stereo setup under 1.5 lakhs

gbkrao

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Greetings to all
I am planning to buy a stereo setup .my budget is 1.5 lakhs.My room size is 10x20.I mostly listen to old Bollywood songs ( Rafi , Kishore Kumar).Most of the times my source will be online music( Chromecast Audio). Please suggest good floor standers and matching amp.
thank you
 
Hi gbkrao....

Considering that you are going for a digital source. And don't need any analogue inputs, or phono inputs for turntable. I would suggest to look for active ( powered speakers ) in that budget.



Secondly, if you can stretch your budget a little more, you can try and see the kef ls50 wireless. If not, please consider powered genelac's. They are awesome speakers too.

Thirdly , which ever powered speaker you choose. Please make sure that it comes with option of reducing treble by atleast 2db. Most decent powered speakers come with this option . And this is important when listening to old Indian songs which tend to sound a little bright due to poor recording quality.

Fourthly, please avoid floor standers if your room is 10x20 ft. As in my place, every speaker has exaggerated and muddy bass in my room of similar dimensions. Best to go for a powered bookshelf. And add a sub if needed later, placed asymmetrical in the room to avoid exaggerated bass.( I honestly don't think you'd need a sub )

This would give you maximum bang for your buck. Alternatively you can go traditional route of buying seperate source, and amp with passive speakers too. In which case best to avoid bright sounding speakers or otherwise go for an amp having tone controls. To tame the brightness as mentioned above.

So, once you decide between a active and passive setup. Everyone here can suggest different pairings. All the best for your hunt :)
 
I would suggest you have a system which reproduce mid range with little accentuations. Select such a speaker which has 8" or larger wide band driver.
You then need matching amp and a DAC.
1.5 is quite a lot IMO.
 
Hi Gbkrao
Good morning again......

Cant really say. But my listening room is 11x27 ft. With the Floor standers placed facing the shorter length, the bass pressure at my listening position with my back against the wall is too much.

And when placed facing the longer length of the room, they get too close to the side walls, causing muddiness of the bass.

Then again I have a very bright and echoey room. So not easy for any speaker to perform in my room. Your room's behavior might be different. Try clapping in your room, and listen carefully. If you think it sounds echoey, then your room might be too bright too.
 
Hi again Gbkrao...

If you don't mind going the pre-loved route, there is very good value to be had. There is a Qacoustics Concept 40 in black on sale from Ravindrads at 83K, in the 'for sale by owner' section . These are excellent speakers that I can heartily recommend.

And you just missed on an excellent deal on a Creek Evo 50A amp, which went for approx 51K.

If you are interested in buying the Qacoustics concept 40's, you can audition them at my place, and buy from Ravindrads from Bangalore. All the best.....
 
Just a hint you might want to consider. Rafi, kishore kumar kind of music (especially Source like YouTube or streaming services) on Hi-Fi setups might be a bit too much for the quality of the source available. The more resolving speakers the more crappy these tend to sound.
The above recommended systems are very good if you provide it with decent hi resolution source material.
You might want to take up the offer by newlash09 or go out and audition a few systems using Chromecast streaming. Good luck.
 
But my listening room is 11x27 ft<snip>If you think it sounds echoey, then your room might be too bright too.

You have described my room (except that I have 24 feet in the long dimension)

Almost pointless trying to listen to music without some care and treatment in such a situation :( Took me a while to figure it out and sort things

Your room is highly likely to be your jaani dushman in your quest for good sound, so my suggestion to OP to consider that (and in budgeting).

ciao
gr
 
Last edited:
Thanks Sound cycle :)

You've got my problem spot on. I have gone through 3 different pairs of speakers in the same room. And I always wondered why everything sounded so similar. Took me lot of time and money to realize that Iam only listening to my room, irrespective of what speaker I use. Fortunately, Iam shifting to a new place shortly. And fondly hope that acoustics there are much better :ohyeah:.

Owing to my bad experience, my first question to folks looking for new speakers is always room size:p

And I actually advocate going for speakers which are bass shy. And then add a sub with volume level set to the desired amount of bass required to added as per individual taste. Much better approach, than buying huge floor standers and stuffing their ports with blankets trying to tame the bass :licklips:
 
will floor standers be an overkill for my room size of 10*20?

As per my experience no.

I have a smaller room and with Open baffle speakers. And another room with Cabinet floor standers with home theatre arrangement (close listening for the front speakers too, yet they sing good when playing music in stereo mode.
 
Greetings to all
I am planning to buy a stereo setup .my budget is 1.5 lakhs.My room size is 10x20.I mostly listen to old Bollywood songs ( Rafi , Kishore Kumar).Most of the times my source will be online music( Chromecast Audio). Please suggest good floor standers and matching amp.
thank you

will floor standers be an overkill for my room size of 10*20?

You have a longish room..Dual subwoofers should help you more than a FS.. Integrating a dual subwoofer with stereo amplifier can be tough, but with an AVR is easy.. You also have the advantage of using crossover between mains & sub..

Consider an AVR like Denon x 3300, which has the capability in the form of Audyssey XT32.. When the low frequency is taken care by the sub, all you need is a small speaker / satellite..

This will also double up for movies in the form of 2.2..
 
Fortunately, Iam shifting to a new place shortly. And fondly hope that acoustics there are much better :ohyeah:.

Congrats and all the best. Moving for better audio might sound like overkill to the non audio cogniscenti-sts, but I swear I would do that in a flash if I could :o

ciao
gr
 
HaHa..thanks soundcycle :)

I was meaning to ask this for sometime now. How do you find the Dirac room correction. Has it improved the sound quality in your room. And is there anyways, I can use Dirac too, and still continue to use the chord dac, without using the dac in the mini-dsp. Thanks.
 
I just want to state my observations regarding room width and length.

For a sitting listener to stereo music setup, triangle of speakers and listener's position matters, hence if the speakers are located on the wide face then the longer side has spare place at the back of the listener's position.

For someone moving in the room, it is so much variable for a cabinet speaker that adding sub woofer will be even more complex.
To enjoy stereo with its imaging, sitting while listening is the best.

While moving in and outside a room I hear lesser deviations in music reproduction if I hear through Omni directional or OB speakers.
 
Greetings to all

I am planning to buy a stereo setup .my budget is 1.5 lakhs.My room size is 10x20.I mostly listen to old Bollywood songs ( Rafi , Kishore Kumar).Most of the times my source will be online music( Chromecast Audio). Please suggest good floor standers and matching amp.

thank you



Its a longish room and getting a adequate bass will be an issue. Your Sources will be your Achilles heel for the SQ I'd consider less bright setup for you.
Assuming 1.5L total budget you can have many options.

1. If you are going to stick to your streaming source consider amp with decent DAC on board or preferably dedicated midrange DAC. Out of dedicated DACs, Though Modi Multibit is VFM I'd prefer Arcam irdac for oldies. Combined with Acoustic portrait integrated amp it should be a great combo to drive most of the speakers.
Integrated amp with on board DACs Marantz PM 6006 or Cambridge Audio Cxn A60 can be considered. I'd prefer Cambridge Audio.

2. Major portion of your budget should go to speakers at least 70% so get the ones with softer tweeters.
Rethm Bhava with its 2.2 setup is pretty good for oldies, but getting a matching amp will be a bit time consuming. Audition whatever available in Hyderabad at USK, Vector systems, Cinebels etc. Decide the speakers and match the amp accordingly, there's no substitute for audition. You can audition Kef, Tannoys, Q Acoustics, B&W, Heco, Dali and decide what suits your taste.

3. Buying a good network player with DAC like Yamaha WXC 50, or Pioneer N50 or Marantz Network players coupled with suitable decent Analog amp from same brand could improve your source limitations, which I'd consider instead of Google Chromecast audio. Speakers matching will be easier for such mainstream brands.

4. I wasn't impressed with Powered Speakers but you can audition and decide.

5. A sweet sounding Vintage Luxman Amp coupled with good DAC can be a option too, but the service hassles associated with Vintage Amplifiers need to be considered as well.

6. As mentioned previously by other FMs Allocating a small portion of your budget to Room Acoustics and Speaker Cables/ interconnects will be lot more rewarding for you in the long run



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for the amp, theres nothing better than the acoustic portrait swara at the price range. about 36k. you can also pick up their dac which is about 20k odd.

as for the speakers, brands to look at are psb, wharfedale diamonds...the quad 3050 has some very good reviews as well.
 
Greetings to all
I am planning to buy a stereo setup .my budget is 1.5 lakhs.My room size is 10x20.I mostly listen to old Bollywood songs ( Rafi , Kishore Kumar).Most of the times my source will be online music( Chromecast Audio). Please suggest good floor standers and matching amp.
thank you
Stereo setups requires good patience and audition in order to select the best for your taste.
There are various amps and speakers Available on market .
The selection should be first best speakers then matching amp .
U can check following speaker options
Dali opticon /Zensor 7
Dynaudio emit series
KEF Q series

Amp can be from the following options depending upon the budget.
Arcam
Marantz
NAD

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Thank you all for your valuable suggestions. Keeping in mind the advice you have all given me,I have decided not to go for floorstanders.

SO please suggest good Bookshelves speakers with matching amp under 1.5 lakh.
As I mentioned earlier,my source will be purely online streaming.
I listen to only Bollywood and classical.Please suggest a better streamer also.
Thank you

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Hi,
Some years ago I had to make do with a 'passage' for my listening room! It was 8 ft by 14 ft. I had the speakers across the short axis, some six feet from my chair. The set up was Proac Tablettes, and audio analogue Cento (100 watts). Do try small stand mounts with a medium power ss amp and a source. Last year I heard the basic model of a french brand called Atoll, some 30 watts and about Rs 40 k, Match this with a small bookshelf (not less than 87-88 db sensitivity) and you will be good to go.
While it is possible to have larger speaker in a smallish elongated room, such as yours, it takes some experimenting to get in right. My own room is 11 by 18, and I have horns and a big amp running with no bass-boom issues. However the equipment used is much more expensive, so the comparison is inappropriate.
Main two points are, a short axis listening position gives good imaging and dynamics, and bookshelves are better for a starter system.
Best
 
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