After more than two years of reading other users experiences with different speakers and amplifiers, and drawing on the forums collective wisdom, this weekend I finally got my first set of hifi speakers
When I started out in Oct last year, I knew I wanted 2 floorstanders only.
Reasons are as follows
- I live in a rented apartment, so 5.1 was out of the question as wiring etc is too much of a hassle, esp since I have to change apartment in a few years
- The bookshelves + subwoofer option was explored, but setup (crossover) and placement was still a hassle compared to the floorstanders. Plus floorstanders are more stable than bookshelves on stands
- The listening point is 15ft away from the speakers. Plus there is an open kitchen, effectively making it 16x16 ft room. I felt a floorstander would fill the room better
- Also, floorstanders look much better than bookshelves
The budget was to be around 50k for floorstanders and about 40k for matching AVR. Reasons for choosing AVR (vs stereo amplifier) is because we watch a lot of TV shows/movies more video than music. I have a dedicated HTPC as source, along with a Dish TV HD and a Xbox. A stereo amplifier would have sounded sweeter, but it wouldnt have handled video and routing everything through the TV would have been another hassle
I had formed a shortlist and started auditions in Oct but had to pause for a few months as some unexpected expenses came up. I am posting my views on the various speakers I had a chance to listen to, hoping other members might find it useful like I did. Also, since some of the auditions were done almost 6 months back, I am a little hazy on details of some of the speakers (esp the ones I didnt like
). I live in Mumbai
Polk TSi 400
I began at ProFX, because they conveniently have a outlet in a mall close to my house. I had carried some audio cds, mostly hindi. The music sounded fine (but not wow) to me back then. Listened to 3-4 songs, then asked if they have something for video. They played the DVD of Transformers. It was then I got wowed by the speaker. The booms, the shattering everything was very immersive and thoroughly enjoyable.
Equipment Denon 1713 and Denon CDP/DVD source
Price around Rs 40,000 with a 10% discount offered
KEF Q500
After the Polks, I tried the KEF Q500. Although they were priced much higher, they were rated more highly on the internet. The moment they switched on the KEFs, I realized I had developed a headache from listening to the Polks ! The KEFs in comparison were much more mellow. Listening to music was very soothing, but overall I thought it was lacking a little punch. It was confirmed after watching Transformers. The bass was just not there and there was no fun in watching Optimus Prime and Megatron beat the crap out of each other
Equipment was the same
Price Around Rs 68,000 with the same 10% discount
Tannoy Mercury V4
One of my speakers I was looking forward to was the Tannoy Mercury V4s. They were priced very attractively and had won awards as best entry level floorstanders. I got in touch with Alliance 4, who unfortunately said he didnt have them in stock. But we could demo it, as he had one demo piece in his godown in Vasai somewhere and he would bring it for us.
However when we landed up for audition, we were told there was some issue about getting it across Dahisar for some octroi tax bullshit. Bottom line it wasnt available. Subsequently I followed up for two weeks but it was never available and stocks werent coming anytime soon because of a model upgrade from V4 to V4i. The dealer never came back to me subsequently
Price : acc to the dealer Rs 37,000
Wharfedale Diamond 10.4
Disappointed, we decided to try out the other floorstanders he had. The Wharfedales were first. This time I was carrying music on a xtreamer and I had a colleague accompanying me he is an amateur musician, so he his comments were quite useful. The Wharfedales were easily the worst speaker we heard in our entire audition. I do not know if something was wrong in the setup, or the speakers, but it sounded dull and lifeless and just plain ordinary. I was very surprised that such an acclaimed speaker was sounding so unimpressive, because this forum is full of recommendations for the Wharfedale. Anyway after a couple of songs, we stopped
Equipment Denon 15/17/1913 dont remember exactly, but it was a Denon
Price Didnt bother asking
Paradigm Monitor 7
From Wharfdale, we switched to the Monitor 7s. Now this was more like it - everything the Wharfedales werent. We played some Bela Fleck on it to check the bass and it handled it very good. Detail was very good, without sounding very bright. The bass was punchy, without overwhelming everything else like the Polks. Listening to all the tracks was a pleasure. We were very happy with the Paradigm Monitors
Equipment same Denon 15/17/1913 as above.
Price about Rs 68,000, did not bargain then
Klipsch RF-52
Venue shifted to The Shop in Andheri. The first speakers we tried were Klipsch RF-52s. They are smaller brother of the RF-82s. I wanted to try the Klipsch as I am a very satisfied owner of the Klipsch Image One headphones. However, the Klipsch wasnt good. Too bright and harsh, it wasnt enjoyable at all. We listened to a couple of songs and then moved on.
Price Around Rs 50,000
Polk TSi 500
We had a brief listen to the Polk TSi500, bigger brother of the 400s I had tried before. The sound was the same. Big bass but muddy, overpowering other frequencies.
Did not discuss price as we werent interested
Canton
We were offered a Canton floorstander the staff was too busy on a Saturday and we werent even told what model it was. The speaker wasnt placed in any ideal position and it was a very haphazard listen. We were somewhat put off by the lack of interest by the staff. Did not listen too long or check prices just left
Boston Acoustics A360
I listened to it at MZ Global, Marantzs official distributor in India. The speakers are quite big in size. I hadnt got my xtreamer with me, so we listened to some audio cds. It wasnt as good as the Paradigm Monitor 7s, didnt catch your attention with superb detail, but there wasnt anything obviously lacking in the speaker. Good bass, reasonably detailed and not very bright comfortable to listen. Video sounded quite good, though slightly less than the Paradigms.
But overall a very well rounded speaker, quite liked it, esp with its price.
Equipment Marantz PM6004 player and Marantz NR1601 AVR
Price around Rs 45,000, and just Rs 25,000 for the AVR (it was a very good combination and the Marantz was driving it very well)
Although the Boston Acoustics was my second preference, the price point was very attractive Id get both the AVR and the speakers for the same price as my first preference the Paradigm Monitor 7.
However at this point I had to take a few months break as other things came up. Then I restarted in Feb
Monitor Audio MR4
Venue : Imperial Sound. Monitor Audios emerging markets offering, the MR4 is very attractively priced. The internet reviews painted is as a rebadged BR bronze series (replaced subsequently by the BX series). The Bronze series had been rated very well, so I was quite enthusiastic about them. When we listened to them, with the xtreamer, the speaker sounded a little underwhelming, compared to our benchmark, the Paradigms. There wasnt enough clarity, bass was slightly underpowered, and overall somewhat low involvement. On the plus side, it was a very soothing speaker to listen to absolutely no harshness.
Equipment Yamaha 3xxx AVR (very high end)
Price Rs around 38,000
Monitor Audio BX-5
The BX series is almost the same size as the MR4s, but what a difference! The same tracks seemed richer, more lively and more involving on the BX-5s. Bass was more punchy, clarity was good, without sounding harsh. It played the bass-heavy Bela Fleck tracks very well. Instrumental was very good too, a very likeable speaker. We rated it at par with our benchmark, the Paradigm Monitor 7s
Equipment : same Yamaha high end AVR
Price Rs 69,000
Dali Zensor 5
Our last stop was The Den, Worli. Dali Zensor 5s are the smallest floorstanders we saw, smaller than the MR4s, which are quite diminutive. But the first track we played, we were blown away. The track sounded so much richer, the bass detailed, with each different drum beat clear from the other. We could make out 4 different drums/percussion instruments in the track, which werent so clear in any other speaker. The top end wasnt held back either. Detail was magnificent and the playback overall had a certain musicality to it that made it very enjoyable. I do not know how to describe it else the same tracks from the same source just sound sweeter on it
Equipment Denon X1000
Price Rs 55,000 (before discount)
Me and my colleague both agreed it was the best speaker we'd heard so far - better than the Paradigms and the Monitor Audio, so we decided to seal it. Thrashed out the discounts and agreed on delivery date (two days later).
However, next day when I call up the salesperson to discuss delivery time, he says he is out of stock and so is the distributor. Ask him about the demo piece he says it was bought after I left by friends of the owner. It would take anywhere from 4-8 weeks for fresh stock to arrive. He suggests I upgrade to the higher version, the Zensor 7. Price Rs 70,000. Could I have a demo? No, they didnt have one in stock and they didnt want to buy it from the distributor just for a demo if I wasnt guaranteeing that I was buying it
I was appalled by this unprofessionalism. I thanked God I hadnt paid them yet. I enquired at other Dali dealers in the city, but all of them confirmed that the Zensor 5s were indeed out of stock
Dali Zensor 7
After the bad experience with The Den, checked Boomerang and they had Zensor 7 in stock and were happy to let me hear them. Took the same tracks on the xtreamer and tried them. Sounded just as good as the Zensor 5s, but with more power, slightly stronger bass. Still much better than the runners up Paradigm Monitor 7s and Monitor Audio BX5s.
Equipment Denon X1000
Price Rs 70,000
Boomerang confirmed that it would take minimum of 6 weeks for next consignment of Zensor 5s to arrive. I didnt want to wait 6 more weeks. But Zensor 7s was 15,000 more than the Zensor 5s. The 7s had more power, but I didnt really need the extra power
Finally greed won over and I decided I didnt want to wait 2 months more when I had waited this long. So I made the payment and Boomerang delivered two days later at my residence. Bought 2m of speaker cable for each speaker since I just needed them to be next to the TV. The AVR is the Denon X1000.
They sound as good as they look, with instrumental tracks sounding exceptional. Pacific Rim, the Hong Kong sequence, each step of the Jaeger running towards the kaiju went boom boom and reverbating in my living room.
My tv cabinet needs a little tinkering before the AVR is placed properly. Hence not playing for more than a couple of hours at a stretch. Once that is taken care of, will burn in properly for 3-4 days. And will give more detailed review
Discovered something very quickly though people who say there is negligible difference between 320 kbps MP3 and FLACs, listen to them on good speakers and then youll know
When I started out in Oct last year, I knew I wanted 2 floorstanders only.
Reasons are as follows
- I live in a rented apartment, so 5.1 was out of the question as wiring etc is too much of a hassle, esp since I have to change apartment in a few years
- The bookshelves + subwoofer option was explored, but setup (crossover) and placement was still a hassle compared to the floorstanders. Plus floorstanders are more stable than bookshelves on stands
- The listening point is 15ft away from the speakers. Plus there is an open kitchen, effectively making it 16x16 ft room. I felt a floorstander would fill the room better
- Also, floorstanders look much better than bookshelves
The budget was to be around 50k for floorstanders and about 40k for matching AVR. Reasons for choosing AVR (vs stereo amplifier) is because we watch a lot of TV shows/movies more video than music. I have a dedicated HTPC as source, along with a Dish TV HD and a Xbox. A stereo amplifier would have sounded sweeter, but it wouldnt have handled video and routing everything through the TV would have been another hassle
I had formed a shortlist and started auditions in Oct but had to pause for a few months as some unexpected expenses came up. I am posting my views on the various speakers I had a chance to listen to, hoping other members might find it useful like I did. Also, since some of the auditions were done almost 6 months back, I am a little hazy on details of some of the speakers (esp the ones I didnt like
). I live in MumbaiPolk TSi 400
I began at ProFX, because they conveniently have a outlet in a mall close to my house. I had carried some audio cds, mostly hindi. The music sounded fine (but not wow) to me back then. Listened to 3-4 songs, then asked if they have something for video. They played the DVD of Transformers. It was then I got wowed by the speaker. The booms, the shattering everything was very immersive and thoroughly enjoyable.
Equipment Denon 1713 and Denon CDP/DVD source
Price around Rs 40,000 with a 10% discount offered
KEF Q500
After the Polks, I tried the KEF Q500. Although they were priced much higher, they were rated more highly on the internet. The moment they switched on the KEFs, I realized I had developed a headache from listening to the Polks ! The KEFs in comparison were much more mellow. Listening to music was very soothing, but overall I thought it was lacking a little punch. It was confirmed after watching Transformers. The bass was just not there and there was no fun in watching Optimus Prime and Megatron beat the crap out of each other
Equipment was the same
Price Around Rs 68,000 with the same 10% discount
Tannoy Mercury V4
One of my speakers I was looking forward to was the Tannoy Mercury V4s. They were priced very attractively and had won awards as best entry level floorstanders. I got in touch with Alliance 4, who unfortunately said he didnt have them in stock. But we could demo it, as he had one demo piece in his godown in Vasai somewhere and he would bring it for us.
However when we landed up for audition, we were told there was some issue about getting it across Dahisar for some octroi tax bullshit. Bottom line it wasnt available. Subsequently I followed up for two weeks but it was never available and stocks werent coming anytime soon because of a model upgrade from V4 to V4i. The dealer never came back to me subsequently
Price : acc to the dealer Rs 37,000
Wharfedale Diamond 10.4
Disappointed, we decided to try out the other floorstanders he had. The Wharfedales were first. This time I was carrying music on a xtreamer and I had a colleague accompanying me he is an amateur musician, so he his comments were quite useful. The Wharfedales were easily the worst speaker we heard in our entire audition. I do not know if something was wrong in the setup, or the speakers, but it sounded dull and lifeless and just plain ordinary. I was very surprised that such an acclaimed speaker was sounding so unimpressive, because this forum is full of recommendations for the Wharfedale. Anyway after a couple of songs, we stopped
Equipment Denon 15/17/1913 dont remember exactly, but it was a Denon
Price Didnt bother asking
Paradigm Monitor 7
From Wharfdale, we switched to the Monitor 7s. Now this was more like it - everything the Wharfedales werent. We played some Bela Fleck on it to check the bass and it handled it very good. Detail was very good, without sounding very bright. The bass was punchy, without overwhelming everything else like the Polks. Listening to all the tracks was a pleasure. We were very happy with the Paradigm Monitors
Equipment same Denon 15/17/1913 as above.
Price about Rs 68,000, did not bargain then
Klipsch RF-52
Venue shifted to The Shop in Andheri. The first speakers we tried were Klipsch RF-52s. They are smaller brother of the RF-82s. I wanted to try the Klipsch as I am a very satisfied owner of the Klipsch Image One headphones. However, the Klipsch wasnt good. Too bright and harsh, it wasnt enjoyable at all. We listened to a couple of songs and then moved on.
Price Around Rs 50,000
Polk TSi 500
We had a brief listen to the Polk TSi500, bigger brother of the 400s I had tried before. The sound was the same. Big bass but muddy, overpowering other frequencies.
Did not discuss price as we werent interested
Canton
We were offered a Canton floorstander the staff was too busy on a Saturday and we werent even told what model it was. The speaker wasnt placed in any ideal position and it was a very haphazard listen. We were somewhat put off by the lack of interest by the staff. Did not listen too long or check prices just left
Boston Acoustics A360
I listened to it at MZ Global, Marantzs official distributor in India. The speakers are quite big in size. I hadnt got my xtreamer with me, so we listened to some audio cds. It wasnt as good as the Paradigm Monitor 7s, didnt catch your attention with superb detail, but there wasnt anything obviously lacking in the speaker. Good bass, reasonably detailed and not very bright comfortable to listen. Video sounded quite good, though slightly less than the Paradigms.
But overall a very well rounded speaker, quite liked it, esp with its price.
Equipment Marantz PM6004 player and Marantz NR1601 AVR
Price around Rs 45,000, and just Rs 25,000 for the AVR (it was a very good combination and the Marantz was driving it very well)
Although the Boston Acoustics was my second preference, the price point was very attractive Id get both the AVR and the speakers for the same price as my first preference the Paradigm Monitor 7.
However at this point I had to take a few months break as other things came up. Then I restarted in Feb
Monitor Audio MR4
Venue : Imperial Sound. Monitor Audios emerging markets offering, the MR4 is very attractively priced. The internet reviews painted is as a rebadged BR bronze series (replaced subsequently by the BX series). The Bronze series had been rated very well, so I was quite enthusiastic about them. When we listened to them, with the xtreamer, the speaker sounded a little underwhelming, compared to our benchmark, the Paradigms. There wasnt enough clarity, bass was slightly underpowered, and overall somewhat low involvement. On the plus side, it was a very soothing speaker to listen to absolutely no harshness.
Equipment Yamaha 3xxx AVR (very high end)
Price Rs around 38,000
Monitor Audio BX-5
The BX series is almost the same size as the MR4s, but what a difference! The same tracks seemed richer, more lively and more involving on the BX-5s. Bass was more punchy, clarity was good, without sounding harsh. It played the bass-heavy Bela Fleck tracks very well. Instrumental was very good too, a very likeable speaker. We rated it at par with our benchmark, the Paradigm Monitor 7s
Equipment : same Yamaha high end AVR
Price Rs 69,000
Dali Zensor 5
Our last stop was The Den, Worli. Dali Zensor 5s are the smallest floorstanders we saw, smaller than the MR4s, which are quite diminutive. But the first track we played, we were blown away. The track sounded so much richer, the bass detailed, with each different drum beat clear from the other. We could make out 4 different drums/percussion instruments in the track, which werent so clear in any other speaker. The top end wasnt held back either. Detail was magnificent and the playback overall had a certain musicality to it that made it very enjoyable. I do not know how to describe it else the same tracks from the same source just sound sweeter on it
Equipment Denon X1000
Price Rs 55,000 (before discount)
Me and my colleague both agreed it was the best speaker we'd heard so far - better than the Paradigms and the Monitor Audio, so we decided to seal it. Thrashed out the discounts and agreed on delivery date (two days later).
However, next day when I call up the salesperson to discuss delivery time, he says he is out of stock and so is the distributor. Ask him about the demo piece he says it was bought after I left by friends of the owner. It would take anywhere from 4-8 weeks for fresh stock to arrive. He suggests I upgrade to the higher version, the Zensor 7. Price Rs 70,000. Could I have a demo? No, they didnt have one in stock and they didnt want to buy it from the distributor just for a demo if I wasnt guaranteeing that I was buying it
I was appalled by this unprofessionalism. I thanked God I hadnt paid them yet. I enquired at other Dali dealers in the city, but all of them confirmed that the Zensor 5s were indeed out of stock
Dali Zensor 7
After the bad experience with The Den, checked Boomerang and they had Zensor 7 in stock and were happy to let me hear them. Took the same tracks on the xtreamer and tried them. Sounded just as good as the Zensor 5s, but with more power, slightly stronger bass. Still much better than the runners up Paradigm Monitor 7s and Monitor Audio BX5s.
Equipment Denon X1000
Price Rs 70,000
Boomerang confirmed that it would take minimum of 6 weeks for next consignment of Zensor 5s to arrive. I didnt want to wait 6 more weeks. But Zensor 7s was 15,000 more than the Zensor 5s. The 7s had more power, but I didnt really need the extra power
Finally greed won over and I decided I didnt want to wait 2 months more when I had waited this long. So I made the payment and Boomerang delivered two days later at my residence. Bought 2m of speaker cable for each speaker since I just needed them to be next to the TV. The AVR is the Denon X1000.
They sound as good as they look, with instrumental tracks sounding exceptional. Pacific Rim, the Hong Kong sequence, each step of the Jaeger running towards the kaiju went boom boom and reverbating in my living room.
My tv cabinet needs a little tinkering before the AVR is placed properly. Hence not playing for more than a couple of hours at a stretch. Once that is taken care of, will burn in properly for 3-4 days. And will give more detailed review
Discovered something very quickly though people who say there is negligible difference between 320 kbps MP3 and FLACs, listen to them on good speakers and then youll know
