Kuala Lumpur International AV Show 2014

It was quite a challenging visit this year as it was during Ramadhan. It was the 6th day of fasting but I told myself, if the Algerian and Nigerian can fast while playing football in Brazil, what is there a few hours of walking around in a hotel venue listening to hifi :).

Arrived JW Marriott at noon and immediately I registered for the show and received the Commemorative CD ..... the 3rd edition now. Also included in the pack was the BHP RM5 petrol voucher. 

The first person and familiar face I met was the head honcho himself Mr. Dick Tan looking elegant in his suit. Being his usual very friendly self, we said our hellos and I congratulated him for his 21st year doing this show.

The first thing I noticed this year, there was  a full sized hifi set up right in front of the entrance. A pair of electrostatic speakers which I completely forgot to take note of the model. Not a good start for me heheheh.

                                  

    The usual bargains was available from Desa Home Theatre where 4K TV seems to be the theme. My newly acquired Samsung Curve TV was selling at RM19,999 (~USD 6,000) instead of RM 21,999 (~USD 6,100).

Wo Kee Hong displayed the latest Marantz streamer and network player. Tempting !!!        

Oh, I forgot about to mention about my visit objective this year.

1. To try out and maybe purchase the Oppo Headphone Amp and Headphones
2. Experience dual sub in Maxx Audio 2 in 1 home theatre and  2 channel set up
3. Get an updated listening experience from HiFi Creations own model loudspeaker design and also Skogrand cables
4. Participate in AV2day.com blind test
5. Experience the new PMC twenty 26 speakers
6. Try out the Chord Hugo portable DAC
7. Buy LPs

I only have 5 hours to go around as I have to leave latest by 530 pm in order to break fast at 730 pm. So, I immediately went on my little expedition to meet my objectives. 

HiFi Creations lead by owner cum speaker designer Mr. Victor Pheh

Debut of his premier speaker design called Arpeggio Pensato driven by Thai's Magnet pre and power amp and CD player.

Skogrand cable in HiFi Creation presentation

I was extremely impressed by the shear bass that this unit can produce. Clean yet punchy with such analog like presentation. Looking at the size of this standmounts, I was at first skeptical as the room was not very large. But when played, there was no distortion at all. All clean, punchy and a very room filling sound. Very airy as if it was either a live recording or played from analog source. Have a listen on the sample below.

What made me more impressed and proud is that this is a Malaysian product, beautifully finished in glossy black. The unit will be made to order and customer will be able to choose their own personal colour and finishing. If I am not mistaken, the RRP is RM22,000 a pair with an introductory offer during the show at RM15,000. Kudos to Victor.... Malaysia Boleh!

Chord Hugo DAC by Centre Circle Audio

Centre Circle presented Hugo DAC with Pathos and also a headphone listening station using the Beyer T1 as reference.

I have always wanted to listen to this baby after reading all the reviews of its superior sound quality. I was not really interested in using this DAC for my main set up but more for headphones. And coincidentally Centre Circle is using the same T1 headphones as I am using at home. The source was a Parasound Cd player if I am not mistaken fed through a coaxial connection into the Hugo. Unfortunately, it didnt meet my expectation. Too laid back and didnt get the satisfaction that I usually get when I pair my T1 and Bryston headphone amp.

Maxx Audio 2 in 1 set up

                                       

Max did it again! He managed to squeeze in a very balanced 2 in 1 set up. Shear heart punching home theater and a melodic 2 channel music set up comprises of the newly arrived Audiophysics Avantera Plus speakers as front and also an Audiophysics centre speaker from the Classic series, 2 x SVS subs and also rear speakers, Exposure CD player, Odyssey pre and power and Denon AV amp.

The Avantera Plus was a pleasure to listen to but unfortunately, I didnt have the chance to experience dual sub. Max however have calibrated the subs to work nicely in the small room. No excessive booming but just nice for movies and concert blu ray.

Have a listen to this.

Maxx also had a mock sample of the Avantera Plus...showing all the internal components.

And of course.... the AP Classic In Wall for those with space constraint was also on display. I had these speakers in my house for a few hours a few months back. It was indeed an experience using this  speaker for home cinema duties. Lovely glass finish and sound too. Displayed here was with a dedicated stand that Maxx Audio will be able to provide if buyer is not interested to hang these babies on the wall.

Featured above is also the matching AP Classic centre speaker.

Exposure CDP

 Odyssey power amp

The Avantera Plus

LP Shopping

Time for a little bit of shopping. There were several rooms and stalls selling LPs at a bargain. some have very rare ones. This SRV boxset was a hit where several collectors have picked it up. Yours truly modestly got a few hehehehe

PMC twenty 26 at AV Designs




Fresh from the box... the 26 was only on static display :(. A bit disappointed but nevertheless, will visit the show room for some sweet sound.

 AV Designs head honcho James Tan and Tony Low decided to pair up the PMC Fact 12 with a full TAD set up instead of Bryston this year, saving the latter for their home theater set up.



The slim speakers just smiled at the big room and fill it up with music. Have a listen to this:

And for the home theater section.....



..... JVC e-shift 4K projector with a full Bryston home theatre set up....a set up that was quoted to be 'It could have been in your house'.....huuuuuwwaaaaa..... but its OK. One have to accept his or her space limitation.

Oppo Headphone amp and Headphones

So, not knowing who actually is the official distributor for this, I just went raoming around and voila I found a stall with this set up on demo...... and found out that CMY will be bringing in these babies in soon, tentatively mid July.

From a quick listening session to this pair.... It is in fact a must buy for headfis.... I am not to keen on the headphones purely because it comes in leather. It is just so darn hard to maintain the leather in our hot and humid climate. One of the reason I bought the T1 over the Audeze. So, the question now is that will the amp match my T1? I have requested Steve from CMY OU to inform me once a unit is made available in the show room. Apparently it will be sold at USD1099.

Picture courtesy of AV2day.com

Other room and set up

Various Thorens TT

Swedish Statement presented the humangous amp

Focal and Mcintosh.... Quite a good pair...

Maggies...

CMY Mission and Audiolab

CMY Dynaudio with Jeff Rowland and Clearaudio

Karan and ASI speakers...

Focal and Mcintosh

Devialet

ATC Speakers presented by Hi Way Laser

Now to check my objectives:

1. To try out and maybe purchase the Oppo Headphone Amp and Headphones - DONE and impressed
2. Experience dual sub in Maxx Audio 2 in 1 home theatre and  2 channel set up - partially DONE as did not experience the dual sub but LIKE the simple 2 in 1 set up
3. Get an updated listening experience from HiFi Creations own model loudspeaker design and also Skogrand cables - DONE and impressed
4. Participate in AV2day.com blind test - Visited at 515 pm....so it was already in the middle of a test....so unfortunately missed it... (I still believe my ears are not up for it hehehehe)
5. Experience the new PMC twenty 26 speakers - partially DONE ...experienced visually not audio-ly?
6. Try out the Chord Hugo portable DAC - DONE but disappointed
7. Buy LPs - DONE and became a happy camper...

Another Lenco and Even A Better HiFi Blog

A well known hifi blogger/sifu by the call name of Sting, have just came out of hybernation.... and his first come back write up is on his Sting's New PTP5.....

Enjoy the read about his experience in Peter's Top Plate.

Picture courtesy of his blog.

Aizat Legasi EP: Review

As per my previous entry on how beautiful this Limited Edition EP on LP is. But how about the content?

There are 5 tracks on this EP which includes 4 tracks of collaboration with 4 other Malaysian born artists.... each with their own uniqeness... Zee Avi, Azlan (of The Typewriters), Noh (of Hujan) and Yuna.

Track 1: Baru - Aizat's own solo track. Modern music with a little touch of electronic beat.

Track 2: Dwihati  (with Yuna) - Although the song was composed by Aizat, Anas and Noh. is a typical Yuna's slow and boring genre. No element of Aizat's stronger character.

Track 3: We'll Be Happy  (with Zee Avi) - the best track on this EP. A very good collaboration with the Miri lass. Relaxing music with sweet lullaby lyrics. Its like one of those tracks usually sung by the 'should-be-American couple' zooey deschanel and joseph gordon-levitt. The EP's killer song.

Track 4: In Love With You (with Noh) - Another good track from Aizat and Noh. Maintaining Noh's (or Hujan's) musical influence with a fun touch of 60's rock and roll. reminds me of the Indonesian band The Chungcutters.

Track 5: Catwalk ke Balai (with Azlan) - unique and modern fast beat.  With Azlan's powerful  vocals, its quite a psychedelic mix when Aizat 'speaks' rather than sing throughout thee track.

Quality of music and arrangement: 3.5 out of 5

Recording Quality (MP3): The supplied MP3 files were in 44.1 kHz 160kbps bitrate ... quite an odd choice as usually its at either 128 or 256 kbps. Nevertheless, playing it through iTunes via MF M6 DAC, the quality is acceptable and quite good. 4 out 5.

Pressing quality (LP): A very mixed feeling I am having. Comparing it to the MP3 files, its definitely provides a better resolution and listening ambience. However, on my favourite track (with Zee Avi), it sounded harsh on L78. But on CA Concept, all tracks run very fluid and I really like the weight and musical body presentation by the pressing quality. Not the best but for a first timer producing music on LP, its moderate quality I would say. 3 out of 5.

Overall: I wish more local artist would follow Aizat's effort here to give the listeners the option of LP and MP3 files.

Local LP: Limited Edition of Aizat Legasi Album

Salute to Aizat for this limited edition LP pressing of his new album... professionally done... superb artwork...

Very happy to get the 3rd LP out of the 222 pieces.

I hope the pressing is as good as the packaging....

PMC twenty™ C: A Centre of Attraction

After 2 weeks of enjoying the 21s, I realised that my Infinity Primus Centre speaker is not cut out to cope with PMC 21s, let alone if I were to go for a bigger 23s. So, without wasting anymore time, I contacted James Tan of AV Designs again for a matching C  in black piano gloss. Went to pick it up at Rohas Perkasa and I unveil it myself at home.

BUILT

Beautifully packaged in a sealed white cloth... The unit is moderately sized at 172 mm x 520 mm x 305 mm (H x W x D) and add another 6 mm for the magnetic grille and 40 mm for the terminals.

It weighs about 9.5 kgs so make sure you have a sturdy stand or a solid rack to place it below the TV.

The black piano finish is very sleek and sexy.... compliments the 21s I have on loan. Highest level of WAF, so no worries of upsetting the Mrs with the dark black colour.

It comes with 2 pairs of speaker terminals in case one would want to bi-amp the centre channel.

Unboxing the centre, I found the warranty card and product info card that shows this unit was hand  built in February 2013. Although it has been a year, it still carries the 20 years warranty just like the other twenty series (have to register online!!!)

SPECIFICATIONS

The drive units are similar to the 21s and 23s, hence it should match easily the 21s that I still have on loan. Not really sure why for centre channel, PMC have designed it with a 6 ohm impedance instead of 8 ohm like the other speakers in the twenty series.

Crossover Frequency:

1.8kHz

Drive Units:

LF PMC twenty series, lightweight doped

5.5”/140mm cone with cast alloy chassis, HF

PMC/SEAS®, 27mm twenty series, SONOLEX™

Soft dome, Ferrofluid cooled

Effective ATL™ Length:

1.8m 5.9ft

Frequency Response:

45Hz – 25kHz

Impedance:

6 Ohm

Sensitivity:

90dB 1w 1m

 FIRST IMPRESSION

After the YPAO calibration, first to go in was Andrea Bocelli's Live at Tuscany concert on 5.1 channel. 

Fresh out of the box, the C immediately caught my attention with wide spread sound staging compared to the Primus. Again, I do not know ho PMC does it but I am sure it was the ATL that is again doing a fantastic job. I didn't really push the volume knob to high level given that it still needs running in. Nevertheless, its already blending in nicely and coherently with the 21s.

Andrea's vocals had more bass to it from the usual kinda flat through my Primus. It was not overshadowed by the bass from the 21s which makes the whole concert more enjoyable than usual.

FULL PERFORMANCE

As opposed to front channel speakers, I cannot leave something on repeat to burn in the C. So had no choice but to keep on watching movies (don't know why I am complaining about this :) ). First on test was using Night at the Museum 2.

The C had no problem at all to deliver a crystal clear dialogue from Hank Azaria's lisping character. Not to make fun of people that suffer lisping, but without the proper presentation of this, the character would have not have similar impact.

Up next was Scorpions MTV Unplugged concert.

Now, this was a very enjoyable session as Klaus Meine's vocals was mesmerising coming out from the C. It was full of energy and again, it matches well with the 21 fronts. The C and 21s compliments each other nicely that you feel that the sound staging is representing the venue of which the concert was held in Greece.

On Wind of Change, Klaus's vocals was so emotional that it brought back memories from my school days when Scorpions was one of the bands that worship.

Regardless where I sit in my living room, the C will reach me with such dispersion that I cannot pinpoint and say, thats where the dialogue is coming from. My previous Primus was as if working on its own isolated platform, detaching itself from my previous Mission front speakers.

CONCLUSIONS

There is not much of other aspects that one need to review or demo when it comes to centre channel. Several other movies that I tested the speakers with includes the super noisy Transformers, LOTR, Harry Potter and Adele's concert in Albert Hall. All of them, the twenty C just smile and deliver crystal clear dialogue even though at low-ish volume of -30dB on my Yamaha AV receiver for late night movies.

If I was to sum up this speaker in 3 words, it would be: Clarity, Emotional, Spacious.

This centre channel is definitely a keeper. It might just be one of the most important purchase for my home theatre revamping this year.

The twenty.C can be purchased and demo-ed at AV Designs, Bangunan Rohas Perkasa.

The C is retailed at RM8,600 per unit. For demo, please contact James Tan on 016-3280237 or Tony Low on 012-2330771.

Clamp Fight Part Deux: Quadro VS LPI

After a week of nasty tonsillitis.... I continued the re-match with a few demanding LPs namely:

1. Metallica S&M Live... for its metal plus orchestral strings

2. Oscar Peterson Trio for its extensive play of hi-hat and the ride cymbal and snare

3. Enigma for its bass driven tracks

From previous match.... LPI was leading 1-0

Metallica

LPI: On Nothing Else Matter, the guitar and violin intro were quite a piece. Although it was a slow intro but you can hear and feel that its building up towards an energetic music arrangement. James's vocals also sounded 'live' rather than a studio mixed vocals. 

Quadro: It brought the atmosphere down a notch. Not in a bad way. It just mellow down the track to make it more like a 'rock ballad'. The 'live' atmosphere was not really evident.

2-0 to LPI.

Oscar Peterson

LPI: On the Night Train album, the clarity on each single stroke on the hi hat and ride was really revealing. Somehow, it arises and compliments the rest of the instrument with such strong character.

Quadro: It was still noticeable but more subtle and it sounded like its more as a background sound rather than a more upfront sound. Which to me is what hihat, ride and snare suppose to be.

2-1... first point for Quadro

Enigma

LPI: The bass was too overwhelming. It does give a more spacious and extensive sound (especially the vocals) but it was just more on the 'Dr. Dre Monster headphones' kinda of bass. A bit too much adrenalin.

Quadro: The bass was much more sweeter and balanced with the rest of the music. It does not overshadow the vocals and synthesizers. It relaxes the music and gives a comfort feeling to listeners which this is the way I like it when listening to Enigma.

2-2..... Its a tie....

Do I need to test another LP and see who can win this fight?

No.... not really....

Verdict

Like any other analogue tweaks, its a very subjective point to say one is better than the other. Both clamps can affect the sound...thats for sure.... Hence, does it do what it claims to do? Reduce resonance, absorb vibrations, stabilised the LP etc....??? I guess so... there is no way for me to actually proof nor measure this.

The way I see it (or listen to it)..:

LPI: performs best for live music, vocals and strings. It brings out the body of such music.

Quadro: performs best for bass heavy music and jazz. It balances out all the different musical instrument.

Thats what I think..

Is the LPI a keeper?

in the words of Master Yoda...

Why not? :)

Clamp Flight: Clearaudio Quadro VS Stillpoints LPI Part 1

Date: Monday, 19th May 2014

Venue: El Hefe's Ruang Tamu

Format: Multiple Re-Match

I have always believe that TT clamps make a different, at least on my Clearaudio Concept TT. However, all these while, I could only compare between having a clamp on or off using my Quadro clamp.

Recently, a friend of mine offered me to try this Stillpoints LP Isolator (LPI). When it was used on his system, it definitely provide a different sound. We also compared it with a Clearaudio Statement clamp. Each of them gave a different performance.

So, I took up the offer to try it at home with the risk of burning a hole in my pocket if the LPI wins a clamp fight with my Quadro.

The stage was set on 19th May.


1st Match:

The first LP went in was of course my new reference LP... Andrea Bocelli's Passione album. On the track Era Gia ....

Quadro: Clean, airy and subtle low end
LPI: Still clean, airy but more body to his vocals and bass

Match was then suspended.....due to the referee.... fell sick with tonsilitis.

To be continued.....