Let us go for the basics

[audiocraze]

Hi, newly joined the forum. There are lot of jargons going around, lets understand them clearly, rather the gurus can de-cipher them to help the novice

1. Neutral, Dark or Bright sound ?
2. Forward or Laid back?
3. Transient & Dynamic?
3. Compression ?
4. Smooth & grainy ?
5. Thin & overbodied?

I am going too much, hope these definitions will bring all off us to common platform when describing the kit we have.

cheers
Bernard

 

[ranjeetrain]

Stereophile: "What I Mean..." (review terminology)

 

[ranjeetrain]

That's a lazy man's way of saying I am lazy.

 

[audiocraze]

may be I am a lazy novice, still aspire to know, I am sure there are many who will be saying "yeah I need to know these before I comment" while reading this post

 

[audiocraze]

HiRanjeetrain,
Thanx man

 

[ranjeetrain]

may be I am a lazy novice, still aspire to know, I am sure there are many who will be saying "yeah I need to know these before I comment" while reading this post

Hey buddy, that post was a comment on my own post. a joke on myself

 

[audiocraze]

got it pal, by the way have any of you compared or auditioned any Indian brand speakers ?, hows the overall feel?

 

[soundofmusic]

Got a chance to hear Sonodyne in Forum , bangalore . Its ok . but not VFM product.

 

[ranjeetrain]

Sound is subjective. You must have see people going boom boom bdam bdam in their cars. No sound, just low frequency noise? That noise is great sound to them, so

Well, coming to the point. They sound nice. People on budget should definitely consider them. Lithos, Sonodyne, Space Audio, Corrson, Cadence these are worth a listen.

 

[audiocraze]

the works or the sound?, I ve been musing why our Indian brothers couldnt estabilish in our own soil, though some of them have good designed products but bad finishing

 

[ranjeetrain]

Just some thoughts:

India doesn't have a full fledged hifi industry. Let us face it, hifi is a small scale industry here. If you exclude manufacturers like Ahuja Radios rest are all small scale, where majority of work is done by hand rather than machines. These can be better termed as "assemblers" rather than manufacturers. None of the companies in India that I know of have a factory of their own to produce transducers. Most of them import from well known international sellers and assemble them here. At such small scale, when work is being done by hand, maintaining a great finish is difficult.

That said, finish is not poor. Until you campare it to a certain B&W Nautilus or a Usher or any such manufacturer.

If Indian manufacturers can sell like international brands (a certain Wharfedale, Klipsch, Jamo produces over 50000 units per year, because they sell that much) I do not see why they will not be able to optimize their processes and bring production costs down etc. resulting in a overall much better industry.

 

[ranjeetrain]

Got a chance to hear Sonodyne in Forum , bangalore . Its ok . but not VFM product.

Agree. Sonodyne products sound good but they cost also. And the typical thinking is if I am spending this much why not spend a little more and get something much more recognized universally.

I suggested their Sales managers that if they were to sell more they should bring down the cost. But I believe that didn't make sense to them. They are adamant on being the Indian equivalent of Bose more likely.

Or may be that their sales is so low they wont make profit if they don't sell it at that price. Or may be that they are charging the premium for being the lifestyle hifi or Indian origin (what with Bose style dedicated listening centres etc).

 

[soundsgreat]

HI,
Welcome to the forum buddy ! and congrats on your new Usher Purchase !
One question what electronics are you driving them with ?

I agree with ranjeetrain comments ! its true what he has said, but I only like add that you can't call them mere assembler's as they at least are doing the job on their own not like their western counterparts who have conveniently pushed all their production to some Chinese OEM and claim it as there's !

But the fact remains that the indian companies are not in listening mood ! and are not ready to face the ground reality ! See my posts in Norge 2000 thread for more details on the same !

By the way Audiocraze if you haven't seen my DIY post please do so (its under Anil's DIY thread) and give me some feedback ( Am no manufacturer but since you mentioned Indian made stuff then I can most confidently say there cannot be any,MORE INDIAN then mine ! )

Regards.

 

[audiocraze]

Hi all,
Thats a good insight on the indian products, surely I will add my experience in the same thread. By the way Soudsgreat, my kit goes like below,

Odyssey Stratos (With 120K mf upgrade)
Odyssey Etesian
Usher CP6311 (Oh I love these babies)
Pioneer DV355 (1999 Model, more balanced sound than conventional DVD players)
QED Silver anniversary XT speaker cables
QED Q1 & Groneberg interconnects

in 19' X 13' untreated room

 

[soundsgreat]

HI Audiocraze,

Impressive setup buddy! only weak link in the chain, the DVD player.Please do justice to the entire setup including your new ushers ! ditch the dvd and get dedicated cd player or at least a Universal player !

By the way you have not commented anything on my DIY ! did you have look at it ? you did and don't want to comment ?

Regards.

 

[audiocraze]

Hi soundsgreat,

It is obvious, however I am already on the look out for a good CD player ranging from 20K to 40K. Since both my amp & speakers are slightly on the darker spectrum, I prefer to have a neutral to ever so slightly brighter player, and with slight warmth of a Tube. Even a good seconds Tube CD player will be a blesing.

Any suggestions, currently I am eyeing on Arcam Diva CD73, Rega Apollo, Cambridge Audio 740C, any Second Musical fidelity Tube (Dont know the model).

Like to hear from any of you. As well on my speaker cable, how do see in sync with my kit.

rgds
Bernard

 

[Srinath_Murthy]

I suggested their Sales managers that if they were to sell more they should bring down the cost. But I believe that didn't make sense to them. They are adamant on being the Indian equivalent of Bose more likely.

Or may be that their sales is so low they wont make profit if they don't sell it at that price. Or may be that they are charging the premium for being the lifestyle hifi or Indian origin (what with Bose style dedicated listening centres etc).

Their management seemed oblivious to the faster-paced developments in the market such as newer, better coompetitor products at lower prices. One needs to simply examine their sub-woofer range to see what I mean. Rather sad, their state of affairs are.

 

[soundsgreat]

Hi Bernard,

In the price range that you've allocated none of the player that you've shortlist will come except may be CA740,rega I beleive is around 45-50K so is Arcam, as with MF Tube CDP forget it buddy ! its well over a Lakh.

One suggestion if you travel abroad or any friends of yours do, try The Shanling CD T-1000SE or CD T-1500 CD Player both are in 1200 to 1500 USD mark (just in your budget) its got rave reviews all over and just look at the spec you'll know yourself why !

CD-T1500 CD Player with tube output

Sturdy, elegant 4-cylinder-support presents tube electronics in unique and stylish aesthetics.
Player is based on the most advanced Philips CD-PRO 2 linear tracking pick-up mechanism.
Top loading pick-up assembly housed in a multi anti-vibration construction made of custom aluminum alloy chassis.
24-bit/192KHz up-sampling is accomplished by SRC4193.
Digital to analog conversion is performed by 2Burr-Brown PCM1794 DAC chip.
I/V conversion is performed by 12xBurr-Brown OPA604 chip.
Low pass filtering is performed by 2Analog Devices Ad627.
4 x Russian EH6922 tube with gold-plated legs provide unbalanced analog ouput.
Specifications
Output level: 2.2V
Frequency response: 20Hz-20KHz
S/N ratio: ≥110dB（A-weighted），tube output stage:102dB
Total harmonic distortion: ≤0.002%
Dynamic range: 115dB
Crosstalk: ≥100dB
Dimensions (WDH): 43029065mm
Net weight: 10Kg

CD-T1000se CD Player with tube output

Player is based on the most advanced Philips CD1201 pick-up mechanism coupled with CD-7II servo system.
Top loading pick-up assembly is housed in custom aluminum alloy chassis.
Sturdy, elegant 4-cylinder-support presents tube electronics in unique and stylish aesthetics.
24-bit/192 KHz up-sampling is accomplished by SRC4193.
Digital to analog conversion is performed by 2 x Burr-Brown PCM1794 chips.

Specifications
Output level: 2.2V
Frequency response: 20 Hz-20 KHz
S/N ratio: ≥110dB（A-weighted）, tube output stage: 102dB
Total harmonic distortion: ≤0.002%
Dynamic range: 115dB
Crosstalk: ≥100dB
Dimensions (WDH): 43029065mm
Net weight: 10Kg

So according to me thats the best option for you ! By the way Bernard you still haven't answered my questions ! I guess you don't want to comment or least interested to do so ! No probs

Regards.

 

[soundsgreat]

Here's the rest of the pics ( the first pic is of CDT-1000SE and the next two is of 1500)

 

[audiocraze]

anil,
Ur speaker looks great man, resembling the Tannoy Fusion 4, by any chance u r in Bangalore, I would like to audition it if you wish.