OK Folks - I have been busy talking to the various dealers and with an audition from Promusicals.
We had an audition of the Wharfedale Diamond 8.3 (floorstanders) as well as the Diamond 9.2s (bookshelves). The 8.3 did not shine through in the midrange or the high frequencies while it did a smashing good job in the bass portions.
A huge portion of the credit should go to Grease Monk and Greenhorn who helped me download the Chesky Ultimate Demonstration Disk. I must say it added a new dimension to my hearing. And it was very very useful in separating the good speakers from the also rans. For example, I was very proud of the MX 5021 till I played these tracks on them! The little Altec Lansing simply did not have it to do justice to the detail in these tracks.
The 9.2 was a very good allround speaker. It is quite large for a bookshelf speakers and has curved edges which look good. It is also biwirable and features gold binders at the back. The 8.3 does look and sound what it is - last generation. That said, it has to be acknowledge that the 8.3 is a wonderful buy if one is on the lookout for a budget floorstander. It does a great job on producing bass - accurately, tightly while still performing adequately on the treble and higher frequencies.
The 9.2 could be had for 14000 while the 8.3 could be had for 13500. Very good value for money - it has to be said. The listening room at Promusicals was not the most comfortable. There was no A/C and we stayed there for more than an hour and a half - not fun at all. For that matter, we faced the same problem at ProFX at Spencer Plaza. As far as facilities for listening is concerned, Decibel was by far the best. Although the room was not padded, it was a natural, large room. I would say it is more close to an actual room in a house than the other places. I am not audiophile enough to discern the differences between padded rooms and not so padded ones, but it was not a whole lot of difference - at least to my ears.
So, finally, after considering all options, I have decided to go with the PSB Alpha B1 monitors. It costs me 15000. The remaining question is about the amplifier and a DVD player. The amplifiers present in the running are the Marantz SR3001 and the Denon AVR1507. The Cambridge Audio Azur 340R too is an option but the guy does not have demonstration capabilities as yet. So, not sure if the option is safe. He does say that he is currently building a place at Vadapalani. But I am not sure I can wait for it to get completed.
Both are entry level amplifiers from the respective companies. Even the Cambridge Audio is an entry level amplifier only. But these seem to offer a good bunch of features - minus HDMI. Which is fine with me. We will cross the HD bridge when we get there.
Marantz and Denon are 7.1 channel while the Cambridge Audio is 5.1 channel. Also the Marantz has a Pure Direct Mode while the Denon does not have that. The Cambridge Audio is an audiophile oriented package so it does boast of the Pure Direct mode. However it also costs 22000 as opposed to the 19000 price band for the other two.
What was interesting that while I have the Marantz quoted at 19000 from two places, I still got a quote of 33000 for the same amplifier model at Promusicals! Odd, isnt it?
Could I have your valuable suggestions on the choice of amplifier please considering that the speakers are the PSB Alpha B1?
Also I am on the lookout for a good DVD player which is not too costly. The only feature that I am really looking out for is the ability to read portable hard drives directly and play .AVI, DIVX and XVID files. Your suggestions on this too are greatly appreciated.
On the PSB's folks two pieces of information that I found out which you might find interesting. The Alpha B1s were the Stereophile Budget Product of the Year - beating all other contenders including but not limited to Mordaunt Avant, Wharfedale and Monitor Audio. But this is the bigger news. They also won the runnerup prize in the Best Loudspeaker of the Year category - which was a price-no-category section. Meaning it successfully competed with speakers costing more than 300 times its cost! I will not even begin to imagine how that could be.
But I am impressed. Question for the audiophiles here - are you impressed? Or is this just a marketing tactic?
Last thing (I know this is a very long post
) - I have not heard the PSBs. I know I can hear the 'tut tuts' at the background. But I have a standing arrangement with the vendor that if I dont like the PSBs I can have the Mission M31is as replacement. I do believe that it would not come to that though.
Thank you very much for the help and direction provided thus far.
