You Favorite Stereo Amplifier

[ab79]

My stereo setup is hardly 6 months old.

Amplifier: Onkyo TX8522 Stereo Receiver paired with Wharfedale diamond 9.5.
Source: Denon DCD 510AE, which is a entry level CDP, but has excellent value for its price. It plays CDA, MP3 & WMA formats.

Interconnects: Monster 400 MKI and QED Professional

I am not an audiophile, but certainly able to enjoy the sound stage and nuances of music with this set up.

I listen rock, pop, Hindi, Tamil songs. My collection contains mostly FLAC files converted into audioCD format.

Favourites: A.R. Rahman, Ilayaraja, Himesh Reshamiah, Quincy Jones, Phil Collins, Justin bieber, The Beatles, Eagles, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Shakira, etc

I am desirous of upgrading to a hi-end integrated amplifier like NAD C375BEE, Advance Acoustic MAP-105, etc, which may materialise next year. Thanks guys for your time.

i like you system and you prferences of music,
I am looking for good cdp for some time .I like to choose between denon 710ae 1510ae and yamahas1000 and s2000.which one is better? altough on paper costly models look good is the difference discernible? yet to buy amp and speakers.you help would be appreciated as i am taking ffirst steps in bulding a stereo setup.

 

[Hiten]

whoa !
At current dollar rates The Lars amplifier costs Rs. 53,20,000/- and Kaiser speakers costs 33,80,000/-

 

[prem]

Hi Hiten

Srajan at 6 Moons has reviewed the Lars and both he and his wife felt the $ 600 Dayens Ampino did a few things better than the Lars. Go figure. Bhagwan feels the Lars is easily one of the best amps he has ever heard. And he has heard practically everything thats there. And i respect his opinion. But so do i rate Srajan's ears highly. This whole audio stuff is so bizzare.

 

[jls001]

At those stratospheric price levels, another amp worth consideration is the Audio Note Ongaku.

@bhagwan: since you had the Canasya and The Lars side by side in your own listening room, how do they compare? (ignoring the price differentials for this comparo).

 

[Hiten]

Yes bizzare it is. With due honest respect to individuals and their views, I would assess like this.
Lets say an good sounding much acclaimed consumer amplifier costs lets say around Rs. 20,000/- ....now multiply it 2 times .... No. lets multiply it 4 times for lets say intellectual property right of circuit designer, design, high quality parts, warranty and service that comes down to Rs. 80,000/- now that is a fair price I guess. Remember we are adding extra cost to already good sounding amplifier so what am I missing here ?
So yes bizzare it is.

 

[Hiten]

Joshua bro,
that Ongaku amp is Rs. 41,00,000/- and is just 25 watts. So if one has large room and listens to heavy metal (Transients) at loud volume levels will not be a good amp as universally accepted truth (99.9%) by past and present audio engineers. I dont know what I am missing here.

 

[prem]

Hi jls001


Read the Lars review by Srajan. It will give you an idea of what the amp does. Incidentally he has ripped it apart in his review.

 

[atozguy]

i like you system and you prferences of music,
I am looking for good cdp for some time .I like to choose between denon 710ae 1510ae and yamahas1000 and s2000.which one is better? altough on paper costly models look good is the difference discernible? yet to buy amp and speakers.you help would be appreciated as i am taking ffirst steps in bulding a stereo setup.

Hi Bro,

At the outset, let me remind you of a proverb, "One man's food is another man's poison". It holds true for one's musical taste too.

There are Warm-Sounding, Bright-Sounding amplifiers. But Yamahas are known for their natural sounding music and solid construction. One of my favourite amplifiers too.

If your room size is less than 150 sq.ft., i would recommend A-S500 which has 85W per channel output, that is more than sufficient. Paradigm titan monitors MS aviano 2 or 6, KEF Q300 are better pairing speakers for A-S500.

If you prefer to buy Yammi amp A-S1000 / 2000, then pair it with its counterpart CD S1000 /S2000, if you can afford. This would ensure a great synergy between the amp & CDP.

Room size / acoustics also plays a vital role in delivering a good quality sound. The same kind of SQ that you enjoy in the showroom, is not guaranteed in your home, assuming all the components are the same.

IMO, you decide and buy an amplifier first, then take it to speaker dealers(with prior appointment) and have a audition with different genre of music of your taste. Try the same track with different speakers at different volume levels. Ensure Bass & Treble knobs of the amp are in Neutral position.

If you are novice to Warm, Bright & Neutral sound, pls refer the link: http://www.hifivision.com/speakers/2989-how-determine-bright-warm-neutral-speakers-amplifiers.html

All the best

Cheers
Gopinath J

 

[bhagwan]

At those stratospheric price levels, another amp worth consideration is the Audio Note Ongaku.

@bhagwan: since you had the Canasya and The Lars side by side in your own listening room, how do they compare? (ignoring the price differentials for this comparo).

Sir,

Post # 10 - Point # e
It should explain all; so I assume.

hyeah:

 

[bhagwan]

whoa !
At current dollar rates The Lars amplifier costs Rs. 53,20,000/- and Kaiser speakers costs 33,80,000/-

Sir,
Not sure about the prices - I am sure you must have researched them.
To the best of my knowledge - there is no The Lars in India but there are 2 K.K.'s in India.
1 is delivered & the other has been ordered - should be here - soon [so I was told] !!

It is a great speaker & Mr. Weber is an excellent loudspeaker designer.
The Lars to is a beautiful amplifier [extremely musical] to my ears at least.
:clapping:

 

[bhagwan]

Hi jls001


Read the Lars review by Srajan. It will give you an idea of what the amp does. Incidentally he has ripped it apart in his review.

100 % correct; The amplifier was given a very poor review by S . E. @ 6 Moons. I actually met S.E. however, I never asked him about it - maybe next time I will remember & bring it up - 100 %

However, I loved the amplifier...
One of the best amplifiers I have ever had the fortune of listening to - I simply loved it;
It was in this set up :-



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[bhagwan]

The Lars [owner] & Kasier [designer] @ KK's demo room - Regensberg - Germany - May, 2011.



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yours truly [shorts] @ Regensburg - Germany with The Lars & KK [team] !
excellent results - I really liked what I heard;;



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[bhagwan]

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This is in Munich - MOC - May, 2011
They did not 'enter' the show together - but 'we' arranged for a 'special' session - post show hours - just to listen to the 'results' !!
So, no show report will ever cover this; it was a 'private' evening - great meal followed....

 

[reignofchaos]

Hi Hiten

Srajan at 6 Moons has reviewed the Lars and both he and his wife felt the $ 600 Dayens Ampino did a few things better than the Lars. Go figure. Bhagwan feels the Lars is easily one of the best amps he has ever heard. And he has heard practically everything thats there. And i respect his opinion. But so do i rate Srajan's ears highly. This whole audio stuff is so bizzare.

From that review, it looks like Srajan has an axe to grind against the Lars. Its a very uncharacteristic review from SE whose reviews are typically very detailed and eloquent. This one seemed like one big rant. Wonder why! I've never seen him so acerbic in any review.

 

[srramanujam]

My favourite Stereo Amplifier is my six year old Son. He has a high pitch and when he screams (in normal course or in pleasure or in pain, mostly it is the first), his voice fills the house that no amp (tube or sheet metal) can match.

 

[bhagwan]

From that review, it looks like Srajan has an axe to grind against the Lars. Its a very uncharacteristic review from SE whose reviews are typically very detailed and eloquent. This one seemed like one big rant. Wonder why! I've never seen him so acerbic in any review.

Sir,
This seems to be a 'prudent' observation.
I had actually discussed this with with T.E. [Lars owner] & he had an 'interesting' story to tell - I am sorry, I cannot put that down here - I do hope you can understand....
However, I must compliment you - the ability to 'read between the lines' is amazing !! Well done Sir !! :licklips:

A pic of me with R. W, [KK's Designer] @ MOC 2011 -



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[square_wave]

The amplifier that will eventually work for you completely depends upon the speakers you buy. Pick up a speaker you like first. Then the gentlemen here can suggest some really good amps to go with it.

 

[bhagwan]

Hi Hiten

Srajan at 6 Moons has reviewed the Lars and both he and his wife felt the $ 600 Dayens Ampino did a few things better than the Lars. Go figure. Bhagwan feels the Lars is easily one of the best amps he has ever heard. And he has heard practically everything thats there. And i respect his opinion. But so do i rate Srajan's ears highly. This whole audio stuff is so bizzare.

Dayens - Integrated Amplifiers - Ampino

This seems to be the site;

Re: You Favorite Stereo Amplifier
The amplifier that will eventually work for you completely depends upon the speakers you buy. Pick up a speaker you like first. Then the gentlemen here can suggest some really good amps to go with it.

As Square Wave put it - most appropriately.
1st look @ & 'firm' up your speaker.
Once you have that in place - look for an amplifier to drive it.

The Pre & Power from Serbia may be a VFM option to cosnider as Prem pointed out - although I have never heard them personally. Price seems to be 'brilliant'

Dayens - Preamplifer - Ecstasy IVse

This is the pre for the above stated power amplifier.

Dayens - Zvu ne kutije: Grande serija
Even the speakers are using some really serious drive units - may actually be good sounding - have any forum members any experience with these products ? Are they sold in India ?? May be a good idea to look into that option on a serious note....

 

[Hiten]

Parden me as I have little first hand audition experience of high end equipments. But If one spends Rs, 1 crore on a system it should play all genre of music at all volume levels without affecting linearity* and clarity*. The Lars amp can only output 10W in to 8 ohms. wouldn't it clip or negligible distortion increased at high volume level ?
* I may be wrong but what ever I have read on the net and without taking any names of audio engineers and designers who have decades of experience, that they design their amps to be as linear as possible, would be stable at any load (2ohms to 16 ohms), would have enough headroom to not to clip and will have least distortion at high volume.
-x-x-x-
Strange this hobby is. I promised myself to cut my net surfing activity and not to be bothered about subjective reviews or measurements. But here I am..... :sad:
Regards

 

[moktan]

Dayens - Integrated Amplifiers - Ampino

This seems to be the site...

a forum member auditioned the Dayens Ampino and Musica Int 30 for me(both were available at Bangalore)...he overwhelmingly favoured the Japanese Musica over the Serbian amp...more about the musica here..
musica - Revolver Music 3 & Musica Ibuki review in Hifilive.es