A good solid state amp

One option would be to upgrade the circuitry of the 20 watter to a 36 watter so you get more tube power.
First 9 watts in class a and the rest in class ab.
See if that's enough for you as have 88db speakers already which are modestly efficient.

If not the arcam a70, cadence stuff sounded good with earlier gen arcam amps, should not be very different now.

Manek

Hi Suhas,
My two cents.
Avoid all entry level integrateds by Nad,Maranz, Arcam etc…Don’t touch advance acoustic. The Vincent hybrid may be a good idea if you want to go “branded”
The best option is of course Siva’s power amp. This is way better than any other which you are contemplating. Another option which I like a lot is an Odyessy khartago power amp which costs around 45k.
The best option is to add a tube power amp to the existing VA1 and bi amp. This will require a bit of research and work. You can of course DIY a tube power amp with some help from seasoned DIY’ers.
Don’t be surprised if it sounds better than the VA1

Suhas is it for the Bass that you are looking for another amp ? or is it some other reason..

If it is ofr Bass then even a subwoofer could be an option

Thanks for the prompt replies guys. Please keep them coming, I need your help.


Manek:

Upgrading VA-1 (20W Class A) to VA-1 HP (36 W, Class AB) was the very first thing came to my mind. Cadence does it for Rs 23000 + Taxes.

I checked that option long back. I took my amp to Cadence factory and compared side by side with VA-1 HP. Things I noticed:

1.There was no noticeable increase in SPL.
2.Though the basic sonic signature remains the same, with VA-1 HP (though performed exceedingly well), all the magic of Pure Class A went away giving me an illusion of something is missing. Max, the previous owner of my VA-1 also carried out similar test and came out with the same conclusion. VA-1 HP can do Class A during its first 9W but then the SPL is very low and details are lost. May be 94+ db speakers can do justice in this case.

End result, I am not going to loose the Class A sound for the miniscule increase in SPL that VA-1 HP might bring in.
Both Mahendra (Dave) and Ajay (shirke) also advised me not to upgrade. Mahendra once told me about Shanti's reaction (?) when people demanded more power from VA-1. Later he (reluctantly) did it (VA-1 HP) but that was a pure market driven (forced) decision.


Arj:

I am not a bass freak.. If that is the case then I couldn’t have sold my Jolida in the first place. VA-1 with ANINA (that can go down to 28 Hz), I am more than happy with the tight, controlled, well defined, articulate bass.

I am considering a SS amp , not for Bass performance but for SPL and Power reserves. With 80% of my music listening (Jazz , Indian Classical, American Country, Folk) VA-1 sounds Divine, Period. Problem starts when I listen to Big Band music, Count Basie and his Orchestra for example and some Western Classical numbers. Presentation, Imaging, timber everything is perfect, Brass bites are to die for. All Okay, except the SPL where the VA-1 quickly runs out of steam. The poor chap VA-1 just can’t do justice to that kind of music. I need more power, music demands it, ANINAs are begging for it.


Square:

I am in touch with Siva. In fact he had offered me a very good deal. I am thinking over it, main issue is I need to add a pre-amp that makes it a two box solution which I want to avoide as far as possible. My rack is already crowded with 2 CD players (Philips legacy, Audio Note 3.1X) , 1 Heavy duty CD transport (California Audio LAB DELTA) , 3 Box DAC from Perpetual Technologies! Further I need to visit Bangalore for an audition (Rs 5K).

Abhi I am waiting for your detailed review on Siva's pre-power combo. Do this now and in the process help me solving the problem and to Siva in adding one more customer.

I am avoiding entry level NAD, CA, ARCAM and MARANZ. In fact I tried one MARANTZ very recently and couldn’t stand even for couple of minutes of listening !

I had a NAD 352 for a home audition in the past and I liked it. So once again looking at NAD C355 and C372 (if I can get hold of one).

ARCAM ’s FMJ series is quite promising but I also had a entry level ARCAM at my place last year and some how didn’t like it. Further FMJ is way expensive.

Vincent has got many good reviews, I am getting one for a home audition so let us see how it turns out to be.

I added Advance Acoustic to my list because couple of my friends highly recommended it to me. Secondly, products are well built and nice looking (WAF comes into picture here, she doesn’t want another ugly looking mega box sitting in the rack). For RS 25K one can have 70 WPC Integrated and for about 60-65K 150WPC pre-power combo with VU meters. Sounds like a VFM product.

So this is the picture as on today. Is there anything I can consider? Am I missing anything?

SUhas

Is it possible to add a "pre out" to your integrated ? i mean modify it
This will make it very easy to add a power amp ss or tube.

Don't worry about Siva's pre/power. From my experience it is leaques ahead of anything you are contemplating. ;)Keep in mind that they are ruthlessly transparent and revealing designs. Will not work for euphonic sound lovers.

suhas,

I have heard Sivas Pre/Power setup in my place and it is really good. it was far more powerful, detailed than my sugden and at the same time not sounding analytical.

the power amp by ltself is really good

But i can understand your problem of an overcrowded shelf

I would really suggest upgrading from the cadence amp... maybe another option is the you can try the Red Wine audio 30.2 int OR power amp ? \ i have only heard very good stuff about it.

just to give a reference, I upgraded to a Leben CS600 and the amount of musical communication from my system was astounding..and i really do not need a sub anymore as the SPL, the depth and the tactile feeling of music just went up at no expense of musicality. but i am rather attached to the sugden so have not yet planned to let it go..but on the first day itself i knew i was dealing with a very different level of equipment

Abhi I am waiting for your detailed review on Siva's pre-power combo.

Hi Suhas,
I know that the review is long pending. I will do it very soon. But one thing I can assure with my eyes shut (but ears open)...if you are looking at Siva's solution it wont be your secondary amp...it will immediately replace your primary amp..VA-1. I have heard the VA-1 with Cadence Electrostats quite a few times...they are nice. Siva's pre-power is in a different league in almost all the ways you can think of, Detail, Harmonic Richness, Lush, Transparency, Power, Dynamics, you name it. You cannot go wrong with it easily.
While it is highly detailed and transparent it is not at all analytical. If the recording is bad, it will show you but not spit at you and if the recording is good it will exceed all your expectations is projecting the music thats on the CD.
As already said by someone else its a way better league than whatever else thats been discussed on this thread till now IMHO.

Arj schrieb:

suhas, I have heard Sivas Pre/Power setup in my place and it is really good. it was far more powerful, detailed than my sugden and at the same time not sounding analytical. the power amp by ltself is really good But i can understand your problem of an overcrowded shelf I would really suggest upgrading from the cadence amp... maybe another option is the you can try the Red Wine audio 30.2 int OR power amp ? \ i have only heard very good stuff about it. just to give a reference, I upgraded to a Leben CS600 and the amount of musical communication from my system was astounding..and i really do not need a sub anymore as the SPL, the depth and the tactile feeling of music just went up at no expense of musicality. but i am rather attached to the sugden so have not yet planned to let it go..but on the first day itself i knew i was dealing with a very different level of equipment

A Leben CS600
Always liked their retro-classic style design. Congratulations.

I shall give you a unique option. Get your Aninias biwired. Get Cadence to make you another amp without controls, essentially a power amp.Modify your current amp to also give a pre out and power the new amp via this.In effect you will horizontally biamp your speakers with each channel powering only one driver. This makes sure the amp does not see a complex load of two driver and their filters together. I have heard a version of the OTL Amaya in my Cadence days and they was never a lack of SPL in biamp mode.
Deaf.

Suhaas, As a matter of fact I have heard and done such an experiment as deaf suggested with the arca's and two va 36 watters. Excellent! The only difference was that both va's were with a volume controls in stock form. The cadence va does have a pair of sockets at the back to feed a line level signal to another amp.

We had to play around with the volume controls a bit but once we found the right positions for both.....they were singing ! No spl issues and no issues with any kind of music and we did do rock and pop and jazz and classical and blues and a whole lot more.
70 watts of tube power sure did the trick.

Suhaas its worth a shot if cadence helps you. The va is a good amp.

Manek

Manek , is the pre section in the VA1 a Vol pot only ? in that case, cant the pre out from one VA1 can be "daisy chained" into the other input ?

From what you say, the ideal way forward is to have a only power amp section of the VA1 for a vertical bi amping setup which deaf had suggested ..

Deaf-ji , your well thought suggestion is excellent in its own merit. But I have some limitations:

1> I am technically challenged.
2> Cost of adding one more VA-1 (Rs 90K for a new one) is prohibitive.
3> Getting any modifications/change done by Cadence is not only difficult but also an expensive affair.
4> I don’t have enough rack space to accommodate another VA-1.

I hope you understand my situation. Once again thanks a lot Deaf-ji for your suggestion, I welcome all.

Arj

There is no preout in the va1 neither is there a powerin.the pre section in the va is an alps volume pot, so I am told.
So modification is necessary in both cases.

Suhaas, you bought this va used, so another used va would not have been to expensive.but rack space being an issue, an integrated is a good idea. You may want to go back to the jolida integrated ? Or siva's power amp with a passive volume unit ?

Manek

I understand if you looking for a traditional solid state amp new in 2008, you got to shell out huge money.

With that in view, why not look out for a 70’s vintage Japanese solid state amp. That period was the pinnacle of SS tech when some very well engineered amps were made. No doubts today’s a middle range amp (as your price point suggest) may offer better spec but for a considerable lesser layout you could have a very good amp at your hand.

Pioneer, Sansui and Yamaha from the 70’s should be good. Even a Sony or our own Sonodyne should also be nice. I will personally look out for a Sonodyne which was essentially the classic JLH clone. A nice overhaul and we have a great solid state amp.

Sorry, just me cheapster thoughts. Not audiophile enough perhaps

G_S_Madhav schrieb:

Upgrading VA-1 (20W Class A) to VA-1 HP (36 W, Class AB) was the very first thing came to my mind. Cadence does it for Rs 23000 + Taxes.

So much money for basically changing the operating points of an amp? What else am I missing here? Does it also innvlove a change of transformers, etc. ?

On second thoughts changing the ironware will probably triple the “upgrade” cost.

Hey aks, I still have my 70's sonodyne amp and speakers. Haven't played them for 10 years or more but didn't have the heart to give it up as I have grown up with that system and have probably heard the best bass response ever from those speakers.

Sonodyne sc4030 120 watts a channel. Is this the amp you mentioned or similar ? I am not talking about the plastic uranus series that came later. This one is all metal built well, brushed aluminium front, and knobs, stepped volume control, presense and loudness switches, bass and treble knobs, mono-stereo, high pass and low pass filter buttons, phone and mic sockets, mm and mc phono inputs.

Sonodyne spectrum 5000 3way sealed cabinet speakers.

btw I once remember talking to anindya from sonodyne on this and he can't even remember the models so it was way before his time.

Wonder if the amp can be made functional after so many years of inactivity ? Don't know about the speakers too.

Aks these were the days when sonodyne, cosmic, arphi ruled. Enbee was in the fray somewhere up north.

aks07 schrieb:

With that in view, why not look out for a 70’s vintage Japanese solid state amp. That period was the pinnacle of SS tech when some very well engineered amps were made. No doubts today’s a middle range amp (as your price point suggest) may offer better spec but for a considerable lesser layout you could have a very good amp at your hand.

Ask07:

Yes, I am looking for some vintage too, incidently getting one old wood Kenwood for an audition. The amp is quite old 20+ years, still going stong, perhaps I need to change those electrolyte capacitors inside. Also one guy is talking about an old Technics , let us see.

I added Advance Acoustic to my list because couple of my friends highly recommended it to me. Secondly, products are well built and nice looking (WAF comes into picture here, she doesn’t want another ugly looking mega box sitting in the rack). For RS 25K one can have 70 WPC Integrated and for about 60-65K 150WPC pre-power combo with VU meters. Sounds like a VFM product.

Very True.

Also check with Sushil if he has any pre-owned Nova Amp for sale....

Wonder if the amp can be made functional after so many years of inactivity ?

Switch it on, with a Night Light bulb ( about 10 Watts ) in series, and leave it on overnight, to allow the Electrolyte Caps to re-form.

The change the Bulb to a 25 Watt Bulb... give that a few hours, then a 40 Watt , later a 60 Watt and finally a 100 Watt bulb in series, giving each bulb a couple of hours in place, at least....

G_S_Madhav-ji

Kenwood and Technics from the 70’s are highly desirable. Specially the high powered versions. Give that Kenwood a critical consideration.

Manek-ji

Your Sonodyne was based on the Leach amp design.

Did it play music last time? Try to power it up slowly with a variac lest the caps and output transistors blow up. After that many years the PSU elcos will need a change anyways.

The weak link was the biasing diodes embedded in the heatsink. The first models had these. Later models had some other solution. To make things more confusing some models had an entirely different schematic. So your restoration plan will depend on the specific model.

It is a heavy equipment and will require a complete overhaul now. Whatever you do, don’t give it to a radio mistry for that. Try to do it yourself. It s not so difficult and just requires careful attention to detail that a repair guy wont lavish. Good DIY project. Let’s discuss this in a new thread if required.

I actually have a better idea in case you want to get rid of it.

Even I have a Sonodyne Integrated amp from the 70s. The model number I suppose is SC630. It has a wooden cover. Has almost the same functionalities as Manek had mentioned. Couple of days back I got it out and tried switching it on. I was expecting a blast with fumes but...hey...it just turned on . I didnt have the matching interconnects to connect it else would have tried playing it. It takes those retro type single connectors with 5 pins to accomodate both the channels. I dont have those anymore. But I am not giving up..

Aks I wouldn't have kept it for so long if I wanted to get rid of it....:-)

I just called dad to pull the amp out and guess what ! He doesn't remember where it is ! And my mom sold the speakers to the kabadiwalla thinking they were useless ! Not a very happy dussera for me :-(

Jeez....now to find the amp. Will have to wait until my parents return back from their vacation in a few days.

And if its found can I count on both you gentlemen to help restore it ?
Btw I also have an arphi amp aa140(70 watts x 2) which was really sweet sounding also not used for the same time. This one is with me, thankfully.
Aks What's ur take on that one ? Worth it ? Pulz still makes similar looking amps.

Manek

Sorry for the thread hijack

Back to suhaas.....

Suhaas my brother has a old huge yamaha class a solid state amp, 100x2 watts I think. He was extremely pleased for a while until the tube bug bit him as well.

Manek

I didnt have the matching interconnects to connect it else would have tried playing it. It takes those retro type single connectors with 5 pins to accomodate both the channels. I dont have those anymore. But I am not giving up..

That ois a 5 pin DIN plug.

Get yourself a DIN to RCA cord. MX makes them, should be easily available in B'lore too

The pioneer a400

Wouldnt that be a good amp to get ?


Manek

Suhas, pardon my asking this again, but are you really sure you want 2 different setups for different kinds of music ?

in the end from what I understand, it is the VA 1 which is not doing it all well by not being able to control the speakers at low volumes..and that is not really optimum system matching..

a question to the more knowledgeable folks, If the pre section is a simple volume POt them keeping it at maximum volume should make it behave as s power amp ?? In that case another option is to try out a good preamplifier and see if that does give some more control on the speaker ?

Manek schrieb:

The pioneer a400 Wouldnt that be a good amp to get ? Manek

that is some amp..but again getting one in a good condition is not really easy !

Manek schrieb:

Suhaas my brother has a old huge yamaha class a solid state amp, 100x2 watts I think. He was extremely pleased for a while until the tube bug bit him as well. Manek

Is he thinking of selling that YAMAHA ?

Arj schrieb:

Suhas, pardon my asking this again, but are you really sure you want 2 different setups for different kinds of music ? in the end from what I understand, it is the VA 1 which is not doing it all well by not being able to control the speakers at low volumes..and that is not really optimum system matching..

As I said in my opening post and later on, VA-1 has no problme in playing 80% of music preferences. It is just divine. I am 200% happy with the performance.

VA-1's limitation shows up only and only when I play some Big Band music with 20-35 brass instruments. There I feel , I need a bigger powerful amp (80-100 WPC solid state )to do justice to that kind of music .

Suhaas

My bro lives in the US and sold it off many years ago.
I wrote about the yamaha as another option for you if you find one here.

And yes the horn blats in a big band need a bit of headroom....I see where you are coming from.

Here was one of my experiences with big band music and tubes...I was using a pair of ge tubes for a bit. While they are warm, superb in the mids and fast in the bass the horns just didn't have that "blat"(for want of a better word), like in count basie band which I too like a lot. That changed to a large extent when I used tung sols. Kya bolega....my search for a more powerful amp vanished the same day(I was using the power section of the solid state and the much pooh poohed amp by some, 320bee). And then that bug it comes back after a while for something else and ebbs again with another tube set...I am have a time of my life.

For count basie and big bands many a time you have great singers who create that magic around a large ensemble like ella, june christy, peggy lee etc.......the ever present and lush voices, the delicacy of the brushwork and cymbals, the lilting rhythm...you just may end up sacrificing all good things about tubes....

I have come to terms with the stuff that tubes don't do right and love the stuff that they do.

Look for a good hybrid is what I would say.

Manek

Manek schrieb:

Look for a good hybrid is what I would say. Manek

That was the reason I bought Jolida Hybrid, but later VA-1 won over because it did 80% of my music far better than Jolida Hybrid . A well made Hybrid is at the top of my list. I am looking at Vincent SV-236 with great expectations.

Manek when you mentioned Arphi it triggered a memory 35 years ago. The owner of Arphi was a classmate in Mumbai at Bombay International, Adi Pestonjamas. Great guy, unfortunately died very young. Maybe thats why they wound up.

Yes, was very sad.

Adi was with me in St Xavier's College. I knew him (and his pal Noshir Khamtatta) well.

Yup...good memories....my dad knew him as well in some way or another.

I wonder if there was anyone to carry on his legacy after him ?

His big speakers we called orpheus, smaller ones were aquarius, were they not ?

Manek

Manek schrieb:

Aks these were the days when sonodyne, cosmic, arphi ruled. Enbee was in the fray somewhere up north.

Manek-sahib, you bring back some fond memories of Cosmic amps & Arphi loudspeakers!!
When I was growing up my Dad took to me Opera House to one of those electronic shops & we bought a Cosmic amp & Arphi Orpheus loudspeakers. That Cosmic amp was long retired but my Dad still has those Arphi loudspeakers! Music is piped thru them even today.
When my 2nd son was a crawling baby & we visited Bombay he poked many holes in grill cloth. My Dad stood there & watched very amused & did not even try to stop him & forbade me to as well! I was having a mini heart-attack as my loudspeakers from my childhood were being played with!

Jeeves schrieb:

Manek when you mentioned Arphi it triggered a memory 35 years ago. The owner of Arphi was a classmate in Mumbai at Bombay International, Adi Pestonjamas. Great guy, unfortunately died very young. Maybe thats why they wound up.

That was very sad indeed!
Did not realize that 1 of the founders of Arphi died young & that he was an apna-Bombaywalla.

Amp_Nut schrieb:

Yes, was very sad. Adi was with me in St Xavier's College. I knew him (and his pal Noshir Khamtatta) well.

Ach, St. Xavier's College - they had the best looking girls! A total chic-magnet!
That's where I should have gone rather than wasting my time in Jai Hind!

Manek schrieb:

Suhaas my brother has a old huge yamaha class a solid state amp, 100x2 watts I think. He was extremely pleased for a while until the tube bug bit him as well. Manek

It's a pity that he traded the Yamaha vintage amp for tubes! Altho I would give him a lot of credit 'cuz he went tubes & not further into s.s.!!

On a more serious note - those vintage Yamaha amps are simply FANTASTIC. Last year I managed to snag (with consider effort & outlay for a vintage amp) a 1977 Yamaha CA-2010 integrated. It's 120W/ch class-AB & 30W/ch in pure class-A. Beautiful sonics - makes me feel at many times that I'm listening to a tube amp esp when in class-A mode. In class-A mode the sucker gets HOT, caliente!!

Other divine sounding integrated models from Yamaha are the CA-1000, CA-1010, CA-600, CA-410. Beautiful face plate. So good looking that the latest offerings from Yamaha are almost the same looking face-plate. I'm talking of the Yamaha A-2000S, A-1000S amps & the 2 SACD players that were launched in Dec 2007.
You would do very well (& might I add for a life-time) if you managed to get a good-condition Yamaha vintage. Several of the above mentioned models come up for auction on Ebay.
FWIW.

Bombaywalla

The same thing happened to me as well. Dad one morning got a jhatka and told me and bro to accompany him to precious electric at flora fountain to a demo.
Arphi vs sonodyne speakers ! Cosmic vs sonodyne amp ! And sony vs philips vs sonodyne vs cosmic tape deck ! At that time there was a jv called sony orson making and selling sony tape decks in bombay ! I still remember that day. My dad made that sales guy work his butt out for hours. The sonodyne won on a majority vote on amp and speakers. my dad had liked the arphi speakers but he trusted the judgement of his two little rascals.
Sony k35 with ferrite heads won hands down. That in fact has been the only tape deck I have ever owned. It lasted a good 30 years ! And by jove it did wonderfull tape recordings.

What happy memories. That system was my best friend. I would play it every chance I got. We 3 would pack off mother on weekends to her sisters and blast jazz music till wee hours in the morning. Keep all the neighbours awake ! Would get gaalis from the priests at the fire temple opposite my home, guys sleeping on the footpath screaming....but we didn't give a damn.

Can we ever do this with our kids now ? I doubt it. Forget the neighbours, wife would'nt co-operate either.

Manek

I have to add my 2 bit here!
I remember my dad who incidentally was not musically inclined, one day taking me to the Cosmic factory, I think it was somewhere near the Sahar airport. He knew the owners and we picked up the Cosmic 3000? and a pair of speakers. Manek I dont remember quite clearly but we also picked up a tape deck, it was one of the flat ones and I think it was a sony cobranded with Cosmic? very hazy. Also a bit later we picked up a beautiful TT also from Cosmic. It wasn't a Garrard because thats the changer we upgraded from. It was pretty modern even by todays standards. Remember changing the cart once to a Shure. Then I got a Sony mini system which was the in thing then. All the above went to the kabadiwala.
The amp had a headphone socket and I listened to heavy rock late into the night.

Jeeves schrieb:

... we picked up the Cosmic 3000?

That would be the LAB-3000. Yet another hidden jewel. Recently a relative in Orissa was lucky to pick up a new still-in-box Cosmic LAB-3000 from the erstwhile dealer. He is yet to power it on. Sending it to me for a bit of TLC.

Keep an eye out for early COSMIC and Sonodyne turntables. At one time both had SME arms and Audiotechnica (atleast the Sonodyne) cartridges.

This thread is turning out to be a veritable retro fest. I hope Shree Suhas allows us this little indulgence.

Manek-ji

You take me back 30 yrs !

aks07 schrieb:

This thread is turning out to be a veritable retro fest. I hope Shree Suhas allows us this little indulgence. Manek-ji You take me back 30 yrs !

I don't mind guys, continue , keep them coming, down the memory lanes, very emotional and touching.

I too have fond memories of one Philips valve radio and cute little Murphy transistor radio served us for many many years ..those days of Ameen Sayani's mesmerizing Binaca Geetmala , Skumar's filmy Mukkadama , 10 PM A.I.R national program for Indian Classical and Oh Yes , those cricket commentaries when Ajit Wadekar was leading India, Farooque Engineer was keeping wickets and Salim Durrani balsting Sixes after Sixes on demand. We also had spool type tape recorder from SONY(?) , I still remember those square plastic cases housing BASF tapes.

And one day all that wonderful audio gear went to Kabadiwala without even me knowing it.

Gone are those days.

so nice to read your respective experiences of retro audio gear "Made In India" & the very fond & happy memories that it has brought to all of us respectively.
Yes, indeed those days seem so uncomplicated & simple pleasure made us happy.
What is clear is that we all were closet audiophiles back then & we are indulging in our passion now!

Manek schrieb:

Can we ever do this with our kids now ? I doubt it. Forget the neighbours, wife would'nt co-operate either.

Yup! Damn right! To get any audio gear into the house that has not been cleared (thru an extensive hard-sell!) by the "Chief Customs Duty Officer" who is ALWAYS on duty is a sneak job!


Thanks to G_S_Madhav for allowing us to indulge a bit.

bombaywalla schrieb:

Yup! Damn right! To get any audio gear into the house that has not been cleared (thru an extensive hard-sell!) by the "Chief Customs Duty Officer" who is ALWAYS on duty is a sneak job!

that reminds me of a post I had read of someone who ONLY bought Audio Research gear . Apparently since All their models look very similar it was very easy to upgrade by sneaking in the components and changing them on the sly

Manek schrieb:

Can we ever do this with our kids now ? I doubt it. Forget the neighbours, wife would'nt co-operate either.

Manek , Sadly There is also this matter of kind of music...maybe i am getting to be one of the cantakerous stodgies who said Rock is not music...but these days i really do not enjoy the newer music out there. anyway that is a topic for another thread.

aks

those sonodyne and cosmic TT's were good.

Cosmic lab3000 peti packed ?
wow !

manek.

Down south..in a little town where i grew up...the only stuff had access to was some cheap delhi stuff with which you could DIY your own things (tape records, amp & speaker).

Even our first TV (Black & White) was a DIY from component sourced from Delhi ....and the only channel to watch was Rupavahini from SriLanka.

I hear about Sonodyne only in the mid-90's...and cosmic not until my trip to mumbai three years ago. I'm sure Norge was also much popular in those days.

I guess South was much pooerer back them

Siva
Meltron was not avialable in the south ?

Arj, about the music thing, yeah very few kids listen to good music, our music. Their lives are packed with noise and compression. I guess if we don't expose them to the good stuff, they won't know would they ? And then would they ever grow up and buy good hifi ? Never. Most kids would'nt know good sound even it hit them flat in face at 100mph. And by the time they are financially independant to buy electronics, hifi equipment would be nearly extinct. I am begining to think we are the last lot.


Suhaas, my dad had a grundig "phonogram", Tt + valve radio + amp + speakers in one large cabinet. Voice of america "jazz hour" hosted by willis conover, radio ceylon, bbc world service.....our whole family would huddle around this large piece of furniture and listen.
He also had blaupunkt car radio with a valve power amp module. It was fitted in his dodge kingsway and then the plymoth family cars, before I was born. It was kept at home long after the cars were sold. Ofcourse my mother in her fit of generosity one day gave it again to the kabadiwala !
Those damn kabadiwala's have suckered many a budding audiophile !

I still remember the pioneer TT, rogers valve amp and the elac speakers my uncle had....and then the rear folded acousta horns with lowthers.......that amp was a 10watter and would pop and cough every rainy season but once it warmed up.....heh heh....classical and jazz music was a dream ! Extremely fond memories. I would spend a lot of my free time at my uncles place so I was always surrounded with lovely music.
Musically I have had an excellent childhood and letting go of those memories is tough, and that's probably why I listen to what I listen to, what I grew up on.

Those days I know won't come back but even if we can re-create that magic for a bit....its all worth it.

Btw would love to read about your childhood experiences.
Ofcourse that's until suhaas hears and comments on his Vincent.
After that its back to the thread topic.

Aks, out of all the old indian amps I have not heard nova. I think they came a bit later....What would you say about them ? Ampnut ? You have heard the nova haven't you ?

Siva norge I don't remember listening to as a kid. More recent I think ? 90's ?

Enbee from delhi was around. One of my neighbours had it with old acoustic research bookshelves, ar7 if I mistake not. And then there was another bawa neighbour who had garad TT and akai spool deck. But kya sound....clean and open !

Manek

BTW, regarding Vincent, their OEM is Sheng Ya who sell the exact same designs under their own briand name as well a a much cheaper cost. they also sold under the brand of "Spark" some years back.
http://www.shengya-audio.com

Arj schrieb:

BTW, regarding Vincent, their OEM is Sheng Ya who sell the exact same designs under their own briand name as well a a much cheaper cost. they also sold under the brand of "Spark" some years back. http://www.shengya-audio.com

Yes, it is a well known fact but there is a difference between Sheng Ya and Vincent. Both are assembled on the same assembly line using same chassis , same face plate , same circuit schematic but parts used are not the same. Shen Ya uses cheapo chinese equivalents , stock chinese tubes while Vincent's inventory is sourced from Europe and Japan.

Manek schrieb:

Arj, about the music thing, yeah very few kids listen to good music, our music. Their lives are packed with noise and compression. I guess if we don't expose them to the good stuff, they won't know would they ? And then would they ever grow up and buy good hifi ? Never. Most kids would'nt know good sound even it hit them flat in face at 100mph. And by the time they are financially independant to buy electronics, hifi equipment would be nearly extinct. I am begining to think we are the last lot.

Could't agree you more. Following the foot steps of my dad , I am also paying special attention towards my son.

I enrolled him for music lessons (Vocal Indian Classical and Piano) , I see that he joins me during my listening sessions. I also take him for auditions . (but that created problem once, when I took him to Cadence for ARCA + CANASYA and after that blissful hour , he insisted to buy one pair there and there only! Poor dad me...)