Yamaha A-S 500/Marantz PM6004 & Wharfedale Diamond 10.1/Sonodyne 2605 V3?

manishray

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Hi I am novice in hifi system.
Need your suggestion to choose between
1. Yamaha A-S 500 and Marantz PM 6004 and
2. Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 (or 121) and Sonodyne 2605 V3

Any suggestion is most welcome.

Thank you.
Manish
 
Hi I am novice in hifi system.
Need your suggestion to choose between
1. Yamaha A-S 500 and Marantz PM 6004 and
2. Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 (or 121) and Sonodyne 2605 V3

Any suggestion is most welcome.

Thank you.
Manish

First choose speaker & then the amplifier.....

I have used both the speakers & both of them are good in their own respects....
 
First choose speaker & then the amplifier.....

I have used both the speakers & both of them are good in their own respects....

Thanks for your feedback. ..
As I am new into this. . Could you please share your experience with both speakers??
 
Thanks for your feedback. ..
As I am new into this. . Could you please share your experience with both speakers??

Diamond's are laid back speakers, low on sensitivity.. so you need a reasonably good amplifier to bring the best out of it....

While Sonus 2605 are slightly on the brighter side... (I prefer it this way) But not overtly bright like metal tweeter speakers....

But why are you considering a mix of FS & BS ?
 
Hi,

I guess Marantz amp plus Boston Acoustics A26 BS spkrs should be a good combo as they are from the same stable.

Just my Rs.2/-.

Pl audition and then decide.

N.Murali
 
Diamond's are laid back speakers, low on sensitivity.. so you need a reasonably good amplifier to bring the best out of it....

While Sonus 2605 are slightly on the brighter side... (I prefer it this way) But not overtly bright like metal tweeter speakers....

But why are you considering a mix of FS & BS ?

Hi
Thanks a lot for your response. .
Tried wharfedale 121 with Pm6004 and AS500... I liked AS500+Wharfedale 121 combo. .. 10.1 was sold out... Can try that after 2 days. .. tried BR2.. Which didn't appeal me. .

2605 and 10.1 are of almost same price...
Want your advice what to choose between two. ..

Thanks
 
Yamaha A-S500 with Wharfedale is good combo and many FM's are already using.
 
Avoid Sonodyne Sonus 2605 V3s. They are too bright sounding and coloured to be called hifi. This is from a man who had actually purchased them online from Hifimart (order # 3013) after coming across good reviews on Sonodyne's active speakers, received them on the evening of 02.01.2014, and gave them away after a 15 minute listen. Wasted almost 34 K on them. The instruments just did not sound true on Sonus 2605 V3s, and the treble hit me in the face. I was afraid of getting tinnitus.
 
Avoid Sonodyne Sonus 2605 V3s. They are too bright sounding and coloured to be called hifi. This is from a man who had actually purchased them online from Hifimart (order # 3013) after coming across good reviews on Sonodyne's active speakers, received them on the evening of 02.01.2014, and gave them away after a 15 minute listen. Wasted almost 34 K on them. The instruments just did not sound true on Sonus 2605 V3s, and the treble hit me in the face. I was afraid of getting tinnitus.

I own them for more than a year, never sounded bright to me... For that matter every speaker is coloured until you reach the top of the range series..... BTW i have paired it with an Onkyo AVR which are perceived to be bright (or) have sharp treble in nature....

Not even once i felt that it is too bright :eek:hyeah:

What was the amplifier/AVR paired with Sonus 2605 ?
 
@sound_cycle,

Since you have already ordered them, listen to them. If you have no problem with their voicing, that is the end of the matter. To its credit, despite the box-like design, Sonus 2605 V3 looks good with its deep-red coloured veneer and black front grill. Attention has been paid to details such as gold plated binding posts, adjustable spikes etc. The two low frequency drivers of Sonus 2605 V3, I believe, are the carbon fibre cone woofers manufactured by Peerless India. The towers are advertised as having Linkwitz-Riley filters. So there is no dearth of quality components here. It is their voicing that I found totally disagreeable. As a matter of fact, one of the two towers that I received had a blemish in the top left corner (the veneer was deformed). I conveyed this almost immediately to both Hifimart and Sonodyne with a photograph of the blemish. I also expressed my disappointment at the voicing of the towers, more as a feedback and not as a complaint. It was very nice that I received a pleasant and immediate reply from Mr. Anindya Mukherjee, taking note of my feedback, and offering to replace the speaker with the blemish which he deemed as transit damage. It is a different matter that I did not make use of the offer. By that time, I gifted the speakers to my in-laws.

If you do have problem with the voicing of Sonus 2605 V3s like I did, liberal use of the tone controls may be the simplest solution if you have the same in your amplifier / receiver. I feel that setting the treble and mid-frequency at about -3dB from the flat setting should make the Sonus 2605 V3 sound reasonable. But this is only a guess, and I have not tried it out in person. If you do not like to employ tone controls, and instead want a "fixed" solution, Mr. Saikia's 2 Ohm resistor solution, or Mr. Hari Iyer's solution for the speaker brightness, should be of help to you. You can find both the solutions with photographs on this forum.

@elangoas,

I would have really liked to "like" the Sonus 2605 V3s. But it was not to be. Infact, part of my purchase decision in favour of Sonus 2605 V3 was due to your glowing review of the model on this forum. The other part was due to the lingering mental image of the sound of the Sonus bookshelves of which I had an audition more than a decade ago at a place called Sound Options, next to Shanti Sagar in Koramangala, Bangalore. That was during my early forays into high fidelity audio. Hence the decision to spend Rs. 34 K on Sonus 2605 V3s, without even waiting for the Republic Day discount, and without listening to them in the first instance. That I got kicked in my balls for violating the first tenet in high end audio, "listening is believing," suits me well. I deserved it.

If you liked their sound, good enough.

As for the amplifier / receiver that I am using, I am of the opinion that most high fidelity stereo amplifiers, driven within the limits of their average RMS power, sound "true" when paired with good speakers. I won't go to the extent of saying that all high fidelity amplifiers sound the same (the result that a famous Stereophile magazine's blind test came out with). There may be "micro" nuances here and there for the golden eared audiophiles in terms of the sound they produce, but not to the extent that there is overwhelming treble all over the room. I am not a home theatre guy (never have been, and never plan to be one). Therefore, it suffices to say that I use a stereo amplifier with very good (tested) specifications and ample power, in conjunction with a quality dedicated CD player, so much so, that any voicing / colouration in the sound can be attributed to the speakers alone.
 
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I would have really liked to "like" the Sonus 2605 V3s. But it was not to be. Infact, part of my purchase decision in favour of Sonus 2605 V3 was due to your glowing review of the model on this forum. The other part was due to the lingering mental image of the sound of the Sonus bookshelves of which I had an audition more than a decade ago at a place called Sound Options, next to Shanti Sagar in Koramangala, Bangalore. That was during my early forays into high fidelity audio. Hence the decision to spend Rs. 34 K on Sonus 2605 V3s, without even waiting for the Republic Day discount, and without listening to them in the first instance. That I got kicked in my balls for violating the first tenet in high end audio, "listening is believing," suits me well. I deserved it.

If you liked their sound, good enough.

As for the amplifier / receiver that I am using, I am of the opinion that most high fidelity stereo amplifiers, driven within the limits of their average RMS power, sound "true" when paired with good speakers. I won't go to the extent of saying that all high fidelity amplifiers sound the same (the result that a famous Stereophile magazine's blind test came out with). There may be "micro" nuances here and there for the golden eared audiophiles in terms of the sound they produce, but not to the extent that there is overwhelming treble all over the room. I am not a home theatre guy (never have been, and never plan to be one). Therefore, it suffices to say that I use a stereo amplifier with very good (tested) specifications and ample power, in conjunction with a quality dedicated CD player, so much so, that any voicing / colouration in the sound can be attributed to the speakers alone.

I respect your opinion on the product.... I have paired the speakers with proper stereo amplifiers & dedicated CD player which sounded good to my ears...
 
Sound is very subjective. Whats bright to one may be sweet to others unless it makes some strange noise which is unbearable and causes pain to the ears. Many consider Klipsch are bright and I like them. :D
 
..... If you do not like to employ tone controls, and instead want a "fixed" solution, Mr. Saikia's 2 Ohm resistor solution, or Mr. Hari Iyer's solution for the speaker brightness, should be of help to you. You can find both the solutions with photographs on this forum...
.

Can you tell me the link to these solutions, please? :signthankspin:

This is a real nice combo. .. loved the sound. . Thanks for sharing. ..
After audition for long time myself with wife decided to go for Diamond+yamaha 500 combo.. We found that more warm.
So Yamaha A-S 500 amp is warmer than Marantz PM 6004 ...? :confused:
 
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@GCE,

Mr. Vivek Saikia's solution is here:

http://www.hifivision.com/diy/49447-taming-tweeter-brightness-non-destructive-tweak-usher-s520.html

Mr. Hari Iyer's solution is mentioned here :

http://www.hifivision.com/speakers/28352-what-sonic-result-crossover-design.html

But I am not able to locate the thread where a diagram to Mr. Hari Iyer's solution has been provided. I am sure I saw a nicely hand-drawn diagram on this forum, showing a resistor and an inductor in parallel. May be Mr. Hari Iyer himself will be able to help locate the link. Please PM him.

I saw other solutions which seek to tame speaker brightness purely in the acoustic domain, without using electronics. One solution often seen on the internet is by way of sticking foam-pads / foam-rings around the tweeter. Just search among Google images. You will find many images showcasing this solution. But I doubt if it will be as effective as a solution in the electronic domain.
 
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Thank you very much

But I am not able to locate the thread where a diagram to Mr. Hari Iyer's solution has been provided. I am sure I saw a nicely hand-drawn diagram on this forum, showing a resistor and an inductor in parallel

I found this ;)
 

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In Vivek Saikia's solution, the 2 Ohm resistor is connected in lieu of the jumper between the positive terminals. In the "Italian" solution shown above, the 2 Ohms resistor is connected between the negative terminals. Both have the same effect?

Mr. Hari Iyer describes his solution to tame speaker brightness in this thread also :

http://www.hifivision.com/amplifiers/27197-hi-fi-world-novice-1st-purchase-seperates-2.html

He explains it very nicely.

The baffle step loss occurs as the wavelength for mid & high freq is less than the low frequency. Due to this the mid & high frequencies, after being reflected by the baffle, get overenhanced by another 6dB or so but the low frequency having a larger wavelength escape behind the baffle witout enhancement. This can be partially overcome by placing the speaker very close to rear wall of may be wall mount them or use a BSC circuit to tame the mid/high freq by -6dB. This will bring the mid & high freq in level with the low frequency. Also you can add some kind of thick absorbent material on the baffle to prevent the mid & high freq from reflecting from the baffle. This will absorb these frequencies and make them more mellow. Ths values for the baffle step can be determined by the width of the baffle and is defined by Osolon curves. Therotical attenuation is 6dB. But you can benefit by a little exprimentation by increasing the step to 8dB if your listening room is too small to increase the dynamic headroom. This can be easily done by altering the value of the Resistor to the next higher value till you are satisfied with the balance. The entire circuit should not cost more than Rs.500/- to Rs.600/- considering 21SWG wires and a 5 watts wire wound resistor. Better to try this than considering changing the whole hardware. Even if the amplifier is changed, the speaker issue will still remain and adding the BSC will anyway benefit and will be a worthy investment.

By the way, in your opinion do Italian solutions work for Indian problems? ;)
 
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