Questions about Audio (Music) setup

Dinyaar's advice is spot on. A combination of Marantz PM-7001 amp (24k) and the KEF iQ5 put up for sale by Shahrukh would be the ideal combination. It would no longer be a "budget" setup but a huge leap forward. Do not worry about buying a used speaker if it is well maintained. In fact, you have the advantage of leap-frogging the whole "breaking in" phase of new speakers.

You can continue using a standard DVD player with this and get a better CD player down the line.

Particleman , SRK's speaker pair was suggested to him (RahulP) way back , along with some pretty decent , well maintained amps (High End) going dirt cheap , but the guy then rejected the idea of pre-owned gear as if he has seen a ghost!! Let him learn from his own mistakes !!

particleman, Thanks a lot for reminding me about PM7001. I really appreciate it. Also, thanks for your suggestion regarding pre-owned KEF iQ5 (which infact was suggested by SuhasG)

SuhasG,

I thank you again for taking out time to give your valuable suggestion. Now about your recent post :


Frankly, your post containing unnecessary harsh words made me angry and sad also. I have swallowed both feelings for the simple reason that this forum, everything we are talking about is MUSIC ! Music means peace and happiness !!!

Now, read without any prejudice and see if my point of view makes any sense. If it doesn't pls declare that you disagree and we close the topic. No hard feelings !!!

1. Look again at the reply i gave you for your suggestion which was a perfect solution according to YOU (why else would you suggest it and i again appreciate the passion with which you suggested it)

did you read ? It starts with 'please do not misunderstand...' (which you unfortunately did !).. I have given 3 (logical according to ME !) reasons why i did not consider pre-owned.

Does it look like to you (think objectively) that i reacted as if i have seen a ghost !!!!!!!! (if it still does, pls don't waste time in reading ahead) ?

If somebody suggests you a solution , and for your own reason/logic (the other person can't know/feel ALL the aspects of your situation !), you decide not to follow the suggestion, does that automatically make you a definite 'mistake-maker' ?????

2. Its not a 'mistake' you should be upset about so much ( its not life-death or strategic war decision which can't be corrected ! expensive yes, but possible to 'correct' if it was a mistake in the first place ! )

3. Let me give you an analogy: say a man is using a scooter and his dream for a nice little car is about to come true and now somebody suggest him that with extra 50% he can get a used mercedes. The man still goes for the NEW little car (for various reasons ) does that automatically make him a stupid mistake maker ? or there might be his point of view ???

4. About learning "from own mistakes", i believe that decision has to be one's own - right or wrong.. !!! I politely told you that i did not consider pre-owned and this was my decision even before i posted my first post (and obviously before you gave your suggestion) ! I have a tendency to buy new things after research - rather than 'superior' used ones.. its my choice ! period. and don't you think sound quality, value for money etc. are SUBJECTIVE ?

5. As you said in one of the post, life is too short to waste time in fighting... am restricting myself in this post from using any harsh words or "counter attack". We both have better things to do in our respective lives.. Choice is yours now ..

I again thank you for spending time to give your suggestion.
regards,
Rahul

Rahul, I too started in this journey with similar thinking as that of yours now.

When I was in the market, I too asked similar question/s on the forum (other forum, this forum was not born by that time), many suggestions poured in, especially for pre-owned gears but I ignored all those good deals (I still regret not considering that Cadence ANINA pair, Cadence VA-1 HP and that NAIM kit ).

I went ahead and bought everything new. But soon I realized that within the given budget, I could have gotten far better system had I gone the pre-owned route. Later I sold all those new components and re-built my system using all pre-owned gears. Now I have a killer system for 50% of the retail pricing.

Yes, that word 'mistake' could be wrong, but when I saw that sparkling , absolute mint condition Jolida 1501 RC 100 WPC (the one , I suggested earlier) , went for just 20 K! (An amp that is much much better than any and all brands you are considering / auditioning right now. ) I really felt you ( Rahul) are doing mistake in not considering some good pre-owned deals available right here in the same city. You should have given at least one single look at that amp. I could have helped you in removing any doubts regarding 'Pre-owned' gear, I could have joined you for auditioning any such pre-owned gear/s.


I am not saying that buying new is a mistake but disregarding some nice deals (like the one I mentioned) certainly is , IMHO.

I would any day prefer, buying a pre-owned Honda/ Skoda / Toyota at Rs 3 Lakh rather than buying a brand new Maruti / Hyundai for Rs 2.5 Lakh!

I am sorry that my comment hurt you. No hard feelings from my side and my best wishes to you.

rahul,
do keep us posted as to what you finally ended up buying :-) would be great if you could take some time off with info on pune specific dealers, experiences etc. at http://www.hifivision.com/groups/pune.html

suhas,
i'd love to "pile on" in case you plan to make any more auditions (in pune) for "pre-owned" equipment. it's a lot easier to go to a showroom and look up new stuff. i'm not in a tearing hurry to buy my 1st 2 channel setup and some "depth and breadth" of first hand knowledge and experience would certainly help.

--bhuvan.

Good thinking Bhuvan. The more you audition (with an open / unbiased mind) the more it helps you in pin-pointing your reqirements, and in getting a fair idea about what might float your boat. You will have some benchmarks / ref points to compae / evaluate. Leave no stone unturned before signing on those dotted lines.

Sure, I will let you know of any such 'auditioning' opportunity, it will be my pleasure in having chat with you.

rahul,

la-kozy @ chowpatty is a good place to audition multiple models from nad (electronics) and psb (speakers). they have a pretty decent variety for these relatively inexpensive brands and you might just end up finding something that fit's into your liking and budget there. they normally expect their customers to take appointments and come (so that they can give undivided attention, on holidays/weekends...!).

so plan you trip from pune to mumbai accordingly. in case you are not planning to stay over in the night you would also need to plan your route wisely to visit all the dealers in a day trip. starting with an early morning appointment in south bombay, move up north and then get out of the island for pune using the nearest west --> east link road. i smell the ... traveling salesperson problem ...

hth.

--bhuvan.

Thanks Bhuvan for the tips.

I will keep you (all) posted.

Hi Rahul,
Some speakers are easy loads and a 40 W amp can drive them well. Too many variables to give a difinitive answer. Some speakers(Dyna s) mention differrent amp power ratings for small/medium and large rooms too.
Good that u are contemplating coming to bbay for auditioning various components. But even here it is sometimes difficult to hear a variety of brands under one roof. Lakozy will push u to Nad though they should also have marantz/Arcam, Designer Audio will only have quad in electronics IMO. Visit Boomerang at Juhu if u have the time. They should have electronics from Arcam/cyrus/MF/Marantz/Quad/Advance accoustics and tons of speakers from MA/Quad/Morel/Dali.
Regards

Hello to all,

just a quick update from my side about auditions - hope its helpful to some of you looking for similar stuff:

As i was told that psb speakers 'go well with' / 'worldwide accepted combination with' NAD , i went for auditioning. But.. it was disappointing and this was after the demo pair had 'opened up' / 'break-in'. I think the model was Image B25 but i may be wrong. (didn't bother to remember it ). Overall, the clarity was not there... it was a disappointment with 'bass' also ('come together' - beatles)

They also had Polk audio RTi A3. Immediately, the mid-range clarity was almost 'visible' : much more clear... and the speakers were new - just out of the box. The bass was good too (though had to increase the volume a little to get the real impact - about 10 o'clock). I found the high range bit harsh at times (more than few times )... Although i must say the sound didn't touch my heart.

Did combinations with NAD 325bee, NAD 355bee and Marantz PM6002:

* Didn't find much diff. in listening experience between 325 and 355.. I was told 325 won't be inadequate at any time powering 100w speakers (i was convinced about that after listening to it)
* THe sound was more 'rounded' with Marantz.. the clarity was slightly compromised. I felt the sound was more 'soothing' if thats the word

so thats it for now. The search and research continues..

cheers