What can I buy?

[Msharda1]

Hi,
Need some serious advice !!!

I'm pretty amateur in the business, but thrive for good sound for the kind of music I listen to which is pretty much anything that sounds melodious with good lyrics. Occasionally movie viewing, as well...

I want to gradually build up my system and hence to begin with I need some advice of the choice of AVR, Floorstanders, Center Channel.

I live in an apartment with the biggest room size would be 14 x 12, but since I have a rented accommodation so few months later this size may increase (very unlikely that it'll reduce).

I don't know the budget yet, but would like to keep it reasonable since I'm not an audiophile (just as yet). I guess anything between 60-70K is what I can target.

While this may or may not be relevant to the thread, but if someone can also advise on how to take care of your equipment in a typical Delhi apartment, where dust is a common phenomenon.

 

[afj]

if your use is mainly for music, then a stereo setup would work best. you will get much better sound quality when you user fewer components at a given budget. at that budget, speakers you can look at are kef q series and the quads for bookshelves. again if you dont listen to a lot of really loud music, bookshelves will give you better SQ at a given budget. if you want floorstanders, then the wharfedale diamonds are very good. you should also try out the usher s520 - extremely good value at the price point. for an amp, the yamaha is good. the as201 or as501. you could also look at denon and marantz

whats your current source. it does make a difference going with a good source

 

[efernand1]

Hi,

Since you are based in Delhi..go and audition the different systems available. Long term perspective would be to buy a good mid sized avr which works well for stereo as well as home theatre...

First invest in the front speakers which can be towers or bookshelf...everyone has different tastes and enjoy stuff @ different frequencies...so trust your ears...audition as many systems with your kind of music and start shortlisting...

Share the shortlisted models and brands and we will advise you further...

 

[efernand1]

Hi,

Since you are based in Delhi..go and audition the different systems available. Long term perspective would be to buy a good mid sized avr which works well for stereo as well as home theatre...

First invest in the front speakers which can be towers or bookshelf...everyone has different tastes and enjoy stuff @ different frequencies...so trust your ears...audition as many systems with your kind of music and start shortlisting...

Share the shortlisted models and brands and we will advise you further...

 

[RajithKumar]

For pure music stereo amp will be good than an AVR ,but if you want to enjoy movies as well (sometimes your family member may) you can look out some good AVR.
The best most of FMs says is to invest in good speaker setup then go for an AVR or stereo amp (as you decide).
In case of AVR You can build step by step first with two front speakers later with a sub woofer ,centre and rear can be added later depending upon the budget provisons you have.
Since you are based at Delhi you will be having more options to demo various setups/combos.
Music /sound taste differs from person to person hence always do good audition with your favourite collection ,shortlist and decide.
For the dust problems better to close the speakers with normal cotton cloth when not in use.

 

[Aanuj]

Hi,
Need some serious advice !!!

I'm pretty amateur in the business, but thrive for good sound for the kind of music I listen to which is pretty much anything that sounds melodious with good lyrics. Occasionally movie viewing, as well...

I want to gradually build up my system and hence to begin with I need some advice of the choice of AVR, Floorstanders, Center Channel.

I live in an apartment with the biggest room size would be 14 x 12, but since I have a rented accommodation so few months later this size may increase (very unlikely that it'll reduce).

I don't know the budget yet, but would like to keep it reasonable since I'm not an audiophile (just as yet). I guess anything between 60-70K is what I can target.

While this may or may not be relevant to the thread, but if someone can also advise on how to take care of your equipment in a typical Delhi apartment, where dust is a common phenomenon.

If you want to listen to music in your room I'll advise you to get bookshelfs from Cabasse,the Antigua for Rs 37,000 with a Denon PMA720AE or Yamaha AS501 for Rs 38/28k respectively. The Denon complements the Cabasse over the Yamaha as far as my opinion goes but since sound is subjective do audition them. For more assistance from an expert contact Sid Trehan since you are from Delhi. Look for Sound By Design in Facebook and you'll find all the details to reach him there.

 

[Msharda1]

Dear Members,

Thanks a lot for the precious advice !

After much back and forth with other happenings in life, I was finally able to set aside some time for auditioning various options available in Delhi...

Firstly, I would like to thank all the studio owners (Bass n Treble, Sound Lounge, Sound by Design and Top Gizmos) and their staff who held their patience, time and energy and the more importantly the wisdom which leads me to this post today.

Monitor Audio Silver 6 - My kind of stuff, but right now way out of my budget
Monitor Audio Bronze 5 - Great Floor-standers for the price point and no doubt they won many accolades, simply loved them !

Paradigm Audio (Floor Standers) - Too Big for my room size (14 x 12)

Dali Zensor 5 & 7 - Both not as impressive as MA Bronze 5

Dali Zensor 3 (with Dali Sub) - Music to ears, with great vocal clarity and bass was good.

Here comes the confusion:

MA Bronze 5, 2.0 or Dali Zensor 3 (with sub - please advise)?

For the sub I have been given many options, Sunfire 10, SVS PB1000, 2000, which one is better (from after sale perspective as well)?

AVR's - Again many options have been suggested, Denon X1300, X2300, Yamaha - X681, X481?

I hereby request the wise men here to help me make a decision.

Thanks !

 

[mshifi]

For the avr consider marantz 5011 also which pairs well with dali and MA also. My choice would be dali + sub + avr. You could add the towers if reqd later on and move the bs to the rear as surronds

 

[Msharda1]

Dear Members,

I happened to audition Genelec range of Studio Monitors, both in Bangalore and Gurgaon and was blown away with the tonal clarity and power they pack.

While for the bass, I understand hosting such small driver would require an additional sub-woofer and I listened to the pair with F2 & F1 both.

They both sounded awesome.

My only confusion is:
Are Active speakers suggested in India, given the electricity fluctuation?
What's the best way to make the system WiFi and BT enabled?
Is the money really worth?

Thanks in advance for your expertise.

 

[eastofthesun]

Dear Members,

I happened to audition Genelec range of Studio Monitors, both in Bangalore and Gurgaon and was blown away with the tonal clarity and power they pack.

While for the bass, I understand hosting such small driver would require an additional sub-woofer and I listened to the pair with F2 & F1 both.

They both sounded awesome.

My only confusion is:
Are Active speakers suggested in India, given the electricity fluctuation?
What's the best way to make the system WiFi and BT enabled?
Is the money really worth?

Thanks in advance for your expertise.

Hi, Active speakers do work well considering they eliminate the whole pre power amplification process. Infact there is a very good brand called KII 3 which is being distributed by M/s Absolute sount. I think they have a dealer in delhi. It would be worthwhile checking them out too. Am also enclosing Mr. Jignesh Khatiwala's contact. he is the guy who is responsible for having brought this brand to india. DO have a chat with him to clarify any doubts. Also try and audition the KII 3's before you freeze on anything.
Mr. Jignesh Khatiwala- 9825133320
Cheers!
Anand

STEREO: Transrotor zet 1 TT, Transrotor 8.2 MC reference phono stage, Ortofon rondo red cartridge, MSB Platinum iv DAC, MSB DATA TRANSPORT iv CD transport, mola mola Kaluga power amplifiers, Transparent audio Ultra cables and interconnects, Transparent audio premium USB cable, Transparent audio Reference Power cables Synology D 415 play 12 TB RAID NAS drive, Mac book air with Roon, Joseph Audio Perspectives Floor standers, Stillpoints Aperture Acoustic panels, Stillpoints Ultra mini isolators, Blue jeans CAT6a cables. Transparent Audio Power isolators MM2.

HT1: Optoma HD 82 projector, I box media player, Synology D 415 play 12 TB RAID NAS drive, Anthem MRX 500 AV receiver, B & W center & DALI surrounds, REL T5 subwoofer.

HT2: Panasonic 42' Plasma, Monitor audio Radius R250 center and front speakers, Radius R90 surrounds and radius R360 subwoofer. Dune media player and pioneer BDP 140 blu ray player.

 

[newlash09]

Hi Sharda.....

If you can get those genelac actives within your budget, look no further. Active speakers will most certainly be ahead of most (95%) passive systems at the same price. And those genelac's have a genuine studio heritage behind them. So their tonal accuracy and neutrality will be spot on.

AddiING Bluetooth to them is very cheap. You can add Bluetooth adaptor for now. And when you start itching for your next upgrade. Get yourself a Yamaha wxc-50 streaming preamp ( disclaimer : I have it ) . This will open up a plethora of options as regarding content. Online streaming sites, Bluetooth , streaming from a Nas setup etc. And once you feed those genelac's from the pre-amp outs of the wxc-50, IAM quite certain you will be happy. And did I mention that the wxc-50 has seperate sub woofer out.

Now if you decide that the genelac's are not for you. I would recommend the Dali zensor 3+ sub combo. I tried different floor standing speakers in my 14x11 size bedroom and they would always boom, unless I placed them in the centre. So going for book shelves and adding a sub will give you flexibility in positioning . Just my 2 cents...cheers

Hiwe