Ok first off I am a newbie so please ignore any mistakes I make and please do bring them to my notice.
This is going to be a very long read
I have been planning to write a small post about my findings in the past few weeks. This is a mix of DIY and other topics so planned to post it here. This including several trips to places in and around Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore(current location)
To start off I am a newbie and recently acquired interest in the higher quality of music/home entertainment.
It all began when I inherited a huge bunch of LP's (78's 33's n 44's) when my parental homes in Kolkata was being cleaned up for new building construction. I inherited about 200-250 LP's dated since the 40's n 50's which mostly belonged to my grandparents, parents and uncles. These would have been either discarded or been given off to the local raddi wala.
So now I had the LP's but the LP players that I inherited wasnt in working condition, the rubber washers had all melted and the rubber wheel(which turns the drive) had become brittle. So I stated off by looking for an LP player. I started by doing some research on google and found the LP's have returned with a bang, also found that there is a huge rise in interest over the recent past.
Since I wasnt sure of how long I would actually have interest in LP's, and also my dad telling me that his first LP player was a used one gifted to him by his dad, I planned to take the same path. After asking friends and family I was directed to Lenin Sarani.
The shop that I went to is bang opposite Kamalalaya Centre on Lenin Sarani. There are 3 shops all belonging to the same same person Illyas bhai. The used LP store is run by Zakir(a very helpful guy) and the record player store and the repair workshop run by Musa Bhai.
I was happy to find a well maintained Sonodyne RP 4000D for 5k. I also ended up buying a few old LP's from Zakir. But then came the disappointment. On reaching home I plugged in the player into the Line In of my 50K Sony Home theater but there was no sound. It played perfectly at the store with their old Pioneer Amp. Upon increasing the volume to the Max, I was able to hear a very faint sound coming from the speakers. In sounded like someone sitting next to you listening to an earphone at high volume.
So out came my laptop and then started my googling. I learnt about the concept of phono preamps etc. I also remembered that my 1st HiFi had a phono input but that was long gone. So what to do now?? Ebay had a few starting at 1.5k. But I really didnt want to spend on something without being sure. I went all around Chadni Market looking for a phono preamp but couldnt find one. Half the people didnt even know what I was talking about.So took another trip to Lenin Sarani and Musa bhai to the rescue. He said he could build me a phono preamp for 800 bucks and would come home install it and make sure that it worked properly. I couldnt be happier. So next day I had my preamp installed and spent a whole day listening to different LP's, some which were being played after 30-40 years.
But as my luck would have it, the player started giving wobbly sound on the second day. Took it back to Musa, he tried fixing but couldnt. He tried showing me 10 other players but my mindset had changed. I would rather buy a new one than go for a used one as I would be going back to Bangalore soon and may not find a technician in Bangalore to fix in case any issue arises.
So upon coaxing and cajoling Illyas(the owner) he decided to return 4k in return of the 5.8k spent. I was happy with it because I could afford to run around any longer. So after getting back the amount I straight away went to ProFx and purchased the DP29-F. Here I would also like to mention the other TT's that I considered.
Denon DP29F- Rs.9900/-
Lenco L3866-9490/-
Denon DP200-18000/-
I settled for the least expensive and Denon because 1) I wasnt sure how long my liking for LP's would last 2) ProFx has their head office and service center in Bangalore as compared to Lenco
Now I spent the next few days buying LP's from different LP dealers around Kolkata.
To mention a few:
Royal Record Shop- Free School Street- Mr Azim Shamsi-9831542624
Vibrations- Free School Street- Chotu-Lost contact number but very close to above mentioned store
Zakir-opp Kamalalaya Store- 9748626371
Another store on the ground floor of Kamalalaya Store but at the very end.
So the LP bug had bitten me and I was happy about it until the next bug bit me.
I thought of moving up from my Creative 5.1 Setup to a good quality stereo setup. During this time I had left Kolkata and was in Mumbai for a few days.
I had spent quite a bit of money on my record player and LP's so I was looking for the cheapest option to enjoy good music.
While in Mumbai I considered several options since now I was low on cash and the best way to achieve my setup was to swipe my credit cards.
So I started another thread on hifivision.com asking help about different DIY speaker projects and amps. I must say all the FM's were very helpful. From being ignorant to knowing about crossovers and their designs was a very informative and helpful path that I travelled.
As far as amps were concerned, my budget was low so I asked my fellow FM's about indian brands.
I came to know about Norge, DNM, Telome. I thought of auditioning them so my first visit was to Norge.
I spent a good 3 hrs listening to the 3 amps that I had shortlisted from their website namely the 2060, 1000 Concerto Gold and the 2000 Mosfet.
Considering the price, the sound quality,availability and listening to the same tracks(from diff albums) on all the 3, I must say I had a crush on the 2060.
The 1000 and the 2000 both had similar tonal quality but definitely a stronger and more powerful sound but after listening to the 3 my heart was fixed on the 2060. But I didnt give in to my feelings that day, since in Mumbai I thought why not give the others a try since most Indian manufacturers are based out of Mumbai and I have to be in Mumbai for a few more days.
So next I planned to take a trip to DNM, after having exchanged a few emails, I shorlisted a few according to my requirements. Now the day I went to DNM for the first time I found out that the office was closed 20 mins back and it was 5pm. I found it a bit odd considering someone closing their store at 4:30pm. So I called Mr Bajaj owner of DNM. He mentioned they are open from 8am-4:30pm in order to cater to office goers especially. So I had just spent a fortune on cab fare and 2 hrs of travelling for nothing.
Anyways my second trip was more fruitful and I was able to audition their amps.
Now their amps had the added benefit of built in tuner, usb/sd card support though I wasnt looking out for such features. Their amps sounded good but my heart still beat for the Norge 2060.
So one last audition that I did was the Marantz PM5004. The added benefit being the brand name, the phono input and the looks and features. It was a worthy contender but considering this to be my first setup, keeping my budget in mind and planning to spend good amount on speakers, I decided to go for my 1st crush the Norge 2060.
Now I took another trip to Hammer Smith Industrial Estate which housed Eastern Electronics, the home of the Norge.
On reaching there, I met with Lakshman who had given me the demo previously. I told him I was looking for the 2060 and would it be possible to build a phono preamp into it. He said it shouldnt be any trouble so after deciding on the price for the upgrade, he went straight to work in building the phono preamp on my 2060. In the meantime I had the opportunity of meeting the legend Mr. Shyam Bajaj.
A very humble man in his late 70's, he himself came out of his cabin to have a word with me asking about my interests and where I live and what I do. Trust me friends this after roaming about so much I had actually found someone who made it a point of interacting with customers and helping them out.
He saw me trying to kill time listening to different CD's that were there for demo while Lakshman was busy building my phono preamp. So he came over and handed me a file which had a bunch of appreciative emails and excerpts from various magazines which mentioned him and Norge.
The first article that came to my notice was the one discussed on HiFiVision, it was an article published in a Norwegian Magazine but translated to English. It had pics of him way back in the 60's when he used to work for Tandberg. I went through the entire article and trust me it was worth the read.
After going through the the article he showed me the original article which was published in a Hifi magazine from Norway.
It was really a pleasure meeting the man in person moreover him being so polite, humble and down to earth. So after having a short chat with him I found that my amp was ready. Had it tested using a TT at the shop and listening to 1942 a love story. I must say it was pretty impressive. Before I left Mr Bajaj also came over, shook my hand and wished me Happy Listening. It was a real honour I must say. So done with that I had my amp packed and ready to head back to Bangalore as soon as my work in Mumbai was done.
Price:
Norge 2060- 9000/-
Norge 2060+Phono Preamp- 10000/-
Norge 1000 Concerto Gold- 13000/-
Norge 2000 Mosfet- 13500/-
DNM A777 - 13500/-
DNM A455E - 9500/-
DNM A8080U - 11250/-
Marantz PM5004- 15000/-
So now coming to my speakers. I had initially thought of buying a DIY kit from Corson who had priced their Floorstanders at 18k. But later came to know that they had stopped selling speaker kits and spares and now are better known as Accoustic Portrait who sell some good quality end products like integrated amps and valve amps.
Then upon doing my own research and speaking to FM's I was suggested to buy kits online from places like parts-express.com and madisound.com but upon calculating the charges incurred in having them shipped to India, I preferred sticking to buying parts available in India.
Keeping that in mind I contacted Mr Doshi( Jeetubhai the dad, Mayank the son). Mayank turned out to be a very helpful person who replied promptly to all my queries regarding crossover components, and peerless drivers. He also sent me a huge list of all the Peerless drivers available along with their pics. Upon shortlisting a few, he also quoted the price for the same within no time through email. I was very happy with his prompt reply and professionalism.
Some of the prices that I inquired:
Composite Cone Woofer M13NH-800
Kevlar Cone Woofer SM13IH-1100
1" Silk Dome Tweeter Low Fs Neo TL25SN-1200
1" Silk Dome Tweeter TL26SG-950
Now I am at a point where i am unable to decide whether to go for a DIY or considering this to be my first stereo setup and my lack of knowledge in the field whether to go for a branded speaker within 20-25k. I am very confused regarding the speakers, I want to go ahead with DIY but making the cabinets, designing the XO's and getting a good outcome all seems interesting yet unsure of.
Any suggestions are welcome. Any queries please let me know.
This is going to be a very long read
I have been planning to write a small post about my findings in the past few weeks. This is a mix of DIY and other topics so planned to post it here. This including several trips to places in and around Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore(current location)
To start off I am a newbie and recently acquired interest in the higher quality of music/home entertainment.
It all began when I inherited a huge bunch of LP's (78's 33's n 44's) when my parental homes in Kolkata was being cleaned up for new building construction. I inherited about 200-250 LP's dated since the 40's n 50's which mostly belonged to my grandparents, parents and uncles. These would have been either discarded or been given off to the local raddi wala.
So now I had the LP's but the LP players that I inherited wasnt in working condition, the rubber washers had all melted and the rubber wheel(which turns the drive) had become brittle. So I stated off by looking for an LP player. I started by doing some research on google and found the LP's have returned with a bang, also found that there is a huge rise in interest over the recent past.
Since I wasnt sure of how long I would actually have interest in LP's, and also my dad telling me that his first LP player was a used one gifted to him by his dad, I planned to take the same path. After asking friends and family I was directed to Lenin Sarani.
The shop that I went to is bang opposite Kamalalaya Centre on Lenin Sarani. There are 3 shops all belonging to the same same person Illyas bhai. The used LP store is run by Zakir(a very helpful guy) and the record player store and the repair workshop run by Musa Bhai.
I was happy to find a well maintained Sonodyne RP 4000D for 5k. I also ended up buying a few old LP's from Zakir. But then came the disappointment. On reaching home I plugged in the player into the Line In of my 50K Sony Home theater but there was no sound. It played perfectly at the store with their old Pioneer Amp. Upon increasing the volume to the Max, I was able to hear a very faint sound coming from the speakers. In sounded like someone sitting next to you listening to an earphone at high volume.
So out came my laptop and then started my googling. I learnt about the concept of phono preamps etc. I also remembered that my 1st HiFi had a phono input but that was long gone. So what to do now?? Ebay had a few starting at 1.5k. But I really didnt want to spend on something without being sure. I went all around Chadni Market looking for a phono preamp but couldnt find one. Half the people didnt even know what I was talking about.So took another trip to Lenin Sarani and Musa bhai to the rescue. He said he could build me a phono preamp for 800 bucks and would come home install it and make sure that it worked properly. I couldnt be happier. So next day I had my preamp installed and spent a whole day listening to different LP's, some which were being played after 30-40 years.
But as my luck would have it, the player started giving wobbly sound on the second day. Took it back to Musa, he tried fixing but couldnt. He tried showing me 10 other players but my mindset had changed. I would rather buy a new one than go for a used one as I would be going back to Bangalore soon and may not find a technician in Bangalore to fix in case any issue arises.
So upon coaxing and cajoling Illyas(the owner) he decided to return 4k in return of the 5.8k spent. I was happy with it because I could afford to run around any longer. So after getting back the amount I straight away went to ProFx and purchased the DP29-F. Here I would also like to mention the other TT's that I considered.
Denon DP29F- Rs.9900/-
Lenco L3866-9490/-
Denon DP200-18000/-
I settled for the least expensive and Denon because 1) I wasnt sure how long my liking for LP's would last 2) ProFx has their head office and service center in Bangalore as compared to Lenco
Now I spent the next few days buying LP's from different LP dealers around Kolkata.
To mention a few:
Royal Record Shop- Free School Street- Mr Azim Shamsi-9831542624
Vibrations- Free School Street- Chotu-Lost contact number but very close to above mentioned store
Zakir-opp Kamalalaya Store- 9748626371
Another store on the ground floor of Kamalalaya Store but at the very end.
So the LP bug had bitten me and I was happy about it until the next bug bit me.
I thought of moving up from my Creative 5.1 Setup to a good quality stereo setup. During this time I had left Kolkata and was in Mumbai for a few days.
I had spent quite a bit of money on my record player and LP's so I was looking for the cheapest option to enjoy good music.
While in Mumbai I considered several options since now I was low on cash and the best way to achieve my setup was to swipe my credit cards.
So I started another thread on hifivision.com asking help about different DIY speaker projects and amps. I must say all the FM's were very helpful. From being ignorant to knowing about crossovers and their designs was a very informative and helpful path that I travelled.
As far as amps were concerned, my budget was low so I asked my fellow FM's about indian brands.
I came to know about Norge, DNM, Telome. I thought of auditioning them so my first visit was to Norge.
I spent a good 3 hrs listening to the 3 amps that I had shortlisted from their website namely the 2060, 1000 Concerto Gold and the 2000 Mosfet.
Considering the price, the sound quality,availability and listening to the same tracks(from diff albums) on all the 3, I must say I had a crush on the 2060.
The 1000 and the 2000 both had similar tonal quality but definitely a stronger and more powerful sound but after listening to the 3 my heart was fixed on the 2060. But I didnt give in to my feelings that day, since in Mumbai I thought why not give the others a try since most Indian manufacturers are based out of Mumbai and I have to be in Mumbai for a few more days.
So next I planned to take a trip to DNM, after having exchanged a few emails, I shorlisted a few according to my requirements. Now the day I went to DNM for the first time I found out that the office was closed 20 mins back and it was 5pm. I found it a bit odd considering someone closing their store at 4:30pm. So I called Mr Bajaj owner of DNM. He mentioned they are open from 8am-4:30pm in order to cater to office goers especially. So I had just spent a fortune on cab fare and 2 hrs of travelling for nothing.
Anyways my second trip was more fruitful and I was able to audition their amps.
Now their amps had the added benefit of built in tuner, usb/sd card support though I wasnt looking out for such features. Their amps sounded good but my heart still beat for the Norge 2060.
So one last audition that I did was the Marantz PM5004. The added benefit being the brand name, the phono input and the looks and features. It was a worthy contender but considering this to be my first setup, keeping my budget in mind and planning to spend good amount on speakers, I decided to go for my 1st crush the Norge 2060.
Now I took another trip to Hammer Smith Industrial Estate which housed Eastern Electronics, the home of the Norge.
On reaching there, I met with Lakshman who had given me the demo previously. I told him I was looking for the 2060 and would it be possible to build a phono preamp into it. He said it shouldnt be any trouble so after deciding on the price for the upgrade, he went straight to work in building the phono preamp on my 2060. In the meantime I had the opportunity of meeting the legend Mr. Shyam Bajaj.
A very humble man in his late 70's, he himself came out of his cabin to have a word with me asking about my interests and where I live and what I do. Trust me friends this after roaming about so much I had actually found someone who made it a point of interacting with customers and helping them out.
He saw me trying to kill time listening to different CD's that were there for demo while Lakshman was busy building my phono preamp. So he came over and handed me a file which had a bunch of appreciative emails and excerpts from various magazines which mentioned him and Norge.
The first article that came to my notice was the one discussed on HiFiVision, it was an article published in a Norwegian Magazine but translated to English. It had pics of him way back in the 60's when he used to work for Tandberg. I went through the entire article and trust me it was worth the read.
After going through the the article he showed me the original article which was published in a Hifi magazine from Norway.
It was really a pleasure meeting the man in person moreover him being so polite, humble and down to earth. So after having a short chat with him I found that my amp was ready. Had it tested using a TT at the shop and listening to 1942 a love story. I must say it was pretty impressive. Before I left Mr Bajaj also came over, shook my hand and wished me Happy Listening. It was a real honour I must say. So done with that I had my amp packed and ready to head back to Bangalore as soon as my work in Mumbai was done.
Price:
Norge 2060- 9000/-
Norge 2060+Phono Preamp- 10000/-
Norge 1000 Concerto Gold- 13000/-
Norge 2000 Mosfet- 13500/-
DNM A777 - 13500/-
DNM A455E - 9500/-
DNM A8080U - 11250/-
Marantz PM5004- 15000/-
So now coming to my speakers. I had initially thought of buying a DIY kit from Corson who had priced their Floorstanders at 18k. But later came to know that they had stopped selling speaker kits and spares and now are better known as Accoustic Portrait who sell some good quality end products like integrated amps and valve amps.
Then upon doing my own research and speaking to FM's I was suggested to buy kits online from places like parts-express.com and madisound.com but upon calculating the charges incurred in having them shipped to India, I preferred sticking to buying parts available in India.
Keeping that in mind I contacted Mr Doshi( Jeetubhai the dad, Mayank the son). Mayank turned out to be a very helpful person who replied promptly to all my queries regarding crossover components, and peerless drivers. He also sent me a huge list of all the Peerless drivers available along with their pics. Upon shortlisting a few, he also quoted the price for the same within no time through email. I was very happy with his prompt reply and professionalism.
Some of the prices that I inquired:
Composite Cone Woofer M13NH-800
Kevlar Cone Woofer SM13IH-1100
1" Silk Dome Tweeter Low Fs Neo TL25SN-1200
1" Silk Dome Tweeter TL26SG-950
Now I am at a point where i am unable to decide whether to go for a DIY or considering this to be my first stereo setup and my lack of knowledge in the field whether to go for a branded speaker within 20-25k. I am very confused regarding the speakers, I want to go ahead with DIY but making the cabinets, designing the XO's and getting a good outcome all seems interesting yet unsure of.
Any suggestions are welcome. Any queries please let me know.
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