Best shopping mall(s) in Bangkok for speakers/receivers?

[KittenKong]

I quite fancy getting a receiver and a pair of speakers. I dont think much of shops in Pattaya (basically just Payanis and Numchai/Powerbuy) and so I'm wondering which is the best shopping mall or malls to go to in Bangkok for that sort of thing these days? It's been a long time since I went to a shopping mall there and these places seem to change a lot. Preferably malls that are fairly easy to access from the airport rail link without too many changes to/from other lines.

Suggestions of particular shops would also be of interest.

At the moment I am leaning towards getting the speakers here because they are bulky and getting the amp on my next trip to the UK because of the better choice and lower prices there, though I have seen some good promotional prices online here for receiver models that are just about to be replaced.

[coops]

High end, low end, medium price? etc etc....

Paragon has a wide range of gear from high end (Meridian, Linn and other shops) as well as the usual brands in the department store also.

There are some more esoteric shops at Fortune Town also, and there used to be a range of more upper to middle range hifi gear at I think it was Amarin Plaza - another used to be an older mall opposite Central World next to0 BIg C now I think.

B&W are in the Gaysorn mall, along with Bang & Olufsen.

[KittenKong]

Mid range, I would think. I certainly dont need valve amps, or speaker cables rolled on the thighs of a virgin.

Previously I've had Yamaha and Sony amps, which were fine. In that respect I'm mostly looking for something with 4K HDMI pass-though, that will play SACD files and HD FLAC files, will work well with my NAS and internet music sources, has two speaker zones, and has some sort of control app for a tablet and preferably a PC control app as well. I dont need multichannel or Atmos etc. though I suspect that I will end up with them anyway, by default. I expect such an amp would cost around GBP300 in the UK.

I still own four Kef 104 monitor speakers in the UK that I would like to bring here but they are too big and probably by now in need of major refurbishment anyway, so to my eternal regret they will probably end up on Ebay. As my ears are as old as I am I will probably end up with smaller speakers that might cost around GBP200 per pair in the UK.

Serious listening I do on my headphones anyway, which cost more than the speakers will.

[xen]

Oppo Blue Ray players have been getting good reviews if you need to play SACD and HD FLAC files , if i understand your post and you are looking for source players as well as speakers. I agree with you about using good headphones for your real listening , then most of your to speakers will be between background music to listening music. Only you can judge what you what speakers sound the best .

[KittenKong]

Oppo Blue Ray players have been getting good reviews if you need to play SACD and HD FLAC files , if i understand your post and you are looking for source players as well as speakers. I agree with you about using good headphones for your real listening , then most of your to speakers will be between background music to listening music. Only you can judge what you what speakers sound the best .

I dont need any sort of player as such as all my audio files are on my NAS, but I will want an amp that can access the NAS and play those HD files. As far as I know most if not all recent amps with network support will do this, and I can quite easily find something suitable in the UK on my next trip anyway.

More important is to find some convenient shops here where I can listen to a reasonable choice of speakers, as you mention.

[coops]

I've used Sonos for very many years now to play my FLAC (and mp3) collection from an Apple time capsule before and now the Synology NAS.

Buying the sonos allows any amp/receiver with bulletproof reliability, ipad/iphone app for control, multi room capabilities (same music in different rooms or different music in different rooms without issues) and reads playlists from iTunes.

With the Sonos you could also go for active speakers with built in amps (at a price).

Siam Paragon would be a good place to start, the department store has Yamaha etc, should have Marantz and maybe Denon which would be mid rangeish I would think.

[KittenKong]

Good suggestion but I actually have three Sonos Play 5 units at the moment, and am happy with them apart from a couple of caveats:

1) They wont play HD files (technical limitation imposed by Sonos).

2) The bass can be a little boomy (as one might expect from fairly small bass reflex units).

3) They have no digital input for sound from my PC (yes, I know there are workarounds but they are not ideal).

None of which are the end of the world, of course, and in every other respect they do what I need.

So that's why I was thinking of getting an amp and speakers as mentioned to bypass these limitations. I would continue to use all three Sonos units in other parts of my condo (a stereo pair in my bedroom and one for the balcony).

I will probably go to Paragon as you mention.

Thanks for the suggestions made so far, and hopefully there may be some more.

Edited March 8, 2016 by KittenKong

[dddave]

I'd suggest first you go to FORTUNE, above the Rama-9 MRT, 2nd floor, there are a fair number of audio dealers there, both mid and hi-end.

At Siam-Paragon, Power Mall on 5 has a variety of audio gear but a very poor auditioning environment. Paragon also has free standing Marantz, MacIntosh and B&O stores, should you receive an inheritance between now and your visit.

The Times Sq. Building off the Asok BTS walkway opposite Robinson's has a high end audio store on the 2nd floor. Very stylish gear but I have no idea if it sounds as good as it looks.

Edited March 13, 2016 by dddave

[craigt3365]

Anything on lazada tickle your fancy?

[KittenKong]

Anything on lazada tickle your fancy?

I've seen a few receivers/amps on offer on Lazada and would not be averse to buying one from them. For speakers I would prefer to look and listen first.

I just thought a day-trip to Bangkok to look at some shops might be interesting. It's very convenient for me as I live just a couple of minutes walk from the Jomtien bus station. But as I go very rarely I'm simply not up-to-date on the various new malls and what's in them.

[CarlBkk]

There are some great second hand deals in Thailand for top quality for money (noomhi-fi.com, mozart, hifi99, mrbalance which is behind Fortune). Even bahtsold.com has interesting stuff from time to time. I recently got a great Meridian active system (DSP5200 and G8 CD player) for a superb price. My main system is left in UK because I'm scared about import tax.

If you want to buy new, make sure you listen to Q Acoustics speakers and JBL also, both at shops in Paragon next to each other.

[Henryford]

I got my Onkyo receiver and Polk Audio speakers via Lazada. They were much cheaper than any shop/mall and delivered free, which is useful as the Polks are very heavy.

[mike324]

I'd suggest first you go to FORTUNE, above the Rama-9 MRT, 2nd floor, there are a fair number of audio dealers there, both mid and hi-end.

At Siam-Paragon, Power Mall on 5 has a variety of audio gear but a very poor auditioning environment. Paragon also has free standing Marantz, MacIntosh and B&O stores, should you receive an inheritance between now and your visit.

The Times Sq. Building off the Asok BTS walkway opposite Robinson's has a high end audio store on the 2nd floor. Very stylish gear but I have no idea if it sounds as good as it looks.

Fortune a good place if you want to check out variety of products and get recommendations

Denon and Onkyo offers good mid price products ... sometimes package deals can be had at malls like Paragaon/Emporium/Central etc

[ThaiENG47]

Hi KittenKong,

 

I write about Hifi and electronics and especially Sonos Wireless speakers, Wireless Headphones, amps, turntables, take a look there is some interesting reading.   http://hifi-electronics.com/sonos-play1-reviews/

 

Regards

 

Lou 

Edited September 20, 2016 by ThaiENG47