Floorstanders under Rs. 50000

[ric6041]

Auditioned ELAC Debut F5 and FS77 today.

It was a properly treated demo room and F5 was hooked to an Onkyo AVR. The moment the audition started, I knew something was just wrong. The lower frequencies were too colored and the bass was unbearable. I'm a bass lover, still this was just too bad. I was sure that Andrew Jones cannot build such a bad product.

I asked the guy to switch to Denon AVR and voila!! The speakers came alive. All the coloration vanished and I could hear deep bass, clear vocals, but subdued highs.

Next in line was older FS77 (no kevlar drivers here). They looked like F5 fasting for a month. The form factor is so slim that I wondered if I really wanted to listen to these. But, my friends the moment it started to play, it just blew me away!!! Precise highs, excellent mids and deep yet tight bass. They sounded so perfect. Not to mention their SPL levels. I could feel the sound waves in my body.

Nice option found. But, I'll wait until I finish my other auditions.

Coming up are: KEF Q500, Tannoy Mercury 7.4, Klipsch R26F

Auditioned KEF Q500 today at ProFX, Whitefield. Amazing clarity with perfect highs and decent mids, but missing lows. The sound signature for me was not much different than Q300. This could be my perception, but I expected more bass. Also, the speakers sounded very polite, with little excitement.

I'm dropping this from my list as I've heard speakers with lots more excitement and energy.

 

[MaSh]

Auditioned KEF Q500 today at ProFX, Whitefield. Amazing clarity with perfect highs and decent mids, but missing lows. The sound signature for me was not much different than Q300. This could be my perception, but I expected more bass. Also, the speakers sounded very polite, with little excitement.

I'm dropping this from my list as I've heard speakers with lots more excitement and energy.

Excellent reviews.:clapping:

Where exactly is Pro Fx in Whitefield? The closest I thought was in Phoenix mall, but they shut shop some time ago.

MaSh

 

[raghupb]

KEFs are not exactly super efficient speakers. Given the right amplification, may be even a bit of muscle, they will come alive.
They can get quite rowdy when robbed of breathing space. Case in point is staring at my face in my living room.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[ric6041]

Excellent reviews.:clapping:

Where exactly is Pro Fx in Whitefield? The closest I thought was in Phoenix mall, but they shut shop some time ago.

MaSh

By Whitefield I meant Mahadevpura. Its right opposite the Phoenix Mall and they are operational.

 

[ric6041]

KEFs are not exactly super efficient speakers. Given the right amplification, may be even a bit of muscle, they will come alive.
They can get quite rowdy when robbed of breathing space. Case in point is staring at my face in my living room.

Cheers,
Raghu

Agreed. I thing the AVR was just not enough to drive them. I heard Q700 too, and they too sounded dull.

 

[ric6041]

Cinebels at Phoenix Mall is now closed. I could not audition Klipsch or Jamo.

The choice has narrowed down to ELAC FS 77 or Tannoy Mercury 7.4.

Price wise, both are similar, I've heard Elac and they sounded great. Will audition Tannoy soon.

Any suggestions from the gurus in the forum?

 

[ric6041]

HTStore arranged me an audition of Tannoy Mercury 7.4 and Wharfedale Diamond 240 speakers today. Thanks Lokesh!

Tannoys are lovely speakers, but a little too bright for longer listening sessions. Highs and Mids are just amazing on these. 'Dekha hazaron' by Arijit Singh sounded magical and the vocals had amazing texture to it.

Wharfedales, on the other hand had comparitively subdued highs with better bass, leading to a more balanced sound. They sounded lacking in their highs only when heard in comparision to Tannoys, otherwise they are fine. These speakers could be used for longer listening sessions.

Tannoys are out of my list now as I generally listen music for long hours.

New finalists: Wharfedales and Elacs

 

[arunkvivek]

Its funny and sad at the same time. Google led me to a place where I found nothing and since I was getting late, I came back.

It is located in a residential locality and very easy to miss as it does not have a prominent display that would capture your attention.

I and my better half had parked our two-wheeler and strolled on the road to identify the location. They start around 11 in the morning! I had my first auditions out there. Mukesh lets you have your space and does not push brands.

 

[arunkvivek]

HTStore arranged me an audition of Tannoy Mercury 7.4 and Wharfedale Diamond 240 speakers today. Thanks Lokesh!

Tannoys are lovely speakers, but a little too bright for longer listening sessions. Highs and Mids are just amazing on these. 'Dekha hazaron' by Arijit Singh sounded magical and the vocals had amazing texture to it.

Wharfedales, on the other hand had comparitively subdued highs with better bass, leading to a more balanced sound. They sounded lacking in their highs only when heard in comparision to Tannoys, otherwise they are fine. These speakers could be used for longer listening sessions.

Tannoys are out of my list now as I generally listen music for long hours.

New finalists: Wharfedales and Elacs

What amp was driving the Tannoys? Also, were the Tannoys broken in or not? The Amps and break in period make a lot of difference as the entry level Tannoys like Mercury series are a bit coloured. Revolution series would be a better bet. Tannoys have a wide sound stage.

Here is a subjective observation: I own Elac and Tannoy bookshelves, and listen 2-3 hours on both of them. I use Tannoys for my PC and listen to them from a distance of one feet. No fatigue at all even at such a close range. Elacs are in my living room and are used like loudspeakers with a listening distance of 7-8 feet. My dad prefers Elacs over Tannoys though because of the difference in sound signature.

 

[ric6041]

What amp was driving the Tannoys? Also, were the Tannoys broken in or not? The Amps and break in period make a lot of difference as the entry level Tannoys like Mercury series are a bit coloured. Revolution series would be a better bet. Tannoys have a wide sound stage.

Here is a subjective observation: I own Elac and Tannoy bookshelves, and listen 2-3 hours on both of them. I use Tannoys for my PC and listen to them from a distance of one feet. No fatigue at all even at such a close range. Elacs are in my living room and are used like loudspeakers with a listening distance of 7-8 feet. My dad prefers Elacs over Tannoys though because of the difference in sound signature.

Both were driven by Denon AVR and not power amps. Lokesh is a seasoned guy and I'm sure he would not give me an audition on a new speaker and hurt the chances of making a sale

Yes personal tastes matter a lot, and I prefer defined, but rounded sound.

 

[ric6041]

HTStore arranged me an audition of Tannoy Mercury 7.4 and Wharfedale Diamond 240 speakers today. Thanks Lokesh!

Tannoys are lovely speakers, but a little too bright for longer listening sessions. Highs and Mids are just amazing on these. 'Dekha hazaron' by Arijit Singh sounded magical and the vocals had amazing texture to it.

Wharfedales, on the other hand had comparitively subdued highs with better bass, leading to a more balanced sound. They sounded lacking in their highs only when heard in comparision to Tannoys, otherwise they are fine. These speakers could be used for longer listening sessions.

Tannoys are out of my list now as I generally listen music for long hours.

New finalists: Wharfedales and Elacs

Also got an opportunity to audition ELAC FS78 and Jamo C95, paired with Denon AVR.

ELAC FS78, when compared to FS77's, have an extra mid-range driver, along with larger low-range drivers. The mids are super clean and super prominent, almost overshadowing other frequencies. I'd rather settle for more balanced FS77.

Jamo C95 the concert series sounded too open (read Tannoyish) and hence I could not tolerate it for longer.

Its almost decided now that I'm going ahead with ELAC FS77, unless another and better speaker forces a rethink hyeah:

Any suggestions folks?

 

[tubek]

check q acoustic also

 

[MaSh]

Also got an opportunity to audition ELAC FS78 and Jamo C95, paired with Denon AVR.

ELAC FS78, when compared to FS77's, have an extra mid-range driver, along with larger low-range drivers. The mids are super clean and super prominent, almost overshadowing other frequencies. I'd rather settle for more balanced FS77.

Jamo C95 the concert series sounded too open (read Tannoyish) and hence I could not tolerate it for longer.

Its almost decided now that I'm going ahead with ELAC FS77, unless another and better speaker forces a rethink hyeah:

Any suggestions folks?

What did you pick?

Sent from my Redmi Note 3

 

[ric6041]

Finally, I settled on PSB X2T

 

[niccolewis]

Any chance of a review about your new speakers? Also, where in Bangalore did you get them and at what rate? Thanks!

 

[ric6041]

The speakers are brand new and yet to be broken in. I don't have the right connecters too and driving them via my flimsy HT wires, which I'm sure are an insult to these speakers.

Still, the speakers sound phenomenal with plenty of oomph. Waiting for my cables and connectors to arrive.

You can contact Mukesh Hemdev from Music Ranch, Jayanager for PSB speakers. He is running some Diwali offers and have very few pieces left. #98440 35773

 

[cha_indian]

The dealer is quoting the price of 90K... If someone were to spend at around 1lakh, the Monitor Audio Gold or Silver or Paradigms are within rage....do you compare these with any other speakers ??

 

[ric6041]

Auditions for MAs are becoming rare in Bangalore.

 

[Hari Iyer]

IME, commercial Fs speakers at this price range sounds very average. But if you like that sound, then who cares.

 

[niccolewis]

Auditions for MAs are becoming rare in Bangalore.

Very true. I'm trying to find a place that will allow me to try out the Bonze series towers and I can't find anyone.