Pls help close a long brewing issue to buy my home music system...

[bittoz]

Warm greetings from a minutes old member!

I need urgent help on helping me decide what to buy to build my hifi system and I will be cryptic to get across facts without occupying letter space...

Location: New Delhi

Music Choice: Classic rock, jazz, western classical - streamed and full range audio

Age: Just tipped over 50

Living room size: roughly 600 sq. ft.

Budget: 80k - roughly 30 for amp, 30 for speakers, 15 for player, and 5 for accessories

Preferred brands - Amp: Rotel, Cyrus, Creek, Cambridge, Roksan ~~ Speakers: Epos, B&W, Dali, Kef ~~ Player: Sony, Marantz, Cambridge, Arcam ~~ Accessories: Stands and cables

Problem statement: Just ended up deciding to go for hifi instead of HT but while one would like to go for a Rotel RA-04 + Epos 12.2 + Marantz/Sony Player, I realise that Epos are not available here. Also B&W 685, Dali Lektor 1, Kef are adding to the speaker confusion and Cyrus, Creek and others to the Rotel choice. Finally serviceability and big room (and neurality of sound without playing them here) have confounded the issue.

Is there hope?

 

[Rem]

Go for the
Cambridge Audio 640 A & C combo for amp and player or

Marantz CD6002 & PM6002 combo

Both these combos would cost you around 40k and you can use the other 40k for speakers and accessories.

Btw how good was the Epos12.2 have heard a lot about it never got to audition it till now

 

[bittoz]

Many thanks Rem...Obviously you recommend these over the other brands thrown by me in my moment of distress and I will explore accordingly. Speakers? B&W 685, Kef, or Dali Lektor 1, or any other to match? Will the Cambridge be able to give sufficient wattage for a 600 sft room - idea is not to blow my head but get some level of pumped up volume to do justice to sound. You've got choices where you live but the retail system in Delhi is weak and hence seeking advice again.

Thanks again!

 

[dinyaar]

Hi,
Welcome to the forum.

U have a large room so there is a strong case for a floor stander. Problem is finding one that is musical in the budget.

For amps upto 30 K consider Nad, Marantz, Denon. I have owned Rotels and they cause fatigue so its a big NO NO. CA also can be an option but if they are to be really driven in that large room i doubt they will suffice. Cyrus and roksan are double the budget that u have mentioned.
For speakers apart from B&W/KEF/EPOS/DALI there is also Monitor Audio and PSB that should be considered.
I would spend 5K more than ur budget on a cdp and buy the marantz 6002 and spend 5K less on the amp.
There are a few indian brands out there too and they are pretty good too. Look at some pre owned gear too as its more VFM.

I know it can be confusing but better to be confused now than end up with something that does not appeal to u in a short while.

Rgds

 

[Rem]

I am no expert Bitto but whatever limited audio equipement I have exposure to or heard about I can say that for a 600sqft room I would definitely recommend a FLoorstander rather than a bookshelves the B&W 685 I heard was in a room of about 350sqft size and with an amp which was costing close to a lakh so cant say how it would sound with Marantz or Cambrige Audio .

I have heard that teh NAD amps are generally good at driving speakers to good volume levels but i have not heard a NAD till now.

I can recommend one thing the Mordaunt Sort & Cambridge Audio main distributor in India is based in Delhi their Address is


Fx Entertainment

Corporate office & Flagship Store:
40/46, C R Park,
New Delhi - 110 019,
India.
Web: Fx Entertainment

Email: contact
@fxentertainment.in

Telephone: +91 11 40507113 - 40507114



Try and audition the cambridge Audio 640 series over there with any Mordaunt Short Speaker within your budget and see whether it fits your requirement. You can also talk to the guys over there regarding your requirement and they may be able to help you out.

Dali Distribtor address is

Dali Speakers dealer distributor in India

Sight and Sound India
A unit of Concept Entertainment (India) Pvt. Ltd.
D-12/4,
Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-II,
New Delhi - 110020


M sure you would be able to make up your mind after auditioning these. Mordaunt Short or Cambridge Audio speaker prices once you get the quote you can let me know ill give you the Bangalore dealers number and may be able to get you a better deal.

All the best

 

[SuhasG]

While suggesting this I am considering your room size as one very important factor. A room size of 600 Sq Ft is a lot of room, you need a good floor stander pair.

As a first step , buy a nice floor standing speaker pair and then build a system around it as and when budget permits
You can't get a good pair in 30K budget so spend maximum on speakers in the tune of 60K.

Balance 20K can be used for;

1> Cables : 5K
2> DVDP : 3-5K
3> Amp: 10-12K

With 10-12K you go for NORGE or likes (if wanted something new) or any pre-owned NAD, CA.

I agree that NORGE and DVDP are not in tune with 60K Speaker pair
but still you will get a good starter system to begin with. And then after as and when budget permits , you can upgrade components in this order:

1> Source component (I highly recommend Oppo players here)
2> Amplifier (pre-owned amp , that way you can get more for your money.)
3> Cables (restrict to 10% of your total system cost).

Hope this helps

 

[magma]

get
the Jamo C405 (30k) Floorstander
AMp get the Marantz PM 6002 ( 25k) or NAD 325 BEE ( 22k) or a model higher if you can afford
marantz or NAD cdp one model higher than the enry level(18k)

this is what i would select if i had your budget and your room

 

[bittoz]

Thanks to all who responded before this post but you have helped send me back to the drawing board as I must do a little more research to establish where do I finally position my budget - everything has a downside, referance the 600 sft room. I have the money but was trying to also get an Enfield bike - another thing I was prevented from pursuing in my young age.

Thanks again and I hope to be back soon with my final choice. If there are any further suggestions that can make me poorer by another 15-20k I'd welcome hearing from you.

 

[venkatcr]

Problem statement: Just ended up deciding to go for hifi instead of HT but while one would like to go for a Rotel RA-04 + Epos 12.2 + Marantz/Sony Player, I realise that Epos are not available here.

Have you heard the Epos? If so can you not get them from another city in India? It makes a lot of sense to go for what your ears like.

Cheers