About 30-35 years ago, I had a sonodyne system. The sound was good. But the amplifier had lot of problems. In my city there wasn’t a soul to repair. The system used to work for a month and not work the next two. Although it sounded great, my overall experience was pathetic. So pathetic that I forgot it as I grew up. I have heard Bose, Elac, Polk Audio, Bang and Olufsen and many others and satisfied with all of them. And one fine day I saw that Sonodyne has Alaap, Bandish and Malhar. I was skeptical. But then my childhood got reminded and decided that I will buy alaap thinking it will be small in size. Although I wanted to buy Bandish, due to space constraints I bought Alaap which saved me money as well. Alaap finally arrived. To my surprise it was larger than I imagined. Now let’s get down to business than nostalgia. As far as the design is concerned, sonodyne needs to get a product designer. The top panel is very crude, the back panel is horrendous with a gazillion screws. The glaring make in India lion giving the false assumption that Indian products will be bad looking. Well the cribbing ends here. It was extremely well packed and it took me about half an hour to keep removing cover after cover and side boards to even get a sight of the speaker. Connected my phone via Bluetooth. Connected quite easily. Played 2 songs, just 2 - Fly me to the moon by Frank Sinatra and Love by Nat Cole King. I was impressed by the quality. Lows are good for 60Hz and I thought they would be non existent literally. Highs aren’t a shrill and the only problem is with a garbled or not so pronounced mid range. But then it’s still good. Sound is well balanced and rounded. Packs the punch. Well sonodyne has exceeded itself well. 17500 is a bit too on a slightly higher side. But it sounds simply superb. Hopefully, the electronics won’t go bad. Today is my first day and I shall update the after few weeks again. 5 star for the sound quality. Yes, I am proud that this is a truly make in India beauty. Updates As claimed by the company the sound is neutral. It doesn’t add any additional bass. I listened to some tracks by the weeknd and they sounded good. Revelacion by Selena Gomez couldn’t take up too lows. However the modern ballads like De una vez, save your tears and I feel it coming sound beautiful. The soundstage is slightly packed and not very open. This could be due to smaller sized speakers. Instrument sounds are pristine. May be the next variant Bandish will be able to handle these flaws better. Some more additions Use a decent lossless music source. Apple Music and Spotify premium did the work. I used some random aux cable and the sound was way too muffled and low when I connected it to my computer. I then changed to a better quality aux cable with gold plated jacks. This made it sound much better. I haven’t tried the optical out yet. Read More

It is compact and has a decent look. Good for home listening. Good bass as well as nice string sound. Even in high volume sound doesn't Crack. Has safeguard against over voltage. BT connectivity is good. Read More

Sonodyne is an Indian brand many of us (and some of our parents) grew up with, and my earliest memories of the brand date back to the late ’80s/ early ’90s, when I used to regularly visit an uncle in Kolkata who was a big fan of the brand and its single-minded focus on recreating music “as the artist intended”. Fast forward to 2024, and while the brand continues to serve the serious audiophile and pro-studio markets, it’s their Bluetooth wireless speaker range that caught my eye, specifically the most powerful in their range, the aptly named Malhar (after the raga, Malhar which, as the myth goes, has the power to induce thunder and rain). Not one for slimline aesthetics, the Malhar resembles a cajón (or a clapbox as many may know it), an immediate throwback to when audio equipment was engineered for producing clean sound, first and foremost. With its wooden cabinet, classic aesthetics and all, the 8-kilogram Malhar is pleasing on the eye, but it demands pride of place — it’s not one to disappear into the décor. Around the front are two 5” glass-fiber cone drivers accompanied by two 1” tweeters, and the sides have two 5” passive radiators. Inputs are all clustered towards the rear, with optical, aux, USB ports along with a handy 5V DC USB port to charge a phone while it’s connected to the speaker. Controls to switch between these inputs and change tracks/volume are all on the top and are mirrored on the supplied remote. No buttons to fiddle around with bass/treble settings (intentionally so to retain the original feel of the track), and I would have preferred the indicator LEDs to be more visible, so you know the speaker is on or which input is selected. No app or Wi-Fi connectivity, which one starts expecting at this price point. Any reservations you may have had subside the moment you start playing music on the Malhar. Irrespective of genre, the speaker stands up and delivers, with a balanced sonic signature that accurately renders the highs, mids and lows without colouring the audio, so to speak. Streaming tracks as varied as Simon and Garfunkel to the Beach Boys to some of AR Rahman’s classics, Malhar reproduces the tracks damn near flawlessly across its wide 40Hz – 20kHz frequency range. Throw in some punchier tracks and bump up the volume, and you really have to wake up the neighbours before the speaker starts showing the slightest hint of distortion at the top end. Worth noting as well is the expansive soundstage and the open quality to the playback. At its price, Malhar is likely to appeal to audio purists, and despite its name, this truly is a speaker for all seasons. The ‘Made in India since 1970’ is bonus appeal. Rating: 8/10 Price: INR 37,500 Read More

I am blown away by the Bandish. It really sounds like a good music system! Read More

For audiophiles, Sonodyne has been a legendary Make in India brand, & the Bandish offers 120W of pure grade sound! Read More

The Bandish is an incredible handcrafted bluetooth speaker! Read More

I like the white colour Bandish, the sound & how easy & accessible it is to enjoy an immersive listening experience! Read More

These bluetooth speakers provide mesmerising, soulful sound for all music genres! Read More

A classic BT speaker that sounds better than any competition at this price! Read More

The roots of Classical Music in India are found in the Vedic literature. Indian Classical Music has 2 Major Traditions – One from North which is referred as Hindustani Classical Music and the other one is from South, which is known as Carnatic Music. Sonodyne an Indian Hi Fi Speaker company, which is very well known for its musical fidelity and 50+ years of experience in manufacturing studio sound now aims to bring that fidelity in the Indian homes with their 3 Bluetooth Speaker models, Alaap, Bandish and Malhar. Read More

Since its inception in the early 70s, Sonodyne is a company that has been at the forefront of the innovative Indian professional audio market Read More

Came to know about Sonodyne by chance in a Twitter conversation. Glad about it! Bought Alaap from Flipkart. Good packaging both by Flipkart and Sonodyne. The system is top class in all respects - features, quality, design and sound. Good attention to detail - packaging, preventing the remote battery draining. The over voltage protection is thoughtful & useful. The user manual is good too, makes one actually want to read it. The quality is great. Even the power cord looks sturdy and of good quality plastic and metal. The remote is fully functional. Tried all the inputs except optical. It even played songs in an external USB 1 TB hard disk which also had lot of data files. It also remembered to play from where it had left off after restarting - very useful. One thing i miss is an FM radio - of course it can be played from via a mobile with Bluetooth, but a built-in one can be useful for not-so-tech-savvy people. Overall highly recommended. Read More

Read about Sonodyne by chance in a Twitter conversation. Glad about it! Bought Alaap from Flipkart. Found it top class in all respects - features, quality, design. Good attention to detail - packaging, preventing the remote battery draining. The over voltage protection is thoughtful & useful. The user manual is good too, makes one actually want to read it. The quality is great. Even the power cord looks sturdy and of good quality plastic and metal. The remote is fully functional. Tried all the inputs except optical. It even played songs in an external USB hard disk which also had lot of data files. It also remembered to play from where it had left off after restarting - very useful. One thing i miss is an FM radio - of course it can be played from via a mobile with Bluetooth, but a built-in one can be useful for not-so-tech-savvy people. Overall highly recommended. Read More

Recently got the Alaap. Usually listen to instrumental music. I am hearing notes I haven't heard before. Really amazing. I have heard a lot of music on Bose and Marshall . Alaap is way better - has very balanced sound. Reminded me of Jamo concert series. Similar sound for an affordable price. Read More

Outstanding sound and classy too.Highly recommended for those with an ear for music. Read More

We need to support local brands, Sonodyne is a class brand from Calcutta with really good experience Read More

t is compact and has a decent look. Good for home listening. Good bass as well as nice string sound. Even in high volume sound doesn't Crack. Has safeguard against over voltage. BT connectivity is good. Read More

Probably among the top wired BT speakers you can get in this price range. Very well tuned, natural and full sound with decent amount of bass. Only downside is that this is not a portable speaker as it is on the heavy side and requires a power connection. However, still recommend if you are looking for a high quality audio product for your home. Read More

I bought Alaap last July as an impulse buy! As someone who owns a few Sonos products, the first two weeks I was a bit upset (probably a bit high on expectation) that it did not sound upto the mark. However, over a period it settled quite nicely as an amazing personal speaker, and stays produly in my bedroom bookshelf - could be that the burn-in (without getting in to myth or fact) worked out well. It has a decently wide soundstage and enough bass for a pleasent listening experience. I have it hooked to an Amazon echo device and that coverts it in to a smart speaker. For the price, I think it beats every other brand that we are obsessed with. Read More

As a critical listener who does a little dabbling around with speakers and sound this one is right in league with some of the best by the best manufacturerst that one can buy at this price point. Pristine clear sound, amazing soundstaging and volume of air being pushed out from such a small package, warm and balalnced lows and midrange with the highs being crisp without being too 'trebbly'. This is surely a system for the enthusiast and the purist with true old world simplicity and solidity of design. Connectivity options are simple, varied and work like a charm The only irony is that we have such amazing product, design and quality that is designed produced and manufactured in our own country by our own talent and professionals yet they hardly manage to be recognised in the mainstream market which is full of foreign products both reputed and average but who charge us more than twice for what they offer. Try Indian once. Have faith and try Sonodyne. You wont go wrong with it. Read More

Recently got the Alaap. Usually listen to instrumental music. I am hearing notes I haven't heard before. Really amazing. I have heard a lot of music on Bose and Marshall . Alaap is way better - has very balanced sound. Reminded me of Jamo concert series. Similar sound for an affordable price. Read More

About 30-35 years ago, I had a sonodyne system. The sound was good. But the amplifier had lot of problems. In my city there wasn’t a soul to repair. The system used to work for a month and not work the next two. Although it sounded great, my overall experience was pathetic. So pathetic that I forgot it as I grew up. I have heard Bose, Elac, Polk Audio, Bang and Olufsen and many others and satisfied with all of them. And one fine day I saw that Sonodyne has Alaap, Bandish and Malhar. I was skeptical. But then my childhood got reminded and decided that I will buy alaap thinking it will be small in size. Although I wanted to buy Bandish, due to space constraints I bought Alaap which saved me money as well. Alaap finally arrived. To my surprise it was larger than I imagined. Now let’s get down to business than nostalgia. As far as the design is concerned, sonodyne needs to get a product designer. The top panel is very crude, the back panel is horrendous with a gazillion screws. The glaring make in India lion giving the false assumption that Indian products will be bad looking. Well the cribbing ends here. It was extremely well packed and it took me about half an hour to keep removing cover after cover and side boards to even get a sight of the speaker. Connected my phone via Bluetooth. Connected quite easily. Played 2 songs, just 2 - Fly me to the moon by Frank Sinatra and Love by Nat Cole King. I was impressed by the quality. Lows are good for 60Hz and I thought they would be non existent literally. Highs aren’t a shrill and the only problem is with a garbled or not so pronounced mid range. But then it’s still good. Sound is well balanced and rounded. Packs the punch. Well sonodyne has exceeded itself well. 17500 is a bit too on a slightly higher side. But it sounds simply superb. Hopefully, the electronics won’t go bad. Today is my first day and I shall update the after few weeks again. 5 star for the sound quality. Yes, I am proud that this is a truly make in India beauty. Updates As claimed by the company the sound is neutral. It doesn’t add any additional bass. I listened to some tracks by the weeknd and they sounded good. Revelacion by Selena Gomez couldn’t take up too lows. However the modern ballads like De una vez, save your tears and I feel it coming sound beautiful. The soundstage is slightly packed and not very open. This could be due to smaller sized speakers. Instrument sounds are pristine. May be the next variant Bandish will be able to handle these flaws better. Some more additions Use a decent lossless music source. Apple Music and Spotify premium did the work. I used some random aux cable and the sound was way too muffled and low when I connected it to my computer. I then changed to a better quality aux cable with gold plated jacks. This made it sound much better. I haven’t tried the optical out yet. Read More