ranjeetrain
New Member
As I was looking to audition some speakers when I was in Delhi, Malvai and I had decided to dedicate one full-day to audition some speakers at Bass n Treble and listen to Malvai's system. As it turned out my day was entirely washed out due to unplanned activities and it was evening by the time I was able to go ahead with the plan. Obviously speaker audition at Bass n Treble was ruled out, so we decided to spend remainder of the evening listening to Malvai's system.
Where do I begin? There is a lot to tell. Shall I start with the headline? Or with some photos? Okay, I'll do both!!
Today's headline is - Malvai's got one heck of a speaker. Resurrection! As it has fondly been named after the second symphony of Mahler, is a beautiful piece of gear. Something one will totally enjoy listening to, day-after-day, weeks after weeks, hours end on every single time.
And here is the photo of the whole setup.
The speakers are finished in matte black (which complimented Malvai's slightly deco-ish decor very well) and are an imposing beast at first glance. I didn't try to lift it but I can tell they were heavy. Transmission line loaded, means a lof of wood inside, plus, the external cabinet seemed to be solidly done too (could be at least an inch thick). The front baffle is slanted and that adds to look and makes the speaker look stable sitting in its place.
[IMG2]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8242/8456868003_98e7503b9d.jpg[/IMG2] Highlight of the speaker is its entirely detached ribbon tweeter. This tweeter housed entirely in a separate enclosure was a real piece of beauty. Not as much in form as much in function. Separate enclosure meant the tweeter could be moved back and forth, left and right to allow positioning with the axis of the woofer as well off it, should the circumstances warrant it. It also meant that the sound-stage could be marginally or substantially be changed merely by repositioning the tweeters, as opposed to the whole speaker. The tweeter unit was relatively heavy and stability was not a problem. Besides, Malvai had a piece of cloth tucked underneath them which in addition to providing the necessary grip also prevented the top of the speaker from scratches. I feel something like blue tack could add a bit to the sound-stage, though the way the speaker cabinet was inert and the frequency range that the tweeter module was handling, this was a non-issue. But when we talk about maximizing performance, every little thing counts. Stabilizing the tweeter after it has been integrated into the system will surely add some fidelity.
The mid-woofer (or the woofer as some might call them) seemed to be made of some extra light metal alloy for minimum distortion. They wore a brushed aluminum look and looked plainly gorgeous. They need to be kept clean though, as the Resurrection don't have a grill (at least it wasn't there when I saw them). They also reminded me of some speakers from a relatively less know European manufacturer who uses a similar looking driver and integrates them in the same fashion with a tweeter module.
Integration with the system: Speakers have their own characteristics, but their entire characteristic is an outcome of the entire chain they are voicing. Undoubtedly, the sound I heard them produce were produced by the Resurrection, but the amp and the source played a very important role. The Resurrection was being driven by an Accuphase E-460 and was fed by a Wyred4Sound DAC 2 DAC and a phono-stage whose name I can't recall now which in turn was hooked to a ClearAudio turntable.
Impression on sound: The overall sound was (1) Grainless (2) Dynamic (3) Effortless (4) Detailed. The system sounded SUPERB. Something that makes you go, WOW. It was an absolutely grain-free portrayal regardless of the source (we heard both LPs and digital files), except where the source was bad. Malvai had a bad pressing of an album to illustrate the point. But with good copies the sound was absolutely smooth yet lacking no details, not unduly rounded like smooth sometimes refers to. We heard a lot of music; Jazz, Acid Jazz and some popular stuff.
One of the basic expectations I personally have from a speaker is dynamics. I can't live with speakers that sound compressed. The sheer joy of a live orchestra or even a classical symphony cannot be enjoyed on limited bandwidth speakers. I need speakers that impose no limitation on bandwidth and dynamics. I recently sold a pair of vintage speakers that had only one flaw, they couldn't play musical passages with the dynamics of a live orchestra and couldn't bring a musical crescendo to the living room. Not so with Resurrection. Resurrection were at complete ease (part thanks goes to the superb Accuphase, lets not forget) while voicing the very soft coughing of the singer away from the microphone as well as the in your face plucking on strings by the lead guitarist. They succeeded in bringing the joy of musical crescendos to the living room. All this without any sign of stress or fatigue, either on the part of Speakers or the Amplifier.
One of the most striking characteristic of this system, and the one that took me over instantly, was how detailed the system sounded. That was the first thing I told Malvai. Music seemed to have textured layers through which the sound was delivered. There was so much detail in it that it sounded detailed even from outside the main listening room into the kitchen. That is, it was one fun speaker to live with, something that doesn't tie you to the sweet spot. Even if you are out of there, you still get a very accurately conveyed musical message.
Malvai narrated me the story how he got the speakers. There is a dedicated thread on that so will not repeat it here, but feel free to read that thread, a good read. In short, he auditioned the speakers without his amp and decided to go for a home audition. And it worked. Fantastic! Good call on Malvai's part I'd say. I'd have done the same. When it comes to sound mine and Malvai's preference are quite similar I reckon. I have found one set of ears I can trust.
More thoughts on his analogue stuff later. In fact that will be one long story by itself. Or better still, the man himself can talk a bit on that. His journey into analogue world and of course his awesome collection of LPs.
To wrap it up, it was an awesome evening spent with Accuphase, ClearAudio, Gerrad, Resurrection, Wyred4Sound, an awesome collection of vinyls, Malval and FM Prash2k who joined us for a while. Awesome setup Malvai, way to go. I liked what I heard, not only from the sweet spot but also from away from it. I really hope this system stays with you for long, as it is a very well tuned system, something one can live with for long.
Oh, and thank you for the awesome Kadhai Paneer. I miss Indian food so much. Sorry for being greedy and eating your parantha, too :lol:
Where do I begin? There is a lot to tell. Shall I start with the headline? Or with some photos? Okay, I'll do both!!
Today's headline is - Malvai's got one heck of a speaker. Resurrection! As it has fondly been named after the second symphony of Mahler, is a beautiful piece of gear. Something one will totally enjoy listening to, day-after-day, weeks after weeks, hours end on every single time.
And here is the photo of the whole setup.
The speakers are finished in matte black (which complimented Malvai's slightly deco-ish decor very well) and are an imposing beast at first glance. I didn't try to lift it but I can tell they were heavy. Transmission line loaded, means a lof of wood inside, plus, the external cabinet seemed to be solidly done too (could be at least an inch thick). The front baffle is slanted and that adds to look and makes the speaker look stable sitting in its place.
[IMG2]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8242/8456868003_98e7503b9d.jpg[/IMG2] Highlight of the speaker is its entirely detached ribbon tweeter. This tweeter housed entirely in a separate enclosure was a real piece of beauty. Not as much in form as much in function. Separate enclosure meant the tweeter could be moved back and forth, left and right to allow positioning with the axis of the woofer as well off it, should the circumstances warrant it. It also meant that the sound-stage could be marginally or substantially be changed merely by repositioning the tweeters, as opposed to the whole speaker. The tweeter unit was relatively heavy and stability was not a problem. Besides, Malvai had a piece of cloth tucked underneath them which in addition to providing the necessary grip also prevented the top of the speaker from scratches. I feel something like blue tack could add a bit to the sound-stage, though the way the speaker cabinet was inert and the frequency range that the tweeter module was handling, this was a non-issue. But when we talk about maximizing performance, every little thing counts. Stabilizing the tweeter after it has been integrated into the system will surely add some fidelity.
The mid-woofer (or the woofer as some might call them) seemed to be made of some extra light metal alloy for minimum distortion. They wore a brushed aluminum look and looked plainly gorgeous. They need to be kept clean though, as the Resurrection don't have a grill (at least it wasn't there when I saw them). They also reminded me of some speakers from a relatively less know European manufacturer who uses a similar looking driver and integrates them in the same fashion with a tweeter module.
Integration with the system: Speakers have their own characteristics, but their entire characteristic is an outcome of the entire chain they are voicing. Undoubtedly, the sound I heard them produce were produced by the Resurrection, but the amp and the source played a very important role. The Resurrection was being driven by an Accuphase E-460 and was fed by a Wyred4Sound DAC 2 DAC and a phono-stage whose name I can't recall now which in turn was hooked to a ClearAudio turntable.
Impression on sound: The overall sound was (1) Grainless (2) Dynamic (3) Effortless (4) Detailed. The system sounded SUPERB. Something that makes you go, WOW. It was an absolutely grain-free portrayal regardless of the source (we heard both LPs and digital files), except where the source was bad. Malvai had a bad pressing of an album to illustrate the point. But with good copies the sound was absolutely smooth yet lacking no details, not unduly rounded like smooth sometimes refers to. We heard a lot of music; Jazz, Acid Jazz and some popular stuff.
One of the basic expectations I personally have from a speaker is dynamics. I can't live with speakers that sound compressed. The sheer joy of a live orchestra or even a classical symphony cannot be enjoyed on limited bandwidth speakers. I need speakers that impose no limitation on bandwidth and dynamics. I recently sold a pair of vintage speakers that had only one flaw, they couldn't play musical passages with the dynamics of a live orchestra and couldn't bring a musical crescendo to the living room. Not so with Resurrection. Resurrection were at complete ease (part thanks goes to the superb Accuphase, lets not forget) while voicing the very soft coughing of the singer away from the microphone as well as the in your face plucking on strings by the lead guitarist. They succeeded in bringing the joy of musical crescendos to the living room. All this without any sign of stress or fatigue, either on the part of Speakers or the Amplifier.
One of the most striking characteristic of this system, and the one that took me over instantly, was how detailed the system sounded. That was the first thing I told Malvai. Music seemed to have textured layers through which the sound was delivered. There was so much detail in it that it sounded detailed even from outside the main listening room into the kitchen. That is, it was one fun speaker to live with, something that doesn't tie you to the sweet spot. Even if you are out of there, you still get a very accurately conveyed musical message.
Malvai narrated me the story how he got the speakers. There is a dedicated thread on that so will not repeat it here, but feel free to read that thread, a good read. In short, he auditioned the speakers without his amp and decided to go for a home audition. And it worked. Fantastic! Good call on Malvai's part I'd say. I'd have done the same. When it comes to sound mine and Malvai's preference are quite similar I reckon. I have found one set of ears I can trust.
More thoughts on his analogue stuff later. In fact that will be one long story by itself. Or better still, the man himself can talk a bit on that. His journey into analogue world and of course his awesome collection of LPs.
To wrap it up, it was an awesome evening spent with Accuphase, ClearAudio, Gerrad, Resurrection, Wyred4Sound, an awesome collection of vinyls, Malval and FM Prash2k who joined us for a while. Awesome setup Malvai, way to go. I liked what I heard, not only from the sweet spot but also from away from it. I really hope this system stays with you for long, as it is a very well tuned system, something one can live with for long.
Oh, and thank you for the awesome Kadhai Paneer. I miss Indian food so much. Sorry for being greedy and eating your parantha, too :lol: