FS Speakers

arun malur

Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
134
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18
Location
mumbai, india
Yesterday had the opportunity to audition B&W 683 and prior to that, KEF iQ9. Found the latter to be warm and rich sounding as far as vocals are concerned and the instrumentals exqisite from the B&Ws. Is my judgement correct? would be extremely happy to have your opinions on this.

Price quoted for a pair of B&W 683 is Rs 1.05L and that for KEF iQ9 0.75L. I seek your advice wether these prices are O.K in Mumbai and also, is there a better option than this?

Thanks

Arun
 
B&W option is good but the price is too high, the prior model ro 683 was 603 and it was priced around 65k checkout why so huge differance. or try some B&W people have 603 have comparison of your own to befor asking the fellow who quoted 1L.

If you can then go for B&w only...

Sk
 
Hi,
If the speakers are for stereo only then the B&W 683 over the Kef IQ 9. Having said that if the 683 is over a lac i would also look at the 704 FS from the 700 series of B&W. Tonally better, much better built and to my mind a better musical experience. Add to that it may be on its way out so fish for discounts and that the new 600 series is the first of the B&W s to be made in china.I found the 683 too bright/ forward for me and the boxy cabinets are a no no. The 704 has beautiful curved real wood and apart from the cosmetics wood improves sound. The 683 is the replacement for the 603 S 3 but with an FST midrange and they have escalated the price by 40%!!!!!!!!!!!. I had the 603 for a year and sold them for about 45 K and am sure u can get similar deals.
Regards
 
Last edited:
I seek your advice wether these prices are O.K in Mumbai and also, is there a better option than this?

No!! The price for the B&W is far from okay! But this is no surprise as a near-90% markup is common for all B&W products officially sold in India. :mad: It sells from $1400-1500 in the U.S. so it is advisable to buy it abroad if you really like it and have finalized your decision.

If you state what amplifier you are using, the size of the room, and most importantly what kind of music you prefer there are plenty of other choices.

Have you auditioned the Monitor Audio Gold and Silver Reference series? There's the RS6 (55k), RS8 (72k) and GS20 (127k) to choose from. For classical, jazz, there's the smooth, laid-back Quad 21L & 22L (under 75k I think). I have not heard them but ProFX now deals in Focal Chorus speakers as well. Dynaudio Audience 52/72, Totem Sttaf/Rainmaker, PSB Image T55/65, etc. the list is quite long...
 
HI,
I can almost feel ur anger of the local prices particleman. Some time ago i too would get really worked up and am sure the dealers would have found it a pain to deal with someone who openly questions this ridiculous disparity of US/INDIAN prices. Was told that its because the US is the largest market and possible sell 5 X compared to India.+ the duty structure.
The totems are great speakers(again overpriced) especially the small rainmaker but may not appeal to all plus u cant get a demo. Monitor audio appeal to most so should always be considered, Quads are good too but i personally prefer the stand mounts.
Purchasing from abroad is of course an option if one is willing to take into account all the aspects of carrying large boxes / customs /excess baggage/ warranty issues etc.
Regards.
 
...I found the 683 too bright/ forward for me and the boxy cabinets are a no no. The 704 has beautiful curved real wood and apart from the cosmetics wood improves sound....

Couldn’t agree with you more Dinyaar!

No!! The price for the B&W is far from okay! But this is no surprise as a near-90% markup is common for all B&W products officially sold in India. :mad: ....

Have you auditioned the Monitor Audio Gold and Silver Reference series? There's the RS6 (55k), RS8 (72k) and GS20 (127k) to choose from. For classical, jazz, there's the smooth, laid-back Quad 21L & 22L (under 75k I think). I have not heard them but ProFX now deals in Focal Chorus speakers as well. Dynaudio Audience 52/72, Totem Sttaf/Rainmaker, PSB Image T55/65, etc. the list is quite long...

Particleman, my friend, you are still all grumpy about the price difference. It’s a tough life for a desi-audiophile, I guess. BTW, nice recommentation of speakers. One can never go wrong with any of those. Keep it coming!

Best regards.
 
Thanks skt, dinyaar, particleman & unleash me. I have had a demo of PSB T55 and liked it, as for others, have not had an opportunity to audition yet. Shall try to get more info about their availability.

As reg. my choice of music ,it is mostly international -preferably soft and also vintage Hindi. Of course, movies will constitute about 30%. Effective listening area is around 300-350sq ft.

I had been planning on upgrading my system as the previous one, Pioneer system conked off and even Paras were helpless.
 
Hi,
If u like PSB the image 45 would be my choice with any of the Nad amps u like or fit in the budget. I know Nad/PSB go well together but u could also audition other amps from say Marantz/Arcam etc. If in bombay go to Lakozy, priyesh has the Arcam A 70 amp and the Marantz integrateds. U could do a comparison of the Nad C 355/ Arcam/Marantz and see which one suits u .
Regards
 
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