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

[milestoneseeker]

More updates from last weekend:

I went back to listen to Klipsch RF52 over an extended duration and with my music. The first time I had listened to them, I had unfortunately forgotten my CDs and barely heard them for 15 odd mins. This time, I listened to them for well over an hours. The initial impression of a punchy bass which never becomes boomy was reinforced. However, the brightness became more pronounced and I was bit more apprehensive w.r.t my music requirements.

I was keen to demo the PSB T5s but unfortunately, only T6 were available at the dealer in Bangalore. Nevertheless, went ahead and listened to them to understand the signature of PSB speakers (had never auditioned them before). I loved them, I must say Very smooth and not the same degree of brightness as RF52s. They may not be warm (such as Wharfedales) and it suits me. What did not suit me was their price. Ofcourse, I am in the market for T5s but my wifey has ruled out a purchase minus a audition. So any pointers for Bangalore will be a big help !

I also went through Monitor 7 (v6) at the same shop since it had been a while since I listened to them. And I must say, I was nicely surprised at re-discovering them ! Maybe it is all these demos but I found them to be much nicer than the first time. They look to be a good bet now.

I would again like some insights from you folks on the current listing (for music:movie = 70:30):

• MA BR6
• Paradigm Monitor 7 (v6)
• PSB Image T5

Which one would you prefer? I will driving them through Denon 1911.

 

[Kittu]

What is the price for 3 models?

 

[milestoneseeker]

What is the price for 3 models?

Sigh... here they are:

• MA BR6 - 51k
• Paradigm Monitor 7 - 38-40k
• PSB T5 - 59K

Note that while BR6 and Monitor 7 are discounted rates (minus bargaining), I guess the T5 rates are @ MRP.

Any better deals that I have would be a welcome insight

P.S: The sigh was for the rates ... I had started with a lowly budget of 30k couple of months back

 

[Kittu]

Monitor 7 is clear winner , you can keep the remaining money and invest in a GOOD sub to bring out the best in monitor 7's.

 

[anm]

you should also try auditioning psb imagine B bookshelves and share your preview. I found them exceptionally good. But they are expensive.

 

[milestoneseeker]

@anm,

Responded to your suggestion but not sure where it got lost. Anyway, I am actually open for BS as along a BS+SW option matches a good FS for the range. I have heard of good reviews of PSB BS from a fellow member, Sachin.All subject to the same budget

@all,

I would actually like to thrown in another FS in the mix. I have read great reviews of Energy CF-50 and they fall in the same budget (~50k). I am yet to hear those but hope to achieve that in a week or two. I have not come across many folks in this forum owning the Connoisseurs series though some folks have owned the previous RC (?) series. Any opinion?

Cheers

 

[Kittu]

@anm,

Responded to your suggestion but not sure where it got lost. Anyway, I am actually open for BS as along a BS+SW option matches a good FS for the range. I have heard of good reviews of PSB BS from a fellow member, Sachin.All subject to the same budget

@all,

I would actually like to thrown in another FS in the mix. I have read great reviews of Energy CF-50 and they fall in the same budget (~50k). I am yet to hear those but hope to achieve that in a week or two. I have not come across many folks in this forum owning the Connoisseurs series though some folks have owned the previous RC (?) series. Any opinion?

Cheers

Our members darshanjoshi and Santy have energy tower speakers. You can contact them for more details.

 

[milestoneseeker]

Updates:

Since I was out of town and then some work related effort kept me busy over the weekends, final got to listen to listed speakers this weekend.

Energy CF-50:
Boy, did I love them ! While I went with hopeful thoughts that the Onkyo folks in B'lore may have some RC-50 lying but the showroom guys actually had not heard of RC-50 :lol:

Anyway, I thought of listening to CF-50s first and then see if CF-30s are worth doing a demo or not. And boy did I love them That it is a 4 driver system shows in how low they went. And lovely sound, very full and rich. They were paired with a Onkyo 500x AVR (the latest series). Listened to my usual set of songs from Dire Straits, Rammstein, Kishore Kumar, Lata et al. All of them sounded very nice.

They retail at 60k and I have been offered a price of 54k. Clearly on the higher side of my budget but definitely well worth a dekko. I can only imagine how nice RC-50s will sound

Paradigm Monitor 7 Series 7
Having listened to the v6 in earlier demos, I was very keen to listen to the new series. My budget allows me the new series too so this was high on my priority.
Went to a shop on Varthur road where the guy unpacked a boxed pair of these speakers for the demo. Was mindful that they have not yet been broken in (though not sure how dramatic the difference would be if there were) but was optimistic that they would, at the very least, sound better in another 100 hrs or so.
I have read good initial reviews of the Series 7 as well as the fact that this is a 3 drive setup unlike the 4 driver set up of v6. I demoed these for an hr or so, and I liked them Upfront, the bass extension was there though had a feeling that tweeter would need to open up a bit more. But overall, very very nice. Not wanting to compare apples with oranges (i.e. with CF-50), I was keen to demo Monitor 9s too but the guy did not have them yet.
Anyway, the retail at 48k and I have been promised of a very good price.

So, after more than a couple of months of listening to a varied set of speakers (I started with a Sony CT-100 sound bar!), I think I have a better feel of what I like to hear and what I would want to buy. Sharing my shortlist, your suggestions are welcome:

• Monitor 7 Series 7
• Energy CF-50
• MA BX-6

I am yet to audition PSB Image T5 and Monitor 9 but they are there in the wishlist.

Ironically, my shortlist and the thread title have nothing in common :lol:

cheers

 

[milestoneseeker]

Guys,

Wanted to quickly take your opinion on KEF's Q500 FS. Has anyone heard them, and if so, what was your take on these speakers? I gave them a quick hear last weekend and found them to be very punchy. However, they seemed less detailed than RC-50 but I am not yet confirming that as RC-50s were running on Onkyo while Q500s were on Denon.

Cheers

 

[milestoneseeker]

Ok folks...belated Diwali wishes to all

Was in Delhi for better part of this week and had a ball at the F1 Plus, took the opportunity to visit Lakozy here in Delhi for an audition of PSB Image T5.

Upfront impression was what I had the first time I heard the bigger T6. Very neutral and smooth to listen too. And damn punchy too :clapping: I liked them a lot. Now comes the damage part. 59k is what has been quoted by Lakozy and was told that there are no discounts if I buy directly from the distributor.

I wanted to check with fellow B'lorians who have PSB on how good/bad is the scene for post sales service if I buy from Final Touch in B'lore.

Ofcourse, the question of the price is still there as it pretty much tops everything else I have shortlisted so far. Buying a neutral speaker has its advantages and disadvantages and I have not necessarily found slight coloring by speakers to be bad

Feedback on PSBs on the service aspect will be most helpful.

Cheers
Rishi

 

[BLASTO]

What amp and CD player do you have? PSB T5 will need amps in the range of 60-70k inorder to shine. Amps do more to sound reproduction than the speakers. You will also need a CD player for atleast 25k. I think you are aware of the total cost. It is easy to extend the budget for speakers but if you double the cost for the speakers, the overall budget will shoot up by a factor of 3.

You are now looking at a 1.5L sterio setup if I get it right.

 

[milestoneseeker]

What amp and CD player do you have? PSB T5 will need amps in the range of 60-70k inorder to shine. Amps do more to sound reproduction than the speakers. You will also need a CD player for atleast 25k. I think you are aware of the total cost. It is easy to extend the budget for speakers but if you double the cost for the speakers, the overall budget will shoot up by a factor of 3.

You are now looking at a 1.5L sterio setup if I get it right.

Hi Blasto,

I am having a Denon 1911 and I am (was!) under the impression that they would have enough juice to run the T5s. Is that not the case?? Horrors of horror !! I certainly appreciate the role that the amps play in the overall set up and hence, I have looked at speakers which I perceived would do well with the 1911. Of course, it is not a 70k AVR

I started with a budget of 50k and now I am at ~85k ... with no intention of going beyond that. In a way, I am glad I bought the AVR first as that allows me not to run away with my speaker fantasy!

And even as I type, I did a quick google and I see that 1911 is not recommended for Image series. 2311 (or 2312 now) is more like it.

T5 specs speak of amp requirements to be 20-150 watts, 150 being peak rather than RMS? I thought 1911 with 95 watts @ 8 ohms would be be good enough. I am not into very loud volume but I am certainly not keen on a situation where I end up with clipping !

Feedback/re-inforcement would be great from you and fellow forum members.

Cheers
Rishi

 

[BLASTO]

Hi Blasto,

I am having a Denon 1911 and I am (was!) under the impression that they would have enough juice to run the T5s. Is that not the case?? Horrors of horror !! I certainly appreciate the role that the amps play in the overall set up and hence, I have looked at speakers which I perceived would do well with the 1911. Of course, it is not a 70k AVR

I started with a budget of 50k and now I am at ~85k ... with no intention of going beyond that. In a way, I am glad I bought the AVR first as that allows me not to run away with my speaker fantasy!

And even as I type, I did a quick google and I see that 1911 is not recommended for Image series. 2311 (or 2312 now) is more like it.

T5 specs speak of amp requirements to be 20-150 watts, 150 being peak rather than RMS? I thought 1911 with 95 watts @ 8 ohms would be be good enough. I am not into very loud volume but I am certainly not keen on a situation where I end up with clipping !

Feedback/re-inforcement would be great from you and fellow forum members.

Cheers
Rishi

While Iam not sure of 1911, generally a 2 channel amp is better than a 5.1 channel amp for stereo. Watt reading has nothing to do with quality of sound. It is the 'pre amplifier' section of the integrated amp that gives that great feeling/life to sound so it becomes music.

In short, if you connect a DVD/Bluray/PS3 to a 5.1 channel amp, irrespective of the speakers, the setup can produce only so much sound.

All the sterio demos are given using 2 channel amp and a dedicated CD player.

Here is the breakup of effect of stereo music.

Dedicated CD player (or) DAC - 40%
Preamp+amp - 30%
Speakers - 30%

If you get only the last part right, there is only going to be so much improvement.

Take your player and amp if possible and hear the speaker before buying. Swap with the setup they have in store. You will know it sounds much (if not completely) different.

 

[BLASTO]

One more thing to note.
The general consensus is, a dedicated 2 channel stereo integrated amp costing 25k produces as much stereo effect as a 1L 5.1 amp (which are optimised for 5.1 sound in the preamp section).

 

[milestoneseeker]

One more thing to note.
The general consensus is, a dedicated 2 channel stereo integrated amp costing 25k produces as much stereo effect as a 1L 5.1 amp (which are optimised for 5.1 sound in the preamp section).

Arrey, this I know All these hours on hifivision have not gone in vain I understood the compromise I was making when I went for an AVR rather than a stereo amp and all my speaker demos are based on an AVR. Considering this is my first shot at a component system, I can't afford to plan for music and movies separately. Hence the decision to go for a decent AVR. Ditto for my decision to go for a blu-ray player for now.

I am not expecting miracles from 1911 + BDP-350 and I would be finalising my purchase when I will do one mega round tagging around my 1911. That is something I am pretty much clear on.

But I want to keep my window open when I can afford to plan for a stereo amp. Don't want a buyer remorse at that time. Note that I am speaking of ability to listen to a better sound later in the future but not necessarily to a better speaker. Hence, I want to get my speakers right.

Hence, want to understand if 1911 would ever do justice. I do have some other nice speakers in my shortlist and I am perfectly ok with leaving out T5 if they represent a mismatch in capabilities of components. But damn, did they sound nice :lol:

 

[BLASTO]

Hence, want to understand if 1911 would ever do justice. I do have some other nice speakers in my shortlist and I am perfectly ok with leaving out T5 if they represent a mismatch in capabilities of components. But damn, did they sound nice :lol:

Why dont you take your 1911 and demo it for youself? Is T5 not available in your location?

 

[milestoneseeker]

Why dont you take your 1911 and demo it for youself? Is T5 not available in your location?

That is the issue. While I can audition T6 here in B'lore, T5 are not available with the local dealer. Since I was in Delhi for Diwali, I took the opportunity to audition T5s at Lakozy in Delhi. However, he did not have a 1911 equivalent and I ended up listening to T5 using an Oppo blu-ray player and a NAD AVR. Not sure of the NAD AVR model but I know for sure it was much more expensive than 1911

Hence, while I have auditioned T5, I also know that the electronics behind the demo were far superior to what I would deploy. So I am tentative on pulling the trigger. As you already highlighted, all the upstream components have a significant impact on the sound quality.

The way this is going, I am now very much inclined to drop T5 from my list as I do not want to buy blind, in spite of the audition.

I think I will drop the T5 discussion at this point and I very much appreciate your insights on 1911 (mis)match with T5 ! Seems T5 were more of a wishful thinking than anything else. Not to mention, my better half is not very inclined with the dealer/distributor set up and their dynamics for PSB. And she seems to like Energy CF-50 / KEF Q500 more.

 

[milestoneseeker]

Ok folks. Here is an update on my search.

I got to audition to Monitor 9 series 7 today. I had asked my local dealer to arrange a pair of these after I had already auditioned Monitor 7. The reason for checking out M9 was primarily because my other set of short-listed speakers were on similar lines as M9 and not just M7 (CF-50 et al).

The pair of M9 were literally fresh out of box and had been played for 30 mins so far. This was something similar to the M7 s7 that I had auditioned at the same dealer. They too had been taken out of box in front of me and during that demo, I had felt that the tweeters needed to open up more.

I started with the M9s (driven by 1912) assuming they may show a similar effect. However, both my spouse & I were pleasantly surprised with M9s. While it does feel that they would sound better when broken in (sound "fuller"), they certainly didn't feel lacking on the HFE and LFE front. The M9s sound much more detailed than M7s. They certainly brought out the deficiencies of an old CD of mine

M9s did wonderful justice to the bass in the tracks of sultans of swings as well as the vocals of Kailash Kher. The bass is there and is punchy. It brought out details in some tracks which I had not heard on my last Sony system and I could make out the difference a good speaker makes Of course, this comment is not for the other demos I have taken but rather what I have lived with so far!

M9s may sound a bit brighter than M7s to some but for my taste, they do fine.

Appearance wise, M9s look just great with a slim footprint and those new drivers look very chic I was surprised at how slim these speakers were and their sound defy the slimness of the cabinets (just like KEF Q500).

Overall, I place them very close to the CF-50s (my current favourites) and better than KEF Q500. I think I will have to go back and listen to MA BR6 to see how they stack up against my current list. Else, it comes down to CF-50 vs. M9s.

Whew, good to see my shortlist coming down !

 

[milestoneseeker]

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?

 

[amanojp]

HI MSS..

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