Krell KAV-400xi/Primare i30/Advance Acoustic MAP 407 with Cadence Amaya

i can advice you to remove option 4 !

any of the others are purely based on how you feel they combine with the speaker..so play all of them annd go for what you like the best..you will not go wrong with any . (I really dont know much about advance acoustic though)

I would strongly suggest you remove Option-2 asap. Thats the coldest sounding amp I have ever heard. The only thing it has is good current but that i suppose is available in many other amps at even half the price.
Did you listen to a Plinius 9100 ? If you are rejecting it without listening then I would suggest you to listen to them atleast once. After all its your money that needs to be spent well. .

Krell is also a good option you have in your list.

Hi Alwyn, I own Krell 400xi paired with Dynaudio Contour 1.3SE. I liked their well balanced & neutral tonality of the combo. Though I wanted to try Amaya, I came across 1.3SE inbet'n & just bought without even auditioning, they are wonderful BS. I've listened to Primare with ProAcs & Dynes, but not liked the sound. Since you like Rock, Pop you give a serious try on 400xi.

About option 4, I go with Arj

abhi.pani schrieb:

I would strongly suggest you remove Option-2 asap. Thats the coldest sounding amp I have ever heard. The only thing it has is good current but that i suppose is available in many other amps at even half the price. Did you listen to a Plinius 9100 ? If you are rejecting it without listening then I would suggest you to listen to them atleast once. After all its your money that needs to be spent well. . Krell is also a good option you have in your list.

Abhi to be very honest that is not my (very personal) opinion on the Primare....maybe the setup you heard was not great ?

Arj schrieb:

abhi.pani schrieb: I would strongly suggest you remove Option-2 asap. Thats the coldest sounding amp I have ever heard. The only thing it has is good current but that i suppose is available in many other amps at even half the price. Did you listen to a Plinius 9100 ? If you are rejecting it without listening then I would suggest you to listen to them atleast once. After all its your money that needs to be spent well. . Krell is also a good option you have in your list. Abhi to be very honest that is not my (very personal) opinion on the Primare....maybe the setup you heard was not great ?

Arj Bhai..the setup was simple..Primare CDP, Primare I30 integrated amp and Dynaudio Audience72 speakers. The setup had everything except emotional content.

I have heard Primare amps with Linns, Proacs and Dynaudios.
They are slightly lean in nature but so are lots of other high end amps like plinius. But they never sounder cold to me. And I am quite allergic to cold sounding setups.
They actually sounded quite good. I have heard them with digital as well as analogue sources. Were the amps / source burnt in when you listened to them ?
I agree they are a bit over priced.

Primares are quality prods no doubt. It all depends on listening tastes.

The speakers were burnt in...dont know about the amps.
I suppose Manek and co also have checked out the Primare in Mumbai...buddy mumbaikars! please share your opinions as well

Add Arcam A90 to the list.
More confusion

A90 not available through the dealers in mumbai. would loved to go through the Arcam road
Alwyn

For a budget of around 12000, you could definitely go the separates route also.

Try this:
Valve preamp from any of the following assuming you want international brands.
1. AES. Manek has one. Check with him.
2. Rogue Audio.
http://www.rogueaudio.com/
3. Jolida
http://www.jolida.com/
I think all these are available in India.

Power Amp.
Odyssey stratos. Around 60 to 70k in India.
http://www.odysseyaudiosg.com/Stratos.htm
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/odysseyaudio_stratos.htm

Odyssey Inda.
www.odysseyaudioindia.com/

Alternatively there is a Quad 909 / 99 used pre / power available with Prithvi of Absolute Phase. It was there a couple of months back. PM and check with him if it is still available.

additionally, if those EAR monoblocs in the Buy and sell section are still available..those definitely are worth some serious considerations.

But since the Amayas seem to like tubes very much. dont you wnat to try options like Cayin, jolida etc as well ??

Oh yes……….I forgot that one. Connect that to some good valve preamp and you will have some serious amplification happening.

primare...i no like....

as someone put it...its cold and uninvolving.

Arcam...now thats a nice option.

Presently I have the Primare i30 at home for demo...didnt have the attack and presence in rock and pop at low volumes....will send you my opinions on it in a some time....
Cayin : didnt like the sound of the 265Ai
Jolida : lovely awesome sound. didnt like the fact that no chance of expanding...no pre out ..no dealers in India
EAR....hmmmm..I have gotta listen to the Jeff Rowlands 501's for that one...
Alwyn

Hi Alwyn,
Good to see that you are trying out stuff at home before buying.
Are you saying that Primare lacks dynamics ? Anyway post a good review on Primare on the forum.
Do post your opinion on the Jeff Rowlad 501’s also. Btw: What preamp will you use with them ?
About Jolida and Rogue, You need to be trying out their preamps not the integrateds. You can make your own preamp with some premium parts if you get in touch with Siva of Acoustic Portrait.

Where in India is Rogue Audio available?
Alwyn

I think they are represented by sound of music Delhi. I remember seeing it somewhere.

Hey guys
I am hearing the Amp. i have to say it is very indifferent to the Music. As in parts of music it delivers very well but when i comes to the Punch it doesn't deliver. I was expecting a lot more from an amp which is priced at this point. As of now the MAP 407 would sound more splendid and in control in the lower end than the I30.
I tried Dream theater, Bela fleck, Tracy Chapman. Autumn leaves rendition, Porcupine tree. At times there is no real bridge between the Lower end and the mids and the highs.
I tried Jazz out and it sounded great.
got some more listening to do
Alwyn

square_wave schrieb:

. Power Amp. Odyssey stratos. Around 60 to 70k in India. http://www.odysseyaudiosg.com/Stratos.htm http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/odysseyaudio_stratos.htm Odyssey Inda. www.odysseyaudioindia.com/

Has anybody auditioned the Odyssey gear ?

K

Hi,
Have you had a chance to listen to any of the Audio Analogue gear. The Puccini is supposedly a classic and the Maestro is probably a very refined piece of kit. I am using the much humbler Primo Cento VT which is a hundred watter and drives my tablettes very well. The sound is refined without lacking in impact. If there is a house sound to go by then I suggest you check out the higher models. One thing that wont be there is coarseness. You could also check out Virens tubeMonoblocks. I have heard them and enjoyed listening to them. Although if you speakers are power hungry -like mine are - then it may not be the best combo.
Purnendu

I bought an Odyssey Stratos Plus from S'pore a few months back. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten around buying a good preamp, using a Denon AV receiver as pre for now.

Here is a pic of how the Odyssey looks from inside

herculepirate schrieb:

Hey guys I am hearing the Amp. i have to say it is very indifferent to the Music. As in parts of music it delivers very well but when i comes to the Punch it doesn't deliver. I was expecting a lot more from an amp which is priced at this point. As of now the MAP 407 would sound more splendid and in control in the lower end than the I30. I tried Dream theater, Bela fleck, Tracy Chapman. Autumn leaves rendition, Porcupine tree. At times there is no real bridge between the Lower end and the mids and the highs. I tried Jazz out and it sounded great. got some more listening to do Alwyn

Just curious
How can Jazz sound great when there is no bridge between lows, highs, and mids ?
As far as I know, Jazz is one of the most demanding test for amps apart from western / other classical especially when you test for emotion and life and dynamic headroom in an amp ?
What jazz did you listen to ?

I am not much of a Jazz listener but I definitely sure that the PRIMARE is not to my taste.
I think the amp is very very hyped and the sound doesnt match the price.
Sorry about the Primare but I am sure It does sound great for you tastes man...
I did try the Autumn Leaves rendition which I love. Anyway couldnt try more of Jazz since I had to leave and the amp left next day.
thanks
Alwyn
got the Synergistic Research speaker cables though.

herculepirate schrieb:

I am not much of a Jazz listener but I definitely sure that the PRIMARE is not to my taste. I think the amp is very very hyped and the sound doesnt match the price. Sorry about the Primare but I am sure It does sound great for you tastes man... I did try the Autumn Leaves rendition which I love. Anyway couldnt try more of Jazz since I had to leave and the amp left next day. thanks Alwyn got the Synergistic Research speaker cables though.

Manek and I had the opportunity to audition the Primare CDP and amp with the Dali Ikon 7 speakers, many months back.

Neither of us was very impressed.We could hear the music,every little detail, but neither of us could feel the emotion.

This despite the fact that our tastes in music are not exactly the same and that we used a variety of different music for the audition.

Cheers
K

Krish,

I might add...exactly the same experience with cyrus.

Manek.

Oh Hell.
Guess what ...
Both the Cyrus and the Primare appear in the Whathifi recommended products for the Mid and Hi End price range...
Says a lot about the magazine....No mentions of amps like Jolida and Vincents in there...
Anyone hear Nuforce ? since this amp is on everybody's recommended list...
Wondering about the eAR 1001 too?
Any feedback on those
thanks
Alwyn

I had listened to Primare CD player/ I30 amp along with Monitor Audio GR20 speakers for two days in the comfort of my home. They are, revealing, very clean sounding from top end to bottom end of freq. What i felt missing was the dynamics, it never took off where it should, sort of smoothened the peaks.

I changed the CD player and it made a huge difference in dynamics, so my conclusion is that I30 is a good amp but is priced a bit high.

regards
Anil

herculepirate schrieb:

I am not much of a Jazz listener .

Thanks..I understand now.

Whats with jazz listeners thinking it is the greatest form of musical art form created and they are a cut above the others who are into other genres.
Anyone shedding light on this kind of egotism
phew...
Alwyn

News.
Finally settled for an Amp.
The Krell KAV-400xi
I also got the Synergistic Research Cables Alpha Series.
will post a few pictures soon.
CD player and I/C's are next on the shopping list
Thanks
Alwyn

square_wave schrieb:

herculepirate schrieb: Hey guys I am hearing the Amp. i have to say it is very indifferent to the Music. As in parts of music it delivers very well but when i comes to the Punch it doesn't deliver. I was expecting a lot more from an amp which is priced at this point. As of now the MAP 407 would sound more splendid and in control in the lower end than the I30. I tried Dream theater, Bela fleck, Tracy Chapman. Autumn leaves rendition, Porcupine tree. At times there is no real bridge between the Lower end and the mids and the highs. I tried Jazz out and it sounded great. got some more listening to do Alwyn Just curious How can Jazz sound great when there is no bridge between lows, highs, and mids ? As far as I know, Jazz is one of the most demanding test for amps apart from western / other classical especially when you test for emotion and life and dynamic headroom in an amp ? What jazz did you listen to ?

i listen to jazz quite a bit these days and i find the emotional content the same as in every other piece of music that is done well.

Loreena McKinnitt - Celtic
Nirvana - Grunge
Neil Diamond - Pop
Dire Straits - Rock
Pink Floyd
Indian Classical - hariprasad Chaurasia, Shiv kumar Sharma, Bhimsen Joshi
ATB, Paul Oakenfold, DJ Tiesto - Techno, Trance(yes, they have emotional content, may not be the crying kind. But emotional and full of life nonetheless)

These are but just a few examples. They all convey different emotions depending on the state of mind and body when i listen to music. Wouldn't go so far as to say that Jazz and classical are more demanding than others.
Clearly you may need to listen to more genres of music.

herculepirate schrieb:

Whats with jazz listeners thinking it is the greatest form of musical art form created and they are a cut above the others who are into other genres. Anyone shedding light on this kind of egotism phew... Alwyn

I am with you on this one my friend.

Hi HerculePirate / Savyasachi,
I think both of you missed the “ONE OF THE MOST “phrase in my sentence. I never said “THEY ARE THE ONLY “.
For your information, I Iisten to:
Hindustani classical
Good Pop
Western classical
Folk
Rock (own atleast 100 classic rock cds including almost all albums of pink floyd)
Blues
Jazz
And quite a lot of others.
The comment I posted was due to the fact that I was intrigued by the comment that an amp which could not make music sounded good with Jazz. When he mentioned that he is not much of a Jazz listener, I understood that he did not really test the speakers with Jazz because he is clearly unable to do so as he is not familiar with that form of music. It is not a comment to offend anyone. I apologize if it came across as such.