Planning to move to speakers.

vandersteen 2ce sig are good for their money.

Oh i forgot to mention that i am looking specifically for bookshelves. Preferably ones with adequate bass extension as I am looking to avoid using a sub.

If you are going tubes then you should drop the Dyns and the Harbeth..although. I think the HLP P3 only does 70 hz or so. the bigger P7 is well worth it..it is easily one of the most transparent speakers around..a nice match with your Senns (I guess that should remain your reference for tonality)

I would suggest adding a Ref3a Dulcet to this list. that and the GM Europa might be a good comparison for choosing.

Vandersteen Boookshelves I am not sure of..not very well known in the bookshelf category although their large floors (Quattro ??) are supposed to be great

BTW whats your budget ?? the range you have given is pretty wide !

regarding integerateds..you could try the Antique Sound Labs as well.but since you have a choice you should speak the speaker first and then the best amp to drive it

The price range for the speakers are around 600$..by audiogon prices. except for the harbeth, all others are available in the same price range. Some used(GMA,Dyns) and some new(Comete, Selah).

Actually i had considered the ASL OTL HEAD MK3 for my Senns..from what i read on headfi.com it seems they have fallen out of favor from most of their distributors and have been dropped . Reason being poor quality and lack of consistency.

some others to add to the list & Confusion are
Proac tablette (older), Totem Arro (Not exactly a booksfhelf, but neither a floorstander ..you dont need a stand for this)
,Monitor Audio Gold (Great with tubes), Paradigm Studio 20, vienna acoustics Haydn, JMR Twins etc.

you can always hear them at the dealers..being in the US has that advantage.

Thanks for that Arj..will check them out...gonna be a while before i pick something up..just want a list to follow up on for now.

Btw, what;s ur take on the JMR Trente?

They are a damn good deal now. ealrlier the price over the Twins were not justified. but sicne JMR has docontinued that model, they are now low in the used market ..but still a pair of very good monitors which dont need a sub..and can be run by tubes

Sometimes i wish i had gone for that instead of the twin. think there is a good deal on that at around 800 now at audiogon.

Savyasaachi schrieb:

here are a few i am considering..ur opinions if any.. Triangle Comete ES Selah Audio SA1 Vandersteen(forgot the model) Dynaudio BM6 Dynaudio BM5A Harbeth HL-P3 GMA Europa Also looking to eitehr pair them with a Onix SP3 or a Jolida integrated tube amp. Any other integrated amplifier recommendations are welcome in the 400 to 500 $ category (prices in audiogon, not retail) I am still evaluaitng the it and still is in a nascent stage. Right now i am happy listening to my Senns right out of the Scott Nixon Dac. However i miss listening to full fledged speakers and want to get back to it. Saachi

Saachi,
being a GMA owner myself, my opinion might be biased in favour of the Europa. In your entire list, I think that the Europa is the best speaker. The speaker is seemless in its entire freq range. It does not go down in bass very much as it uses only a 6.5" mid-bass woofer. So, you might not feel all the deep bass & this might not be acceptable to you. I do not know.
2nd on my list would be the BM5A (active) & the BM6 (passive).
my 2 cents worth.


BTW, what is your opinion on the Scott Nixon DAC? Do you like it?

Saachi
As a Proac fan I would sugggest you try the Tabs or if you can the Response one sc. They go very well with tubes though not the flea watt variety.

Jeeves schrieb:

Saachi As a Proac fan I would sugggest you try the Tabs or if you can the Response one sc. They go very well with tubes though not the flea watt variety.

Jeeves, i am a proac fan too!!..especially of the Studio D140s.

bombaywalla schrieb:

Saachi, being a GMA owner myself, my opinion might be biased in favour of the Europa. In your entire list, I think that the Europa is the best speaker. The speaker is seemless in its entire freq range. It does not go down in bass very much as it uses only a 6.5" mid-bass woofer. So, you might not feel all the deep bass & this might not be acceptable to you. I do not know. 2nd on my list would be the BM5A (active) & the BM6 (passive). my 2 cents worth. BTW, what is your opinion on the Scott Nixon DAC? Do you like it?

I will take your opinion under due consideration bombaywalla. Especially since it was only your praise for the Scott Nixon DAC that made me go for it.
As to how much i love it...well i decided not to get my DIY DAC here (It is going to stay with my Active 3 ways back in Bangalore) and also decided to sell my Headsave Classic headphone amp. The DAC is an all rounder and outputs the perfect volume level from the RCA lineouts when coupled with the Senn HD-580 and they are now inseparable.

Sachi..this direct coupling of headsets to source is addictive isnt it ?

Manek.

This is my first post here. I have been a lurker for a while now. I have been a Head-Fier for some time and I recently started exploring VFM stereo systems. Key being VFM.

So here is the what I have shortlisted.

DAC - Zhaolu 2.5A bypass mod
Amp Sonic Impact T-AMP
Speakers - Fostex based speakers. (I just have the drivers with me now. I will start on the DIY project next month)

I thought you would be interested in this link. Comparison of Jolida and the Sonic Impact T-Amp. Remember the Jolida costs 10X more.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1148777

Regards,
Vijay

Vijay, regarding the Sonic Impact, the chipmaker (tripath) had gone out of businss due to a lawsuit..so if it blows up you may not have another option.

regarding the T-amp, try to get a well regulated power supply with around 12-13V output..the usually adapter will not really be very effective.

I bought two T-AMPS as back up. It is still good technology and I believe it will survive.

About the power supply do you have any recommendations. I am in US right now should I get something here? I am also thinking of reboxing for looks.

Thanks

Sachi..this direct coupling of headsets to source is addictive isnt it ? Manek.

Can you describe the sound. Is it good for the DAC?

vjcritic schrieb:

I About the power supply do you have any recommendations. I am in US right now should I get something here? I am also thinking of reboxing for looks. Thanks

i used the 13.8V regulated power. i believe you get that at partsexpress..

it is heavier and costlier than the amp itself

having a backup is a wise thing. anyway mine is around 18 months old now with decent usage except for the past few months and other than the spring clip breaking have No complaints !

Savyasaachi schrieb:

I will take your opinion under due consideration bombaywalla. Especially since it was only your praise for the Scott Nixon DAC that made me go for it. As to how much i love it...well i decided not to get my DIY DAC here (It is going to stay with my Active 3 ways back in Bangalore) and also decided to sell my Headsave Classic headphone amp. The DAC is an all rounder and outputs the perfect volume level from the RCA lineouts when coupled with the Senn HD-580 and they are now inseparable.

Good to read that you really like it, Savya. I had a gut feeling that you would. I would say that the best adjective to describe it is "natural".

well, if you were in BLR, you could have gone over to my brother's house & listened to his GMA Callistos. He just got them! He also just got the stands for them but is waiting for Mr. Murthy to provide some sand to fill them. You could have gotten a taste of the GMA sound. Incidently, he just upgraded from Cadence Diva & he says that, out-of-the-box, they sound killer & totally thrash the Divas.

Abhi, maybe you would like to go over & listen. Call him if you are interested. I believe that the 2 of you have already met. FWIW.

Ah...I know..he told me he is getting GMA also invited me for a listen. I am just waiting for it break-in a bit and then woila!!!

Sachi, whats up with this plan ?

My room mates torpedoed the idea..

Will have to wait till graduation and after before i listen to music the way i like to hear....some real nice speakers...headphones are good..but by no means beats a decent speaker setup..