janice vidal - some kind of voice

in 1990, we had faye wong that took the hk music scene by storm. with her icy-cool demeanour and ethereal voice, faye was the unexpected and reluctant diva that many wannabes tried to emulate but ultimately failed. faye is irreplaceable.

in 2000, we witnessed the rise of stefanie sun from singapore, who shook the chinese pop world with her unique and unusual way of singing. just like the propaganda said - "no 22 year-old sings like her", stefanie is a miracle that every music producer dreams of.

in 2005, hong kong saw the emergence of janice vidal 衛蘭 , a totally awesome commercial creation that encapsulates 色,香,味. she sings well; she looks good; she is sexy. producer mark lui, the godfather of pop music in hk, has hit the biggest bulls-eye yet with janice as his protege. janice's voice is god-send and heavenly, the kind that can resuscitate any dull song. she is going to rule the HK pop scene after joey yung retires.

music prodigies like them make the pop scene exciting!

this is my cartoonist's take of hifi cable.... yes, it is a very rough sketch but you do get the humour, don't you?

Janice (衛蘭) - Do U Know
I would kill to get her CD rite now! Her previous 2 CDs were gems in the pop scene. Although I liked her first CD more than the second, I would certainly not hesitate to recommend anyone to get both the albums! Her voice is sweet and persuasive, melting even the coldest heart. No one would fail to fall for her the moment she sings. Look at that sexy glimpse, plenty of orgasmic nites ahead!

Slated to be out 18 November!

Jill (衛詩) - Diamond Love
The younger sister has had a tough time following the sister's move, which garnered such huge fans and followings. With a more powerful vocal, she got her singing career started with dance music. Her first album was not even half as good as her sister's lesser than great second album, but still who would miss to get the younger sister's maiden effort?! This second album got my breath holding!

Slated to be out one day earlier, 17 November!

DIE DIE ALSO MUST GET THESE 2!!!

I have a penchant towards small bookshelves. I love them because they are generally easier to be handled and pushed by my smallish ARC Classic 60. I love them because they generally image well. I love them because I have a small room. Of course, these are the generalizations that I wished apply to most small speakers. Not all sound alike!

I started off being serious when I first heard a pair of ProAc Response 1SC, which until today, has garnered cult status and being hailed by some as the KING of bookshelves! I CONCUR! Anyway, I will write more when I finished running in my brand new R8s which I just brought home last Sunday. At the rate I am going, maybe another 3 years?

Seriously, I have space problem, hence the choice on small speakers. But would it also be space problems during growing years that most singers I like have small boobs as well? Fish, Joi, Yanzi, Tanya, Penny and some did not develop voluptuous front ends. Hmmm, I guess they are the same size as the circumference of my R8S's bass drivers.

I bought many CDs over the last 2 months and were busy spinning some of them.

蔡健雅 - T-time 新歌 + 精選
I bought this in hope that it contains her top rate works, indeed it does to certain extend. Few passable tracks were included and almost spoiled this collection for me, phew, at least most of the selections were good. She has no problem composing, but she definitely has problem finding the correct people to tap on her real talent. When she started off with Universal, they horrendously tried to sculpt her as the typical pop diva with tight tops! Back then, she still has baby fat lar!

Her works for others are way better than for her own! Anyway, generally good selections and great new tracks. Get it if you are a fan! I give 3.5 boobs out of 5.

戴佩妮 - iPenny
Her best and most consistent work! I still remembered the first time she came back after releasing her first album in Taiwan. So fresh and unpretentious. Years passed and she still looks unpretentious! She has definitely matured as a person, as well as a composer. Her previous works were too self indulged without much consideration given to public acceptance and pop ratings.

This album is filled with top rate works that are simple, accessible and enjoyable! Definitely THE album to put Penny among the first tier composers! I give 4.5 boobs!

梁靜茹 - 親親
SWEET is the single word to describe her! Being an avid fan, I have not missed much of her progress. Yes, she did badly with 燕尾魚, but regained with 絲路. But this album is really tailored to her best, being a sweet adorable. The surprise is the inclusion of a Hokkien track, which I think is the best in the album. When you have 陳珊妮, 蔡健雅, 周傑倫, 五月天, 鍾成虎 and 陳綺貞, how can this not be a good album?!

Get this to have the best in Taiwan pop! 4.5 boobs!

孫燕姿 - My Story, Your Song 經典全紀錄 (4CD + DVD + 100頁寫真年鑑)
WTF, you mean you have not bought this yet?! This is the mother of all collections! The best of the best of the best for the top pop diva now! Have you lived under the rock? Even the crabs under the rock could sing 我不難過! Leslie has not missed a single of her albums, I missed a few but I got 2 copies of this. Does that make us even?

BTW, if you have not gotten this, forget about getting it. It's limited edition! 5 FULL BOOBS! Hmmm, she sure needs them!

蔡淳佳 - 淳新歌佳精選
The size of the picture does show her position in the pop scene. Yes, she is basically next to an unknown. But I like her! Her voice so pure, clean and suave. The way she bites and pronounces is so similar to 陳潔儀, minus the latter's sexuality! She sings some 梁文福 works, much like Kit, all she needs is time to blossom. Even if she does not hit it big, still, she's lovable! 3 boobs, but try before you buy.

蔡依林 - 唯舞獨尊演唱會鮮聽版 & 混音專輯

蔡依林 - 舞孃
Since I am running in my R8S, how could I miss hers? Having the best dance music in the pop scene, she sure can move and dance! I followed her progress since her uni years and you would not fail to notice her hard work put into grooming herself as the top rated pop diva! Her albums, albeit filled with R&B and hip-hop influenced dance music, are very well mixed and produced. Some of the slow ballads included are not filler tracks, but rather first tier works!

Listen to her renditions of Faye's 懷念 and Sandy's 聽説愛情回來過, a surprise indeed and very likable. I like the BOOBS, anytime!

meridian 508.24 - creme de la creme of cdp circa 1998-2000

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AQ Cheetah DBS interconnect 1.0m XLR

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I won't write on things that I have not heard of, or things that I have heard of, but not through rigs that I am familiar with. The key word here is FAMILIARITY, if I am not familiar with anything, I think I ought to find out more before writing.

I have been reading and doing research on CD players for a while now. I know, it has been ages I mentioned that I wanted to upgrade my CDP. Last bonus was used on FD frenzy to build up my sense of security. With annual review coming and bonus not quite far away, maybe I should plan something.

I have been reading a lot about this brand called Ayre, I read it as 'air/ayer' in Malay before realizing that it should be 'air' in English. Many Taiwanese reviewers were raving about it and many had bought it with their own money.

Most of the reviewers do not own stuff they review. And with so many things moving in and out every now and then, there's just no point buying! When reviewers buy something, it only proves 2 things. One is that it is hell good of a product, and Two is that it is affordable.

So, with many reviewers buying CX-7e and many raves on CX-5e, I guess I ought to find out more. Maybe I should go and have a listen.

Anyway, Ayre's president, Charlie Hansen was hit with an accident while bicycling. He's getting well and you could follow the progress here.

so fine and exquisite - even women love it

i am greatly fascinated by this new cable company, crystal cable. i read from taiwanese magazine audio art that it is started by siltech's president's wife! what a combination! imagine the synergy, imagine the sharing of technology, costs and resources. i really think it is a smart idea for a husband-wife team to do something that is complementary yet caters to different market segments. in hifi, we do have husband-wife team in transparent cable (don't quote me, i may be wrong). can you readers think of other high-end manufacturers who has a husband-wife team?

crystal cables look so exquisite that they can qualify as audio jewelry. in fact, the president's wife (forget her name) lets her son to design all the commercial ads! so you have crystal cables as shoe-strings; as guitar strings and a whole lot of other innovative ads. i have never seen hifi being so ingenious and creative.
this, my friend, is the future direction of hifi if it was to survive.

i wonder if it has the sonic signature of siltech. we tried the latest G6 siltech before and were impressed with its refinement and delicacy, especially the gold and silver composite. apparently the highest model (XLR) of interconnect cost a moderate RM12K, far from the top model of siltech. being a proponent a silver interconnect and the biggest fan of stage III concepts cables in malaysia, i am waiting to lay my hands on a pair of crystal cable.

on other developments, i just found out that i even have readers from my hometown in gopeng! thanks, dr. chan, for following my blog and thanks for using stage III cables too. hope to listen to your system when i am back for the next trip.

av xpress is progressing very well. a lot of dealers are very supportive. from december onwards, you will see me blogging more often here. some major changes are happening in my career and i am devoting more time to do things i like.

isn't life about doing things you are passionate about? like blogging about hifi and publishing av xpress.