speakers for nad c320 bee

A few that come to mind are
wharfedale diamonds & evo, quad bookshelf 11L, cadence arita(used), B&W 303(they are very bass shy), dynaudio 42(used), etc etc etc.

oh forgot..kef at profx.

hi manek

thanks for the option recommendations. started off with mission m74s today. heard them at vijay sales during lunch, was close by, so was not a thorough audition. also wanted to hear the m73s. he couldn't set it up properly. but the few minutes i heard them they sounded quite smooth. what's your take on them? any idea where else they're available in mumbai? don't want to buy second hand speakers. dynaudio's quite out of my range heard the kefs the 22 k ones at crossroads. seemed quite harsh to me. though the showroom seemed quite new so probably the speakers also were.. you've heard the kefs?

Hi,
Just drop in to hear the AE EVO-1 & EVO-3's. The best thing for you is too come in and hear some great stuff. Will try and c if you can get some good spks within ur budget.

Rgds

Prithvi

PS: Happy new year to you.

stevie boy,
to be honest....I dont like kef not do I like mission. I heard the missions at vijay sales more than once and they gave me a earache after 10 minutes. Maybe its the speakers or the yamaha amplification or both !

Maybe you should hear the wharfedales, the diamond and evo series.

manek.

Stevieboy, when you evaluate a speaker you are actually evaluating a System and it is System Synergy which is most important AND NOT THE INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS

Any component may sound great on one system and Horrible on another. What is important is to choose your system, component by component starting from those which most influece sound

hence one way of prioritising would be

Budget->Room-> speaker -> amp -> CDP-> Cables is one way to go altohugh the order of the Amp/CDP choices are debatable.

when listening to a speaker..if you already do not have an Amp in mind, try to audition it with different amps..as much as possible to see if the speakers do it for you or not....it is ambigous, but do not have too many options !

Most speakers would sound horrible with cheap amplification especially the Yamaha/technics type as they are more to do with the amp than the speakers !!

hi all! happy new year!

yups arj. i plan to go to j n b sound. they've got nad which i've fixed on for amp. the 320bee. the more speakers i hear the more i figure i'd best up my budget and go in for the divas which i heard years back but still have the impression of airy sound. and do they look sexy or what!!!!not too into techspeak so depth/soundstage and all cant rate them by that but they sounded good. nice and easy listening. i mean if i average the cost over 2 years it'd be a worthwhile up in budget.

second place i've got in mind is soundnvision in pune cos they've got the amp and a range of speakers like mission/quad dynaudio also i think... so i can listen to different speakers on the same amp. i've just been researching dealers so far on the net!!!!!!! boy is it hard work to buy a good audio system or wot!!!!!!

right now though i'm highly inclined to do the divas/nad 320bee. or maybe a tube am like cayin would do better with the divas? but then how much would that be??? HELP! advice anyone!

cables will be another huge cost... sigh... by the way manek how much should i set aside for the stabiliser? is it expensive? and yups, thanks for all the recommendations and help. lot of auditioning to go still... will keep you guys updated.

and prithvi thanks for the offer. will surely drop in when i do shift to bangalore. was going through other posts and it sounds like you've got a lot of audio cd's i could buy!!! the speakers you mentioned sounded horribly expensive though... the proac and linn...sigh.

Stevie boy....cadence diva's are very good speakers. Nad 320bee will drive them well but a more powerfull amp will drive them better. Good choice on the amp and speakers. J&B has both the nad and the divas. You can hear them both in action !

Stabilizers in bombay are a luxury. In bangalore a necessity. prithvi or any other dealer in bangalore would be the right person to guide you on what stabilizers you get in bangalore. Ideally a servo controlled stabilizer depending on your system power draw should be purchased.

I dont like the cayin amps much. They just dont sound right to my ears. Plus there is this additional botheration of manually biasing them from time to time which could prove tedious. I always keep away from cayin. But thats just me.

Dont go overboard on cables initially. There are very decent entry level interconnects available. For eg Vivanco sold at cinebels is a decent one to start with for 2K. The jamo 14 guage OFC speaker wire is also a decent start at 185 rupees/meter. Designer audio in Bombay also has decent interconnects and cables for entry level applications.

manek.

hi arj,

the way i figure the order of importance is music-budget-budget rework-buy. hehe.. but seriously i'd rather hear stuff and up my budget if i cant get quality sound in my first budget. cos after two years an additional 1 grand a month wont pinch so much. though it might pinch right now. wot to do but... was just checking out personal loans also today.
am concentrating on the speakers and amp more cos these i wont upgrade for a while. cd player is last cos i can always use a dvd player which i have to buy anyway for movies... trying to compromise where it'll hurt me least.

manek the cadence divas sounded divine! i acutally got up to check whether a center speaker was on cos he had a pile of them on a rack above! sheepish grin and i was staring fixedly at the speakers after a while trying my damndest to localise the sound to the physical driver but i couldn't do it! sound stayed firmly in the middle behind and above. interconnects i'd rather buy good stuff at one go itself otherwise i'll spend two grand and then again upgrade and the two grand's wasted. should get good van den hul connects and cables for 7-8 grand. i was wondering... to save some money for a while, can i connect my discman to the amp? that way i'll save some money for now. is it possible? the nad 320 would be enough to drive the divas no? wots the other choice in nads higher power? and how much do they cost? the 350 and the 370 are they?..
once i buy stuff i'm not upgrading or buying anything else for a long, long while. so i'd rather spend more now. next upgrade would be the cadence tubes with the divas.. mmmmmmmm... would the 36 watts of the tubes be enough to drive the divas but?
the aritas sounded far smaller though the soundstage and quality was no less. just that bit of shrinking of sound... dont know how to describe it. guess for jazz for you its good. i prefer the more enveloping/larger sound of the divas.
anyways.. off to b&w perhaps today to check out the dm 303s i simply must hear them cos the reviews everywhere are good. if only for my first hand knowledge
till the next update,
ciao
am i having fun with this or what!!!!!!!!!!! hoo boy picking a system's real good. invigorating!

told you divas were good....!
to be honest I prefer the aritas...I find them more cleaner in sound. I hear jazz, western classical, sinatra, tony bennet, big band swing stuff etc on the aritas and I just dont feel the need for bigger speakers.....they fill my room completely, you just need to crank them up a bit more....but the diva's are great too.
The B&W 303 will sound pale and leave you wanting completely after cadence.....I can tell you that but hear them you must to make an informed decision.

The nad 320bee will drive the divas well and better than the aritas as the divas have a higher sensitivity. The other nad option is the 352/372. I like the 320bee, 372, 352 in that order.

The cadence valve unit VA 1.0HP will drive any cadence speaker well as it is designed to drive the cadence line. It truely is seductive.....did you hear the electrostatic avitas ???? If you did not go back and hear them, only for acedemic purposes. The avita and the va 1.0HP is a devine combo.

Its useless to connect a discman to the nad and diva's. You just wont get the sound you want or expect. Instead buy an entry level dvd player if a cdp is not in your budget.

VDH D102MkIII is a great VDH entry level cable. I absolutely love it and works very well with my system.
manek.

heard dynaudio yesterday. the 42s and 52s. was clear or maybe clearer? than cadence but the soundstage was really missing and the height and depth. was it just a placement issue? would they be comparable? better? to cadence divas? if placement is solved. plan to go back for a detailed listen again... this is a real tough call.. i have my preferences and specific comments but want to hear from u.. heard dali 3003 and trashed it in 3 minutes flat. not to say they're bad but.. divine no! hey manek what's the diva retailing for? exact idea? would it be cheaper if i picked it up from their place in pune? or oceanic? what's your group on diva owners on yahoo? maybe i can eavesdrop and pick up useful tips and comments

hey arj waiting for your comments too on my last post! you're not time aligned

Stevie....to my ears the 42's or 52's are a bit muddier in the lower mids than the cadence arita or diva. Secondly there is a bass hump and a one note bass effect in the lower frequencies, a nice trick(used by many) to impress people on bass from a little speaker but its not a flat response under 60-65hz. The bass timing is again not as accurate in the dyns.
Did you use the same amplification and source with both ? I guess not and that would be the difference. I have heard the aritas and divas play with jeff rowland, theta, EAD, integra combo and they are just awesome !!!!!

I auditioned the dynaudio 42/52 when I was lookin for my speakers as well and fixed on the aritas as to my ears they were better than dyns 42/52, quads, B&W, infinity, psb, etc etc etc.

Cant compare the divas to the dyn 42's/52's...the divas will kill them in a medium sized room. Maybe for a small room the dyns or the arita would be better. Yes the divas will throw a bigger sounstage, no doubt about that, remember that 8 inch eton driver they use is quite formidable.

But finally its what sounds best to your ears. Trust your ears only. Weigh out your priorities on the pro's and cons of each and then take an informed decision.

manek.

hey Stevieboy

My first amp was a NAD320Bee and i loved it. but from what i have learnt the Amp-Speaker synergy is the most important than individual components.

manek would be the guy to comment on a Nad-Cadence setup since he owns and loves his setup.

The Dynaudio has wonderful highs and a very tight bass. its only problem is that it neeeds a good amp matching it wich can run it well sine the load is not easy.

YOur lack of soundstage is definitely due to placement. the main culprits usually are
0. stability (Needs to be on a firm base/Stand..see prithvis post on speaker stands)
1. incorrect toe in
2. Nearness to back walls

of course factors like a poor power supply also contribute , but these are the main ones (Try to keep the audio cables and power cables separate..and if they must meet, it should be at right angles..it definitely made the separation in my sysem much better !)

I do know of one audiophile who is running a Dynaudio (i think 52)with a NAD3020 (Upgraded Caps & Transformer)and swears by it.

if you want i could give you his email..he is in Singapore and has been an audiophile for the past 10 years or so !

hi arj! thanks for the offer. not too keen on the dyns so i won't trouble your singapore friend ok this is what my thoughts on the dyn vs cadence were. the dyns have clearer treble and midrange but lower bit suffers. soundstage cadence would beat dyn hollow depth too. overall am inclined to the divas so far. but man the vocals on dyns are killer!!! the treble i could make out the cd scratch/skipping and it didnt sound harsh just the fact that it was scratched...
anyway am going back for an audition again after asking them to place speakers properly. last time made it just as they were closing.

hi manek,
no haven't heard the avitas. jacob wasnt there. going back there this weekend maybe.. how do i source cadence? will i get it cheaper from factory/oceanic? is there any warranty on it? i plan on going to bangalore the scenic route... hire a sumo and load all my stuff in it. so carrying stuff from here is an option. unless it's prone to damage that way? i think its good there's limited amp choice and one good stand out cracker of an amp... wish it was the same for speakers! i mean affordable speakers... now if only cadence launches a lower cheaper version...

hi stevie....

I dont think cadence will ever give discounts. Their basic price is the same in any city. local taxes may differ. Thats where you can save if at all. Buying from pune I think will save you on the 5.5% octroi which is applicable in bombay. Once you enter karnataka...any declarations you need to do there ? Why dont you call up cadence/oceanic and talk to them. Ofcourse they have warranty

I dont know if it is wise to move around with so much equipment for so long a time. I dont think its a safe idea though. I think its a good idea to either buy now or buy in bangalore but not just before. best to buy at your destination unless you get a cracker of a price now.

manek.

Hi,

I own NAD C350 and Cadence Divas for 2 years and have never repented....Fantastic sound with depth and panning.Sometimes,though,a bit bass shy...may be because of Room acoustics.

I use it with Marantz CD 6000 OSE, but NAD CDP may be a better match.

VDH D 102III is a great entry-level interconnect.

Aniruddha.

Hi! Anirudha,
Nice to see ur posts on this forum. Should be getting a Rega P5 with a Rega tone arm and PSU shortly. Will tru to get you a Project 1 xpression. Just hang in there, all this takes time to materialize.
Rgds

Prithvi

thanks aniruddha for the prompt reply. not surprised you satisfied with cadence. who wouldn't be?

ok yet another update on my speaker journey. heard the b&w dm 303 yesterday which incidentally was my original choice of speakers cos of the reviews. but this was before i started listening...

impressions... um sounded pretty loud and good. really excellent for someone on a really tight budget.

hey manek can you spend some time on this? i want to know whether the b&ws throw a wide soundstage. in the cadences, the sound came firmly from between the speakers and above and behind middle.. where i could pick out instrument positions.. forget other qualities like clarity, bass, etc... this is for my knowledge cos the reviews everywhere claim that they image well and the guy at audiovision said that the speaker position was optimised. i asked him.. but still there was no 'stage'. the dynes had the same prob but the guy said that the placing was not optimised so that's ok. was there depth and imaging when you heard the b&ws? just these two qualities i'm looking for clarification on.

and ya, they were played on nad 320bee!!! they've started keeping nad.. good thing. the cd player was onkyo though. the nad was out he said.

what about you arj? you've heard the speakers? what do you think?

am going back again for a detailed listen sometime later... made it just as they were closing once again.. what with work and all

gimme ur two paise thoughts and i'll be a rich man!
steve

To be honest..the B&W did not impress me as much, not the 303 or the 309 or the 601 or the 603s3. They all just sound pale in every way in comparision.
No, the staging and imaging were not as good as the cadence nor was the reproduction clarity and detail. Besides, imaging and staging there were a lot of other issues I had with the B&W as well but then thats another story.
manek.

my speaker journey takes me to the movies now...

taking a break from speaker hunting... the mumbai film festival is on. registration at the venue - ravindra natya mandir which is near siddivinayak mandir at prabhadevi. damages 600 bucks and one wanted snap of yourself. it's on till thursday the 13th. it's also on at y.b. chavan center at nariman point and at fun republic andheri though registrations at fun republic are doubtful.

back to speakers after monday...

oh ya films start at round 10 and go up till 9 last show

oops hope i haven't violated any rule with my last posting. just thought of it since it doesn't concern speakers...

apologies if i did

hi guys, hi manek hi arj!

i'm back after a long while. just heard the psb image 2B yesterday. the model is revamped as the b25. heard only the 2b's though. what are ur opinions on the speakers? as usual i'll post my thoughts after i hear from you so i get uninfluenced feedback anyone owns these bookshelfs a review would be really welcome!

after this monitor audio. and then i quite run out of options... unless anyone has any suggestions i havent checked out yet. hmmmm quad's left but going by reviews it wont suit my tastes of rock music.

popular speakers i'm not interested in: wharfedale, kef, dynaudio

by the way manek, the cadence's are working out too expensive so sadly i'll have to wait to own a pair for some years. lets see... still thinking about it.

Hi,

Cabinets are a bit flimsy. Found a bit of colouration with jazz and classical music(possibly due to lack of bracing inside or just the flimsy cabinet material). String and wind instrument timbres were not very realistic.
Biggish sound for small speakers, decent entry level model. I prefer the wharfedale diamonds 8.2( yes I know, you are not interested in wharfedale !). Cant expect too much from an entry level speaker but to my ears, wharfedale were better and cheaper for my kind of music. Maybe you should check out infinity Beta 10/20. You may like them.

If the new cadence's are working out to expensive, why dont you look for a used pair ?

BTW have you shifted to bangalore yet ?

manek.

nopes manek. shifting to bangalore in april. am going to listen to quad and wharfedale at designer audio today... diamond 9 and 8.4 lets see... second hand i dont quite know... how do i go about getting a second hand cadence diva pair in bangalore? will a post here do it? the only thing is all those small defects that become apparent only after a few days and like a driver distorting after hours of continous play then the seller probably wont take it back. so that's a little deterrent.

between the mission m74i or m73i and the psb image 2b which would you say is better? considering i listen predominantly to rock.

yeah...I know , used stuff should be bought from a known dealer.

you are comparing a entry level bookshelf to an entry level floorstander....is that fair ?

Either way..my experiences with missions are not too good especially the m73i. God they sounded do earpiercing....but do note that they were partnered with yamaha recvr.

The M74i experience was with a nad 320bee amp and was much better. This time the sound was more rounded and not that bright.

So I heard the image 2b and the m74i with the nad320bee in the same shop and I preferred the mission.

manek.

well yeah comparing bookshelf to floorstanding not fair. i kind of assume that inherent floorstanding advantages be factored out like the extra bass and then compared... in terms of clarity reproduction across frequency, neutrality.

heard the wharfedale 9.1. really sounded amazing. little laidback though... thats the only negative point i could find.. when you need that excitement and slam it wont deliver... the pair was recently opened so will go back after couple of weeks after its been broken it.

also heard the 9.4 or 9.5 was it?... i think 9.5 with two drivers and tweeter. deeper bass sounded more laidback than the 9.1... prefered the 9.1 overall. really lovely. no ear fatigue at all. could picture listening to them for hours.. and a real steal at 13k!!!

didnt have time for quad.. going back once again..will probably take some more cd's to check out the 9.1s.

the missions had the same drawback.. little laidback though they were playing through yamaha components so that makes a diff... need to go to soundnvision where they have nad.. where did you listen to the image 2b and the mission with nad?

the psb's sounded good in midrange and highs. but it kind of didnt seem too good overall... nice big sound but not spaced out like the 9.1's or missions. more like home theatre speakers with bright attacking sound.. was my feeling. going back again cos the 25b will be in this weekend..
though as of now the 9.1s are top draw! guess i had this thing against them cos they sounded like cheaply priced speakers. i stand corrected.

heard them many months ago at lakozy in bombay.

on second thoughts manek maybe its fair to compare floorstanders with bookshelfs. am talking solely in terms of sound comparison and not stuff like space saving or anything else.

look at it this way. the average guy like me has a certain budget to spend and what sounds good to the ears get bought! if a bookshelf delivers better than a floorstander to a particlar set of ears, it wins! and vice versa.

its only guys who are really into audio who start analysing things like bass extension, and other parameters. i think the average guy just goes with his ears.

interesting point of discussion wot say? it kinda struck me last night. because i started out with a floorstander in mind and am finding that certain bookshelf brands deliver better!

by the way could you expand on your impression of wharfedale? would be helpful

I know what you mean stevieboy.....thats the reason I bought my cadence arita's after auditioning a whole lot of floorstanders and bookshelves as well. In my case it was'nt a fair comparo either....my arita's took the pants off just about every floorstander I heard in the same budget and more.

Just wanted to see if you were biased by this eternal floorstander v/s bookshelf argument.

Good thinking on your part buddy :-) This means you trust your ears !

Bout wharfedale, I just put my thoughts on your other thread about the same.

Manek.

manek!!!! just heard the quad 11L yesterday. mmmmmmmmm.... sounded laidback. probably cos i'm used to listening to bright stuff. never had a pair of good speakers. this will be my first. but man floyd jimi hendrix sounded so clean!!!!!! could hear every guitar note and vocal grunt and ears were'nt conking out at the high volumes!!! am figuring i could get a little more bite by toeing them in so that might take care of the laidbackness. could get used to them as they are though.. nice and easy on the ears. unbelievable. and the bass!!! sounded so powerful. real neutral speakers man. lovely. they were playing through a denon dvd player so i only guess they'd be better with a good source. had that extra bit of smoothness and refinement than the diamond 9.1s. alternated listening to both of them. the quad's growing on me. dont mind not being able to afford cadence now after hearing the quads. and that finish... oooooooooohhh

anyone heard the quads? surprising they dont pop up that often here on this forum.

by the way i hope my diary kinda journey helps anyone who's surfing. cos i'm sure many of you are in the same position as me and will listen to the same set of speakers i have gone through

stevieboy...quad 11L are good but 12L are better !!!! I heard both extensively and very nearly bought the 12L but my ears told me the cadence arita was a better speaker.

Quad L series speakers are an excellent choice. Dont know if you can hear the infinity Kappa....also very good.

Why dont you also hear the Wharfedale Evo series....you may find what you like in the evo's as well !

Manek.

heard the evos. the quad sound was better then wharfedale overall. that extra degree of refinement and class showed in every note. from bass to treble.

the 12L might just be too much budget wise. am guessing they're round 38k? that would be too much considering i'd have to invest in stands also where can i hear infinity?

infinity could be heard at any harmon kardon shop. ask for kappa's...the alpha and beta range is no all that hot but you could hear them as well to reach a definate conclusion.

manek.

The Kappas look wonderful..but are not very easy to drive. the CMMD drivers need power to get them to sing!
The Quads are definitely very recommended, But they need a suitable Amp.
A Rotel RA02 is perhaps a much better match with it than the NAD320 with it, as their forward energy gels very well with the dark nature of the Quads !

hi arj, could you expand a little on how the nad 320bee would do with the quad. what the sound would be like and what deficiencies would appear if any, or any drawbacks i'd have to live with with the combo. thanks
how much is the rotel? sonically is it comparable to the nad? would it be neutral throughout the frequency spectrum? what are its traits? dont know too much about rotel hence so many questions

thanks arj for the tip!!!! i owe you one cos i've quite blindly been taking the nad for granted. been reading up doing research and you're right. the rotel seems better for the quads. will give it that sparkle and zing that was missing for me. though i'd probably have to go in for the 01s without the remote to save some 8 k. on balance it might save me some pounds too!!! with all the walking i'll be doing between the amp and my seat everytime i want to adjust volume

am sure ur grimacing manek considering u dont like rotel but all the evidence points towards rotel scoring higher than nad for the quads

any idea where they're available in bombay & bangalore?

Guys!!!

Anybody auditioned Genelec speakers, or should I say 'active monitors"? I heard a bookshelf and a foorstander lately. Want some corroboration for my gut feel!!

Sorry to break the thread and barge in with a different topic. I did not want to upset any sensitive dealers with a new topic caption!!!!



Feedback solicited!

Roshan.

Steve,

Rotels are not easy to get in Blore but Supreme Electronics and The 1 Shop in Mumbai stock it. I believe around 3 months back they were selling the RA-02 for 21K.
I heard the RA-01 for a week, good deep low frequencies even with inferior speakers and clear highs. Some find it a little forward and that could increase depending on the type of music u listen to.

The new RA-03 is out in Spore and will cost around 25K there. Its got a lot more juice - 60W RMS.

Cheers
Joy

Hey that was quick !
Ra01/02 are identical but for the remote..8K for a remote option seems big, but in case you plan to keep this for long..and have a problem walkin up to the amp from your seat everytime you want to adjust the volume, do rethink that.

Personally, My amp is too old fashioned (And handbuilt ) to have a remote and find it is OK to perform the action myself..

Whilr you are at it also consider the Rotel CDP..as IMHO rotel makes one of the better budget CDPs. pricier than the NAD, but better as well in build quality as well as sound (Especially timing). unless you are buying the NAD542, which is better.


Regarding RA-03, if you are going to stick with the Quads, the 40W by RA01 is more than enough to shake your marrow


Do audition the Dyns with the NADs as well before you finally decide . (And do make sure from the delaer than the Dyns are fully broken in..else tell him to run it overnight !)

stevieboy schrieb:

thanks arj for the tip!!!! i owe you one cos i've quite blindly been taking the nad for granted. been reading up doing research and you're right. the rotel seems better for the quads. will give it that sparkle and zing that was missing for me. though i'd probably have to go in for the 01s without the remote to save some 8 k. on balance it might save me some pounds too!!! with all the walking i'll be doing between the amp and my seat everytime i want to adjust volume am sure ur grimacing manek considering u dont like rotel but all the evidence points towards rotel scoring higher than nad for the quads any idea where they're available in bombay & bangalore?

stevie....
whatever floats your boat......

rotel, you are right I dont like, I dont like other stuff either so that does not make that stuff bad.....to be honest my every experience with rotel, be it integrated/pre-power etc has been bad till date so maybe its just me and my ears.

If you like the rotel and quad combo by all means go for it.

manek.

thanks joy! i was figuring out the conversion from pounds thats why i assumed it would be round 28k. 21k's damn good! within my budget. relieved the forwardness you mention, as well as arj mentions will suit quads better i guess. needed that little teeny bite to the sound.

what amp do you have arj? yes i'll be auditioning dynes again with nad. i'm one of those musers who keep going on before settling down re the rotel cd player, budget crunch dictates i settle for a sony dvd player for the time being till i get a dedicated cd player. i figure sony's a quite good sound. wot say guys?

incidentally guys i've still not ruled the diamond 9.1's out. going back end of feb when they've broken in decently

stevieboy schrieb:

what amp do you have arj?

My amp is a sugdena21a

http://www.1388.com/articles/sugden/index.html (Could not resis putting this )

stevieboy schrieb:

yes i'll be auditioning dynes again with nad. i'm one of those musers who keep going on before settling down re the rotel cd player, budget crunch dictates i settle for a sony dvd player for the time being till i get a dedicated cd player. i figure sony's a quite good sound. wot say guys?

Whats your budget like ? DVD players have really crappy DACs hence sound witll be very bright and Bass will be lacking so be prepared for it. But they generally have a very good transport sections hence adding a DAC later while upgrading might work out well

well read through... no wonder you couldn't resist putting the link. bet it makes you look forward to waking up every morning

re the dvd player, well my budget's not quite decided... in the range of 60-70k preferably although seen from a 2 year perspective 80k seems reasonable too. the quad's were playing through a denon dvd player so what was coming out was certainly liveable with for me. am thinking i'd rather spend more on the speakers. cos anyway i have to get a dvd player first so that can do double duty for a while.

how much would an outboard dac cost? for the dvd player?

complications complications!

went to pune over the weekend heard the cadence aritas with jolida tube based cd player and roksan kandy amp player 100 watts. WOW! am sold!!!!! manek the sound from the nad and this set up was wayyyyyyy different.

he's got a jolida hybrid amp tube based pre amp and then solid state or whatever... for 33k. thought i'd go for the aritas with the jolida 50 watt amp. the tubes give the sound that quality. amazing.

how would you guys rate that combo?

i've heard the combo in pune....the sound is way different....tubes are sweeter....no doubt about it.

Manek.

Where did you listen to JoLida and Arita combo,in Pune?
Please provide the showroom/dealer name and address,tel nos would be great.
If you get a hybrid amp at 33k,would it make a good choice over 20K NAD gear? By the way,which was that JoLida,Model?
Comments/thoughts?

At Oceanic Sound, Mahendra Dave, tel number 020-26342658
You could give him my name as reference. Also heard the aritas long time back wih the roksan kandy amp.....very smooth, nice sound.

Manek.

hi hifinovice,

yups the jolida amp (50 watts) there was even a 100 watts one with was 45k i think. the 50 watter would be far far better than the nad. if you're in bombay you can hear the arita with nad's at j&b sound at bandra. website's jnbsound.com if i remember right. its opposite amarsons on linking road. nad was my option first. didnt even know something like the jolida existed here in india. the sound is lovely. all the benefits of the tube without the hefty price tag. and for a 15 k difference its worth it if you consider that you'll have it for at least some years.

the model he said was 1705 although i'm thinking he made a mistake cos there's no model like that on the website jolida.com. even the roksan kandy amp he gave me some name but there's nothing like the roksan kandy I (100 watts)

yeah manek the roksan kandy was dandy! didnt hear the jolida amp though. just the jolida tube based cd player. will be going down once again now that i've thought over it and think that the extra moolah for the amp will be will spent.