Sonodyne, are they value for money at their current price?

[Premblr]

I always wanted to ask this, with no offense to any Sonodyne owners, I feel the current pricing for Sonodyne speakers are not value for money anymore.

Look at the current price list, for the same or lesser price, you get an imported brand, with much better fit and finish (wharfedale, ba, polk etc.) at almost same as their specs. These are reviewed and have also seen many awards like editors choice etc.

Now Sonodyne is like Tata Motors, trying to compete with Honda, Hyundai and Toyota at their price levels.

When you manufacture in India, with less than 50 folks at your factory, no import duties and taxes, do you really want to price them at this level?

Can someone high-lite me on this, I am on my final speaker buying stage and I found them to be good, but for the price I don't find them value for money.

 

[Premblr]

Here is their current price and they are for single. I am also aware of the 10% off offer.

Sonus 2605 v3 3 way tower speaker 14500.00
Sonus C 2401v3 centre speaker (shielded) 6450.00
Sonus 2504 v3 2 way tower speaker 10400.00
Sonus Rears v 3 Dipole surround speaker 6800.00
Sonus 1501 v3 2 way bookshelf speaker 5950.00

Roarr 108 Front firing powered subwoofer-100 watt 15800.00
Roarr 210 Front firing powered subwoofer- 150 watt 19450.00

 

[krishnakanth_590]

Very valid doubt, that have been in my mind for months.

Even though I have no straight answers to your questions, I would like to put forward some of the opinions that I formed after searching online and comparing multiple speakers.

About Sonus 2605 v3 3 way tower speaker, they are listed for 29k, and after 10% discount, we get it for 26k. Now, at this price range, these are the other 3 way tower speakers available in the market : Polk TSi 400, Wharfedale Vardus 400. (please point out if I missed any)

Even though there are some more speakers like Magnat Supreme 1000, Wharfedale Diamond series etc, they won't come for 26k. Even though Polk and Wharfedale are foreign brands, we should also remember that the TSi and Vardus are entry level speakers from these brands and hence, whenever I request the forum members about their opinion on TSi and Vardus speakers, most of them said Rti sounds better (in case of Polk Audio) and Diamond sounds better ( in case of Wharfedale) (Yes, it is obvious that they cost more and they sound better hyeah.

Now, can we simply believe in the the brand name and go for foreign brands or should we have some faith in local brands and buy Sonodyne. Even if they don't maintain the fit and finish of foreign brands, I will be more than happy to buy them if they use quality parts and drivers, and they sound better. I feel, forum members who have auditioned / heard all these speakers can tell about the difference.

R-ear dipole speakers which were listed for 13.6k can be bought @12k, I haven't come across any other brand which offers dipole surround speakers at this price ( Please correct me if I am wrong :sad: )

Coming to the Sub woofer, I am a little disappointed by Sonodyne, because the Roar 210 is listed for 19k (17k after discount), and we can get Polk PSW110 (12") for same price and Astonia DF-10 (10" for much lesser money ). The Sonodyne may sound better though .

If you think of complete package Sonodyne 5.0 package comes at around 43k (Sonus 2605,C 2401,R-ears after discounts) and you can get Wharfedale Obsidian 600 HCP, Jamo S606 HCS3 for similar price.

This is only my personal inference after analysis on paper and from other forum members' opinions.

I hope senior forum members clear Premblr's doubts so that I can finalize on the speakers too basing on your answers :lol:.

 

[Premblr]

Yes, even I have heard the polk answer about going for rti and the diamond for warfadale, and they cost much more... and also TSI is not entry level for polk, it is the monitor, tsi is mid range.

There is also mission speakers at much lesser levels if you buy the entire package.

The Sonodyne top end comes to 68K and around 61K after discount.

 

[krishnakanth_590]

Yes, even I have heard the polk answer about going for rti and the diamond for warfadale, and they cost much more... and also TSI is not entry level for polk, it is the monitor, tsi is mid range.

There is also mission speakers at much lesser levels if you buy the entire package.

The Sonodyne top end comes to 68K and around 61K after discount.

I never knew that there was Monitor series on offer from Polk Audio :sad:. I haven't seen it listed in ProFx and hometheatreindia websites.

 

[abhijeet309]

Do Sonodyne sound so bad that they are not worth considering at this price point. I heard 2605 with sonodyne center and surround and they sound amazing to me....
As Sonodyne is an Indian brand we expect it to be sold at cheaper rates but before comparing we should also consider the sound quality not only the brand name.....
Correct me if I am wrong.

 

[oli]

guys, do checkout the 50% off on international shipping to get these foreign brands, unfortunately, its valid only for today, but I guess if you save the quote, you can buy it later too

[HPD] - ishopinternational 50% off on international shipping (4th July) + recommendations - Zeal4deals | Best Deals Online | Shopping Deals India

 

[krishnakanth_590]

Do Sonodyne sound so bad that they are not worth considering at this price point. I heard 2605 with sonodyne center and surround and they sound amazing to me....
As Sonodyne is an Indian brand we expect it to be sold at cheaper rates but before comparing we should also consider the sound quality not only the brand name.....
Correct me if I am wrong.

True !
I haven't seen any forum member saying that Sonodyne speakers sound bad. What I heard from Sonus 2605 speaker users is that at 26k, no other speaker will perform as good as Sonodyne Sonus 2605. And that might be true.

If so, for 26k, we are getting a speakers which sounds better than 26k speakers of a foreign brand ==> WE ARE GETTING BETTER SPEAKER FOR LESSER PRICE :lol: ==> Sonodyne speakers are cheaper
I don't know if that makes any sense :indifferent14:

 

[Premblr]

Sonodyne do sound good, no questions about that as many forum members have said that. I am questioning its pricing strategy, why do some brands command a premium price? it is because they invest on the R&D, to build their intellectual property, that costs tonnes of money and that commands a premium. I am not sure if that kind of cutting edge research goes in Sonodyne as they have a limited product range.

A coke that is available in India for 12 Rs costs 60 Rs in USA. Our salary levels are different, to me Sonodyne looks like they are making hell lot of margin on their product.

 

[AmitKumar]

i have heard sonodyne 1503 bs, 2504 and 2505 fs. The 2505 V3s are very good speakers and can compete with any foreign branded speakers in the range of 40k or so. I dont see them as inferior to any international brand.

Most of the famous speaker brands have outsourced manufacturing to china to cut the cost. The brands have very large sales volume and their manufacturing cost is lessor due to economies of scale. However i dont think sonodyne have very large sale volumes and due to lower number of pieces manufactured their average cost of production will be on higher side. Further cost of manufacturing is anyway lower in china as compared to india. in such scenario foriegn brands can offer lower price but they are not able to do so due to custom duty and transportation.

It is probably not feasible for US to outsource manufacturing of soft drinks to china as the tranportation cost of a cheaper item will be very high. if that happens then you will be able to buy coke in US for few cents may be. Same way if KEF start manufacturing q300 in US or UK then you may not get KEF Q300 for 33k in india, price may be double or more in such scenario.

Regards

 

[akhilkhanuja]

Hello everyone, i.agree with kk. Tsi and vardus are entry level models whereas Sonodyne spkrs are world class. So they are terrific buys.

I am waiting for a pre puja offer n plan to buy the 2504 v3 towers and the center channel too.

 

[vigneshiyer]

Here is their current price and they are for single. I am also aware of the 10% off offer.

Sonus 2605 v3 3 way tower speaker 14500.00
Sonus C 2401v3 centre speaker (shielded) 6450.00
Sonus 2504 v3 2 way tower speaker 10400.00
Sonus Rears v 3 Dipole surround speaker 6800.00
Sonus 1501 v3 2 way bookshelf speaker 5950.00

Roarr 108 Front firing powered subwoofer-100 watt 15800.00
Roarr 210 Front firing powered subwoofer- 150 watt 19450.00

Where did you get the pricing from... looking at HIFIMart, Sonus 2504 is for ?20,800.00. If the above is true then i will get one this weekend.

 

[vigneshiyer]

I have a sub (PS 2000 from Astonia Audio - an indian company). My cousin has a sub from Polk (guess it must be 660 or 550). I feel my sub punches as hard as the polk can. so dont think that indian brands are far behind.

 

[akhilkhanuja]

Vignesh the pricing is correct. The same pricing is their in the stores. I am from kolkata and have visited the store many times

 

[elangoas]

Sonodyne products are extreme value for money EVFM not VFMhyeah:... Am sure there is no doubt about this...

Let me give you some examples...

3 yrs back when i recommended the Sonodyne Sonus 2605 to my friend, he bough it for 24K after discount... Now you can get the same for 26K after discount... so 10% increase in last 3 yrs... Genuine hyeah:

3 yrs back Wharfedale diamond 9.2 was 15K.. Now replaced with Diamond 10.2 which retails for 26K. Sure there can be some R & D improvement... But there has been approx 75% hike in price.... Genuine ?

An other example Diamond 9.5 was 25K.. Now replaced by Diamond 10.5K retails for 48K.... Approx 100% price hike... Genuine ?

BTW 3 yrs back Polk / TSi Wharfedale vardus was retailing less than Sonodyne Sonus 2605.... Due to the rupee weaking against the dollar these products have come closer to Sonodyne Sonus

Compare yourself with any well known speaker brands & you will know yourself whether it is value for money or not...

Every-other foreign brand price has gone up simply more than 50% while Sonodyne has hiked 10%...

 

[elangoas]

An other example to check if it is Value for money or not...

Am not sure how many are aware of Sonodyne Studio Monitor products... One of their studio product SM100Ak (bookshelf size) retails for 65K approx...

Now these are made from aluminium moulds (more costlier than wood), have amplifiers for tweeter & woofer seperately (Active Bi- Amp), a pair for 65K.....

What do you think of international passive speakers (which is made of wood & no amplifier) which retails for close to this price (or) more than this ?... Can you sense the Value for money hyeah:

BTW india is getting cheaper than China in production costs...

 

[baijuxavior]

Where did you get the pricing from... looking at HIFIMart, Sonus 2504 is for ?20,800.00. If the above is true then i will get one this weekend.

The price posted is for a single piece.

 

[vnmathur57]

If Sonodyne start marketing of their products from US or Europe, and leaving manufacturing only at Kolkata, the `phoren' crazy Indians will surely start loving them. :lol:

 

[krishnakanth_590]

Sonodyne products are extreme value for money EVFM not VFMhyeah:... Am sure there is no doubt about this...

Let me give you some examples...

3 yrs back when i recommended the Sonodyne Sonus 2605 to my friend, he bough it for 24K after discount... Now you can get the same for 26K after discount... so 10% increase in last 3 yrs... Genuine hyeah:

3 yrs back Wharfedale diamond 9.2 was 15K.. Now replaced with Diamond 10.2 which retails for 26K. Sure there can be some R & D improvement... But there has been approx 75% hike in price.... Genuine ?

An other example Diamond 9.5 was 25K.. Now replaced by Diamond 10.5K retails for 48K.... Approx 100% price hike... Genuine ?

BTW 3 yrs back Polk / TSi Wharfedale vardus was retailing less than Sonodyne Sonus 2605.... Due to the rupee weaking against the dollar these products have come closer to Sonodyne Sonus

Compare yourself with any well known speaker brands & you will know yourself whether it is value for money or not...

Every-other foreign brand price has gone up simply more than 50% while Sonodyne has hiked 10%...

Wow Elangoas !!! :clapping:
You cleared the air about Sonodyne. :yahoo:
Thanks for detailed comparison.

 

[vigneshiyer]

The price posted is for a single piece.

I always thought the speakers are always sold in pairs (except for centre speakers).. is my understanding correct