Hey guys....
After a lot of research and a whole lotta auditioning i'm torn between these 2
B&W 685's = 47,000 best quote received so far (This is on a higher side compared to the price its available for in the US or UK. Its retailing for $ 650 a pair)
or
Polk Audio LSi9 = 56,000 MRP at Pro FX, haven't haggled yet (This price seems almost on par with the dollar rates. Its retailing for $ 1000 a pair)
Denon 1910 Receiver = 37,000 Official / 30,000 Gray
The speakers are bookshelves (Wife will not allow the towers to spoil her decor
)as many of you would already know and i've had the chance to audition the B&W's in Pune. While i was in Mumbai demoing various speakers i tried the KEF 3005's, Focal Audio's Dome 5.1 and Polk Audio's RTi 3A's. I wanted to go with a complete 5.1 package in 1 go as i don't get the time to venture out and try and research various speakers to match my taste. Both the 5.1 speaker set-up were awesum with movies but somehow did not deliver while playing music. Since i did not have much choice i almost settled for the KEF's till the sales person suggested i try the Polk's. Well tbh i was blown away by the RTI A3's and almost struck the deal then and there.
Once back in Pune I wanted to give a shot to some more Book shelves. So, i headed out to AVXellence and tried the B&W 685's and man they were mind blowing ! All aspects were perfectly reproduced, I'm completely sold on these. Didn't get a chance to audition the top end Polk LSi's as they were not available for demo but going by what i have been reading online, these 2 sound almost equally good. Now, i gotta decide between these 2 models.
So my queries are:
i) The quotes i have received, are they good or can i get better prices, if yes, then where should i look?
ii) I plan to invest in the fronts, receiver and a sub for now and gradually add the centre and the surrounds later. Which sub will go with the speakers i have short listed.
iii) Should i be auditioning the LSi's or can i trust what people are saying online.
iv) Is the choice of receiver spot on to drive either of the 2 pairs or there's something that i have missed. Also, will it be an issue if i get it from gray.
Any help will be appreciated.