Sonodyne Sonus 2605 : A detailed review

elangoas

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Hi all,

Wanted to share my experience with you after spending a weeks time with Sonodyne Sonus 2605..

Tech Specs : From Sonodyne Website

DESCRIPTION 3 way floorstanding speaker system
ENCLOSURE 18 mm MDF front: rich silver; sides: red wood
TRANSDUCER COMPLEMENTS 2 x 6.5" PP cone woofer
1 x 5.25" PP cone midrange
1 x 1" silk dome tweeter
NOMINAL IMPEDANCE 8 Ohm
FREQ. RESP. (+/-3 dB) 45 Hz ~ 20 kHz
SENSITIVITY (1W, 1M) 89 dB
CONTINUOUS POWER (RMS) 130 W
CROSSOVER FREQ. 600Hz, 3.5kHz
CROSSOVER TYPE 4th Order Linkwitz Riley
GRILLE Grey cloth stretched on a one piece MDF frame
DIMENSIONS (HxWxD) mm 1024 x 210 x 307 (without spikes)
NET WEIGHT 22 Kg.
INTERNAL VOLUME 42 L


Why Sonodyne Sonus 2605 : @ the moment i have Wharfedale diamond 9.2 speakers...As you all know it is a wonderful speaker for the price...I wouldn't hesitate to call it the favourite of the forum for people who are on a budget:clapping:....My choice of listening to stereo is only 2.0....Moreover my liking was for a lilttle more bright speaker which i discovered after owing them for close to 2 years..So when i started to think abt a lil bright BS speaker & complete the HT setup step by step, every-other BS speaker cost in the range of 25 - 35K...Now after this the center channel speaker alone costs 15 - 20K & the surrounds a real bomb......I did study the price for most of the international brands & i was not convinced abt their retail prices......

For example Wharfedale diamond 9.5 was selling @ 25K two years back (2010)...Now the same speakers are sold for 40K....The higher pricing of the speakers kept me off from the international brands.....

So i had to settle for Indian brand which is priced modestly.....

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mr. Praveen (Vipul Audio Tech - Sonodyne Chennai Dealer) who obliged to lend me the tower speakers for a home dome for a weeks time.....The reason behind getting them home was to check if a large FS would fit for my listening area of 150 Sqft.

Coming to the components used for review....(No Subwoofer since stereo listening and i love it this way :eek:hyeah:)

Source material used : I have huge collectin of FLAC files (Film Songs) on my WDTV Live HUb (Media Player).

Receiver : Marantz SR 5200 (Non HDMI) receiver which was roughly 85w/channel output. This Marantz receiver has 96Khz/24Bit DAC for Stereo/ All channels. Source Direct mode engaged on the receiver - Speakers are treated as FULL Range irrespective of whether the speaker is SMALL (or) LARGE speaker setting on the receiver....This will bypass all the tone controls (Bass, Treble adjustments) and play the music as close to the recording...

Stereo power amplifier : Sonodyne SPA 202 (120 W in to each channel @ 8 Ohms / 200W in to 4 Ohms per Sonodyne website)

Connectivity : I used the Digital out (Optical) -> Marantz Receiver Optical in (Non HDMI) for audio & HDMI out from WDTV Live Hub -> Panasonic TH-L32X24D LCD HD ready Tv for Video; Receiver Pre-outs to the Stereo power amplifier.

Listening area - 150 Sqft - 14 feet wide x 11 feet length

Speaker Placement : 8 feet apart, 2 feet from either sides of the wall & less than a feet from rear wall....(Sonus 2605 are Front ported)

Here is a review of the most underrated speaker of the forum (Sonodyne Sonus 2605) with the more popular receiver Marantz powered by Sonodyne Stereo Power amplifeir SPA 202...I say underrated because, they don't receive enough recommendations from FM here though in-spite of being very affordable....

I have always wondered why a 3- Way tower speaker which being so affordable (27K) is not even considered nor been recommended to any forum members....I understand & appreciate that every one has liking of speakers & matching amplifiers.....But these are blindly w/off.....Obvious few reasons which i understand after spending 3 years in the forum

--> Not many are actually aware that there is an Indian brand called Sonodyne....(Even i came to know abt it only 3 years before)
--> Sonodyne has no propoer listening room in any city.....Either listening rooms with glass (or) unacceptable listening areas....(Shopping malls)
--> Not many range of products for stereo lovers...
--> Not much of aesthetic appeal...

Now moving on to the review

Look & feel : Fit & finish are really good...Very few colour options aval...Didn't feel that heavy....The speaker grille is stretched from the head to the toe of the speaker & is a bit heavy...So nothing to reveal :)

I played some familiar film songs that i have listented to many times on my diamond 9.2's/ Mission M35i.....Immediately i noticed that the bass from the Sonus 2605 was short @ moderate listening..the sound was not as open as wharfedale (or) Mission (Mission M35i were more lively & on the face kind of presentation) But good enough & it had its own character..The more you listen, the more you like it....

On bass heavy songs, it sounded very nice...Juz tight quality bass, detailed midrange and good highs...I could hear more details on some songs which were not prominent on Diamond's 9.2/Mission M35i with the same receiver +
amplifier..

I was thinking why a floorstander couldn't produce sufficient bass than a BS @ moderate volumes....Am i not pushing it ? (or) if i should tweak the speaker settings menu on the receiver which was set to 15db (Max Level) which i had set it for my diamond 9.2.... Also thought if Bi-Amping would improve the bass on this FS...So i decided to get some old speaker wires which i had...

Bi-Amping the Sonodyne Sonus 2605 (To experiment myself how it sounds)

Receiver speaker settings reduced to 13db from 15db...( i Guess this is one of the reason why many ppl prefer stereo amplifeir over receiver for stereo listening)

I used the Marantz receivers Left & Right speaker output to the HF(Tweeter) of the tower speakers & Sonodyne stereo power amplifier Left & right speaker output to LF (1 Midrange + 2 Woofers) driver of the towers.... and again started playing the familiar songs wherever i felt the bass was short....Now it did open up than before.....Bass was sufficient at moderate listening levels & atleast to my liking with no Hint of boominess.....

Now on playing some bass heavy songs, It was playing superb...Punchy bass....The bass quality was very tight with right attack.....It stops where it should & starts juz right.....the mids & highs were crystal clear and the stereo seperation just fantastic... (Sounds travelling from one speaker to another speaker)...I haven't heard like this before.....Very beautiful & i loved this trait of the speaker most....

Some songs which i loved on Sonus 2605

Hindi - Agneepath - Abhi Mujh mei kabhi - Sounded really wonderful :clapping:
Hindi - Anjaana Anjaani - Anjaana Anjaani

Telugu - Athadu - Neetho Cheppana
Telugu - Sri Rama Rajyam - Devulle Mechhindi, Seetha Seemantham & Ramayanamu :clapping:

Tamil - Neethane En Ponvasantham - Saayundhu Saayundhu, Katrai knojam, pengal endral had a very large sound stage..
Tamil - Baana Kathadi - Thakuthe Kan Thakuthe
Tamil - Iruvar - Vennila Nennila :clapping:
Tamil - Subramaniyapuram - Kangal Irundhal
Tamil - Mounam Pesiyadhe - Aadatha aatam enna :clapping:

On some songs, it sounded really brillinat more than what i expected from the speaker and on some songs it sounded very average....I guess this could be because of the recording content.....

String instruments sound very good as well as classical instruments like tabla

Watching DTH HD/SD: Stereo Broadcast

Componenets used : Videocon HD DTH; Marantz receiver, Sonodyne power amplifier & Panasonic HD ready LCD Tv.

Connectivity : Co-Axial Digital out from DTH --> Marantz receiver Co-axial Digital In; HDMI out from Videocon HD DTH-> Panasonic TH-L32X24D LCD HD ready Tv for Video.

Wathching HD broadcast : The sound is broadcasted in Stereo/Dolby digital mode....I chose to listen them in stereo mode...Especially on HD channels, the audio quality of the broadcast is really commendable & almost close to the CD quality....When watching Discovery / National geographic, the sound from the speaker is very large...You can feel the sound of rain, wind, fire.....No exaggertaion here....Other HD music channels UTV HD, d2h HD music and few other channels sound equally good... & movie channels Star Movies HD, Times NOW HD & Zee Movies HD sounded very spacious, open and almost fills the room with ease...More importantly very involving....

When my brother wanted to buy a FS 2 years back, i came to this forum asking for what would be a suitable amplifier for Sonus 2605...Since i was new & there were not enough recommendations for 2605, my brother settled for Mission M35i + NAD C326.

I will NOT miss it an other time...:licklips:

My diamond 9.2's will be on sale soon & i am settling for Sonodyne Sonus 2605 (27K) + Sonus C2401 (6K) + Sonus Rears Dipole (11K).....So approx 45K you get a 5.0 speaker system.....I have also planned for subwoofer later from Sonodyne...Their Studio Monitor Series SLF 200 for around 25K with remote control.......My brother owns the Sonodyne SLF 200 for more than 2 years & i have no second thoughts abt any subwoofer for that price....

if you compare this speaker with other international brands with the same number of drivers; you will really feel the VALUE of money....International brands with the same driver config will cost you anything >50K....Defenetly not less than this....
 
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:) ... +1

Post a link to this thread on the Sonodyne 'contact us' webpage. And 'direct' them to pay you a fee for this marketing-effort initiative :D
 
:) ... +1

Post a link to this thread on the Sonodyne 'contact us' webpage. And 'direct' them to pay you a fee for this marketing-effort initiative :D

Thanks for the compliment buddy :eek:hyeah:..Did i sound like marketing the product :sad:...Plz let me know where i should edit the review.. i ll do it accordingly...:)

BTW this is diwali time, i am expecting a Bonus in addition to their pay :eek:hyeah:
 
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Thank you for writing such a detailed review. It will be helpful to a lot of people, specially given that there are so many people who are interested in Sonodyne but don't take the plunge due to lack of reviews.

Very well done!
 
Thank you for writing such a detailed review. It will be helpful to a lot of people, specially given that there are so many people who are interested in Sonodyne but don't take the plunge due to lack of reviews.

Very well done!

Thanx ranjeetrain.... I am glad if my experience with Sonus 2605 will give an idea to others....:)
 
Good one and a detailed review on Sonodyne. Really appreciated Elango for your observation and comparison made with other International brands. Folks in India we will try with sonodyne.
 
very well done elangoeas...very well done...
what was neck to neck difference of sono fs with your wharfe bs....was there any??
thank you mate...work truly appreciated.....:eek:hyeah:
 
Very nicely written and informative.

Would you happen to have some photos of the speakers? The online ones from google are kinda crappy so was curious to see some proper pics. I've seen them before but never paid close attention.
 
Build, fit, and finish of Sonodyne speakers is A rate. I have seen their entire product line (for home use) and some professional monitors in person. They had them displayed in an hifi show. Unfortunately, they didn't have them setup and playing. So I could only see them, not hear them.

I spoke to them and felt that their marketing strategy was highly flawed. They are still living in 80s. I asked them why they are not present on the hifi scene and why there are no dealers/demo rooms? They said something like (its been like a 7-8 years since then so don't remember the exact words): they don't want to clubbed together with likes of Sony/Samsung/LG. Granted, a decade ago there weren't many dealers dealing exclusively in hifi, but there definitely were some. There weren't many buyers of speakers costing in multiples of ten thousand rupees, but there definitely were some. In their eyes, the domestic market was not matured enough for their products.

I didn't react to their philosophy, I had no reasons to. But I know exactly why they are invisible. Their marketing strategy is very poor. They have some very good products, but how many people know about them? In short, they acted very high. It was a bit surprising as at the very same show there were brands like DynAudio, Dali, Jeff Rowland, Mirage, Classe, Rotel, Avant Garde (from the top of my mind). And in that kind of company they thought their products were too niche to be mass-marketed. Luckily they were not too high headed to even display their brochures. In fact, they gave me brochures of their entire (home audio) product line.

Well, to be respectful to their marketing philosophy, they axed their own legs. Indian domestic market is more matured than they thought (at least now if not back them). Its a shame they don't have representatives even in top 5 cities of India.

Come on Sonodyne, you can at least have one dealer in each metropolitan area. Hire some fresh people in your sales and marketing team. With the ones I interacted with, you are never going to be anybody on the world stage. Today, it's not enough to just have good products, some marketing is needed. May be your team believes in "good product sells itself", and it's not entirely untrue. But guess what, B&W, Paradigm, Monitor Audio, JBL; they all market their products. Are they not good? By acting niche, you are just harming your own interests.
 
very well done elangoeas...very well done...
what was neck to neck difference of sono fs with your wharfe bs....was there any??
thank you mate...work truly appreciated.....:eek:hyeah:

Thanx prosenjit....It would be unfair to compare the Sonus FS with Diamond BS....A very apt comparison would be with Sonus 2605 Vs Diamond 9.6/10.7...
Each one has their own character...

Diamond are warm speaker, like a very obedient on all music material... whereas Sonus are lil bright speaker with lil arrogance & can surprise you...

As i said earlier, I was actually surprised with few film songs which i have heard many times on Diamond's which were so nice....But on Sonus they sounded more spacious & large.....
 
Very nicely written and informative.

Would you happen to have some photos of the speakers? The online ones from google are kinda crappy so was curious to see some proper pics. I've seen them before but never paid close attention.

Thanx corElement....I didn't click any pictures as i don't have a digital camera :sad:..My mobile camera is very bad..Juz 2 MP....

They are nice & solid..atleast for the demo piece that i bought

I will upload more pics when i get them....:licklips:
 
Build, fit, and finish of Sonodyne speakers is A rate. I have seen their entire product line (for home use) and some professional monitors in person. They had them displayed in an hifi show. Unfortunately, they didn't have them setup and playing. So I could only see them, not hear them.

I spoke to them and felt that their marketing strategy was highly flawed. They are still living in 80s. I asked them why they are not present on the hifi scene and why there are no dealers/demo rooms? They said something like (its been like a 7-8 years since then so don't remember the exact words): they don't want to clubbed together with likes of Sony/Samsung/LG. Granted, a decade ago there weren't many dealers dealing exclusively in hifi, but there definitely were some. There weren't many buyers of speakers costing in multiples of ten thousand rupees, but there definitely were some. In their eyes, the domestic market was not matured enough for their products.

I didn't react to their philosophy, I had no reasons to. But I know exactly why they are invisible. Their marketing strategy is very poor. They have some very good products, but how many people know about them? In short, they acted very high. It was a bit surprising as at the very same show there were brands like DynAudio, Dali, Jeff Rowland, Mirage, Classe, Rotel, Avant Garde (from the top of my mind). And in that kind of company they thought their products were too niche to be mass-marketed. Luckily they were not too high headed to even display their brochures. In fact, they gave me brochures of their entire (home audio) product line.

Well, to be respectful to their marketing philosophy, they axed their own legs. Indian domestic market is more matured than they thought (at least now if not back them). Its a shame they don't have representatives even in top 5 cities of India.

Come on Sonodyne, you can at least have one dealer in each metropolitan area. Hire some fresh people in your sales and marketing team. With the ones I interacted with, you are never going to be anybody on the world stage. Today, it's not enough to just have good products, some marketing is needed. May be your team believes in "good product sells itself", and it's not entirely untrue. But guess what, B&W, Paradigm, Monitor Audio, JBL; they all market their products. Are they not good? By acting niche, you are just harming your own interests.

Yes ranjeetrain,

You are absolutely right..Sonodyne need to change their marketing philosophy atleast for home audio....

They had Stereo Pre / Power, Multichannel Pre - Power amplifier & Aluminium speakers (Avant) 10 yrs back...

If they could do it 10 years before when the market was not ready , they can do it much better now which has evolved... It is going to get better day by day....

Bring on your revamped multi-channel pre/power amplifier Sonodyne, I am game for it... :yahoo: I have used you stereo power amplifier & know what to expect from it...

Am sure many more would be interested for the modest price :licklips:
 
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Thanks for the review. Will keep it in mind next time I recommend... you've tempted me to order too. I've been a HTIB user primarily but at those prices it sure makes sense to go with Sonodyne.
 
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