Jamo C405/407, Wharfedale 9.6 ... or a 9.5?

[milestoneseeker]

HI MSS..

I too own a 1911... what speakers combo have you finalised... ? and at what price ? Can you pls let know...
thx
Manoj

Hi Manoj,

I have not yet finalized my combo but I do have shortlisted it two options:

• Energy CF-50 - ~55K
• Paradigm Monitor 9 (series 7) - ~54k

I may or may not look at Monitor Audio's bronze series. Note that my shortlist is only for floor standers as I am not looking at a full 5.1 set up. The prices I have quoted are what the dealers have told me broadly and include a degree of discount. The final price may best this offer (fingers crossed)

 

[siva1306]

Now that I am closing in on my speakers, I wanted to understand from the experienced members here the following:

What kind of cables would you recommend: I am planning to go with a 14 AWG or 12 AWG cables while I do not anticipate the cables to run longer than 2-3 meters. The dealer has recommended Profigold cable (12 AWG, not sure of the sub series) and I would like to have banana plugs. This is a new name to me as most of time, I hear about other brands (BJC, Chord etc). Would you recommend this brand? And how beneficial are banana plugs? I am thinking of going for the plugs for ease of usage as well as, hopefully, a more snug connection.

What is the way this set up is to be created if I have following components - TataSky STB, BDP, AVR, TV & ofcourse, speakers . Since I do not have a current component set up so precise guidance would be valuable to me. I presume the following set-up:

TataSky --> TV = L/R Audio In and Video In (no HDMI/Opticals here) as they are currently connected
BDP --> AVR = HDMI (this moves the AV in digital to AVR, rt?)
AVR --> TV = HDMI (this moves the AVR processed video to TV, rt?)
AVR --> Speakers = Audio cables (this moves the AVR processed audio to speaker, rt?)

Now, if I want to use my speakers even with the TV (by passing the in-built speakers), how do I go about connecting them? My TV does not have an optical out (yea, it is a 2009 LCD!) and ofcourse, no HDMI ARC (1.4). So how do I get the audio out to AVR (?)/Speakers?

I am not sure what 'Audio Out' your TV has... but there is a way of connecting a 3.5mm male2male wire from TV to AVR if your TV has a headphone jack available.

Mention the 'Audio Out' your TV has, then exp members canl help u.

 

[sabarishm]

Hello milestoneseeker,

Thank you for your comprehensive write-up of your search for a perfect speaker for you. I am getting a AVR1912 as a gift from my brother and was looking at options myself. Eagerly waiting for your decision I guess I can just blindly try your choice once and go for it if it comes under my budget. Like you I also thought of BS at around 30k. I see you have drifted far from it now and for good reason I believe

Regards,
Sabarish

 

[milestoneseeker]

I am not sure what 'Audio Out' your TV has... but there is a way of connecting a 3.5mm male2male wire from TV to AVR if your TV has a headphone jack available.

Mention the 'Audio Out' your TV has, then exp members canl help u.

Siva,

My television is Samsung LA40A550. I see you have a Sammy 32" so thought this bit of info may be useful. While I would need to go back and confirm, I believe the audio outs on my set will be through standard RCA cables. Since the model is for Asia (hence the LA40 and not LN40), it misses out on the optical out for audio

EDIT: Just looked up at the back panel of my TV and the only audio outs I see is for a pair of RCA cables.

Cheers
Rishi

 

[milestoneseeker]

Hello milestoneseeker,

Thank you for your comprehensive write-up of your search for a perfect speaker for you. I am getting a AVR1912 as a gift from my brother and was looking at options myself. Eagerly waiting for your decision I guess I can just blindly try your choice once and go for it if it comes under my budget. Like you I also thought of BS at around 30k. I see you have drifted far from it now and for good reason I believe

Regards,
Sabarish

Sabarish,

Thanks While the speaker hunt might or might not culminate with the "perfect" speakers, I know I would love the speakers I end up chosing ! This is my first component set up. However, do not go blindly by my options as this is very specific to what kind of music one listens too. My genre of music may not be music to your ears, for all one knows

Cheers

 

[milestoneseeker]

This weekend, I listended to the MA BR6 FS again. Quick note: BR6 is the outgoing model, the new ones are BX6.

The last time I had heard them was when I had started off on my hunt so has been sometime. The time gap also has helped me understand better a speaker.

So when I heard the BR6, I found them to be pretty loud. The loudness is in relative terms since for the same reference volume (~-28), I have found Monitor 9 and CF-50s to be less audible. Now this loudness was not in a negative manner as they played beautifully. However, I have demoed them in a relatively large room and I am concerned if they would be too boomy for my living room.

I did a quick search on the BR6 on the net and it appears that the verdict out there is: BR6 is for large rooms.

I am slightly confused on this one in terms of whether to keep BR6 as a part of my final list of audition or should I retain my final list of two (Monitor 9 and CF-50)? Any feedback from your experience would be nice.

Cheers
MSS

P.S: I am probably less inclined to keep them in the list purely because of their loudness.

 

[srinisundar]

Milestoneseeker,

Just finished your mile long thread and your km's range of travel for audition.. You are laying nicely the road to the music and movie journey... My wishes for you..

 

[milestoneseeker]

Milestoneseeker,

Just finished your mile long thread and your km's range of travel for audition.. You are laying nicely the road to the music and movie journey... My wishes for you..

Srini,

Your wishes could not have come at a more appropriate time I just did my final auditions today and have settled on Monitor 9 !

I started my day with the Monitor 9. The last time I had heard them, they were fresh out of box and not yet broken in. I was hoping that over the course of last 2 weeks, Saif from Uniquesys may have broken them in. Unfortunately, he mentioned that he hadn't had a chance to do so and hence, when I came for the final audition, they could still be labelled unbroken considering they had barely played for ~25 odd hours.

I had got my Denon 1911 with me today but was not expecting any surprises since I have heard them on 1912. Played in stereo mode through a BD player and HDMI connectivity. This allowed me to simulate the electronics back at home.

I played my usual mix of bass heavy Dire Straits and RDB, an old Gluzar CD which showed the imperfections in the recording, Kailas Kher for male vocals and a bevy of instruments in a song. Having heard this mix upteem time and across many speakers, I have come to understand when the songs get played differently on different speakers.

Monitor 9 are beautifully detailed speakers with a nice tight bass extension. The guitar strings in Dire Straits songs were beautifully played while the bass in "Money for Nothing" remains tight and never becomes boomy. Where the M9s truly showed their ability to separate instruments in a recording was in songs of Kailesh Kher. I loved the way I could hear all the instruments but never ever did this separation overpowered the vocals. And all when the speakers are not fully broken in

Felt good as I moved to my 2nd and last short-listed speaker, Energy CF-50. I was particularly looking forward to this one as so far, I have heard these only on Onkyo's AVR. I anticipated a potentially entirely new audition with my Denon 1911. As I settled down and put in the Dire Straits CD, I immediately felt that some of the instruments which were clearly audible in M9s were either in the background or slightly recessed. I was anticipating something on these lines considering Denon is not as bright as Onkyo. The bass was still good on CF-50s but not better than M9s. The RDB and Gulzar CDs did not really separate out M9 from CF-50. One way to look at this is that both these speakers are good from bass perspective. However, as I started off with the sufi songs from Kailas Kher, I could immediately make out the superior detailing of M9 vis-a-vis CF-50. The last time I had heard CF-50s on Onkyo, they felt punchy and "bright". The bright was not in a negative manner. With Denon, it seems they performed a notch below. As I have heard good reviews of Energy with Denon so maybe, it is just me

Anyway, even as we (my spouse & I) were half way through the CF-50 audition, we knew M9 was the way to go.

Wrapped up the audition and then confirmed my order for a black M9 Now, need to figure out my wires and stuff. Will close that bit by tomorrow and then will wait for my M9s to be delivered by mid of next week.

Will keep this thread posted once I lay my hands on "MY" speakers :clapping:

Cheers
MSS

 

[srinisundar]

Congrat MSS on finalizing on Monitor 9, it seems owners are more in Bangalore for paradigm.. Definitely it is an good buy, i tried my level best to buy those after having audition and i could not get it due to older series not available and at the same time suddenly cruised in different path with my Thiel.

Enjoy and do post complete review with photos on receiving those in your house

 

[olly42]

Congratulations milestoneseeker, it is a good buy. I have heard these speakers and they are on my list of audition for my stereo setup in 2012. How much did it work out to?

 

[sud98]

Congrats Milestoneseeker.

Welcome to the M9 club.

 

[BLASTO]

My C405 went to demo for the hifi meet in hyderabad today..
Members who attended, pour in comments..

 

[milestoneseeker]

Congrats Milestoneseeker.

Welcome to the M9 club.

Thanks sud98. Feels great to start off my 2.0 journey with these speakers.

 

[Kittu]

Congratulations milestoneseeker, welcome to the paradigm club. So your journey ends with M9 (9th mile), I stopped at 7th .

 

[s_sachin]

Congrats Milestoneseeker. Enjoy your new speakers. I am landing for a listen next i am in bangalore

 

[milestoneseeker]

Congrats Milestoneseeker. Enjoy your new speakers. I am landing for a listen next i am in bangalore

Hehe, you are on, dude ! Would be good to have a BS ears' opinion on my FS

 

[milestoneseeker]

Congratulations milestoneseeker, welcome to the paradigm club. So your journey ends with M9 (9th mile), I stopped at 7th .

Thanks Kittu. As they say for hi-fi world, it is never "too much" Considering the setup I thought of at start, I much much further away than just the 9th mile

 

[milestoneseeker]

Congratulations milestoneseeker, it is a good buy. I have heard these speakers and they are on my list of audition for my stereo setup in 2012. How much did it work out to?

Thanks Olly. If Paradigm's meet your taste, then these speakers should be on your list. Definitely worth a dekko. The damage is 56k with couple of more thousand due for wires and banana plugs (I prefer them over bare wires).

 

[mpw]

milestoneseeker,

congratulations..

please put in a few pics if possible ( with grills on and grills off ) and post your listening observations in your home environment.

thanks,
mpw

 

[milestoneseeker]

milestoneseeker,

congratulations..

please put in a few pics if possible ( with grills on and grills off ) and post your listening observations in your home environment.

thanks,
mpw

Aah, I wish I could do that right now ! I am awaiting delivery of my speakers and due to some middle of the week travel, I will be taking delivery only by this weekend Will post my pics once I have the set-up at my home.