the simplest job of all - manning the simplest stall

[simplest stall]
i really wish i could setup a stall like this for many many installments of the KLIAV show to come. i must apologize to all those who came to greet me - i couldn't put a name to your face! some i remember but some i don't. sorry, guys! thanks for dropping by.

it was really interesting to observe the visitors' response on seeing a stall like us. the response to 2v1g cd was good - we sold close to 200 copies during the 3-day event!


my producer chow and chow's angels, who helped me to man the stall

[where are the 2Vs?]
it was so funny most visitors asked my two angels if there were the singers in 2v1g. the 2Vs must not be so easily exposed. maybe next year i would book a room for 2v1g to perform live in KLIAV, how about that?

av xpress stall with 2v1g cds - the simplest stall in the whole show!

have to resort to "shock" marketing....it worked!

[shock but honest marketing]
on the first day, i didn't have any promotional posters and a testing station for potential customers and the sales were no good. the next day i printed these posters with some honest words about the 2v1g cd and i had a marantz cd player with a headphone for testing and phew! the sales were tripled!

rubbing shouders with martin reynolds of dCs

did i say the scarlatti costs Rm270,000?

[ only the rich needs to apply]
opulent tone from s'pore with their dCs gear on display only. one clueless visitor pointed to the dCs scarlatti and asked me "is this an amplifier?". i had a good chat with dCs resident engineer, martin reynolds. he doesn't think dCs will ever compromise to do a poor man's version of their Rm270,000 scarlatti, or even the RM65,000 puccini. he doesn't mince his words in saying that the scarlatti is for the financially successful audiophiles. i like you, martin!

krell driving the avalon isis in norman audio

goldmund driving the sonus strad

[fully maximizing space]
perfect hifi with their two systems criss-crossing the listening space. the top-end audio research was visibly missing but it does not stop the hordes of visitors going into their room. andy tan was busy like a bee!

me with yoon tuck chee of audio art

marten bird driven by bladelius, with jorma cables

[most analytical sound]
swedish statement with marten speakers. i have always maintained my stand that marten would best be partnered with tube amp. i find the sound here too analytical and too hifi-ish for my liking. whatever, this is not a true reflection of the calibre of marten and bladelius.

chan of cmy, buddy buddy with me - the beautiful usher in the background

[the poor man's rolls royce]
cmy's usher room. the usher's workmanship is truly amazing and its sound is promising, despite the less-than-ideal hotel room conditions. i predict that cmy will sell the usher by the loads. the ever affable mr. chan gave me an usher cd which has some really nice recordings. thanks, chan!


the usher driven by naim, with siltech cables

simon choy of music by design. his magna turntable only costs RM6,500

this sound from music by design is the most analogue of all!

winner of the best sound of the show - audio matic with adam speakers being driven by bladelius

[best sound of the show]
(in my book, that is) - eugene's audio matic, with adam ribbon speaker with active sub, being driven by bladelius amp, with my favourite audionet ART g2 as source. one could tell eugene was serious in making sure his room sounds good. his dedication is exemplary. well done, eugene!


john sin of c&o audiophile enterprise - nice onix strata speakers at the back

[affordable high-end]
the beautiful highs of the ribbon tweeters are unmistakable. the strata is good, despite some boomy bass. this is an affordable high-end speaker to watch out for.

wong tatt yew of audio note - a decent setup, probably the runners-up of the best sound of the show

[sorely missing his china girl assistant]
wong tatt yew's audio note still attracted crowd with good sound from his avantgarde + audio note system, despite the absence of his well-endowed china female assistant. this year, wong spent considerably time to setup his system hence the good sound. besides, no distraction from C-cupped china doll. good work, wong!

eggleston nine being driven by pass labs - centre circle audio

all mbl setup in a&l audio - wah chai was the man in charge

harbeth from tropical audio - a hole in the middle?

[a hole in the middle]
tropical audio's harbeth setup. i don't agree with the unconventional speaker positioning. how about you? but sam is such a nice guy ;-)


hifi choice from penang - wavac driving acapella horn

analogue setup in zest audio - j.c.verdier with holfi electronicis

bee wu of zest audio looking prosperous

and finally [family reunion]
tong lee with their entourage of indon maids/helpers and bored-looking senior citizens. jenny was having a field day with throng of customers, which included yours truly. i bought an el-cheapo headphone for 2v1g cd testing at my stall. ling, as usual, was looking sweaty and corporate with his tie and long-sleeve white shirt. i am sure the cash register at tong lee was ringing non-stop.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi there,
Looked like you enjoyed yourself. I missed this year av show. Hopefully I will have the time for next year av show.

Anonymous said...

Were there any nice wooden hifi racks shown by the dealers? I am looking for something like the ones in www.guizu.com.cn

Appreciate feedbacks.

Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Hi Guys,


Perhaps you like see somemore pics and read some contradictory comments (to Leslie's comments, that is) here ........

http://www.xtremeplace.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=55866.0

Anonymous said...

Hi there,


Some really close up shots by Little KC........(you guys remember him don't you?)

http://www.my-hiend.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=838

Anonymous said...

uncle vic,

you please buck up at KLANS. Its as if you are talking alone, most time on subwoofer, ferrite and room tones. People not toeing the line, you chop! Sad case!

Or you may consider running a subwoofer and ferrite blog, then you can have a world to yourself.

mailing list is to encourage 2 ways and open discussion, whether agree or disagree and NOT to STIFFLE like the govt now treating us.

Paiseh lah , KLIAV show photo got to tumpang Echoloft from singapore:(

KLANs lost so many audiophile including this blooger.

maggielurva 愛美姬 said...

hi anonymous

c&o enterprise carries black timber wooden hifi racks much like guizu. call john sin at 012-5269313

Anonymous said...

Hi Maggielurva,

Please share with us the sonic highlights of the Audionet/Bladelius/Adam system with you gave the "Best Sound of the Show" award.

Agree with you on the Onix Strata speakers. Beautiful ribbon mids and highs and love the exquisite ebony finish and sexy shape. But, a big letbown on the bass, yes boomy and not extended. Probable reason -there is a rear firing woofer which I remembered correctly, is powered by a 120W Chinese made amp. The Onix designers should have made the Strata fully passive, IMHO.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Maggie,

I will look into the racks.

Anonymous said...

Hi All,


1st My sincere apologies to my good friend Leslie for causing such an uproar here with my 2 undesirable (read un-desirable)thoughts. If so indicated that nobody wants to know what other blogs, forums, mailing lists & website have to say about the KLIAV2008 show, then so be it.


Btw there were 50 digital pics posted into Klans website. And the members (to date more than 500 registered members, though participating members aren't many)were exposed to what other adversed comments of other sites/links & with no detrimental effects on them, but it spurred up some more civil discussions and mind storming sessions. To the contrary to any suggestions(if any so far) that they are not 'open minded' enough. And they think they will learn more from the exercise! To date Klans is still the biggest hifi group in Malaysia......for those not familiar....you can check out at ........

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/klans/

Anonymous said...

Vic,

I feel that you are missing the whole point.

It does not matter if you have 10 or 10000 members, it is the quality of the forum that matters, not quantity.

You may argue that you have lively discussion, but to me, everyone in your group are arguing about petty things, things that they could accept or comprehend or understand. And when this happen, you have some members resort to sarcasm. I am sorry to say that there is no control at all in Klans.

Ken

maggielurva 愛美姬 said...

hi vic,

you are more than welcome to provide links to interesting sites. in fact, i was amazed by kc's superb photography ;-)

as to klans, i have no comments and i don't want to bring the topic to my blog here.

hi km,
"the best" also means "the most acceptable system" considering the room acoustics and space constraints. to me, the adams gave the most convincing soundstage, good height, good ribbon highs and a decent tonality and is the least affected by the room acoustics, compared to the rest. a lot of the systems i heard on that day had bloated images, midget-height and wayward tonality.

but i am not the authority!

Anonymous said...

Vic
Big does not mean good.
We are looking for quality not quantity.

with the postings on klans, you seem to ignore the opinions on the heading of klans. BUt instead choose to come and boast here about how big klans is.

llsaw said...

Hi,

I just came upon your blog and would like to purchase the 2v1g CD. Pls advice as I'm from Penang. My email address is LLSAW1@YAHOO.COM