Hi All,
I finally got the speakers. I bought NHT SuperZeroes 2.1 from Prosonix for Rs 28,600
NHT
Santhosh was extremely patient in explaining the details and letting me take my time. Even demoing some additional options considering my future expansion even though it was clear I wasnt buying them now. Definitely Taga from him will be one of the top options when I go for subs later. A very comfortable personalized purchase.
The update is late because Pioneer setup with my TV was driving me nuts. Took about 24 hours to get things figured out.
It was slightly over the top for my budget. I was torn between it and Dali Zensor 1 as I was paying quite a bit of premium (or even zensor 3). But in the end I decided to go for these because:
1. Rear mounts are not favorably suggested for Dali
2. Some of my preferred songs were marginally better in NHT. I'm not a qualified audiophile I just went with my gut instincts
3. Small size easier to move them to rear (if I get even more expensive speakers lol )
4. Surprisingly powerful
I had a really good audition, possibly upto 2 hours. First glance I was disappointed looking at their size. I unboxed my Pioneer 930 at the audition, I didnt know a thing about avr receiver setting. The speakers sounded wonderful on some songs which had Guitar tunes- I felt the music was much more even and balanced. But it was underwhelming in other songs with strong riffs- Derezzed, Manali Rance, Smoke on the Water.
I was really not convinced on the speaker until the dealer hooked them on to his Denon X1100. The first couple of songs blew me away- Manali Trance and Malaguena.
I then tested with Entres Dos Aguas, few Ilayaraja tracks and Octavarium. I started liking what I heard. I actually did a couple of checks to confirm if the output actually was not coming out of the floorstanders nearby
Then same tracks were run with Taga SW10 and BIC America subs. BIC America shook the floor. Taga seemed a nice match.
Auditioning multiple speakers made decision very difficult but I decided to go for these as the sound was more balanced and neutral.
NHT was auditioned in a more natural home space while Dali and Polk was done in a very controlled environment, so I decided to discount the performance in showroom little bit.
Cons:
Bass is definitely on the lower side. But I will be going for sub later. So I decided I could live with it for couple of months until I get one.
Smoke on the water/Highway Star slightly on lower side relative to RTiA3 and Zensor1.
These are the songs I used for audition (Although i did play a lot of Ilayaraja in audition I didnt have HQ(320kbps or flac) of his. So it really didnt bring out the best in any of the speakers I auditioned I'm skipping these from my list)
Songs used for all speakers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oyhlad64-s Paco Del Lucia- Entre Dos Aguas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWXZLpXWEa0 Daft Punk- Derezzed (Flac)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX9roiAarwA Daft Punk- Overture(Flac)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUwEIt9ez7M Deep Purple- Smoke on the Water
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wr9ie2J2690 Deep Purple- Highway Star
Few Ilayaraja songs I really love
Songs I picked up later only for NHT in addition to above:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B6jOUzBKYc Malaguena
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ_NpLWuL00 Manali Trance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVMIk3xYaYo Dream Theater- Octavarium
I have never listened to Carnatic or any classical music more than 5 min in my life. But last night I listened to this entire composition well past midnight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iletVvZm8U
Love these speakers and Im very happy with them. Definitely a good contender in the under 30k bracket.
Thank you all for your recommendations and guidance, it was very helpful and hope Ill land a good pair of subs with all your inputs as well.