Hi,
Introduction
After being a passive reader for past couple of years, finally happy to share my audiophile journey and the setup I currently have
Like many others I started off with lifestyle systems and was into home theatres and was happy listening to music through them including Apple Ausic Dolby Atmos.
All this changed when I got a high-end stereo setup in my car about 3 years back. It was a 3 way active setup with audiophile components (DSP, amp and speakers). That kindled my liking to listen to proper stereo music and it was during that time I got introduced to stereo separation, imaging, sound staging, etc . After that I could no longer listen to music via my home-theatre system (including Dolby Atmos tracks) and that started my quest to experience audiophile nirvana in my home setup.
Buying decision
With that context, I started seriously exploring high end stereo setup to listen at home. I spent lot of time researching online on the various brands, reading reviews and took demos across various audiophile shops in Chennai.
That’s when I came across AVlounge showroom and noticed instances of it mentioned in hifivision as well.
Though I had an idea of some popular audiophile brands, I had never come across the brands that were there in AV Lounge. I still decided to go and explore the place as it was quite near my home.
I spoke to Mr. Venkat and first had a demo of an entry level system (Soulnote A1 amplifier paired with Chario Lynx speakers and Electrocompaniet CD player acting as the source). I was immediately impressed with the very first notes I listened to – it was an Illayaraja album Bharathi. Subsequently I listened to different genres of music and everything sounded clean and organic with good resolution but no hint of harshness.
I went away and did my research about the brands Venkat had. I read about the USPs of each of the brands and subsequently had few more demo sessions. Venkat was kind enough to arrange them but never made any sales pitch to push any product. After multiple sessions I had narrowed down to Soulnote A1 + Chario Lynx combo and Electrocompaniet ECI 6 mk2 + Chario Delphinus mk 2 combination. The latter was a step above in all aspects - overall refinement, sound stage, scale and dynamics and of course it was pricier as well. After discussing with Venkat and considering my room size, decided to spend extra and go with ECI 6 + Delphinus combination. I was thinking long term and wanted to have a system that will keep me happy and satisfied for years to come.
About the system
Whilst I had finalized the amp + speakers, I didn’t have budget for dedicated streamer/DAC. Since I already had a Chord Mojo 2 + Poly combo, I had decided to use that as source transport for at least a year or so and upgrade later. I was quite happy and satisfied with the overall system after it was setup i.e. source = Chord Mojo 2 + Poly, Amp = Electrocompaniet ECI 6 MK2 and speakers = Chario Delphinus MK2. I experienced everything that I was expecting – good instrument separation, wide and deep soundstage and good dynamics. I particularly enjoyed the nuances in the texture of the bass notes which I had never experienced before. I was initially skeptical of the bass sounding boomy given I was placing them on my existing wide TV cabinet and closer to the wall than I would have preferred. But to my surprise the bass sounded well controlled and tight, think it’s due to the combination of the amp taking full control driving the speakers and design of the Chario speakers with down firing bass ports. The only negative trait I observed was it sounded slightly brighter and I didn’t experience the “refined / analog sound” that I had experienced in the demo sessions. I thought maybe overtime system will break in and things will improve. I listened to this for about 3 months or so but I started realizing that my source was the weakest link in my overall chain and also that I wasn’t extracting the fully balanced capabilities of the ECI 6 amp (Chord Mojo 2 + Poly isn’t balanced and only had single ended ports).
To confirm my apprehensions, I went to Venkat’s store and did an A/B comparison of my Chord Mojo2 + Poly in his setup as source and compared against a network player from Electrocompaniet – ECM 1 MK2 after volume matching. I immediately realized what I had been missing, the same Delphinus bookshelf speakers suddenly sounded like floor standing speakers when ECM 1 MK2 was added in the mix and everything sounded a notch above – there was added weight and body to the instruments and the vocals sounded more present in the room, the sound stage was deeper. There was more kick and punch to the overall presentation but importantly it never sounded bright or harsh. That’s it, I had made up my mind to get the ECM1 MK2 network player once I had the funds. After about 8 months, I took the plunge and added the ECM 1 MK2 to my setup. With now couple of months in with this setup I am super happy with the overall combination and feel satisfied that I had made the right choice. Overall, below is my current setup:
Source / Transport = Electrocompaniet ECM 1 MK2
Amp = Electrocompaniet ECI 6 MK2
Speakers = Chario Delphinus MK2
Streaming app/Player
My primary listening source is Qobuz and personal collection of songs stored in hard drive. I alternate between the official Electrocompaniet “EC Play” and JPlay as my player for the setup. I didn’t find any difference in sound quality between the 2 players, however JPlay is definitely more intuitive and snappier to use. This is an area where EC Play could improve, but it does its job. To its credit it has never crashed or frozen – it seems to be a no nonsense app with simple functionalities.
Conclusion
Overall feel happy I have found the right system matching my taste of listening.
The system particularly shines with vocals and helps bring out the finer textures of the music while keeping everything under control which I am enjoying the most. I can happily listen to for hours and get lost in the music without getting fatigued at all, I mean it and not exaggerating . My day starts and ends with listening to my setup!
While I used to listen to different genres of music, I have now started listening to more Jazz, Carnatic, Indian classical and currently digging some of the old gems of Illayaraja and ARR.
Sharing a pic of my setup and happy to answer any queries related to my setup.
Introduction
After being a passive reader for past couple of years, finally happy to share my audiophile journey and the setup I currently have
Like many others I started off with lifestyle systems and was into home theatres and was happy listening to music through them including Apple Ausic Dolby Atmos.
All this changed when I got a high-end stereo setup in my car about 3 years back. It was a 3 way active setup with audiophile components (DSP, amp and speakers). That kindled my liking to listen to proper stereo music and it was during that time I got introduced to stereo separation, imaging, sound staging, etc . After that I could no longer listen to music via my home-theatre system (including Dolby Atmos tracks) and that started my quest to experience audiophile nirvana in my home setup.
Buying decision
With that context, I started seriously exploring high end stereo setup to listen at home. I spent lot of time researching online on the various brands, reading reviews and took demos across various audiophile shops in Chennai.
That’s when I came across AVlounge showroom and noticed instances of it mentioned in hifivision as well.
Though I had an idea of some popular audiophile brands, I had never come across the brands that were there in AV Lounge. I still decided to go and explore the place as it was quite near my home.
I spoke to Mr. Venkat and first had a demo of an entry level system (Soulnote A1 amplifier paired with Chario Lynx speakers and Electrocompaniet CD player acting as the source). I was immediately impressed with the very first notes I listened to – it was an Illayaraja album Bharathi. Subsequently I listened to different genres of music and everything sounded clean and organic with good resolution but no hint of harshness.
I went away and did my research about the brands Venkat had. I read about the USPs of each of the brands and subsequently had few more demo sessions. Venkat was kind enough to arrange them but never made any sales pitch to push any product. After multiple sessions I had narrowed down to Soulnote A1 + Chario Lynx combo and Electrocompaniet ECI 6 mk2 + Chario Delphinus mk 2 combination. The latter was a step above in all aspects - overall refinement, sound stage, scale and dynamics and of course it was pricier as well. After discussing with Venkat and considering my room size, decided to spend extra and go with ECI 6 + Delphinus combination. I was thinking long term and wanted to have a system that will keep me happy and satisfied for years to come.
About the system
Whilst I had finalized the amp + speakers, I didn’t have budget for dedicated streamer/DAC. Since I already had a Chord Mojo 2 + Poly combo, I had decided to use that as source transport for at least a year or so and upgrade later. I was quite happy and satisfied with the overall system after it was setup i.e. source = Chord Mojo 2 + Poly, Amp = Electrocompaniet ECI 6 MK2 and speakers = Chario Delphinus MK2. I experienced everything that I was expecting – good instrument separation, wide and deep soundstage and good dynamics. I particularly enjoyed the nuances in the texture of the bass notes which I had never experienced before. I was initially skeptical of the bass sounding boomy given I was placing them on my existing wide TV cabinet and closer to the wall than I would have preferred. But to my surprise the bass sounded well controlled and tight, think it’s due to the combination of the amp taking full control driving the speakers and design of the Chario speakers with down firing bass ports. The only negative trait I observed was it sounded slightly brighter and I didn’t experience the “refined / analog sound” that I had experienced in the demo sessions. I thought maybe overtime system will break in and things will improve. I listened to this for about 3 months or so but I started realizing that my source was the weakest link in my overall chain and also that I wasn’t extracting the fully balanced capabilities of the ECI 6 amp (Chord Mojo 2 + Poly isn’t balanced and only had single ended ports).
To confirm my apprehensions, I went to Venkat’s store and did an A/B comparison of my Chord Mojo2 + Poly in his setup as source and compared against a network player from Electrocompaniet – ECM 1 MK2 after volume matching. I immediately realized what I had been missing, the same Delphinus bookshelf speakers suddenly sounded like floor standing speakers when ECM 1 MK2 was added in the mix and everything sounded a notch above – there was added weight and body to the instruments and the vocals sounded more present in the room, the sound stage was deeper. There was more kick and punch to the overall presentation but importantly it never sounded bright or harsh. That’s it, I had made up my mind to get the ECM1 MK2 network player once I had the funds. After about 8 months, I took the plunge and added the ECM 1 MK2 to my setup. With now couple of months in with this setup I am super happy with the overall combination and feel satisfied that I had made the right choice. Overall, below is my current setup:
Source / Transport = Electrocompaniet ECM 1 MK2
Amp = Electrocompaniet ECI 6 MK2
Speakers = Chario Delphinus MK2
Streaming app/Player
My primary listening source is Qobuz and personal collection of songs stored in hard drive. I alternate between the official Electrocompaniet “EC Play” and JPlay as my player for the setup. I didn’t find any difference in sound quality between the 2 players, however JPlay is definitely more intuitive and snappier to use. This is an area where EC Play could improve, but it does its job. To its credit it has never crashed or frozen – it seems to be a no nonsense app with simple functionalities.
Conclusion
Overall feel happy I have found the right system matching my taste of listening.
The system particularly shines with vocals and helps bring out the finer textures of the music while keeping everything under control which I am enjoying the most. I can happily listen to for hours and get lost in the music without getting fatigued at all, I mean it and not exaggerating
. My day starts and ends with listening to my setup!While I used to listen to different genres of music, I have now started listening to more Jazz, Carnatic, Indian classical and currently digging some of the old gems of Illayaraja and ARR
.Sharing a pic of my setup and happy to answer any queries related to my setup.
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