vkhandelwal
Active Member
I have been a music lover for more than 20-25 years. Love to listen Hindi classics from greats like R.D Burman , Kishore Kumar , Mohd Rafi , Jagjit Singh, Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton , Yanni, to Kailsah Kher, and Arijit Singh . Mostly songs from 60s to 90s.
I used to think that HMV ( Saregams now ) did a really bad work in maintaining and preserving these classics. Despite the fact that they still are earning a lot by selling the tracks through various platforms and devices such as caravan they never cared to improve. I had given up and was thinking that we have to live with this.
there were options of going the vinyl way but as we know that not every movie had all good songs and changing the discs or vinyl every 10-15 minutes was not convenient hence was relying mostly on digital collection and players.
and then I used the same source for a new tiny speaker Beoplay A1 by B&O . I was surprised to hear some low end on the songs without disturbing the vocals or midrange. The upper frequencies were mostly missing in the earlier recordings or may be it was lost to suppress the hissing or static noise. so it was still not there but the vocals and supporting instruments were sounding nice and warm. despite having many speakers, headphones I kept going to the A1 and enjoying the old songs on it
audio bug in me bit me again and I started exploring the options to have an amplified version of the setup similar to the sound signature . I am extremely happy to share that I am almost there. below is what I have done till now
Improving the Source - The Tidal Magic
The Tidal Magic - After exploring various options ( have been using , Apple music, Amazon Prime, Gaana, tracks purchased from Saragama and so called HD , Along with tracks converted from purchased CD) Tried the songs from Tidal. I was blown away with the quality of tracks there. I am considering that they might have sourced it from saregama , Universal music etc..) . they have still not launched in India but despite that they have better quality than the platforms mentioned above and their collection is good.
The Transport Upgrade - Bluesound Node 2i
the Squeezebox touch which I used to have was discontinued and it does not support newer streaming platforms. I looked for a streamer which can support tidal natively and concluded by getting Bluesound node 2i .
AMP - Marantz continues
I had Marantz 7004 amp and though that I should continue with considering it has a sound signature which I like.
Speakers - The Wharfedale factor
I was having Wharfedale diamond 220 . one of the mid woofer driver was blown and I thought that it was signal to get the speaker replaced too
was searching for a pair to go well with my kind of music. I tried Monitor Audio RX6 floor stander which I have. It lacked clarity which I was used to from Wharfedale. As I was limited for auditioning options due to Lockdown and my location I decided to go with Wharfedale Evo 4.1. was confused between 4.2 and 4.1 ( 2 way vs 3 way ) 5 inch driver vs 6.5 inch driver . but at the end decided to go with 4.1.
The Low range Enhancement - Subwoofer
Now the bass response of Evo 4.1 is certainly better than diamond 220 but it still lacked the low end response at lower volume level. I have a Jamo sub 200 which I use for Movies. I tried that sub with the sub pre out of Bluesound node2i. Having a sub improved the sound as I could control the bass and it is present even at low volume level . Increasing the sound was overwhelming the mid driver. I would be looking for a dedicated sub for music as I need the Jamo sub back for movies setup.
Finally - the sound I was looking for
After a lot of research, forums post everywhere, Finally I think I am almost there to get the sound I was looking for. I am enjoying it and look forward for hours of music listening bliss ....
I used to think that HMV ( Saregams now ) did a really bad work in maintaining and preserving these classics. Despite the fact that they still are earning a lot by selling the tracks through various platforms and devices such as caravan they never cared to improve. I had given up and was thinking that we have to live with this.
there were options of going the vinyl way but as we know that not every movie had all good songs and changing the discs or vinyl every 10-15 minutes was not convenient hence was relying mostly on digital collection and players.
and then I used the same source for a new tiny speaker Beoplay A1 by B&O . I was surprised to hear some low end on the songs without disturbing the vocals or midrange. The upper frequencies were mostly missing in the earlier recordings or may be it was lost to suppress the hissing or static noise. so it was still not there but the vocals and supporting instruments were sounding nice and warm. despite having many speakers, headphones I kept going to the A1 and enjoying the old songs on it
audio bug in me bit me again and I started exploring the options to have an amplified version of the setup similar to the sound signature . I am extremely happy to share that I am almost there. below is what I have done till now
Improving the Source - The Tidal Magic
The Tidal Magic - After exploring various options ( have been using , Apple music, Amazon Prime, Gaana, tracks purchased from Saragama and so called HD , Along with tracks converted from purchased CD) Tried the songs from Tidal. I was blown away with the quality of tracks there. I am considering that they might have sourced it from saregama , Universal music etc..) . they have still not launched in India but despite that they have better quality than the platforms mentioned above and their collection is good.
The Transport Upgrade - Bluesound Node 2i
the Squeezebox touch which I used to have was discontinued and it does not support newer streaming platforms. I looked for a streamer which can support tidal natively and concluded by getting Bluesound node 2i .
AMP - Marantz continues
I had Marantz 7004 amp and though that I should continue with considering it has a sound signature which I like.
Speakers - The Wharfedale factor
I was having Wharfedale diamond 220 . one of the mid woofer driver was blown and I thought that it was signal to get the speaker replaced too
was searching for a pair to go well with my kind of music. I tried Monitor Audio RX6 floor stander which I have. It lacked clarity which I was used to from Wharfedale. As I was limited for auditioning options due to Lockdown and my location I decided to go with Wharfedale Evo 4.1. was confused between 4.2 and 4.1 ( 2 way vs 3 way ) 5 inch driver vs 6.5 inch driver . but at the end decided to go with 4.1.
The Low range Enhancement - Subwoofer
Now the bass response of Evo 4.1 is certainly better than diamond 220 but it still lacked the low end response at lower volume level. I have a Jamo sub 200 which I use for Movies. I tried that sub with the sub pre out of Bluesound node2i. Having a sub improved the sound as I could control the bass and it is present even at low volume level . Increasing the sound was overwhelming the mid driver. I would be looking for a dedicated sub for music as I need the Jamo sub back for movies setup.
Finally - the sound I was looking for
After a lot of research, forums post everywhere, Finally I think I am almost there to get the sound I was looking for. I am enjoying it and look forward for hours of music listening bliss ....
