Well I dont know how to write the review - because it's all very subjective!
I dont what folks MEAN when they call an amp 'warm' or 'musical' or some other terms that have been used on this forum.
But I can tell you one thing - I am more of a treble fan than a bass fan. I like the high end to be crisp - VERY CRISP!
I listened to the Jamo S606 with a Denon 1713. Though the Jamos are very good, I didnt get the treble performance that my Polks gave me. Yes, the S606 did have the advantage of a passive sub built into the FS, but I had to tell the Cinebels folks to anyway plug another active sub into the mix to get acceptable bass performance. So I figured no point in giving extra brownie points for the passive sub, if you gotta plug in another active Sub anyway. I then listened to the Polks on an Onkyo 616 at 'The Shop' in D.N Nagar, Mumbai and I found them to be more attuned to my taste in sound. Of-course the amps were different et. al, but I had to just play that part by ear.
Another decisive test that I conducted was playing a Denon (I dont remember whether it was 1713 or 1913) and the Onkyo 515 a set of JBL SCS 200.5 HTiB speakers - without the Sub.
These speakers (which I had at home before this, and am well versed with) are rather tired little satellites, that in the absence of the Sub sound woefully inadequate for music. I was already aware of this since I had them at home.
Here, only the Onkyo 515 BLASTED THE CRAP OUTTA THESE SPEAKERS! Listening to that, I felt, damn this receiver has power! Let's go for the elder brother - the 616!
Thus I came to own the 616 and the Polks, which give tremendous performance in the high end, and a very very respectable low-end performance as well without the sub! My 8 incher older JBL Subwoofer might as well have been off while playing with the Polks! It used to be completely inconsequential with the Polks! It takes an Impact 12 to make itself heard with the Polks!
Regards the pricing:
TSi 400: 26K per pair
TSi 100: 10.8K per pair
CS-10: 9K
Onkyo 616: 26K - but bought online in Dubai, and shipped to a friend living in Sharjah who brought it down to Mumbai - no customs duties (since < 35K)
MX Cables: 5K
