all about!

This was all done is a sense of fun - as was evident by the beer flowing around! And "skr" being the gracious host he is, even had lunch lined up for us.

Again, serious auditioning should be done listening to your own music in a more controlled environment - one with you and your music. All these sessions really tell you is that choices are available from around the world, and that well designed equipment even in India can hold its own.

Regards,
Viren
 
Ashish did call me personally and was open as always with the details of who is getting what and what to expect!
Unfortunately I could not get myself out of the commitments the spouse had already made :o

Better luck to me the next time around!
 
Me thinks SKR's system is awesome:clapping:. Are those Nagra Amps that I spied in between the Avantgardes? How was their sound guys?
Cheers
Sid
 
sidvee said:
Me thinks SKR's system is awesome:clapping:. Are those Nagra Amps that I spied in between the Avantgardes? How was their sound guys?
Cheers
Sid
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We could not get a chance of pairing Nagra with the Avant Grande as the time passed very quickly in which we could hear Leben and Lyrita. May be next time when SKR is here again then we would give them a try.
 
unleash_me said:
Thanks Sumit!

photobn.jpg


Could recognize few faces but could you introduce the rest for us please?

photoequip.jpg


I see beer :)
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Well, folks, glad you guys had a great meeting!

Could we have an introduction or a who's who from these photos? Also a breakdown of those exotic components would not go amiss. Good on SKR to be the gracious host.
 
unleash_me said:
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Introduction: from left to right
Mr. Santosh Kumar(SKR), Mr. Sehgal, Mr. Amit (Noida),Mr Viren Bakshi (at the back side), Mr. Kamal, Mr. Sumit, Me (Ashish Kesarwani), Vj-Hifi, Sitting members: again from left to right Mr. Rahul Pandit (Panditji),Mr. Sumant Sharma (Heliumflight).
 
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