Launch Event: JVC Reference Series 3D Projectors

JVC Kenwood Malaysia Sdn. Bhd has recently launched their latest state of the art 3D home cinema projector line. The event was held at AV Designs in Rohas Perkasa on 22^nd January 2013. The members of local press and hifi blog scene fill up the venue, anticipating for something captivating from this new JVC line up.

The event was graced by their Managing Director, Mr. Takahide Sakamoto who gave a keynote address at the beginning of the event. He claims that this new lineup is a big step up from their existing e-shift technology (now known as e-shift2). Combined with the improved Multiple Pixel Control, JVC Upscaling and Enhancement technology, consumers will experience full HD images reproduction with maximum definition and also convert them to even higher quality 4K-resolution images. The upscaling will work with any sources like BluRay, DVD and even Astro B.yond.

 Together with the Sales and Marketing Manager, Mr. Steven Woo, 4 new 3D projectors were launched in Malaysia under the Reference Series. The models are DLA-RS66, DLA-RS56, DLA-RS48 and DLA-RS46. With the exception of DLA-RS46, all of the projectors offer High Definition 4K-resolution (3840 x 2160). The DLA-RS66 and RS56 also carries the THX 3D Display and Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) certification badges.

One of the big challenge of the 3D market for projectors and TVs is fatigue experienced by consumers for prolong viewing. With a new 3D circuit in the projector topography and newly designed RF glasses, JVC hopes consumers will have more stress free viewing experience.  Attendees get to experience with two different home theater set ups in the venue. The DLA-RS48 was set up in a smaller-home-like room, projecting onto a circa 105” screen. Using a Disney PIXAR 3D animation movie clips, attendees get to differentiate between ‘standard full HD’ and the 4K upscale.

There are five different 4K profiles to choose from depending on the source being played.

·         Film                        : Suitable for BD, taken and recorded by film originally

·         High Resolution     : Suitable for BD content, taken in 4K

·         HD                          : Suitable for BD content from a few years ago and Astro B.yond (1080i or 720p)

·         SD                           : Suitable for DVD (480p)

·         Dynamic                  : Any content

·         Consumers will also have the option of turning off the 4K upscaling mode.  

The group then moved to AV Design state of the art home theatre set up in a bigger demo room where it features the JVC flagship projector DLA-RS66 with the highest contrast ratio available in the market (130,000:1).  With a much bigger screen, this new projector is able to impress the audience further with captivating and seamless 3D projection of Avatar movie. The 4K upscaling enhancement is even more revealing from this flagship unit.

 This new line up of JVC Reference Series is definitely a must have for home theatre enthusiasts. Well, at least a demo session. You owe it to yourself!

The Reference Series is now available for purchase from AV Design.

Musical Fidelity First IEM - The EB50

This is MF first attempt in IEM devices and so far, a month usage of it shows how Anthony Michaelson hifi philosophy have been applied in the design.
I got to know about MF plans of producing earphones and headphones sometime in July 2012 in which I saw a few pictures of the prototypes of the designs. There were 3 headphones and 1 IEM.  The highest grade headphones was in nice brown leather.

Anyway,  MF then decided to delay the headphones production till end of Q1 this year (thats what I have been told) but they released their EB50 IEM in Oct 2012. I got a pair sometime in mid Nov.

So after about 1.5 months of usage, I must say that MF have hit the certain right notes on the design.

Specifications

• Sensitivity: 100dB SPL/mW (1kHz)
• Impedance: 26 Ohms ±15%
• Max input power: 11mW (rated power 5mW)
• Frequency range: 10Hz-20kHz
• Distortion: <1%
• Noise Isolation: better than 96%
• Driver: 6mm balanced armature
• Weight: 28g
• Cable length: 1.2M
• 3.5mm Gold plated Stereo jack plug
• Microphone and answer button included

Built

MF claims that the design on this IEM was based their own internal deisgn and not a copy from other IEM manufacturer. To achieve this, they went back to the drawing board and create a product from the ground up, utilising new technology along the way.

I particularly like the thin and lightweight cables that they use, eliminating the 'fatigue' of having heavy cables hanging from your ears. The earpiece itself is designed such that its interchangeable between left and right ears usage. There is no specific designation on which side is left and which side is right apart the different colour of 'screws' on them. One side comes with red colours ''screws' and the other side is in blue.

They also use military-grade aluminium for the outer casing, which offers a strong yet anti-resonance body that is the ideal mounting for the capsule. (Wow.... a bit far fetch I suppose but I guess it will help to prolong the life of this IEM)

The cable also comes with iPhone friendly mic which delievers crispy clear phone conversation. I tried it with iPhone 5 and 4S and it work perfectly on both.

It also comes with a cable strap to manage the cable during storage in its pouch or in your pocket.

Flexibility

For perfect sealing within the ear canal, seven pairs of ear tips are included for personal preference. Also included are fittings for a tighter fit to the ear as well as a carry pouch for safe transportation.

I find the following tip best suits me. 

Sound

It can easily be driven directly from any portable players or laptops. As IEM is more for portability, I mainly tested it with my iPhone 5 and 4S. I repeatedly listen to Hotel California by The Eagle (Live version) and also recently I was hit by a preference towards Hindi songs (weird? Not quite due to the percussion behind hindi songs and also the shrieking high frequency of some of their female singers)... So I also played Chori Chori Hum Gori Se and  Bole Chudiyan.

Hotel California presentation overall presentation was bit flat to my liking, especially for a live version of this song. The vocal was a bit on the harsh side but not painful to hear as the bass from this IEM balances the high freq shortcomings.  Separation of musical instrument however is what I like best about this IEM. There some 'hidden' percussion beats that I did not hear on my previous Shure IEM.

Bole Chudiyan on the other hand did not come out to be as 'shrieking' as I thought it would. For those who are not familiar with this song, the female singer high pitch voice can be a bit deafening if played on the wrong hifi system or IEM. but with this IEM, (I guess due to the design emphasizing on bass), it overshadows the shrieking effect of this female voice. It was well balanced which made me really enjoy this song on this IEM.

Chori Chori then gave me a good exposure to what thie IEM can do when it comes to bass. It provides good solid and controlled bass. Even at higher volumes, no sign of stress on the IEM and also no sign excessive vibration or in laymen Malaysian terms - 'no pecah sound' :)

Vocal however does not sound lively. It does not give me the melodious feeling that I usually get from The Eagles and Hindi singers.

Conclusions

Its not an all rounder or balanced IEM. It does very good in the bass department with good control and detail and not overwhelming. Vocal is definitely not its strongest element where it can sound a bit flat. It does provide a more detailed sound wit regards to musical instrument compared to my Shure IEM.

IEM market is a tough one to breakthrough but I feel MF started off on the right track. For this particular EB50 model, it faces a tough challenge from other IEM brands especially in the likes of Sennheiser, Klipsch etc.

So, to me, it suits best for someone who is looking for warm bass sound and not particular with vocals.

It is priced at RM765 and the authorised dealer is LTB Enterprise.

Who Says Mini Disk (MD) is Dead?

I started off this new year by going through my MD collection and this particular album really strikes to me to be one of the best recording I have on MD. What a memory carrying the MD Net player with a few of my home made MDs on the way to university.

Playing through my Sony ES series MD player, and feed it through the MF M1 DAC, it can easily challenge CD reproduction.

El Hefe's 2013 Hi Fi Set Up

This is what I have started off for 2013:

Home:
1. CD Player (Transport): Musical Fidelity CDT
2. Main DAC: Musical Fidelity M1 DAC
3. Streamer/2nd DAC: Musical Fidelity CLiC
4. Phono stage: Musical Fidelity M1 ViNL
5. MD Player: Sony MD JA20ES
6. Integrated amp: Musical Fidelity M6i
7. Power amp: Musical Fidelity M1 PWR
8. Headphone amp: Bryston BHA-1
9. Headphone: Alessandro Grado MS Pro
10. Tape deck: Onkyo TA2600
11. Turntable: Clearaudio Concept
12. Speakers: ProAc Response D18
13. Power Management: Belkin PF50

Notes:

Siltech cabling for items 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 12
QED cabling for items 4, 5, 8, 10

2013 targets:
1. New Main DAC: either Musical Fidelity M6 or Bryston BDA-2
2. Record Cleaning Machine

Office:
1. Source: iTunes and WMP
2. DAC: UD100 ESS Sabre USB DAC
3. Speakers: BOSE Companion IIs
4. Headphone amp: Musical Fidelity M1 HPA
5. Headphone: BOSE Over the Ear

Note:
QED Cabling for items 2, 3, 4

2013 targets:
1. Musical Fidelity first headphones....