Help me build my first Hi-Fi

Autor

Beitrag

SuhasG
Ist häufiger hier

#1 erstellt: 04. Aug 2006, 14:14

Hi All,

I am a new member of this forum. I am now planning to take the plunge into hi-fi.

Some stuff upfront:

1. Do not have a big room; it’s about 140 sft.

2. I love Indian Classical and Western Classical music.

3. Since I have a small room, I am thinking of following:

3A. A 50 wpc Stereo Intergraded amplifier. Short-listed: NAD C320BEE (price quoted Rs 21424)

3B: Need CDP. Short-listed: NAD C521 BEE (price quoted Rs 17618) and Cambridge Audio 640C V2 (price quoted Rs 29250)

3C: Thinking of Bookshelves with proper stand. Short-listed
Cadence ARITA (price quoted Rs 50625 w/o Stand , Stand - Rs 14,000)

B&W 602 S3 (price quoted Rs 35868 w/o Stand)

3D: Do I need Subwoofer to handle low frequencies? Need recommendation. I know if I add SW, I will exceed the budget, however I can consider adding a SW at a later date also.

3E: I also need AM/FM Tuner. I have an option of getting NAD C720BEE (C320BEE+ AM-FM Tuner) @ Rs 30,000. Is it Okay? Or I can better off with some other brand AM/FM Tuner.

4. Have a budget of 100K.

Now my questions:

1. Do I still think of the floor standers, immaterial of the room size? If yes what are the options given the budget?

2. To make my investment future-proof, do I need to consider a DVD player instead of CDP so that I can play DVD Audio, SACD?

3. Are there any other options that I can consider?

All suggestions are welcome. Help!

[Beitrag von SuhasG am 04. Aug 2006, 14:20 bearbeitet]

Savyasaachi
Inventar

#2 erstellt: 04. Aug 2006, 15:05

you have a very neat budget to work with.

I haven't heard the Cadence Arita but have heard the praises they get from all quarters.
I think our Moderator, Manek has one.
He's mated it with a tube pre and Nad 320Bee amp(Correct me if am wrong Manek).
He's got the Cadence stands(which i hear is absolutely lovely)
An audition is long due from my side.
Hoping to go meet Jochen(Bangalore dealer) sometime next week.

Regarding the CDP..
my advice would be to stay awy from the NAD cdp..ur better off with a Marantz or evn the new breed of Cambridge audio cdps..otehr choices would be any hafl decent cdp with a Zhalou or Lite audio DAC...maybe even a monarchy DAC.
for your room size..a sub would not be necessary..depends again on the room design, parameters.
For classicla music the room is a very very important part.
AMp wise i think u can look at different options..maybe a Cayin or if u can get it the Sugden A21a.

Arj
Inventar

#3 erstellt: 04. Aug 2006, 15:24

what kind of Western do you listen to ?

If you listen to music with lots of low frequency undertones (Organs/french horn etc) then a sub is helpful. else a bookshelf should be enough!

your choise on setup seems very good and in an un modded state I would prefer the NAD over the marantz

but it is too personal a choice.

Manek
Inventar

#4 erstellt: 04. Aug 2006, 16:03

Suhaas,

I have the same setup as saachi says. never ever wanted a sub. They go very low for a bookshelf. Excellent is the word. The nad and aritas gel very well. Very musical setup. i also listen to a lot of western classical and jazz and this setup sings.

Manek.

SDhawan
Stammgast

#5 erstellt: 04. Aug 2006, 17:05

I agree with all that's said above except the CDP. Earlier I had NAD C521BEE and now I have Marantz CD-5001. The latter I found better (& Cheaper) - in terms of resolution, tonal balance & overall musicality.

You don't need Floorstanders or Sub for a small room - the room itself extends the bass. While evaluatin the cost of speaker - include to cost of good stands as part of the speakers.

Separate CD & DAC is no longer a great idea because of availablity of good CD Players. Moreover getting the interface right could be a problem.

Tube amp should be a good idea with your kind of taste of music and your budget. Cadence makes tube amps too - which are supposed to be good and do not need any bias adjustment.

Universal Vs. Dedicated CD player - must have a dedicated CD player. Universal player could part of your second or HT system.

Regards

Sanjay

SDhawan
Stammgast

#6 erstellt: 04. Aug 2006, 18:38

Tuner - Worldspace radio. Great value for money and excellent content.

abhi.pani
Inventar

#7 erstellt: 04. Aug 2006, 19:06

Great idea towards a cooool setup.
BTW NAD521BEE is an excellent CDP. You have to listen to it and its competitors to come to a conclusion.

Amp_Nut
Inventar

#8 erstellt: 05. Aug 2006, 06:10

IMHO a sub in a small room such as yours will only muddy the sound.

Integrating a sub well, even in a Big room, is difficult....

SDhawan
Stammgast

#9 erstellt: 05. Aug 2006, 06:27

abhi.pani schrieb:

Great idea towards a cooool setup.
BTW NAD521BEE is an excellent CDP. You have to listen to it and its competitors to come to a conclusion.

I agree NAD C521BEE is a good CD Player - I have myself had it for more than a year (till it was stolen). Now that I was forced to explore for a new one I happened to audition Marantz CD-5001 & was pleasantly surprised to find it better - so I bought it.

All I am suggesting is that you could also explore & compare before deciding.

Regards

Sanjay

kspv
Ist häufiger hier

#10 erstellt: 05. Aug 2006, 18:10

In a room less than 150 sq. ft. in area, by all means, avoid a subwoofer. The bass will drown everything else if you use one. Otherwise your selection seems to be excellent to me.

kspv
Ist häufiger hier

#11 erstellt: 06. Aug 2006, 21:22

Tuner - Worldspace radio. Great value for money and excellent content.

Did some more research on the nature of transmission from the Worldspace channels. My finding is that all Worldspace Radio channels are encoded between 16 kbps (mono) to 64 kbps (joint stereo) in MPEG III compression format. That's an awfully low bitrate for anything to be called as "hi-fi", though the content of some channels like "Riff" is thoroughly enjoyable.

For more information on this topic, visit the Yahoo Group on Worldspace Radio at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/worldspace-radio

[Beitrag von kspv am 06. Aug 2006, 21:23 bearbeitet]

kspv
Ist häufiger hier

#12 erstellt: 06. Aug 2006, 21:33

Hence FM is more "fi" than the Worldspace Radio interms of frequency range, though not interms of noise in the signal.

SDhawan
Stammgast

#13 erstellt: 06. Aug 2006, 21:42

I don't know the bandwidth or kbps rates of various radio transmissions, but here is what my ears tell me:

Worldsapce > FM > AM ....in terms of sound quality, content & value for money.

I have all three playing through Marantz SR-4500 & Boston speakers - so I am talking about direct comparision.

About more on worldspace see:

worldspace.com

Regards

Sanjay

Krish
Stammgast

#14 erstellt: 07. Aug 2006, 06:44

SuhasG schrieb:

Wow, the Arista is 50 K now, is it?

Suhas, you might want to check out the Totem Arros.They go for around 55K.

Cheers

purnendu
Stammgast

#15 erstellt: 07. Aug 2006, 12:43

Hi,
One possibility in your budget is to go for the Audio Analogue Primo CD player and hundred watt Cento combination. It is well reviewed and compact. I only have the CD player -which is detailed and refined - but the amp is reputedly even better. This combo would be around eighty grand, which leaves money for small quality boxes and cable. I do think this will be a very nice compact set. May be you should check it out with the dealer in Bombay Mr Anand of nova audio. My experience with them for what I have bought has been good.
If you want to go the tube way then may be you should check out the Lyrita gear. That way you will be able to get a higher quality source.
Purnendu

Arj
Inventar

#16 erstellt: 07. Aug 2006, 14:29

kspv schrieb:

In a room less than 150 sq. ft. in area, by all means, avoid a subwoofer. The bass will drown everything else if you use one. Otherwise your selection seems to be excellent to me.

not really. a sub can actually be integerated well and tunefully. it will be boomy only if you have the amp turned up really loud.

usually in a small room it is the 50Hz+ frequencies which are boomy !

For a small room a 8" sub can be placed and integrated surprisingly well.. but it is dependant on the music.
If you do not listen too much of music with sub 40Hz tones/fundamentals then it may not be really required !

bhagwan69
Inventar

#17 erstellt: 11. Aug 2006, 09:17

Monitor Audio - Speakers

http://www.monitoraudio.com/products/silver/series/rs5.htm

http://www.advance-acoustic.com/en-home.php
Integrated Amplifier & CD Player

http://www.advance-acoustic.com/en-product.php?id=4

Good to consider.

I like the Cadence, but @ 65/- K [stands are very very important] it is just not worth it.

Have a look at the products I have emntioned above.

They are available in India.

You may go and have them auditioned.

I also like a JBL [yes, I am suggesting a JBL]

http://www.jbl.com/h...=USA&cat=PTS&ser=PTS

Regards,

BHAGWAN69

Arj
Inventar

#18 erstellt: 11. Aug 2006, 10:42

Woof Woof.. Amazing Woofers

Bhagwan, have you heard them ?

The vertical dispersion in 1-8 khz may need to be controlled a bit to avoid floor dispersion and toe in might be more than usual.. but that is a really impressive design.

Any idea how the integeration between the midrange and the woofer is ? since it does not go down reallly low it should be better but with some real nasty SPLs

Arj
Inventar

#19 erstellt: 11. Aug 2006, 10:45

BTW are they available in India ? any idea of the price range ?
a Horn tweeter/woofer seems a mouthwatering prospect and since JBL has been a pioneer in horns am sure will be good alternative to the impossibley pride Avant gardes..

Jeeves
Stammgast

#20 erstellt: 11. Aug 2006, 13:11

Suhas, Prithvi of absolute Phase has a 2 year old Cadence electrostats (dont know model) going for 40k. I have a Proac studio 125 for sale..PM if interested.
Prithvi also has a wonderful bookshelf Epos M5.

Jeeves
Stammgast

#21 erstellt: 11. Aug 2006, 15:16

Prithvi has Cadence Aninas for 40k.

bhagwan69
Inventar

#22 erstellt: 14. Aug 2006, 10:46

Arj schrieb:

Hello !

Their new shop is opening in Mumbai today. Atria Mall.
I will be going for the Wine & the Cheese !!!!!

The speakers are on Demo along with the K2's
The Electronics is from Lexicon.
I shall hear and write about it tommorrow.

I am not so sure what the prices are. I may not be in a position to ask for the price at the shop's opening.
But I shall try.
Alternately FXAudio will surely help. Sam is a great guy, just call him, he will provide you with the necessary details. His mobile number is :- + 91 98925 12421.

BHAGWAN69

bhagwan69
Inventar

#23 erstellt: 14. Aug 2006, 10:57

Arj schrieb:

Woof Woof.. Amazing Woofers

A unique trapezoidal enclosure and unique crossover system with 4th- order acoustic transitions and ultralow-loss inductors, for true cinematic performance from a bookshelf system.

The woofer actually player rather high - till 1 K
This is most strange. Besides even the port is unique - 'flared'
It will be an interesting design. I would love to listen to it.

BHAGWAN69

P.S. It is not very efficient - as one would expect - only 88dB. So SET amps are 'out'. Avant Garde's cannot be replaced.
Impedence is stated @ 8 ohms [again very difficult to believe]. I am sure it dips down. Would love to see its graph - in a review maybe.