Speakers Auditioning..the journey begins..

[afj]

Wonderful inputs-I'm loving it!

Also, I wanted to know if I'm missing out on any other FS that cost around 35-40k a pair which is a must listen before making a decision.

kefs iq series
monitor audio bronze series

 

[mnemonic]

Owing to some work at home over the past two weekends my auditioning of speakers didnt really take off as planned. However, I managed to listen to the Wharfedale 9.5 and the 9.6 at Bass N Treble Dwarka. Denny is an auditioners delight, just lets you do your thing as he sits down with you and enjoys the music. He is one of those few folks I met who does not offer unsolicited advice. On the whole he made the auditioning an amazing experience.

I auditioned the same set of tracks mentioned earlier and both the Wharfies lived up to the billing. Sound staging was immaculate in both with a smooth upper range, Norah Jones appeared in front of my minds eye. The bass was punchy bass even without the sub woofers on and both the 9.5s as well as 9.6s had a decent mid range. Though the 9.5's performed with ease on most tracks, they were a little out of breath when a range of chords enter the scene in Violet Hill- Viva la Vida. The same piece sounded clean on the 9.6's and I was quite taken by those. The receiver in pairing was the SR 5002 Marantz which I have come to adore of late. So, the Wharfies are in my final shortlist at 38k a pair. I also got a decent deal on the centre and 9.1 diamonds for surrounds and the pack minus the sub worked out to 95k.

Yesterday, I was in Okhla and managed to dive into Sight n Sound for some 15 minutes. I heard the Dali Concept 6 which retails at 38k a pair coupled with a Denon 1509 and I didnt come away very impressed. I found the Dali Concept to be real smooth but did not excel in any department. The vocals in Pink Floyd was pretty arranged behind the instruments or so I felt. However, I got a small listen in on the Ikon 6s and they were a different breed altogether. I intend to go again this weekend with my test tracks and give a listen in.

Shall post on that soon!

Vijay managed to pick up a 1909 from Sight and Sound at a price to die for, shall leave it to Vijay to break the news.

So as of now my shorlist is as follows:

1. Klipsch RF-62, paired with a Marantz SR 5002 or Denon 1909

2. Jamo C 407, paired with a Marantz SR 5002 or Denon 1909

3. Wharfedale 9.6, paired with a Marantz SR 5002 or Denon 1909

Would love inputs from the group on this...

 

[adder]

well i have heard the c405/c407 with marantz stereo amp and also have heard wharfedale 9.5/9.6 with onkyo a/v reciever and denon stereo amp,the c405/c407 was much better in detail,tighter bass,then diamond 9.5 .the 9.6 kinda gets boomy.
i would even rate the MS906i to be better then wharfedale,the best offcourse is the c405/c407.

 

[venkatcr]

Mnemonic, unless you are in a tearing hurry to buy, see if you can listen to the Yamaha 663 or 863. In today's crop of AVRs, I strongly feel the Yamahas are the best. They sound very good for movies and music. They have an authority that I find missing in the Denon and Pioneer at least. I have not seriously auditioned the Marantz so I will leave that out.

Cheers

 

[mnemonic]

Hi Venkat.

I will certainly listen to the Yamaha 663 before I decide which receiver to buy. To be honest, I have not even come to the receiver shortlist. To me upscaling doesnt really appeal and would go with a receiver that does the audio bit best (I know, then I shud be buying a stereo amp for music). Much appreciate the insight.

 

[gobble]

well i have heard the c405/c407 with marantz stereo amp and also have heard wharfedale 9.5/9.6 with onkyo a/v reciever and denon stereo amp,the c405/c407 was much better in detail,tighter bass,then diamond 9.5 .the 9.6 kinda gets boomy.
i would even rate the MS906i to be better then wharfedale,the best offcourse is the c405/c407.

I heard the 9.6/9.6 and thought they were boomy too. Yes I thought the 906s were pretty good. They do not "dissapear" though or so I thought. An audition will tell.

Cheers

 

[thevortex]

To expect a floorstander to do the disappearing act in this 40K budget seems to be a bit unreasonable. That is what I found out when I was searching for the same qualities.

On the receiver front, you have to nail down as to how important music is as compared to features such as upscaling. If the former is of paramount importance, Marantz is streets ahead of Yamaha or Denon or Onkyo. If you would like for other features such as upscaling etc., then the Yamaha comes into the picture.

I rate the C405/Marantz SR5001 combination very highly. I actually liked the C405 better than the C407. In the latter I thought the bass dominated a touch more than I would like for it to.

Not to throw a spanner in the whole works. But I would repeat what all the experts have repeated ad infinitum. Unless your romm size is greater than 250 sq ft. or you have a preference more for movies than music, standmounts (bookshelves) will serve you better - in this budget - than floorstanders. However - you will need to invest in a subwoofer as well if you go for bookshelves. What I can tell you is that the additional outlay more than justifies itself once you settle down to hear it. It is also a matter of personal preference.

 

[thevortex]

Two other thoughts on the same subject. I never found the 9.6 to be boomy. I have heard this speaker only when paired with Marantz amps/receivers. There is a lot of bass but none of it felt like uncontrolled bass.

The MS 906i maybe a very good speaker, but paired with the Marantz it becomes way too bright for my preferences. The high frequencies ruthlessly dominate everything else - even the midrange. I guess this is again a question of taste. But I have a feeling that something like a NAD amp may help sop the brightness and make it a little bit more mellow - however I must hasten to add that I have not tried this combination. Also the MS 906i is pretty light in the bass department. Many bookshelves at comparable price generate deeper and tighter bass.

 

[mnemonic]

Thanks for the inputs vortex. My living room is larger than 250 sqft and I guess I will stick to the FS.

And coming to the disappearance act of the 9.6, guess I forgot to mention that I closed my eyes while listening to Norah Jones. Or perhaps its the novice in me coming through.

 

[Vj@HiFi]

First and foremost, my sincere thanks to Venkatcr for all his help and advice...

Yes I did pick up my 1909 and the 9.6s pair to finish part one of my audio setup.

The sound changed completely once I ran the audio setup on the avr, but it is all new to me, so it is going to take some time to understand all this talk about the sound being 'bright', 'laid back', etc. etc. Ok, I probably understand 'boomy' now!

I think I got good prices on the stuff.

Now have to scout for the surrounds and the center, any suggestions? Unfortunately my room does not allow me to mount the right surround speakers on the wall, well there is no wall there... It would be difficult to understand what I am saying, so I'll try and upload a picture for that...

Once again thanks to Venkat and all other experts (madbullram, moserw, gobble, thevortex are a few names that come to my mind) from whose posts I learned a lot. All of you are very kind souls...

 

[venkatcr]

First and foremost, my sincere thanks to Venkatcr for all his help and advice... Yes I did pick up my 1909 and the 9.6s pair to finish part one of my audio setup.

Congratulations, Vijay. Your choices are good, and you will enjoy the system for a long time.

Once we see your room photos, maybe we can work a way out for your surrounds.

Cheers

 

[gobble]

Hey Congrats! Enjoy tinkering and have patience until the system runs in. Experiment with speaker placement and toe-in etc ...

Are the 9.6 speakers ones that allow you to fill sand into the base? Just curious if the sound can be attuned that way... I heard people do it so my curiosity was stirred.

Regards

 

[suprateep]

Hey Congrats! Enjoy tinkering and have patience until the system runs in. Experiment with speaker placement and toe-in etc ...

Are the 9.6 speakers ones that allow you to fill sand into the base? Just curious if the sound can be attuned that way... I heard people do it so my curiosity was stirred.

Regards

i have heard certain speakers can be - the ms 906 and upwards all have a ballast tank - can be filled with good quality refined sand, iron fills etc.

Should give deeper effects am sure to the sound - less rolling, less boomy, more tight

 

[prakasse]

Yes I did pick up my 1909 and the 9.6s pair to finish part one of my audio setup.

Hi,

Can you let us know at what price did you get AVR and 9.6

Thanks,
Prakash.

 

[ashishkesarwani]

I think that you should also audition Polk Audio Rti A5 which is within your budget or if you could up it a bit then Rti A7. You could audition them with Mr Sandeep Jain of M/s Trinity Sight and Sound, Rajouri Garden or with Mr Tanuj at M/s Sight and Sound where you could also audition Dali Ikon 6. When I went for my speaker shopping around the time of Diwali this year I auditioned MS6 at CA showroom at CR park. Those were good speakers but slightly expensive also as I was in the market to upgarde my existing setup which was Wharfadale Waldus Towers, Diamond 8 Center, WH2 Surrounds and Sw150 Sub, nobody was willing to trade in with my existing setup so I managed to find Mr. Sandeep Jain whom I knew since the time he was located in GK 1 market before the sealing, so he gave a good price for my existing setup and I traded them with him for The Polk audio RtiA line i.e RTI A7towers, Csi6 Center, FXI6 Surrounds and Rti A3 Rear Surrounds. He also offered me a good discount on the Mrp mentioned on the Pro FX site. Its been 6 months now and the speakers have fully break in, they sound awsome from what I use to listen before. I also auditioned Dali Ikon 6, MS Avant series, Klipch Ref 82 series, Wharfadale 9.6, Jamo C6 & 8 Series and after all this audiotining I am happy with my Polks.

 

[thevortex]

Thanks for the inputs vortex. My living room is larger than 250 sqft and I guess I will stick to the FS.

And coming to the disappearance act of the 9.6, guess I forgot to mention that I closed my eyes while listening to Norah Jones. Or perhaps its the novice in me coming through.

Just as our tastes in music is personal so is our perception as one is connected to the other. So, what I may not find in a speaker you may and vice versa. As otherwise this would then become a perfect science - which is no fun.

Have fun with your system.

 

[thevortex]

First and foremost, my sincere thanks to Venkatcr for all his help and advice...

Yes I did pick up my 1909 and the 9.6s pair to finish part one of my audio setup.

The sound changed completely once I ran the audio setup on the avr, but it is all new to me, so it is going to take some time to understand all this talk about the sound being 'bright', 'laid back', etc. etc. Ok, I probably understand 'boomy' now!

I think I got good prices on the stuff.

Now have to scout for the surrounds and the center, any suggestions? Unfortunately my room does not allow me to mount the right surround speakers on the wall, well there is no wall there... It would be difficult to understand what I am saying, so I'll try and upload a picture for that...

Once again thanks to Venkat and all other experts (madbullram, moserw, gobble, thevortex are a few names that come to my mind) from whose posts I learned a lot. All of you are very kind souls...

Glad you were able to settle down on a system you liked. Hope you derive great enjoyment from the combination. All the best.

 

[madbullram]

COngrats mate. My advise, enjoy your system for sometime before jumping on the surround. Let the feeling sink in, once you have completely understood your sound stage then audition the surround to go with it

 

[gobble]

Though percussion is good, and Sivamani is a master in that game, remember, most percussion instruments never go below 40Hz or so.

Music does not go very low, and if it does it is unnatural. You should expect most music to level off at 35 to 40Hz. If you want anything in music to go below that you have to listen to some numbers that uses pipe organs. Another advantage of Western Classical is their large soundstage.

When you listen to drums, please do not look for enhanced and boomy bass. This is what most demo guys will do. When you listen to bass, look for clarity - can you identify each drum and hear and recognise their independent sound signatures. Can you differentiate a mridangam from a tabla? Can yo0u hear the 'brrrrmmmmm' when Zakhir Hussain pressure slides his palm across the face of the tabla?

Some of the best low frequencies have been recorded in movies. Some of my favourites are:

1. True Lies: Chapter 31 has tremendous low frequencies in the 25-30Hz range generated by the helicopters.

2. The Fifth Element: Chapter 3 has lots of deep bass when the space ship lands and when the alien opens the wall.

3. U571: The depth charges go down to 20Hz and round off in mid bass.

4. Event Horizon: The starting scene has bass deep enough to break glass. This is in 5.1 mode only.

Some musical CDs that do go way down are the following:

1. Pomp & Pipes (Amazon.com: Pomp & Pipes: Dallas Wind Symphony, Paul Riedo, Frederick Fennell: Music). This has sub 20Hz signals on track 4 as well as very tight drum strokes throughout.

2. Bass Outlaws - Illegal Bass (Amazon.com: Illegal Bass: Bass Outlaws: Music) has very loud bass at, again, the sub-20Hz levels.

3. Virgil Fox (Laserlight Recordings) (Amazon.com: Virgil Fox Performs Bach, Franck, Dupre, Widor and other: Jehan Alain, Johann Sebastian Bach, Marcel Dupre, Cesar Franck, Eugene Gigout, Joseph Jongen, Louis Vierne, Charles-Marie Widor, Virgil Fox: Music). Track 4 C.Frank's Piece Heroique has sub 20Hz from 1.30 mins into the track.
Cheers

Hey Venkat

How do you know if particular track goes down to 20hz or not? Do you have equipment to measure? Just curious.

Regards

 

[mnemonic]

Has anyone in the group auditioned the Dali Ikon 5 speakers? This speaker is the younger bro of the famed Ikon 6 and runs 2x5" drivers for bass and mids apart from the ribbon tweeter carried over from the bigger brother. I intend to visit the Dali folks this weekend before I take my call on the speakers. Inputs to set expectations are welcome.