Hi all, as HifiAhsok clarified, we had another get together, courtesy SKR, on the 1st evening( great way to start the new year, would'nt you agree?).
Present were HifiAshok, Dr Sanjeev Garg & my humle self- Dr Dhawan could,nt make it due to family commitments(sigh,what we menfolk have to sacrifice to keep the little woman happy).
Befor I write anything abt the 1st GT, I would like to clarify one thing.
Some esteemed audiophiles were upset when we described the occasion to listen to the Leben S300SX alongside the homegrown Lyrita Integre 2 Amp, both Pushpull with EL84 tubes ( BEL tubes, in case of the Lyrita), as a shootout.
The term was used lightheartedly: a real shootout can take place in only far more controlled circumstances than a get together of 9 - 10 audiophiles, many meeting each other for the first time, with beer etc flowing.
The issue of the Leben not having enough burn in was raised.
Granted that it takes some use for a tube amp to fully achieve its sonic characterstics, but one can still get a pretty good sense of what the sound can be like.
Actually, the comparison was not as unfair as it was deemed- the Lyrita Amp was brand new & had been played by Viren for just one Hour before being brought to SKR's for the session.
I think most audiophiles present felt that the Lyrita quite held its own, in no way constrained by its unbelievably low price of Rs 24 k.
Any audio gear represents a labour of love & blood sweat & tears of its designer, which I deeply respect.
Thus I hold Viren in high esteem for making available to the Indian audiophile, quality equipment at very affordable prices-thats a great service, & deserves applause.
On the 1st evening, we played a variety of music, first thru the Oppo 970 digital out into the DAC of the CDP >Sonic Frontiers' Pre amp>Red wine audio 31.5 digital amp>Avant garde Spkrs & then thru the Promitheus Pre Amp(modified by SKR by adding a tube buffer)>Sun Audio 2A3 Power amp>Avant Gardes.
The digital RWA amp was nice but was blown away by the 2A3. The Sonic frontiers Preamp in the first combo is a great pre amp but the RWA, even tho representing a technical tour de force, was just not upto it in a comparison with the Sun Audio amp, & was the weak link in the first combo.
We also heard some vinyl selections by SKR which sounded absolutely breath taking.
This was also our first interaction with Dr Sanjeev Garg an audiophile based in Ghaziabad.
It was really a privilege meeting such a passionate yet humble & soft spoken audiophile.
Dr Sanjeev posseses arguably one of the best collections of music ( 50,000 LPs, 60,000 Cds, 300 originally recorded spool tapes !) & vintage gear ( He has the Quad 2 amp & the Quad 63 & the Quad 989 ES Speakers, among other gear !).
We had a great time talking to him & enjoying music together.
I have requested him to send me some snaps of his collection which I shall post.
He has also extended an invitation to visit him & see & hear his collection.
Any takers?
Present were HifiAshok, Dr Sanjeev Garg & my humle self- Dr Dhawan could,nt make it due to family commitments(sigh,what we menfolk have to sacrifice to keep the little woman happy).
Befor I write anything abt the 1st GT, I would like to clarify one thing.
Some esteemed audiophiles were upset when we described the occasion to listen to the Leben S300SX alongside the homegrown Lyrita Integre 2 Amp, both Pushpull with EL84 tubes ( BEL tubes, in case of the Lyrita), as a shootout.
The term was used lightheartedly: a real shootout can take place in only far more controlled circumstances than a get together of 9 - 10 audiophiles, many meeting each other for the first time, with beer etc flowing.
The issue of the Leben not having enough burn in was raised.
Granted that it takes some use for a tube amp to fully achieve its sonic characterstics, but one can still get a pretty good sense of what the sound can be like.
Actually, the comparison was not as unfair as it was deemed- the Lyrita Amp was brand new & had been played by Viren for just one Hour before being brought to SKR's for the session.
I think most audiophiles present felt that the Lyrita quite held its own, in no way constrained by its unbelievably low price of Rs 24 k.
Any audio gear represents a labour of love & blood sweat & tears of its designer, which I deeply respect.
Thus I hold Viren in high esteem for making available to the Indian audiophile, quality equipment at very affordable prices-thats a great service, & deserves applause.
On the 1st evening, we played a variety of music, first thru the Oppo 970 digital out into the DAC of the CDP >Sonic Frontiers' Pre amp>Red wine audio 31.5 digital amp>Avant garde Spkrs & then thru the Promitheus Pre Amp(modified by SKR by adding a tube buffer)>Sun Audio 2A3 Power amp>Avant Gardes.
The digital RWA amp was nice but was blown away by the 2A3. The Sonic frontiers Preamp in the first combo is a great pre amp but the RWA, even tho representing a technical tour de force, was just not upto it in a comparison with the Sun Audio amp, & was the weak link in the first combo.
We also heard some vinyl selections by SKR which sounded absolutely breath taking.
This was also our first interaction with Dr Sanjeev Garg an audiophile based in Ghaziabad.
It was really a privilege meeting such a passionate yet humble & soft spoken audiophile.
Dr Sanjeev posseses arguably one of the best collections of music ( 50,000 LPs, 60,000 Cds, 300 originally recorded spool tapes !) & vintage gear ( He has the Quad 2 amp & the Quad 63 & the Quad 989 ES Speakers, among other gear !).
We had a great time talking to him & enjoying music together.
I have requested him to send me some snaps of his collection which I shall post.
He has also extended an invitation to visit him & see & hear his collection.
Any takers?
