Stereo system for 2 Lakhs

[Suresh Gupta]

I listed to Hindustani classical mostly. Looking to buy a set up at around 2 lakhs.

Request suggestions suitable to this kind of music in a 200 sq ft longish room.

I am unable to make out a clear choice among the various good suggestions that are there in this forum. Would like your recommendation suitable for my taste of music.

Suresh

 

[rikhav]

With the kind of budget, your taste of music and the city where you stay, one name comes to mind i.e Lyrita Audio which makes Tube amps and single driver speakers. Visit their website for more details
Lyrita Audio
Someone like Kamalji who has listened quiet a lot to Lyrita setups can help you out

Look out for some older threads also which has review of Lyrita setups

 

[anm]

I would second the lyrita. I liked the system, but then, it is one's personal preference. Where in Delhi are you? Viren is in L block Sarita Vihar. And, his system would cost you half of what your budget is. So you can spend another 10-30k in building a very good computer based source system (integrated amp + speakers) that can kill CD players, and can add a decent record player, and a lot of music/ vinyls.

regards

 

[Asit]

I listed to Hindustani classical mostly. Looking to buy a set up at around 2 lakhs.

Request suggestions suitable to this kind of music in a 200 sq ft longish room.

I am unable to make out a clear choice among the various good suggestions that are there in this forum. Would like your recommendation suitable for my taste of music.

Suresh

Hi Suresh,

When you say you want a stereo set-up for around 2 lakhs, what all do you want in that? Obviously, you want a 2 channel amp and a pair of speakers. In addition you need the sources like CDP/TT etc.

You can certainly consider tube amps and single driver speakers from Lyrita Audio as has been already suggested. Although I have never heard any Lyrita so far, but judging by reactions from experienced people in the forum, Lyrita products seem to offer great value for money. Since you are in Delhi, easy auditions and detailed interactions with Viren Bakshi of Lyrita are possible. Tubes would fit nicely with your musical taste.

Alternatively, you can also consider a product like the Peachtree Audio Nova. It's a combination of a tube pre-amp, a very good DAC and a 80 wpc chipamp. Although again, I have not heard it, but the combination sounds quite mouth-watering to me. They come at around 75K. Our forum member gopi is getting one of those, I believe. Waiting to get a report from him.

You would then need a decent CD transport and a pair of speakers. With your budget, perhaps you can get a decent pair of speakers spending up to about a lakh.

In the amplifier section of this forum you would find a thread titled: "Amp upgrade with Canton speakers: Feasibility Study". That thread is very very long and still occasionally active (with the conclusion phase), but if you can find some time to read it through, it will give you a lot of information and ideas on the subject of amplifiers in general (not just for Canton speakers).

I have not heard a lot of speakers that are currently available and naturally not the best person to suggest speakers. I am sure many others will be willing to suggest good speakers to you.

Remember to keep aside 5-10% of your funds for interconnects and speaker cables.

 

[afj]

if youre looking at spending a lakh on speakers try out the monitor audio rs6 - its less than that but many a time you would spend more and not get the performance that it offers.

 

[nandakumarhv]

I listen to hindustani music a lot and I would suggest you to audition quad 22l2 speaker.

 

[Kamal]

Hi Suresh,
your budget gives you a decent amount of flexibilty.
Plz remember ,you have live with the system so it shld be the one that gives YOU the most pleasure.
There really is nothing better than auditioning a number of systems with YOUR favourite music,& then making up your mind.
Once you hear a system that pleases you the most, ask for a home demo-dealers usually oblige once they see you're serious.
For starters, you could give Viren Bakshi of Lyrita Audio a call on 41401143 & set up a demo with him,listen to other systems thereafter, so that you would be able to make a considered decision.

 

[marsilians]

I listed to Hindustani classical mostly. Looking to buy a set up at around 2 lakhs.

Request suggestions suitable to this kind of music in a 200 sq ft longish room.

I am unable to make out a clear choice among the various good suggestions that are there in this forum. Would like your recommendation suitable for my taste of music.

Suresh

Is this your first setup? Also what are you planning to purchase in terms of components?

 

[SuhasG]

I would suggest you to fix your budget with break up and then and only then start auditioning. And stick to your budget.

Assuming that you have set aside Rs 200k for the set up , suggested break up could be:

1> Speaker pair: Rs 80-100K ( Floor Standers, 2 way design , no single driver )
2> Integrated Amp: Rs 50-70K ( 40-80 WPC, Hybrid design )
3> CD Player: Rs 25 (Look for Marantz / ARCAM )
4> Analog Interconnects: Rs 7K (VDH 102 MKIII)
5> Speaker Wire: Rs 10K (VDH Goldwater )
6> Servo Stabilizer: Rs 13K (KryKard, Vertex 2 or 3 KVA)

For your kind of music listening ,IMHO Cadence is the way to go but buying new may go beyond your budget (say Rs 260K) but if you can do this then trust me you will never need any upgrades in future for Speaker and Amp, your case will be closed forever.Cadence VA-1 HP + Cadence ARITA /ANINA is what fits your need and bduget if you try real hard , you may find a pre-owned Cadence kit.

Hope this helps

 

[prem]

Hi

If you are into classical music, the rise and fall of the notes is very important. For Hindustani classical, low end bass is not very critical. I would suggest look at Audire or Lyrita Single Driver speakers in the range of 45-60000. Speaker Efficiency should be greater than 95. For the amplifier you can look at Miniwatt Tube amp. The link is MiniWatt Tube Amplifier
Price of the amp is $269 delivered.
For the cd player, a Marantz or a Cambridge Audio should be fine. This should be in the 20-35000 range.
For cables, including power, go with DH Labs. You can buy direct from them. They are great value for money. Alternatively if you are buying from Audire you can request Audire to make you the cables.
Also get Audire to make you a good 2 tier rack for your system. Alternatively you can keep your cd player on Finite Elemente Ceraballs.

 

[anm]

has anyone here used this miniwatt amp? Pls post reviews in another thread pls.

regards

 

[prem]

I do not think anyone in India would have heard this amp. Its been recently introduced. There is a review of it on 6moons. A friend of mine in the US ordered it and is extremely happy with it.

 

[anm]

what speakers is he using? I think one would need really efficient speakers.

I just exchanged mails with them and I think I will buy one too. Do they use SMPS for their power supply? How bad is that - maybe cranky needs to pitch in.
BTW, let us take this discussion to a new thread.

 

[thevortex]

I have not heard the Lyritas but for classical music, EPOS speakers have my recommendation. The M12i, M16i and the M22i are excellent speaker designs.

 

[Suresh Gupta]

Many thanks for the useful suggestions. These have added more choices to my already long list.

Some more questions.

a) Would the known names offer similiar experience as Lyrita. I am not too well informed in this field to make a non conventional choice. Apologies if i sound offensive. Its just that i may not be brave enough.

b) On floorstanders. Do they need any special positioning. I may be forced to keep the speakers midway in the hall. So the back of the speakers would be ten feet from the wall. The sides will abut the wall.

c) Is it necessary to spend a lot on the CD player, or would a 25-30K player do just as a 60K one. Alternatively, does the amp add more VFM than the CDP?

 

[anm]

As far as I think, speakers are the most important component in your setup. Once done right, they do not need to be replaced for decades, if existing speakers in duty are taken as examples (that were engineered decades back and hence may be engineered better).
Next best component is pre/ power amp that can also last easily for 10-20 years.
So purchase decision for source can be pushed to the last. Not that they are the least important component - but it is not too much sense to design an audio system around a source.

Sources and formats are the most changing stuff - though it can be argued that vinyl is staging a comeback and CD format is 2 decades old already. But DAC/ oversampling/ loss less formats etc can confuse you a lot. Also, these days, dedicated comp for music duty can outperform a CDP by miles on quality, functionality and longevity of software (CDs/ vinyls may get scratched, but data files will not wear out by themselves)

There was an interesting thread on what hifi, where a user asked whether to settle for an amp first, or a speaker? And one of the practical advise was - settle on an amp first - so that you can carry it around easily to audition. Carrying your speakers around can be too troublesome. OTOH, with that kind of budget, I am sure you can summon a lot of dealers to bring equipment to your place. In that case, it would be easy for them to carry amps and sources.

So - settle for speakers first, and then ask dealers to come to your place to demo their source/ amp etc.
Like venkat, ,moser and soon myself joining them, you can try getting a comp for the source duty.

regards

 

[moserw]

I listed to Hindustani classical mostly. Looking to buy a set up at around 2 lakhs.

Request suggestions suitable to this kind of music in a 200 sq ft longish room.

I am unable to make out a clear choice among the various good suggestions that are there in this forum. Would like your recommendation suitable for my taste of music.

Suresh

Lot's of good suggestions already so will not be adding much to it. I've heard Cadence and can vouch for them. In terms of clarity, detail, soundstage they are great. Give a breakup of your requirement too. Do you need to start from scratch or do you already have a CDP, amp, etc. Also primary source of material i.e. LPs, CDs, etc. This will help in better guidance. If you already have a CDP or don't have the need for one then the speaker costs can go up.

Many thanks for the useful suggestions. These have added more choices to my already long list.

Some more questions.

a) Would the known names offer similiar experience as Lyrita. I am not too well informed in this field to make a non conventional choice. Apologies if i sound offensive. Its just that i may not be brave enough.

b) On floorstanders. Do they need any special positioning. I may be forced to keep the speakers midway in the hall. So the back of the speakers would be ten feet from the wall. The sides will abut the wall.

c) Is it necessary to spend a lot on the CD player, or would a 25-30K player do just as a 60K one. Alternatively, does the amp add more VFM than the CDP?

I've not heard Lyrita personally but lots of members on this forum sing lots of praises for it and I'm sure they are right. Lots of known names would offer similar experience as the Lyrita, but I believe Lyrita gives the same at a lesser cost.

Well positioning is important for all kinds of speakers and just by the correct placement they will perform way better than by wrong placement. On the other hand I've heard some where placement did not matter at all. No matter where they were placed they just disappeared and sound was coming from all over the place. So it depends on what speakers you go for.

In anything as you spend more (at least till the point of diminishing returns is reached) the performance improves. The more expensive CDPs will actually perform much better than the budget/entry level CDPs. But if the CDP budget is going to go beyond 50K you will be much better off going with a PC instead. At around 35-40K the PC will deliver superior sound than anything comparable.

Coming to what is more important, the amp or the CDP, well both since you cannot do without either, but a superior amp will even negate the need for an expensive CDP and instead you can just go with a budget CDP or even a DVDP and just go with a digital connection. Of course my thinking in this area particularly is to go with a PC since its performance is as good or even better than a CDP's and yet a PC will do so much more while a CDP will only sing songs (but that is your primary requirement right).

 

[shyamal]

Lot's of good suggestions already so will not be adding much to it. I've heard Cadence and can vouch for them. In terms of clarity, detail, soundstage they are great. Give a breakup of your requirement too. Do you need to start from scratch or do you already have a CDP, amp, etc. Also primary source of material i.e. LPs, CDs, etc. This will help in better guidance. If you already have a CDP or don't have the need for one then the speaker costs can go up.



I've not heard Lyrita personally but lots of members on this forum sing lots of praises for it and I'm sure they are right. Lots of known names would offer similar experience as the Lyrita, but I believe Lyrita gives the same at a lesser cost.

Well positioning is important for all kinds of speakers and just by the correct placement they will perform way better than by wrong placement. On the other hand I've heard some where placement did not matter at all. No matter where they were placed they just disappeared and sound was coming from all over the place. So it depends on what speakers you go for.

In anything as you spend more (at least till the point of diminishing returns is reached) the performance improves. The more expensive CDPs will actually perform much better than the budget/entry level CDPs. But if the CDP budget is going to go beyond 50K you will be much better off going with a PC instead. At around 35-40K the PC will deliver superior sound than anything comparable.

Coming to what is more important, the amp or the CDP, well both since you cannot do without either, but a superior amp will even negate the need for an expensive CDP and instead you can just go with a budget CDP or even a DVDP and just go with a digital connection. Of course my thinking in this area particularly is to go with a PC since its performance is as good or even better than a CDP's and yet a PC will do so much more while a CDP will only sing songs (but that is your primary requirement right).

Sorry if this sounds too basic-for the benefit of a relative newbie, can you please explain how to connect PC to an Amp or AVR (presume latter don't have usb drives)

Thanks in advance

 

[moserw]

Sorry if this sounds too basic-for the benefit of a relative newbie, can you please explain how to connect PC to an Amp or AVR (presume latter don't have usb drives)

Thanks in advance

The PC Soundcard will have audio out connections both analog and digital. Just draw the cable from the PC soundcard to the AVR input.

 

[Suresh Gupta]

Thanks anm and moserw

I only have a DVD player right now (Samsung 1080p), worth about 5800 Rs. I was not thinking of using it as a source. Largely because i wanted to tell my small kid to keep off the stereo system and play with anything else.

Other than this the only thing i have collected is a set of CDs (largely music today) of hindustani and south indian classical. Would welcome suggestions of any other good recording sources. I read elsewhere in the forum about the lack of good quality recordings in CDs and i pretty much second that.

The trend that i am getting from the suggestions is that a) the lesser known brands may offer a better experience or atleast will be VFM, b) choose speakers after listening to them and getting comfortable, c) choose amps after that and d) spend least on CDP, around 25K.

Let me do a round of auditions on speakers and will get back to the forum with some requests.