Suggest an upgrade from the Rethm Maarga

[atharva]

Since you had a 15 lakh budget, didn’t suggest it

Oh, absolutely don't WANT to spend that much. Maargas retailed at around $9.5K USD. Being manufactured in India and purchased direct from the factory I did get a good price on it. I figured if I had to do better than them I'd have to spend a lot more simply because I now have factor in shipping+insurance etc to India + customs duty + dealer markup unless there are options which are available locally at par international prices.

 

[prem]

You can import Tekton directly. Not an issue. He will not discount the product since he sells direct to consumer. Also he will not underinvoice. So you can do your calculations. If you don’t have a IEC number, and the US price is, say, USD 5000, add approx USD 300 as shipping. And add 75% of USD 5300 plus another INR 10000 approx as handing charges to get your final landed cost.

 

[atharva]

From the DevoreFidelity website..

With the Orangutan O/96 DeVORE FIDELITY brings it's award-winning blend of musicality and accuracy to a new speaker designed especially for low-powered tube amplifiers. 10" paper cone with a phase-plug powered by a motor adapted from our Silverback Reference drivers. 1" silk-dome tweeter with a powerful double-magnet motor system gently horn-loaded.

Low powered tubes again

 

[prem]

Unlike Rethm which demands low powered SE DHT amps, Orangutan should be fine with a much wider variety of tube amps. It should also be ok with class A SS amp. Rethm is way way more picky.

 

[oracle1974]

You can import Tekton directly. Not an issue. He will not discount the product since he sells direct to consumer. Also he will not underinvoice. So you can do your calculations. If you don’t have a IEC number, and the US price is, say, USD 5000, add approx USD 300 as shipping. And add 75% of USD 5300 plus another INR 10000 approx as handing charges to get your final landed cost.

Get a IEC which is easy to get and duty will be 42.2%.

 

[prem]

Yes. That’s an option.

 

[RRR]

Anything from the stable of ATC/Harbeth? What about Golden Ear Triton Reference?

I think you can do much better than the Golden Ear Triton.
Haven't heard the Rethm so cannot make a comparison.
Have owned the Triton 2 and below series.
They are placement sensitive and cannot be placed next to the wall due to the built in sub.
Focal and ATC would be much better.
Member @deepestpurple recently acquired the ATC actives...you could probably check with him.

 

[liverpool_for_life]

[...]and have good punchy low extension without needing a sub.

The tri-amplified Seaton Catalyst 12Cs have a DSP program that allows them to be run full-range. 2000w (yes, two thousand watts) of amplification built-in. Not floor standers though and you definitely want to check on lead times.

Catalyst 12C Powered Loudspeaker – Seaton Sound, Inc

seatonsound.net

FWIW, I have the 12C's "junior" brother (the Catalyst 8C).

 

[sydney]

Check these I have not heard them but folks who have taken demo were impressed

Handcrafted High End Audio Equipment | Copper Glow Audio | India

Handcrafted with great passion, Copper Glow Audio offers an amazing value for money. High End Audio taken to the next level. Our aim is to get you as close to the musician as possible right from your living room and the system should just disappear.

www.copperglowaudio.com

 

[bornfi]

Happy Diwali everyone..

The Maarga has served me very well. It is a great sweet spot in terms of pricing and performance. Had them for a few years and am looking to upgrade. Which FS would you recommend for a budget of around 15K (+/- 2K) USD? Room size is 15x19x10 (listening position is at about 14 ft). Not looking at Saadhanas as high efficiency horns have limited amplification options like SET tubes that they work with.

Music choices - Indian Classical, Jazz, Bollywood, Rock, Pop etc. etc. Quite varied.

Sources - cd rips, vinyl and other hi-res music. Also stream via Apple/Spotify and doubles up as 2-channel home theater.

Speaker qualities - Should have good tonality (no coloration, instruments sound the way they are supposed to), produce good sound stage, disappear easily, have amazing midrange and vocals, are non fatiguing and have good punchy low extension without needing a sub. It'll be great if they are not fussy with placement, amp matching and can placed close to back walls.

Being owner of tekton moabs, I would recommend ulfberhts.

 

[atharva]

@bornfi, lots of hidden costs with Ulfberhts like legal fees for the divorce, alimony and a new home

 

[square_wave]

Once you are used to the Rethm sound, you’ll need that speed and transparency. Listening to those little minor inflections in the voice and instruments become an addiction. You will find it lacking in Harbeth. Coming from Rethm, you’ll find Focal too hifi sounding and Tannoy a bit sluggish and thick sounding.

ATC should be fine. But as I said earlier you need 150 watts and above to get them to sing. Best to go active with ATC and get a great tube pre.

I agree. You are big into tone and also used to the micro dynamics of a single driver speaker. When you move to a multi driver speaker, do a lot of exploration into those qualities. That is key. There is a reason why you moved towards the direction of a single driver coherence in the first place. Don't ignore that. I recently listened to an interview where someone was saying that he moved to a more expensive and technically superior speaker only to start "listening to more random songs to figure out the qualities of the speaker ". With the older speaker he used to listen more to albums. He was more into the music, foot tapping and engrossed in the " why " of the music rather than the " what and where " of the music. Don't fall into this trap.

 

[RajithKumar]

You can check Revel ultima saloon speakers too ,if budget permits. For me ,Beautiful sounding speakers they are.

 

[atharva]

If anyone here with an IEC can help with the import of the Tekton please PM me.

 

[liverpool_for_life]

If anyone here with an IEC can help with the import of the Tekton please PM me.

If this is your first time importing, your shipper's customs handling agent should be able to help you with getting the equipment out, with proper duties paid and stuff. Mine (FedEx) did and I didn't have an IEC.

 

[atharva]

I've imported stuff before. What Prem is saying (I think) is that if you import directly via FedEx/DHL as a personal item the duty is likely to be much higher (like 75%. arbitrarily determined). If on the other hand someone with an IE code were to import then the duty rate would be 42%.

While importing as a personal item we've all have had experience where no duty was charged at times or where it exceeded the 42%. I've imported stuff via FedEx and I was expected to pay a certain duty that didn't make sense but there was no way to challenge it.

 

[liverpool_for_life]

If on the other hand someone with an IE code were to import then the duty rate would be 42%.

The last time the 75% duty stuff came up on this forum, I checked with the same customs handling agent and he confirmed to me that the overall duty charges should be around 44-45% if I were to import speakers as a personal item without an IEC. This was a couple of months back.

While importing as a personal item we've all have had experience where no duty was charged at times or where it exceeded the 42%. I've imported stuff via FedEx and I was expected to pay a certain duty that didn't make sense but there was no way to challenge it.

I have not had the experience of neither not paying any duty nor a rate that was exorbitantly high. It's always been the right rate.

 

[prem]

Atharva, yes if you have a IEC code, it’s like 42% for speakers. If not 75%

 

[bornfi]

@bornfi, lots of hidden costs with Ulfberhts like legal fees for the divorce, alimony and a new home

Keep in mind though that whichever direction you go, these fees are always there (you pay one lump sum) and I call them hidden while with tektons you will know who is taking what.

Also, if you find someone relocating to India from USA with household items, can sneak this through with their stuffs.

 

[liverpool_for_life]

Btw, the JBL M2's may be worth a gander too. What I've read about them suggests they're very dynamic. Neutral to boot. No need to import.