Various auditions and FM visits, Bangalore & Kochi

Naturelover

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 14, 2011
Messages
4,295
Points
113
Location
Nagpur
Continuing here from this earlier thread of mine. I thought it would be better to start a new thread rather than continue in the earlier one.
These are some of my observations of a few auditions in the last few days in Bangalore and Kochi. Now, I am nowhere near being an expert and hardly competent to review any systems. So I am just stating what I felt without actually trying to judge anything.

Bengaluru Day 1

Started out with an early morning visit to Gvenu's home. He was busy on the day but had very generously agreed to accommodate me at a rather early hour. Some wonderful Carnatic devotional music was playing as I rang the bell and was warmly welcomed by Venu.
I simply had to hear it after all that has been said about the system.
Heard some Carnatic classical, jazz and vocals. Really amazing sound in the completely untreated living room. Hifipal4all who lives nearby also joined in. Great to have met both of them.

Next was a long drive to one end of town to Jochen's The Listening Room. Had expected to be able to hear a selection of speakers but was rather disappointed to see only the Big Fun 17 in stock. (Jochen had earlier suggested the Tempesta 17 FS). The Big Fun 17 was connected to the Trigon integrated, the Trigon pre-power and the Einstein in turns. Source for the Trigons was the Trigon CD player while it was the Trigon Chronolog for the Einstien. Listened to jazz, vocals, a bit of Indian classical and Western classical. The Big Fun 17 is definitely great but I found it a trifle lacking with Indian classical. This might have been due to the recording or something else. The Chronolog/Einstein was way ahead of the Trigon set but then it was way above my budget as well! Both the Trigons were great with the pre-power expectedly being better. But is it worth the price difference? Jochen is certainly the gentleman he has been said to be on the forum. The exact chain would probably have been the same as detailed in this thread except for the vinyl, which I did not audition.

After a late and hurried bite, the next stop was JP Nagar to Acoustic Portrait. Heard some Western classical playing as I entered. What a sound! Unfortunately, Siva was not available but Jeya put the system through the paces with Western classical, Indian classical, Jazz, vocals and pop. Amazing soundstage in a large room, again untreated. I found it very good for most genres but lacking somewhat in pop. Then again, this is my rather inexpert view. The Swaras are no longer in stock and a new amp in on the way.

It was to Absolute Phase next. My GPS let me down here and I got lost in the unfamiliar Bangalore streets. Finally, Prithvi guided me in. It was now getting quite late and unfortunately he was not available the next day so had to make do with the very short time available. Heard the Dynaudio Excites. I can't remember the amp. Was it a Symphonic Line? The bass did seem a bit heavy. Then it was the Harbeth P3ESR and Compact 7ES-3 driven by an Airtight amp. Definitely better than the Dynaudios. The 7ES-3 is a big step up from the P3ESR as has been said earlier. Prithvi's audition room is quite small and has the feel of a small living room cum office. Heard his personal setup, a Teac Esoteric amp driving Harbeth 30.1 in his living room. Fantastic sound in a large room.

Bengaluru Day 2

The day began with a visit to Staxxx who had very kindly agreed to meet me at the previously agreed time despite unforeseen circumstances. Now his is definitely an amazing setup painstakingly tweaked to perfection. After a warm welcome, he explained the setup and, believe me, it does need some explaining! Played some Jazz, vocals and his main interest, western classical. It was, unfortunately, suddenly time to leave.

ARN was next. Heard Contrast Audio As3 and Usher 6361 and Mini Dancer one in turn driven by a Symphonic Line amp and later the Line Magnetic 210A. Played Indian classical, vocals and Jazz. The Contrast Audio top end sounded a little harsh with the SS but very nice with the LM. Both the Ushers are great with the Diamond more refined than the 6361. But at over 40% higher price.

It was Jai1611 next at another far off point of the city. He has an older incarnations of the Rethm Saadhanas and Gaanam amp. This is a stop gap home until he shifts to a new place soon. The setup was far from perfect but still sounded good. We played some Indian classical, Jazz and Rock. The system handled it all with aplomb. Sadly he has decided to sell them. Wish I could have accommodated them :sad:.


A quick visit to manniraj on the way to the airport the next day brought a rather hurried trip to Bangalore to an end. His DIY efforts are a pleasure to listen to. The Pass B1, the Frugal Horns, Zaphs, Pi. My, how does he find the time to do all that!

Oh, how I wish I had given at least two more days here! Would have loved to meet up with more FMs. I was welcomed with such warmth at all homes. It is certainly amazing how the forum binds complete strangers. Met some lovely wives too! :clapping:

Kochi

The second leg of the trip was mainly to hear the Rethms. A visit to the Rethm studio had been on my to do list ever since I had heard Prem's Saadhanas back in Feb.
Must say that the Kochi airport is actually very beautiful. Though quite new, it is not the modern steel and glass structure I had expected but made in line with local traditional architecture.
Rethm studio is in a fairly winding lane and I was fortunate to have Hydra with me!
Mr Jacob George has a wonderful place in Kochi. The studio is a six sided large room which is also used by Jacob as his testing room.
We started off with the Maargas connected to the Gaanam. Listened to Jazz, vocals, Indian classical and some Pink Floyd. The Maargas held their own through all of that. The soundstage was wonderful and each instrument could be distinguished. Next the Trishnaas were connected and tested with the same Indian classical and Floyd tracks. They lacked a bit with Floyd but were almost on par with the Maargas for Indian classical.
The Maargas have two selectable crossover settings, a feature the Trishnaas do not have.

Later I visited Hydra to hear his Gaanam and Trishnaa rig in his small room. I think everyone will be familiar with his wonderful musical journey so well documented :clapping:!
The sound was expectedly different due to the huge difference in room sizes. The bass was lesser and the highs not as smooth as in the studio but still sounding very good. Again, as I said to Hydra, I am middle aged and highs do tend to worry me a little as against his much younger ears. Hydra explained to me that they would sound far better even in a slightly larger room, such as mine. We did try to listen from a little behind his recliner and, surely, the highs sounded much better from there.

I visited Byju Chacko of Analog Audio Labs the next day. Another gentleman. Unfortunately his listening room was not available and I had to listen in a shop. Heard only two of his own line of amps. First it was the A-218kTi and then a new one which has come very recently, the 24wpc A-225PSEi having an introductory price of Rs 74,000. The latter one sounded very good despite the location. I do wonder how it will sound in a better setup. I did suggest Byju to have it reviewed. Possibly someone from Kochi (Hydra?) or anyone travelling there could listen and give a proper review.
Found some details and pics here and here through Google.

****************
All in all a fruitful though rather confusing trip. In hindsight I feel I should have tied up with some more knowledgeable FMs for the auditions.
Thus far it is Rethm and Blumenhofer in front. After listening to tubes, I feel that is the way for me for amplification. Some of the Blumens are also having high enough sensitivity to be driven by tubes. The Big Fun 17 is indeed tempting but beyond my budget.


Pics of the A-225PSEi
2afz7e8.jpg

s62k5y.jpg

2ew1gky.jpg


Kochi airport pics
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bouu3nprcvxht5o/20140810_182041.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/g86j4t6k0qt514c/20140810_182046.jpg
 
It was a pleasure to meet you in person, after all the correspondence we'd had. I'm just sorry that we could not have too much time to enjoy music together, as it was a weekday.

Considering all the anecdotes you had, of all your auditions, this report was definitely a summarised version! I've not yet met anybody who was so serious about listening to so much equipment. I think you're doing the right thing, and I really hope you find something that you'll be completely happy with. :)
 
Interesting read,Wish could've bit more elaborate to get the full feel of the whole experience ;).

Also I guess you missed one of the important places,If you like good sound than you surely should've visited Soundsgreat and experienced his DIY endeavors !! Hope you have read bout him and know a little,else please do a search and you'll know why I.....

Anyways there's always a next time :D
 
Like I said, I am no expert so any detailed analysis was not possible.
I had read of soundsgreat long ago. He has been inactive for over 4 years now! it would be good to know of his work during this time.
Interesting read,Wish could've bit more elaborate to get the full feel of the whole experience ;).

Also I guess you missed one of the important places,If you like good sound than you surely should've visited Soundsgreat and experienced his DIY endeavors !! Hope you have read bout him and know a little,else please do a search and you'll know why I.....

Anyways there's always a next time :D
 
Back
Top