Budget Speakers Auditioned-A noobs Take

Great going, magma!
Just two points:
1. You keep on mentioning that you cannot afford a bigger amp than the nad c325bee. However, the outgoing marantz PM7001 amp with more wattage (if that's what you mean by a bigger amp) will not cost a whole lot more, may be around the same price, perhaps slightly more. From your review above, it seems that the PM7001 amp would be a great match for the MA BR2 speakers. Others, please correct me if I am wrong.
2. Are you going to audition Dali Lektor1(around 20K)? They have good reviews in magazines. But as you by now know the magazine reviews are something and your audition results may often be something else. Let us know if you do audition.

I am reading your reviews and others' inputs with great interest, because my dream is to have someday a bedroom stereo setup with these sort of smaller speakers.


Asit actually even the NAD 325BEE is out of budget. im considering a USED 45-50rms amp which is within budget.

where can i audition Dali in mumbai ?
i would like to do that as well
 
magma,
NAD sounded pretty good and I thought they are the budget favourites. But the recent price hikes are not making it easy. I would say that NAD315bee is very good competitor if you like 325bee. Its just 10W less but I was even able to drive a floorstander pretty good. I would say think of that as a serious option. it should cost you less than 20k (while 325bee should be above 25k)
Otherwise buying used is another option. That will open up some nice choices.
 
my inputs and clarifications on the above

my budget supports a USED amp simialar to the NAD 325 NOT a new NAD 325!

my room is 16 feet wide and hence after keeping the speakers 6 feet apart i do have 5 feet on either side!although i sit only 8-9 feet away

On the NAD/ image I25 subject.
well i meant that during the audition i felt the speaker(the I25) was being held back.
remember the I25 is a huge bookshelf with a 6.5 inch driver compared to the I15 which is almost half its size with a 4 inch driver.
why does it surprise if i say that the NAD drove the I15 better , i dont understand
Also i think even the owner(Lakozy) Mr priyesh agreed on this fact that the I15 sounded livelier on the 325 rather than the I25.He once suggested i audition the I25 on a rotel ( or roksan - i forget)

I did NOT find the NAD+MAbr2 bright on any english track. I found it a bit bright on "Dil Chahta Hai " However Dinyaar did explain that recording is fairly bright in that song
Its only that i liked the vocals through the PSB rather than the BR2.The BR2 on the other hand is more lively and maybe slightly more detailed.i guess "give some take some" or as dinyaar puts it "Horses for courses"

I do need your inputs on my choice considering i have only 8 inches BEHIND the speaker.
i will be auditioning more speakers but inputs are hugely appreciated

thank you all
 
The B25s are front ported, magma. So space behind the speaker is not of that much import. For the other bookshelves, the less distance you have against the back wall the more reverberation you would get in your bass - ie. you would lose tightness at the gain of some weight.

It is purely personal preference as to what you would prefer. Even a distance of 12 inches away from the back wall is a very good way to listen to music - with probably the optimum bass reinforcement needed for a small bookshelf.

On the other hand, I also believe the Image B25 does not lack in bass at all. It almost sounds like a floorstander. So, if you can afford it, go for it.

If not, I would go for the BR2. But not before you have auditioned the PSB Alphas or even the MA BR1s.
 
magma
why dont you audition lithos naoh&kontra speakers in mumbai and give your opinion regardind their performance.i think they come within your budget.you can take advice from dinyaar because he had seen and auditioned those speakers.
 
here is the link of an Image B15 monitor from PSB
http://www.psbspeakers.com/products/Image-Series/Image-B15-Monitor

now this link seems to suggest that the speaker has a 5.25inch driver!
The salesman at lakozy mentioned a 4 inch driver

Now im really confused
DINYAAR ji " HELP !did we see a 4incher or a 5.25 incher : ??:eek:

Do audio companies have different specs for differnt countries?

However this does explain how i was happy with the bass from the B15 as well!
 
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Magma - I am sure the B15 has 5.25 inch drivers. But let the specifications not affect your mind. Whatever the specification, your ears must make the decision. Music is emotional. So, dont let mere numbers such specifications rule your heart and your ears.

Listen to the B15 and the Alphas and take the decision. Please ensure that you are not listening to completely new speakers. That can detract from the whole experience and give a completely wrong impression.
 
Magma - I am sure the B15 has 5.25 inch drivers. But let the specifications not affect your mind. Whatever the specification, your ears must make the decision. Music is emotional. So, dont let mere numbers such specifications rule your heart and your ears.

Listen to the B15 and the Alphas and take the decision. Please ensure that you are not listening to completely new speakers. That can detract from the whole experience and give a completely wrong impression.

you are spot on vortex.
Specs should never rule a persons mind.
i liked the Image B15 even when i thought they were 4 inchers!
(if you read my review ive said " the bass was slightly less than the BR2 but i wasnt complaining ")
i actually liked them as much as the Br2's ( in diferent ways though)

my next auditions are hopefully a pair of Quads , Mordunt short and anything else boomerang offers

i will get back to the PSB alpha B1's a little later and maybe Tannoy
Stay tuned
 
Magma. if you are going to use Hindi film songs for auditioning, take a few Lata numbers from the 1960 to late 1970. Her voice is the toughest to play, and I have always found it to be bright on nearly all systems. As Persi has said it will 'sound bright on the darkest and warmest system.'

I think you should promote yourself from a 'Noob' to an expert auditioner.

Cheers
 
Hi Ali,
I thought it was a 5 Inch driver but the link mentions 5.25 then 5.25 it is. No Ali its the same speaker.

Gobble, We heard the Image 25 with the Nad at about 5 PM and i thought it was the nad that made the speaker sound cloudy, then by about 6Pm we were with the MA and by 7PM Ali tried the I 15 which surprised me with the same Nad amplifier.
l i know its the same amp all thru as thats how i wanted it!!

Gopi, I liked both the speakers ie MA BR2 and Image 15 and wont really press Ali as both are good and i would like him to make up his mind. So the question of why i didnt recommend the MA to him and instead asked him to go with the I 15 does not arise.

Ali has many speakers to audition yet.
Boomarang also sells Dali so check if they have the new series.
RGDS
 
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Hi Magma,

Great thread and great audition reports. Definitely much better than newbie. I am now waiting for you to add the audition reports for Quads and Mordaunt-Shorts.

One request: Can you add the auditions to your first few posts only, so that we find all the reports in one place rather than having to go back and forth for comparisons.

Regards,
Prasad.
 
Hi Magma,
-

One request: Can you add the auditions to your first few posts only, so that we find all the reports in one place rather than having to go back and forth for comparisons.

Regards,
Prasad.

great idea prasad

Would the moderater of this forum allow me to insert a post in the middle.?
If i edit my earlier posts (on the 1st pg)then each one will get really long and tiring to read, Also each audition/venue will not have their own post which i thought is better for reading.
 
Asit actually even the NAD 325BEE is out of budget. im considering a USED 45-50rms amp which is within budget.

where can i audition Dali in mumbai ?
i would like to do that as well

Hi Magma

You can pick up the NAD c325BEE from Singapore for SGD480 on Tourist Visa. Add 12.5% for resident visa buyer. @30 INR that makes 15K approx. Better to go for the improvements in the 325 over 320 and 315.

If you know someone visitng SG, check it out.


Regards
 
magma
why dont you audition lithos naoh&kontra speakers in mumbai and give your opinion regardind their performance.i think they come within your budget.you can take advice from dinyaar because he had seen and auditioned those speakers.

I mentioned this earlier too. Go ahead Magma, we are all waiting for the audition of the Noa-1 Lithos. They can be wall mounted and have an 8' woofer cone. @18K around, they should fit well in both your speaker placement and pricing constraints.

Cheers
 
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I agree; firstly these days Cambridge seems to make a better entry-level CDP than NAD. Also, it would seem that CA players complement NAD amps much better than NAD CDPs do! I guess it's because NAD amps, while having a lovely warm sound, benefit from a slightly leaner, detailed source to balance things out.

Exactly what I was thinking. Although I went for the Marantz CD6002 over the CA 640c because it was 6K cheaper, I would have lapped up the 640c V2 @18K.

Cheers
 
On the NAD/ image I25 subject.
well i meant that during the audition i felt the speaker(the I25) was being held back.
remember the I25 is a huge bookshelf with a 6.5 inch driver compared to the I15 which is almost half its size with a 4 inch driver.
why does it surprise if i say that the NAD drove the I15 better , i dont understand
Also i think even the owner(Lakozy) Mr priyesh agreed on this fact that the I15 sounded livelier on the 325 rather than the I25.He once suggested i audition the I25 on a rotel ( or roksan - i forget)

My NAD c325BEE drives the WF 9.2s with 6.4 inch speaker cones very well. I also heard it on the floor standers 9.5 9.6 etc, it had no problem driving those. Maybe its just that they don't complement each other well somehow.

Cheers
 
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great idea prasad

Would the moderater of this forum allow me to insert a post in the middle.?
If i edit my earlier posts (on the 1st pg)then each one will get really long and tiring to read, Also each audition/venue will not have their own post which i thought is better for reading.

I do not think that he can add posts. However, he has three or four initial posts. If he can edit and re-arrange the stuff, he can include all the auditions in these initial posts.

Regards,
Prasad Redkar.
 
I drove a Monitor Audio B4 (floorstander) through 315 bee and I was amazed at what the small amp could do. I was just at 10 o clock max. I don't think its the problem of driving, like gooble said, it was more of the sound of B25 itself or the pairing or the specific speaker wasn't run in or something.
 
I think you should promote yourself from a 'Noob' to an expert auditioner.

Cheers

I second that. What is "noob", by the way (not familiar with that word) ?
With your determination, enthusiasm and effort, in a matter of weeks you have certainly become more knowledgeable than I am. Just a mild warning: be careful not neglect your own work. This can be addictive and we all have fallen prey to that addiction at some point.

However, the work you are doing is very useful to our community
 
Exactly what I was thinking. Although I went for the Marantz CD6002 over the CA 640c because it was 6K cheaper, I would have lapped up the 640c V2 @18K.

Cheers

Do not know if it is okay to conclude in general about the magic of pairing of CA CDP and NAD amp, although I understand the reasoning behind this philosophy. For example, in my auditioning the CA 640c v2 sounded worse than a Nad c521 CDP with the Nad c320bee amp and same speakers, interconnect and speaker cables. It's needless to say that the nad 542 cdp does even better, but it's at a higher price point.

In my ears, the marantz 6002 cdp was definitely a better player than a CA 640c v2 CDP with the same nad amp.

Above is just my own opinion, based on careful auditioning with my own redbook CDs (with all the other equipments keeping exactly the same).

Gobble, is your statement above based on some audition, or just hearsay? I am just interested to know. I know we all hear differently.
 
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