WHAT HIFI SHOW 2019- Hyderabad

Got a sneak preview of the new speaker setup from Acoustic Portrait this morning.

They are showcasing their new Reference Speaker - Naadam, featuring a new driver package from Scanspeak.
DAC is Thiyaga V2 SE with the new Thiyaga Integrated with solid state preamp.


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Any more eye candy Nikhil ? Can't wait to visit
 
@Nikhil : I have registered for tomorrow. But didn’t receive any confirmation. Can I walk in without confirmation?
When I try to re-register, it says registration already done .
 
@Nikhil : I have registered for tomorrow. But didn’t receive any confirmation. Can I walk in without confirmation?
When I try to re-register, it says registration already done .

Yes no problem. Just walk in and register again if you need to.
The registration process if only for them to get an idea of visitor count.

Walk ins are welcome for sure.

Any more eye candy Nikhil ? Can't wait to visit

Not yet! Will post if I get some more.

Any admission fee sir?

Not that I am aware of. The Mumbai and Bangalore shows were free.

Even if they do charge it will be a nominal fee just to keep out the riff raff.
 
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How many are going to be at the show?
I plan to go later this evening. Wave and say hello if you see me.

Got a sneak preview of the new speaker setup from Acoustic Portrait this morning.

They are showcasing their new Reference Speaker - Naadam, featuring a new driver package from Scanspeak.
DAC is Thiyaga V2 SE with the new Thiyaga Integrated with solid state preamp.

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Nikhil: I have listened this on wednesday just before they were leaving to Hyd. Amazing stuff!
 
How many are going to be at the show?
I plan to go later this evening. Wave and say hello if you see me.

Got a sneak preview of the new speaker setup from Acoustic Portrait this morning.

They are showcasing their new Reference Speaker - Naadam, featuring a new driver package from Scanspeak.
DAC is Thiyaga V2 SE with the new Thiyaga Integrated with solid state preamp.

View attachment 38679

View attachment 38680
Awesome! Wish I had come down. Great to see Siva exhibiting.
 
If you are visiting the show make sure you spend time at Acoustic Portrait's room and Eight Audio Room. Hardly any two channel rooms in the show (max 4-5) but both of these were definite standouts imho, and incidentally both are Indian brands. Rest were strictly average or below average.
Disappointing show on the whole for 2 channel enthusiasts.
Cheers,
Sid
 
If you are visiting the show make sure you spend time at Acoustic Portrait's room and Eight Audio Room. Hardly any two channel rooms in the show (max 4-5) but both of these were definite standouts imho, and incidentally both are Indian brands. Rest were strictly average or below average.
Disappointing show on the whole for 2 channel enthusiasts.
Cheers,
Sid

Nice to see that there are local companies are making 2-ch audio affordable and to be enjoyed by more and more people.
Cheers,
Raghu
 
I visited the show in the afternoon yesterday and stayed till the evening. In the time I was there I mainly visited the few 2 channel setups there were and agree with Sid that AP and Eight Audio were the best of the show in what were difficult room conditions for all.

The rooms at the Trident are with linoleum flooring and glass on two sides. Even with curtains covering the French Windows there is a ton of high frequency bouncing around the reflective surfaces. Most exhibitors used carpets on the flooring and made various attempts to tame the glass all over. I also think that for many, the location of the desks were fixed, which created another limitation for room setup. These were difficult room conditions.

Eight Audio
These guys are young and still a little raw but extremely enthusiastic. They offer absolutely stonking value for money products. They offer a wide range of products that cover a large spectrum and it's not just price that should attract customers here. Their speakers offer very good sound quality with excellent finish on cabinets and enclosures. Their stereo room showcased the Satori Rinjani and Ara offerings as well as their in house Platina bookshelf in teak wood finish. To our ears the Platina offered a very compelling package in the approx 85K - 90k price range.

Their Home Theater room next door was an even better value proposition offering a 5.2 configuration from their Agate series for about Rs 2.6L that includes Atmos speakers on the front channels. The 7.2 configuration was about Rs 3.2L. These guys deserve a visit by those who are looking up a HT package.

Acoustic Portrait
The AP room was well setup with care taken to do a little acoustic treatment in the form of corner placed panels. Probably the only well setup 2 channel room easily besting the PMC room. They showcased their new Naarada Reference Speaker with the new Thiyaga Integrated. DAC was the Thiyaga V2 SE. Also on passive display was their Active Bookshelf setup and music from AP Records.

Given the challenges the AP room was well setup. Solid sound stage that filled up the centre line and extended about 3 – 4 feet behind the speaker line. Highs and mids were clean and full bodied. Playing a variety of music from Western and Indian Classical to rock and pop the system played solid. My only niggle was perhaps that the bass was not as tight as I know it could be. When I asked, Siva admitted that both speakers and amp probably didn’t have that much hours on them.

What I would have liked to hear is the Active Bookshelf speakers that were on passive display. I messaged Siva about this and he mentioned that they are planning to showcase the setup this evening (Saturday) at about 4:00 and 6:30 and tomorrow morning (Sunday) at 10:00 am. Along with this he also plans to speak a little about their AP Records label and the music they are now recording. Should be an interesting session for those interested.

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Will post more later after my next visit to the show tomorrow. Staying on the other side of town makes getting to the show a long haul with traffic. I would like to revisit the PMC room on Sunday. Yesterday the PMC room was a bit dry for my taste. Did not engage me. But KJ is well regarded and would be interesting to see if sorts out the setup by Sunday.
 
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Other folks who have been there, please do post their experience as well. Very subdued compared to the Bangalore show !
 
Hyderabad FMs
Any interesting HT setups, new soundbars, wireless speakers, etc
Only 3 or 4 rooms have been detailed until now
Cheers,
Raghu
 
Hi FMs

Please shed some light on 2 channel rooms. I read that only a few were there. As I am building my 2 channel setup from scratch so very much interested to know about some good stuff showcased there.

Thanks.
 
I went back to the show on Sunday morning to get a second look at some of the rooms.

Early in the day the show was empty and I got a chance to listen to the AP Kavi Active bookshelf system and do a comparison to a much improved setup with the Naarada + Thiyaga Integrated setup. The difference in sound from Friday to Sunday was amazing. Another case of why one should visit a show more than once as exhibitors get a handle on the room conditions. This time Siva had placed a curtain over the glass wall on the left and it cleaned up the HF tremendously. No idea how or why but bass was improved as well.

The Kavi active system requires the active crossover and amplification that comes in the Kavi system package. The speakers are connected via XLR cables instead of the usual speaker cables. The sound was immediately clean and neutral. Sound stage was rock solid and projected upwards behind the speaker line. Siva uses these as monitors while making his recordings. They give a clear view into the music. But it was interesting for me to learn how the two systems differed in dynamic range and frequency extension. Siva demonstrated this with two tracks which showed the subtle differences in the way instruments and even vocals conveyed the sound.

All in all I wish people would take Acoustic Portrait more seriously. Siva is a treasure trove of information on music reproduction. Their products are not without faults but the vision and philosophy behind the brand is authentic. This was a rare occasion to learn more about their new products, their product developments and their intimate knowledge and understanding of live music recording and playback.

Made a visit to the Linn room that showcased their Selekt DSM Network Player + Amplifier and Majik 140 floor stander.

The Selekt DSM range from Linn is a versatile network player that comes with options for DAC and amplifiers in a modular design. Visually the SeleKt is a departure from the Majik DSM which would normally accompany the Majik 140 speakers as a package. New styling with a bright modern smart display makes this a fantastic piece of gear that would not be out of place in a high end lifestyle setup. Unfortunately for me the sound was a little hard on the ears. Prices are in the 5L to 7L plus range for the different options which would also make this expensive. At these prices this level of sound is available for much less these days.

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The Linn Dealer also showcased a range of product offerings from FURUTECH.

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Waterfall Audio showcased their Victoria Evo glass floor stander.

To me the sound was metallic with a fair amount of cabinet ringing.
At 5L plus I think this would appeal to some as a lifestyle product.

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Waterfall Audio also showcased a variety of flat panel and in wall speakers on passive display.
They also had a few sub woofers on passive display. Again prices were on the higher side.

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@Nikhil

Did u hear the satori ara ?

What's your take ?


Very good speaker mpw. Excellent build quality and finish.
Only negative would be a small amount of bass congestion / port chuffing.
Not sure if this was the amp or the speaker when I heard it at Eight Audio.

The Ara also has competition from the likes of ATC SCM 11 in that price range.


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PMC Room which I could not get a chance to hear extensively on Sunday.
But from all accounts sound was extremely good as evidenced by a keen audience when I visited.

Playback was via AVM CDP only which restricted music choice. Cables were from Audiaz.
Full equipment list as informed by Khushro:

PMC IB1S
Octave V80SE
AVM MP3.2
Audiaz speaker cables
VDH Name interconnects
PS Audio power cables.

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Apologies for the fuzzy image of the Octave Integrated but it's the only one I have.
I would have liked to hear this amp with a Graham Audio speaker.

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Loved the Eight Audio Rinjani, though felt the Acoustic Portrait speakers did a better job in the upper mids section and felt less peaky. Though in terms of transient response they weren't as crisp as the Rinjani.. probably got to hear the Rinjani in a better room.. The most confusing centre stage was portrayed by the Waterfall audio speakers
 
On the Rinjani, the slope design at the top corner to fix diffraction issues is seen only on one side. Usually it is done on both sides. Curious to know why.
 
Get the Wharfedale EVO 4.2 3-Way Standmount Speakers at a Special Offer Price.
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