Sonodyne SiA 208R with Wharfedale 10.1

Latest Update :

Final day before my workplace decided to kick me out.

Made some more enquiries in the morning, still the Yamaha A-S300 was the cheapest among the 'Vilayati' amps at 16.5. Didn't like it, so.....

Rushed to the workplace, pretended to devote myself to work through the day, while daydreaming about binding posts. :D

Coerced my wife to bring the speakers to the South City Mall Sonodyne Listening Room.
Auditioned the SiA 208 R for the first time with the Wharfedales.
Sounded really sweet!:licklips:

Took the black baby home.

Have listened to 4 cds at home till 12am.
Bliss, bliss!

Must mention the very very helpful Sonodyne demonstrator ( Tamal ).

And, once again, my gratitude and thanks to all my friends who helped me here.

Immense gratitude to Pratim-da (pratimbayal) for initiating me into this lovely world of sound!:clapping:
 
I am sure she is as nice as any wife on this planet. Just give her the right sorrt of music. Maybe its just that your favourites are not exactly in her line.
 
Pratap, you are really really lucky. All wives love romantic music. But expenditure for that music is strictly no no for them. Congrats for the purchase. Wish you good luck and great time.
Regards,
Partho.
 
Latest Update :

Final day before my workplace decided to kick me out.

Made some more enquiries in the morning, still the Yamaha A-S300 was the cheapest among the 'Vilayati' amps at 16.5. Didn't like it, so.....

Rushed to the workplace, pretended to devote myself to work through the day, while daydreaming about binding posts. :D

Coerced my wife to bring the speakers to the South City Mall Sonodyne Listening Room.
Auditioned the SiA 208 R for the first time with the Wharfedales.
Sounded really sweet!:licklips:

Took the black baby home.

Have listened to 4 cds at home till 12am.
Bliss, bliss!

Congratulations on the purchase! Glad you liked the Sonodyne. :yahoo:
Now that you've got a two-channel system, the need for the CD player to make the most of the system will manifest. :eek:hyeah:
 
I am using my existing DVD Player ( Philips DVP 3566) as the source. I know it's not adequate, but will have to do for a couple of months.

Listened to '"Beyond Rhythmscape" by Bickram Ghosh today. The CD had been lying around for a couple of years. Never knew it could sound like this!
 
@Pratapaditya
I have read your thread just today and became very happy reading the pleasant end of your journey towards the 2 channel audio set-up. I also thank Pratim for his motivation and guidance provided to you. In limited budget also, one can enjoy good 2 channel audio, provided the components are properly matched. I think Marantz amp could have been slightly better, but nevertheless you and your wife are happy and you could give a truly nice birthday gift to your wife. Enjoy.

For source there are number of ways. You can go for CDP. Or you can go for a DAC and use your DVD player as transport. You can build an HTPC with good sound card.

Cheers
Amit
 
Ahem.....didn't actually intend this to be a " Wife " thread....:D

@AMITNOIDA

Thanks for the wishes. Really enjoying old CDs coming to life!

I settled for the Sonodyne in the end for two reasons : a) I had to increase the budget at least twofold before I got satisfaction, so stretching it midway was futile; (b) The SiA 208 R sounded sweet with my speakers.

I will upgrade in the future, but only with a more flexible budget.

Please enlighten me on the DAC with DVD Player as transport concept. I'm still a hopeless noob, I guess.:eek:
 
Please enlighten me on the DAC with DVD Player as transport concept. I'm still a hopeless noob, I guess.:eek:

Well, instead of upgrading to a CD player, you can keep the DVD player and use it as a transport. In essence, that means using the DVD player as a drive which reads the bits off a CD. Those digital bits are then piped into another black box called a DAC, which would convert the digital data into an analogue signal which would be fed into your amp.

I prefer the CD player approach, personally...
 
Hi pratapaditya,

Congrats on your purchase. For the source consider Marantz CD 5004, if all your music are on CDs. It can play both Audio CDs as well as MP3s. You are assured of a 30% improvement in the Sound quality compared to DVD player. Also use good interconnects (like Chord Crimpson) and speaker cables(like Belden) to fully enjoy the setup. Try mounting your speakers on a heavy stand.

Just my Rs.2/-.

N.Murali
 
Now that the OP has bought his stuff, can I ask the OP to handover the thread control to me ? I am still confused about the amplifier I want to buy.

I had an initial budget of 30K for the amp and the source but since I need a source that can read USB data, I am more or less focussed on Logitech squeezbox touch. After sparing 15K for this, I am left with 15K for an amplifier.

This sonodyne approach sounds fine but I guess I should target something better.
 
@ vasishta.sushant:
there's no thread 'control'. Take over. Nice of you to ask, though.

@murali n,
Thanks for the the suggestion regarding the CD Player. I'll surely remember it when I make the upgrade.

How important are interconnects? The speaker shop suggested a pair of CA interconnects for Rs. 800/-, which i didn't buy at that moment as I was still looking for the amplifier. At present, the DVD Player is connected to the amp using the supplied red and white RCA connectors. Should I go back and buy the inerconnects now? How much of an improvement will they make?
 
After going through so many reviews, I am thinking of prioritizing the amp purchase first. Either Cambridge Audio 550/650 or Marant 5004/6004. Whatever that I'll get cheap.

Ready to make compromises now. Netbook would be my source. Will see if I need to upgrade the source again.

GODs, what would be the best value for money thing now (out of the four above) ?
 
See if you can audition the Yamaha A-S300. It is available at a price closer to your budget. Specs are quite good.

I personally heard the CA550 and would have bought it blindfold were it not so much away from my budget.
 
Since I've made my mind to not go ahead with the source modification, I currently have a budget of like 25K for the amplifier. I am assuming I won't have to upgrade this thing now.

I guess I should have lot more options now.
 
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