Guys I was in Bangalore again visiting the audiophile gods.
This time I restricted it to only 4
Rajib
Arvind
Arjun
Abhi
Had a lovely time at everyone’s place.
Rajib’s Accuphase Class A integrated with Micro Seiki 8000 with Tareeq’s tonearm and Khumar cartridge was sounding lovely with the JBL 4343 speakers. One of the better sounds I have heard.
Arvind’s TAD Ref monoblocs and pre with EMT 927 and Kondo GE10 phono driving the TAD Ref speakers had lots of details and resolution. But it’s still work in progress. Once properly set, it should be one of the finest systems in the country. Arvind is Abhi’s cousin and I don’t think he’s on this forum.
Arjun’s Tannoy Kensington is always a pleasure to listen to. This time we experimented with 4 amps at his place.
Quicksilver KT88 monoblocs with LTA MicroZOTL pre
Quicksilver EL84 integrated
Lyrita with WE 300 reissue and Yamaha pre
Denon UD M30 mini
I personally liked the Denon mini the best followed by the Quicksilver KT88. The Denon played the full spectrum whereas the KT88 couldn’t do bass as well. Also it lacked the speed, attack and agility of the Denon. The KT88 mids were a bit more fleshed out which am sure a few will prefer. I was ok with the Denon mids because it was truthful. The other two amps just didn’t have the power to drive his speakers in that room.
Moving on to Abhi’s, he’s just moved into a new villa. I am really envious of Abhi. I always wanted to stay in a villa. But to afford a villa in Mumbai, you need to be born into the Ambani family.
Coming back to the topic, his music room is now much larger than his earlier one. His Lyrita i thought sounded better in his previous room. This room being much larger showed up the lack of power and the amp struggled to drive his Tannoys. Abhi is working on it and am sure the next time i visit him, it will be all sorted out.
That ends my Char Dham Yatra. Probably, the first of it’s kind in Bangalore
