Tannoy MercuryV4.

[praholla]

I am on the look out for a set of floorstanders for my stereo setup to go with Norge concerto 1000. I came across the article "Sub 60 k floorstanders" in What Hi Fi October Month and am wondering whether it would be suitable.

I hear classical(Indian & Western), pop, jazz, rock etc. The Home Theater Stores guy quoted a price of 30,500/- plus shipping. Comparatively how are Paradigm Monitor 7 & 9 (I have read the extensive thread on these). Budget is 40k to 50k

After acquiring the floorstanders my next look out is for a good stereo amp and I was thinking in the line of going for HK 3490.(not much discussion about it in the forum) Advice regarding the amps also would be highly appreciated.

Audition for me is very difficult as I stay a good 160km from Hyderabad and have to depend on advises from experienced and knowledgable people like you
Thanks in advance

 

[paritosh]

I own Paradigm Monitor 7 V6. Paired them with Onkyo 8030 stereo amp. Am completely satisfied with the setup. The PM7V6 speakers have a clear bias towards vocals, which suits the kind of music I listen to.... ghazals, Sufi and Bollywood. Not too bombastic, but just the right bass. I had auditioned wharfedale obsidion, Jamo S506, Elac BF53 and Polk TSi400 and none of them pleased me half as much as paradigms.

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[praholla]

Thanks Paritosh. I am on the look out for a pair of speakers which sound neutral (if it is possible & in my budget range!). I have Denon 1909, Polk RTi 1 R/L and surrounds, CSi A4 center, which sound good for movies, but for music.............:sad:

 

[Kittu]

Why not look for RTI A7, or A9 speakers?

 

[praholla]

Well Kittu! I am honoured! Thanks for pitching in.
To tell you frankly I was first attracted by the WHF review and then price quoted by The Home Theater Store (30.5k). Rti 7 retails at 54k MRP and 9 at 79k. I have not come across many posts on Polk in the forum whereas there is a lot of talk about KEFs, Klipsch, Paradigm and so on...
As I intend to buy a decent stereo amp and DAC (I have AC Ryan DVR 2Tb full of digital music)in near future, (Suggestions/advices are welcome) I thought that rupee saved is rupee spent better!
And I wanted to experiment too.

 

[praholla]

Well....well Kittu! I am honoured bro. Thanks for pitching in

Frankly speaking First I was impressed by the review in WHF and was attracted by the price quoted by The home theater store (30.5). There are not many posts featuring Polk whereas there are hoards of posts talking about KEFs, Klipsch, Paradigm and so on...
Further I intend to buy a decent stereo amplifier and DAC (Have an AC Ryan DVR with 2Tb full of Digital Music, suggestions/advice welcome), so I thought rupee saved is rupee better spent!
And I wanted to experiment too.

 

[Kittu]

Do not go by what hi-fi or avmax reviews. Go listen to different speakers and decide. I suggested RTIs to you as you already have them in your setup so the signature will match. Most magazines never rate any product negative.

There are plenty of brands for you to audition and decide. Take a weekend off travel to bangalore , audition the speakers and buy. Hyd is also a better option but not many brands available for audition there.

 

[olly42]

Praholla

I do not want to influence your decision with Polk RTi A9 but I strongly recommend that you give a listen to Polk RTi A9/A7, Paradigm 7/9, PSB, Q Acoustics 2050, Epos Epic5

I am totally satisfied with my monsters RTi A9 - You are welcome to audition them if you are coming to Bangalore

 

[praholla]

Thank you olly42 for the post and offering the audition. Its very nice of you.
I was actually introduced to Polk RTi A1s by Mr Sharman Shah of Sumaria Mumbai and I am ever grateful to him because I really enjoy listning to them.
As the facility to audition different products is nil in my town and rudimentary in Huderabad I could not expose my ears to any leading products in the field. So this experimenting bug sometimes gets the best of me.
RTi A9 retails at 79k and Paradigm 11 costs as much. Now as an audiophile what is your advice RTi A7 / PM 9 or RTi A9 / PM 11. If I choose the laters I shall have to shelve my search for stereo amp and DAC for a while. Btw will Norge concerto 1000 drive these speakers?

 

[olly42]

Praholla first of all I am no where close to being a audiophile RTi A9 - 79 K is the MRP rate you can get a good deal from Pro Fx and they are good value for money. Not denying that there are many more better speakers out there.

Coming to RTi A7 they are good as well both for two channel and HT use just a matter of budget. For RTi A9 you do need juice to drive those speakers and currently I am running them with Denon 3312 which is 125 watts * 7 @8ohms.

Keeping your budget in mind and the other purchases you may have planned A7 should meet your requirements. Having said that I strongly recommend that you audition as much as you can before you take the final decision

 

[praholla]

Thanks olly42.
The norge concerto 1000 is 125 watts per channel, an indian make and a good value for money.
When I first bought my AV gear I didn't know that I need to bargain. Even now I am not good at that trait.
Efficiency of RTi 7/9 is 90db and PM 7/9/11 is 93db. With my Denon 1909 (7 channels @90 watts per channel) my RTi A1 speakers with an efficiency of 89db do not let me turn up the volume beyond -20db. So I feel that juice should not be a problem with either Denon or Norge.
As rightly pointed out its the juice of the pocket I should spruce up
Sigh.......Audition. that is one thing which is eluding me by no end.

 

[paritosh]

Thanks Paritosh. I am on the look out for a pair of speakers which sound neutral (if it is possible & in my budget range!). I have Denon 1909, Polk RTi 1 R/L and surrounds, CSi A4 center, which sound good for movies, but for music.............:sad:

Well, there are two option we can look at.....
1) getting a pair of Floor standers dedicated for music purpose, if you are happy with your RTi based 5.1 jig. Here you will have a freedom to get a non matching pair as well which you would have liked and basically widens the options for stereo pair.

2) use your current FL / FR as RSL / RSR, get a matching RTi pair for dual duty of stereo plus FL / FR and you have a 7.1 jig.

Personally though, I would go for option 1. I kind of like to explore new horizions.

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[praholla]

Thanks Paritosh
I was thinking in the same line. I have experienced the Polks for 3 straight years now and feel that I should experiment and try new and, with the the expert advises of forum members, better combinations.
That is why I have been pondering over the posts trying to educate myself.
The Paradigm Monitor 7s & 9s that are presently being sold in the market are they v6 or 7? Has any one auditioned the new ones, how are they comparatively?

 

[paritosh]

Version 6 are being phased out. So there may be few available. Version 7 are available in India. Tue new speakers are just that. NEW speakers rather than an upgrade. A completely new breed in my opinion, with lots of technically critical as well as cosmatic changes, ranging from the looks and depleted size (practically there is a size reduction of 20% which makes monitor 9 as big as monitor 7 of V6,monitor 11 as big as moitor 9 of v6), to the number of drivers and the basic construction of drivers. Also, the newer version carries a Made in China lable!

During my purchase, I was assured a full five year warranty Support for my v6s. So no harm if you can get hold of the old version too.

Sonically, I can not say anything about V7s, since I have not auditioned them.

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[praholla]

Thanks Paritosh
I hope that I might just find some dealers who has stocks of older version or some forum member who has auditioned the newer version and is able to give a rundown of the product
otherwise I need to go on to newer pastures and find another speaker in that range, sonically and fiscally.
Can you throw light on some such alternative product
Thanks again

 

[paritosh]

If you like, I can have my dealer arrange them foe you. He might have got another pair with him (i know this as the pair i got was dammaged in transit, so i actually picked up demo pair while the dealer had started procedure of arranging replacement, which now he might have received.) Or you may contact KEI Mumbai who are authorised dealers for paradigm.

Klipsch and Energy connonsiers are said to be having similar sonic signature. You can also check out Dali or Quads. Sorry, I can't feed you up with more details, as I have nit auditioned any of the pairs other than Paradigm, Jamo S506, Wharfedale Obsision, Wharfedale 10.6, Polk TSi400,Elac BF52.



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[milestoneseeker]

Thanks Paritosh
I hope that I might just find some dealers who has stocks of older version or some forum member who has auditioned the newer version and is able to give a rundown of the product
otherwise I need to go on to newer pastures and find another speaker in that range, sonically and fiscally.
Can you throw light on some such alternative product
Thanks again

On the Paradigm Monitor 7 Series 7, I can speak from my audition of these new speakers that do not go by the "Made in China" label. I found them to be very good. Yes, v6 were nice but they no way blow away series 7. And I auditioned a set of series 7 fresh out of the box which were not broken in. I will be listening to them again in next week or so and I am sure they would sound better than the last time.

Series 7 retain the reputation of a punchy bass in Monitor 7 and I am hoping the tweeters would be more open this time. All in all, give them a listen and do not be biased by China label. And they look a million bucks, atleast to me. I can't say the same for v6.

 

[praholla]

If you like, I can have my dealer arrange them foe you. He might have got another pair with him (i know this as the pair i got was dammaged in transit, so i actually picked up demo pair while the dealer had started procedure of arranging replacement, which now he might have received.) Or you may contact KEI Mumbai who are authorised dealers for paradigm.

Klipsch and Energy connonsiers are said to be having similar sonic signature. You can also check out Dali or Quads. Sorry, I can't feed you up with more details, as I have nit auditioned any of the pairs other than Paradigm, Jamo S506, Wharfedale Obsision, Wharfedale 10.6, Polk TSi400,Elac BF52.



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Thanks Paritosh!
It seems now I seem to be encountering the syndrome of problem of plenty!
Of the Jamo, Wharfedale Obission/10.6, Polk, Elac you have auditioned you chose to go for Paradigm 7s means you must have really liked them
So far as the new series of Paradigms are concerned a member just posted whether China or Timbuctoo they still retain their flair. Very reassuring. Regarding the availability of 6s with your dealer just inquire about it just in the case
Thanks again

 

[praholla]

On the Paradigm Monitor 7 Series 7, I can speak from my audition of these new speakers that do not go by the "Made in China" label. I found them to be very good. Yes, v6 were nice but they no way blow away series 7. And I auditioned a set of series 7 fresh out of the box which were not broken in. I will be listening to them again in next week or so and I am sure they would sound better than the last time.

Series 7 retain the reputation of a punchy bass in Monitor 7 and I am hoping the tweeters would be more open this time. All in all, give them a listen and do not be biased by China label. And they look a million bucks, atleast to me. I can't say the same for v6.

Thanks Milestoneseeker!
That was a very reassuring post you made there. :clapping: I had read elsewhere to the tune that Made in China label just took its toll on the Paradigm Monitor series. Maybe its the Indian in him/us that makes us averse to anything to do with China. Nothing derogatory either to chines or indians meant there. Where did you audition them? and when are you going to audition them again. Please keep us posted. If they are still good I may not have to hunt for 6s at the dealers. And price factor any change?
Thanks again

 

[Kittu]

Many speakers and well regarded amps are made in china,including the NAD326BEE which I noticed recently .