My first post

[trdastidar]

Hi all,

Been a long time stalker on this forum. Posting for the first time.

Recently (two days ago), I completed the Hifi setup at home, after almost 1.5 years of auditions, research, vacillations and agony with the rising dollar and vanishing stocks from HifiMart. Wanted to share with everyone.

Had a basic setup since 2006 - Yamaha RX V457 + Wharfedale Diamond 9.5 floor standers. Paired this up with a Pioneer CD+DVD+SACD player earlier, and now with a WD TV Live, using the built in DAC of the V457 in both cases.

Now, this setup has been split into two.
1. A 5.1 system with Wharfedale DX1 HCP speakers (bought in April this year) and the Yamaha receiver. A WD TV Live streams media from my NAS box (Synology). This is for "general purpose use for the family"

2. A more personal setup, with both digital and analog components.

Amplifier: Exposure 1010s
Speakers: The existing Diamond 9.5s

Digital input:
- Synology NAS box connected via ethernet cable to the router. This stores my entire CD collection in FLAC format.
- WD TV Live media streamer (streams over Wifi)
- Cambridge Audio DAC Magic

Analog input
- Thorens TD 190-2 TT with Ortofon Super OM10 cartridge
- Thorens MM005 phono pre-amp

Where I bought these:
- The 9.5s and the Yamaha from Decibels Inc., a shop in Infantry Road Bangalore. It has shut down now.
- The DX1 HCP from Vector Audio, Brigade Road, Bangalore
- The WD TV Lives - one from eBay.in and the other from Fry's electronics in US.
- The DAC Magic - from Amazon.com and had someone bring it to India
- The TT, Exposure and phono preamp - from Audio Dynamics, Koramangala, Bangalore.

I listen to mostly Western Classical, though Rabindrasangeet also forms a significant part of my musical diet. Bought a few used LPs of classical during my last trip to the US. Testing those out now, one by one. Have a 70% hit rate of good LPs so far, which is good, considering that they cost me $2 on average. Planning to ship my ancestral stock of LPs from Kolkata to Bangalore.

Comments, congratulatory notes, "oh you should have bought that ..." suggestions - all welcome!

 

[ranjeetrain]

Welcome to the gang of hifi nuts.

Suggestions?

Oh yes, please replace the Wharfs with something better as soon as you can.

 

[reubensm]

Welcome, that's quite an impressive start.

 

[reignofchaos]

Welcome aboard. I'm a big fan of exposure amps though I've never heard the entry level 1010. Have never heard the new gen thorens tables either. Did you compare them to anything else before your purchase? Since you are in bangalore, I'd love an audition.

Cheers!

 

[trdastidar]

Oh yes, please replace the Wharfs with something better as soon as you can.

Any particular reason or suggestions for alternatives?

When I bought the 9.5s 7 years ago, I did audition a lot of speakers. Not at the same place, so had different amps. Those included the high end KEFs as well. Obviously, the KEFs sounded better, and equally obvious, they were out of my reach. But in the price range that I was considering the Wharfe's won hands down - over the likes of Polk Audio, Jamo, etc. Over the years, I have grown quite fond of them, actually.

Not that I will be able to buy anything more for at least a year, at least not without running the risk of being thrown out of home, but a few suggestions for alternatives are welcome.

 

[Gerry_the_Merry]

You have too many vowels in your moniker

 

[trdastidar]

Welcome aboard. I'm a big fan of exposure amps though I've never heard the entry level 1010. Have never heard the new gen thorens tables either. Did you compare them to anything else before your purchase? Since you are in bangalore, I'd love an audition.

Cheers!

Hi - I did audition a few amplifiers, including a Cambridge Audio and Yamaha AS-500. I had almost zeroed in on the Yamaha when the guy at Audio Dynamics convinced me otherwise. That said, the auditions were on different days, at different locations, with different speakers. Virtually impossible to compare objectively. So, I mostly went with gut feeling.

Regarding the TT - I auditioned the Rega RP-1 and Project debut carbon during my last trip to US. In fact, I wanted to buy the Rega, but couldn't find a dealer anywhere in India and it vanished from the racks of Hifimart. There was another e-store selling it, but they didn't seem too credible. I could have had it shipped from UK, but the prospect of not having anywhere to service it stopped me in my tracks. The Thorens sounded better than the Rega. I can't describe the difference objectively, but my gut said so ;-)

You are welcome to have a look at my setup. The stuff is still burning in, though.

 

[reignofchaos]

Good choice - Yamahas are strictly average amps. The exposure on the other hand if cut from the same cloth as the 2010, I'm sure would be wonderful. Didn't know the Thorens TD-190-2 was priced at the same level as a Rega RP1. Its a no brainer then.

 

[trdastidar]

Didn't know the Thorens TD-190-2 was priced at the same level as a Rega RP1. Its a no brainer then.

No, its not in the same range ;-) I upgraded my "range" in the heat of the moment.

 

[ranjeetrain]

Not that I will be able to buy anything more for at least a year, at least not without running the risk of being thrown out of home, but a few suggestions for alternatives are welcome.

Monitor Audio Bronze series, Dali Lektor, PSB Image that fits your budget.

You will be surprised how much more you get out of your setup by changing your speakers.

 

[apk]

Excellent. A well throught out setup - and you have seperated your music rig from your HT rig.

Enjoy!

 

[CnS]

welcome to Hi FI family...

 

[hydrovac]

Hello trdastidar,
Welcome aboard HFV Forum.

 

[trdastidar]

Here are some pics of my setup - showing both the digital and the analog components.

The box on the left of the amp is the WD TV. The two on the other side are the phono preamp and the DAC.

 

[Tanoj]

Wonderful setup....

Tanoj

 

[ANILKUMAR]

Hi all,

Been a long time stalker on this forum. Posting for the first time.

Recently (two days ago), I completed the Hifi setup at home, after almost 1.5 years of auditions, research, vacillations and agony with the rising dollar and vanishing stocks from HifiMart. Wanted to share with everyone.

Good one. In deed a very good one to start with.
-Anil

 

[koushik]

As others have already mentioned, consider to change your speaker to something like Monitor Audio BX series or Focal and Epos in the higher price bracket.

Having said that, one can never settle for too long with same setup until he achieves audio nirvana. So, upgrade will continue. What's important is to enjoy your music.

Congratulations!!

 

[abhraneel]

Nice and humble setup...