In pursuit of an dream...

[SuhasG]

.................................

Next, went to Lyrita (Viren), and the experience in one word was - AMAZING..!!! This is how i have always wanted my sound to be - mellow, harmonized (not discrete), focus on vocals, and sweet bass. Every song on the CD's we carried shone out - sounded like a masterpiece. The demo was done on the A2C amps and the Harmony ones. Was a perfect match..!

However, some concerns remain:
- Out of our budget (the a2c + harmony ones is way over 80K excluding the cdp)
- maintenance and durability (expecially with our 6 month kid roaming free in our house)
- To fit budget, was recommeded the low end amp by Viren, but he did not have one ready for audition. Need to go back and audition it when it's ready in a couple of weeks
- To fit budget, maybe i could pair the amp with commercial market speakers. But not sure if the sound experience will remain the same. Anyone around who's successfully paired the amps with a 3rd party speaker?

...........

Based on my impressions above, preferences as of today is as follows (keeping aside budget):
- Viren's 2A3 with Harmony Ones
- Marantz 6003 paired with MA BR2s

Any suggestions you guys could provide on further products i should audition?
How's Viren's low end amp?
Is it possible to pair his amps with market speakers to deliver the same sound quality?
Which other bookshelves/amps should i audition considering my music tastes?

Also, i have been suggested to skip buying the CDP was of now to stick to my budget of 50K. Is this a good suggestion? How can i restrict my budget to this figure, without compramizing on the sound...

As you guys can decipher from above, i have moved ahead in my journey, but a good set of questions/decisions remain..

Appreciate advice.

Irwin

Good that you liked Viren's products.

Building a Music system is a very time consuming process and don't expect you get it right in one go (or over night!) it takes years to come up with a perfect combo. So concentrate (and then finalize) on one compent at a time and start building the system by adding other compnents that form a perfect harmony (synergy)with the first (finalized) component.

Generally people start with Speakers . After purchasing speakers , they hunt for matching amp. Source comes after that. Cables would be the next stop followed by Room treatment and at the end some tweaks and Voodoo magic remedies. But there is no harm if one follows the amp->speakers->source route.

I suggest you can defer buying a dedicated CDP at this stage , you can get going with a DVDP player (3-4K) for time being, DVDP can be replaced at a later date when funds allow. (I too started with Pioneer DVDP (3k) while my other gears were from Cadence.)

Low power amps (SET) need high efficiency speakers and then choice becomes limited (and many times expensive too) as most speakers have 84 Db to 88 Db efficiency , single driver speaker though offers high efficiency (typically 90 Db+) lacks in lower end delivery IMHO , then people (often ) end up adding a sub to counter it (another 50K+ thing!) .

I would suggest Class AB push pull type amp (Valves of course!). I have auditioned Viren's Class AB push pull (36 WPC) product , that can work with many 86-88 db speakers. This 36 WPC is really good and in line with your music interests. I observed some quality related issues with Viren's products , that was some 2 years back. But I believe people / products do improve over the time.

MA silver series is good. You may consider this.

Valves can get (pretty) hot , keep this gear at a higher position where kid/s can't touch it . One can add a protective wire mesh (cage ) around the tubes. Check with Viren if he has something to offer in this regards.

But again, given your music interests stick to Valve electronics (at least a Hybrid amps that has Valves at pre- stage and SS at power stage) . And if at a later date you take that Vinyl route (am sure of it, given your music interests!) then with this Valve gear + Vinyl magic , your Audio Nirvana won't be far away!

Don't rush, take your own time. Audition more. AND update us on the end result.

Hope this helps.

 

[ipsanand]

Hi guys,

Just an update from my end. Have been dormant on the auditioning front over the last 3 weeks - was travelling out of town. Plan the following auditions this weekend:

- MS + CA combo at Metro Mall, Gurgaon
- Lyrita (Viren's) lower priced amps if they are available for auditioning

Till now, considering my likes + budget, the Marantz 6003 + MA BR2 combo is the top contendor. However, heart says go for Viren's valve amps.

My BIL is coming from UK and i have an option to get Marantz 6003 (Amp + CD Player + Wharf 10.1) from UK. Yet to audition this combo here. However, just wanna check from others who might have tried this earlier - is it possible to get speakers down in cabin baggage? or is it too big a hassle?

regards,
Irwin

 

[thevortex]

ipsanand - you could if you so prefer match Viren's 2A3 amps with a conventional speaker such as the Wharfedale you have mentioned. The combo will not be dissatisfactory. I do not have experience with the Wharfedale in particular. My experience was with the EPOS and it was very satisfactory.

And when you want to upgrade you can always get the Harmony Ones from Viren.

In my mind that would be a better option than settling for the lower priced amp for now. Because as with most things in the audio world, sooner rather than later you are going to be wanting to upgrade. All the best.

 

[iaudio]

ipsanand, I would suggest something else. Getting the Harmony Ones and pairing them with Rs.4000 topping tp20. Its a very good combo. And when you have the dough, later on, you can add the Lyrita tube amp.
This way you get the speaker of your choice! And the loudspeaker is the most important part of your chain. The amp you are getting wont cause you much loss as and when you decide to change it as it cost just 4000rs. I have heard the combo and I feel its very good. The mid range is not as lush but still very good, with very good lows and highs.

edit: if you are smitten by the Harmony Ones, you are not going to really like the wharf 10.1s as much.

 

[gobble]

Hi guys,

. However, just wanna check from others who might have tried this earlier - is it possible to get speakers down in cabin baggage? or is it too big a hassle?

regards,
Irwin

Possible... if you keep the speakers in the airline seat and clamber into the overhead luggage bin

Get the cd6003 for sure from abroad. You won't find a better player at that price!

Cheers

 

[viren bakhshi]

Hi ipsanand,

The lower priced Lyrita tube amps are now available for demo.

Two choices - the Lyrita EL84 SET amp (at a whopping 1.5 watts/channel), and the Lyrita Integre Two pushpull amp (at 10 watts/channel). Both work well with any of the Lyrita speakers.

Regards,
Viren