Jan 2013 Delhi/Gurgaon NCR Audiophile Meet

We never asked to be fast tracked. We just had to start unpacking a bit early & be ready when our chance came. Seeing us unpacking somebody asked to start asap & we just followed it.
We had been allocated an hour & guess shiva was given 30-minutes or so to demonstrate his dac.
Both put together we only overshoot it by not more then 20 minutes even if you consider the packing time.
Just to clear one more confusion.
Cheers
 
Everyone,
I think all of us here should acknowledge the fact that Ashish at Lakozy did great at the event and the event wouldnt have happened without his generous support.
Cheers Ashish ! :D :clapping:

I agree,

We need to give Ashish from Lakozy a big round of applause, we seems to have gotten lost with the negative outlook on things and forgotten the positive things and main supporter of the meet who took great effort to make it possible.

I'll write about the transport on the weekend but writing about lakozy now.


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We got to use the following from Lakozy:

NAD M51 DD DAC

NAD DAC 1 Wireless DAC

NAD M5 SACD PLAYER

Room Equalizer

NAD Dock

Naim Nait 5i

NAD M2

PSB Synchrony one B

PSB active mini speakersSupra Cables

Supra Power conditioner

Nostone Stands

Supra RCA interconnects

Supra Power Cable

Supra XLR interconnects

Supra speaker cables

PSB image B6 was having technical difficulties when we tried hooking it up and could not be auditioned.



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NAD M51 DD DAC (Auditioned throughout the entire meet): Very versatile and decisive sounding DAC. When pitted against the Acoustic portrait DAC, I felt the NAD was better suited for more genres of music, while the AP dac had a certain sweetness when it came to vocals. This dac needs a driver, just like the AP dac and asus xonar essence. The search for their drivers used up a lot of time on our end because we assumed dac's auto detect.

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NAD DAC 1 Wireless DAC: Quite a handly little DAC that worked without breaks in the signal while connected through a computer. The sound when compared to the nad 51 was a little less decisive but it was no small contender even though the size was small, quite impressive. Did not need a driver. Would I buy it? yes I would.

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NAD M5 SACD player: This was the only CD player at the meet so it's hard to compare. However we did use it as a transport and compared it against the acoustic portrait transport and I found again that the acoustic portrait had a slight advantage with vocals while the NAD was better suited for more dynamism in "busy" tracks even when connected as a transport to an acoustic portrait DAC.

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Room Equalizer: We tried this out and it did seem to make a small difference, but I was unable to hear it properly or see the brand because I was doing other stuff at the time, so if others could highlight it please.

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NAD Dock: HUGE sound stage! It's good for casual, small footprint, bedroom or outdoor listening. The bass is quite strong and if I were going somewhere on holiday in a car or something, I'd take this for outdoor listening because it would not sound hollow unlike many other docks I've heard.

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Naim Nait 5i(on DIY floorstanders): VERY sweet sounding combination. We heard the naim right after hearing a lyrtia GM70 amp on the same pair of speakers.
I was worried that naim might sound too bright given the fact the TL floorstander was a little bright according to Pranav, but it was a very sweet sounding combination with good dynamics. HIGHLY detailed but not fatiguing even though paired to a bright speaker. I can definitely now see why people recommend naim nait 5i.

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NAD M2 + PSB Synchrony one B: The M2 though a class D(D does not stand for digital), direct digital topology, it sounded like the most analog amplifier in the meet, the background was totally black. It is built to almost 20kg weight and can drive anything you throw at it. This was evident when we hooked up a PSB ONE B to it and then later connected the ONE B to a cambridge audio azur 840a. I felt the M2 was a little overpriced for it's sound, and that the 390 DD from a lower pricepoint is better value for money given it's direct usb input for computer users like me without any requirement for seperate dac.

However, the M2 confirmed what I read about these 2012 direct digital amplifiers sounding like analog systems. IT DOES NOT SOUND DIGITAL! The sound was THICK lush and well bodied. The PSB ONE B added to the body a little IMO but hearing the ONE B on another AMP, one can decipher the difference and where the M2 stands.

These direct digital amp's like m2 and 390DD are the future, I suggest everyone get familiar with them!

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PSB Alpha PS1 Powered Speaker: These were the most surprising little devils of the meet. They're active, tiny, but sound nothing like it, You'd imagine something as tiny to sound small and have no body to the sound but boy was I surprised (Along with subhoh and ranjeetrain)

We heard it with MJ thriller and some other tracks and I honestly have no words to describe my surprise to their sound to size ratio.

These are excellent contenders for small computer desks that need good sound in minimal footprint.

Supra Cables: No nonsense speaker cables with excellent build, EXCELLENT power cables, the rca cables has slightly fragile terminations imo, the XLR cables again were very sturdy. Everything seemed relatively transparent without any noticeable coloration.

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Supra Power conditioner: HEAVY DUTY! It's built like a tank and everything fit into the power sockets like charm.

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Nostone Stands: Quite well finished, a bit light, but quite rigid, excellent example of how a stand does not need to be heavy to support a massive weight.
 
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Thank @Cor

I second that. Among all of them we have used the all the excellent Supra Products almost throughout the auditions. I would sincerely like to thank Mr. Ashish Kesarwani, for having us using all of them. My observation for Supra products is, they are excellent VFM at fantastic built quality. Especially I found the power cables and the ICs are really great. I picked up a Supra USB Cable for myself:licklips:.

Stuffs which took my attention are:

DSPeaker Anti-Mode 2.0 Dual Core Room Correction w/preamp and DAC:
This tiny little light weight box has capability to work as a room correction unit, a Dac and a digital preamp. I think its an excellent product for those who has acoustically imperfect environment but wanted to get best out of it. Out venue was suffering from very imperfect acoustic problem and this unit came up with a great equalization mode customized to solve this Problem. I must say it was definitely success on that way. Also, It has super built quality with excellent connectivity options. Very useful product!! I really wanted to do a home audition of it, just to see how far I can achieve with it.

NAD M5 SACD player and M51 DAC: Good up-sampling SACD player with excellent built quality and the Dac is very useful with great connectivity options. I was waiting to review this DAC for a while. Both of them are on little brighter side but overall with excellent present ability. One DAC unit has already been picked by a forum member. I am sure some more to go soon!!

Viso One - IPod Dock: Very capable Dock with good bass. Loved the wireless connectivity and playing option from phone or any smart device. Same goes for the DAC1 - Wireless USB DAC.

NAIM Nait 5i - Integrated Amp: Brilliant amplifier. Excellent presentation with all the refinements. No wonder people who settled with NAIM products dont wanted to look beyond. Dr Bass?

PSB Synchrony One B Speaker: Excellent speakers when paired with a good amplifier (preferably a powerful NAD). The sonic presentation is very smooth, neutral, not too forward, rounded and a very not fatiguing sound. I liked them a lot for all the bright bad recordings, but a good system matching is required to get best out of them.
 
I think we must cheer for ashish kesarwani and the distributors who come to HFV meets for bringing their gear and adding a new dimension.. without which substantial fizz would be lost.

mpw
 
Absolutely second that.....Ashish Kesarwani got a lot of different equipment for all of us to experience first hand with different brands.....The supra cables and ICs are great VFM products affordable for everyone.....The NAD DACs are both very good for the prices they offer...the NAD M1 or M2 DAC (don't remember the model number) is an exceptional DAC at it's price level...
 
maybe it will be a good idea for HFV members to chip in from the next meet and distribute a small momento of appreciation .. this can be discussed and debated..

This may also strengthen the HFV logo and brand..

mpw
 
I can see this is "One hell of a thread" which was spoiled by an individual who don't want others to get educated by various inputs in a single place...

Why the heck he has done this.. Since he want to show his item is only great which can make the item value great for reselling ? Or if all members get educated he will loose his high end business :lol::lol:
 
We never asked to be fast tracked. We just had to start unpacking a bit early & be ready when our chance came. Seeing us unpacking somebody asked to start asap & we just followed it.
We had been allocated an hour & guess shiva was given 30-minutes or so to demonstrate his dac.
Both put together we only overshoot it by not more then 20 minutes even if you consider the packing time.
Just to clear one more confusion.
Cheers

Agreed!! Thats true.
 
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