Reviews / Comments on Budget range speakers- Floor standers- Below Rs.25K

[elangoas]

R u guys saying that a sonodyne tower at 27k performs better than a kef-q300 at 30K??
Assuming that a subwoofer is present, how would one compare the 2? I know 1 is a tower and another a bookshelf speaker, but still, can the sonodyne reproduce the kef's outstanding clarity???.

If you like the KEF Q300 & feel the performance is good for the price.. Go for it... Stick to what you love...

I have never heard the KEF Q 300.

Honestly they should not be compared.

As i have told earlier, i have heard the Sonodyne Sonus 2605 FS (3 Way) many times with Yamaha AX 497 & Sony DVD Player/Yamah Cd Player... The soundstage, bass, midrange of the Sonodyne 2605 FS can't be compared to any BS. It was so good without subwoofer.. Now this is for the tamil film songs as the source.

I have just felt the same way with Sonodyne Sonus 2605 as you did with KEF Q300.

For any FS to do justice, you need a solid amplifier... Else you are not going to get the best out of it....

There has been an impression among the forum members that i am obsessed with Sonodyne speakers.

 

[edge111hussain]

i did hear em with the same amp.
Though sonodyne didnt have a proper listening room in mumbai, croma, it was evident to me that the speakers are on the brighter side. Can u audition the q-300's sometime soon and gimme ur take on it as compared to the sonus.
The disadvantage that the sonus has in my case was that it was in the open and not a listening room with way too much external disturbance.

 

[elangoas]

i did hear em with the same amp.
Though sonodyne didnt have a proper listening room in mumbai, croma, it was evident to me that the speakers are on the brighter side. Can u audition the q-300's sometime soon and gimme ur take on it as compared to the sonus.
The disadvantage that the sonus has in my case was that it was in the open and not a listening room with way too much external disturbance.

Really sad to hear that Sonodyne don't have a proper listening room in Mumbai & bangalore. In Chennai we have Vipul Audio Tech, the dealer for Sonodyne products.. who has Approx 150 - 200 Sqft of demo room. Pretty good with reasonable acoustic treatment.

I am glad to help you buddy, but anytime soon is tough. I will give a try next week during national holidays.

Whatz your purpose of the speakers? Stereo (or) HT ?

Yes. They are a little on the brighter side, but not like Klipsch. if matched with a WARM source + amplifier like Marantz, they will be at their best.

If this is for HT system, you can defnetly ignore the system matching in my Opinion. I have heard them with Onkyo & Yamaha receiver's. I liked it more when they were paired with Yamaha receiver.

 

[edge111hussain]

Yes this is for a HT. Wanting to upgrade my onkyo HT-230 speakers (d real upgrade i need are the centers).
But the deal is this, i didnt find sonodyne centers nor kef nor polk to be an read upgrade over mine. They pretty much sound the same which was very reluctantly admitted by the dealers too. Cause i kept on doing an A/B comparison.

Now i understand that i can get a 30-40K center and that will sound really good, but, i dont think i need that for movies in a normal living room. Also since i was going for centers, i thought ill upgrade the fronts too for music. Im getting the fronts but the centers are not appealing to me at all. Point is, why spend 20k when i can barely feel a 5% upgrade in sound quality.

The sonodynes were for 6k centers and thats a sweet price. Wish they had a proper auditioning room. Place yourself in a mall, with lcd's and ht systems of sony lg etc on ur left. bose on the right, jbl behind you. I could at any given point of time hear 5 different sounds.

 

[rajadeep]

Sonodyne centre is a bit disappointing (maybe its the pathetic auditioning conditions on croma)... If u really want a good vfm centre then try the pioneer one... I don't know the price but should not be more than 10-12k...

 

[edge111hussain]

yea but i need to match the fronts with the centers right?
I cant buy different fronts later which dont sonically match the centers. Correct me if im wrong...

 

[elangoas]

yea but i need to match the fronts with the centers right?
I cant buy different fronts later which dont sonically match the centers. Correct me if im wrong...

Yup... i guess in another thread you had mentioned about PSB B6... Try the center speaker from them. If you like the B6 & center from them, then you can complete the L, C & R from PSB itself...

 

[edge111hussain]

i have asked for a quote, once in the showroom and twice over the phone. They say ill mail it but nothing yet. Guess LakoZy doesn't need a mere sale of a b6 and centers. Kinda ruling them out for now or will source from abroad. Dont wanna buy it from him for sure now. Still would love to know their Indian pricing.

 

[edge111hussain]

Any comments on the Q acoustics 2020i's?
They have received 5 stars everywhere and r up for grabs at a mere 149 euros.. any views?

 

[elangoas]

i have asked for a quote, once in the showroom and twice over the phone. They say ill mail it but nothing yet. Guess LakoZy doesn't need a mere sale of a b6 and centers. Kinda ruling them out for now or will source from abroad. Dont wanna buy it from him for sure now. Still would love to know their Indian pricing.

2 years back PSB B6 were around 25K...Now it should be easily around 30K +.....

 

[rajadeep]

yea but i need to match the fronts with the centers right?
I cant buy different fronts later which dont sonically match the centers. Correct me if im wrong...

Hmm have u already bought ur fronts??? If not y don't u chk out the pioneer fs51 with their Center one... I think as far as floorstanders under 30k go these are the ones to beat... While choosing a ht system I feel the most imp speaker is the Center channel one(my personal opinion)... So I would really be matching my fronts to my Center rather than matching my Center to my fronts... Hope that makes sense...

 

[edge111hussain]

Rajadeep i completely agree with you and this is where im in a fix. The kef, polk and sonodyne centers that i auditioned dont seem to be a big step up to my current onkyo's. If i am gonna spend 40-50k, i should atleast feel like i made a sizable upgrade.

I like the fronts, kef and psb both, but kef's centers aint that gr8 and psb well i dunno whats happening there.

considering i have a sub, and my 80% use is movies, should i even consider a floor stander in the 25-30k bracket as against bookshelves with solid components at that same price?

 

[Teja]

Hi Teja,
I am very new to this Forum. I have recently bought the Norge 1000 amp and looking to hook it up with Mordaunt Short Carnival 8 (19k). I can see that you are quite happy with this combo. Any thoughts on the Bass with this combo, because i listen to a lot of Rock. Please share your thoughts

IMO, the MS Carnival 8s make an excellent combo with the Norge 1000. As for the bass, I find it more than enough for my taste. It is tight and precise with no boomy-ness. I have them in a 14x20 room, with the speakers placed 12"-18" away from the walls with a slight toe-in. I hardly ever turn the amp over the 10'O clock position, but on the occasion that I went up to 2-3 O'clock, the speakers stayed true with no distortion (none that I could note anyway). These can get REAL loud, if that is your thing.

And then, you can always add a sub later on if you want more thump. But please try to find a place where you can hear them before you buy. I have realized that sound preference can vary greatly from person to person. (For ex: my wife prefers the sound from Carnival 6s, while I lean towards the 8).

Good luck.

Edit: Also, the Carnival 8s have a compartment/chamber at the base which can be filled with sand or shot or similar material to 'tune' the sound. The process is called 'sand loading' or 'mass loading'. It supposedly enhances the bass, but I never tried it. You can read up about it on the net.

 

[elangoas]

Rajadeep i completely agree with you and this is where im in a fix. The kef, polk and sonodyne centers that i auditioned dont seem to be a big step up to my current onkyo's. If i am gonna spend 40-50k, i should atleast feel like i made a sizable upgrade.

I like the fronts, kef and psb both, but kef's centers aint that gr8 and psb well i dunno whats happening there.

considering i have a sub, and my 80% use is movies, should i even consider a floor stander in the 25-30k bracket as against bookshelves with solid components at that same price?

looks like you are not convinced with KEF, Polk & Sonodyne center channel speakers....Suggest you to consider Paradigm, Monitor Audio & MS range for center & mains... But you will need to spend more...:sad:

For a HT purpose, a Subwoofer is a must. Doesn't matter if you have BS (or) FS. For stereo it is a personal choice.... When i listen to stereo on my diamond 9.2, i never use the Subwoofer.. Juz 2.0 & am pretty happy to use it that way....

 

[cronic2000]

Teja,

Thanks heaps for your thoughts. I will do some research on "Mass Loading" because i remember reading about it on vintage yamaha speakers. Cheers Buddy!

 

[edge111hussain]

I heard the wharfedale 10.cs center today. Now these babies sounded excellend but here is the catch. They were connected to an 80k odd marantz amp + a pre amp bla bla combo. But they sounded exactly the way i feel a center should sound in movies. But their bookshelves r at first impression no where close to the kef-Q300.
My instant reaction or thought was that i feel wharf's r more like allrounders, suitable for music as well as movies. KEF and psb seem to have a greater emphasis towards stereo sound rather than an HT package (pls correct me if im wrong here).
Also i do have a 150 rms sub which will be part of the HT setup + yamaha 473.
In ur general opinion and overall opinion of other members, is a 10.1 or 10.2 combo with the wharf 10.c.s making sense considering that my 80% usage will be movies and that i have a humble yamaha 473 amp on me and not a high end one?
Or should i go for those sheer awesome BS speakers and pair it with a center of my choice??

I.E, paradigms center 3 is turning out to be more expensive than the bookshelves itself. Is that a sensible way to go?

looks like you are not convinced with KEF, Polk & Sonodyne center channel speakers....Suggest you to consider Paradigm, Monitor Audio & MS range for center & mains... But you will need to spend more...:sad:

For a HT purpose, a Subwoofer is a must. Doesn't matter if you have BS (or) FS. For stereo it is a personal choice.... When i listen to stereo on my diamond 9.2, i never use the Subwoofer.. Juz 2.0 & am pretty happy to use it that way....