Gijo George
Active Member
My first set of HIFI separates are the Yamaha 661 AVR and the MS Avant 908i 5.1 speaker package bought on Jan 2008. For the past few years Ive been using these and thought they sound pretty good. Then I joined this forum last year and came across an umpteen number of reviews. There were so many terms for describing the quality of speakers like soundstage, width, depth, height which are kind of difficult for a noob like me to understand. The Avant 908 always came across as a good all rounder till a few months back when most of my collection was alternative rock, pop and trance. Then I moved on to a bit of classical Indian and Western and some instrumentals.
Somehow the Avant seemed muddy/muffled for presenting this music.
Then I read a review from one of the forum members (cant remember who) auditioned a DIY floorstander in Delhi I think, wherein the exact detail of how the listener hears each instrument clearly and more importantly, the placement of the instruments and vocals without distorting the overall presentation. He had explained how he could place the singer and on another track, each instrument in the orchestra behind, between and front of the speakers. In short a good 3D experience.
I had been to anilva's house in Bangalore couple of weeks back to collect my Emotiva XPA-5 where on short notice he was kind enough to let me listen to his DIY Class A amp and Forstex full range speakers which sounded amazing. As we had to rush back we managed to squeeze in just a few tracks and from those what really interested me was Yeh jo des hai mera from Swades where the shehnai (think thats what its called)notes and thabla were mesmerizing.
Somehow, maybe because of whatever reasons, I couldnt experience that with my MSs. I was discussing this with iaudio(Titus) and he invited me over to his place to check his Accoustic Portrait TC-2. His placement of speakers is bit different from how Ive kept mine. His speakers were pulled about 3-4 feet from the rear wall while mine is about a feet away.
Titus Stereo Setup : Marantz CD6003||Acoustic Portrait PM1||Acoustic Portrait AM1||Acoustic Portrait TC-2||
My set up: Marantz CD-6003-Yamaha AVR 661-Emotiva XPA5-Mordaunt Short Avant 908
But considering Ive got my system in my living room and any attempt to move the speakers more to the front would be an obstruction for movement around the room and my wife wouldnt fancy it either.
Moreover Titus is still single and has the liberty to place the speaker bang right in the centre of the room if he wants and no one to complain.
His first track was a Chinese drums instrumental. I was really surprised as to how lifelike the sound was. You could actually hear the fine nuance of the drum membrane reverberation (titus called it some fancy word I cant remember
), if thats what you call it, and almost like you have a drummer right in front of you playing it.
Another track I found that really differentiated the APs was one from Anjaana Anjaani - thuje bhula diya & khwaab jo from London Dreams. In the latter I could actually, for the first time, place Shankar mahadevan and Rahat fateh ali khan and all the other instruments and get a well defined presentation of each of them.
High Hopes- The Division Bell-Pink Floyd: The opening part with the church bells seemed really full and had real depth you feel someone clanging on them and coming closer from far behind the speaker.
I dont think my trance collection would really get the punch out of the APs but however from the joy it offers Im tempted to actually shift to a different genre of music if this is the quality I get.
Now my mind is full of what permutations and combinations I can do to find out what exactly, if any, is the weak link in my set up. That would mean shifting a lot of gear around my apartment and carrying a lot of gear to and fro Tituss place.
But in the end Im sure itll be worth it coz if none of this works I may go for an upgrade.hyeah:
My advise from experience to all fellow noobs out there. You have more than enough high street brands which forum members are talking about and probably enough dealers to audition them. While you're at it please take time out to listen to a few DIY and commercially made speakers made in India coz what I heard were really good. You can come across quite a forum members who have these and ofcourse arrange for an audition which I'm sure most them will be happy to oblige.
regards
Somehow the Avant seemed muddy/muffled for presenting this music.
Then I read a review from one of the forum members (cant remember who) auditioned a DIY floorstander in Delhi I think, wherein the exact detail of how the listener hears each instrument clearly and more importantly, the placement of the instruments and vocals without distorting the overall presentation. He had explained how he could place the singer and on another track, each instrument in the orchestra behind, between and front of the speakers. In short a good 3D experience.
I had been to anilva's house in Bangalore couple of weeks back to collect my Emotiva XPA-5 where on short notice he was kind enough to let me listen to his DIY Class A amp and Forstex full range speakers which sounded amazing. As we had to rush back we managed to squeeze in just a few tracks and from those what really interested me was Yeh jo des hai mera from Swades where the shehnai (think thats what its called)notes and thabla were mesmerizing.
Somehow, maybe because of whatever reasons, I couldnt experience that with my MSs. I was discussing this with iaudio(Titus) and he invited me over to his place to check his Accoustic Portrait TC-2. His placement of speakers is bit different from how Ive kept mine. His speakers were pulled about 3-4 feet from the rear wall while mine is about a feet away.
Titus Stereo Setup : Marantz CD6003||Acoustic Portrait PM1||Acoustic Portrait AM1||Acoustic Portrait TC-2||
My set up: Marantz CD-6003-Yamaha AVR 661-Emotiva XPA5-Mordaunt Short Avant 908
But considering Ive got my system in my living room and any attempt to move the speakers more to the front would be an obstruction for movement around the room and my wife wouldnt fancy it either.
Moreover Titus is still single and has the liberty to place the speaker bang right in the centre of the room if he wants and no one to complain.His first track was a Chinese drums instrumental. I was really surprised as to how lifelike the sound was. You could actually hear the fine nuance of the drum membrane reverberation (titus called it some fancy word I cant remember
), if thats what you call it, and almost like you have a drummer right in front of you playing it. Another track I found that really differentiated the APs was one from Anjaana Anjaani - thuje bhula diya & khwaab jo from London Dreams. In the latter I could actually, for the first time, place Shankar mahadevan and Rahat fateh ali khan and all the other instruments and get a well defined presentation of each of them.
High Hopes- The Division Bell-Pink Floyd: The opening part with the church bells seemed really full and had real depth you feel someone clanging on them and coming closer from far behind the speaker.
I dont think my trance collection would really get the punch out of the APs but however from the joy it offers Im tempted to actually shift to a different genre of music if this is the quality I get.
Now my mind is full of what permutations and combinations I can do to find out what exactly, if any, is the weak link in my set up. That would mean shifting a lot of gear around my apartment and carrying a lot of gear to and fro Tituss place.
But in the end Im sure itll be worth it coz if none of this works I may go for an upgrade.
hyeah:My advise from experience to all fellow noobs out there. You have more than enough high street brands which forum members are talking about and probably enough dealers to audition them. While you're at it please take time out to listen to a few DIY and commercially made speakers made in India coz what I heard were really good. You can come across quite a forum members who have these and ofcourse arrange for an audition which I'm sure most them will be happy to oblige.
regards
. The speaker exterior too could do with a coat of wood polish. Believe me, you would feel proud (er) of what you possess ....
