Epson Experience:
Was glad to get a hands on demo of their new PJs, namely the 5200 & 8200. The session started with the AM Sales (Visual Products) Western Region of Epson giving us a little background info on Epson company & its game plan for India as far as PJs are concerned, info on their after sales service, bulb life, PJ maintenance along with the salient features of the models which were brought for the demo.
Will briefly gloss over the gyaan learnt from the above.
1)Epson India serious about Indian market & will be slowly increasing its presence in the market with more models to fill in gaps in current product portfolio. PJs for home theatre are to be sold only through their respective AV Dealers & not through the dealers who sell the office related PJs/Printers & other such equipments sold by the company for office/business related markets.
2)After sales service team is a separate division & have their own guidelines laid out to follow. They will not entertain any Epson PJ brought from outside India, as its the company policy.
3)Each model of their PJ is tagged/archived/service history maintained via the respective serial no. So if there is any issue faced by customer in the lifespan of the PJ, it is documented & updated by the company in its records.
4)Demo models given to Epson retail partners/dealers are void of any warranty. This is done to ensure that the dealer does not sell the demo piece to an unsuspecting buyer who thinks it is new.
5)Bulb life is a standard 500 hours or 1 year, whichever is earlier across the model range.
6)Basic maintenance of a PJ that can be handled by end user was also discussed, mainly with regard to cleaning the dust filter lightly by dry brush & duration of doing so of about once in 45 to 60 days depending on the levels of dust accumulation keeping the area one lives in mind.
The TW5200 model showcased was mainly targeted to buyers who are heavy gamers than movie viewers. Were given just a brief demo of this model as its intended purpose/target audience is as mentioned above.
The TW8200 was given a good workout & its details explained feature wise. Tried out their RF 3D Glasses & experienced some 3D clips. Loved the picture quality of this PJ , very crisp & detailed presentation. Viewing distance should be kept in mind though as sitting say around 4-5 feet from the screen whilst viewing 3D pictures can induce a headache & strain on ones eyes. Lens shift functioning was demonstrated & it was really very easy to do by end user.
Some observations on the 8200:
1)Unit is neither to big/nor too small
2)Body can get hot at its sides, during prolonged use & so its advice able to have air-conditioning of the room.
3)Remote is a big one!
4)2 RF 3D glasses provided along with the PJ. Additional ones cost RSs.6600/- per piece, which is quite steep.
5)Screen is also a very important part of the experience, so one must buy a good one to extract the best out of the PJ .
Detailed specifications of the above models can be viewed online & so am not going to discuss them here.
Epson India is very keen to learn/interact with their PJs end users, so would love to be part of future meets organized by our FMs. Will forward the contact details to FMs who would love to have similar Epson Experiences when they organize their meets in other cities.
Amphion Helium 410 Book Shelf Speakers:
Helium 410 | Amphion
A small pair of BS speakers are not looked upon kindly by almost all of us, the reason being what can be done by such little speakers? The same thought came to my mind when I first laid eyes on the Amphion Helium 410s. They have an uncanny resemblance to the Technics SB-F1 speakers,
Technics SB-F1 on thevintageknob.org
which I had for a while & appreciated them a lot for their goal of achieving a big sound in such a small size. The Helium 410s are slightly smaller than these made me eager to hear them even more. We had 2 varieties of high power amps to pair with made things even more interesting as getting such an opportunity is very rare, as most of the times one would associate with pairing small speakers with low or modestly powered amps, keeping their size & also the overall budget constraints in mind. So here we had the opportunity to do the converse which was really going to be very educational, or so I thought.
The first combination was:
Krell KAV300i integrated amp + Amphion Helium410 + Marantz SA7003 SACD Player.
I must be candid here & admit that I have not been a big fan of Krell amps, as till date have never had a satisfying experience with the limited models heard. Keeping this in mind, I decided to let things just play & wait for the krell to warm up which is about 30 minutes. During this warm up period itself, I was sub consciously getting warmed up to the Krell/Amphon synergy that was taking place & past the warm up period was drawn in truly to what this synergy was doing. Track after track of Billy Idols greatest hits at moderate levels was making my feet tap, sing along & just enjoying Billy Idol after a very long time. All this happening & I just could not believe how good a krell can be, when paired with the desired speakers for it. Hmm, something unexpected & totally shocking for me
The Amphion Helium 410s are now getting some serious attention!!! Dexter Gordon was playing next & this satisfaction level is growing amongst the others present as well. Just when the atmosphere is getting charged, a dampener happens!
We are now trying out the second combo, which comprised of:
NAD356 integrated amp with MDC DAC built + Amphion Helium410 + Marantz SA7003 SACD Player, which is now used purely as a transport.
Couple of tracks played, some Hindi ones too. All the excitement is lost, sound has become muddy/tubby(as my friend puts it :lol: )
All the life is sucked out of the music & its becoming unbearable compared to the earlier combo experience.
A Prometheus TVC Passive Pre is suggested as the remedy & so its added into the above chain, whereby the NAD356 will be used only for its power section.
Yes, there is an improvement to a certain extent, we get a better sense of instrument separation, vocals etc but still the magic of the 1st combo is far away. Its decided to do away with the NADs MDC DAC & go back to the Marantz for DAC+Transport duties, which gets us even better results, which are just about acceptable but still not ideal.
Time for the third combo, which comprised of:
Emotiva USP-1 Pre +Emotiva XPA-100 Power Amp Monoblocks + Amphion Helium410 + Marantz SA7003 SACD Player.
We are back in business! Things are now almost at levels of the first combo & the satisfaction gained in the musicality is similar. Again, the Emotiva has risen to the occasion & synergy with the Helium 410s has been achieved.
Couple of observations:
1)Krell/Amphion synergy is killer. Emotiva/Amphion synergy is not far behind either.
2)Emotiva Pre/Power sound is quite balanced, otherwise the Emotiva Pre sounds bright when paired with other power amps, as have experienced earlier.
3)NAD 356 let down severely by its pre section. The MDC DAC has the all too familiar NAD sound signature. Listening to the 356 felt like being kicked in the GONADS! OUCH
Having played around with all combinations available, we go back to the Krell /Amphion combo & listen to music for almost 4 hours non-stop, throwing almost everything at it & it comes out like a champ going through the motions of effortless victories one after the other. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect this combo to work & that too work so dam well :clapping:
The Helium 410 speakers have such an emotional contact with you, its very difficult to let go. They can give you immense satisfaction at low/moderate & high volumes, which is a very important & likeable trait. I loved the way the sound was projected, as it made the speakers disappear & gave a sense of room filling sound with immense clarity. A very well designed & thought out speaker. Kudos to the designer :clapping:
Coming back to their size, well after hearing them belt out at various volumes in a 400+ sq ft room, all I can say is that SIZE DOES NOT MATTER wrt the 410s!
Yes, it was a thoroughly educational experience, with regard to the size to performance ratio, but more than that it was an emotional connect with a speaker, which was a bonus for me. Pocket Rockets in the truest sense of the word!
In the end, this speaker would be my pick as the Star of the meet, but as always good things do not come cheap & the Helium 410s are a tad expensive at the informed list price of Rs.83k
A jumbo group buy to bring down the price???
Jokes apart, a discount of 15% is assured by Fairdeal for interested buyers.
Amphion Helium 520 Floor Standing Speakers:
Helium 520 | Amphion
We had 2 sessions of listening to the Helium 410 BS speakers & in between the 2, we had the opportunity to listen to the big brothers of the Helium 410s, which were the Helium 520 FS Speakers.
This time, there was no mucking about & straight away, the Emotiva Pre/Power amps were hooked onto the Helium 520 FS with the Marantz SA7003 doing DAC+Transport duties.
We played most of the same music cds that we heard with the Helium 410s & a few more. The Helium 520 FS sound quite different than the Helium 410s & with good reason, as the focus here is to give a bit of everything in a measured manner. You get the idea the minute you hear these speakers.
Deep bass is somewhat restricted, but the overall tonal balance is impressively neutral and the sound has warmth through the upper bass where many rivals tend to collapse. One also has to keep the slender & petite profile of the speaker in mind to appreciate the things its able to do. Yes, the PMC Twenty.23s are almost similarly petite, but then they have their ATL technology to augment the bass from that size & for that you end up paying a premium as well. So all things said, the Helium 520s have to be appreciated.
Imaging is precise and tightly focused, capable of delivering decent depth. Sibelius Symphony No.2 demonstrated this beautifully, with the brass at the back of the orchestra clearly operating convincingly.
The fact that a person who dislikes FS speakers & generally prefers BS over FS was amazed at what the Helium 520s can do.
The Amphion Helium 520 is a cleverly designed speaker, offering a rare combination of warmth, neutrality, coherence & imaging. It might not be perfect for all, especially for deep bass lovers but still has a lot of positives going for it.
The Helium 520s can be fun speakers too & this aspect was highlighted in totality when we heard a couple of authentic Marathi dhin-chak tracks from the Marathi movie Natrang. It played really Kadak!!! Speed/timing & instrumentation well separated/defined was thoroughly enjoyed even by non-marathi folks
The Helium 520s ROCKED!!!
Samples of the tracks played from Natrang OST CD
Natrang marathi song apsara aali - YouTube
Natrang - Wajale Ki bara, Mala Jau dya na ghari - YouTube
We were immediately requested by a well known marathi gent to please stop playing such songs any further as he was imagining an apsara dancing in front of him seductively enough lavani style for him to go into rocket launching mode!
hyeah: Live baithak feel courtesy Helium 520
If I have to nitpick & find fault with the Helium 520s, the proverbial fly in the ointment would be the abovementioned lack of deep bass & the list price of Rs.2.50L. Fairdeal will offer 15% discount for them as well.
Having said that these are a far better than the plethora of options available in the market & their purchase would be a relatively mid to long term investment for one to enjoy music & movies (they have a matching centre as well for HT enthusiast)
General Observations on the Amphions (Helium 410 & 520):
1)The finish, pun heavily intended
is quite good & minimalist. The ones we had for demo had the same Nextel grey finish, which make the speakers look very understated & simple. Quite easy to get dust on them like a piano gloss finish, but then dust is our number one enemy anyways. They have a walnut option too(For 520 only), which looks really beautiful & would be my pick from the choice of finishes available. Unfortunately the walnut finish is 35k dearer
2)Cabinets are light yet very well built & so you do not hear any artifacts/additions from them. In fact the speakers can very cannily disappear & sound very open & dynamic. The speed of the paper cone drivers is mind boggling. No lag at all!
3)Amphions have a very fast & dynamic sound. Things stop on a dime approach, which is very pleasing & nice to experience.
4)The bass is very well defined/super tight/fast & focused. These speakers are Not for bass freaks as it does not keep hanging around which some people like. I preferred the 410s without a sub, as the LFs generated were more than sufficient for my liking.
5)The Amphion Helium series may look like run of the mill Bass reflex designs but there is more to it than meets the eye. Details of that explained in this link:
6moons audio reviews: Amphion & NuForce systems
The Amphions are currently available for demo at Fairdeal Electronics in Mumbai.
