What to buy for a beginner audiophile

Wharfedale Denton Anniversary Speakers
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skay1899

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Hi Guys,

I'm new to this forum and about to start my hi-fi audio journey.
So a little about me first. I live in Bangalore and have a small - medium sized room. it'll be just me listening to the setup.

Music i usually listen to are bollywood, pop, EDM, Rock and lot of live acoustic stuff (like Nirvana's mtv unplugged).
Up until now, I've just wet my feet with several earphones and headphones like ATH M50X, RHA T20 wireless, Shure SE 215 and Sony XM3 (just for ANC). Apart from these, Jbl bar 2.1 and Marshall Stockwell 2.

i think it's safe to say that I've never experienced proper stereo imaging or a big soundstage. Although i should point out that i really like the sound signature of the Marshall.

After a week or so of "research", I've shortlisted these (in no particular order):
1. Mission QX2
2. Q Acoustics 3020i
3. Elac Debut 5.2
4. Wharfedale Diamond 11.2
5. Emotiva Airmotiv B1+

Really skewed towards the b1 plus because of this review :

Coming to the amp, I'm really confused here come up with these:
1. Denon PMA600NE
2. Pioneer A-40AE

inclined towards the Denon cause of this review:

I'm considering a total budget of ~70k
My source will almost always be digital. (Tidal, google chromecast audio).
I would really appreciate your help in choosing my first setup and obviously I'm open to suggestions on different products as well.

Also, Side question: Is it at all possible to audition any of these in Bangalore ?
Thanks in advance :)
 
skay1899 said:
Hi Guys,

I'm new to this forum and about to start my hi-fi audio journey.
So a little about me first. I live in Bangalore and have a small - medium sized room. it'll be just me listening to the setup.

Music i usually listen to are bollywood, pop, EDM, Rock and lot of live acoustic stuff (like Nirvana's mtv unplugged).
Up until now, I've just wet my feet with several earphones and headphones like ATH M50X, RHA T20 wireless, Shure SE 215 and Sony XM3 (just for ANC). Apart from these, Jbl bar 2.1 and Marshall Stockwell 2.

i think it's safe to say that I've never experienced proper stereo imaging or a big soundstage. Although i should point out that i really like the sound signature of the Marshall.

After a week or so of "research", I've shortlisted these (in no particular order):
1. Mission QX2
2. Q Acoustics 3020i
3. Elac Debut 5.2
4. Wharfedale Diamond 11.2
5. Emotiva Airmotiv B1+

Really skewed towards the b1 plus because of this review :

Coming to the amp, I'm really confused here come up with these:
1. Denon PMA600NE
2. Pioneer A-40AE

inclined towards the Denon cause of this review:

I'm considering a total budget of ~70k
My source will almost always be digital. (Tidal, google chromecast audio).
I would really appreciate your help in choosing my first setup and obviously I'm open to suggestions on different products as well.

Also, Side question: Is it at all possible to audition any of these in Bangalore ?
Thanks in advance :)
Click to expand...
I am not joking and am pretty serious due to personal experience.

If you plan to step onto this slippery and expensive slope called audiolphilia.

Then the first thing to buy is an audiogram from a reputed audiologist or hearing aid centre.

Don't buy a ton of expensive equipment if your ears can't hear it.

Modern urban lifestyle does lead to hearing loss and if you've had lots of parties and live concerts in your younger days or played music at high volumes on headphones, then you could already have high and low frequency hearing loss or even tinnitus. Either way with age you will have some level of high frequency loss anyway.

Regards
 
Can't help you with speakers in your shortlist for audition.

However you are welcome to come over (with suitable Covid precautions) and listen to some of my systems. You can PM me.

You can hear what different types of speakers and amps sound like and decide what appeals to you personally - for instance the Harbeth coupled with Luxman solid state amp and Holo dac create music that is high resolution yet with weighty vocals and instruments - amazing for acoustic, jazz, soft rock. Spendor coupled with a vintage amp create a more lush thick sound that is more forgiving to old Hindi songs for instance that may not be recorded very well. Genelecs are active speakers and do things that even expensive passive speakers systems cannot - you can hear everything in the music very clearly, it is very fast, and they work great for hard rock, metal, that have a lot going on with electric guitars, drums etc and for electronic music and rap. You can also hear what a tube (more mellow, more 3d vocals - for the lack of a better term) and hybrid (tube+solid state) amp sound like.

I strongly feel all approaches can get you to enjoyable music - however which is preferable depends on your predominant choice of music genre, how many hours you listen at a stretch, if you listen while doing something else or sit rooted to the sweet spot and do nothing else, your budget of course, typical listening volume, room size, etc.

If someone had helped me hear what these different approaches and equipment sound like when I was starting out it would have helped me immensely to save time, money, effort of trial and error (the effort is fun but money spent is not!).
 
vineetrad said:
Can't help you with speakers in your shortlist for audition.

However you are welcome to come over (with suitable Covid precautions) and listen to some of my systems. You can PM me.

You can hear what different types of speakers and amps sound like and decide what appeals to you personally - for instance the Harbeth coupled with Luxman solid state amp and Holo dac create music that is high resolution yet with weighty vocals and instruments - amazing for acoustic, jazz, soft rock. Spendor coupled with a vintage amp create a more lush thick sound that is more forgiving to old Hindi songs for instance that may not be recorded very well. Genelecs are active speakers and do things that even expensive passive speakers systems cannot - you can hear everything in the music very clearly, it is very fast, and they work great for hard rock, metal, that have a lot going on with electric guitars, drums etc and for electronic music and rap. You can also hear what a tube (more mellow, more 3d vocals - for the lack of a better term) and hybrid (tube+solid state) amp sound like.

I strongly feel all approaches can get you to enjoyable music - however which is preferable depends on your predominant choice of music genre, how many hours you listen at a stretch, if you listen while doing something else or sit rooted to the sweet spot and do nothing else, your budget of course, typical listening volume, room size, etc.

If someone had helped me hear what these different approaches and equipment sound like when I was starting out it would have helped me immensely to save time, money, effort of trial and error (the effort is fun but money spent is not!).
Click to expand...
Yes that'd be really helpful. Thanks
 
Hi skay as told by other fms do audition the speakers before you finalise them reviews some time may go wrong but not your ears.
Add indiq audio platinum mishra / achals in your list
 
skay1899 said:
Hi Guys,

I'm new to this forum and about to start my hi-fi audio journey.
So a little about me first. I live in Bangalore and have a small - medium sized room. it'll be just me listening to the setup.

Music i usually listen to are bollywood, pop, EDM, Rock and lot of live acoustic stuff (like Nirvana's mtv unplugged).
Up until now, I've just wet my feet with several earphones and headphones like ATH M50X, RHA T20 wireless, Shure SE 215 and Sony XM3 (just for ANC). Apart from these, Jbl bar 2.1 and Marshall Stockwell 2.

i think it's safe to say that I've never experienced proper stereo imaging or a big soundstage. Although i should point out that i really like the sound signature of the Marshall.

After a week or so of "research", I've shortlisted these (in no particular order):
1. Mission QX2
2. Q Acoustics 3020i
3. Elac Debut 5.2
4. Wharfedale Diamond 11.2
5. Emotiva Airmotiv B1+

Really skewed towards the b1 plus because of this review :

Coming to the amp, I'm really confused here come up with these:
1. Denon PMA600NE
2. Pioneer A-40AE

inclined towards the Denon cause of this review:

I'm considering a total budget of ~70k
My source will almost always be digital. (Tidal, google chromecast audio).
I would really appreciate your help in choosing my first setup and obviously I'm open to suggestions on different products as well.

Also, Side question: Is it at all possible to audition any of these in Bangalore ?
Thanks in advance :)
Click to expand...

I would say spend a bit extra and atleast climb up to the PMA 800NE amplifier a d the KEF Q350. It will be a substantial upgrade from what you have shortlisted now.
 
Speaking from personal experience, I too had a close to 70-80K budget, but within a year decided I could upgrade from what I had. And this may invariably happen with many people - it's happened with my close friend too. Try to stretch your budget to what you could afford a year or two later- plan ahead, so that you don't get into the 'upgrade cycle'. When you sell, you lose a lot of the value.
 
sdk said:
I am not joking and am pretty serious due to personal experience.

If you plan to step onto this slippery and expensive slope called audiolphilia.

Then the first thing to buy is an audiogram from a reputed audiologist or hearing aid centre.

Don't buy a ton of expensive equipment if your ears can't hear it.

Modern urban lifestyle does lead to hearing loss and if you've had lots of parties and live concerts in your younger days or played music at high volumes on headphones, then you could already have high and low frequency hearing loss or even tinnitus. Either way with age you will have some level of high frequency loss anyway.

Regards
Click to expand...
Very True. I have high frequency loss in my left ear. Too many concerts and headphone listening in my younger years.
 
Of the two Amp you listed, Denon would be preferable. Other option for you is Marantz 6006. Both Denon & Marantz have decent DAC. You can also consider a Combo of Budget DAC+Norge Amp. If streaming is your primary source and need a one box solution, Yamaha 602 would be an excellent choice.

All the speakers you listed are good ones, Audition as many as you can. Add Indiq Audio Platinum Mishra to the mix as well.
 
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