Speakers for music

[sandeepmohan]

You already own a decent speaker.

My PSB's are fantastic. I won't ever give up on them. They will continue to serve as the HT main speaker. The problem is they don't go as low as I would like.

I paid a shade over 15k for the PSB's. Are you saying that a speaker at a lac can only be half decent as my PSB's? Isn't a lac a lot of money for a good speaker? I mean, how much does one need to spend today to get quality stereo equipment.

I have just started this journey and kinda feel like ending it already due to crazy pricing of Hi Fi today. Forget anything high end. Folks on this very forum ask for complete rigs within 50k or less. I've budgted 200k and now, even that does not sound enough. Epic.

 

[gobble]

Go easy man .. don't get Frust at the start itself. Try a budge/price point approach. Break down the components into 75-100K 50-75K 25-50K brackets.
Now audition at least two gear in the 75-100K bracket. Then a week later audition at least two in the 50-75K bracket. then 25-50K... This may help you figure what you are going to miss as you scale down and also reveal secret performers in the budget mid-range category that don't lack too much for their price compared to their higher end counterparts. Keep a personal diary and log book with your thoughts and feelings noted briefly and then decide when everything seems to click.

The task of spending 2 lacs on multiple gear selections wisely can weigh down like a burden. Its slightly easier psychologically when the decision is only for a single component. Once you bracket expenses into gear categories it will become a saner exercise. For example you know you can only spend so much for a source and so much for a speaker and all that leaves you so much for cables and IC's ...
Deconstruct the larger problem into smaller ones with a somewhat fixed yet flexible budget per component and take small steps in retrofitting the gear that is your latest temptation into a mental plan.

Aahem ... like they say ... Take my advice ... I don't use it anyways ...

~G0bble

 

[hydra]

Sandeep, perhaps if you take some time to make your decision, you'll feel less under pressure from within. I took two years to plan my speaker upgrade. I'm not saying you should take that long, especially as you probably have the necessary funds in hand.

Most of all, when I said you should take time, I mean that you should buy only when you find something you really want. It should not really be an upgrade for upgrade's sake. Or you'll soon be on the upgrade path again.

If you like the PSB sound, you should perhaps listen to the Image T5 and the Image T6. They will come within 1L. An amp to drive them should comfortably come within 80K.

 

[square_wave]

Sandeep,

Since the rupee is pretty weak these days, most floorstanders in the range of 100k (new retail) will not be a substantial upgrade for you when it comes to many important parameters. They will probably be a little better here and there and you may get a little more bass. I recently had a chat with a friend who used to have an entry level bookshelf speaker from a big brand connected to a classic rotel integrated amp. He got the upgrade bug and sold it all and picked up a floor stander from monitor audio and some chinese assembled big brand integrated amp. Long story short; overall satisfaction compared to the older setup is pretty much the same a little improvements here and there and some short comings too.

Most of the big brands do not make much money from their entry level offerings especially the book shelf speakers. Small cabinets which cannot do much wrong and drivers which meet some essential criteria will essentially get you some decent hifi. When you go into mid-level floor-standers, the cost go up exponentially for manufacturers larger cabinets where a lot can go wrong, multiple drivers good integration. complex crossovers etc.. Either you keep it simple or go into a level where all these important things are taken care of means $$$ or good DIY.

But if you have dealers who will work out deals for you or if you look at the used market, you can push it a little further. Substantial gains are to be gained if you this way. If buying new at 100k, buy good bookshelf speakers.

 

[sandeepmohan]

I took two years to plan my speaker upgrade. I'm not saying you should take that long, especially as you probably have the necessary funds in hand.
It should not really be an upgrade for upgrade's sake. you should perhaps listen to the Image T5 and the Image T6.

I have given myself a lot of time. Over two years. I did not have a choice. I had to raise the funds. Taking a entertainment loan is not the way I work. In all this time, I have heard a number of rigs. Mostly well above the lac for the speaker alone. The Ushers are 1.35lac. I can fund this.

This is not an upgrade. I am starting from scratch. The PSB's are part of my HT and from a HT perspective, they are great. Being a small speaker, they have their limitations.

I don't think a T5 and T6 will be a true upgrade. I was looking at the Imagine series but got a shock after I heard the 1.55lac price tag. Music Ranch says I have to buy them blind. Audition not possible. What are these guys thinking.

 

[sandeepmohan]

Either you keep it simple or go into a level where all these important things are taken care of means $$$ or good DIY.

You recommended the Cadence thats on sale. I'll make some time and give them a shot.

 

[mpw]

Isn't a lac a lot of money for a good speaker? I mean, how much does one need to spend today to get quality stereo equipment.

======================================================

these days.. a lot more.. or a lot less.. depends on your expectations, music and your room.

it depends on what deal you are getting for a lac.

For a new speaker - floorstander - in whatever auditioning and owning experience i have and for whatever its worth - a lac is not good enough - IMO.

I am talking from the perspective of a floorstander that seemingly does it all - and means business.

I think you would need a budget close to 3 to 3.5 lac to get the whole chain right and even thats not a guarantee after spending so much money. ( CDP 1 lac + amp 1 lac + speakers 1.5 about ) + the cables and the carpets etc..

OTOH, folks rave about Sonodynes ( with all due respect ) which cost about 30 k for a floorstander.

None of the speakers do it all - for all kinds of music. Its always a tradeoff.

Try the usher home demo - if it fits the bill - else the merry go round will begin. It can be fun though !

I went thru your thread but couldnt get a fix of what you listen to.

check out various combinations and see what floats your boat. You never know where you find what you are looking for and it could be at a cheaper price point too

Maybe good headphones.. who knows ??

But please listen to the stuff before you plonk the money.

mpw
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[elangoas]

I have heard a Yamaha HS8 quite extensively. I like them. They are more suited for personal listening than to be placed in a living room. Besides; I can't have the clutter of power and XLR chords running all over the place. Then there is the concern of getting a top notch mixer that will work well for multiple sources.

I understand your concern of cables. So you like actives....May be some planning to hide the cables might work for you...

How abt Active's for home...... Sonodyne Opus Range for home....

SONODYNE

(or)

SRP series for home

http://sonodyne.com/products.php?cat_id=1&type_id=1&subcat_id=101

Opus 2100 would approx cost you a Lac.. For the rest of your remaining budget, you may consider a high quality pre-amp + DAC

I would suggest you to keep auditioning your other shortlisted passive range... Once you have narrowed down your choices bet 2 - 3, try to take an audition of Sonodyne Opus....

 

[sandeepmohan]

folks rave about Sonodynes ( with all due respect ) which cost about 30 k for a floorstander.

I found the sound of these quite harsh to my ears. Heard them with their own amplification. The KEF Q900, Usher is on another planet compared to the Sonodynes.

Pro Fx have a discount deal going on for the next 3 days. 10 - 20%. I got a call. Q900 at 88K. Super tempted. The only thing holding me back are the Ushers which had a sound that I preferred over the Q900 and for not much more money.

I went thru your thread but couldnt get a fix of what you listen to.

It is in my original post.

 

[mpw]

what will you pair the KEF's with ?

mpw

 

[jai1611]

Having owned the kef q900s, I'd recommend a class a amp for them - they need the bit of warmth. They worked well with a sugden and Jungson amp.
I suspect that the blumenhofer a are a notch higher

 

[Her Master's Voice]

Having owned the kef q900s, I suspect that the blumenhofer a are a notch higher

Having also owned Kef speakers in the initial stage and now the Blumenhofer Genuin FS5, I would say they are worlds apart. Undoubtedly the Blumenhofers are way ahead and one should definitely listen to them. These are real high end speakers.

 

[sandeepmohan]

My Bluemnhofer Acoustics Genuin FS 5 were delivered this morning.

This speaker shook me the first time I heard it. For those who have visited The Listening Room, it takes something to shake a room as large and I was not expecting this from a bookshelf. The FS5's are bigger than the usual book shelves and I will need new speaker stand for them. The Genuin sound is to be experienced. Though it was nowhere as good an experience with my Av receiver (Compared to the Trigon Energy), I don't have the dough to fund a Integrated right now. An integrated will come at a later stage.

Thank you for your guidance.

 

[reignofchaos]

Awesome news. Your speaker hunt ends in something with which will keep you happy for a long long time. Now its time to budget for an amp and dac/CDP.

 

[gobble]

My Bluemnhofer Acoustics Genuin FS 5 were delivered this morning.

This speaker shook me the first time I heard it. For those who have visited The Listening Room, it takes something to shake a room as large and I was not expecting this from a bookshelf. The FS5's are bigger than the usual book shelves and I will need new speaker stand for them. The Genuin sound is to be experienced. Though it was nowhere as good an experience with my Av receiver (Compared to the Trigon Energy), I don't have the dough to fund a Integrated right now. An integrated will come at a later stage.

Thank you for your guidance.

congratulations!
What did you like about them? DId you compare them to the other floor standers?

For stands do give the ISO-L8R200 a serious consideration.

Fine-tune Your Sound: 3 Sizes of IsoAcoustics Speaker Stands

Here is a local link
Authorized dealer: The IsoAcoustics ISO-L8R200 Speaker Stand - IsoAcoustics - Brands - Recording
Another one: IsoAcoustics ISO-L8R200 Stands (Large Sized) | The Inventory

G0bble

 

[square_wave]

Great news Sandeep. Those speakers represent one of the best high end sound available in the Indian market today. They will keep scaling up as you upgrade the amplfier and source. I once heard them on the Einstein absolute tune. Natural, Dynamic and musical .....

 

[jai1611]

Congrats Sandeep.

 

[vijwilso]

Great ..Congrats Sandeep

Is your room big enough for these ?

 

[hydra]

Congrats, Sandeep! I haven't heard these, but everybody who's listened to them have said they sound great. It's great that you found something you really liked!

 

[reignofchaos]

Great news Sandeep. Those speakers represent one of the best high end sound available in the Indian market today. They will keep scaling up as you upgrade the amplfier and source. I once heard them on the Einstein absolute tune. Natural, Dynamic and musical .....

Along with the best high end sound, they probably also represent the best high end value available in our market today. The price that these are available at right now is virtually a steal.