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Chinese New Year's special - Tonality vs Timbre

2012-01-21T14:42:00.000+08:00

Lunar New Year is big in Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand excluded. The world over here is death during this festivity. As we're ushering the year of dragon, we wish for nicer things to come, pay rise, job promotion, good bonus, reduced responsibility (hmmm. highly unlikely), better car, new audio gears etc. Prosperity and materialism are so typically Chinese.

You know, two things that matter men the most, career and women regardless of marital status. Singles wanted to rush into marriage 趕著上賊船, husbands that stuck in between mother and wife, you are on your own 好執生囉. Leaning on either side will not be good. You're screwed!

Urban slave

Women are very strange breed of animal, they auto switch off their problem solving skills after married! @#$%&. "Honey, fix this and honey, fix that". She makes you her personal urban slave.

Mental torture.

Tear used to be women most powerful weapon. No more, dude! Ever since the Equal Rights awareness, nagging reigns No. 1 artillery. Dare to try? Not coming to in laws' place this new year? You can be sure of many nights of mental torture til her wishes are granted.

In this regard, I have high respect for KF for the man he is.

2012 is the end of time in Mayan calendar

Bidding goodbye to 2011, I must say that 2011 is blessed year for me. So, what has 2012 instore for me? Will the Mayan prediction realize? Will we encounter the beginning of a new world order? This question is too big for me. My stand is enjoy with what you have and leave everything to God Almighty.

My 2012 audio pilgrimage continues by building on the strength of my existing system, taking small steps to "micro-voice" my system. No major upgrade. When comes to money, I'm sensible. I buy solely on sonic merit, not brand. Call it technological advancement, some gears that measure well do not correlate to good sound. Harmonic structures are too complicated to be understood by the engineers.

My 2012 audio KPI (Key Performance Index) will be a new DAC, hifi fuse, tone wood, jitter correction device, LMos 150 minor upgrades, cable management, these things will make me occupied. These measures will not change the sound from night to day 九條街咁靚 but audible though. With all these measures taking place, I hope that my presentation will add a touch more finesse 幼細同貴氣, a touch more human 人性 and a darker background 更顯深邃漆黑背景.

Will I venture into CAS this year? I doubt so, I predict that CAS will gain a lot of ground with a vast number of companies drawing their resources to outgun their competitors. This is good news for consumers for the competition brings innovations and better products.

I like MSB Link III for a reason. It is a value buy. Its character is typically American 美國式大氣. 一上一下，乾淨俐落，冇拖泥帶水，招招中要害, 好鬼過癮. The secret of Link III is always put it on stand by mode. You will be rewarded a vinyl like presentation from Link III. 好容的聲. Of course, the matching digital cable is not to be ignored 必須調校. CG heard my Link III and wanted it. Out my MSB Link III goes. He can't wait to get hold of it. I agreed to let him have it because I have another DIY DAC in the making. One thing for certain, audiophiles never keep their money from sold gears for long. They quickly spend it on a new toy.

Despite a decade old MSB Link III and the decade long digital technology advancement, it is still sold today by Sound4sale. Link III's product longevity says a lot. Link III is a good design. A good design is essential. Do it right the first time saves lots of troubles. Bad design is you constantly righting the wrong. This complicates things and reliability. Talking about future proof, Sound4sale offers many upgrades to optimize its performance.

菜鳥 explains tonality vs timbre

Tonality and timbre is the most misunderstood audio terminology and mostly misused. I was once confused with tonality and timbre. So, let's set the record straight and correct me if I'm wrong.

Tonality 音質 is description of tonal quality. Rule number one, good tonality would not induce listening fatigue and it draws you in. End of story. If I'm allowed to simplify further, density and intensity of sound form the tonality. Tonality is the mother of high fidelity in audio context. If it ain't got the likable tonality, it ain't worth the salt.

Whereas timbre 音色 is the color palette of tone. It is similar to photography white balance. Strads sounds distinctively different from Del Gesus, Guaneri Amati, Cremona etc. Similarly, none of these 2A3, 300B, EL34, 6550. KT88 sound alike. Most of the time, we describe the color of tone with common adjectives.

Simply inexcusable 沒眼看

There is no shorter path of learning tonality and timbre but spending time listening. I know of no other way of studying tonality and timbre. One must learn the nature of music instruments. Of course, attending live events is the best option but it is sometimes not timely convenient. So, I have my doubts about those audiophiles who have poor music collection 下下都來考機, 你煩不煩呢? or those who do not know their music. Simply inexcusable.

卜街, planking

I'm keeping my finger crossed for my new DAC because I do not have any idea how my new DAC will stack up against the old one. Alright, alright, alright! I heard you, KF. KF could not stop lecturing me the significance of DAC to sound quality. I was earlier sold on the idea of single box player, the shorter signal path and omitting an external DAC. Another joss stick pot, another spirit (make things complicated) 多個香爐多個鬼. I must admit that DAC improves on tonality, timbre, micro details, PRaT, micro and macro dynamic and most of all separation. I'm sold on the idea of external DAC.

Some audiophiles champion audio technical excellence than the music itself. These guys buy only audiophile approved cds and HP lists for system check and balance. Some don't even buy cd but burn cd, 買名機就好毫,買cd就不舍得,討價還價,咪野發燒友哩㗎?come on. These specific audiophiles listen only to a short passage (difficult subtleties, prolonged decay, super highs, thundering bass and etc) of music that lasted 30 seconds or maybe less to prove their audio prowess. Pretty soon, they get tired and bore. Exiting hifi is just a matter of time. What's a pity!

Food for thought?

We must be music lover first, hifi next. No music, soul-less audiophiles. Years ago, a music lover told me he could identify the timbre of specific instruments and the "signatures" of some maestros諗住條友仔吹水,果然有料到. I was floored. This is utterly impressive, don't you think so? Try this on your friends. This is good stuff.比你威翻一次.

In a nutshell, build your own music library and learn to appreciate the music. Stop emphasizing audio subtleties. Learn the composition and composer. Distinguish the style and the color of music. That way, you will be well respected and your hifi hobby will last longer.

Mosfet aftermath

2012-01-15T23:02:00.000+08:00

$@#&X@%, stingy venom

Power and wealth means a lot to men. And audio is one of man toys. Owning expensive toys is a passport to fame and glory. Just by mentioning you audio lineup is enough to gain respects from audiophiles. Audiophiles love to assert individual superiority over others and more accurately their words to have weight and authority. That's the highest honor. And of course, they are some serious audiophiles prefer to hide in their caves.

口水多過茶, all talks no substance

After CG has taken the delivery of Perreaux 5570, the guy's mind was preoccupied for the day. He hooked up the 5570 at the first opportunity to listen, and the listening lasted past mid night.

5570 after biasing, sounded really satisfying, 真爽!

He concluded "Power makes a difference. Full stop. Insufficient power robs life out of the music."

Both CG and KF have received a fair share of Mosfet venom about the same time. The different is the former is a few notches above the later in audio standing. I could still remember how I was stunned by CG's vocal rendition. The belting of Chai Qin and Andrea Bocelli were unheard of and the impression is still very much vivid in the back of my head. I'm convinced that I have not heard anything until now that surpass my CG experience that night. Heart felt sound. Very communicative. 有血有肉 Felt like I have been circumcised that night. And that my friends, is a bold statement!

CG is an old goat

Many will be led to believe 200W Class A driving the diminutive 15 ohm LS35as is an outright sodomy. Well, look at the other side, CG wanted to squeeze LS35as last juice out. The inquisitive mind is at the front seat. We sometimes do things just to satisfy our inquisitions.

So, I was kind of surprise to receive CG's call the next morning wanting to listen to my system. I knew that he is pumped up and wanted to benchmark mine against his. Ok, no harm done as I was available that morning. He listened and commented my highs are more extended, the instruments are more realistic. Vocal? Mine loses out by a margin. I knew 5570 will project a very very stable image and the bass solidity will be beyond my imaginations.

When a group of audiophiles gather, venom spitting is inevitable. Audiophiles say the darnest things!

Black eye (left), foaming (right) are common signs of audiophile hormone disorder.

"LS35a highs is no slouch but I felt that they have run out of steam. Vocal is still LS35a forte."
"Dude, your Telefunken tubes could be the fault (the highs). You can not have a cake and eat it too."
As during our conversations, a drum kicked in. "Now, that's what your system can't do. He he! You need real nasty speakers to take that kind of abuse."
We pulled each other's legs. Everyone values differently, everyone has their own descriptions of Valentine. LS35as were designed for a purpose, a broadcast speaker. They needed to sound good at the mid. Restricted bandwith and dynamic swing are the major limitations of LS35a.

LS35as stares at 200W class A, could you see the look of love.

"You still have an Ongaku clone in the making. And your combo is like ....." I added.

If you knew CG well, he has a big audio appetite. LS35as are definitely not his last speakers, he is the big sound guy. Old goat likes to twist people's arm. With 5570 as his resident amp now, he is itchy to the bones. He is contemplating getting a pair of floorstanders!

When a system is revealing, it reveals the recording, it reveals noise floor. This is where the room will drop you a sentence.

Don't try to be a hero, uncle. You could put a watermelon in your pants, your pants will still drop.

Small speakers in small room, big nasty speakers in big room.
Play soft in small room. Don't try to be a hero playing loud in big room.

Dude, save yourself.

The story goes on....

New Year's Special: We bring back our poster boy

2011-12-30T23:45:00.000+08:00

Soon after I have got my LMos 150 a little less than six months ago, I wasted no time learning the characteristics of LMos 150. In all honesty, LMos 150 does not do one particular area well but an all rounder and this could have been perceived mediocre.

Let me tell you, LMos 150 grows on you.

Many amps out there vow to grab your attentions, readily blowing you away like you never have heard it before.

They might strike you as a revelation and make you go gaga. The revelation is so powerful and gets you sleepless. Your impulse is urging you to swipe the credit card but your conscience is asking you to get second opinons.

LMos 150 is an honest amp albeit a little softening at both extreme frequencies compares with Bipolar cousins. It does not launch you to the sky neither a blow to your ab nor a mega pile driver in your room. It plays music, preserves the musical texture.

Blood keeps rushing downstair

It is like a dog drooling at another female dog on heat. If I have to single out LMos 150 trait, the liquidity will be it. It has some shade of solid state tube sound. Try taking a few slices of biscuit with no water, that's dry. Feel the abrasive paper, that's coarse. None of these artifacts presents.
And sorry guys, only 4 units of LMos 150 will be made (due to component availability) and all have been taken up.

In my case, class AB is preferable due to greater power and thus better control on my speakers. Switching to class A, the sound receives a notch or two warmer, denser and bolder in tonality in the expense of agility, speed (活的聲音), excitement and soundstage dimensions. Of course, the matching pre is the Kingmaker.

蛇形刁手 + 三吋美舌 = 看你死未?

I spat some slimy venom onto KF (our poster boy), suggesting him to replace his almost 2 years old resident amp, 4x100W TDA7293 DMos power amp with LMos 150. DMos is no slouch. The heart of DMos is the very same thing used in Linn power amp. DMos is a quick and revealing amp, it projects a more glossy character albeit lacking in a little in sweetness and low bass grunt. Therefore, a careful matching is essential, preferably something sweet in the audio link to compensate its shortcomings. Having say that, DMos is comfortable stacking up to twice its price competitors. DMos is big on value.

Moving up the ladder is 200W 8ohm LM4702 based amp. Power and sweetness combined. It is said to possess a unique sound.

KF's DMos is housed in a Technic chassis, the big blueish meter is bloody mouth watering

We grew up playing marbles in our childhood, kids now play computer games

Our dear KF had his doubts over LMos 150. However, he does not want to play marble alone. Abroad!!!!

Trust me, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow of Black Pearl.

This guy have had many bad experiences, he followed the "left wing" teachings, he thought he has found himself "salvaged" by Captain Jack Sparrow. And to be honest, who else have not in some points of life? We were eager to learn. No free tuition in hifi as of no free lunch in business world.

Nick name Ga Fan

As such, Ga Fan came for KF audio make over. I can tell you KF is lazy to the bone. A typical school of "I want good sound but spare me the efforts." and there are many out there.

Old pix, KF audio before make over

Sexy babes

KF's system sounded like the above thick lips citing excessive upper bass before the make over. The masked highs and the Canare digital cable did little to help but add to the folly. Much details had been swallowed. The sound was a little fierce in nature like an overworked operator.

Playing Dire Strait's You and your friends like choking the listener

Constrained by the size of the room, Ho's LS35as were discontented. 1000 cubic feet proves to be a compromise. The outburst of information from the silver disc will choke the listener.

Bloated bass

The bloated bass is not good, it rules out playing at loud volume. Fat guy can't see anything below his belly.

When space is a constraint, utilise space. Ga Fan did the following :

Replace the Ikea cabinet with spider rack
Replace DMos with LMos 150, LMos sits on a piece tempered glass
Lay a piece of cheap Persian carpet under the spider rack
Change the digital cable from Canare to TD Cable
Mod the Ho's, to circumcise the excessive midbass
Reposition the speaker and sub

The stands were way too short. We need to squat like these guys to for good sound!

Changed to a taller speaker stand
Tweaking

After make over

KF told me "I swear that Chai Chin was in lingerie!"

OK, With all that been taking care of, time to get KF for audio audit. KF's eyes popped out at the first Chai Chin note. There and then I knew KF is sold.

Who could not tell?

Body language never lies, KF was 99% satisfaction. There is no 100%, mind you. The arrogance glows on his face. Every penny spent paid off handsomely. The sound has now leapt from above average to good (for a small room).

KF saliva was all over the floor, this is disgusting!

Voices were succulent as can be. Details and clarity improved. Pitch definitions were well preserved. Soundstage expanded beyond the speakers, bass line was more distinctive and the depth punched the front wall a big hole. I have had a hard time believing it is achievable.

Look! What have Ga Fan turned KF in to? 欠打!

The next time you see KF on the street, you should ask him for an audition. The catch is if you know who is KF.

Christmas Special : Defying the law of physics

2011-12-24T10:23:00.000+08:00

Boy! I love this time of year, December. I love the weather. I love the atmosphere. I love the smell of it. A hectic year is finally drawing to a close. Everybody is laid-back. Everybody has gone holiday.

Reflecting my audio journey this year, I took a giant step in audio pilgrimage (by my standard). A new room, new gears, tweaks etc, they do cost me a bomb. I do not have deep pockets, mind you but the pleasure is indescribable.

When audiophiles meet, gossipping comes natural. Everybody has their own opinions.

It was on the 17th December, we left to grab a bite after The Audio Store's opening.

A bridal Toyota Camry was beside us at Ara Damansara and one of us suggested to buy the car registration number. Another was less enthusiastic. Holy shit! First price appears on the very next day, we ended up cursing each other. Lady Luck had walked passed me.

Have we won the price, we will go CES 2012. But that remains a dream to realize now. The near miss did not going well with us.

The diminutive AE1s, defying the law of physics

We head on to Amcorp mall to see the new arrivals... We saw Kudos speakers. Anyway, my initial impression on Kudos Cardea 2 remains positive. How a speaker stand maker venture into speaker making? Simple, hunt the brain. Ex-Neat designer Derek Gilligan is behind Kudos scene.

New out of the box, C2s had just clocked 2 hours of playing time and certainly does not warrant any serious auditioning. The physic is almost toy like, this minuscule speakers does not carry a polite demeanor, quite the contrary, immediate, lively, punchy and big sound. C2s remind me of the diminutive Acoustic Energy 1s and Totem model 1s. The former raised the bar of small bookshelf speaker in bass department, the later could have you fool listening to floorstanders. Small but packed with goodies.

Yawning ......

Driven via 50W Rega Brio, C2s are no tough nut to crack. Unlike the power sucker AE1s, AE1s get you to into yawning mode with anything less than 200W. Let's wait and see if C2s have the materials the topple AE1s, but seriously, I have my doubts. The obvious downside of C2s is the height of tweeter is way below our ear level in any standard seating.

Nevertheless, C2s are great for small apartment dwellers. Their bass performance would give most bookshelf speakers a wake up call. Adding a good subwoofer, C2s will be elevated to another level.

I will one day sneak into the dealer room to confirm my findings. Anyhow, great to see a new comer.

Blowing my big brassy trumpet

2011-12-18T23:50:00.000+08:00

Do I wish to be a public punching bag? No, thank you. I am comfortable hiding in my man cave. A friend wrote that I have a wicked sense of humour, and yes, I do. I felt that life is too short for boring blogging. I often hit at the guys around me, a little mocking would not hurt and they knew it.

Come on, we are adult.

I was recently been introduced an audio friend who just embarks on the winding audio journey for less than 2 years. He said he perceives a 100 feet depth soundstage from a high end system and he manages to get 20. The transparency was stunning. "I also want to listen to a system that could delineate Chai Chin half boobs" I said.

Anyway, it is really not the number of years of audio experience that determines audio excellence but it is the amount of effort put in and going down the right path.

Kajang Foo has been secretly cooking something fishy....

Uncle Ron has been following my blog for quite some time now. Good old uncle Ron is currently residing in US and he has returned to Malaysia for a vacation. He used to own many hi end stuff while our mini compo makes us proud in those days. I knew that he is curious with my system and is my shitting worth continue reading (in the back of his mind) or just another audio wannabe blowing a big brassy trumpet. Without saying, I offered up my system for his audit check. FYI, he was a band boy playing the guitar. So is Kajang Foo, a cool drummer. Their timbre audit could be more accurate than Price Water House, the leading accounting firm.

And mysteriously, Kajang Foo has been missing in action. Is he appearring on "Take Me Out Dubai"? Ladies, stop screaming.

I will the first one to plank in 2012 KLAVS. Ha ha!

A gift from uncle Ronnie Chew

Uncle Ron gave me a couple of cd and "Speed of Sound" is one of them. This Alpine test cd is meant for audio system check. Listening through the album, nothing particular demanding until "Fanfare for the Common Man". It was written :

"This is no fanfare for the common audio system. The tympani drum carry enough energy to cause damage to poorly constructed subwoofers. The drums and brass should sound natural and balanced, while the cymbals and gang should sound natural from impact to the end of the decay."

My system barely survived the scare of "Flamenco", and now "Fanfare for the Common Man". I do not recall the track on Flamenco, but the flamenco dance should not be unfamiliar with most audiophiles. This track checks on your amplifier continuous current delivery and a good system should be able to capture the energy of the dancers, the ambiance and the wooden floor reverberating. The focus was at the midbass, transient and the presence.

Fanfare for the Common Man is for uncommon audiophiles. The trumpet entry sounded brassy as can be. It should be a little ear piercing. The tympani drum seriously begs to be heard, loud and clear. The decay is incredible. Sound majestic on a super system.

O yiiii O..., my lower bass is missing

And many subs do not mention the tolerance, and certainly my Rel Storm could not come near to the real thing. You require a powerful amp to impose an iron fist control over the sub driver. Have I played louder, my system would have been O yiiii O..... my lower bass is simply missing.

I wish that I could listen to a system that "Fanfare for the Common Man"-able one day. That will be awesome.

翻船記, audio jinx

2011-12-11T21:46:00.000+08:00

Welcome to the world

We all get bullied from time to time. In school, in work place, in family, in business and in many occasions, you name it. I do not see anyone can escape this "kharma". Even the most powerful person is bullied by his wife/destiny. Welcome to the world!

Yo, yo, yo! Loser .................

We jinx each other in audio community. It just makes hifi more fun and interesting. We also belittled by some hi end fellas at times. These guys are mean. You just bite the bullet, make your stand and walk away. That is ALL you can do. So, take it easy. No point feeling unhappy over some comments. Just be careful with pseudo sifus, they will certainly rock your boat with half baked audio wisdom. They take you to audio doom.

Perreaux 5570 power house, 500W 8ohm, Perreaux spec here.

Yesteryear monstrous power house (>200W) in the 90s and probably in 00s were less refined and liquid. Yesteryear technologies were not able to reproduce today's finesse. Not true! The components used were not modern. It is safe to say that it is the topology fault. CG was jinxed by my LMos150, felt awe to its liquidity. He felt he has to do something with his Perreaux 5570.

Mouth watering mosfet can, 11 pairs of them

Under the hood of his monstrous Perreaux 5570 power amp, similar mosfets were employed. 11 pairs of them, these are discontinued. Thus, it is wise to capitalise the prized and run in mosfet and the sturdy aluminium chassis of Perreaux 5570.

Century old lingo.....

It was an open heart surgery. The circuitry were removed, replaced with LMos circuitry and new caps. Out you go the old trans, replaced with 2KVA Talema transformers to beef up current delivery. During the course of mod, X%$#@ niama niama niama swearing and cursing due to the mass. It requires some serious muscle to move the monster around. Poor guy has got to repetitively carry in and out for voicing.

CG is currently at The Adephi window shopping. I'm wondering what speaker he might bring back. This guy wants everything, vocal and big bang. Possible? I too, want to know if there is a system capable of both.

Curiosity kills the cat, I can't wait to hear the prowess of the modded Perreaux 5570. I'm listening to it tonight to see if it worth the salt! Will it be like

will it be like the succulent Nambawan one inch thick minced medium cooked tenderloin beef burger? There is a chemical when the warm egg york meets the meat. I called it the Mosfet effect, smoothening.... I had later discovered their sauce (only upon request) to bring out the best out of the havenly beef. Don't take my word for it, the guys that went along with me were out of word.

It is by luck you get this burger because they sold out fast.

the coarse plasticky croc skin?

God bless you.

我叫你試 Wo jiao ni shi

2011-12-04T22:51:00.000+08:00

This is a popular local commercial ads that best describe audio revelation. Some brave soul tried out the Alps attenuator, not to exaggerate, the story ends with another one bite the dust. This is against a branded active pre that cost sub RM10k. So, do not hasten to judge.

Belum try belum tahu. As far as I know, only three were made. We laughed nevertheless and enjoyed listening to the story other fi’s experience on the ugly duckling pre.

Wait a minute, wasn't I like him a few years back ago. Reading reviews and listening to semi audio gurus, I landed neither here or there. The best statement ever by a highly respected 70 years old Hong Ki audio veteran, "Hi fidelity is not about the money you spend on hi fi, it is the know how how". I could not agree more. Hifi for less.

Passive attenuator, anyone? Part 2

2011-11-20T23:03:00.000+08:00

Assembled Lighter Note

Lighter Note is hotly discussed in Audiogon and diyaudio. The components are of good quality definitely not boutique quality. None of them can not be obtained from Farnell or RS Component. Uriah provides a deliberate construction manual even a novice can diy, I think. But I'm super dumb with electronics. The last thing I want is my house got blown. Better leave it to the capable hands.

The pcb is neatly laid out and the assembly takes a few hours. It has an option for biasing, tubey or transparent as per your wish. Transparency suits my sonic appetite better, without questions. Well, that's me.

Soundstage illustration

We plug in Lighter Note and compare. Boy o boy o boy! I was able to tell the difference although the difference is not HUGE but audible. The ambiance retrieval separates a closely fought competition of the two. While Alps attenuator is detailed, Lighter Note matched the Alps in every single way. On many occasions, Lighter Note manage to unfolding a tad more information. Lighter Note succinctly more transparent. Soundstage wise, Alps attenuator presents a more forward soundstage that the staging occasionally leaps forward and over the speakers.

Capable of producing a wall of sound

I now understand why people rave this album. Muddy's deep voice is not the main focal but the staging and the ambiance accorded in this album is. Judging from the hissing, I'd guess this album is either in AAD or ADD format, correct me if I'm wrong. This album threw a lateral staging extending well beyond the speakers. The width of this album is greater than the famous Manger track no. 15. This is the album to beat in term of ambiance. It is not exaggerating if I say the sound is emanating from the walls. The lateral boundary take shape to a oval staging. The sense of being enveloped nevertheless very "you were there".

Get out of here

I got the strange look when I share my findings with others, "Get out of here!"

Lighter Note could not produce the remarkably expansive soundstage as the Alps could. You can't have a cake and eat it too. Lighter Note compensates with a greater depth and onion like layering. Lighter Note presents a distanced and less oval soundstage

Tonality wise, they are both largely the same. No irregular frequency anomalies. I can't explain this but I guess that two elements, pitching and timing that most good listeners are very observant of are my sonic yardstick.

Dynamic and transient is what make or break of an audio component, at least for me. Both were exceptionally well. I'd give a slight edge to Lighter Note. The subito is breath taking.

Nirvana folks (right) at your service

I'm not in any way suggesting Lighter Note in the same league with the mighty Burmester 808 Mk5 or FM Acoustics 268. These SOTA represent the pinnacle of modern audio technologies. Let's just say that I'd like to take the black bus ride later. Lighter Note nevertheless earns my Poorman's Award.

Lighter Note deserves this

The only gripe for any passive pre is, the source and power amp must have sufficient gain. Matching is also another issue. Some work some not.

You will get a good whack at the back of head saying cd is more detailed than LP?

Just when I about to wrap up this posting, CG called to tell me the Lyra cartridge is amazing. It thrashed the value for money Dynavector by a mile. I have no idea what he is telling but poor guy has been waiting for his phono stage for 3 years. Vinyl playback is the passport to the promised Hi End. Ceteris paribus, the source the first line of defence.

I could almost say that vinyl based system is the passport to the Hi End utopia.

What is the greatest strength of vinyl? Timbre, detail, dynamics and bla bla bla. I suggest you play something bassy. The bass from vinyl is out of this world, no even the best digital playback could come close.

Chinese New Year's special

2011-11-07T22:11:00.000+08:00

Lunar New Year is big in this part of the world, Asia Pacific excluding Australia and New Zealand. As we ushering the year of dragon, we wish for nicer things to come, fatter paycheck, good bonus, reduced responsibility (hmmm. highly unlikely), better car, new audio gears etc. You know, two things that matter men most, career and woman regardless of marital status. Singles wanted to rush into marriage 上賊船, husbands want out. How ironic!

Urban slave

Women are very strange breed of animal, they habitually auto switch off their problem solving skills after married! @#$%&. I look into my mirror, urban slave that's what I'm.

Mental torture.

Tear used to be women most powerful weapon. No more, dude! Ever since the Equal Rights awareness, nagging reigns No. 1 artillery. Dare to try? Go tell her that you are not coming to in laws this new year. You can be sure of many nights of mental torture til her wishes are granted.

In this regard, I have high respect for KF for the man whose NO means no.

2012 is the end of time in Mayan calendar

Bidding goodbye to 2011, I must say that 2011 is blessed year for me. So, what has 2012 got installed for me? Will the Mayan prediction realize? Will we encounter the beginning of a new order? This question is too big for me to answer, so big that Da Vinci has hidden his answers in Monalisa's wicked smile. My stand is enjoy with what you have and leave everything to God Almighty.

My 2012 audio pilgrimage is to learn from others. Continue building on the existing system, taking small steps to "micro-voice" my system. What have in store for 2012, a multibit DAC, hifi fuse, jitter correction device, LMos 150 minor upgrade, things to make me occupied. And also, reading "Hifi Unlimited" and day dream that one day will own those SOTA gears. Will I venture into CAS this year? I doubt so, I predict that CAS will gain a lot of ground with a vast number of companies drawing their resources to outgun their competitors. Out my MSB Link III goes, CG can't wait to get hold of it.

Link III's product longevity says a lot. Despite a decade old MSB Link III and the advancement of digital technologies, it is still sold today by Sound4sale. Link III is a good design. A good design is the mother of all. Bad design is you right the wrong. This complicates things and reliability. Talking about future proof, Sound4sale offers many upgrades to optimise its performance.

卜街, planking

I'm keeping my finger crossed for my new DAC because I do not know how my new DAC will stack up to the old one. Alright, alright, alright! I heard you, KF. I was earlier sold on single box idea, the shorter signal path and omitting the need of external DAC. KF has not stopped emphasizing the significance of DAC to sound quality. DAC is a vital component in an audio system. It improves on tonality, micro details, PRaT, micro and macro dynamic.

Food for thought?

It comes to my conscience that some audiophiles champion audio technical excellence and neglect the musical value. Music is predominantly a tool to perform check and balance. These guys buy only audiophile approved cds and HP lists. Pretty soon, they get tired and bore. Exiting hifi is a matter of time. What's a pity!

We must be music first, hifi next. No music, soul-less audiophiles.

菜鳥 explains tonality vs timbre

音響第一要：音質

音質是指聲音的品質，許多人都把它與「音色」混淆了。什麼叫作聲音的品質？當您在說一雙鞋子品質好的時候。您指的一定是合腳、舒服、耐穿，而不是指它的造形好不好看、時不時髦。同樣的，當您在說一件音響器材音質好、壞的時候，您也不是在說它的層次如何、定位如可，而是專指這件器材「耐不耐聽」！就好像耐不耐穿、合不合腳一樣。一件音質很好的器材，它表現在外的就是舒服、耐聽。您不必去探討它聽起來舒服、耐聽的原因，那是專家們的事，您只要用您的耳朵去判斷就行。有些器材生猛有力、速度奇快、解析力也強，但是不耐久聽，那可能就是音質的問題。一件好的音響器材，其音質就應該像一副好嗓子，讓人百聽不膩。

或許我這麼說您還是認為很抽象。其實不然，我可以再舉實列來說明。當您提到布料時，您會說：這塊料子的質很好。當您在吃牛排時，您會說：這塊牛排的肉質很好。當您在稱讚一個小孩時，會說：這個孩子的資質很好。所以，當您在聽一件音響器材或一件樂器時，您也會說：它的音質很美。從以上這些例子，您可以很清楚的知道「質」就是與生俱來的天性。音質高貴、很好、很美就代表著這件器材的本性很好，它讓人聽起來很舒服。我可以說音質是音響器材中最重要的一環，所以我將它擺在第一要。

音響第二要：音色

音色是指聲音的顏色。在英文裡，音質(TONE QUALITY)與音色(TIMBRE或TONE COLOR)一看便知其所指不是同一件事。但是在中文裡，音質與音色經常被混用、誤用。我們時常會聽到：這把小提琴音色真冷、這把小提琴音色真暖等的說法，這就是指小提琴的音色而言。聲音就像光線一樣，是有顏色的，不過它並不是用眼睛看到的，而是以耳朵聽到的。通常，音色愈暖聲音愈軟；音色愈冷聲音愈硬。太軟或太硬當然都不是很好。有時，音色也可以用「高貴」、「美」等字眼來形容，基本上它也是天性之一。不過，就像布料一般，布質是指它的材料，布色卻是指它的顏色，這其間還是有明顯的界線。在音響器材評論裡，音色就如同顏色一般，是指它特有的顏色。有些器材的音色偏黃、有些偏白、有些偏冷、甚至您可說它是帶點憂懋的藍。總之，音響器材就如樂器一般，幾乎脫離不了愈貴音色愈美的事實。一把二百萬美金的小提琴其音色可能美得有著金黃色的光澤；而一把五千台幣的小提琴其音色有可能像褪了色的畫。雖然每個人觀點各異，但是，「美」仍然有著一個大家承認的「共識」，您不能說一個朝天鼻者是「美的化身」；同樣的您不能說一件冷藍音色的器材是美。這就是我們對音色之美的共識。

转载自音响论坛刘汉盛先生的音响二十要
Tonality 音質 is description of timbre. Reviewers use adjectives to describe the tonality such as sweet, smooth, hoarse, coarse, nasal, bloated and the list goes on and on.

Timbre 音色 or 音準 is the color palette of musical instruments. Strings sounds like string, woodwind sounds like woodwind and brass sounds like brass and so on and so forth. Timbre is either accurate or inaccurate. There is no in between. No grey area.

Give me a L, and it spells loser.......

I was once had a pseudo hi ender ( I checked that his system to cost that much) scorn my blog in my face. He did not know my identity, of course. I bite the bullet and keep mum. You see, he has a right to belittle me simply based on his wealth. That alone gives you the right!

Old chinese saying "穷不富斗，富不与官争”, simply means the rich will not contend with the authority and the poor will not fight with the rich. No chance of getting on top. A great wisdom from the thousands of years old chinese civilization.

unless your house sits over a gold mine

Real hi enders does not want to talk hifi. Ain't worth their time. They are very unlikely work for others. Their net worth should be at least 20? 30? 40? 50? 100? times of the value of their system, I don't know. Tell me, wouldn't you beg to be different if you have this astronomical wealth. The name of the game is exclusivity, a quality best manifest themselves.

I was once clueless as why people stay in low cost apartment but drive a premium car?

Not BMX bicycle.

Now I get it. Products need "packaging" to sell. The Japs are the champ in this. Rich guys accessorise with car, watches and pen. House, who care where you stay.

Many of us will never own that kind of wealth in our life time unless your house sits over a gold mine or oil well or you have some super natural talents otherwise I'm sorry, average Joe at best. How far could your hifi go?

So pseudo hi enders, the next time you despise, please ensure you have millions in your account.

Passive attenuator, anyone? Part 1

2011-11-06T22:52:00.000+08:00

My cough had kept me MIA for 3 weeks. Doc's prescription did not do me any good but got me drowsy than before. The cough got worse in the night, Fisherman's friend ad other cough sweet could only do so little. I resorted to alternative medicine, ginger tea. I'm "on heat" after consuming ginger tea. It helps to reduce coughing. The phlegm had resulted minor hearing block and therefore I ceased listening as long as the blockage persists.

I never had good things to say about passive pre until Autoformer. And when I take delivery of LMos 150, I tried Autoformer and JFet pre on. You never know until you try. A log 100k Alps potentiometer passive pre beats them all. I was shock, needless to say. Of course, it was not a stock potentiometer. There was a little trick to it and this trick called "shot to the ground", it sets the world apart between the stock and moded potentiometer in performance. There was unmistakably a synergy on Alps and LMos 150, agreed unanimously by the few present at the site.

Autoformer and JFet were fell short in the dynamic and attack department....

As much as I hate to admit this, Autoformer and JFet were fine with the most genre of music, they fell short of the dynamic and attack delivering the Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances - No. 1 Non Allegro from the excellent the K2 HD Sound. Given Autoformer and JFet in any system, they are pretty good to my ear. While the Alps attenuator still have fuel in its tank to do the extra miles, Autoformer and JFet struggle to keep up the pace. This has resulted the "disrupted" dynamic and attack and the structure of composition was impaired, CG pointed out. I would not have realized this if I have not experienced myself with my untrained ears. A great lesson learned, thank you.

No way I'm returning your Alps attenuator...

I was happy to know that the Alps attenuator is the missing puzzle of my system. Thick face me, "Nope, you can't have your Alps attenuator back!" I hijacked the Alps attenuator with force.

happy for three months

The Alps attenuator kept me happy for 3 months. If I am allowed three words to describe the Alps, tonal rightness, details and dynamic, without hesitation. One word sums it up - full of life.

Neither the Alps add nor subtract the subtlety of music signal. Pure as the driven snow. Hard to explain this phenomenon unless you had been there.

Active pre has a pair of naughty hands....

Alps attenuator is a good training ground for me. It reveals that active pre has a pair of naughty hands tailoring its presentation. Many called it signature, I prefer to call it a painted sonic fabric. Alps attenuator has the tonal rightness with little sonic editorial. Everything sounded as the way it supposed to be. Lush when the lushful vocal called for, dry when the husky vocal called for. Faithful to the source, a.

No mosquito head net......

As if the Alps attenuator as a new and unused filter, details permeate through the pleats effortlessly. I constantly hear clearer things that were difficult noice before. Things at the rare soundstage have become more apparent. Dirty filter is a total crab, you dumb them. I still remember my first encounter with flea power/high efficiency speaker and Audio Note/Avantgarde. Nothing stands in between your system and you in a room. The sound comes right at you. No veil, no mosquito net, no ambiguity. Alps attenuator was so detailed that it allowed me to hear the splicing of tape editing. Scary! As such, I'm happy to self educated "SKL" to this level of audio revelation. Nothing escape from Alps.

The Alps attenuator's dynamic is first rate, bettered Autoformer and Jfet. You have none of the "old man paddles a trishaw" 老汉推车 scenario. The Alps attenuator does the dynamic in 一气苛成 fashion. I know, I know this truth is hard to swallow. Truth is CG wanted the Alps attenuator home too! This is the best unspoken testimonial.

I was enjoying the Alps attenuator for a good three months and ran them through with all genre of music mercilessly. I grilled the Alps, it never fail to deliver in any of those gruelling hours. I also knew the rightful owner will one day claim the Alps back. Passive is the way to go for me. Hence, I wasted no time studying my passive pre option. Bingo! I bounced in to LDR attenuator. LDR stands for light dependent resistor which simply telling no direct contact. No direct contact means the signal loss to a minimum. Ain't that sound perfect?

So, my route of passive attenuator can't be wrong. Further search on the cyberspace reveals that LDR is pretty favorably discussed in the diyaudio. My search constantly leads me to Lightspeed attenuator. Then came along, Uriah Dailey, Lighter Note, with a better PSU implementation than Lightspeed.

two months to reach Malaysian soil

Total construction cost wise is bearable, sub 300USD. So, I decided to take the plunge. Uriah must had been struggle with the high order, my neck must have grown an inch waiting two months for the parts to reach my door step.

Smack a remote control to Lighter Note

Being a lazy bum, smack a remote control to Lighter Note is conveniently desirable. A balance control would a nice too, it will become handy during speaker placement.

It takes a week or so and whao la! Lighter Note works like a breeze. The downside is I can not totally mute Lighter Note and the remote control does not give a precise incremental or detrimental volume like step attenuator. Sigh! It is a small cost though. My Lighter Note comes in 3 input selectors. All Lighter Note operational control is at the tip of my finger except the tonal balance. The life span of LED sensor is 50,000 hours which will last me quite some time. Anxiety had got the better of me, I can't wait to plug the Lighter Note in to see if it worth its salt. Drum roll please, I present you Lighter Note vs Alps attenuator.

Stay tuned.

Audio F factor

2011-10-09T22:29:00.000+08:00

Uuuuu! That feel good.

Audio community never short of stories. Some are hilarious and some are nasty. Friends turn enemies. Worst lots are those tell different stories behind people's back. That's not cool.

After all, hifi is a ring of love, hate, jealousy and deceit.

This is a real story. A guest cranked the volume all the way up to determine the speaker breakup while the host excused himself. WHAT WAS HE THINKING? Show a little respect, will ya?

No touching, no speaker knocking. Refrain from touching the host's audio rigs unless is permissible. The amount of time the host spent to arrive to the current is a labour of love.

Non constructive criticism is not welcomed here

Sharing is a way of learning. By sharing, you gain the respect from the people you share with. Some reluctant to share for some unknown reasons, I can't blame them too. You do no get freebies all the time.

A little useful advice, do not argue with egotist. Stop wasting your breath. They had became cultist. Your sayings have no chance of reaching them.

Some can not accept criticism. They will always remember your careless words. Pity in nature, they are hard to forgive and forget. They will hit back at you on the first opportunity.

Audio ciku loves to trounce under performing Hi End systems

Audio ciku loves to trounce under performing Hi End sytems, they suffer "sour grape syndrome". They go home feeling good for their well spent audio rigs. I often hear this from audio dealers, audio wannabe, some half baked sifus and DIY constructors.

Audio visiting is common. Beware of snatch theft. It will strucks you that your prized cds or tweak gone missing. Some have strange habits of giving ill advice.

Wolf in sheep skin

The most evil lots are those who sell friend, who deceit you selling off your "not so good sounding" gear. He then makes a cut selling them off to ready buyers. Stay as far as you can with these lots.

Audio buddies can sometimes becoming too enthused, enticing buying. "You can sell it to me if you do not like it." The X factor of new audio gear quickly becomes the F factor when the newly bought gear did not perform desireably. No eye see. Ain't that common? "Righ....t, sell it to you at discounted price, smart ass."

Like what you see?

People have freedom of speech, lets alone bad reviews. How hard can you take those heated arguments? You could almost see it coming. First, check where the guy coming from. His comments are largely based on his preferences. And nobody listens the same. That's why we have professional listeners. People can now fool a lie detector. The "magazine" pseudo sifu can really shit on you. Before trusting them, go peek at their systems.

Inviting hi end friends to your humble system, don't bother! "O! What's a drag". So imagine Man U plays against our national team. They are playing against a bunch of school boys.

Another dude in Amsterdam red light district

So when a vocal man comments on vocal, you better listen. Ignore the rest. When a big scale man comments on dynamic and bass slam, you better listen. Otherwise, welcome to 荷兰 (doom) the next thing you know.

Lastly, I dedicate this video clip to KF.

and 300战士之Hokkien version to those who speaks hokkien. This is damn hilarious and keep your laughter low.

Dac assault

2011-09-25T22:55:00.000+08:00

I'm a firm believer of "source first, others later". Signal lost at the source can never be recovered in the audio chains, not your super interconnect, super power cord, your super amp nor your mega bucks speaker could recover what is lost. Actually, the whole audio chain is crucial in preserving the "wholeness" of electro-signal.

Marantz CD94 LE in champagne and wood trimmed

My source is the weakest link in my audio rigs. My resident disc spinner is the venerable Marantz CD94 LE. Armed with CDM1, CD94 LE housed the best Philips cd mechanism to date.

CDM1 : The famous swing arm pick up len

The pick up len is of blue glass and in a cast iron body. The cast iron holds the mechanism steady and less error prone when reading the disc. Subject to the forces of economy, Philips discontinued CDM1 and replaced with cheaper alternatives thereafter. CDM1 looks sturdy, built to last? Not really, I do see some faulty CDM1s. So precious, I keep one as spare.

Chips at work are a pair TDA1541 S1, second to TDA1541 S2. Undeniably a TDA1541A variant, they do resemble a family sound. The highly acclaimed TDA1541 S1 and CDM1 are where Marantz CD94 LE price is. I had it converted to NOS. Sounds better that way.

Marantz CD94 LE is a musical cd player, fell short to the softening at both extreme frequencies and notably hazy presentation. Haziness works well for the vocal, rendering a welcomed blooming to it. Dynamics and attack took a back seat. It is a non offensive performer. Even the timing is a little off.

So, I had been quietly looking out for a dac in hope to ameliorate the upstream shortcomings. It was my first foray into the mystical world of dac.

Dacs have had their heyday in the 90s with household names like Theta, PS Audio, Krell and Mark Levinson. Single box players were then reclaimed supremacy to the separate transport and dac. We were sold on the "superior delta sigma architecture" 24 bit chip, shorter signal path and single box construction. Single box performance is equal to separate transport and dac eventually end the product life of both separate transport and dac. However, the early batch of 24 bit machines sounded too lean and sterile. I remember those dacs have had some fi to soul search. Dacs were then given a second life thanks to computer audio, iTunes particularly. iTunes revolutionized the music industry, more and more people download music from net, cd sales begin to decline and the vinyl revive. And vinyl ascends to audio's highest echelon. You know, you get the feeling that the vinyl guys are speaking from a level above.

The new breed of dacs are USB enabled and with many connectivity options, ushering a new group of audio enthusiasts.

And vinyl ascends to audio's highest echelon.

No matter how great your cd based system sounds, if the music ain't from the vinyl, it will only receive a cold reception at the most. Not cool. I tell you this is damn intimidating. That's the vinyl guy's attitude.

Think again before jumping into vinyl bandwagon especially if you have not already got a good vinyl collection, you will be toasted. That is of course, money is a not BIG concern. You could buy your way out. Poor man like me better stick with the easily available and cheap medium. Vinyl ain't cheap no more..... well, it will be a different story altogether if you live in the States or EU where vinyls are aplenty.

MSB Link III 大件夾底吃, 米執輸!

Then, MSB Link III Half Nelson showed up, I was attracted by MSB digital analog conversion and power supply in 2 box configuration. Separate power supply would do a lot good to the sound. Like Mat Rempit, my popped eyes perceive value. Dr Kalman Rubinson and Sam Tellig's glowing reviews on MSB Link III sweeten the deal.

Have heard of Bu Tai Chi? A friend got irritated that he was asked as if he was challenged.

MSB Link III Half Nelson with P1000 weighs a good heft at 20kgs. That's a lot of weight. The chassis takes up most of the weight. Digital analog conversion is handed to PCM1716, CMOS delta sigma D/A chip. A cheap chip, not exactly the best chip from Burr Brown. John Stronczer of Bel Canto Design and Kevin Halverson of Muse had already said that the true magic lies really in the combination of choices a good digital designer makes about the digital filter, the analog reconstruction filter, the power supply and DSP chips. Soundstage review I shall not dig into technical further or else I'll be

putting a bullet in my head

Under the Link III hood, there is a single PCB one third of the chassis size. Are you kidding me? A sandwich with nothing in it. There is not a lot of premium parts on it, my heart dropped. There is an option for normal/inverted phase and normal/reduced filter. I have had my power cord polarity check and set accordingly. Incorrect polarity will result a narrow soundstage and puncture bass. I played around the filter settings. Normal filter sounds butter-like smoothness, reduced filter sounds like you just hop in a 4WD for a rough ride. You get a lot of feedback. I had spent a considerable amount of time listening to both filter settings and preferred the reduced filter for the extra immediacy and attack. Does it sound lean? Yes, they do only it did not have enough warm up time. Ball park figure is at least 4 hours. 8 hours will be a cracker. The manual suggests not to turn Link III off.

Not forgiving to harsh recordings though, it will show "in your face" sibilance if any. Link III did a commendable job removing the smearing of musical note, be it vocal, strings and bass. Oozing with bagful of details, more adrenalin and more foot tapping, Link III is here to rock. The rest of listening experience is in reduced filter mode, the way I like it.

Link III is definitely not for the novice.

A great album from Eugene Ruffolo

Both acoustic guitars from "Love can be that way" are as crisp, the guitar arrangements create depth. Eugene struck me with a five foot image height, lightly husky vocal with a story telling delivery. I'm not sure if this is a trademark of Stockfish recording, this album fills air in my room. This recording was recorded in a lively ambiance. The images were quite forward, just slightly behind the speakers.

Stockfish is an assurance of audiophile grade recording, Opus 3 is at the same league too. "Spirit and Blues" struck me more as a folk blues than anything else. Eric's vocal is not as throaty and weighty, his delivery is not the bluest. It has a darker background. I found that Opus 3 is natural, warm and slightly opaque.

What are we gonna do with this bucket of tear?

Eric does not "kao be kao bu" like the Taiwanese soap drama would. "這個媳婦真該死!". No bucket of tear here. The guitar is not as crisp as Stockfish, not as airy too but the spirit of guitar is well preserved. No odd coloration is detected, tell me if you do. I use these recordings to "accurately" assess the digital playback.

Dire Straits self titled album is awesome

Dire Straits self tilted album hits a high playing time in my system.

Water of love. There you are.

And Mark Knopfler sings...

High and dry in the long hot day
Lost and lonely every way
Got the flats all around me, sky up above eyes
I need a little water of love

The kick drum in "Water of Love" is powerful and well defined. The soundstage is enormous. Man! You got to love this.

"Six Blade Knife"'s drum beat is a good track to gauge timing and subwoofer tuning. Tight and consistent.

Cranberries : No need to argue 1995

"Ode to my family" is a great song. I was captivated by "du tu roo do... du tu roo do.... du tu roo do". It has a magical spell to pull you in and float you with it. The next thing you know, the song ends. Not exactly a great recording but nevertheless sounds open and airy.

Rapping ain't easy

It is hard to comprehend what the rappers sing, probably chorus that is if I got lucky. It is the rapper's attitude. Could you imagine rapping in foreign languages, Indian and Chinese? I'm sorry dudes, it will be so weird! Somethings are not meant to cut and paste.

CD94 LE seems to round everything up, the highs are gentler, brass sounds less brassy, bass is less defined and everything about it is soothing. Link III is a different animal; capable of depicting stuff at the rear of the soundstage. I believe it is P1000 quietly doing its thing. Everything has got to do with power.

Link III requires a long warm up time to sound good. When it does receive its time, leanness no more. And as where I'm now, Link III is streets aptly to sound more real, bursting with more information, better dynamic and attack. Pitching and timing are noticeably more accurate, plucking of guitar accorded with bite and drum strokes are more timely. Timing is very important in music.

CD94 LE could turn the table around with a better clock, op amps and power supply, I do not know.

Digital cable and power cord play a particularly important role in voicing with the dac ... til then, I have to get back to enjoy my humble poor man system.

Bass tide

2011-09-11T08:30:00.000+08:00

Practical will always remains practical unless it is proven in the field.

Often, an idea brew in our thought. We put them to test. We turn theory to practical. If the theory is not good enough, it stays as theory. This is the process of learning. The process of trial and error. That's why ground breaking technologies should not come cheap. That's why timepieces, automotive, hi end hi fi etc never come cheap unlike some mass produced audio products resort to commodity pricing? Needless to mentioned the brands.....

Who do you think is the better learner, a genius grew in 3rd world country or an average learner in a developed country? The world is never an even playing field.

O come on, this is so bloody unfair, man.....

The story goes back to 5 years ago. I argued with an old (well into 60s) man whom was about to send his son for overseas study. The question was who will have a better prospect, an average student whom went abroad for education or the local graduated bright student? They say the grass is always greener on the other side. The one studied abroad would have landed a better job and work in a more conducive working environment. Undeniably, education is still the best tool to curbs poverty, business is still the best profession to financial freedom and hifi is a life long hobby if you are a music lover.

My 2.1 system as if had undergone a vasectomy.

I am a bass lover, grandiose staging more precisely, jive me. The extended bass response sounds inexpressibly right. I never got enough of them from my 2.1 system, not even the nice Rel Strata I (that I had disposed) at work. It was as if had undergone a vasectomy without the sub, eunuchs would have love to keep inflatable dolls.

Come on come, how many of you have inflatable dolls?

Mini monitors has no chance of touching big speakers, period with an assumption of 1:3 price ratio. A 200 quid monitor (Mordaunt Short Aviano 1) against 600 quid floorstander (Mordaunt Short Aviano 6). The diminishing value for monitor kicks in after 450 quid mark (Mordaunt Short Mezzo 2). The additional 250 quid brought forth refinement. This fact is based only on speaker performance, and speaker performance alone.

Quantity bass is not expensive, price/Hz ratio but clean visceral bass is. A quality sub handles 20Hz to 80Hz would sets you back 800 quid the least, and above while you could get a pretty decent pair of 50Hz to 20kHz speakers for 450 quid.

Audioing - Bass tide

I'm currently sit between rising tide and high tide, my system came up a little short on the lowest C on a standard 88 key piano. Audio frequency for reference. 34Hz to 20kHz ±0.75dB is what the speaker spec indicated. I wish to achieve down to 25Hz. It will be awesome.

100W powered active Rel Storm I

This Rel Storm is heavy, what do they stuff inside? Anyway, sub integration requires a pace synchronization and seamless output of the main speakers and the sub for smooth integration. Placement of sub determines the character of bass. It is a constant debate on pitching and rumbling. ~~I leave this to uncle Vic, sub is his forte~~. Uncle Vic is no more with us now, may he rest in peace. Nevertheless, you require a good cd track for monitoring.

My favourite bass tuning track is Ricky Van Shelton's "I'll leave this world loving you" from the album tilted "Loving Proof" released in 1988. The constant bass beat makes tuning a whole lot easier. Another reason is that I had listened to this track on a respected system and the audio memory is still very much vivid.

An audio slapstick

Integrating sub is a back breaking exercise, they are heavy to be moved around. My first shot at the sub integration ended at almost 12am. It was much like an AV system playing the Three Kingdoms. The bass shook the room. Damn satisfying! The border separate audio and home theatre is getting veiled. It is alright as long as the sub bass does not overpowering to the extent that make you spew. Otherwise, it will be an audio slapstick. I especially love the enveloping effect of the sound. Of course, I'm not suggesting my bass any where near Wilson Sasha driven by Pass lab during KLIAVS. Those literally shook my shook my panties off.

A city of sadness

"A city of sadness" 悲城情市 soundtrack proves itself to be the ultimate bass test, bordering to spewing (for the fainted-hearted). The bass from Mars with different mode of intermittent bass is system killer. The bass ascends to the ceiling and rumbles to the subterranean. The enveloping effect is awesome. I did not hear the much talked about magnitude of low bass in my earlier system and no clue what the fuss with this soundtrack then.

Roller coaster bass ride, anyone? 真过隐! 冇拉尿?

This soundtrack nevertheless provides some useful bass audit to sound system. The bass teases you in the first 25 seconds with natural decay swaying in the right. The bass then took a roller coaster ride. Please do not pee in your seat, use rubber band instead.

OK, the sub settled in behind my seat and that was the only place I have for the sub. My floor is carpeted. Hooked them up, tapping the signals from the power amp and start listening. I noticed the mids and frequencies above are "freed". This is an effect of cancellation. The mids and highs has now enjoyed a new found refinement and clarity, the stage is now set 10' further back. I spiked the sub up. Remove all carton boxes on the floor. The muffles has cleared up somewhat, the bass lines were better defined, better snap and crispier.

I started out crossing the sub at 80Hz, 68Hz and I lost track. My hearing took over. The ideal situation is that the sub's bass sneak up on you when called for. Anyhow, I use these tracks for audio check. The recording quality of these tracks are astonishing but ultimately boring. There is not a whole lot of audiophile recordings in my cd collections.

I was pleased with the results until I play the audiophile approved Rebacca Pidgeon's The Raven.

Spanish Harlem in The Raven should not be unfamiliar to most audiophiles. The double bass was tight and it showed the flaw in my system. The rattling reappeared as if the speaker ring had detached from the cone. Oh my God! After thorough inspection, the rattling came from the Rel Storm. I crossed the frequency way to low to somewhere in 30-40s and turned the gain way to much to 11 o'clock. The master shed some light that the built in amp was short in current delivery and bottom out. Huh! Rel was struggling and distorting. Tell me about it. Back to bass reconfiguration.

I continued to run into some cds that had Rel shouting to me "Hey!!! You drive me crazy". Sigh! Lesson learned : get a potent high powered quality sub.

I must therefore come clean, once you're smitten by sub, you will likely stuck to it. Sub is a religion. Adding sub presents a different perspective to the presentation. It removes the veil of the highs and mids. It somewhat imparts the un-hurriedness and a more relax feel to the presentation, a more lubricated presentation and does the music good. Trust me.

Raising the bar

2011-08-30T00:36:00.000+08:00

Audio is a hobby of no return, a journey that knows no end. The road ahead is slippery. Greed is human nature. Greed is a sin and greed brings condemnation. The line bordering greed is thin and grey.

Poorman's Audio philosophy is to achieve 70% of hi end sound with 30% of cost and 10% bull shit.

Your system is as good as your source. The signal loss at the source could never be recovered. Give some thoughts to this.

On the coming Hari Raya Puasa, I had confirmed the addition of a ten years old MSB Link III/P1000 to my audio rig. Excited? You bet. Why on earth make me purchase them? My tired Marantz CD94 is musical but looked pale on timing and bass. You know, Philips and Marantz's signature of inoffensive presentation erring to blur edging. They work particularly well on vocal though. I'll see if I could utilize my Marantz for vocal and the rest for MSB Link III/P1000.

MSB Link III/P1000? Am I not aware of the ten years progressive improvement in the digital processors? The modern chips, ESS Sabre and AKM run at 32 bits and greater dynamic range, presumably a better sonic performance. Frankly, I do not have a clue.

Chest thumping bass of NFB2

I had listened to Audio gd NFB2, 24 bit dac that runs on WM8741. Wolfson has built a reputation of producing the most authoritative bass. The listening was too brief for me to write my impression. KF confirmed the NFB2 grunt is very enjoyable. However, NFB2 does not sound anything like the early crops of 24 bits machines. Those machines are excellent in micro and marco dynamic minus the musicality. They throw a beg of details but soon lead to listening fatigue for they sounded etched, dry, less blooming, sterile and cold. Blame the jitter, blame the jitter.

O yes, the recent revival of dac has a lot to do with the booming of music downloading. A good sounding dac has everything to do with implementation, implementation and implementation alone given an equivalent decoder chip. The right use of parts and topology is the measure of a designer competency. The right accuracy and musicality balance must be intact.

MSB Link III/P1000

I have no idea how MSB sound as they were strongly recommended. I took the dive and ran a quick check on Stereophile review later. The good review gave a sense of relief. But, how do they fair against the current models? An Audiogon forumer claimed that MSB Link III/P1000 gives the raved Bryston BDP 1 a run for money, and nodded Bryston BDP 1 a narrow edge. MSB Link III/P1000 had fought well.

Anyway, I got my MSB Link III/P1000 for one eighth of the price of Bryston. Well, MSB Link III/P1000 could afford only 24 bit/96kHz while Bryston BDP1 24 bit/192kHz and with better connectivity. In a nutshell, Bryston BDP1 is hi rez file enable.

To bring out the best out in MSB Link III/P1000, I need to add a jitter reduction device in the link. Here's my option, Audio Alchemy DTI Pro 32, Monarchy DIP 24/96, Theta TLC, Genesis Digital Lens, Sonic Frontiers Ultra Jitterbug. Modern machines incorporated a high performance jitter reduction and more accurate master clock. So, the above mentioned are past glory with Monarchy DIP being the cheapest option.

Monarchy DIP

I had auditioned the excellent Monarchy DIP connected between Philips 880 and Meridian 203 DAC via a single digital cable. The improvements were day and night. The soundstage notably got wider and deeper. There was a bloom to the images rendering a more holographic presentation. Boy! I was not ready for the level of revelation from this inconspicuous device. This must be joke! Nope, I'm serious...... I got stuck.

Impulsive buying is a no no. It is a deep regret if my front end is not keeping up with the rest of the rig. Would you use retreaded tyres in your sport car? I guess not. This is my first sniff at dac with limited resources.

A cramped train, somebody will make somebody really happy. Ask those who commute our LRT during peak hours.

There is a term I learned a couple of months ago. 房間裝不完 simply translated to "Information Explosion", occurs when the listening room could no longer accommodate the abundance of information. The soundstage collapses with cramped images and booming. You just got to experience this to understand my limited vocabulary could describe.

I hope I will not bump in to this. We'll see.

In remembrance of uncle Vic

2011-08-27T21:38:00.001+08:00

I am truly saddened today receiving messages that my dear friend, H1F1 pandemic blogger and KLANS moderator, uncle Victor had been called home on 27th August morning.

I have known Uncle Victor for 4-5 years through KLANS forum. He cordially invited me to audition his multi sub system shortly after a few messages. He was a soft, warm, kind and helpful person. He was probably the only audiophile in Malaysia championing Fletcher-Munson's "Equal Loudness Contours". His passion for audio was always high. Although we have had different opinions on sound, his enthusiasm always leaves me in awe. I respect him as a person readily to help and he asks nothing in return.

His passing will not only leave a void in our local audio community, but in the hearts of everyone who knew him.

With deepest sympathy to uncle Victor family.

Clear skies

2011-08-14T23:14:00.074+08:00

Many could not wait for the KLIAV show. Excitements and expectations were running high. What a stir! Feeling a little empty inside, huh? The naughty little fella in you, always inciting your buddies to upgrade audio system. This is something I do not and will not understand, we get excited when friends upgrade. We are as kebo (busy body in local lingo) as women. We are the real audio pimp! We do not mind accompanying our friends for audio shopping. I do not remember seeing fi shopping audio gears alone. The truth is the one the fi bring along is the deal maker and deal breaker! What we say weights a tonne. Time to see a psychiatrist.

It was nice to see what is the latest audio buzz. The ticket is cheap enough to see and listen to megabucks systems under one roof. Poor exhibitors had to work their ass off through the weekend. It would be so tiring!

Sonic preference

What is your sonic preference, you must ask yourself? Romanticized sound no more, I am now camping in neutrality school of sound. Plain like distilled water, I know it will not be everyone cup of tea and I certainly do not expect others to like it either. One thing for certain, we do not have be apologetic for our sound preference. All is fine and well if your sonic preference is not way out from the tolerance.

Pear shaaped audio

Art is often appreciated for one or two "traits". The eyes and smile of the famous Monalisa by the multi talented Leonardo Da Vinci drives the collectors crazy. Other masterpieces, a stroke of painting or unassuming objects are dearly valued and appreciated by many collectors.

Photography is another good example. Catching the precious moments, emotions or lighting often get their works appreciated. Canon guys and Nikon guys do not see eye to eye.

Music is not exceptional. Faye Wong with her Bjork style singing hits big in Asia. The murmuring Jay Chou is equally successful. Well, Jay Chou is a great song writer too. A recording artist must possess a distinctive style of singing to stay in business. "Me too" artists will be squashed by the competition up in no time. No staying power.

Audio is full of surprises. These surprises await to be uncovered. It is like hide and seek, you will never find it if you do not look out for it. And there are no hard and fast rules in audio. Same system in the same room could sound different in the hands of the different fi. That's what makes things interesting. Audiophiles at large prefer their systems to be different from others, calls it "personalisation".

I have discovered one most overlooked phenomenon, the audio rack. My floor is fully carpeted. My racks are of el cheapo, three pillars equilateral triangle with 3/4" thin MDF board. My front wall is bare. The sound is notably smoother with the bare rack in place. No matter how I try, I just could not obtain the right mids harmonic texture without the rack. The rack stays..... The racks were aligned symmetrically to avoid surprises.

CG teased me that I should have get some better racks. These el cheapo racks serve me just fine.

I guess many may have already learned that any racks above two tier at the front wall will have an adverse effect on imaging. The images will be a slapstick.

Sticking an anti slip right at the center of the bare front wall is equally magical in effect.

I must had hit the nail on the head this time, I think. One could not afford to make bold statements these days (with no margins of error) unless one prepares to bite the bullet one day.

I have not been toying with speaker placement since the last 10 days. I knew there is something bothering me. My system fell short of the absolute pinpoint imaging that I knew the speakers readily to offer. You could not rush tuning. And so, I came back in with a fresher mind after a good nap on one Saturday noon. I played the same vocal albums again and again, a peculiar way of tuning, huh! It could be a two or three hours of repetitive playing of the same album per tuning while I surf the net simultaneously. This eliminates the cognition out of the tuning. I would stop surfing in random intervals and listen. I cease tuning should the musical rightness is achieved and come back tomorrow to reconfirm. The process repeat until I'm satisfied. I could sometimes be very nitpicked.

Toeing the right speaker 1-2 mm outward. Wholla! A window of transparency had been opened. Muddiness had vanished into thin air. Everybody became liang zai (beautiful as loosely translated). Things have got clearer now. Sheepish images no more. Images were better delineated. Spatial separation had become greater. More air around the images. It was real heartening. This called for celebration. Isn't this common goal for all fi? 45th days from the day the system is set up. Not too bad, a?

Apa lagi? Syok sendiri lah!

My next project is to increase my bass response. My system does not lack of bass. A sub changes the presentation. Anyway, I have got a Rel Storm at my disposal. Boy! I love bass but not those rock concert type of bass. Now, all I need is a pair of cable to run from an amp to a sub to blog.

Lastly, it has been said that the stereo performance is consistent with the treated electricity. No audible difference during day and night listening. In my humble opinion, residing near to industrial park is definitely not an ideal place to audioing.

Houston, I have a problem!

2011-07-31T23:04:00.888+08:00

Just when I thought I see the light at the end of the tunnel, I heard rattling coming from my ceiling when playing the cello (This is K2 HD sound!) at 90db (guesstimate, do not hold me for ransom).

The lowest note of cello wanders around 65Hz, refers Audio Frequency. This instrument is again posing a problem to my system. The 60-80Hz ±1.0dB at 90-100db excites my room at least that what my speakers are telling me.

It was hard to identify the ignoring rattling without some helps. It came from my back at times, it came from the speakers at times, it came from the walls at times. It was a nightmare. Would I have to resort to softer volume playback?

I took a deep breath and tried to sort things out. I tighten all interconnects up and speaker drivers (they were loose alright courtesy to my abuse). I then removed all objects with a tendency to rattle. After all these measures had been taken care of, I was still clueless about where the rattling come from. They did not go away. So frustrated, I shut down the system and called it a night.

I called for help the next morning. KF cheekily "You try this then try that.... No improvement? He he! I can't help youuuuu...." Celaka betul! People need recognition sometimes. He may sound innocent, the cunning laughter with a teasing tone telling otherwise. My biggest worry was that the crossovers inside the speakers have got loosened and rattled. I could possibly blow the speakers, that's I had been warned!

The Master came over to take a look. He listened sitting beside the speakers. The rattling reoccurred and it was not coming from the speakers, whew.... thank God. He suspects my ceiling was the culprit. I handed my old racquet to the Master, he used my racquet to reach for the ceiling. Holy cow! The ceiling was dancing to the tune.

You know, the doctors always run thousands of tests to diagnose the patients and the best part is you get to pay for all of them. The worst scenario is they could not identify what is wrong with you. More tests you go. No wonder medication cost rocketed. Some guys work their asses off their whole life and neglected their health, end up spending their accumulated wealth all up for medical in a short span of time. 陰功囉! Capitalism is merciless. I see elderly Singaporeans well in their 60s still work in the restaurants, security office and so on.

Side track a bit, knowing the problem warms my heart. I couldn't get right to it the next day due to a business trip. They have got to wait.

Cruising my old car along the PLUS expressway, bloody hell! The guy starts snoring in my car at 8am. Snoring and yawning are contagious. They make you snore and yawn as well. Our brains have a funny way of picking up signals. All done with business, we headed down south to Singapore. Sim Lim Tower was our first stop. Unfortunately, no treasures left to be found, we left with empty handed. Next stop was The Adelphi, window shopping. It was a porny experience. We auditioned the Revel flagship, Ultima Salon 2 speakers. I wanted to gauge where I stand against a Sing dollar 150K system. I admit that it was a fabulous system. There was no question about it. Power, sweetness and finesse in one package. The images were vividly laid out at the back of the speakers. Artistically articulate. Not too forward, not too backward. I particularly enjoy the sense of being enveloped in the soundfield. The listening experience completely killed my listening appetite to any lesser systems.

The queue at the Causeway always stresses me out. I salute to those people that commute at the causeway daily. They would have to spend at least three hours per day commuting! The Immigration Officers are all the same all over the world, stone cold. They take their own sweet time. It is not a good idea to be funny with them, they could reject your entry. It always feels good returning to home country. Quick drive to Taman Sentosa, we wanted to dine at Teck Sing Restaurant.

Herbal paper bake chicken is better than sex.

We must had been blessed, reaching the restaurant before closed. Their signature herbal paper baked chicken was not to be missed. I, unfortunately had been suffering from a chronic gout attack, had to surrender my share to the guys. This is a mouth watering landmark signature dish. The guys had walloped a bird each. Not a drop of gravy wasted.

We headed out for a treasure hunt the next morning. Good sounding parts are getting scarce by the days, sigh! Stock up, stock up while you can or you will regret! It is these components that voice your audio gears.

This was our afternoon meal, the more hearty hot fish soup at Loy Fat Restaurant. We almost had to gave up locating this little shop. The fish slices were fresh and the sourly soup excites our appetite. I ultimately preferred Teck Sing chicken to Loy Fat claypot fish soup. Better value for the money and personal preference.

This was our dinner in Serdang. Soya sauce steamed ikan haruan.

Our next trip will be covering Ipoh and Penang if our project generates sufficient interest. It will be fun. Business cum leisure trip.

Rockwool to the rescue

Some guys can wait forever it seems, but I am not a patient person. Back to home, I bought two bags of rockwool on the next daybreak. I hired my neighbor's contractor who was renovating my neighbor's house to lay rockwool on my ceiling.

Always hire small build Indon contractors, they could squeeze through small openings. He had confirmed that my ceiling was sturdily constructed. The last thing I want, is my ceiling collapse on me. My roof baton is 12 inch apart. Had I to do it myself, this posting will never make it. I'd be stuck in my roof. I added weight on the rockwool to curb the rattling. Hopefully, it could end my misery...

I replayed my system to see if the problems have solved. I cranked up to 110db.

The zinc plate on the baton started rattling now. I notice this when sitting on the left or right of the sweet spot. I could not detect any rattling when seated at the sweet spot. I guess the noise cancellation at work. Never mind, I will not crank to that insane loudness anyway.

Well, it wasn't a total loss. I could play louder now. Besides, the mid sounded notably different from before, surprisingly less grainy and better articulation as if the speakers were broken in 打通左任督二脉. Consider this a consolation prize. First, I suspect the fluctuation of voltage and then; we checked ..

Audioing: My current voltage

the readings were rock stable, 233 to 234 volt. We had checked the current voltage at different hour (day and night), on different days. 233 volt constant. Frankly, I have not tried step up to 240. Wonder how it would sound like?

KLIAV 2011 started on 29th July. This is an event where most local audiophiles gather together to check on new stuffs and meet up old friends. Audio gossip is inevitable. What is your pick of this year show?

Ma ma mia

2011-07-17T23:13:00.007+08:00

I'm sure that there are many kiss ass systems out there. I can understand that they want to stay out of the public especially when privacy and security is concern. With that being said, I wish to keep myself low key. Let's just say I'm comfortable in my own cave.

Audio system must be comfy-ly seated.

System tuning is a very very daunting task. It takes months and countless hours. Some may not get it too. I do not dare to claim I get it. Well, let's just say there is plenty of room for improvement. I missed out many details that I often find myself going back to square one this time. Talking about wasted hours! My biggest blunder mistake this time is I did not take my seating as acoustic concern. The advice given by the Master (used to be sifu) suddenly resound in my head when people visiting KF. He says "Limit number of visitors going to your listening room because they change your acoustic behavior and therefore affect stereo performance."

And so, what I'm trying to say is take your seating and whatever in your room as part of your room acoustic. For instance, decide number of seat you desire to have in your room before system tuning. I started out with two seating and then add additional one. The additional seating did indeed introduce its existence. Aiseh....

We are often our biggest enemy. Our lit devil in our mind always tell us otherwise. The lit devil tends to overwrite other senses especially in favor to our desired outcome. You know you wanted so much .....But it always turns out to be just a wishful thinking. To be able to convince oneself (from negative to positive) is the greatest achievement of all!

We should always hold our excitement before making biased findings. Hence, resist quick to judge. A good advice I received, leave the system after each tuning and come back to assess the next day or next couples of days. Get your honest audio buddy to judge. Time and time again, I caught me lying to myself, how ironic! I'm just a human. Bound to make mistakes. The more revealing system the more unforgiving the tuning.

We never praise enough. When is the last time you praise?

Common system problems are channel imbalance, mismatch and booming. The later is much easier to deal with. Just smack a few empty cartons and book rack will help. Channel imbalance is more complicated. It is room related. Sound board, hmmmm, it takes away things without you noticing it. Speaker placement can really really test your will if you are a perfectionist.

How I wish I could pay some sharp shooters to place the speaker with the help of some cutting edge electronic devices. I will not hesitate to display "This room is fine tuned and certified to achieve 2 channel sound reproduction standard by so and so", something like that. It will be cool. It saves time. It gets things right. No double mind about speaker placement. Most of all, it kills doubt.

Channel imbalance, a?

Channel imbalance introduces distorted imaging and soundstaging. One can remedy this with either adjust speaker placement or treat room acoustics or both. I want to share with you my story dealing with channel imbalance.

Identify highly reflective objects in your room and dump them (not yet). They could be useful. Keep them away first.

Most popular speaker positioning, 6 feet is just a number picked from the air

Identify which channel is louder and tackle the weaker channel.

Listening on axis (listening height and toe in direct to your ear) is where one gets optimum sound pressure. Your ear level when seated sits on par with the height of the tweeter. The sofa salesperson thought we were crazy when we measure our ear height when seated. It should be around 36" to 42". This is one.

Toe in straight to your ear angle. This angle yields optimum directivity and loudness. So the principal is to work out the most linear sound pressure from both channels. Adjust the weaker side to achieve optimum loudness. If the situation is not corrected, work on the louder speaker. Toe the louder speaker off axis, most likely to toe it inward.

If this does not work, distance the louder speaker away from you or move the softer speaker closer to you. You get a slightly odd triangle, not exactly symmetrical length from the listening position.

However, I have not experiment with speaker height adjustment as yet. I hope I do not have to.

Bear in mind, keep the deviation of distance within 5cm radius. This technique is not applicable to omni-directional speakers. They call for different placements that I have no knowledge of. Good luck.

OK, crank the volume. I guess up to 90db. Playing loud is damn satisfying and addictive. I now have my first hand experience playing at this volume level in my 160 square feet room.

The first thing I do on the next day, I go get some door seals to cut down noise before my neighbours come screaming at me "Turn your volume down!"

And what do you know? Problem always comes one after another? O shit!

to be continued.......

Mosfetmania

2011-07-03T22:16:00.010+08:00

My blog is currently under scrutiny by some hotshots these days. I sit back, can't hold my laugh. I said to myself, there must be something about this blog that keep them coming back. To the very least, half of the battle already won. It is a fight he will never get simply they are not worth my time. Ouch.... it must have hurt. They can keep on coming in here and lash out their opinions for all they want. I'd not be bothered.

There is always two sides to a coin...

And now, let continue with my story...

The clock does not seem moving.....

Tick tock tick tock.....I remembered the longest waiting time for a Proton car was 6 months, this amp hereafter refers as LMos 150 took a lengthy 18 months. Take about procrastination. :-(

I am always the brave hearted one to try new things.

During the waiting, a thought struck me. Why not hop on to the floorstanding speaker bandwagon since I got a nice room? I did not climb the audio upgrade correctly in the past, mostly "upgrade" to similar price bracket audio products. Hence, the fidelity-ness pretty much "gains at the expense of losing at the other areas", hardly across the board improvement. The audio itch reoccurs faster than should have been. It is an audio merry go round, I wandered not far from where I begin. Middle income trap, I guess? This story comes later....

A bigger hole in the pocket!

Low purchasing power, can not afford branded stuff, the only route is buy pre-owned or diy stuff. Needless to mention, hi end audio is getting further and further away from my reach. I do not blame one's high self esteemed of owning a hi end gear. Well, they should be!

When a hi ender talks, you listen. I do not know about you, I feel small with these guys. Haha!

Fi are fickle minded. I thought of using LMos 150 to drive the shit out of Ho LS3/5as. The original design was 50 watter, designed specifically for LS3/5a many years back. The combo is said to to worth its salt, a marvel. It should therefore applicable for LS3/5a family as well I guess. My LMos 150 borrowed the circuitry and beef up the power.

LMos 150's circuitry is designed by a professor who writes exam paper for electrical engineering. The original circuitry was transistor based. The sifu modified it to run on mosfet. This is quite a complicated circuitry as I was told.

The heart of LMos 150 is the very sought after discontinued Hitachi mosfet (metal can). What is more prestigious is the mosfet in my power amp are closely matched pairs. Off the pcb go for printing. I wanted a yellow pcb just to be different. The yellow looks sharp in black housing.

An oversize 1kVa Talema transformer sits at the center, 60,000 microfarad of Elna cap, 0.8 volt to full power and silver cabling. LMos 150 pumps out 150W at 8 ohm, 230W at 4 ohm and 120W at 2 ohm. Thermo protection kicks in at 80deg C. LMos 150 underwent a 48 hours continuous power on to attest the stability prior to bringing home.

The X factors of this amp are

switchable to 80W class A
selectable input gain, no more pre amp mismatch
bass adjustable control
switchable electrical phase

The yellow pcb looks awesome in all black housing.

The gamble using the silver cable paid off, rewarding the desired transparency without the chill of high pitch.

Eager to know the result, can't wait to fire up. LMos 150 took 10-15 minutes to amaze, smile appears on faces. LMos 150 runs at low temperature in class AB mode even on big scale. Plenty of current reserve. Mild heat wave was felt in low Class A biasing. A good sign. Also thanks to the efficient heat dissipation of aluminum heat sink. Too efficient though. :-(

CG was more anxious to know the performance, beats me to be the first guy to listen to it. He owned 845 tube amp, concurred that LMos 150 floods the floor even it is hardly breaking in. He text me "Power and sweetness combined. Vocal has the EL84 refinement, 845 character with big scale." Wow! Not taken his word for granted, you all know fi have a habit of pulling each other legs. Hao leng sang!

Succulent was an unanimous verdict. I could have make people believe that he is listening to a 200W tube amp in a blind test. LMos 150 commands a good grip on low frequencies. It runs over 90W Dmos without any sweat. Dmos is the most bang for the buck amp but came up short in tonal and low frequencies compares with LMos 150. With that being said, Dmos is a great amp for speaker above 4 ohm impedance.

Playing the first track of this excellent album, the rumbling bass at the closing is spectacular. Dmos cough and catch cold, failing to control at the extreme low frequencies. It ran out of steam as if too tired to go extra mile. Switching to LMos 150, and with greater power comes greater control. The bass shake pants. The staging was deep and wide. The imaging was rock stable.

Dream of an opera is not uncommon among fi. We were listening to track 2. The agility of bass is what track 2 is about. Dmos sounded like a loose horse, running into the forest and never came back. LMos 150 managed to command the bass at will. The bass after shock was greatly felt. Separation was intact during climaxes. You know that the images will glue together if the power came short.

We listened to this Tsai Qin album from track 10 to 11. Although the speaker placement was not optimized, the potential of LMos 150 was immediately recognisable. Edgy-less and grain-free. Vocal came with good body. Even the thin sounding TDL mini monitor renders a good dose of needed body. What we look for from these tracks are emotional connection and a mild husky vocal. If the husky comb lines were not readily present, gelled up, it could either ultra smooth or lack of definition.

The above listening was in class AB mode. In class A mode, the tonal gains further thickening in the expense of transparency and power, lending a more analogue feel to it. The bandwidth was somewhat narrowed. It works better on poor recording, rounded off things a bit. Nevertheless, dynamic music and good recording sounded better in class AB. You can not have one's cake and eat it too.

I'm extremely pleased with LMos 150 for no grainy and smooth sonic texture. No, LMos 150 could not challenge the power of Krell. Krell reigned supreme among its peers. Tonal balance and refinement is what LMos 150 about. To be honest, LMos 150 errs slightly to the warm side of neutral.

LMos 150 is my priceless audio asset. I could not get another LMos 150 if I blew it. Have LMos 150 been another day with the sifu, LMos 150 would have been hijacked by other fi. Encouraged by the performance, the sifu brought LMos 150 to me half heartedly. That fella wanted to keep for himselves! Tai Lo, 18 months le. Anyhow, he will build a pair of higher power monoblock for himself. With a reasonable break in time, LMos 150 is expected to sound more open and relax.

Look! Who can't wait to mod the 500W monster?

Already stuck to the wall, CG wanted to convert his branded 500W mosfet to LMos 150 topology. LMos 150 is much more refined than his monster 500W, he hate to admits. He nearly hijack my LMos 150 for home audition. And the playful KF has also committed to a unit for himself without listening to it. He gave a stern ultimatum, due for delivery in coming October or no amp at all.

Everybody gets a good dose of mosfetmania! By the time of this posting, 3 units have been taken delivery, not inclusive of CG and KF. Stay clear! This is a deadly venom spat by the sifu.

I hit a jackpot!

2011-06-19T23:05:00.032+08:00

Moving out

After months of hassle and frustrations with the house renovation, uhh..... had finally see the light at the end of of the tunnel. My long awaited music room is done. Needless to say, I have had six months of music-less. How does it sound? That is the focal. The room performs exceeded my expectation.

Sidetrack. Nobody enjoy the process of house shifting. The house familiarization took a week or so. Felt a little awkward though. You know where exactly your stuff in old house, you got to figure where in new house. Talking about comfort zone, huh! Life is often like that. Some get too comfortable with current job and stop challenging oneself. Some could not sleep on foreign bed. Some do nothing but complain. That's normal and that is a sign of "ageing". The level adaptability diminished with age. There will be time we concur not the way the younger generations way of doing things.

Balancing art

Greed is a human nature. Greed is a sin and greed brings condemnation. The line bordering greed is thin and ambiguous. Audio is a hobby of no return, a journey that knows no end, that is if you are a music lover. There are so many new products coming out to tempt you. Hi end is also an art of balancing accuracy and musicality.

Musicality is affordable. A mass produced all in one mini compo will satisfy your musical enjoyment. Moving up the ladder, you want something that is reasonably accurate in music reproduction. Timbre correctness, timing, dynamic, spatial separation, holographic imaging, wide bandwidth without compression ad blah blah blah are all what high fidelity about.

Can you handle the truth? Real music is not sweet, warm, melodious but lean, shrill, chill and hoarse. These are the work of mixing. Listen to Genelac, a popular pro speaker found in many recording studios, they sound cold, dynamic, ruthless, lashing everything out from the source. Vinyl has an adorable sonic signature, smoothen the roughness in a system playback.

Hi end like a high precision instrument that demands great care and meticulous set up. Kiss goodbye to those non audiophile music.

Shitty recording that I could not stand after playing a track

This album that I praised not long ago, sounded noisy on a revealing system

I have gathered from my audio experience that :

The bigger the room, the bigger the soundstage
The bigger the room, the bigger speaker (higher SPL) to fill the room.
The bigger the room, the greater power required

The awaiting reward of a hi end system is lifelike scale.

My new humble system sounds good to me. No major change of audio gear except the pre. I'm going back to passive. It reveals a lot more information on the silver disc that I never thought it exists. It a huge step up for me. Long term enjoyment outweighs short term financial stress. The new system is revealing enough to tell me 70% of my cd collection are not listenable. You may want to revise my posting on album recording.

Invincible man

I'm currently undergoing a painful and time consuming system tuning, and therefore will only commit to 2 posting per month. I do not intend to get myself over exposed, what more getting myself into a sticky situation. It does not make sense. I'm just an audio hobbyist. Many out there have better skills but less vocal.

Everybody has different priorities. Well, life is short. Once you have got long sighted, it is a sign of ageing. Don't you think your hearing ability will deteriorate too? I'm treating myself (within my ability) a little better before my time is done.

A class act

2011-06-12T23:38:00.010+08:00

Lunar new year

Everybody was laid back during Chinese New Year. I was invited have a listen to CG's system on the 7th day of lunar calendar. CG normally does not accept visitors, he prefers to keep his system private to avoid gossip (so am I). So, the invitation came as a surprise. It was timely to run an audio benchmark. My last visit was not less than six months ago that I felt the sound was unbalanced on one side and the sub was noticeable. It did not pose a strong impression. So, I have no idea what to expect this time.

This room is so dead quiet that you could hear your breath

KG has a bigger but rather squarish room, 12' (H) x 12' (W) x 13' (L). To my surprise, his room does not have much acoustic treatment. Resonator is the only acoustic treatment he has in his room. This is in contrary to common belief that squarish room an acoustic nightmare. Holly molly! His room is the quietest room that I have ever come across. Nevertheless to mention, micro detail comes easy. You do not need to intently hearing out things. This room is so dead quiet that you could hear your breath, long or short or shilly-shally inhale. Damn spooky! Claps confirmed no abnormal reverb, each clap generates decays in a smooth descending amplitude. Nothing comes in between the silver disc and the listener - straight wire.

The room raise my doubt on Cuboid room dimensions and any other suggested room dimensions. It reminded me of my experience in an anechoic chamber. Seriously... I'm most pleased with my room acoustics but I have to take my hat off for him. I think the high ceiling is one of the keys to his good sound.

His room is rather cozy and I could chill in his room the whole day. The real secret is ... power chain.

Clean power supply, CG could not have stressed the significance of regulated and dedicated power supply. It is a sound investment, he added.

Experiencing the bass weight and Stonehenge-like imaging with treated power supply.

Now that the guy got the power right, it is hard go wrong.

Pix courtesy from KG

His system comprises of

Philips CD960
DIY M7 pre
VAL 845 SET power amp
15ohm LS35a + AB1
Rel Stentor
DIY cabling

M7 clone with Telefunken tubes, yummy!

VAL 845 40 watt SET power on chinese tubes

Glow in the dark

The voice, Spendor LS35a 15 ohm

An awesome audio menu!!! CG has been living with this system for donkey years. Like the finest cognac, it gets better with age.

LS35a is2 meter apart, rest on the mighty AE1 stand with zero teo in. About 1 meter from side wall, 1.5 meter from front wall. Listening in an equilateral triangle, the most room free influenced sound. Some systems depend heavily on room reflections.

We first listened to Andrea Bocelli. Andrea's voice must had been kissed by God. Michael Buble was shy away when he heard Andrea rehearsal for David Foster concert. Sweetness and power combined. CG system literally imported Andreas to his room. As Andrea climbing the crescendos, I took long and slow breath "aligned" with the crescendo. (I seldom do this) Such revelation had my blood gush into the vessels. Skillfully, Andrea brought it back down from the peak and pass the consonance to the accompanied orchestra like a piece of cake while many struggle on the transition. A demonstration of superior technique mastery. The orchestra took over, the sound as if coming from the walls enveloping Andrea. I was so immersed in the emotion and completely switched off the flaw finding mindset. In absolute honesty, not many systems capable of pulling this trick off in this magnitude. Mine, sadly can not. Like an old car constantly struggle climbing a hill.

Asians are sucker for vocal. We are microscopic on vocal, we measure the mouth size, pretty soon we measure uvala. M7 not only allow you to see the actions in a vocalist mouth but the breath and the saliva, no escape from M7 radar. Imagine a French kiss!

M7 is his secret, he revealed. He had tried other pre only to find they sounded occasion disjointed with the ascending crescendo. I have to concurred with him on M7. CG system attacks the high better than mine as if sky is the limit.

An audition is incomplete without spinning the oriental diva - Chai Qin.

This album is not alien to many, one of the cleanest recording from the diva and certainly not her most promising performance. The piano from this cd was unconvincing, notably brighter than the real thing. CG system did the spatial separation thing great. I heard a leaner and denser diva. Better edge delineation and the vocal comb. Realistic. I have had listened to the diva in a concert. CG system adds a tad of warmth and liquidity to the diva vocal.

The diva had a mouth of slightly bigger than a 50 cent coin. Comparatively, mine is a Julia Robert, more dispersed and rendering a warmer character. This is strength of small driver, pistol like imaging projection.

The tonal fabric is on the smooth side. From upper bass downwards, the favour swings towards my Celestion SL6 based system. It was 5.5 in against 4 in driver. Mine sounded a bit loose, more bassy, more relax and moving more air.

Small driver, pistol like imaging projection

The air and space around the images by 15ohm is hard to beat, largely courtesy from clean power supply. Note that 15ohm is not super detailed but immensely musical. The KEF tweeter is under rated. Albeit the diminutive LS35a could not give you the scale, its exceptional vocal reproduction is more than enough to compensate.

KG even told me certain violin note attacks the ears

CG is publicity shy. It takes years for him to arrive at this level of musical system. He confessed his system could not play all type of music. Jazz would fare much better with AE1. There is a limit a 4 inch driver could do. Orchestra, hmmm, there are better systems.

Imaging is first rate, with wonderful bloom to the vocal. It lends a welcome 3D effect.

I'm glad to have auditioned his prized system because many of you could not. The visit allowed me to conduct check and balance on my system. My mind was working on my shortcomings while I was driving home that night. This is the greatest benefit when auditioning other systems. Ambil yang jernih, buang yang keruh. Kajang Foo has a quite a distance to catch up.

The sonic impression still resounding in my head. Some sound just do not go away with age.

Many owned LS35a, I doubt that many do not know how far LS35a could fetch including me. CG has good listening skills. He has the ability to micro-voicing to the highest level. His ear, I trust! When he speaks, I listen. He attributed his sound to his power supply and encourage me to pursue a "clean" power supply like his. He constantly thinking about upgrading to 8kVa Powertran. Boy! You may not have ideas how heavy is this! http://audioing.blogspot.com/2011/02/power-supply-db-single-line-diagram.html. It is as if Mr Dracula have had the first taste of warm blood, it is difficult to resist. All in all, it takes a combo of factors to sound this good. Of course, there are other nitty gritty tweaks that I did not reveal.

If you could not do anything with your power supply, Torus or Richard Gray could be your option. Too bad, they do not come cheap.

Ry Cooder - Oh my!

2011-06-04T22:09:00.003+08:00

Some music leave a momentary impression and soon be forgotten. They sounded too "me too" perhaps. Not with Ry Cooder, no no no...

Gifted musician

Ry music never bore. He is full of surprises. You will amaze with how he takes the twists of the music, bridging and blending a variety of different music genre. Colorful but this may not be everyone staple.

I was introduced by a Mat Saleh to this album, Talking Timbuktu, a Ry Cooder and Ali Farka Toure collaboration. There is a distinctive African element. Weird sound but nevertheless melodious. Take some time to appreciate though. The music is like a river, dwell into the music and the flow takes you to Timbuktu. Very enjoyable.

Funny, African men has a good vocal. Raw and spontaneous.

Mambo Sinuendo by Manuel Galban - Ry Cooder is another cracker. Man, you got to love those conga and drums. The Cuban flavor is strong, cheerful and passionate. I love this album. It gets to move to your body. Shake it shake it.

"My name is buddy" is largely inferior compare with the above albums.

All albums are well recording.

Performance : Great
Music Genre : World music
Recording : Good

Mordaunt Short Mezzo 6

2011-05-29T23:33:00.005+08:00

Mordaunt Short is a UK speaker company, they have been around for decades. They are mass market oriented, designed to meet a specific price point to specific target consumers. I still remember the unassuming MS10 speaker. MS yields from years of speaker making experience. Each new model carry a refinement and improvement over the predecessors. One thing for sure, you can't go wrong with this kind of establishment.

I do not know, I guess many so called mid fi would stay away from these brands ie MS, Wharfedale, Acoustic Energy, Mission etc. They really do not command much respect. Take a look at Jamo, they are now sold at Harvey Norman. They have lost their place among the fi. Would you be interest to listen to a setup based on MS? Please be realistic. I guess their image of entry level speaker/no mojo speaker does not root well among hifi wannabes. Most graduated from these brands and move up to a more "personalized" taste rather than brand loyal.

Brand speaks. Business people do not do branding for nothing. Other companies like B&W and KEF went the other route. They first released the "technological ground breaking" flagship speakers (I bet they hardly a commercial success) and trickled down the technologies to the lower models. How sweet! It is the consumer feel good factor again, thinking that the technologies make available at a relatively "low" price.

Mezzo series is a step down from Performance series if you care to read http://www.mordaunt-short.com/press_releases.php?PRID=21&Title=Mordaunt-Short%20releases%20full%20Mezzo%20loudspeaker%20range

Mezzo 8, top of the line from the range

Mezzo 8, top from its range

Mezzo 6 http://www.mordaunt-short.com/specifications.php?PID=65&Title=Specifications is the second model from the top after Mezzo 8. The Mezzo 6 appearance is a love or hate it. It resembles B&W and KEF frog eye. The cabinetry is nothing new, of MDF. No more rectangle. Build is good, exactly what you expect from China.

Listening a pair of Mezzo 6 via Audio Analogue CD player and integrated amp rated 50W, I was pleasantly surprised that the MS sound is updated. No more the typical British sound. Mind you, Pro Ac never sound British. The highs was noticeable more extended that calls for some getting used to. Gone was the blurriness. Improved dynamic. The vocal seemed to have shade off some weight.

Micro detail was unambiguously laid out. Airiness improved. Hit hat, cymbal, triangle, chimes and brass shone through more effortlessly. Good highs accorded with sharper imaging. Indeed, the imaging was as pinpoint as can be. If I have to nitpicked, the highs calls too much attention to itself.

The bass was typically the British school with some degree of grunt. It is still not the chest thumbing bass from the continent across Atlantic Ocean, US. 40hz is reasonable for a speaker this size. It certainly not in Monitor RX6 league in terms of bass. It was in dynamic department, MS and any other Brit speaker makers have caught up with the rest of the world. This is largely accredited to better drivers and crossovers. Lazy drivers out.

It is an organic presentation, blending highs, mid and lows together in one sonic fabric that I could not have emphasized more, called it coherence.

I found that the highs a little too prominent. It seems to be the trend of market nowadays. A well designed speaker is a well balanced speaker. Mezzo 6 largely achieved what it sets out to achieve, a performance befooled twice its asking price. Mezzo 6 certainly eats Aviano 2 alive.

My gripe? It did not stand out among the rest of the speakers. It did not deliver the blow like the step cousin, Aviano. Nevertheless, Mezzo 6 is highly recommended for the beginner whom I am sure would be happy with them for many years of listening pleasure. Mezzo 6 is retailed below RM3K.

SONIC CIRCLE : REFINED

Best tuning material - Wood?

2011-05-22T22:38:00.004+08:00

I wrote this on the first day of 2011, Happy New Year. It is incredible how the "writing material" suddenly well up. To blog, I'm committed a post per week. This blog does not start out to be a mainstream audio blog, many (like Steroephile, Soundstage, Positive Feedback and so on) have covered it. Instead, I talk about the progression and things that I picked up along my audio journey.

Now, there are 2 types of DIY, active and passive. Active DIY are those with technical knowledge of electrical and well versed with components and cable too. They are like scientist who constantly working out a perfect formula. They relentlessly try out new components, study them and apply them. And there are those passive DIY, specializes with tweaking, resonance control and acoustic behavior. No one can claim he knows it all. There is simply too much knowledge to learn. That's why some specialize in cabling, turntable, phono, amp and speaker.

Wood is a good tuning material, the gift of nature. Do not be mistaken that the scent of formaldehyde when you walk into IKEA is wood. Formaldehyde is a volatile chemical component widely used in fiberboard binding. It is bad for health. There is a movement in the West to band the use of formaldehyde.

Rosewood is a precious wood that releases an indescribable scent.

Read this http://www.smashinglists.com/10-earliest-known-musical-instruments/

First erhu is reported exist in Song dynasty (960-1279) in China, the earliest guitar introduced was in 12th century in Europe, the earliest violin was created in the 16th century in Cremona and the earliest piano was made in1700 in Florence. Human voice is the mother of musical instrument since the beginning of time?

I love to wood for tuning. The texture, color, hue and veneer grain patterns of many wood species simply astonishing. Mankind had long knew the wood effect on acoustics since a long long time ago.

Different wood provide different acoustics effect. Type of wood that used for guitar and acoustics benefits :

Mahogany - provide a warmer, solid and punchy tone

Koa - provide a solid sound that emphasizes the mid-range

Rosewood - provide full, clear bottom end as well as a strong, bright high end and tone richness. Rosewood is a precious wood that releases an indescribable scent.

Spruce - provide a thicker tone. Bad for subtle sound qualities.

Maple - provide a bright tone.

Ebony - has a tendency to dampen sound.

Types of wood used in the piano are Maple, Hornbeam, Beech, Bass Wood

Now, if these musical instruments used these wood for tuning, what if you use these for your system? Mpingo disc (Ebony) received rave reviews. They were sharp shooter. I have had a taste of the acoustics effect of Gabon and Macassar ebony. They are real deal. Each specie offers different sound. Gabon offers more delineations while Macassar more masculine.

Experimentation is a must where the best place these wood are placed. I'm currently looking for a wood specie called Paduak. It is said to improve the vividness of sound.

Too much wood in audio system will have adverse effects on sound. Slow, sluggish, soggy, ill defined, high roll off. So, if you wanted to add a little of the mentioned effect, you can apply wood in the form of isolation cone and plank. Apply them on CD player will be most revealing.

And the softer the wood, the greater woodiness aka IKEA cheapo chopping board. OMY! The sound is like visual slow motion. Generally, they are not good wood for audio. I have not tried the chinese traditional chopping log. I found them varies in thickness and diameter. They are hard as stone. I'm eager to try this once time permits.

And do not be fooled by the chinese ebony with a crystal ball on top. They are too light and too cheap to be ebony. They are some wood with a paint job.

I am rather taken a back with some reasonably build audio rack. Those solid wood are finger jointed with adhesives, mostly rubber wood. They comes with hefty price tag. I was once considering a Teak wood TV cabinet for audio rack. They are more reasonable for the price and they are much higher in density than rubber wood.

Food for thought.

Common resonance

2011-05-15T23:34:00.004+08:00

Scientific evidence? What scientific evidence? Should one ask for scientific evidence with measurement data, this is not the place. Even some exotic gear makers do not have the data available. This is against the free spirit of diy-ing. Our hearing is the best tool God has ever provided. The world's best measurement tool could not measure harmonic composition. That's why speaker voicing still tune by ear in blind test after quasi-anechoic response.

There was a guy in Audiogon who was disgusted that he wrote to more or less 30 hi end speaker makers asking for speaker quasi-anechoic response to find no avail. There is only one possibility, they do not measure their products!!!

Sometimes, results come unexpectedly. Nope, you just can't explain!!! Does resonance all together bad? Think before you jump on your answer. We were told since our tender age that cholesterol is bad for health. Later, we were told that there is good and bad cholesterol. So is resonance!

Bad resonance deteriorates sound quality causing blurring, undefined pitching and one note bass. Good resonance enhances sound quality. Huh!!!!! This is controversial and might attract criticism.

Take for instance, speaker stand. 4 pillar aka Target R4 is a popular stand design. Audiophiles would damp them further by sand/lead shot filling first thing they lay their hands on them. This would increase the bass grunt in the expense of liveliness. The highs is curtailed, airiness is reduced. The correct thing to do is fill the stand 10%, 20%, 30% to determine the right amount of filling to meet your appetite. The stand needs to resonate! Good sound requires efforts.

One can not kill energy. It calls for energy transfer. The speaker resonance is then passed on to the stand and to channel the excessive energy to the spike. Therefore, spike should be used with the tip pointing down not pointing up. Try this, have the spikes pointing up beneath your cd player and reverse the spikes, observe the result. The faster the transfer of resonance the better.

This goes without saying open frame stand will always sound more open than the single pillar or four pillar generic stand for it has more avenue to resonate and promotes faster transfer of resonance. Anyhow, it is highly recommended to buy the associated speaker stand for they were designed to work as one entity. Giving the benefit of the doubt, the manufacturer knows better. The price of bookshelves speakers with associated stands will come close to a proper floorstand brother of similar foot print.

Many overlooked the chassis resonance. Transformer tends to resonate, hands down! Findings showed Transformer Volume Control in a plastic casing sounds better than the one in metal casing.

As the guru had spoken, I tried to play around with the idea of chassis resonance. Flimsy chassis introduces the fiercest resonance. To minimize the adverse effect, the guru suggested load weight on the chassis. Do not get this wrong, this exercise is not kill the resonance but to promote common resonance with the rest of components. The amount of weight to be loaded challenges the audiophiles' ability to hear the sonic deviations. It is similar to adding the right amount of salt in your salad cause everybody would have different preference. This is almost an universal optimum load one can tell. Under load, you get fluttering effect, sounds dead with overloading.

I tried this for a couple of days on cd player, buffer, pre and power using book, wooden box, glass, wooden plank etc. Let's just say I found the magic combination that had me jump for joy. The sound had firmed up with a good grip on those complex passages. The images were rock steady. The drum was noticeably more "ummph" and weighted. The troubled bass ghosting was gone.

This phenomenon urged me to play back some difficult cds to reassess the effectiveness of this tweak. Folks, stay tuned for my VPI block clone.