hi-fi in hong kong

acknowledgement: this blog entry is contributed by my hi-fi buddy in HK, guan, who writes better and knows much more about hi-fi than me! thanks, guan.

I rarely visit audio showrooms nowadays and didn't even attend the HK AV Show held a few weeks ago. It takes a rather special occasion to kick start me into audiophool mode. And what better reason as Les is in town! We had a fun time last Saturday visiting quite a few audio establishments in Central. The rain gods also decided to have a party and it was really pouring buckets, non-stop. But did the heavy rain dampen our zest for fine audio? Certainly not! ;)

a van carrying some high-end hi-fi stuff - a rare sight in HK

odyssey audio using a pc front-end

We first wandered into the Odyssey Audio showroom to sample a unique PC based audio system. We heard stored WAV music files direct from the hard disc of the PC, converted to analogue by either a Dack! 2.0 or the Benchmark DAC1, which in turn fed the Odyssey Tempest pre-amp/Dual Mono Stratos amp and Lorelei speakers. The sound was open, dimensional, detailed and of surprisingly high quality. I learnt that WAV files played from a computer hard disc sounds significantly better than a CD played on a PC CD-ROM. Using the PC as CD transport produced terrible results. So is PC audio and storing music in hard disc WAV format the future of high quality digital? Perhaps...the jury is still out on this one

audio space showroom in central

We then mooched into the HK Audio Space showroom nearby. These guys specialise in tube amps and we heard a KT88 stereo amp and a 300B parallel push pull amp driving Dynaudio Focus 112 and Special 25 speakers. The sound was reasonably pleasant on both amps but I much preferred the refinement and midrange body of the 300B amp. The KT88 was somewhat rough and lacking in cohesiveness although it produced tighter bass and more extended highs. Les commented that the treble sticks out too much. Audio Space seems to be going upmarket too as I spotted a pair of gigantic Reference One 845 tube monoblocks going for a princely RM75K!

audio space showroom in central

av consigment centre in central

Moving on, we popped into a new second-hand shop I've not visited before. This was HK AV Consignment Centre (a branch of the famous shop in Mongkok) and it held a veritable Aladdin's cave of hifi goodies. I was surprised to find lots of new stuff being sold second-hand such as a barely used ARC Reference 3, MF Tri-Vista sacd player, Pass Lab 150.5, MBL radial speakers, dCS stack and cables galore. I directed Les' attention to an immense 4-chassis, 800lbs, JadisJA800 tube amp that should be 'adequate' to drive his Maggies ;P He demurred saying that he prefers ARC...This man has excellent brand loyalty!

av consignment centre in central

pacific audio in central

Next up was Pacific Audio to listen to angular Talon Khorus X MkII speakers driven by a Sim Audio i5 LE integrated amp and Equinox cd player. The sound was reasonably balanced but rather dull and boring, exacerbated by a lack of high frequency detail and soggy dynamics. Hmm...Btw Les was thrilled to see that Pacific Audio is the HK dealer for his current favourite Stage III cables and he had a lengthy yawn...err...yarn with the dealer on the numerous merits of this allegedly fab cable.

Our next jaunt took us into Reference Audio, another second-hand dealer. Not much luck here as the equipment available was not up to the quality of AV Consignment apart from some big, aluminium skinned Piega and Burmester speakers. Les was more interested in the specialist CD store directly opposite. The shop mainly sells esoteric audiophile jazz recordings from Europe, US, right up to South America including whole CD sections from Argentina, Brazil and Spain. No mainstream pop in sight!

We then moved on to Duddell Street which houses many of the big name audio dealers in HK. First up was the Nagra/Golmund dealer. The lift opens and you literally walk right into the shop. No chance to peer in from outside or getting cold feet :) I invited ourselves into the listening room and we got to hear a very decent system made up of Nagra tube pre-amp and monoblocks including a Nagra DAC/ Goldmund transport driving Sonus Faber Guarneri speakers. Lovely bloom, nice layered soundstage and decent musicality although it was overall a little laid back for my taste.

Next up was Excel where we clapped our earlugs on a Meridian G08, Krell KAV 400xi driving some post modernist Vivid Audio K1 floorstanders shaped like big Zulu war shields. The system was lively, detailed with decent tonality (for an integrated Krell) but the sound stayed firmly within the speakers and refused to image properly. We also eyeballed the new 4-chassis megabuck Krell Evolution series momo amps and Meridian 808 reference cd player but unfortunately they weren't hooked up. I could see Les lusting after the Maggie 20.1 speakers on silent display. They are waaaay too large, my good chap!

sweet dreams are made of these - ARC reference 610T

impressive display at sound chamber

We popped into the next building and headed straight for the HK ARC dealer (The Sound Chamber). Upon entering the listening room...Wow! All we could do was shake our heads and exclaim at the sheer impractical size of the latest ARC Reference 610T monoblocks. They really look like big laboratory/medical equipment towers. Standing next to them was the equally imposing Wilson Alexandria X2 speakers. Unfortunately this dream system was not turned on and it would need at least half an hour to warm up from cold. Don't blame the dealer as the 610T draws 800 watts per side at idle!! So we listened to a 47Labs pit tracer and non-oversampling DAC with about 4 Power Humpty(?) supplies, Spectral pre/power (bleargh!) driving Wilson System 7 speakers. Cost aside, the sound was ok but a little cold and uninvolving to my ears. I attribute this to the Spectral gear. In the next room there were the older Reference 600 amps lying on trolleys for servicing and a big Ongaku with a sticker tag of 'only' RM400K!! By this time, most of the other dealers were shut, so we adjourned for coffee and had a chat about the crazy HK audio market.

me and guan chilling out in a cafe in the famous landmark building

Les and I went for a final (audio) fling over lunch today and covered a surprising number of hifi outlets, some of which I'd even forgotten about. But the main point of this post is that I have finally heard a digital front end that I really enjoyed. At Stereo Kingdom, we were relaxed, cosseted and cajoled by the delicious sound of the Reimyo CDP-777. Now, imagine plain-vanilla CD sounding as seamless, cohesive and grain free as vinyl yet with a negligible noise floor. Imagine CDs not even sounding 'digital' as we know it; more free from glare, etch, spiky transients, overdone sibilance and ragged edges than any other source (digital or vinyl) I have heard. Contemplate a sound that is utterly fatigue free, totally involving and wonderfully musical and you may just have some idea of the exceptional building blocks that form the basis of the Reimyo player.Unmitigated rave? Perhaps.

How to describe the sound? It does not impress with overtly 'flash-bang-I'm-your-man' kind of sonic fireworks that initially thrills but is ultimately fatiguing. The Reimyo's natural, unrushed, engagingly wholesome presentation of what's recorded on the silver disc, complete with gorgeous detail and unforced contrasts, is what won me over. Granted, it's not as incisive, stunningly dynamic and detailed as a big Wadia or dCS. Regardless, the sound of the Reimyo is so different and refreshing that it defies my rather rigid paradigm of digital sound. System was a pair of ATC SCM50 speakers driven by Gamut M200 MkIII monoblocks, a First Sound Paramount MkII linestage with Harmonix cables throughout. Les commented that the system could do with more "bloom" but admitted that it still produced a"classy" sound. For me, the Reimyo simply sets the benchmark for CD reproduction. In a sympathetic system, I cannot imagine it being bettered by much. The Meridian Reference 808 cd player may be a strong contender but I've not heard it. Thank goodness I'm getting out of the game :)