Improvement with a dedicated amplifier?

shibashis

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2012
Messages
1,114
Points
113
Location
Kolkata
My current equipment : Yamaha RX-V371 + Sonodyne 1501 BS, iPod touch 32 GB as music player / DAC and streamer through Airport Express connected to receiver's 'Audio 2'.

My music collection is almost 90% mp3 (all 320 kbps and good quality, I ditch those which are not). Purchased through Flipkart, downloaded, and now am buying Audio CDs quite a bit as well. Slowly building up my collection of CDs. When playing CDs I play through my HTPC. Audio of HTPC goes through Radeon 5450 to the Yamaha through HDMI, and utilizes its DAC. Same for movies as well, a LG 32" LCD is connected to the AVR for movie watching.
I am happy with the way it all sounds, but I can always tell there is room for vast improvements. In my opinion the Sonodyne's are hugely underrated, I purchased them for 8.5K during their discount offering in January. Nothing comes at this price, and they are so good for the price. I can stick my neck out and say that these might as well give speakers priced between 15-25K bracket a run for their money. Yamaha AVR is very musical, I am happy that I chose Yamaha over Denon.

Only and only complaint is this combination is a little on the brighter side. People say Yamaha's signature is bright, but I am not sure if it is the Yamaha or the Sonodynes. My main question however is that considering I listen to 320 kbps mp3s mostly (building up my CD collection steadily though), how much of an improvement it will be over the Yamaha AVR if I buy an integrated amplifier for music listening ? Given that these are mp3s will there be a marked difference in SQ?
For an amp I would love to buy a Marantz, but that can not happen now. I will have to choose between either a Norge or Sonodyne. People say a lot of good things about both. Sonodyne speaker and amp combo probably sounds well. If you ask me to audition then I must say Sonodyne's listening rooms are pathetic and that audition will be worthless. Can not audition Norge in Kolkata.
If there is going to be daylight between the SQ now and SQ with an amp, then I will end up buying one and that is likely to be a blind purchase. Need your opinions and suggestions. I love the discussions here.
Thanks.
 
Try playing with the treble setting on the AVR. I have found modern music to be too bright and in general - noisy.
 
I have tried Sonodyne SiA310 and 1501 book shelf. The sound is very bright. Going for a warm amplifier is recommended.
 
wait for sometime, save some funds and then buy marantz or nad amp. You may also get option of buying a used one in future. Keep a watch on the sale section the forum and also check sites like quikr or olx.
 
Keeping `treble' at very low ( keep it `-ve') will help a lot. I also faced similar problem but with advice from FMs, the sound from my system is quite comfortable now.
 
wait for sometime, save some funds and then buy marantz or nad amp. You may also get option of buying a used one in future. Keep a watch on the sale section the forum and also check sites like quikr or olx.

I keep looking at olx and quikr for amplifier almost religiously everyday!
Buying a Marantz will be ideal I know. I am impatient and impulsive, so saving up for it is a tough job for me, but that can happen.
The first instinct is to always get the biggest VFM product, and so I was looking at Sonodyne and Norge, but we shall see what I end up with.
 
Keeping `treble' at very low ( keep it `-ve') will help a lot. I also faced similar problem but with advice from FMs, the sound from my system is quite comfortable now.

I do have treble kept at negative values but I do not wish to manipulate the sound that way. It is wistful thinking with such shoestring budget I guess but I want a sound which will please me without having to apply external modifiers.
 
I do have treble kept at negative values but I do not wish to manipulate the sound that way. It is wistful thinking with such shoestring budget I guess but I want a sound which will please me without having to apply external modifiers.

The warm amps do it the same way, they roll off highs. Just the difference of doing it manually vs forced to do by hardware.
 
My current equipment : Yamaha RX-V371 + Sonodyne 1501 BS, iPod touch 32 GB as music player / DAC and streamer through Airport Express connected to receiver's 'Audio 2'.

My music collection is almost 90% mp3 (all 320 kbps and good quality, I ditch those which are not). Purchased through Flipkart, downloaded, and now am buying Audio CDs quite a bit as well. Slowly building up my collection of CDs. When playing CDs I play through my HTPC. Audio of HTPC goes through Radeon 5450 to the Yamaha through HDMI, and utilizes its DAC. Same for movies as well, a LG 32" LCD is connected to the AVR for movie watching.
I am happy with the way it all sounds, but I can always tell there is room for vast improvements. In my opinion the Sonodyne's are hugely underrated, I purchased them for 8.5K during their discount offering in January. Nothing comes at this price, and they are so good for the price. I can stick my neck out and say that these might as well give speakers priced between 15-25K bracket a run for their money. Yamaha AVR is very musical, I am happy that I chose Yamaha over Denon.

Only and only complaint is this combination is a little on the brighter side. People say Yamaha's signature is bright, but I am not sure if it is the Yamaha or the Sonodynes. My main question however is that considering I listen to 320 kbps mp3s mostly (building up my CD collection steadily though), how much of an improvement it will be over the Yamaha AVR if I buy an integrated amplifier for music listening ? Given that these are mp3s will there be a marked difference in SQ?
For an amp I would love to buy a Marantz, but that can not happen now. I will have to choose between either a Norge or Sonodyne. People say a lot of good things about both. Sonodyne speaker and amp combo probably sounds well. If you ask me to audition then I must say Sonodyne's listening rooms are pathetic and that audition will be worthless. Can not audition Norge in Kolkata.
If there is going to be daylight between the SQ now and SQ with an amp, then I will end up buying one and that is likely to be a blind purchase. Need your opinions and suggestions. I love the discussions here.
Thanks.

Sonodynes are fantastic speakers for the price they command. Yes, they are underrated...But someone who owns it, knows the capability of the speaker :clapping: & even more convincing is that you saved money :ohyeah:

Is there a "Straight" button on your AVR...It will do the function same as Pure direct/Direct

Of the AVR aval in the market today, Onkyo is perceived to be bright...

Yamaha/Denon AVR is not bright..You can say Neutral...

I have listened to Sonodyne speakers paired with Yamaha ..They are not bright...I have paired the Sonodyne Sonus with Marantz/Onkyo receivers (old & New)...I can say that my setup sounds a tad bright @ times...Not always...

Hope you play Audio CD's on your HTPC -> AVR

In your AVR, what is speaker setting (Left & Right) that you have done for Sonodyne Sonus 1501. Is it Large (or) Small ?
 
Last edited:
When I am playing music through my iPod, my AVR is kept at "Straight Enhancer" mode, because I am playing mp3s most of the time.

I let YPAO take care of the setup and they have detected the speakers as 'Large', so I have kept them that way.

Yes, I do play Audio CD in my HTPC which is connected to the AVR via HDMI.

I have been reading and it seems to me I will go for a Marantz 6004 or a NAD amp. These will cost me more than I want (ouch!) but then I hope they will last a long long time and can not compromise on audio quality (for the first time in my life I realize why credit cards were invented :O :D ). I will take a chance with a Sonodyne amp and when I have some time I will go to one of Sonodyne's listening rooms and just beg them to give me a proper long audition (usually their auditions are an insult), if it can convince me then I am likely to save a lot of money. Lets see what happens....
Thanks a lot for your opinions. It is great to learn more and more and take my little steps toward audio nirvana that I so wistfully crave (knowing fully well it is a fallacy and can not really be achieved unless I sell my soul to the devil for gazillions of rupees....well only kidding).

If and when I buy an amp, I will let the world know.
 
Do audition the Marantz + NAD equipment before you buy just to make sure you are buying what you need and not solely based on just online reviews.
 
I keep looking at olx and quikr for amplifier almost religiously everyday!
Buying a Marantz will be ideal I know. I am impatient and impulsive, so saving up for it is a tough job for me, but that can happen.
The first instinct is to always get the biggest VFM product, and so I was looking at Sonodyne and Norge, but we shall see what I end up with.

For me Yamaha ( AMP & AVR ) is way too bright in whatever setting . Also Marantz is bright for me ( though it is ok with most ) So it is better to Audition before you make a buying decision. I purchased one and sold it in couple of days
 
Did audition the Sonodyne amplifier with their stand mounters at South City sometime back. Extremely bright.
 
For me Yamaha ( AMP & AVR ) is way too bright in whatever setting . Also Marantz is bright for me ( though it is ok with most ) So it is better to Audition before you make a buying decision. I purchased one and sold it in couple of days

But I could see that for a 50:50 music:movie usage the overall expert members suggestions was Yamaha/Denon over onkyo. Onkyo was suggested for more movie watching that music.

and for music oriented ( 80:20 music:movie ) it was Marantz AVR.
Just wanted to know how did you feel about other AVRs too..
 
When I am playing music through my iPod, my AVR is kept at "Straight Enhancer" mode, because I am playing mp3s most of the time.

I let YPAO take care of the setup and they have detected the speakers as 'Large', so I have kept them that way.

Yes, I do play Audio CD in my HTPC which is connected to the AVR via HDMI.

I have been reading and it seems to me I will go for a Marantz 6004 or a NAD amp. These will cost me more than I want (ouch!) but then I hope they will last a long long time and can not compromise on audio quality (for the first time in my life I realize why credit cards were invented :O :D ). I will take a chance with a Sonodyne amp and when I have some time I will go to one of Sonodyne's listening rooms and just beg them to give me a proper long audition (usually their auditions are an insult), if it can convince me then I am likely to save a lot of money. Lets see what happens....
Thanks a lot for your opinions. It is great to learn more and more and take my little steps toward audio nirvana that I so wistfully crave (knowing fully well it is a fallacy and can not really be achieved unless I sell my soul to the devil for gazillions of rupees....well only kidding).

If and when I buy an amp, I will let the world know.

Sonodyne, Yamaha, Marantz . All bright! We admire our equipments for their `crispness, `clarity, `Sensitivity and all, and then we call it `bright. So far, except Denon ( or have I missed it somewhere ?) all the AMPS/AVRs have been termed Bright, in one thread or another. Is it because of digitized/compressed sound? But will any of us will buy equipment which doe not play MP3/USB inputs, etc? In earlier years, sound equipments used to have warm & comforting sound. We used to play music to relax with. Perhaps this realization only is driving people towards vinyle or other analogue kind of music. I have a Sonodyne+Yamaha system which I find quite satisfying and very good VFM. But whenever I am in a `good mood and want to have a nice relaxing evening, I go back to my 18 years old faithful, my BPL Sanyo Stereo . Because it makes me feel good & happy.
Sorry for this Gyaan, and thanks for going through it. But all said, Ill suggest you to look for an old Stereo Amp ( Sansui, HK, Cosmic, Akai etc) as a stop gap arrangement, till you are ready for the big buy. You never know, you may find it a highly satisfying arrangement.
 
Sonodyne are not exactly bright...Lot depends on the partnering amp, CD/DVD player....

I have heard Sony DVD player + Yamaha AX 497 + Sonodyne Sonus 2605 FS in one combo & Yamaha CD Player + Yamaha AX 497 + Sonus 2605 in another combo...

The culprit was Sony DVD player which had a bright sound signature (More importantly the DAC inside)....
 
Order your Rega Turntables & Amplifiers from HiFiMART.com - India's reputed online dealer.
Back
Top