Shoot Out In Navi Mumbai !!!(Mumbai Meet 2013)

[spirovious]

Most imnportantly, the 3 Key Organisers : Denom, Sipro and Santy who have put in much effort and probably even money to make this meet happen. Your friendly and welcoming attitude was Really, REALLY Very nice.
!

Thanks for writing.Well I was not organizer but just a Volunteering .
Its Denom,Hemant & Santy.:clapping:
But 2 of FM has spelled wrongly "Sipro",pls.do not copy paste(kidding)

 

[Amp_Nut]

My apologies.... since I am not a regular contributor, I thought it would be safer if I just Copied ! .... Should remember what my teachers told me as a Kid ... Do NOT Copy :sad:

Kudos to the 3 Organisers and all the willing hands that made it happen for us visitors. :signthankspin::signthankspin::signthankspin:

 

[spirovious]

My opinion-
Most of the time I like Balanced sound which I can enjoy for hours.Music should make you Happy,calm & relaxed when you are tired.sometimes you need extra punch(say weekends).So need some rocking music.
So what do I do? I listen stereo system for relaxation & use HT with SW when I need that extra kick.
Cheers.

 

[denom]

Denom
It looks like you and the other organizers did a great job. Having been through such get-togethers in the past, I can tell you that there will always be disappointment since a lot of energy and passion would have gone into organizing this. After all, there is nothing to gain financially and as someone has posted, if anything, may end up in a loss to the organizers (shelling out money from their pockets to stick to commitments). The positive outcome - some folks would have gotten to experience something new, learn something and have the enthu to do this next time. These get togethers can grow from year to year.

cheers

Thanks Sridhar, appreciate it. Passion is what drives us to organise these kind of meets. If our goal was to do so for a financial gain, then we should be labelled as 3 rotten businessmen as we keep burning fingers - taking hits on our pockets consecutively for both meets. What let our collective spirits down is the lack of enthusiasm from our forum members - who promised to come but then did not show up & worst of all did not even inform us of their no show
As I see it the +ve's are quite outnumbered by the -ve's :sad:
Atleast am glad that the FM's who came be it old friends or new ones, did appreciate our efforts & that is the saving grace for us.

Trust me Denom, as I have written, their knowledge, effort and enthusiasm is fully appreciated! I would say Khusrau is easily the best out there and I thoroughly enjoyed the little chat I had with him as well as Jignesh. Amazing expertise and I am so glad that they are there.

Let us not mix up my comments about choice of gear to the enthusiasm or expertise of the people which I have repeatedly said is truly amazing!!

Peace my friend!

Hey Satish, no issues buddy, just wanted to write my perception on the topic discussed by you. I know you enjoyed being part of the meet. Khusrau called & requested me to clear the matter. He has promised another deadly set of plans for a future meet but then thats for the future & who knows what happens then The fact that we appreciated his & Jignesh's efforts has given them immense satisfaction of doing what they did.

Guys, I thought that this Forum was for Audiophiles and Videophiles. I think I belong to the Audiophile category and hence my presence at the forum and the Navi Mumbai meet.

Here is how wiki defines an Audiophile:

"An audiophile is a person enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction.[1]

A key goal of audiophiles is to capture the experience of a live musical performance in a room with good acoustics, and reproduce it at home. It is widely agreed that this is very difficult and that even the best-regarded recording and playback systems rarely, if ever, achieve it.[2]"

another def for an audiophile is simply :
"A person who has a great interest in high-fidelity sound reproduction"

Assuming ( True ? ) the navi Mumbai meet was an Audiophile meet - the PMC-Bel Canto demo was a TREAT and a privilege... IMHO ofcourse !

Guys think if we were "car enthusiasts"... and there was a chance to Go To Pune to get into and experience a Ferrari. Would you make that trip and enjoy the experience or would you vist the nearest local Maruti Showroom and chat about ..... ?

Maybe we need to define who / what we are ( audiophiles or Music enthusiasts or just a group of friendly guys :indifferent14: ) and what we are seeking ?

I repeat my question:

Who / what are we ( budding audiophiles or Music enthusiasts or just a group of friendly guys ) and what we are seeking at the Forum ( eg going down the audiophile path ? Improving our knowledge & experience in Hi Fi reproduction ?)

Do share your diverse (?) opinions...

Some valid points made by you. I do not call myself an audiophile. I fit into the music enthusiasts club or group & like to make friends who are either in the same club as me (music enthusiast) & also those who are audiophiles.
By interacting with both, I want to increase my knowledge & also experience w r t Hi-Fi Gears & get a first hand experience into music reproduction.

Thanks for writing.Well I was not organizer but just a Volunteering .
Its Denom,Hemant & Santy.:clapping:
But 2 of FM has spelled wrongly "Sipro",pls.do not copy paste(kidding)

Doc. your new nick name sounds good (sipro) :lol:hyeah:

 

[edge111hussain]

First of all a BIG Thank you to the organizers of the meet..

Whilst i am solely gonna concentrate on the highlights and experience gained from the meet, i would also like to state to anyone who felt or left disappointed that hey, not everyone can be happy with whats served (that includes me too), but if there r positives, we should take them with arms wide open..
Frankly speaking, i was at the meet to understand how dac's amp's an various combos work. Whilst in terms of actual experience my questions remain unanswered, there is a lot more that i managed to take back home than what i had bargained for. I understand that a big reason for the same was cause a dealer backed off last min, but for what I got back in return was a lot more than what i had expected..

Now when it comes to speakers, i have always used them only for movies whilst my music runs on headphones. I hope to make a setup for myself someday that will replicate my headphone performance... Will only mention what i really liked.

My first listen was Mr Sandeeps speakers. Those lil bookshelves were wow for their price. Rs 7800 a pair, what more could one ask for at that price point. Also lets not forget that the hall they were played in was a really big one. I have heard those pioneer bs21 and 41 speakers and these imho sounded better for music. A definite contender for a budget system.
Next was their regular sized bookshelves, decent performance but unfortunately i couldnt get the price. If they are around the 30k, i still stick to the Q300. But if around 20k? hmmm... i could place them right besides the wharfs diamond BS. The build quality too for me was quiet decent. We were not given any literature on the same which imho was silly of the mfg. The regular hifi members might remember the spec but for someone like me, aka a potential buyer, any printed literature in hand does serve as a reminder about the product.
The floor standers were disappointing. Maybe it needed better amping, but with the amp dac in hand, they didnt perform well.

Next was the active speakers with SW. Personally i liked them. But 1.25 L made me go hmmm... but for someone who enjoys music which doesnt need too much bass, and needs a simple plug and play setup, this was ittttt... Personally what they did for me is opened my eyes to the world of active speakers. The best i have ever heard were the audio engine A5 and swans mk, but these babies were leagues ahead and the concept made sense to me. For someone like me who personally like it to be kept as simple as possible, active speakers might serve the purpose. Why wont i just go ahead and buy em??? Well, i need more bass.. The tracks played personally didnt need too much bass, but my ears do.. D search continues

PMC.. by now i guess we all know how good they are. Am gonna audition them again(other speakers too by pmc). But thats not why i mentioned PMC. I would really like to thank the organizers here and Mr Khusrau for taking us through that amazing experience. If it wasnt for hifivision, i dont think i would have experience something like the pmc's. See according to me saying that i have xyz amount in hand and i want the very best is the easy thing. But to actually go through the experience in real and with valuable inputs from a true expert was a different experience altogether. I salute Mr Khusrau effort and passion for sound..

Asus disappointed me. At around 6:45 when most people had left, i caught hold of bikey and Faheem and heard all the dacs and amps they were carrying. I think those who didnt hear em missed out bigtime. It surely wasnt their fault cause they products were just aint demoed well. The D1 dac was a really good one for mid impedance headphones. Having said that, they drive the akg-702 well which imho aint an easy task. Sound was crisp with good presentation and depth. the Asus dac too had a lot of power but what i really wanted to hear was the Xonar ST in action. Sigh, one cant have everything

I need someone to comment on the Quad speakers. Is this how the speaker sounds or was there something wrong in the setup? I have heard gr8 things abt the speakers but im not sure what happened there// They sounded really artificial to me..


Thanks again to everyone who contributed to the success of a wonderful meet... :clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping:




PS: Someone pls tell me who was the artist and the song name that was played on pmc. Song abt the miners that a fellow forum member gave a short brief on. I need that song, like nowww

 

[Santy]

@ Hussain
Thanks for the crisp review.
The song you are referring is Stimela/ Coal train (Hugh Masekela)

 

[Santy]

Better pics as promised
Courtesy: Surrealistix (thanks buddy)


Food!

More Food!

One Hour best spent!

Hmmm

Nice Hotel

This hall is 4x of our hall, came free, I mean just for lunch!

Cute little actives

If you need BASS, this can kick your butt!

Not the best of finishing but amazing sound

These are really fat!

Heard of snake oil. But these do look like snakes... Chunky!

Minimalistic design. Maximum sound!

Grab the TL BS for Rs.7800!

Now that's exhibition!

Uhh, not really pleasing to eyes, but they sound big!

No replacement for big box!

I feel last time was better!

You can feed digital or if you have better DAC, feed analog also

 

[TheCoolestOne]

Once again, a great going by the organizers / volunteers (Denom, Santy, Hemant and Spiro) for organizing and executing a great meet once again. You guys always rock and will continue to do so. :clapping::clapping:

A big thaks to all those who managed to attend to attend the meet and contribute to it by their mere presence. :clapping:

Unfortunately I was one of the many who confirmed but backed out :sad: though I was one of the first few to sign up. Please accept my sincere apologies but an unavoidable and more pressing family emergency came up. I really missed a great meet indeed.

The small turnout may be sad but guys (Denom, Santy , Hemant, Spiro) dont give up on us. Without you none of the meets (big and small) were and would be possible. Though I am sure it has been a learning experience (bitter or sweet) things would only get better from here.

For all those who have come up with suggestions, a good idea to take them forward would be to implement it themselves in the next meet(s) . I know the great lengths the organizers would have gone to organize and execute these meets and it is due to their personal rapport with dealers that the rest of us have had an opportunity to audition gears at the various meets and have an opportunity to interact with the experts.

2 meeting dates close to each other (Pune & Mumbai) should also not have been a problem for enthusiasts as those genuinely interested in this hobby will always crave for more.

Thanks to the dealers who graced the occasion with their gears. :clapping::clapping: Some FMs mentioned that some of the dealers brought high end gears or gears not suited for home use but guys we all should appreciate that these dealers took out time to educate and share their experiences with everyone of different aspects irrespective of the gears on show at the meet. It is not always about a sale for dealers when they showcase their products. It is equally important to share experiences and knowledge from experts and a good setup to go with this is like the icing on a cake.

It was great to read the reviews but like Santy rightly said you just cannot read good sound, you have to hear it which holds very true indeed.

 

[SatMumbai]

Some FMs mentioned that some of the dealers brought high end gears or gears not suited for home use but guys we all should appreciate that these dealers took out time to educate and share their experiences with everyone of different aspects irrespective of the gears on show at the meet. It is not always about a sale for dealers when they showcase their products. It is equally important to share experiences and knowledge from experts and a good setup to go with this is like the icing on a cake.

Originally Posted by SatMumbai
Trust me Denom, as I have written, their knowledge, effort and enthusiasm is fully appreciated! I would say Khusrau is easily the best out there and I thoroughly enjoyed the little chat I had with him as well as Jignesh. Amazing expertise and I am so glad that they are there.

Let us not mix up my comments about choice of gear to the enthusiasm or expertise of the people which I have repeatedly said is truly amazing!!

Peace my friend!

 

[SatMumbai]

Guys.. It looks like it is very tough to have objectivism about what is what.

I posted my reservations about the choice of gear. Please note that if the choice is between PMC showcasing equipment vs not showcasing anything, then I am very glad that they came as I have learnt a lot as well.

Since PMC has a wonderful twenty series which has some really nice loud speakers, I was guessing that they might have suited more to the meet requirements. (Especially the Twenty 24).

Somehow, who ever commented on my post, turn it around and say that "we need to appreciate the talent, expertise etc etc"

As I have said few times earlier and I will repeat again

"Trust me Denom, as I have written, their knowledge, effort and enthusiasm is fully appreciated! I would say Khusrau is easily the best out there and I thoroughly enjoyed the little chat I had with him as well as Jignesh. Amazing expertise and I am so glad that they are there.

Let us not mix up my comments about choice of gear to the enthusiasm or expertise of the people which I have repeatedly said is truly amazing!!

Peace my friend!"

So one more time , I am not undermining the immense expertise that both the dealers have in the area and I am very happy to have met them and interacted with them.

I request you to kindly reserve your responses to my comments solely about the choice of the gear. Peace.

 

[SatMumbai]

Next was the active speakers with SW. Personally i liked them. But 1.25 L made me go hmmm... but for someone who enjoys music which doesnt need too much bass, and needs a simple plug and play setup, this was ittttt... Personally what they did for me is opened my eyes to the world of active speakers. The best i have ever heard were the audio engine A5 and swans mk, but these babies were leagues ahead and the concept made sense to me. For someone like me who personally like it to be kept as simple as possible, active speakers might serve the purpose. Why wont i just go ahead and buy em??? Well, i need more bass.. The tracks played personally didnt need too much bass, but my ears do.. D search continues

If possible, get an audition of the Genelec speakers. I understand that they are available officially in Mumbai.

 

[ruenigma]

Looks like you guys had a great time! Sadly I missed out this time as well.
Kudos to the tireless efforts of Denom, Hemant, Santy, Spiro. You guys rock.

 

[smd]

Hi everyone, Thanks to all of you for saying some nice things about my speakers. The suggestions by some of you also duely well noted. thanks for that too. Thanks Edge111hussain for that heartening review of B/Ss. And just for the mentions, the price of those Mid sized bookshelf pair is Just 16500/- So please seat them comfy next to the diamonds. A little bit in defence of the 7 driver towers, is that they are custom manufactured for a customer at Juinagar and their placement is gonna be on firm ground and hence the gromets in place of spikes. I guess the 10mm gromets sank into the floor carpet at the audition hall and hence the isolation from ground became inaffective resulting in added resonance. Their height was a constraint(due to the architect's recommended specs) and so can't add spikes at the bottom. But they are well tested under desired conditions and play really well.... Thanks to all of you once again and especially to the organisers for such a splendid show..

 

[keith_correa]

Hi everyone, Thanks to all of you for saying some nice things about my speakers. The suggestions by some of you also duely well noted. thanks for that too. Thanks Edge111hussain for that heartening review of B/Ss. And just for the mentions, the price of those Mid sized bookshelf pair is Just 16500/- So please seat them comfy next to the diamonds.

Sandeep, a suggestion. Why don't you update your website with the speaker products [including the BS's] that you create? I just checked your website and I think I remember seeing everything currently in there as the same early last year too when I last checked.

 

[Rajdeep]

At the onset would like to thank all the organizers for giving is the opportunity to introduce avi brand at the meet.
Avi started the company by making high end passive speakers and separates.over a period it was realized that distortion associated with passive crossover could not be overcome .now avi makes only active speakers.the unique thing about the 9 rs speakers demoed at the meet is they have a built in dac which has been favorably compared to usd 5000 dac by computer audiophile .the second unique think is the use of high quality expensive drivers.most other active speakers in the price use cheaper drivers causing boom giving an impression of enhanced but loose bass.more info about this phenomenon can be read about in AVI HiFi Forum also these speakers need minimal toe in depending on room acoustics as they don't beam.
I would be happy to answer any questions about these speakers.

 

[hemantwaghe]

At the onset would like to thank all the organizers for giving is the opportunity to introduce avi brand at the meet.
Avi started the company by making high end passive speakers and separates.over a period it was realized that distortion associated with passive crossover could not be overcome .now avi makes only active speakers.the unique thing about the 9 rs speakers demoed at the meet is they have a built in dac which has been favorably compared to usd 5000 dac by computer audiophile .the second unique think is the use of high quality expensive drivers.most other active speakers in the price use cheaper drivers causing boom giving an impression of enhanced but loose bass.more info about this phenomenon can be read about in AVI HiFi Forum also these speakers need minimal toe in depending on room acoustics as they don't beam.
I would be happy to answer any questions about these speakers.

Welcome Rajdeep - yiu were a real gentleman in the meet!

 

[Santy]

Hi everyone, Thanks to all of you for saying some nice things about my speakers. The suggestions by some of you also duely well noted. thanks for that too. Thanks Edge111hussain for that heartening review of B/Ss. And just for the mentions, the price of those Mid sized bookshelf pair is Just 16500/- So please seat them comfy next to the diamonds. A little bit in defence of the 7 driver towers, is that they are custom manufactured for a customer at Juinagar and their placement is gonna be on firm ground and hence the gromets in place of spikes. I guess the 10mm gromets sank into the floor carpet at the audition hall and hence the isolation from ground became inaffective resulting in added resonance. Their height was a constraint(due to the architect's recommended specs) and so can't add spikes at the bottom. But they are well tested under desired conditions and play really well.... Thanks to all of you once again and especially to the organisers for such a splendid show..

Hi Sandeep
Welcome to the forum!! So the meet prompted you to register huh:clapping:
My only suggestion is to review the tweeters on all your creations. I somehow find it to be little on the harsher side. Otherwise the bookshelves were too good, more so considering the price bracket in which you have positioned them. Thanks for participating.

At the onset would like to thank all the organizers for giving is the opportunity to introduce avi brand at the meet.
Avi started the company by making high end passive speakers and separates.over a period it was realized that distortion associated with passive crossover could not be overcome .now avi makes only active speakers.the unique thing about the 9 rs speakers demoed at the meet is they have a built in dac which has been favorably compared to usd 5000 dac by computer audiophile .the second unique think is the use of high quality expensive drivers.most other active speakers in the price use cheaper drivers causing boom giving an impression of enhanced but loose bass.more info about this phenomenon can be read about in AVI HiFi Forum also these speakers need minimal toe in depending on room acoustics as they don't beam.
I would be happy to answer any questions about these speakers.

Hi Rajdeep
Glad to have you on our forum!! So the meet prompted you too to register huh:clapping: Thank you for participating and hope you enjoyed your weekend 'hifi getaway' with your family!

No doubt the actives were sounding too good. It was crisp, fast and accurate. It was forgiving to the room deficiencies. Many members appreciated them though they missed a breath or two after knowing the price. I know you do not like to play it without the sub but many of us were happy with the 2.0 setup Please look at concealing the wires which could be 'seen through' the port and review the pricing if possible. I am sure it can create a new market if the price sensitivity of Indian market is reciprocated.


@ participants
Guys I should have announced it earlier. If you wish to buy these actives, you can get 10% discount provided you buy it in this month. Offer code is PDMSHW.... well, its the initials of the organizers hyeah: but I guess it will work!

[ Sorry I am not selling, just passing on the offer given by Rajdeep. ]

 

[Rajdeep]

Santy I corresponded with the manufacture regarding the wires being visible.he suggested that the speakers are meant to be with grills on and wires are a fall out of trying to fit in all the electronics in the small space.he is open to the idea of making them with wood finish if we place enough orders.sound quality wise they easily beat passive speakers 3 times the price not including the cost of pre n power amp.internet forums are a testimonial to the last statement.also we are open to a shootout between avi speakers and any other bookshelf speakers with the most expensive electronics .the only reason I insisted on the woofer is because of the huge listening room .

 

[srinisundar]

Santy I corresponded with the manufacture regarding the wires being visible.he suggested that the speakers are meant to be with grills on and wires are a fall out of trying to fit in all the electronics in the small space.he is open to the idea of making them with wood finish if we place enough orders.sound quality wise they easily beat passive speakers 3 times the price not including the cost of pre n power amp.internet forums are a testimonial to the last statement.also we are open to a shootout between avi speakers and any other bookshelf speakers with the most expensive electronics .the only reason I insisted on the woofer is because of the huge listening room .

I wish first test will be against Hari Iyer's - TL speakers which were handmade and personally tweaked, which can be conducted locally in mumbai.

 

[arhantd]

Dear Rajdeep:

Glad to know you are importing AVI here. Have heard one of the older versions before when they just came out, really nice. Was looking to buy them in 2011 but were not available in India and then i got a real good deal for the Aktimate Maxi so went for them. Those also are pretty good.

Wanted to know if you are also importing the new Adm40's? What is the mrp on those?