Please suggest a stereo setup for 50K

[rajafan]

Thanks for this wonderful forum and appreciate members for their extensive knowledge on the subject.


I want to setup a stereo system exclusively for music. Mostly I listen to Ilayaraja’s music. My requirements are:

* It is a 12’ x 12’ bedroom (perfect square)

* Exclusive for music with 2.0 or 2.1 setup

* MP3 (320Kbps), FLAC and WAV are my source

* Need superb sound clarity, depth and stereo separation.

* Tabla, Mridhangam, Dholak etc should sound great with punchy mid bass.

* Room filling


Integrated Stereo Amp:

Need a simple integrated amp which has a 3.5mm stereo INPUT and either a 2 speakers OUT or 1 speaker + 1 Sub OUT. I don’t need bluetooth, wifi, usb, FM etc.. It should be able to produce great mids and highs with good sound clarity. I can buy a SW for the lows. It should come with a fully functional remote with sleeper function.


Speakers:

I am confused whether to go for Floor standers or Bookshelves. Few say FS are not suitable for bedrooms. But I prefer them since they can produce enough bass for my needs without going for a SW. I am open to the idea of BS+SW too. Whether FS or BS+SW, all I need is, they should sound great for Tabla, Mridhangam, Dholak etc with a punchy mid bass. Should produce great mids and highs with a decent lows.


I request members to suggest a suitable combination of Amp+Speakers+SW out of their personal experience. If necessary, I can extend my budget to 75K. Please suggest the brand, model and where to buy them in Chennai. Please correct me if my understanding/assumptions are wrong.


My last week’s disaster:

After months of research, I decided to go for Marantz PM5005 (21k) + Pioneer FS52 (25k) and Taga SW10 V.2 (23k). It became a disaster. First I ordered Taga SW10, CE 14AWG Speaker wire and few stereo cables. But suddenly FS52 went out of stock and not available anywhere. So I stopped the order of Marantz too. I received the SW10 totally damaged in transportation. Heat sink damaged and internal parts broken. It produces only rattling noise from inside. Don’t know what to do with it. Talking to the seller for the refund but he is not responding.

 

[Hari Iyer]

Whatever setup you buy, put 60% of your money on the best speakers in that budget. Amps, sources, IC, speaker cables can be rest 40%

 

[arunkvivek]

" It is a 12’ x 12’ bedroom (perfect square)" - squares create irritating reflections - you need to make extra effort for speaker placements.

"Need a simple integrated amp which has a 3.5mm stereo INPUT" - Any specific reasons.

"I am confused whether to go for Floor standers or Bookshelves. Few say FS are not suitable for bedrooms. But I prefer them since they can produce enough bass for my needs without going for a SW. I am open to the idea of BS+SW too. Whether FS or BS+SW, all I need is, they should sound great for Tabla, Mridhangam, Dholak etc with a punchy mid bass. Should produce great mids and highs with a decent lows" It is a misnomer that BS would not give you great bass. All that you need is great pair of stands. I have had BS without SW and have had great LF output. If you are considering FS, Dali 5 is ideal for your room size (anything bigger would be over powering).


"I request members to suggest a suitable combination of Amp+Speakers+SW out of their personal experience. If necessary, I can extend my budget to 75K. Please suggest the brand, model and where to buy them in Chennai. Please correct me if my understanding/assumptions are wrong"

Are you open for used speakers? getting used speakers would help you spend a bit more on electronics, cables and isolation devices.

Being a bedroom setup, I am assuming that you cannot afford to have speakers placed away from that walls. So, front ported speakers are preferred. Wharfedale 22X series are work well when placed closer to the walls as they have a downfiring port. Please listen to digital amps like SMSL Q5 pro as well. They give you great VFM (~10-12K) and help you allocate more budget towards speakers.

The problem with entry level speakers are that they are generally less sensitive (<=88 db). So, you need to have really meaty amp for quality amplification. I have seen SMSL Q5 pro struggle a bit in room bigger than yours.

 

[rajafan]

Whatever setup you buy, put 60% of your money on the best speakers in that budget. Amps, sources, IC, speaker cables can be rest 40%

Thanks for your suggestion.

 

[rajafan]

" It is a 12’ x 12’ bedroom (perfect square)" - squares create irritating reflections - you need to make extra effort for speaker placements.

"Need a simple integrated amp which has a 3.5mm stereo INPUT" - Any specific reasons.

"I am confused whether to go for Floor standers or Bookshelves. Few say FS are not suitable for bedrooms. But I prefer them since they can produce enough bass for my needs without going for a SW. I am open to the idea of BS+SW too. Whether FS or BS+SW, all I need is, they should sound great for Tabla, Mridhangam, Dholak etc with a punchy mid bass. Should produce great mids and highs with a decent lows" It is a misnomer that BS would not give you great bass. All that you need is great pair of stands. I have had BS without SW and have had great LF output. If you are considering FS, Dali 5 is ideal for your room size (anything bigger would be over powering).


"I request members to suggest a suitable combination of Amp+Speakers+SW out of their personal experience. If necessary, I can extend my budget to 75K. Please suggest the brand, model and where to buy them in Chennai. Please correct me if my understanding/assumptions are wrong"

Are you open for used speakers? getting used speakers would help you spend a bit more on electronics, cables and isolation devices.

Being a bedroom setup, I am assuming that you cannot afford to have speakers placed away from that walls. So, front ported speakers are preferred. Wharfedale 22X series are work well when placed closer to the walls as they have a downfiring port. Please listen to digital amps like SMSL Q5 pro as well. They give you great VFM (~10-12K) and help you allocate more budget towards speakers.

The problem with entry level speakers are that they are generally less sensitive (<=88 db). So, you need to have really meaty amp for quality amplification. I have seen SMSL Q5 pro struggle a bit in room bigger than yours.

Thanks for your suggestion. I realized I can use 3.5mm to RCA to connect my laptop/Mobile. I am also open to BS. I learnt from you that Wharfdale 230 has bottom ports. Good suggestion indeed. I am little hesitant for pre-owned items, but can consider if relatively new.

 

[Kumar442244]

Try to audition nad c326bee with Dali z3 or monitor audio bx2. Should suffice all Ur needs.

 

[efernand1]

Thanks for this wonderful forum and appreciate members for their extensive knowledge on the subject.


I want to setup a stereo system exclusively for music. Mostly I listen to Ilayaraja’s music. My requirements are:

* It is a 12’ x 12’ bedroom (perfect square)

* Exclusive for music with 2.0 or 2.1 setup

* MP3 (320Kbps), FLAC and WAV are my source

* Need superb sound clarity, depth and stereo separation.

* Tabla, Mridhangam, Dholak etc should sound great with punchy mid bass.

* Room filling


Integrated Stereo Amp:

Need a simple integrated amp which has a 3.5mm stereo INPUT and either a 2 speakers OUT or 1 speaker + 1 Sub OUT. I don’t need bluetooth, wifi, usb, FM etc.. It should be able to produce great mids and highs with good sound clarity. I can buy a SW for the lows. It should come with a fully functional remote with sleeper function.


Speakers:

I am confused whether to go for Floor standers or Bookshelves. Few say FS are not suitable for bedrooms. But I prefer them since they can produce enough bass for my needs without going for a SW. I am open to the idea of BS+SW too. Whether FS or BS+SW, all I need is, they should sound great for Tabla, Mridhangam, Dholak etc with a punchy mid bass. Should produce great mids and highs with a decent lows.


I request members to suggest a suitable combination of Amp+Speakers+SW out of their personal experience. If necessary, I can extend my budget to 75K. Please suggest the brand, model and where to buy them in Chennai. Please correct me if my understanding/assumptions are wrong.


My last week’s disaster:

After months of research, I decided to go for Marantz PM5005 (21k) + Pioneer FS52 (25k) and Taga SW10 V.2 (23k). It became a disaster. First I ordered Taga SW10, CE 14AWG Speaker wire and few stereo cables. But suddenly FS52 went out of stock and not available anywhere. So I stopped the order of Marantz too. I received the SW10 totally damaged in transportation. Heat sink damaged and internal parts broken. It produces only rattling noise from inside. Don’t know what to do with it. Talking to the seller for the refund but he is not responding.

Hi


I think this will serve your purpose.....you can add a sub later if you wish.....

https://usa.denon.com/us/product/hifi/mini/dm41

Not sure who will be selling ....should be between 39k to 45k segment

 

[rpmahale]

It better if you keep eye on our classified section, I will assure you that you will get quality equipment on reasonable price if you are on budget. 75K is not sufficient for good 2.1 stereo setup but if pre-owned, it is possible. Most of the suggested equipments were there in past and will definitely come in near future. Don't hesitate to pre-owned, they are purchased after Series of auditions, numerous advice and reviews. Just check physical condition and audition. Keep a bar of not less than three year old & never serviced or repaired.

 

[rajafan]

Hi


I think this will serve your purpose.....you can add a sub later if you wish.....

https://usa.denon.com/us/product/hifi/mini/dm41

Not sure who will be selling ....should be between 39k to 45k segment

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[rajafan]

It better if you keep eye on our classified section, I will assure you that you will get quality equipment on reasonable price if you are on budget. 75K is not sufficient for good 2.1 stereo setup but if pre-owned, it is possible. Most of the suggested equipments were there in past and will definitely come in near future. Don't hesitate to pre-owned, they are purchased after Series of auditions, numerous advice and reviews. Just check physical condition and audition. Keep a bar of not less than three year old & never serviced or repaired.

I am open to pre-owned also as long as they are in good condition. But the itch to get the system is growing day by day. Not sure how long can wait.=)

 

[tuff]

Do look up Norge amplifiers. Made well,and should drive most speakers well. Speakers are something you need to audition. Patience is the key. Do not hurry.

 

[rajafan]

Do look up Norge amplifiers. Made well,and should drive most speakers well. Speakers are something you need to audition. Patience is the key. Do not hurry.

Thank you. I too have heard of it. It is in my list.

 

[elangoas]

I received the SW10 totally damaged in transportation. Heat sink damaged and internal parts broken. It produces only rattling noise from inside. Don’t know what to do with it. Talking to the seller for the refund but he is not responding.

Where did you buy this from?..

MP3 (320Kbps), FLAC and WAV are my source

What if you had an option of playing the digital files directly from a stereo amplifier ?.. It reduces a need for a playback source.. Consider FX Audio M 200E, which has USB functionality, connectivity for PC (USB port,) subwoofer output, bluetooth & plenty of power all for approx 13K incl of shipping to India..Here is the link to the product.. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/FX-...k-SD-card-lossless-Bluetooth/32566236516.html

For speakers any FS in your remaining budget..

 

[rajafan]

Where did you buy this from?..



What if you had an option of playing the digital files directly from a stereo amplifier ?.. It reduces a need for a playback source.. Consider FX Audio M 200E, which has USB functionality, connectivity for PC (USB port,) subwoofer output, bluetooth & plenty of power all for approx 13K incl of shipping to India..Here is the link to the product.. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/FX-...k-SD-card-lossless-Bluetooth/32566236516.html

For speakers any FS in your remaining budget..

I bought SW10 from ebay. I will give him few more days. If he doesn't respond, I will disclose his info for the benefit of other members. The FX sounds great. Thanks for the info.

 

[vinyl]

Thank you. I too have heard of it. It is in my list.

I will also suggest to have a look at Norge amplifiers. They can drive floor standers easily, and for music it is better not to use sub, because integrating a sub to bookshelves/ floorstanders in perfection is not that easy. My Norge 1000, drives Sonodyne 2605 v2 floor standers with ease, hardly going beyond the 9 O' clock position.

 

[elangoas]

I bought SW10 from ebay. I will give him few more days. If he doesn't respond, I will disclose his info for the benefit of other members. The FX sounds great. Thanks for the info.

If the product is covered under ebay.in guarantee program, speak to the ebay.in support team and flag the issue.. You will need to substantiate the proof of damage thru pictures attached on e-mail (or) ebay.in account.. The refund process is not as swift as Flipkart (or) amazon.in.. But it does happen albeit a little late..

If the seller is not ready to refund (ideally they should, if you speak to ebay support team), insist on replacement..

 

[rajafan]

I will also suggest to have a look at Norge amplifiers. They can drive floor standers easily, and for music it is better not to use sub, because integrating a sub to bookshelves/ floorstanders in perfection is not that easy. My Norge 1000, drives Sonodyne 2605 v2 floor standers with ease, hardly going beyond the 9 O' clock position.

Seriously considering this combo. Are you using them in large or small room? How is the quality of music? Are they crisp in the mids and highs? I prefer little bright or neutral than a warm sound. How is the sound clarity and stereo separation? Appreciate your opinion.

 

[rajafan]

If the product is covered under ebay.in guarantee program, speak to the ebay.in support team and flag the issue.. You will need to substantiate the proof of damage thru pictures attached on e-mail (or) ebay.in account.. The refund process is not as swift as Flipkart (or) amazon.in.. But it does happen albeit a little late..

If the seller is not ready to refund (ideally they should, if you speak to ebay support team), insist on replacement..

I will wait for few more days and then proceed with your suggestion.

 

[rajafan]

More suggestions with a combination of an amp+speakers with specific brand and model would be very helpful to choose among.

 

[arunkvivek]

More suggestions with a combination of an amp+speakers with specific brand and model would be very helpful to choose among.

You would have to audition to discover your liking. When I was lurking through HFV and not become a member, I thought warm/neutral speakers were cool/audiophile and I would like it. I started with an aim of getting warm speakers. But, I discovered that I liked brighter speakers compared to warm after listening to Elacs.

If you don't audition enough, you would have upgraditis picking your pocket soon.