Upgrade from Ls50

[square_wave]

Not sure if your post was for the OP or responding to my comment.
I do take your point about preferences in sound etc. I was under the impression LS50 design evolved or was influenced by the BBC bookshelf monitor design. I do like European design and had Adam audio (German) and Chario (Italian) speakers last year and have listened to Focals, Dynaudios, and Totems (and a few others) quite a bit. Never had the pleasure of listening to Blumenhofer.
Thanks for the nudge, but I am not comfortable belonging to any one camp (actually this is the first time I have heard of such camps!; do they really exist?) I know my entire setup will be different a year from now.
Please ignore all the above if your comment was meant for someone else.

It was meant for the original poster

Yes, voicing a big thing with loudspeakers. Many brands will not admit this, but that is the truth.

 

[CircleGame]

@Sathish123 - I too have an Octave of similar wattage to yours but its their recent Class A amp. Brilliant sounding with my Blumenhofer Big Fun 17. So you should look at Blumenhofer speakers as an option, especially considering you're based in Bangalore. Please feel free to DM/call me up for any queries. In past Whathifi shows, I've been impressed with their pairing with PMC and Graham.

 

[Sathish123]

Thanks guys for all the great suggestions. Mine is the original Ls50 (not the meta version). Unfortunately changing the amp is not an option now. Best I'll do is to move the Ls50 to my desktop setup once I upgrade the speakers. Thanks for the suggestions about the spendors, Ill look into the classic line. Already contacted Spendor bangalore and got the price list. Since I liked the Harbeths, I feel Ill stick to them, Spendors or the ProAcs although I read that the ProAcs can sound a bit bright/analytical. Ill contact Blumenhofer although I couldn't find anything online about their signature, circlegame- Ill PM you. Luckily Blumenhofer is close to Electronic City and I could do an audition if they have stocks. I'll update here on how it goes. Thanks again.

 

[reignofchaos]

Graham LS5/9 + V40SE - the combo is heavenly. I have this as my main setup but everything is packed up at the moment since I shall be moving homes soon.

After hearing similarly priced options from spendor, harbeth and Graham, I found the graham to be hands down the most transparent speaker of the three. Harbeth and Spendor have a house sound that you just can't get rid of no matter what electronics you use.

 

[sidvee]

Graham LS5/9 + V40SE - the combo is heavenly. I have this as my main setup but everything is packed up at the moment since I shall be moving homes soon.

After hearing similarly priced options from spendor, harbeth and Graham, I found the graham to be hands down the most transparent speaker of the three. Harbeth and Spendor have a house sound that you just can't get rid of no matter what electronics you use.

I concur with Roc - out of three Graham, would be my main choice - IMO Graham marries high resolution of a rock solid cabinet with the warmth and lushness of a lossy one. Pity that Indian pricing is not buyer friendly at all - just like Harbeth.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[jai1611]

@vivek_r please share your feedback on the Graham / Harbeth / Spendor speakers

 

[Sathish123]

@reignofchaos Sounds interesting, can you please share information- where did you purchase the Graham from. Thanks.

 

[reignofchaos]

@reignofchaos Sounds interesting, can you please share information- where did you purchase the Graham from. Thanks.

Imported directly via a friend. Local pricing is not good.

 

[Sathish123]

Thank you, I too felt it'll be expensive

 

[OM_2K19]

Thank you, I too felt it'll be expensive

Last time, I was told their BBC LS5/8 was retailing around 7500 Pound.
Everything Hand Crafted...

 

[Sathish123]

@OM_2K19 lets add another 40% (I guess) for India

 

[OM_2K19]

@OM_2K19 lets add another 40% (I guess) for India

That's only Import Duty, another 18% GST + 20% Retailer's Margin on the top...

 

[square_wave]

Graham LS5/9 + V40SE - the combo is heavenly. I have this as my main setup but everything is packed up at the moment since I shall be moving homes soon.

After hearing similarly priced options from spendor, harbeth and Graham, I found the graham to be hands down the most transparent speaker of the three. Harbeth and Spendor have a house sound that you just can't get rid of no matter what electronics you use.

Hey ROC, Did you ever consider the f version of this speaker ? I am sure you would have done some R&D on it while considering Graham.

 

[reignofchaos]

Hey ROC, Did you ever consider the f version of this speaker ? I am sure you would have done some R&D on it while considering Graham.

Wasn't available when I bought this. I bought this three years ago out of which it was sitting a year at my aunt's glasgow home.

 

[arj]

Graham LS5/9 + V40SE - the combo is heavenly. I have this as my main setup but everything is packed up at the moment since I shall be moving homes soon.

After hearing similarly priced options from spendor, harbeth and Graham, I found the graham to be hands down the most transparent speaker of the three. Harbeth and Spendor have a house sound that you just can't get rid of no matter what electronics you use.

I remember hearing one of the Grahams in the Bangalore Hifi Show and was easily one of the best speakers on display there.

 

[reignofchaos]

I remember hearing one of the Grahams in the Bangalore Hifi Show and was easily one of the best speakers on display there.

Yes I was so enamored by that sound, I ended up buying a pair.

 

[OM_2K19]

I don't want to divert from the original topic, but there is an interesting story of how the BBC used to test these speakers during their original development. They used to put these speakers in one room, and in the adjacent room, there would be a live orchestra. They would listen to the live orchestra, then go back to the other room and compare the sound produced by the speakers for the very same tune. So, they knew exactly what to tune in the design to produce a realistic sound as they could.

 

[Decadent_Spectre]

Graham LS5/9 + V40SE - the combo is heavenly. I have this as my main setup but everything is packed up at the moment since I shall be moving homes soon.

After hearing similarly priced options from spendor, harbeth and Graham, I found the graham to be hands down the most transparent speaker of the three. Harbeth and Spendor have a house sound that you just can't get rid of no matter what electronics you use.

Isn't it good if you can't get rid of the "house sound", as that is why people are buying expensive hi-fi/monitor speakers? IMO it is a good thing (for the people who are fans of course of any given "house sound") and from what you say it sounds like graham isn't "all in" like harbeth or spendor, so it might be "in the middle". I've not heard any of these, nor do I have any interest in them so my views in this post are based on your comment.

 

[reignofchaos]

Isn't it good if you can't get rid of the "house sound", as that is why people are buying expensive hi-fi/monitor speakers? IMO it is a good thing (for the people who are fans of course of any given "house sound") and from what you say it sounds like graham isn't "all in" like harbeth or spendor, so it might be "in the middle". I've not heard any of these, nor do I have any interest in them so my views in this post are based on your comment.

Graham is utterly transparent. Out of those it is the only licensed BBC monitor design. It has been used as a reference monitor for millions of recordings. These designs are still used by BBC.

 

[Decadent_Spectre]

Graham is utterly transparent. Out of those it is the only licensed BBC monitor design. It has been used as a reference monitor for millions of recordings. These designs are still used by BBC.

That's great, but I was wondering more about the "house sound", isn't that a good thing?