MUSICAL FIDELITY M6i

[ajay124]

From the Soundstage! review of BP6:
But perhaps the most surprising and beguiling aspect of the BP 6 C-Series performance was what happened when I turned up the volume. Normally when I do this the performance gets louder and more impactful, with the sound coming directly at me more forcefully. Turning up the volume with the BP 6 C-Series certainly made things louder, but it seemed to do it in three dimensions, much like you would hear at a live performance. The effect was that individual components of the sound were getting louder and more physically present within their own space, rather than greater volume just being thrust at me. This was really quite impressive, and it took the BP 6 C-Series from what was already an excellent component to one that is truly special.

Most systems when you crank up the volume turn shrill or boomy.In most auditions I found distortion beginning as early as 9'o'clock,becoming pronounced at 10'0'clock and unbearable at higher volumes.If I pay big bucks for a system,the primary qualities I would look for is low levels of distortion/good amount of detail/decent sound stage/adequate power.I am not a 'serial' audiophile.If the Bryston Pre/Power can actually do this then I will consider my money well spent.And will listen in peace for many years to come.

I am not an 'Audiophile'...not sure if I want to be one.If the definition of an 'audiophile' is one who takes his equipment more seriously than his music, then please count me out.Spending lakhs on a hifi setup while maintaining a paltry,randomly collected few dozen cd's seems ridiculous to me.Far better to have hundreds of carefully selected,lovingly kept cd's and a basic Sony/Samsung Player.Ditto for all those fancy audition rooms!Tons of fancy CDP's/Amp's/Speakers/Cables.Obscene amounts spent on fancy lighting,carpets and sofa's.And only a handful of (no need to guess) 'copies' of Dire Straits/Eagles/Floyds/Rehman's/Saving Private Ryans and Bonds!Why can't the dealers and distributors spend 40-50 K on a decent and comprehensive collection of cd's and dvd's?The music collection I saw at Lyrita Audio would put the ENTIRE collection of All the dealers and distributors to shame.But then Viren is not your everyday,conventional dealer.....
When you ask someone what kind of music they like and the reply is ''all sorts'' or ''I have an eclectic (sic) taste...you know...like Bryan Adams,Eagles,Dire Straits,Pink Floyd Jagjit Singh,AR Rehman etc." to me it signifies that the person is a casual listener with no preferences/ear of his own,cluelessly swimming on the tides of popularity.I am not saying that all these artists are not good (to each his own).My point is that most people confuse popularity with quality.They feel 'safe' and 'secure' with their favorites.It's easy to like Dire Straits or Michael Jackson or Tom Hanks or Aamir Khan or Amitabh Bacchan because they are 'popular'.But popularity and mediocrity quite often go hand in hand .So not so 'safe' or 'secure' really.Witness how bad most 'popular' actor,singers,films of the 60's/70's seem today.Ask generation X to sit through a Mala Sinha/Rajender Kumar/Jeetender/Reena Roy movie and they will probably hoot with laughter.A similar fate awaits many of the superstars and box office giants of today.
Have digressed from the Bryston theme but that's what a forum is all about!Would welcome all opinions about 'Audiophile v/s Musicphile'.

 

[malvai]

I am not an 'Audiophile'...not sure if I want to be one.If the definition of an 'audiophile' is one who takes his equipment more seriously than his music, then please count me out.Spending lakhs on a hifi setup while maintaining a paltry,randomly collected few dozen cd's seems ridiculous to me.Far better to have hundreds of carefully selected,lovingly kept cd's and a basic Sony/Samsung Player.

hear hear!

nicely put bro!

And in the end music matters more.... The Hardware is important but, its the software that makes us wanna go higher up to find audio nirvana. it can't be the other way 'round!

BTW, when's your amp reaching you?

 

[pdhanwada]

I am not sure If I am a audiophile or a Musicphile. But for sure will spend atleast 2 to 3 hours straight in my music room listening to some of the Tollywood and Bollywood songs. I dont listen to any of the western songs. I dont watch movies in my theater. I enjoy what I do. I forget myself when I am in my theater.

What I look for is my foot tapping without being aware of.

But I guess if anybody is obsessed with his equipment basically means he loves the output whether it is music or Movies. I dont think anybody on this forum is buying equipment just for the sake of buying the best in the world. Only because they enjoy the equipment, music and the output.

One of my neighbour has a HT setup. I dont see anybody sitting and enjoying the theater. What that means is he just got it done because of peer pressure and now he sees no value with it.

 

[Dr.Bass]

I am not an 'Audiophile'...not sure if I want to be one.If the definition of an 'audiophile' is one who takes his equipment more seriously than his music, then please count me out.Spending lakhs on a hifi setup while maintaining a paltry,randomly collected few dozen cd's seems ridiculous to me.Far better to have hundreds of carefully selected,lovingly kept cd's and a basic Sony/Samsung Player.

Ajay, to comment on your post, I would want to refer to the same BP6 preamp review that you had posted couple of posts earlier.

find it rather ironic and sad that at the same time people are flocking to buy high-definition TVs they are also embracing low-definition MP3s for music. I guess the message is that the average person appreciates and will pony up for a better picture, but for music quality takes a third-row seat behind portability and convenience. While we audiophiles may fool ourselves into thinking that if only people were exposed to decent recordings on good-quality systems they would magically transform into at least pseudo-audiophiles, as I did with video, the reality is that when it comes to audio, most people are and always will be happy with "good enough." Relatively few people in our ultra-busy, multitasking, information-overloaded world can or will sit down solely to listen to music anymore, much less care about the quality of reproduction.

I really think theres some gene we audiophiles possess that predisposes us to not only love music but also the reproduction of it, and these things are forever lost on those without the gene. Pity, theyll never know the difference an HDHF (high-definition hi-fi) component like the Bryston BP 6 C-Series preamp ($1995 USD) can make to the pure enjoyment of reproduced music.

It is this gene that we all are here talking to each other. This gene will never be satisfied with a Sony/Samsung system even if one has all the CDs of the world on his finger tips. To me system is as important as music. That is also the reason, invariably, if I listen to 10 CDs a week, 8 of them are decent recordings and obviously good music even though there are better music CDs in my collection but are poorly recorded hence doesnt get picked up as often. I suppose it is very difficult to delineate "Music" and "System" from an audiophile's perspective. Both are made for each other and tightly coupled IMHO. The gene obviously decides the % of obsession. Every audiophile wants an amazing system and an amazing collection of music. Which one he pursues first depends not only on the gene but on various other factors (Time, Money, Lifestyle, Occupation, Space etc).

 

[square_wave]

Have not personally spoken to him.But on this thread generally everybody--Dinyaar,Manav,DR.Bass as well as Grattan and Arup have given Bryston BP6/3B SST two thumbs up.I believe those are enough recommendations.....

My advice. Listen and decide. It may or may not float your boat

 

[ajay124]

Ajay, to comment on your post, I would want to refer to the same BP6 preamp review that you had posted couple of posts earlier.





It is this gene that we all are here talking to each other. This gene will never be satisfied with a Sony/Samsung system even if one has all the CDs of the world on his finger tips. To me system is as important as music. That is also the reason, invariably, if I listen to 10 CDs a week, 8 of them are decent recordings and obviously good music even though there are better music CDs in my collection but are poorly recorded hence doesnt get picked up as often. I suppose it is very difficult to delineate "Music" and "System" from an audiophile's perspective. Both are made for each other and tightly coupled IMHO. The gene obviously decides the % of obsession. Every audiophile wants an amazing system and an amazing collection of music. Which one he pursues first depends not only on the gene but on various other factors (Time, Money, Lifestyle, Occupation, Space etc).

Sure the system is as important as the music.But a good system costs money.As a student I used to spend all my pocket+borrowed money on music/movies/booze/cigarettes.Never had the cash to buy a decent music system.Although I yearned for one but I had to settle for mono cassette players for many years.But I really enjoyed my music which was ALWAYS playing.So I would still say to somebody starting fresh and on a tight budget - Music first.Speakers second.Amp three.Source four.Cables five.

 

[Dr.Bass]

Sure the system is as important as the music.But a good system costs money.As a student I used to spend all my pocket+borrowed money on music/movies/booze/cigarettes.Never had the cash to buy a decent music system.Although I yearned for one but I had to settle for mono cassette players for many years.But I really enjoyed my music which was ALWAYS playing.So I would still say to somebody starting fresh and on a tight budget - Music first.Speakers second.Amp three.Source four.Cables five.

Ajay, we all have gone through the same cycle. Most of us had some very basic tape decks or tape recorders till we were students and we feasted on music. So, I would say the gene was partly satisfied. As soon as the means for buying a decent system became reachable..BANG!!! We are here !!

As for beginners, we are about talking beginners in hifi not exactly beginners in terms of music listening. I am sure, if someone is so keen to get into hifi, he understands quality. Which again means that he would have a collection of music which he was using all throughout these days. Adding to the collection is definitely the next task but I can also see that the motivation of adding more to your collection becomes a lot stronger as you have a decent system to listen to. They all go hand in hand, one will trigger the other. Which one is triggered first is again in the gene. Both are audiophiles of equal magnitude.

 

[pratimbayal]

Sure the system is as important as the music.But a good system costs money.As a student I used to spend all my pocket+borrowed money on music/movies/booze/cigarettes.Never had the cash to buy a decent music system.Although I yearned for one but I had to settle for mono cassette players for many years.But I really enjoyed my music which was ALWAYS playing.So I would still say to somebody starting fresh and on a tight budget - Music first.Speakers second.Amp three.Source four.Cables five.

Ajay

As Dr.Bass rightly pointed out most of us had a similar situation like yours in college days and even in the begining of working life. Hi Fi is costly and takes time to accumulate money. But at the end the pleasure a good system gives for the same music is unmatched . I had no idea of this even 1 year before when I started buying with 80K budget ( and with only Bose in my mind ) . At these point Budget exceeded 5 times but had leveraged the pleasure in listening music much much more.

To me good music and good system go together. All the musicians want their music to be recorded with good technology and quality- however many compromise on cost benefit aspect on cemmercial reason .

My system ( atleast to me ) also some what makes good the lack of time and opportunity to attend live performence.

Ajay - between amp and source to me source comes first - what is your thought on source.

Thanks
Pratim

 

[ajay124]

Ajay

As Dr.Bass rightly pointed out most of us had a similar situation like yours in college days and even in the begining of working life. Hi Fi is costly and takes time to accumulate money. But at the end the pleasure a good system gives for the same music is unmatched . I had no idea of this even 1 year before when I started buying with 80K budget ( and with only Bose in my mind ) . At these point Budget exceeded 5 times but had leveraged the pleasure in listening music much much more.

To me good music and good system go together. All the musicians want their music to be recorded with good technology and quality- however many compromise on cost benefit aspect on cemmercial reason .

My system ( atleast to me ) also some what makes good the lack of time and opportunity to attend live performence.

Ajay - between amp and source to me source comes first - what is your thought on source.

Thanks
Pratim

Many months ago A_E told me-"Speakers first,then the rest,as speakers are closest to your ears!You get that wrong and it will never be right again."
Based on my experiences with the Dynaudio and the Vienna's I totally agree with him.Finding the right speakers is the haaaardest part and this is where most people falter.As long as one holds on to the wrong pair of speakers one is s******!NOTHING will work.Expensive CDP'S,Amps,Cables--everything will flop.I have a lot of cd's which is why I spent 45K on an Arcam cdp(my max.limit for a cdp).But for somebody who has his files on a hard disk a CDP is irrelevant.I consider my iMac (apple lossless) gives almost similar output to an entry level Nad/Marantz/Denon CDP.Because I rip my cd's with a lot of care.If budget constraints are there buying GOOD speakers will give better bang for the bucks than splurging money on a CDP or a DAC..
To get a hifi setup finally right after 2/3/4 flops,the hardest part will always be admitting one has made mistakes and learning from those mistakes.

 

[ajay124]

Incidentally.Finally got the Bryston 3B SST today afternoon.
Cloud 9.Dream come true.Audio Nirvana.
Feels like I started climbing MT.Everest in January and have finally reached the summit!Resting.Contented as a cat.Finally....
Everything good you've heard about the Bryston's is TRUE.Everything bad you've heard is a LIE or a MISCONCEPTION.
Thank you everyone who guided me.
Hifivision.First and foremost.
Arup Goswamy.
Viren Bakshi.
Prithvi Vedpathak.
Dinyaar.
Manav.
DR.Bass.
Suri.
Grattan Vaz...Most of all...My humble opinion..."Best dealer in the Sub Continent."

 

[malvai]

SUPAH bro!
Congrats!

 

[ajay124]

Ajay, to comment on your post, I would want to refer to the same BP6 preamp review that you had posted couple of posts earlier.





It is this gene that we all are here talking to each other. This gene will never be satisfied with a Sony/Samsung system even if one has all the CDs of the world on his finger tips. To me system is as important as music. That is also the reason, invariably, if I listen to 10 CDs a week, 8 of them are decent recordings and obviously good music even though there are better music CDs in my collection but are poorly recorded hence doesnt get picked up as often. I suppose it is very difficult to delineate "Music" and "System" from an audiophile's perspective. Both are made for each other and tightly coupled IMHO. The gene obviously decides the % of obsession. Every audiophile wants an amazing system and an amazing collection of music. Which one he pursues first depends not only on the gene but on various other factors (Time, Money, Lifestyle, Occupation, Space etc).

Dr.Bass You are absolutely correct!But you/Dinyaar/Manav/(me?) are among the lucky few who have the cash to indulge our desires.I notice so many people on the forum with GREAT taste and GREAT desires but lacking the resources to indulge themselves.Maybe they are younger and have not accumulated riches as yet!My heart felt wishes....MAY EVERYBODY ON HIFIVISION GET THE MUSIC SYSTEM OF HIS DREAMS!GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

 

[rikhav]

Congrats Ajay bhai

Now you can sit back, relax and enjoy the music

 

[captrajesh]

Spending lakhs on a hifi setup while maintaining a paltry,randomly collected few dozen cd's seems ridiculous to me.Far better to have hundreds of carefully selected,lovingly kept cd's and a basic Sony/Samsung Player.

system is as important as music. That is also the reason, invariably, if I listen to 10 CDs a week, 8 of them are decent recordings and obviously good music even though there are better music CDs in my collection but are poorly recorded hence doesnt get picked up as often. I suppose it is very difficult to delineate "Music" and "System" from an audiophile's perspective. Both are made for each other and tightly coupled IMHO.

As for beginners, we are about talking beginners in hifi not exactly beginners in terms of music listening. I am sure, if someone is so keen to get into hifi, he understands quality. Which again means that he would have a collection of music which he was using all throughout these days. Adding to the collection is definitely the next task but I can also see that the motivation of adding more to your collection becomes a lot stronger as you have a decent system to listen to. They all go hand in hand, one will trigger the other. Which one is triggered first is again in the gene.

Ajay,

Firstly congratulations on your new system. Hope you attain that "Audio Nirvana"

AFA the above arguments go, I think Dr.Bass is right (atleast in my case) Music and the System are complimentary and supplimentary.

MAY EVERYBODY ON HIFIVISION GET THE MUSIC SYSTEM OF HIS DREAMS!GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

Buddy, I think you are already there, on the door steps of "Audio Nirvana"

 

[anm]

congrats Ajay! how much did you pay? What speakers do you intend to pair it with?

Incidentally.Finally got the Bryston 3B SST today afternoon.
Cloud 9.Dream come true.Audio Nirvana.
Feels like I started climbing MT.Everest in January and have finally reached the summit!Resting.Contented as a cat.Finally....
Everything good you've heard about the Bryston's is TRUE.Everything bad you've heard is a LIE or a MISCONCEPTION.
Thank you everyone who guided me.
Hifivision.First and foremost.
Arup Goswamy.
Viren Bakshi.
Prithvi Vedpathak.
Dinyaar.
Manav.
DR.Bass.
Suri.
Grattan Vaz...Most of all...My humble opinion..."Best dealer in the Sub Continent."

 

[Dr.Bass]

My heartiest congratulations Ajay !!!
It feels so nice to see a happy audiophile!

 

[ajay124]

congrats Ajay! how much did you pay? What speakers do you intend to pair it with?

Arcam CD192/Bryston BP6/Bryston 3B SST/VA Beethoven Baby Grand/Transparent Audio Musiclink Plus IC'S and Wave 100 Speaker Cables.

 

[pratimbayal]

Congrats on being satisfied.:clapping:

Are u resting on Mt. Everest or walking ......

(We are climbing...)

Thanks

Pratim

 

[rikhav]

Ajay Bhai
Dont you think the power amp needs more ventilation? Maybe during long hours of listening it will be a problem

 

[ajay124]

Congrats on being satisfied.:clapping:

Are u resting on Mt. Everest or walking ......

(We are climbing...)

Thanks

Pratim

No.I have pitched a tent, put on Johann Sebastian Bach and plan to stay here for the rest of my life.
Will be waiting with a hot cup of filter coffee when you reach the summit.