Tower speaker around 1 lakh

[jr83]

Well, this is really my first venture onto this kind of audio equipment. I don't know whether I am qualified enough to distinguish between such subtle qualities.
But I know for sure that I like some punch and bass in my music along with clarity.

The first question was for your preference. What kind of music do you listen to?

 

[Deblin]

I listen to a lot of classical music, rabindra sangeet......
mostly soft music with occasional rock

 

[apk]

Can I suggest a modular approach to build your system? If you want a great music listening experience, your Denon AVR is not going to cut it. However, since you have already purchased this and will spend half your time watching movies, don't discard this. My suggestion would be to:
- Get your speakers now. Use the AVR to drive the speakers. When you get more funds, invest in the below components:
- A good DAC (digital to analogue converter) which supports multiple sources (including USB). This will greatly improve the quality of your music playback
- Use an old laptop or PC to play music (ripped or downloaded in lossless format - WAC, FLAC or ALAC) through the USB into the DAC. Another alternative will be to get a media player and use the digital output from the media player into the DAC
- Invest in a dedicated stereo integrated amplifier for music with HT bypass. With HT bypass facility, you can use the same speakers for both Stereo and movies, but the speakers are powered with the integrated amplifier - which will improve the quality of music significantly/

Lastly, try and hear whatever you purchase before you sign on the dotted line. If your city does not have too many audio stores, approach other FMs in your area or nearby cities to hear out their systems to get a perspective.

 

[Deblin]

Can I suggest a modular approach to build your system? If you want a great music listening experience, your Denon AVR is not going to cut it. However, since you have already purchased this and will spend half your time watching movies, don't discard this. My suggestion would be to:
- Get your speakers now. Use the AVR to drive the speakers. When you get more funds, invest in the below components:
- A good DAC (digital to analogue converter) which supports multiple sources (including USB). This will greatly improve the quality of your music playback
- Use an old laptop or PC to play music (ripped or downloaded in lossless format - WAC, FLAC or ALAC) through the USB into the DAC. Another alternative will be to get a media player and use the digital output from the media player into the DAC
- Invest in a dedicated stereo integrated amplifier for music with HT bypass. With HT bypass facility, you can use the same speakers for both Stereo and movies, but the speakers are powered with the integrated amplifier - which will improve the quality of music significantly/

Lastly, try and hear whatever you purchase before you sign on the dotted line. If your city does not have too many audio stores, approach other FMs in your area or nearby cities to hear out their systems to get a perspective.

Hi apk,
Thanks a lot for the detailed info. You correctly pointed that in my city I have nowhere to audition good quality speakers. This is a big problem as there are so many well renowned speakers( within my budget of 1 lakh INR) and I am not able to zero in due to lack of AUDITION. Anyway, I need to sort it out.
Regarding AVR, I am yet to purchase one. But as you said, I will probably purchase Avr to begin with and then add amplifiers when I complete my system.

 

[soundbuff]

Hi and Welcome,
In the room size you have and your budget, I would put my money on a stand mount rather than a floor stander. Even more so given your choice of music. For the human voice especially, entry level floor-standers are too chesty. You will also need to figure how to manage the room. This is a lot easier with a medium sized stand mount. Many, if not most of us in this hobby began with a stand mount. The desire to have a bigger speaker is quite natural but in most cases it takes a many years of system development to reach that point.
If you have not yet bought an AVR that is great news. Please go for a two channel integrated. There are lots and lots of decent choices for an amp speaker combo in about 1.5 Lakh.

 

[Deblin]

Hi and Welcome,
In the room size you have and your budget, I would put my money on a stand mount rather than a floor stander. Even more so given your choice of music. For the human voice especially, entry level floor-standers are too chesty. You will also need to figure how to manage the room. This is a lot easier with a medium sized stand mount. Many, if not most of us in this hobby began with a stand mount. The desire to have a bigger speaker is quite natural but in most cases it takes a many years of system development to reach that point.
If you have not yet bought an AVR that is great news. Please go for a two channel integrated. There are lots and lots of decent choices for an amp speaker combo in about 1.5 Lakh.

Hi,
Can you suggest some good quality stand mount speakers within my budget...
Thanks

 

[soundbuff]

I am unfortunately no longer familiar with the market in this segment, and can at best tell you about stand mounts that I have used in the past or heard carefully. The finest small speaker I have owned and used long term is the Proac Tablette. Superb with the right amplification which does not come cheap. One other small speaker I like a lot is the KEF Ls 50. Some of the same characteristics as Tablette including need for good and powerful amplification. Easily available, worth an audition. Higher sensitivity stand mounts are harder to find, but one option is Blumenhofer which has one stand mount which may be a little above a lakh. Recently I heard a very nice stand mount when I went to audition the Metrum DAC. I think it was in your budget. Do contact the metrum distributor in Bangalore. I also auditioned the large Quad Z4 in Mumbai and was impressed. The small Z1 should have some of the same qualities and is probably in your budget ball park. It will need decent power. Among the beer budget models consider the Mission stand mounts, which are well balanced and agile.

Am sure others will have more to offer.
Best

 

[apk]

Hi apk,
Thanks a lot for the detailed info. You correctly pointed that in my city I have nowhere to audition good quality speakers. This is a big problem as there are so many well renowned speakers( within my budget of 1 lakh INR) and I am not able to zero in due to lack of AUDITION. Anyway, I need to sort it out.
Regarding AVR, I am yet to purchase one. But as you said, I will probably purchase Avr to begin with and then add amplifiers when I complete my system.

Well, Jamshedpur is a great city to live in - and not too far from Kolkata. Why don't you make a weekend trip to Kolkata, and visit a few of the Audio-Video stores there? I can definitely recommend Harmonie audio run by our own FM Vasu; might also be worthwhile to check out Sonodyne, which is based in Kolkata and do provide a few VFM options. Approach a few of the Kolkata based FMs for a chance to listen to their setup and spend your time getting to know different systems and the approaches taken to achieve system synergy. It's very important that you think of your system as a whole and not as isolated components. Speakers, amplifiers and source components all need to gel well together (system synergy) for you to get the best quality sound.

All the best on your search, and keep posting about your experience

Best,
APK

 

[soundbuff]

A small but necessary clarification. It is not my contention that larger (floor-standing) speakers cannot play well in small rooms. The Quad Z4 I auditioned recently were playing in a room about 12 by 14. Larger speakers at the entry level however have too many compromises and to my ears sound flabby and lacking in control. Good big un's are expensive and would fall out of your budget. Second thing is the amplifier, the bigger speakers can be quite demanding of amplification in terms of power and quality. The Z4 mentioned above was driven by a five Lakh rupee amplifier. One can even have a large horn in a smallish room, but that takes expertise. My preference for a Monitor and SS amp combo in your case is therefore a practical one rather than of principle.

 

[apk]

It is not my contention that larger (floor-standing) speakers cannot play well in small rooms. The Quad Z4 I auditioned recently were playing in a room about 12 by 14. Larger speakers at the entry level however have too many compromises and to my ears sound flabby and lacking in control. Good big un's are expensive and would fall out of your budget.

True to a large extent. Generally speaking, Rupee for Rupee, in your budget a standmount will probably give you better sound than a floorstander. More because of the greater cost of material (more mdf/hdf/ply, more bracing, more drivers, more crossover complexity etc). Hence it is advisable to also consider good standmounts in your search. Yes, you will need to get speaker stands - budget around 5-6 K for this.

For an average sized Indian room, I think standmounts work much better than floorstanders (this is again a generalization - and there will always be exceptions to the rule). Most Indian houses have hard floors (tile/marble) and quite a few reflective surfaces (glass windows etc). Hence making your system work in such environments is quite tough - and probably easier with standmounts than floorstanders.

 

[Deblin]

True to a large extent. Generally speaking, Rupee for Rupee, in your budget a standmount will probably give you better sound than a floorstander. More because of the greater cost of material (more mdf/hdf/ply, more bracing, more drivers, more crossover complexity etc). Hence it is advisable to also consider good standmounts in your search. Yes, you will need to get speaker stands - budget around 5-6 K for this.

For an average sized Indian room, I think standmounts work much better than floorstanders (this is again a generalization - and there will always be exceptions to the rule). Most Indian houses have hard floors (tile/marble) and quite a few reflective surfaces (glass windows etc). Hence making your system work in such environments is quite tough - and probably easier with standmounts than floorstanders.

Any further recommendations for stand mounts I should consider for audition within my budget.
Also do I need to budget for sub woofers immediately if I go for stand mounts??

 

[apk]

I would suggest that you don't jump into sub-woofers right now. A good standmount should be able to give you enough and more bass for an average sized Indian room. You can consider them at a later stage if you find the bass inadequate.

Standmount contenders in your budget can include:
- Wharfedale Diamond series
- Dynaudio Emit (either 10 or 20)
- Castle King speakers
- Usher Audio (V series)
- Dali Ikon series

You can also check out some creations from Indian companies. I have heard speakers from all the brands below and can definitely recommend them for a listen:
- Acoustic portrait (B'lore based)
- Lyrita audio (Delhi based)
- Lithos Acoustics (Mumbai based)
- Norge speakers (Mumbai based)

There are many more brands that are available; the above list is a good start to get a flavour of your preferences. Again, you will never know until you listen on your own. What may sound good to me may not sound good to you and vice-versa. Hence the importance of hearing for yourself - and my suggestion to make that trip to Kolkata (or any other Metro city) and explore the options there.

Another point of advice with respect to systems for Music vs Movies......
Generally, if a system has been set up to play well for Music, they will be able to provide a very good movie experience as well; however, the converse is not true!

So focus on setting up a good music based setup. You will find that this will serve you well for movies too. I used to watch movies by just feeding the audio to my stereo setup, and absolutely loved it. Of course, it helped that my speakers had 12-inch woofers in them, providing substantial bass when required!

Best,
APK

 

[Deblin]

Thanks a lot.
How about klipsch RP600M. I auditioned them and liked a lot. It retails for about 68k in India. Are these 600 M in same league as those mentioned by you....

 

[apk]

Thanks a lot.
How about klipsch RP600M. I auditioned them and liked a lot. It retails for about 68k in India. Are these 600 M in same league as those mentioned by you....

I may be biased against Klipsch speakers. I had auditioned a pair of Klipsch floorstanders from the RF series many years ago, and found the sound too bright for my taste. The general opinion about Klipsch speakers are that they are on the brighter side. As they say, your mileage may vary. I'm sure paired with the right amplifiers (warmer sounding ones), they will sound good.

Since you heard them, and liked them, I would say that you should trust your ears. However, do audition it again for an extended duration with the kind of music that you usually listen to. Some speakers do tend to 'wow' you in the beginning with enhanced details, but may end up being fatiguing over long listening periods.

Why don't you audition some more speakers that you have access to, and then come back to the Klipsch again? If you still like them after hearing out many speakers, then trust your ears and buy them. Sounds like a good idea?

Best,
APK

 

[devdutta]

What will be approximate price range of Fyne Audio F501. Can I get it within 1 lakh??

Its MRP is 141900.00 U can get 15 to 20% discount. In between 1.4 to 1.6l
Very good speakers for both music and movies. Very good low end it produces for music.
I have a pair and i am satisfied with them.

Thanks.
Will check that out.
Anybody aware about dealer of Fyne Audio based out of Kolkata??

Auditro Hifi Systems Kolkata is seller in kolkata. And owner Akshaya Mittal a very nice person

 

[Deblin]

Hey Devdutta,
Thanks a lot.

 

[Prasantam]

New kid in the Town. Mr Linton!

 

[Deblin]

Yesterday I listened to pair of sonodyne sonus 3155. It was powered by yamaha rn-303. I liked the sound but couldn't say enjoyed it. These speakers retail for about 39k /pair.
The listening room was quite small and was not properly acoustically treated.
The sound somehow felt like being held back. It was not opening up.
I enjoyed klipsch rp5000f and polk rti a5 much more though it was in a completely different room which was properly treated acoustically.(and at a different price point).

Now looking forward to listening to avant t2 which I came to know are much better speakers and are at similar price points to that of Klipsch in India.....

 

[annapl]

Polk RTI A9

 

[Deblin]

Can anybody point me to Quad speaker dealers in Kolkata. I know watteffects deals with them but they don't have any stock right now..
I am looking to try out quad s2.