Why tube amps?

[Rajiv]

Ajay my review is on no use;
The set up is mine so I will like it. There is a bias.
The better thing is to visit & listen.
That to me is important.
The only way to understand different cuisine is to 'taste' it.
The option exist;
Come & listen.
This is an open invitation to you & to any other forum member. My doors are open. Do pm me & come any day - post 6 p.m. on week days & between 11 & 5 on week ends.
The best is to experience for yourself..
Just mho.

@Ajay, I agree with Shanti,the only way to find out what suits your tastes is to listen to as many systems as possible.

You are welcome to visit and listen to my system.My system is totally 'left field" .

As Shanti rightly says as an owner my opinion will be biased but at the risk of blowing my own horn(pun intended) I will say that right now the system sounds better than several high end/high priced systems.

Links to some posts by members who have heard my system.


http://www.hifivision.com/reviews/4233-evening-glowing-sets-spinning-vinyl-wonderful-music.html

http://www.hifivision.com/av-lounge/10272-alert-iaudio-chennai-weekend-11.html

http://www.hifivision.com/reviews/5814-lyrita-tube-amplifier.html

http://www.hifivision.com/what-should-i-buy/8833-advice-purchase-quad-909-a-5.html

Regards
Rajiv

 

[sidvee]

Ajay my review is on no use;
The set up is mine so I will like it. There is a bias.
Just mho.

Well said Shanti :clapping:- more often than not on these forums users provide reviews with the "Owner Bias" turned all the way up and the only way to decide is by listening with ones own ears. I myself have done that, but evidently the system I have appeals to me, and audio being so subjective may not appeal to other listeners.
Cheers
Sid

 

[bhagwan]

I myself have done that, but evidently the system I have appeals to me, and audio being so subjective may not appeal to other listeners.
Cheers
Sid

Sid,
So true;
Audio is so personal & very subjective...
Each person has his own likes & preferences.
So, the only way out is to go and visit & listen & decide for ones self....

I am not a horn guy, but if I go to Chennai - when ever [I have family there] I will surely visit Rajiv's place to understand what horns are all about....[hope Rajiv is OK with that] !!

 

[iaudio]

Shanti, You definitely should visit Rajiv and listen to his system. It's one of the best I have heard( of course, I have limited experience!).

 

[Rajiv]

I am not a horn guy, but if I go to Chennai - when ever [I have family there] I will surely visit Rajiv's place to understand what horns are all about....[hope Rajiv is OK with that] !!

Sir,you are most welcome.

It will be my honour to have someone with your knowledge and experience vist and listen to my humble system.

Rajiv

 

[bhagwan]

Sir,you are most welcome.

It will be my honour to have someone with your knowledge and experience vist and listen to my humble system.

Rajiv

Thanks Rajiv.
I will come - that is a promise...

p.s. we are all climbing a ladder - just depends where we are on it...
The ladder is infinite....
So long as we have a desire to climb, we will keep improving.. If we start looking down to see how much we have climbed or who all are below us, our quest to go up & improve will deminish... so let us all look up & keep climbing...

 

[thevortex]

Sir,

How do you manage this software ?

Where do you get 'good' recordings from ?

I have never succeeded to get nice recordings / pressing of the above mentioned artists...
Please do shed some light...

I just cannot listen tot hem on my set up. It is unbearable... 20 seconds & it is over... I want to get up and do very nasty things to the mix engineer & the mastering engineer....
:sad:

Actually my idea of an ideal setup is where - no matter how awful the recording quality is - it would still allow us to connect with the innate music. If the equipment brings up the recording quality and throws it at our face so much so that we dont get a grip on the music itself, then I guess I will think that there is something missing. In either the system or my approach towards listening. Just my thought.

 

[thevortex]

Good on Ajay to list all the music he listens to.

My musical tastes are probably a subset of what hifiashok mentioned in his detailed post. Some exceptions would be:

Carnatic - T.M.Krishna, Bombay Jaysree, Sudha Raghunathan, Unnikrishnan, Sikkil Gurucharan, OS Arun , Lalgudi Jayaraman, T N Krishnan etc.

Lately I have been collecting whatever Sufi music I could. The album 'Sufiaana' has a few gems. However not all of the songs appeal to me. 'Night Song' by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is an enduring favourite of mine.

My knowledge in Western music (of the pop or classical) is rudimentary. So I make sure I listen to most things with an open mind. Do not have any particular favourites other than the obvious ones like Rebecca Pidgeon, Katie Melua, etc. Lately I have been enjoying the odd high energy swing music from Michael Buble. Heard somebody say that he has got a bit of Elvis in him .

I also enjoy some alternative music as in Ali Farka Toure, Hugh Masakela and the likes. I find that this kind of music just goes straight to the heart and reminds us how language and lyrics come second only to the tune itself. Viren has managed to get me interested in Jazz as well - although I am yet to hear a Jazz CD that appealed to me more than Take Five. And I am told that is one of a kind.

Closer to home, the likes of Kishore da, Rafi, Mukesh also appeal a lot to the heart strings. Not to forget Hariharan, Yesudass, SP Balasubramaniam etc. And I do have a curious fancy for Ilayaraja's vocal renditions.

 

[Rajiv]

The ladder is infinite....

Unfortunately the purse is not.

However, the desire to improve the system/music reproduction chain does not diminish,much to the annoyance of the rest of the family.

Rajiv

 

[bhagwan]

I also enjoy some alternative music as in Ali Farka Toure, Hugh Masakela and the likes. I find that this kind of music just goes straight to the heart and reminds us how language and lyrics come second only to the tune itself.

Excellent !!!

I love both these artist a lot too...
:clapping:

 

[bhagwan]

Unfortunately the purse is not.

However, the desire to improve the system/music reproduction chain does not diminish,much to the annoyance of the rest of the family.

Rajiv

No one has an 'infinite' purse [budget]....
I find the 'real estate' to be the most expensive component - followed by 'software' & the cost of hardware is much lower....

p.s. Why does the family get annoyed ? I lost this part - please do shed some light.....
This is a superb 'clean & peaceful' hobby & my wife & son are OK with it. They also encourage me to go with it....

 

[hifiashok]

No one has an 'infinite' purse [budget]....
I find the 'real estate' to be the most expensive component - followed by 'software' & the cost of hardware is much lower....

on napean sea road, u betcha!! :licklips:

p.s. Why does the family get annoyed ? I lost this part - please do shed some light.....
This is a superb 'clean & peaceful' hobby & my wife & son are OK with it. They also encourage me to go with it....

 

[Rajiv]

p.s. Why does the family get annoyed ? I lost this part - please do shed some light.....
This is a superb 'clean & peaceful' hobby & my wife & son are OK with it. They also encourage me to go with it....

@Shanti, my family does not mind my hobby.What they object to especially my better half, is to my bringing home vintage tube amps, speakers and other stuff in various states of disrepair.I try to fix most of them but often some are left untouched for ages.

As you rightly state real estate is at a premium and she objects to having stuff all over the house.


Regards
Rajiv

 

[square_wave]

@Ajay, I agree with Shanti,the only way to find out what suits your tastes is to listen to as many systems as possible.

You are welcome to visit and listen to my system.My system is totally 'left field" .

As Shanti rightly says as an owner my opinion will be biased but at the risk of blowing my own horn(pun intended) I will say that right now the system sounds better than several high end/high priced systems.

Links to some posts by members who have heard my system.


http://www.hifivision.com/reviews/4233-evening-glowing-sets-spinning-vinyl-wonderful-music.html

http://www.hifivision.com/av-lounge/10272-alert-iaudio-chennai-weekend-11.html

http://www.hifivision.com/reviews/5814-lyrita-tube-amplifier.html

http://www.hifivision.com/what-should-i-buy/8833-advice-purchase-quad-909-a-5.html

Regards
Rajiv

Hi Rajiv,

You owe yourself a listen to the blumenhofer speakers at Jochen's listening room. I am sure you will love them. They are right up your alley

 

[captrajesh]

p.s. Why does the family get annoyed ? I lost this part - please do shed some light.....
This is a superb 'clean & peaceful' hobby & my wife & son are OK with it. They also encourage me to go with it....

You are either lucky or have a separate listening room. My system is in my living room. No one in my house likes to listen to music.

When I listen, they go into the bedroom and close the door and watch the idiot box.

Of course, my son aged 12 and daughter aged 9 try to figure out what exactly I'm upto once a while but then can't really appreciate I guess.

 

[hifiashok]

Hi Rajiv,

You owe yourself a listen to the blumenhofer speakers at Jochen's listening room. I am sure you will love them. They are right up your alley

is he back up? somehow, every trip i have made i have managed to miss the experience of his listening room. either he is on vacation or not available. have been looking forward to this (listening room experience, not blumenhofer) for long.

 

[Rajiv]

You owe yourself a listen to the blumenhofer speakers at Jochen's listening room. I am sure you will love them.

Hi Vinny,

The Blumenhofer speakers are supposed to be very good.I will certainly try to audition them.

They are right up your alley

It certainly sounds like it,if one goes by the Six Moons reveiw quoted below.

Yet all three share an obvious aversion to the skinny modern hifi sound still en vogue today.

When Thomas Blumenhofer's site talks about the natural sound, he means something more amorphous, warmer and rounder. It's not about extreme holography or ribbon tweeter airs. It's not about sealed-box machine gun bass nor 3-inch midrange speed. It's about live sound eight to ten meters from the stage. Just because most audiophiles no longer reference reality does not mean Blumenhofer got it wrong. It simply means that not everyone will agree with him. Yet before one argues with a man who did live sound for a living for 30 long years, it might behoove us to refresh our memories. Still we might prefer to tailor our playback experience differently - it's ours after all to do as we see fit. It's simply also good to know just how we deliberately diverge because we mean to improve reality.


Blumenhofer does not. That puts him outside the mainstream, definitely. Whether that's a recipe for success remains to be seen. That those disillusioned by the mainstream just had an option added is clear already. Real, not copy-cat options are always good to have. Now put Blumenhofer Acoustics on that rather short list...

Regards
Rajiv

 

[ajay124]

Blumenhofer
6moons industry features: A Visit to Blumenhofer Acoustics
Don't know about the speakers but the snow clad terrain is indeed beautiful

 

[bhagwan]

You are either lucky or have a separate listening room. My system is in my living room. No one in my house likes to listen to music.

When I listen, they go into the bedroom and close the door and watch the idiot box.

Of course, my son aged 12 and daughter aged 9 try to figure out what exactly I'm upto once a while but then can't really appreciate I guess.

I live in a 1 bed room apartment - 400 + odd sq. ft.
My audio is in my living room.
When I do 'any' serious listening - my son [10] & my wife go to the bedroom & more often than not they are on the computer or watch TV.

Hence, I mentioned 'real estate' as the most important & expensive component......
:sad:

 

[captrajesh]

My audio is in my living room.
When I do 'any' serious listening - my son [10] & my wife go to the bedroom & more often than not they are on the computer or watch TV.

Hmm, it appears that we are travelling in the same boat.