Speaker or integrated

[renjith lal]

Hi all,

I need expert advice from you guys. I am in Japan and I can buy either a very good amp or a very good speakers. Given a choice which makes more sense,speaker or amp. Amp one issue is voltage and I have heard from few experts that using a quality SDT wont have any issue. But still when you hear voltage difference there is a mental block and not good while selling.

So I can buy Harbeth or some other good brands not super HL5 as I dont have budget for that. Amp I was thinking of Accuphase 260 or 360 and Luxman 505UX. I can buy either amp or speaker due to budget and shipping issues.

Please let me know your suggestions.

It has been going in my mind for long like chicken or egg and I am confused to core. Is it better to fix amp and buy speakers or fix speaker and look for amp? Which is a better option considering the high amount of money we need to pay while buying from home land due to higher cost ?

Please give me your opinion as I have only seven days left for my travel to India.

Thanks
Renjith

 

[arj]

buy what you cannot get here..eg if you can get the Luxman, do that.

110-220 step up is better avoided in high end audio in the range of what you are considering as the transformer makes an impact. try to contact/speak to the Luxman distributor for a 220V option for the global market.
I do not think it makes sense to get a Harbeth from Japan..is the price difference really worth it ?eg the rethm Trishna at less than 1/2 the price is a very good option when compared to the C7..and looks better too !
You might get a Leben amp with 230V there..just write to Yoshi Hontani of Muson Project who is the global distributor.

 

[sidvee]

????.com - ???? HARBETH SUPER HL5 PLUS [?????1?]??????

I am not sure of above site but if the Shl5 plus is Yen 280k as indicated then it is Rs 1.5 lac, even at full price indicated at 325k which is 1.75 lac it is a screaming bargain. For your reference this speaker will cost 4 plus lacs in India. Assuming you pay shipping extra as checked in bag due to large size and some customs total for both lets say 75k even then you will get close to 50% off.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[sidvee]

????.com - ???? HARBETH SUPER HL5 PLUS [?????1?]??????

I am not sure of above site but if the Shl5 plus is Yen 280k as indicated then it is Rs 1.5 lac, even at full price indicated at 325k which is 1.75 lac it is a screaming bargain. For your reference this speaker will cost 4 plus lacs in India. Assuming you pay shipping extra as checked in bag due to large size and some customs total for both lets say 75k even then you will get close to 50% off.
Cheers,
Sid

Renjith pointed out that the speaker price here is per speaker not per pair (sorry can't read japanesehyeah, so at this price it is 3 lacs per pair. Perhaps not a great price but less than US price ($6700) and significantly less than Indian price.
I am sure Indian price is now 4.5lac plus due to further rupee depreciation.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[arj]

aah..assume you need to pay the 30% duty. if this is still cheaper then a Harbeth makes the most sense to buy

strange..a british made speaker is cheaper in Japan

 

[sidvee]

aah..assume you need to pay the 30% duty. if this is still cheaper then a Harbeth makes the most sense to buy

strange..a british made speaker is cheaper in Japan

Usually when I carry any electronics, speakers etc as part of my baggage I never had to pay any duty and 1 or 2 times when I paid duty it was some minimal amount like 5k. So if OP manages to lug it in as checked baggage I doubt he will pay full 30%. Also I have had equipment come in via air to Hyd. air cargo and my C&F agent cleared it for 10% at most. Only when one has it shipped via a courier company like DHL, Fedex they get dinged the full 30%. Anyways I guess Harbeth follows a differential pricing policy. For instance they are cheapest in Malaysia and perhaps most expensive in India.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[panditji]

Sid, it's the distributors who have a differential pricing policy not the company...Malaysia is the cheapest as it is an import duty free country and therefore the dealer is able to price it cheapest and also because they get lots of speakers by sea thereby saving on cost...

Renjith, it makes sense to buy a Luxman or Accuphase as they would be easier to carry in checked baggage and the Indian pricing is exhorbitant....I am quite happily using the Luxman 505UX with an SDT... Unless you like the Harbeth P3ESR which can fit easily in your baggage, you will end up paying extra baggage cost and maybe customs as well for the bigger Harbeths...

 

[sidvee]

Sid, it's the distributors who have a differential pricing policy not the company...Malaysia is the cheapest as it is an import duty free country and therefore the dealer is able to price it cheapest and also because they get lots of speakers by sea thereby saving on cost... ...

So it is basically a government policy then. If there is no import duty, which is a government topic - then right away a significant cost is reduced. However I don't believe that is the case because I have spent a lot of time in KL and when I considered tad-labs speakers their cost was double of the US market in Malaysia. Also lot of other higher end gear was priced significantly higher than US. In fact I was told that comparing Malaysia and Singapore, only Harbeth is cheaper in Malaysia than Singapore and every other higher end component is cheaper in Singapore. If I am not mistaken the KL dealer also mentioned something about Malaysia being cheapest because Harbeth priced it that way. Also I know for sure that Harbeth enforces their pricing policy very strictly going so far as refusing service to speakers that have been taken outside the geographical area where they were distributed/sold. And the Malaysian dealer told me very clearly that only way one can buy Harbeths from Malaysia is they have to physically visit the store and buy them there pick them up and get them shipped personally, which I did when I bought my Shl5's. And all this was even before India had a dealer. Anyways I apologize for going OT, all this does not really help the OP.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[renjith lal]

buy what you cannot get here..eg if you can get the Luxman, do that.

110-220 step up is better avoided in high end audio in the range of what you are considering as the transformer makes an impact. try to contact/speak to the Luxman distributor for a 220V option for the global market.
I do not think it makes sense to get a Harbeth from Japan..is the price difference really worth it ?eg the rethm Trishna at less than 1/2 the price is a very good option when compared to the C7..and looks better too !
You might get a Leben amp with 230V there..just write to Yoshi Hontani of Muson Project who is the global distributor.

Thanks for the reply.
Sorry for my late reply. I was traveling. I tried for Accuphase to get 230V but they are saying not possible. Not sure why. If you use in Japan for 6 months then they will do it on request. I have send an email to Accuphase. Waiting for there reply. They are on summer vacation till 18th of this month.

We need to use step down to 100V, I mean 230V to 110V ? When I checked with few guys they say step down is okay and step up is not good, not sure which is better.

 

[renjith lal]

Renjith, it makes sense to buy a Luxman or Accuphase as they would be easier to carry in checked baggage and the Indian pricing is exhorbitant....I am quite happily using the Luxman 505UX with an SDT... Unless you like the Harbeth P3ESR which can fit easily in your baggage, you will end up paying extra baggage cost and maybe customs as well for the bigger Harbeths...

Since my room is big and it is living plus dining P3ESR is not sufficient. So I cannot go with that. So now option is either Compact P3ESR, Monitor 30 or Super HL5. I heard all these three. HL5 was the best of these three. But very heavy, big and also expensive. There is difference between Compact and monitor 30 but not sure which is better. Audition rooms are not that great in Japan though you can switch between 60different speakers on the fly.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[arj]

Thanks for the reply.
Sorry for my late reply. I was traveling. I tried for Accuphase to get 230V but they are saying not possible. Not sure why. If you use in Japan for 6 months then they will do it on request. I have send an email to Accuphase. Waiting for there reply. They are on summer vacation till 18th of this month.

We need to use step down to 100V, I mean 230V to 110V ? When I checked with few guys they say step down is okay and step up is not good, not sure which is better.

i dont think either stepup/Step down is any different since the power remains the same- the the voltage is reduced and the current increased

It is a personal view- Step up/stepdown is ok with CD players et all where current draw is constant but Amps, unless it has high quality transformers ( very rarely is) you will not get to the amps potential.

Amps (unless its pure class A) need a lot more dynamic headroom not sure if most Step up/down will be able to manage it.

 

[sidvee]

I tend to agree with Arj on this. And even when I have used step down in the past it has always been for equipment that had low power consumption like sources and preamps. perhaps about 100 watts or so. I did use step downs for amps. as well but at best the sound was never quite as good and at worst like with a/v receivers the unit failed after 4-5 years - (even though I always made sure to use 1.5 the wattage rating).
Cheers,
Sid

 

[renjith lal]

i dont think either stepup/Step down is any different since the power remains the same- the the voltage is reduced and the current increased

It is a personal view- Step up/stepdown is ok with CD players et all where current draw is constant but Amps, unless it has high quality transformers ( very rarely is) you will not get to the amps potential.

Amps (unless its pure class A) need a lot more dynamic headroom not sure if most Step up/down will be able to manage it.

Thanks ARJ. I got your point, what it matters is power (V*I).
Panditji suggested some good transformer brand from Japan. But I dont think I can carry amp and SDT.

 

[renjith lal]

i dont think either stepup/Step down is any different since the power remains the same- the the voltage is reduced and the current increased

It is a personal view- Step up/stepdown is ok with CD players et all where current draw is constant but Amps, unless it has high quality transformers ( very rarely is) you will not get to the amps potential.

Amps (unless its pure class A) need a lot more dynamic headroom not sure if most Step up/down will be able to manage it.

I tend to agree with Arj on this. And even when I have used step down in the past it has always been for equipment that had low power consumption like sources and preamps. perhaps about 100 watts or so. I did use step downs for amps. as well but at best the sound was never quite as good and at worst like with a/v receivers the unit failed after 4-5 years - (even though I always made sure to use 1.5 the wattage rating).
Cheers,
Sid

Thanks a lot for your advice.

 

[arj]

Thanks ARJ. I got your point, what it matters is power (V*I).
Panditji suggested some good transformer brand from Japan. But I dont think I can carry amp and SDT.

Even if you do carry a transformer it's rating should be 3+ times the power rating of the amp to take care of the dynamic headroom..that makes it really heavy.

 

[square_wave]

Since you are Japan, buy some nice horn speakers. Japan has some really mature home grown DIY builders whose creations are mind blowing. Need to do some research. And then buy a audionote kit for the amp

Or how about this one :
JR Sound Co. :: Home of JBL Hartsfield Replication!

 

[mpw]

so i have heard as well..

in Japan - there are a few companies which restore vintage JBL speakers - classics.

This would be a - hatke - option to explore non-conventional things.

The JBL's may not be cheap but would be very nice to carry back home to India

Ofcourse... audition first..

regards

 

[renjith lal]

so i have heard as well..

in Japan - there are a few companies which restore vintage JBL speakers - classics.

This would be a - hatke - option to explore non-conventional things.

The JBL's may not be cheap but would be very nice to carry back home to India

Ofcourse... audition first..

regards

I don't have too much time left in Japan. Need to travel back this weekend.
So based on advice's mostly I will try to get speakers.

Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts.

 

[sidvee]

Good luck Renjith.:thumbsup::cheers
Sid

 

[renjith lal]

Thanks Sidvee.

Still my mind is not 100% clear.
I have PSB T6 towers and its center which I am going to use for HT with Anthem AVR.
So if I buy Harbeth then one more speaker and may need to add an amp for sure as my present Marantz may not do justice.

Is there any good floor stander speaker which will be good for stereo and HT. The issue is I don't want to use two speaker at same place. Just thinking in that direction also. So my initial plan was to get Accuphase and look for speakers in India. Now due to voltage issue I am thinking of getting speakers.