Front Speakers + AMP under INR 50000

[corElement]

I did Audition the Kef Q300 with a denon amp (don't remember the model).
=>Mainly checked the vocals Jim Reeves,Celion Dion & Pavarotti,Josh Groban ,Bhimsen Joshi ,Rabindra sangeet by Sasha (using Ipod Usb connection)
=>Initial Impression:No doubt Impressed by the clarity and tonality of the vocals.However when I listened longer, I felt that the boldness was lacking.I would have loved a little more depth(i mean the rumbling voice).I am wondering if this is because of the AMP.I heard that NAD and Marantz pairs well with kef.

Denon + KefQ300 is indeed not a good combination so I'm not surprised.

Epos M12i is a pretty good model from what I've read on specs and heard from denom, mpw and avidyarthy.

IMO if you like the Epos sound, get the Epos speaker for now and then get a stuitable amp in the future if you don't have one now / can't afford one right now.

It's better to get a better speaker of your choice and complete the setup over time instead of being stuck with something you're not totally satisfied with.

 

[saikatbiswas82]

@Kushanava... looking at your preferences and future upgrade plans, I could ask you go go for Yamaha AVRs. They are more musical. For example, you can get RX-V571 @ around 28K.

 

[Kushanava]

kushanava,
Denom and i auditioned the PSB + NAD too.

I did this too yesterday ..Went to promises where they set up the

PSB Image B6 (quoted 30k) + Nad 755
vs
Elac BS 53 (quoted 18K)+ Nad 755

Promises had the worst room for demoing bookshelves ..the bookshelves were placed in-front of a glass wall , the room was huge and open (visitors came in and went out), the speaker placement was above my head height from the sitting position and were hoisted over floor standards.The shop engineer seemed to be reluctant to put any effort to customize the positions(may be it was too late for him 6:30 pm).It looked like , I came to buy , but they were not ready for the sale ...

I tried to get focused , ignoring the circumstances ...

Started with Kandisa ..(like usual )..went through the whole song ...it felt like Chicken Tandoori without spices .. and I kept on searching for the taste...the brand name was the only thing that was layering my imaginations and so without wasting time went straight into "Sadda haq"...No luck ..too flat ..no bass , no dynamism....Please change it to Elac !!!!!

Hmm ..better ...much better ..Voices came out clean with a significant bass punch and sharp highs ..I expected elac to be bright speakers , but just felt that they were well balanced.Just more appropriately ..I was pleasantly surprised by the sound stage and quality of the 18K speakers..


However I still want to audition PSB once more , because I am optimistic and feel that the engineer could have made a bad connection..

But , for people who are looking for speakers under 25K ,please demo ELAC BS 53 (this is a retired model .under 18k ).I found them way better than MS aviano 2.

 

[Viren007]

for speakers in bookself you can go for wherfadle 9.1 also

 

[mpw]

kushanava,

you are doing well by auditioning. One of the benifits of this route is that the choices you wanted in the first place and what you end up liking can be much different. It can be a pleasant experience that what you end up liking it at a lower cost that want you wanted.

If the Elac rocks your boat go for it.. i glanced thru the spec sheet.. its a 7 inch driver right ? These are "large" bookshelves and they have a charm of their own.

make sure you check it out with your amp and make sure whatever bookshelves you buy.. consider a pair of well made stands for it.

PS : Point to ponder..If the Elac had played badly in the same setting..would you have given the benifit of the doubt to it ? Why re-consider PSB when it played badly in the same setting.. this is what brands do ..you know.. the lesser known brand gets less chances. But heyy.. go your own route..

;-))

regards,
mpw
Mumbai

 

[Kushanava]

Thanks MPW for the suggestions ...
The only reason why I want to Audition PSB once more is because I was not confident on the connections made my the sales person that day ..

You are absolutely right ..without your own amp it is difficult to judge the speakers ..So this first stage screening is only to eliminate products that i wont buy ..i.e in a shop , under the same circumstances elac IMO sounded better than PSB ,
similarly Epos was better than MS and quad (they were all connected to Sudgen ..1L amp)

The Next step is to Audition BMW and Tannoy ...

However I am now pretty much convinced that I would be buying a Class A power amplifier , because all these speakers specially the EPOS needs high current.

I am leaning towards used Quad 306 ( like tirthankar did ).
I am open to any other suggestions of used Class A amps (high current, >=50 wpc) under 30K.

 

[mpw]

kushanava,

may i suggest you contact Gerrythemerry on the forum and pickup the NAD C372 from him. It will be a good deal and this product has good headroom to drive even floorstanders.

If you are still inclined towards Class A .. then look for something around 30W. Class A amps will run quite hot and the ventilation will have to be taken care of. Actually 30W of Class A continuous current is a stupendous amopunt power
( watch those electricity bills too ) )

anyways.. happy hunting.

mpw

 

[Udhay]

kushanava,

may i suggest you contact Gerrythemerry on the forum and pickup the NAD C372 from him. It will be a good deal and this product has good headroom to drive even floorstanders.

If you are still inclined towards Class A .. then look for something around 30W. Class A amps will run quite hot and the ventilation will have to be taken care of. Actually 30W of Class A continuous current is a stupendous amopunt power
( watch those electricity bills too ) )

anyways.. happy hunting.

mpw

Hi last week i too Went down to PRO FX to audition KEF 300 and Polk Rti A3. I felt like polk is handling well with almost all songs and KEF Was muffled a bit. It was like some 1 holding a hand in front of the driver. They paird with Denon AMP. I have High openions on KEF. But was disappointing.
I expected very good instrument separation and the it was good in KEF than Polk. But overall polk was punchy than KEF. Please suggest if i pair KEF with NAD Or Marantz will i get better sound (Also i liked the smoothnes of KEF).
Or should i change my option on speakers in which i need good Midrange and Instrument separation (My budget can be Max 37k) .. pls suggest me too...

 

[Kushanava]

@UDAY ---Being at Bangalore , you have more options than me ..
Please visit Swadish and demo Epos M12i & Epos Epic 2.
You can also look at speakers like Usher V-601 (ARN) .I have heard the M12i , and they are far better than polk and kef IMO.

 

[Udhay]

@UDAY ---Being at Bangalore , you have more options than me ..
Please visit Swadish and demo Epos M12i & Epos Epic 2.
You can also look at speakers like Usher V-601 (ARN) .I have heard the M12i , and they are far better than polk and kef IMO.

hi kushnava... Thank you for the suggesion..Ill check out these...

In your openion what is the impression on KEF which you auditioned?? I have also did the same and between polk and KEF i felt that Polk is punchy...

Since i dont have experienced ears your suggesions on KEF and Polk are welcome.. Am asking this because it will be help full in excluding atleast KEF which i plan to buy...

 

[Kushanava]

hi kushnava... Thank you for the suggesion..Ill check out these...

In your openion what is the impression on KEF which you auditioned?? I have also did the same and between polk and KEF i felt that Polk is punchy...

Since i dont have experienced ears your suggesions on KEF and Polk are welcome.. Am asking this because it will be help full in excluding atleast KEF which i plan to buy...

IMO KEF + Denon combination lacked the dynamism ..but at the same time i believe that KEF definitely has some potential specially MID range vocals are very clear ..you need to check them with more active amplifiers like Marantz ..also keep in mind that KEF is not flexible with placement , so that also is a criteria for my selection ..anyways I am not an expert ..I am also in search of a bookshelf like you are !!happy hunting !!

 

[Udhay]

IMO KEF + Denon combination lacked the dynamism ..but at the same time i believe that KEF definitely has some potential specially MID range vocals are very clear ..you need to check them with more active amplifiers like Marantz ..also keep in mind that KEF is not flexible with placement , so that also is a criteria for my selection ..anyways I am not an expert ..I am also in search of a bookshelf like you are !!happy hunting !!

Yes i understand that kushanava... i too felt there was something missing in KEF compared with Polk (With Denon)... The part i missed (may be some frequencies are muffled), will i be getting back them when i pair it with Marantz or NAD??

i felt that KEF had better instrument separation compared with Polk.. Is that true ??? Or in order to buy KEF with these doubts shall i choose something else like Wharf, User what about these speakers compared with KEF??

Any suggesions welcome...

 

[Kushanava]

Yes i understand that kushanava... i too felt there was something missing in KEF compared with Polk (With Denon)... The part i missed (may be some frequencies are muffled), will i be getting back them when i pair it with Marantz or NAD??

i felt that KEF had better instrument separation compared with Polk.. Is that true ??? Or in order to buy KEF with these doubts shall i choose something else like Wharf, User what about these speakers compared with KEF??

Any suggesions welcome...

This happened to me also !! I think you are too much into reviews and the ratings are influencing you .. trust your ears .. once you listen to the other brands I bet you will feel the difference ..sometimes when you don't have exposure and experience it is hard to judge what is "good" ..In such cases what I did was , I listened to some extraordinary/reputed speakers in the demo room (2 to 3 times beyond your budget ,like I listened to triangle ,,1.5L).This gives you an idea on what "good sound" can be ..and slowly you can realize the VFM sound for yourself as you try to get closer to that "dream" sound.

 

[Amitkg]

This happened to me also !! I think you are too much into reviews and the ratings are influencing you .. trust your ears .. once you listen to the other brands I bet you will feel the difference ..sometimes when you don't have exposure and experience it is hard to judge what is "good" ..In such cases what I did was , I listened to some extraordinary/reputed speakers in the demo room (2 to 3 times beyond your budget ,like I listened to triangle ,,1.5L).This gives you an idea on what "good sound" can be ..and slowly you can realize the VFM sound for yourself as you try to get closer to that "dream" sound.

--------------------------------------------
You are absolutely right. Same thing happened to me. Just two days ago I got my Marantz PM6004. Before getting PM6004, I was getting feedback, suggestions from various quarters. Heard Dali, Wharfedale, MS Aviano, Usher and even Diana Audio,,,,,,, I was simply not able to make my mind. I always wanted to buy FS but I didn't have enough budget. Liked Dali Zensor 3 for 28k but for Zensor3, I had to spend another10k for stand. Most FMs simply abhor Sonodyne, even I didn't like their sound signature. I heard about POLK,, only foreign brand available in India, that is offering good speakers at budget price but then again most of the FMs were not in favour of POLK. Last Sunday, after taking delivery of Marantz PM6004 from Harmonie(New Alipore) I take a decision to visit ProFX, auditioned POLK TSx330T with my new PM6004 and my GOD! experience was sublime, I really liked the performance of TSx330T. For this I have decided to go for POLK( 26.4K). Now, I wonder, despite having not so good reviews POLK can produce good ( at least to my ears) sound. It is really VFM product.. It is not a wise decision to buy a pair of cheap ( cheap in Europe and elsewhere) speakers, at a premium price and then keeping trying to satisfy your mind as if you are listening to premium sound and understanding subtlety and nuance of your music !!! hyeah:hyeah:hyeah:

So, thumb rule >>>> Buy and listen what you can afford and what is good to your ears.

 

[Kushanava]

--------------------------------------------
You are absolutely right. Same thing happened to me. Just two days ago I got my Marantz PM6004. Before getting PM6004, I was getting feedback, suggestions from various quarters. Heard Dali, Wharfedale, MS Aviano, Usher and even Diana Audio,,,,,,, I was simply not able to make my mind. I always wanted to buy FS but I didn't have enough budget. Liked Dali Zensor 3 for 28k but for Zensor3, I had to spend another10k for stand. Most FMs simply abhor Sonodyne, even I didn't like their sound signature. I heard about POLK,, only foreign brand available in India, that is offering good speakers at budget price but then again most of the FMs were not in favour of POLK. Last Sunday, after taking delivery of Marantz PM6004 from Harmonie(New Alipore) I take a decision to visit ProFX, auditioned POLK TSx330T with my new PM6004 and my GOD! experience was sublime, I really liked the performance of TSx330T. For this I have decided to go for POLK( 26.4K). Now, I wonder, despite having not so good reviews POLK can produce good ( at least to my ears) sound. It is really VFM product.. It is not a wise decision to buy a pair of cheap ( cheap in Europe and elsewhere) speakers, at a premium price and then keeping trying to satisfy your mind as if you are listening to premium sound and understanding subtlety and nuance of your music !!! hyeah:hyeah:hyeah:

So, thumb rule >>>> Buy and listen what you can afford and what is good to your ears.

Great!! Whatever makes you happy you should persue that.Its a long journey mate and often you get surprised by your own change of tastes...

 

[shibashis]

Some correction, Dali is not cheap in Europe or elsewhere, rather its prices are cheaper in India compared to in US.
Amit da if you are happy with Polk then of course that gets you going and there is nothing to say about it. In my opinion KEF and Dali are superior to Polk, at least their entry level models do not hold much sway compared Zensor 3 or KEF Q300. I auditioned the Q300 and that was my second choice after the Usher 601.
If you have not already paid for the Polk then Amit da must listen to Dali with your Marantz or did you try the KEF with Marantz with your own music?
I am curious how the experience was.

 

[shibashis]

@Kushanava: What did you get in the end? Amp + speaker?

 

[Amitkg]

Great!! Whatever makes you happy you should persue that.Its a long journey mate and often you get surprised by your own change of tastes...

---------------------------------
Absolutely right! Everything changes. Friend turns foe, Foe turns friend. It's a journey, indeed

 

[karthick raja]

KEF (Q500) + Denon sounds laid back to me but definitely better than polk as polk have muffled bassy touch. I would advise you to check bright speakers + neutral /bassy source or laid back speakers + bright source so that you will get optimum balance.

Even without any prior experience, I am able to segregate them based on which characteristic sound I like. So, stop reading reviews and audition all the suggestions and combinations, till when you feel satisfied by the time when you reach the time limit go and buy. Because this works for me, I have taken as many auditions possible within 1 week which is the time frame available for me at that time and decided on the one which I like.


Happy hunting!

 

[Kushanava]

@Kushanava: What did you get in the end? Amp + speaker?

I am currently looking for speaker upgrade.
I am owning wharf 9.1 and sugden a21se amp.I use marantz 48 as source..