Let me begin with thanking Cesar Augstin for his time and inputs and letting me
take a look at his system. I had a great time during the audition and learnt quiet
a lot from Cesar.
The system I looked at
M22, VP150, QS8 and HSU sub [ I don't know the model, but it was big and brilliant].
Pioneer Elite 45tx
IN STEREO MODE - M22 with SUB on /off
CD 1
Carnatic [South Indian] and Hindustani [North Indian] Violin Fusion
I heard a rendition of Gandhi's fav song...It is a slow recital on the violin
accompanied by tabla. The highs were crisp and clear and
the tabla had great definition.The over all sound presentation was excellent
and i was quiet upbeat with the start.
The track I listened to had quiet a few highs but I was very impressed
with the result. The highs were never amplified to the extent that they would
sound metallic or too sharp for the ear.
CD2
Secret Garden - Dreamcatcher
I auditioned the track 'Prayer'. I wanted to check the amount of detail that
was presented by the speaker. This track has quiet a few instruments being played
with a female vocal. The track sounded very warm and soothing, just the way
I wanted to hear it. There was no compromise on detail every little sound had
a clear presentation. Looking back I should have heard few more tracks from the CD.
CD3
U2 - Joshua Tree
'..Streets have no name' was the track, and i could not belive my ears, I was disappointed.
The presentation was kinda flat or I should say - 'it lacked the mid range punch I expected to
hear'. This was the case with the SUB on too. Esp when the drummer goes solo, I would have
been happy with a little more punch from the speakers. The overall sound was a bit of a letdown
even when the SUB was on.
CD4 - CD5
Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms & Goo Goo Dolls - The big hit featured in a movie, don't remember the
song name
Eager to recover from my disappointment, I tried some more Rock, Sadly I felt the same way
as when listening to U2.
IN HOME THEATER MODE.
DVD1 - DVD2
Lord of the rings I & Star wars Episode I
I kinda recovered from my disappointment, The imaging was perfect & HSU was rocking. The center was
crisp and clear, Delivering every spoken word in great clarity. QS8 was a show stealer. The surrounds
were a bit far behind the listening spot, but that was never a factor. QS8 was a killer, I requested
Cesar to turn off the SUB to listen to the QS8's, I was very impressed with the ease with which
they were creating the ambience.
Overall my experience was good. I still do not know if I judged the M22s right,
probably the forum will help me on that.
The same evening I checked out PSB speakers with U2. It was an eye opener. The Second best tower in
the lineup was not even as good as M22. The best tower in the Silver lineup was close, just because
it had more of Lower end going for it. It was on sale for 1300$.
I am going to check a few more speakers and that will help me set a realistic expectation.
