(From above): Sony’s new AZ series of hi-fi systems has been designed with the young urban trend-setting professional in mind; Samsung’s home theatre system with the famed Tall Boy speakers; Bose’s Lifestyle 20 music system

Corporate attorney Sonia Khanna is a music and gadget buff and she has never had it so good. When she walks in to her ‘digital’ home after a hectic day at work, she invariably reaches out for the remote of her fancy ? read multi-room, wireless ? Bang & Olufsen music system. At the press of a button, the strains of John Coltrane begin to waft from her bedroom where she heads to freshen up. The music is playing long before she enters the room.

She has splurged a cool Rs 8 lakh on the beauty (speakers and all), but reckons that’s no big deal. For, now she’s trigger-happy and can control the music in all the rooms that are hooked to the system ? with just the remote and without compromising on the sound.

Welcome to a new, mind-boggling world of lush, room-filling ? and even home-filling ? sounds. We’ve moved from three-in-ones and boom-boxes to expensive MP3 and micro-chip controlled affairs that can almost catch the singer breathing. Says Khanna, “I’m hearing sounds that I never knew existed.”

As the Indian middle class gets more affluent the volume is being turned up and the top brands are battling for the ear of their potential customers. So, the world’s top brands are here and it’s only a question of taking your choice. Would you like a Sony or a Bose or are you willing to fork out for even more high-end brands like Bang & Olufsen, Yamaha, Kes, Dali, Nakamichi Denon and JBL. They are all here ready to belt out the most sophisticated sounds possible.

Did you think these brands with their six-figure price tags were out of reach? Get it straight ? more Indians are buying than ever before. Affluent businessmen are lining up alongside well-heeled lawyers, doctors and executives who’ve never had it so good before. Says sound engineer Sameer Kripalani, “Music systems have become an integral part of a lifestyle upgrade. What’s more, budgets have skyrocketed and the companies are unleashing state-of-the-art machines into the market.”

Kripalani is one man who is facing the new music. He has never been busier, installing the fanciest systems for his clients who’ve got more cash to spare than ever before and who are clamouring for the best sounds available. “Music aficionados are hooking up their homes to hi-tech systems like never before,” he says cheerfully.

The fact is that music systems have taken a giant leap forward during the last decade, thanks to the advances in technology. Today’s audio systems can, at one level, ‘read’ a room’s acoustics and make automatic adjustments. At another level, they keep track of your favourites and can ? if you like ? automatically play them to you at the press of the remote. And you don’t even have to create a menu or organise playlists.

This is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Today’s technology makes it easy to store thousands of songs digitally on a scale that would never have been possible before ? think as much as 350 hours of uninterrupted listening. Their mechanisms shift between discs at extraordinary speeds. Some have sophisticated aluminium surfaces that respond to a mere feather touch.

Then consider the designs. In the old days, music systems came in easily-identifiable shapes and sizes. If you were a real music aficionado, you reserved the corners of the living room or bedroom for giant speakers. Today’s newest models are pint-sized by comparison. And usually, even if they aren’t making music, they are aesthetic masterpieces that enhance any room ? they could, of course, cost anywhere between Rs 35,000 and Rs 35 lakh.

Prekash Ramsingh, CEO, Master Dealer, Bang & Olufsen (a brand that’s also often referred to as the Rolls Royce of electronic gadgets), is one person who has watched the market take off on a scale even he hadn’t expected. Business has been good since the Danish company began selling its stylish electronic gizmos in India some seven months ago and the company’s audio systems are a hit with the hip and happening of urban India. “The market is burgeoning with music systems that require little space, are a delight to operate, just as simple to use and are all about rich sounds.”

Who are his competitors? He cockily dismisses companies like Samsung, Sony, Philips and even Bose. Instead, he names luxury brands like Mercedes, Cartier and Chanel. Says Ramsingh, “With B& systems, we are taking the listening experience beyond the boundaries of what once was thought possible.”

Ratish Pandey, general manager, Bose, also reckons that the future has never sounded better. “True audiophiles couldn’t have asked for more as the new generation systems are being designed for technology inside and beauty outside.”

True music connoisseurs will go to great lengths before buying a top-of-the-line system. That means they probably won’t buy readymade solutions but will customise them to their requirements. Take designer Navin Ansal who has bought a Nakamichi sound system and teamed it with Yamaha speakers and amplifiers. Says Ansal, “I like to mix--match when it comes to the system and speakers.”

Designer Raghavendra Rathore is also a music buff who has taken huge trouble about his music. He confesses, “I can’t live without my music, and since I travel frequently, I prefer to update the amplifiers, which I keep handy in the cities where I spend a lot of time ? that’s Delhi, Mumbai and of course Jodhpur.” Amplifiers by Nakamichi and Denon are simply hooked on to his laptop when he wants to listen to music ? wherever he may be.

Designer Nikhil Mehra too loves the sounds of his four Bose speakers and is excited about installing a brand new system in his living room. Hooking to Hammon Kardon amplifiers (Rs 35,000) and JBL speakers (Rs 38,000) he plans on creating some magical sounds. “The effect will be unbelievable,” he says with delight.

So what are the other hot sellers of the moment? R. Zutshi, deputy managing director, Samsung India, says that topping the list are compact, wireless, multi-room systems that make it possible to play music all over the house. Says Zutshi, “People want the music system to be accessible throughout the house. So they go for networked systems (that hook the DVD, home theatres and CD players together) and universal remotes that can switch on the television, operate the DVD or the CDs and change the music being played.”Multi-CD changers are also the current rage.

Of course, convergence is the name of the game, even in the music business. So, today home theatres are also doubling up as music systems and televisions. Says H. Okada, division head, Display & Audio, Sony India, “The advances in surround sound in movies, music and high-definition television has made the five-channel speaker system a virtual necessity in homes.”

The amazing bit is that the current breed of speakers that are flying off sophisticated showroom shelves don’t look like speakers at all. They are not big, they are not bulky and they do not dominate the room. So some speakers disappear into the d?cor like B&’s BeoLab 4000 (it can be slipped as easily into a bookshelf as it can be hitched on a wall or the ceiling) and others are intriguing to look at like the BeoLab 5 that packs a punch (and costs Rs 5 lakh apiece). Or, look at the slim BeoLab 8000 which has been dubbed the pencil speaker and the BeoLab 6000, where the speaker that has been designed to be as unobtrusive as possible. Samsung’s Tall Boy speakers too are showstoppers for their sleek design and powerful sound effects.

The fact is that today you don’t have to agonise over where the speakers go because they seamlessly adjust to their immediate surroundings ? wooden flooring, carpeting, walls everything ? to give the best sound quality.

Prekash Ramsingh (top) CEO, Master Dealer, Bang & Olufsen, India; (above) the BeoSound 9000 with a CD mechanism that moves smoothly from one disc to another along with the BeoLab 8000 ‘pencil’ or tower speakers.

Also, nowadays big doesn’t mean better in speakers. According to Bose’s Pandey, the jewel in the Bose music system crown is the Lifestyle 20 which produces crystal clear sounds. Its small Jewel Cube speakers (that fit in the palm of your hand) promise to fill the room with rich, lifelike sounds and its Music Center (that’s no bigger than a laptop) is fully loaded with a 6-CD changer. The system is yours for upwards of Rs 1 lakh.

If Bose has its Lifestyle 20, Sony is armed itself with a spanking new series of hi-fi systems, christened the AZ Series. Akash Agrawal, product head, audio, Sony, explains, “The series has been designed with urban, trendsetting professionals in mind who look for superior style and technology in their gadgetry.”

B& meanwhile promises lifestyle products with intuitive operation, a variety of placement options, and the magic of mechanics. The company’s products have become almost iconic in the world of sound and television viewing, and carry price tags ranging between Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh (the speakers can go from a couple of lakhs to Rs 5 lakh apiece). The fastest seller from the B& stables is the BeoSound 9000 that comes with a 6-CD changer (Rs 2.65 lakh minus the speakers) that can shift seamlessly and quickly from one CD to another. The BeoSound 3000 and BeoSound 3200 come with glass doors that glide apart even before they are touched (Rs 1.85 lakh). Customers are also walking away with the BeoCentre 2 that’s all about a smooth buttonless surface and aluminium wings that glide aside to reveal an integrated audio and video system.

Just in case you are wondering, these state-of-the-art machines are easy to install and work on the plug-and-play principle. However, the companies leave no stone unturned in offering complete service back-up. Engineers are at hand to help customer’s decide on the system, keeping their equipment in mind as well as to assist them in setting it up ? wiring, placement, everything. Once it’s all done, your life will never sound the same.

Photograph of Prekash Ramsingh and the BeoSound 9000 by Rupinder Sharma
Illustration by Suman Choudhury

Your guide to buying the right music system

So what should you buy? Sound engineer Sameer Kripalani, says firmly while it is completely a matter of taste and preference, a lot depends on the budget and your taste in music. Also keep in mind:

• The budget, which is the key. Decide how much you want to spend and mix--match the components accordingly.

• Know your requirements and identify or assemble a system that sounds best to you, rather than what the salesperson is pushing.

• Study the space where you would like to install the system. A system that sounds great in a small demo space may not do as well in a large space that you may want to fix it in.

• Listen to your own music on the system.

• Listen to the various components in isolation.

• Pull out the stops in settling on the speakers