New Lithos Kontra: Looks Promising

Some discussions on the Kontra on the other forum:
http://www.hifivisio...lithos-speakers.html

I have heard them last year at the av show.amidst all the noise. They looked and felt well built.

Unfortunately I am told the mtm part rolls off at 100hz and hence would not be able to use em standalone as bookshelves. Too bad as I thought they would make a good bookshelf if they extended upto 50hz

Manek

Hi Manek,
AFAIK, Lithos are good at building musical subs. When I heard their most entry level passive sub with a pair of Noa1 satts, I was pretty amazed to hear a sub which didnt boom and never drew attention to itself. I am pretty curious to know how a top of the line Lithos sub (that too dual in a stereo configuration) sound with a nice pair of Bookshelves. I dont expect Lithos to mess it up by un-necessarily adding dual subs if they werent sure it would work well. Especially when the asking price is 100k (which is serious money for an Indian hifi company to ask) I am really expecting a lot .

abhi.pani schrieb:

Hi All, There is a new speaker from Lithos, The Kontra. http://www.lithosindia.com/kontra.html They definitely look promising and are priced somewhere around 100k. Have any of you heard them ? I am excited because its a Lithos product and they do make great sounding speakers IMO. I have only heard their most entry level Noa1 sub satt and even they were great sounding stuff for the price. Mumbai guys, if any of you can audition them and post a feedback here on the forum it would be a nice addition to our archives. 100k is a budget where floorstanders are average sounding and Standmounts though deliver much better quality are not everyone's choice. My guess is, if Lithos gets it right, it can be an amazing option at this budget .

the shape of the Kontra seems to be modelled on the shape of my Green Mountain C1.5i speakers!
Green Mountain Audio Continuum C1.5i

Basically both seem to be a 2-way monitor w/ a woofer cabinet. Minimal baffle so no dealing w/ baffle reflections, etc. One major difference is that the Kontra x-over is maha complicated w/ rather too many elements. One would have to listen to find out what effect it would have on the overall sound.
Indian made speakers have a long way to go to compete with the likes of Dynaudio, B&W, Kharma, etc but shape-wise I'm happy to see that Indian made speakers are coming of age.
It's also good to read that some "research" is being done in this dept.

Yes abhi I get your point but I just wish they didn't rool off so early. He could have had customers who only wanted bookshelves and those who wanted the subs as well.

I was told by rajiv that the the drivers were from tymphany.

One things with rajiv's designs is for sure, they are not sonically brash or in your face and the last for a while.

Manek

Manek schrieb:

Yes abhi I get your point but I just wish they didn't rool off so early. He could have had customers who only wanted bookshelves and those who wanted the subs as well. I was told by rajiv that the the drivers were from tymphany. One things with rajiv's designs is for sure, they are not sonically brash or in your face and the last for a while. Manek

Manek,
You, Sharukh and I need find the time for a little picnic to Kandivili and listen to the Kontras.

K

Please do listen to it and post your comments. I am sure the crossover is designed at that roll-off primarily with the sonics in Mind. since the Lowest extension is not really into the 20s/3os let us consider it more as a floorstander with an even response rather than a sub-sat

At the price point it is..if it is what we expect to be, we may hve a great offering which could rival 2-3L speakers designed abroad

Any way we bangalore folks can also do this here I am sure Litjos will have a dealer here as well? I tihnk we could have group fising a time going over and reviewing it ?

bombaywalla schrieb:

abhi.pani schrieb: Hi All, There is a new speaker from Lithos, The Kontra. http://www.lithosindia.com/kontra.html They definitely look promising and are priced somewhere around 100k. Have any of you heard them ? I am excited because its a Lithos product and they do make great sounding speakers IMO. I have only heard their most entry level Noa1 sub satt and even they were great sounding stuff for the price. Mumbai guys, if any of you can audition them and post a feedback here on the forum it would be a nice addition to our archives. 100k is a budget where floorstanders are average sounding and Standmounts though deliver much better quality are not everyone's choice. My guess is, if Lithos gets it right, it can be an amazing option at this budget . the shape of the Kontra seems to be modelled on the shape of my Green Mountain C1.5i speakers! Green Mountain Audio Continuum C1.5i Basically both seem to be a 2-way monitor w/ a woofer cabinet. Minimal baffle so no dealing w/ baffle reflections, etc. One major difference is that the Kontra x-over is maha complicated w/ rather too many elements. One would have to listen to find out what effect it would have on the overall sound. Indian made speakers have a long way to go to compete with the likes of Dynaudio, B&W, Kharma, etc but shape-wise I'm happy to see that Indian made speakers are coming of age. It's also good to read that some "research" is being done in this dept.

You know I'm not too sure if the image of the crossover shown is the one actually used in the speaker.

Manek, You, Sharukh and I need find the time for a little picnic to Kandivili and listen to the Kontras.

Thats exactly we are waiting for Krish....

Please do listen to it and post your comments. I am sure the crossover is designed at that roll-off primarily with the sonics in Mind. since the Lowest extension is not really into the 20s/3os let us consider it more as a floorstander with an even response rather than a sub-sat At the price point it is..if it is what we expect to be, we may hve a great offering which could rival 2-3L speakers designed abroad Any way we bangalore folks can also do this here I am sure Litjos will have a dealer here as well? I tihnk we could have group fising a time going over and reviewing it ?

Exactly my thoughts Arj, they are designed for stereo and the freq response is pretty much like a Floorstander.
But they dont have a dealer here in Bangalore yet...I will call them up and find if they have a client here who has the Kontra, we can try to listen to it that way.

Manek, You, Sharukh and I need find the time for a little picnic to Kandivili and listen to the Kontras.

I think its MUCH closer.

Their Listning room (on appointment) is in the lane before National College, at Linking Road ( Approaching from South Mumbai )

Check their link :

http://www.lithosindia.com/contact_us.html

Amp_Nut schrieb:

Manek, You, Sharukh and I need find the time for a little picnic to Kandivili and listen to the Kontras. I think its MUCH closer. Their Listning room (on appointment) is in the lane before National College, at Linking Road ( Approaching from South Mumbai ) Check their link : http://www.lithosindia.com/contact_us.html

Hey that's news. When I last spoke to Rajeev, many months back, he said that their audition room was tucked away in far Kandivali.

Mebbe we should try and fix a date and all go.

Sounds like fun.

Let me know if you 3 guys can converge on a date and time..

I will do my best to join in. ( I am out of town 23rd evening to 29th Dec Evening )

Yeah

Let's make a prograaam. Weekend could be a probability.

Manek

I'm game. Only thing is I've been running a fever for a couple of days and hope I'm fully recovered by the weekend. The Kontra audition is long overdue.

Let's touch base tomorrow evening and if all is well let's go.

Manek

Manek schrieb:

Let's touch base tomorrow evening and if all is well let's go. Manek

Looking forward to your experience at Rajiv's...

Sharukh and I are on our way....will let you guys know later....

Just finished the audition with rajiv.

1.30 hrs, kenny burrel, mark knoffler, eva cassidy.

Observations :

1)No listening fatigue
2)Clean sounding speakers
3) Good integration between the mtm and bass module
4)Dead feel on knuckle wrap test
5) Composed, clear, controlled sound with enough detail across the spectrum for any kind of music.
6) Doesn't work well with tubes
7) I think they would do wonderfully well in a loving home for years.

Another indian speaker brand worth owning.

Manek

Hi

Last night I came back and heard the same music cd I played at the kontra audition on my headphone rig just to see if the kontras did indeed present detail I was used to hearing.

Glad to say yes, most of it. Ofcourse the head rig did it quite differently but given the room the kontras were in I am sure they would perform better than what we had been presented with and we were presented with a very musically satisfying presentation without any fatigue.

Good to know indian speakers are catching up and in many cases bettering some of the phirang stuff.

Manek

Manek,
thanks for posting your view on the speakers. looks like a good speaker to suggest for folks.

would be interesting to hear them with a better Amplification than the NAD. did you have any discussions on that aspect ?

Didn't discuss alternate amps much be rajiv mentioned running them off brystons and was indeed very happy with the combo.

Manek

Shahrukh,
What did you make of the Kontras ?

K

Thats really nice to have a first hand feedback.
Manek, why did you suggest its not for tubes ? Is it that the speakers demand a lot of power or is it something else ?

What was the room size it was being played in ? Since its a twin sub concept, I am curious to know if this speaker makes sense in a smallish room (150-200 sqft) or does it require a bigger room to breathe and sound good ? Did it sound more like a floorstander or a BS or a mixture of both ? I ask this because there are somethings that FS do that the BS dont and vice versa...whats your take on this speaker in this regard ?

abhi.pani schrieb:

Thats really nice to have a first hand feedback. Manek, why did you suggest its not for tubes ? Is it that the speakers demand a lot of power or is it something else ?

Rajiv is not much of a tube guy, he belongs to the transitor camp.

However that does not mean that they will not work with a decent tube pre/ tannie pwr or a decently powered tube amp.

Krish schrieb:

Shahrukh, What did you make of the Kontras ? K

Sorry for the delayed post. Yes, I really, really enjoyed listening to them. I think Manek has covered most of the points.

If I could sum it all up in a word, then I'd say that the sound I heard was BALANCED.

Nothing in the music reaches out and grabs you by the gut - yet almost nothing seems to be missing. Was the sound/presentation on the warmer side? No. Was it on the more clinical side. No. Was it bright? Certainly not!

However, I must add that I expected a little more in the image/soundstage arena. But then again, we've already attributed this the limitations in the room, electronics and placement so I'll leave it at that.

What did stand out is the absolute fatigue free nature of the Kontras. One and a half hours and we had no clue when it flew by. These speakers immerse you in the music without any, any hint of ear fatigue whatsoever. I suspect that it's one of those speakers that will make you listen to entire albums. Right until the final track. A fine, fine effort by a gentleman who certainly knows what he's doing. Kudos Lithos!

Abhi

They are not for tubes is what rajiv mentioned to me hence my statement. He said he tried tubes but was disaapointed. The tube amp that worked with it somewhat was nagra but only on some type of music.

They could be current hungry.

yes they should work in a 200sqft place.

Manek