Lithos

heard them once in bombay.....nice for the price....they use peerless india drivers. theor hot selling models are their sub/sat models...found them much better than the space audio stuff which i heard at the av expo.

manek.

Manek,
So more suited to HT. Is that what I hear you say ?

BTW how much do they retail at?

Krishnan

Pretty suited for genral HT and stereo application.
They also have bookshelves with an MTM config which ma be to your liking.

Manek.

Hi all,
Are there any possibilites of auditioning Lithos in bangalore ? Normally how much does a their floorstanders (a decent one) retail at ? Do they seriously fit for stereo in their price range ?

abhi.pani,
No. I do not think that Lithos is available in B'lore.
You could try contacting them thru'their website www.lithosindia.com .

Meanwhile here is a review off the net from a user in B'lore
from a site calleed audioholics.See if this helps

Reviewed by: kspv, Audio Enthusiast

Price Paid: $350 at Directly from Lithos

Product Model Year:
2003

Summary:
Having decided to upgrade from my Combo system to a "good" system, I was having trouble with the selection of equipment. The availability in India is limited to selected brands from the grey market, and as such, audiophile equipment weighs heavy on pocket with or without taxes.



After some thought and reading through the technical specifications, I settled for a Philips DVD 625K DVD player, a couple of OFC gold-plated interconnects, an extremely modest Yamaha AX-396 stereo integrated amplifier and a pair of OFC speaker cables. The choice of 625K was really due to its 192 KHz DAC (I read a bit about “aliasing” and “Nyquist limit”), and the Yamaha AX-396 was selected because of Yamaha’s claim of natural sound, my slender budget and the small size of my listening room.



With this set up, I hoped to get a neutral sound, if not an exceptional one, and all that is left now is to select a couple of decent matching speakers. Having been informed that the weakest link in an audio set up is usually the speakers, I tried to be a perfectionist within my limited budget. For about a month or so, I auditioned several Indian speaker brands available in Bangalore, including Sonodyne, Torvin Pro-FX, some models of Onkyo, Wharfedale, Yamaha and JBL. I also did some information gathering about little known brands like Pulz, Trendz, Woodstock, Telome, Pandam, ARC, DNM etc., and explored the possibility of getting speakers made by freelancers.



In the process, I saw that while many used quality components (imported drivers of Vifa/ Peerless/Scan Speak, and crossovers), they could explain neither as to why sometimes speakers with high quality components sound awful, nor as to what makes a speaker sound accurate and musical.




I am thankful to an ICICI bank lifestyle website on audio for suggesting to me the brand called Lithos Acoustics. I used a search-engine with the string “Lithos speakers” and stumbled upon their excellently designed website, www.lithosindia.com. It was a revelation reading its contents, and I subsequently spoke to their Chief, Mr.Rajiv D’Souza over phone. After asking me about my listening room size, the amplifier specifications, choice of music, and whether I prefer a two channel stereo or home-theatre setup, the suggestion from him was to go for Lithos Studio-1 speakers. When I complained that I will have to buy these speakers without ever listening to them, as Bangalore had no Lithos Acoustics dealer, I was assured that if I was not satisfied with their sound, I could return them at a nominal restocking cost. Once my cheque was encashed, the speakers were promptly dispatched. Thus started my tryst with Lithos Studio-1 speakers!



Keeping the height of the seating in my listening room and the height of the speaker itself (15”) in mind, I calculated that I need stands 31” high. Such stands are not readily available, even in a city like Bangalore, and a friend of mine who is into stainless-steel ran around for a week to get them fabricated. Each stand was in three pieces, and my friend was innovative enough to use oil-seals, meant for vehicle gear-boxes, at the joints to remove the possibility of steel vibrating. The footing of the stand again had rubber gasket along its contact edges. The upper 10”X10” platform was provided with thin rubber sheet to prevent vibration entering the stands. The speakers themselves were provided with anti-vibration feet.



The manual that came with the speakers was self-contained and precise, and according to the instructions I made all the necessary connections and toed in the speaker-stands.



To test the sound, I played an audio CD, Abida Parveen’s Kabir, on the Philips player using the CD-direct switch of the amplifier. The effect was breath-taking. Abida’s full-lunged rendering of Kabir’s Sufi verses came out with great transient attack. I tried an acoustic guitar CD, Finger Dance by Billy Mc Laughlin, and I could hear sounds which were hitherto not audible. I followed it up with a Hindusthani classical vocal rendering by Parveen Sultana, and the sound was mellifluent. The experience continues. The most recent add-on to my setup is a Worldspace satellite radio receiver.



On a whole, I find the sound of these speakers extremely pleasing without the slightest hint of artificiality, and I believe this is what they call accuracy and musicality. Their imaging is very precise, and sometimes I could hear cymbals and gongs much left or right to the speakers’ position. They have good bass, not as much as a subwoofer, but enough for quite and relaxed listening sessions. With my Yamaha AX-396 amplifier, the speakers sound their very best at about one quarter of the volume knob with CD-direct switch on. The speakers do not need equalization. The price is not heavy on the pocket, and the construction of the speaker is solid.

Strengths:
Exceptional and natural sound.

Weaknesses:
None noticed so far. But perhaps these speakers are not meant for very loud listening sessions.

Similar Products Used:
I owned only a combo system in the past. But I heard several speakers including those of Sonodyne, Torvin, ProFX, Wharfedale, Onkyo, JBL, and Yamaha.

I have met and spoken to rajiv about his speakers as well(bandra) and he seems to be a nice guy....

He is their chief designer and yes surprisingly they have a very simple/nice comprehensive web site.

Manek.

Guys,

I heard the lithos satellite/ subwoofer combination with the NAD 300. At 15k (list price) it's a steal.

The book shelf/ active subwoofer combo at 40k sounds good and might entice Bass freaks like me, but Cadence Arita would be a better proposition for unbiased listners.

VFM for HT applications.

My two paise worth opinion. Those who want to get rich on it are most welcome!!!



Roshan.

One Important thing I need to add was the audition was in a regular, non airconditioned room, regular Pioneer DVD player and simple 30 Rs per meter cabling.

As is, where is!!

Roshan.

What about their studio range of bookshelfs,(without sub),how they compare in VFM w.r.t.Cadence Arita?

hifinovice1....they dont compare to the arita's...cant compare them, arita leagues ahead....but make no mistake, I saw the lithos system and it really is good value for money.
Rajiv is also a nice guy and has taken the pains to develop a very good speakers for its price.
Another genuine Indian effort which one can be proud off !

Manek.

Yo HiFinovice1,

The book shelf cannot be played without the active sub woofer. But they have a larger 'Studio' model that costs 20k or thereabouts that can be played without a sub woofer. I will be listening to that also ina few days- so watch this space. It seems that they need "perfect placement".

I noticed Maneck took offence at the comparison to Cadence, but like he pointed out -a good effort.

To be really VFM the Bookshelf/active subwoofer package needs to be around 25K.

Roshan.

Do they have tower speakers ? What will be the estimated price ?

No Towers. See the website.

Hey...no offence meant buddy, just stating the facts according to my ears....maybe sometimes my tone of voice in my posts are very direct.....but no offence meant and none taken...

I have far too much on my plate right now to worry about these things...heh heh...

Manek.

BTW I have heard the nova 1, studio 1, and Pro10 from lithos.
very nice for the price.....guys. You should hear the mtm config speaker....

Manek.

guys i just saw Lithos sub with Pulz amp in lithos website.whats the scene here.....are they both assembled by same person with diffrent brand names.....

lithos sells pulz amps with its speakers and they sell norge amps as well with thier speakers, thats what I was told by Rajiv at lithos. Maybe thats why you saw pulz amp.

Manek.

it's really good that they team among themselves and work...atleast now it's time these guys get some credit and ofcourse some strong hold in the market........

The external pulz amp is combined with a passive subwoofer to make the active sub.

SUB boss....you are right , its high time genuine efforts get credit where its due and who else can do that better than us ?

Spread the good word folks !

Manek.

Just heard the Lithos Studio 1 with NAD 280 ??. Great full sound at 13K a pair very high on the VFM scale.

However the speaker placement is critical. You need about 3 feet between the rear wall and the speakers for optimum sound. I heard some blues and 70's Disco music to check the bass.

Pretty good. You must consider these speakers before buying any other.

Roshan.

there...another endorsement for lithos.....
genuine efforts cant go un-noticed for long..can they ?

Manek.

hey roshan
did u by chance hear the lithos sub? what did u think

Hi Filmguy,

They have the noah 1 @ 15k consisting of 2 satellites + passive sub. and the pro 10 @ 40 k consisting of 2 book shelf type speakers coupled to an active sub.

Both are great products and will hold their own to products that are being flogged for twice the amount.

The 4 sat + 1 sub for HT applications at under 20 k is also excellent.

Another point I must make are that I heard it on a regular pioneer DVD player and ordinary cables.

You must hear it to be convinced.

Roshan.