A Bug called 'Upgrade'

[RAAGA]

Friends,

I was recently offered a lucrative deal for a sparingly used Focal 1027Be. Before I could decide further, thought I could get myself confused (happily) about other options with the budget at hand. Budget is about 2.5 lacs. Can the experts step in pls ?

Rgds,

 

[dillihifi]

what about a review on the SVS

 

[RAAGA]

what about a review on the SVS

Ahh... I knew you will catch me

Holding it back for a reason, bud'.

Pls ...some more time !

 

[Bluu]

Just today I spent some time listening to the Blumenhofer Fun 17 speaker and I think that it is one of your best bets in that budget. The associated equipment was an Einstein integrated 70wpc amp and the Scheu Premier MkII turntable. The speakers are beautiful, both musically as well as aesthetically.

 

[gobble]

Just today I spent some time listening to the Blumenhofer Fun 17 speaker and I think that it is one of your best bets in that budget. The associated equipment was an Einstein integrated 70wpc amp and the Scheu Premier MkII turntable. The speakers are beautiful, both musically as well as aesthetically.

I second that. Please visit Jochen in Bangalore before you decide. 2.5lacs is a lot of money. You might be pleasantly surprised/delighted at an opportunity to own some good gear.

--G

 

[RAAGA]

That's new stuff for me.... interesting ! Option 2 .

 

[Rajiv]

was recently offered a lucrative deal for a sparingly used Focal 1027Be. Before I could decide further, thought I could get myself confused (happily) about other options with the budget at hand. Budget is about 2.5 lacs. Can the experts step in pls ?

Hi,

Since you are in Madras try to listen to the SONUS FABER "LIUTO" speakers at Decibel in Madras.

Collection Liuto English | Sonus Faber

| decibel - the art of sound | Home Theatre, Hi-Fi, Custom Installation, High End Audio, Multi Zone Installers Chennai, India

I had the pleasure of listening to them a few days ago and they are very good.It is a must listen to speaker for anyone planning to buy speakers in this price range.

Regards
Rajiv

 

[arj]

depending on your music tastes, speakers like Blumenhofer, Sonus faber and even Proacs are all going to have really good speakers in that range which are all very musical.

But a speaker choice by itself iwithout the knowledge of amplification, would not give you much joy (Or give us parametres to base on for recommendation ) as depending on the amp you use, the speaker behaves very differently.

What amp do you plan to use ? also what would be the Room size ?

 

[avidyarthy]

@ arj ........
You have brought out the most important aspects ...

I have heard top of the line speakers sounding close to PA systems due to poor/bad/not-matching amplification ... I also have come across folks owning 'big-name' systems costing astronomical sums ... but, sounding ???! Had to somehow nod my head and make it known that the sound was fabulous, else ......

 

[reignofchaos]

Yup as Arj mentioned, please decide on the speaker + amp as a whole and not individually. If you could tell us your amplification, a suggestion would be more pertinent.

The focal you are considering is a very good speaker. What will you be pairing it with?

 

[odyssey]

As many have said, there should be plenty of choices in this price range - what I can offer are

Usher Diamond Mini- Dancer 2

PLAYBACK 23: Usher Audio Mini Dancer Two floorstanding loudspeaker | AVguide

usher

Usher Diamond Mini-Dancer 1 (needless to say as its one step lower)

The Usher diamond line of speakers feature an upgraded tweeter and an improved crossover (from their previous beryllium series)

Emerald Physics CS3

CS3

Emerald Physics CS2.3 trade-in in very good condition (requires 2 extra channels of amplification)

cheers
Sridhar

 

[mahiruha]

Hi,

Since you are in Madras try to listen to the SONUS FABER "LIUTO" speakers at Decibel in Madras.

Collection Liuto English | Sonus Faber

| decibel - the art of sound | Home Theatre, Hi-Fi, Custom Installation, High End Audio, Multi Zone Installers Chennai, India

I had the pleasure of listening to them a few days ago and they are very good.It is a must listen to speaker for anyone planning to buy speakers in this price range.

Regards
Rajiv

Hi Rajiv,
you heard them with which amplifier?
Thanks,
Mahiruha.

 

[Rajiv]

Hi,

you heard them with which amplifier?

@Mahiruha,it was a Parasound pre/power combo.

I am not sure of the model.Will find out from Raghu and post the model nos.

Regards
Rajiv

 

[Bluu]

Emerald Physics CS3

CS3

Emerald Physics CS2.3 trade-in in very good condition (requires 2 extra channels of amplification)

cheers
Sridhar

Oh God! How could I forget the EPs?! Shame on me!

 

[murali]

Happy to see that there are others with "upgrade" bug like me as I am also spending similar money (a little more) to get the Vandersteen Quatro next week when I am coming home. I was looking at a Green Mountain Audio Calypso previously but unfortunately none was available in the "lightly" used market. There is one now, available for $4,400 plus shipping from USA (they have low freight arrangements with DHL), if you are interested. Calypso is a time and phase correct speakers like Vandy and Thiel and with lower sensitivity. By spending another $1,200, it can be got upgraded at GMC's works.
In case you are interested, write to Roy Johnson, the designer at GMC.

cheers.
murali

 

[RAAGA]

Friends, Thanks for your inputs and Sorry for the outcome of the below story.

Around 4pm today , I was at my Uncle's house whom I had not visited for a long time since he came back from the US.

And there I had my first surprise meeting with the Usher BE 718. This was connected to a NAD amplifier and the source was again NAD.

The first song was enough to blow me down. It was just a gospel by Jim Reeves (Silver Bells) . This was a song I have heard time and again . But this was like did I get a new pair of ears. He went on play Diana Krall, Roy Orbison, Ray Charles, MJ, Elton John and Richard Marx.

The final one was "Pramadha Vanam Veendum " from His Highness Abdullah and I had tears in my eyes.

1027 was one of the best speakers I had ever heard in my life and bokshelves were always a pass for me compared to floorstanders and it all ended today. My uncle added " The deal is a nice one but just think. You could build an entire setup with that kind of money and still have some left for cds.Think ...it's not always about the 'tag' ! "

The 13km drive back was pretty long for me..

 

[RAAGA]

My current listening room is about 15*12. And I listen to anything from Gospel to Heavy metal.

Franky speaking, it was the deal that led me to the budget (I know...). Now things are much clearer . Speaker+Amp+CDP= 2.5L

Sorry for the sudden turn of events....would be more than happy if you pitch in now..!

 

[Bluu]

The Ushers are awesome speakers. My first listening session was very similar to yours at RoC's place a few months ago. It must be the most bang for the buck speaker out there.

You should speak to RoC about associated electronics particularly the amplifier since the current and speed demands of the Bes are pretty high. He runs a Lyrita/McCormack combination which sounds beautiful.

I would say, however, the Ushers are not exactly happy to play heavy metal. They do all other genres very well.

IIRC, the Be718 sells for something like 1.1L. If that is correct, it leaves you a healthy 1.5L for the electronics.

 

[RAAGA]

Hey,

Well as per your budget you should go with :

Anthony Gallo Reference Strada
Wharfedale Jade Series
Kef XQ series
Focal Chorus Series

Thanx do let us know which model are u interested

I have heard the 806v,826v and 836v. And liked them in the same order.
But I am kind of inclined more towards bookshelves now.

Would you suggest me something else now which I could relate to the Usher718 ?

 

[square_wave]

Happy to see that there are others with "upgrade" bug like me as I am also spending similar money (a little more) to get the Vandersteen Quatro next week when I am coming home. I was looking at a Green Mountain Audio Calypso previously but unfortunately none was available in the "lightly" used market. There is one now, available for $4,400 plus shipping from USA (they have low freight arrangements with DHL), if you are interested. Calypso is a time and phase correct speakers like Vandy and Thiel and with lower sensitivity. By spending another $1,200, it can be got upgraded at GMC's works.
In case you are interested, write to Roy Johnson, the designer at GMC.

cheers.
murali

Aa..ha..so you receieved the mail from ROY ! That is a deal of the century ! If I was in the market now, I would have grabbed them