-- Audition & meetup @ Gurgaon -- 6th or 7th Feb (date to be confirmed)

Re: -- Audition & meetup @ Gurgaon -- 7th Feb

Lair, there is a picture of you in the batch i sent...

thw profile pic is clicked much better than that. Maana ki meri shakal theek nahi hai, angle to theek kar leta! we can live without that one.

A neat group pic with all systems in place is a miss.
 
I am sad that I missed this meet.. I am sure there will be more..

Good to read you guys had a great time.
 
Audiophile Friends, you are aware that we of the Delhi/NCR chapter had a meet on Sunday, the 7th Feb, 2010 at the home of Siddharth Trehan in Gurgaon.
Many audiophiles who attended that meet have written about it ; I will add just a few words about my impressions. But , first things first-
First of all, heartfelt thanks to Sid & his family for taking all the trouble in hosting this meet. We couldnt have asked for more. It takes a lot of grace to have your home invaded by so many music obsessed people & still keep smiling!
Then, thanks to all the audiophiles who took the time out from their day of rest to attend & make it such a resounding success.
And last but by no means the least, thanks to Denny for lugging so much equipment from so far away, setting it up, & spending an entire day catering to every request of the audiophiles. Ive not come across a dealer who does so much. with a cheerful smile.
On the way in, Viren, HifiAshok ,Nirmal Prim & me dropped in at the home of gvenu as Viren had to deliver a Lyrita Pre Amp with a phono stage. After a round of tea & snacks, the Pre was installed & started singing. Gvenu has Acoustic portrait speakers connected to a solid state Pre & power Amp mfd by Corrson of Blore, the source being a Pioneer DVDPs transport feeding a DAC diyed by Venu from a kit.A very nice, musical set up.
Arriving at Sids home, we gathered in the lobby & had a round of cold drinks/snacks while waiting for others to turn up. The pics posted earlier courtesy Shashwat show an animated group waiting to get going.
Then we proceeded to Sids HT room in the basement, beautifully done up with required room treatment, dimmer lights concealed wiring et al, where the eqpt had been set up.
On demo were the Quad 11 L2 Bookshelves on their stands, Quad 22L2 floorstanders, Dali Ikon6 Floorstanders & the Dali Bookshelf spks; (A pair of Wharfedale Floorstanders were also installed but we couldnt audtion them due to lack of time).
The speakers were fed by the Quad CDP > Quad 99 Pre Amp > Quad 909 Power Amp into a device to enable switching between speakers on-the-fly. I/cs & Spkr cables by Dac.
Settling down, the first Cd played was the opening track from Norah Jones Grammy winning Album Come away with me then , Magic Moments- Dali Stereo Demo disc, first 2 tracks- Henry Mancinis theme from the Pink Panther & then Keith Dont Go- Neils Lofgren. Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel, & then the XRCD of Sheffield Labs Drum & Track Disc., couple of Guitar tracks from a CD brought by Viren( didnt catch the name will check up & post later),Colors by Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan/Zakir Hussain & Sivamani, Sach Kaho by Kalpana Zokarkar, Freedom by Akon, tracks Right Now & Beautiful.., The Robots from Kraftwerks Man Machine.
All the while, we kept switching between speakers on the fly to immediately hear the difft tonal signatures of the speakers, the rest of the chain remaining unchanged. After a couple of tracks we would stop & a very animated discussion would follow on performance of the speakers on audition .This was one of the special joys of this meet, enjoyment of the great music & appreciating the finer points of music reproduction.
As they say A picture is worth a thousand words; in the same way, theres nothing like a live demo to Hear & Understand what its all about.
We then broke to have the sumptuous lunch laid on by Mrs Trehan followed by Punjabi Chai.
Back to the music room, we all sprawled on the floor with cushions to just enjoy more music i/o critical listening. The Quad Pre & Power Amps were substituted by Lyritas Russian 6C33CB SET Amp, CDP remaining Quads. Later the chain changed to the Marantz SA 7001 CDP digital out > Venus DAC > Lyrita 6C33CB > Quad/Dal Spkrs.
We heard tracks from the Laya Project, James Taylor, Bob Marley, Tabeer, jack Johnsons In between Dreams, Choti si Asha from Roja, & a couple of Sacds ( forget the name, owner plz fill in).
Then Ashishji played back some tracks from his iphone thru a Harmon Kardon dock-pretty interesting!
Lastly, the Quad bookshelves were paired with a DefTech Sub- this just didnt cut it for me, the subs simply overwhelmed the Quads.
My impressions ( plz note that this is based on purely my personal take & preferences & is the POV of one out of 20 Audiophiles at the meet)
Source & Amplification chain- I found the Quad CPD, Pre & power Amps pretty impressive : Smooth, Neutral & Detailed without sounding edgy. The sound was quite musical, being neither syrupy nor overly clinical, bringing out all the subtle details without becoming bright, which is quite a feat.
With tubes in the chain, courtesy the Lyrita SET, the textural magic of valves came in, better transients, attack & lingering decay highlighting the flow of music, pulling out a wee bit more of low level details & hence conveying somewhat better the emotion of the music- this was clearly evident in tracks by Kalpana Zokarkar, acoustic music like in Virens guitar CD, vocal music.
When Venus DAC, based on the Philips TDA 1541A DAC chip was introduced in the chain with the Marantz SA 7001 acting as the transport, images acquired more solidity, with greater air & separation of the performers. At home Venu pairs this with the Pio DVDp acting as a transport, with very good results.This definitely is the way to go for obtaining a good quality front end on a budget. The results were quite comparable to the sound of the Marantz on its own. A pic of the DAC-




As regards the speakers, I must confess that it was the Quads for me. The Dalis have quite a reputation & following- even in the meet some audiophiles preferred their sound- but I found the Quads to be more musical, with a midrange magic, perhaps ever so slightly rolled off highs, very little so as not to lose the details but without being bright & tizzy. A balancing act pulled off quite nicely, IMHO . There were some tracks which sounded better on the Dalis , maybe a case of subdued recording coming across better balanced on the more bright Dalis? But I loved tracks like from the Dali demo disc( what an irony!) Vocals like Ms Zokarkar, the guitar music on the Quads, more musically involving, I felt.The device to switch speakers on-the-fly was a great help in enabling us to clearly hear the differences between the speakers.A very useful thing, I must say.
In my opinion, the Star of the Show were the Quad 11 L2 Bookshelves!
At just Rs 31k, they punched way above their price, excellent tonal balance, surprisingly good bass from such small drivers, & breathtaking imaging.
I was very, very impressed. They can be part of a very musically satisfying system on a budget with matching partnering eqpt, or for a great second system for your bedroom.
So, that was the end of the meet for some of us, with others remaining behind to enjoy a bit the Transformers, Blu Ray thru an Oppo BDP 83.
A long but very satisfying day, listening to music & interacting with an ever increasing group of Audiophiles, with a host who left no stone unturned to make the day for us.
Till the next meet.
 
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-- Audition & meetup @ Gurgaon -- 7th Feb

Kamal sir, you are as always gracious with words like your personality. Am humbled with all the love received from friends. It was indeed a session a session pulled off well with a few flaws still, nevermind those till we could enjoy despite.

Now, i shared with some members that i had ordered some music - sacds and an xrcd from Elusive Disc - Hardware, Accessories, SACDs, Vinyl LPs, DVD-As and MORE! Call us (800)-782-3472 in Chicago. And i had initiated a dialogue with the General Manager of this huge audiophile store for proposals and schemes.

In our course of discussion that lasted about a week, we could mutually agree one of the suggested proposals considering that we are an audiophile group one of a kind from India, with prospective sales addon for them. Also that this proposal discussed could move a few amongst us who order music from Amazon.

Initial proposal was
Order worth usd 300 - 5% off
Order worth usd 600 - 10% off

But, as we discussed more, we could reduce the order value for the above discounts as -
5% on usd250
10% on usd500.

But to avail these discounts we shall have obviously club orders and advise the GM @ Elusivedisc at the time we order.

So please remember to discuss with other members if u have to order any sacd, xrcd or an LP ..so to avail the discounts.

If need be, we can start a separate thread for this.

Brgds
 
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Hi siddharth,
that's a nice initiative. I have bought some Vinyls form them and my personal experience with them is very good but their prices are bit on higher side and so is shipping. In my experience when I bought stuff during christmas even after their 10% dsicount better deals on the same vinyls were available in amazon. Just my thought.
Thanks.
 
-- Audition & meetup @ Gurgaon -- 7th Feb

Hi siddharth,
that's a nice initiative. I have bought some Vinyls form them and my personal experience with them is very good but their prices are bit on higher side and so is shipping. In my experience when I bought stuff during christmas even after their 10% dsicount better deals on the same vinyls were available in amazon. Just my thought.
Thanks.

In agreement to the good experience, they are pretty savvy with the customer service. Hence i felt the need to initiate a dialogue. I have quoted your feedback to the GM and asked for his feedback after a thought. It could bring them some faithful buyers in no time.

thanks to hv replied Mahiruha.
 
Gvenu has Acoustic portrait speakers connected to a solid state Pre & power Amp mfd by Corrson of Blore, the source being a Pioneer DVDPs transport feeding a DAC diyed by Venu from a kit.A very nice, musical set up.
.

I have already Acoustic Portrait Tube Pre and Solid State Power. I wanted to have a phono stage and that is the reason added Lyrita Tube Pre.

Rgds,
Venu
 
Kamalji, thats a great writeup of the meeting.
To complete the information about the SACD played: it was "Dire Straits Brothers in Arms".
Also the track played by me through the Iphone were:
1. Day n Night by Kid Cudi
2. Love Lockdown by Kayne West
 
Audiophile Friends, you are aware that we of the Delhi/NCR chapter had a meet on Sunday, the 7th Feb, 2010 at the home of Siddharth Trehan in Gurgaon.
Many audiophiles who attended that meet have written about it ; I will add just a few words about my impressions. But , first things first-
First of all, heartfelt thanks to Sid & his family for taking all the trouble in hosting this meet. We couldnt have asked for more. It takes a lot of grace to have your home invaded by so many music obsessed people & still keep smiling!
Then, thanks to all the audiophiles who took the time out from their day of rest to attend & make it such a resounding success.
And last but by no means the least, thanks to Denny for lugging so much equipment from so far away, setting it up, & spending an entire day catering to every request of the audiophiles. Ive not come across a dealer who does so much. with a cheerful smile.
On the way in, Viren, HifiAshok ,Nirmal Prim & me dropped in at the home of gvenu as Viren had to deliver a Lyrita Pre Amp with a phono stage. After a round of tea & snacks, the Pre was installed & started singing. Gvenu has Acoustic portrait speakers connected to a solid state Pre & power Amp mfd by Corrson of Blore, the source being a Pioneer DVDPs transport feeding a DAC diyed by Venu from a kit.A very nice, musical set up.
Arriving at Sids home, we gathered in the lobby & had a round of cold drinks/snacks while waiting for others to turn up. The pics posted earlier courtesy Shashwat show an animated group waiting to get going.
Then we proceeded to Sids HT room in the basement, beautifully done up with required room treatment, dimmer lights concealed wiring et al, where the eqpt had been set up.
On demo were the Quad 11 L2 Bookshelves on their stands, Quad 22L2 floorstanders, Dali Ikon6 Floorstanders & the Dali Bookshelf spks; (A pair of Wharfedale Floorstanders were also installed but we couldnt audtion them due to lack of time).
The speakers were fed by the Quad CDP > Quad 99 Pre Amp > Quad 909 Power Amp into a device to enable switching between speakers on-the-fly. I/cs & Spkr cables by Dac.
Settling down, the first Cd played was the opening track from Norah Jones Grammy winning Album Come away with me then , Magic Moments- Dali Stereo Demo disc, first 2 tracks- Henry Mancinis theme from the Pink Panther & then Keith Dont Go- Neils Lofgren. Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel, & then the XRCD of Sheffield Labs Drum & Track Disc., couple of Guitar tracks from a CD brought by Viren( didnt catch the name will check up & post later),Colors by Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan/Zakir Hussain & Sivamani, Sach Kaho by Kalpana Zokarkar, Freedom by Akon, tracks Right Now & Beautiful.., The Robots from Kraftwerks Man Machine.
All the while, we kept switching between speakers on the fly to immediately hear the difft tonal signatures of the speakers, the rest of the chain remaining unchanged. After a couple of tracks we would stop & a very animated discussion would follow on performance of the speakers on audition .This was one of the special joys of this meet, enjoyment of the great music & appreciating the finer points of music reproduction.
As they say A picture is worth a thousand words; in the same way, theres nothing like a live demo to Hear & Understand what its all about.
We then broke to have the sumptuous lunch laid on by Mrs Trehan followed by Punjabi Chai.
Back to the music room, we all sprawled on the floor with cushions to just enjoy more music i/o critical listening. The Quad Pre & Power Amps were substituted by Lyritas Russian 6C33CB SET Amp, CDP remaining Quads. Later the chain changed to the Marantz SA 7001 CDP digital out > Venus DAC > Lyrita 6C33CB > Quad/Dal Spkrs.
We heard tracks from the Laya Project, James Taylor, Bob Marley, Tabeer, jack Johnsons In between Dreams, Choti si Asha from Roja, & a couple of Sacds ( forget the name, owner plz fill in).
Then Ashishji played back some tracks from his iphone thru a Harmon Kardon dock-pretty interesting!
Lastly, the Quad bookshelves were paired with a DefTech Sub- this just didnt cut it for me, the subs simply overwhelmed the Quads.
My impressions ( plz note that this is based on purely my personal take & preferences & is the POV of one out of 20 Audiophiles at the meet)
Source & Amplification chain- I found the Quad CPD, Pre & power Amps pretty impressive : Smooth, Neutral & Detailed without sounding edgy. The sound was quite musical, being neither syrupy nor overly clinical, bringing out all the subtle details without becoming bright, which is quite a feat.
With tubes in the chain, courtesy the Lyrita SET, the textural magic of valves came in, better transients, attack & lingering decay highlighting the flow of music, pulling out a wee bit more of low level details & hence conveying somewhat better the emotion of the music- this was clearly evident in tracks by Kalpana Zokarkar, acoustic music like in Virens guitar CD, vocal music.
When Venus DAC, based on the Philips TDA 1541A DAC chip was introduced in the chain with the Marantz SA 7001 acting as the transport, images acquired more solidity, with greater air & separation of the performers. At home Venu pairs this with the Pio DVDp acting as a transport, with very good results.This definitely is the way to go for obtaining a good quality front end on a budget. The results were quite comparable to the sound of the Marantz on its own. A pic of the DAC-




As regards the speakers, I must confess that it was the Quads for me. The Dalis have quite a reputation & following- even in the meet some audiophiles preferred their sound- but I found the Quads to be more musical, with a midrange magic, perhaps ever so slightly rolled off highs, very little so as not to lose the details but without being bright & tizzy. A balancing act pulled off quite nicely, IMHO . There were some tracks which sounded better on the Dalis , maybe a case of subdued recording coming across better balanced on the more bright Dalis? But I loved tracks like from the Dali demo disc( what an irony!) Vocals like Ms Zokarkar, the guitar music on the Quads, more musically involving, I felt.The device to switch speakers on-the-fly was a great help in enabling us to clearly hear the differences between the speakers.A very useful thing, I must say.
In my opinion, the Star of the Show were the Quad 11 L2 Bookshelves!
At just Rs 31k, they punched way above their price, excellent tonal balance, surprisingly good bass from such small drivers, & breathtaking imaging.
I was very, very impressed. They can be part of a very musically satisfying system on a budget with matching partnering eqpt, or for a great second system for your bedroom.
So, that was the end of the meet for some of us, with others remaining behind to enjoy a bit the Transformers, Blu Ray thru an Oppo BDP 83.
A long but very satisfying day, listening to music & interacting with an ever increasing group of Audiophiles, with a host who left no stone unturned to make the day for us.
Till the next meet.

Lovely systems out there! Great pictures and I must say what an impeccable flair for writing with natural mellifluousness; just shows your immense love for this art along with your deep understanding on the subject...
 
A hilarious side effect of the weekend's meetup. Just woke up from a dream about a movie sequence starring Steve Mcqueen about a stolen Dali painting stashed inside Quad bookshelves.

cheers.
 
A hilarious side effect of the weekend's meetup. Just woke up from a dream about a movie sequence starring Steve Mcqueen about a stolen Dali painting stashed inside Quad bookshelves.

cheers.

that did bring a smile, had it lasted a bit more, u'd have seen Kamal ji with a hat, sitting on the directors chair with a paper pad and a pen, Denny the sound boy and i'd have been the man Friday serving cutting chai with maska bun.

err.. on a second thought, gud that it didnt last long enuf to reach that sequence. :D
 
Dear Kamal ji !

Great report as always !!!

I agree it was Quads all the way but I would add that the speakers especially Dali were not setup properly. Speaker setup can have HUGE impact on the output & performance.

Quads sounded very musical whereas Dali were bright which gave it a false feel of clarity / transparency. Soundstage & imaging were better in Quad but again setup plays a big role here. The tonal range & quality was more natural in Quads.

The Quad source & amp performed immaculate. I had to leave early so I missed out on other sources / amps that you played.

Lastly, it was great to see so many audiophiles together. And Sid is great is organizing such events - congratulations & thanks !

PS - Sid you mentioned that you want to audition ProAcs - you & your better half are most welcome for a private listening session at my place.

@Shashwat - Photographs don't live up to your standards - you are a far better photographer than that. I suspect you have handed over rejected images to Sid ;-)

Regards

Sanjay
 
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Hi,

Sorry about the delay in posting, but I was busy making amps and speakers!

Kamal has written very well about the day spent at Sidharth's house. Thanks a lot to him. And thanks a lot to Sidharth for hosting so many of us.

It was wonderful meeting so many audio enthusiasts - with as many individual perspectives!

It was also very interesting for me to listen to an all QUAD setup. Especially their latest generation of electronics. I lived for a long number of years with the QUAD 306 power amps, and they served very well. It was so amusing to carry these shoe-box sized amps in one arm for comparative auditions with the "newest and latest" of amp designs, and hear the new designs being outclassed by these dimunitive QUADs!

As before, excellent product design and implementation. What the QUAD system gives is perfect balance, and true tonal quality. You can be sure that musical instruments sound as they actually are. However, the system does lack a bit on the detail and dynamic front. I have a suspicion that's it's the QUAD preamp to blame for this - or, atleast, that was my impression earlier (too many of the ubiquitious opamps in its design). It would be worth trying the QUAD power amps with better preamps to get their true measure.

And, as I discovered, there is no true universal amplifier. We did try the Lyrita 6C33C SET amp with the QUAD speakers. It worked fine at normal listening levels, but ran out of steam when we tried to listen loud. Well, the QUADs measure 86 and 88 dB in sensitivity, so it's not surprising. You really do need high sensitivity speakers with SET tube amps.

Again, it was good meeting so many audio enthusiasts. Thanks to Denny too for the huge effort in carting and setting up all this equipment there.

Regards,
Viren
 
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