The always immaculately stylish "Sifu"!

One of my favourite audio gurus, Ken Ishiwata is celebrating his 30th Anniversary working with Marantz. To commemorate this event, Marantz will launch the SA-KI Pearl SACD player and PM-KI Pearl amplifier combo. The British audio press has leaked that these special products are due to be launched by end of this month!

There are only 500 pairs of these interesting one off products on offer world wide, and they will be truly special indeed, especially to Marantz fans and collectors worldwide. I bet the Europeans are already lining up in front of Marantz showrooms by now to snap up the units.

The "Black Pearl" finishing is special to touch. The internals of these babies are going to look and will probably sound great!

Technical specs are sketchy at this stage other than what is let known on Marantz European website at http://www.Marantz.eu/kipearl/

Will we get to see this special pair in the metal at the Woo Kee Hong room during our July KLIAV show?

Would you like collect a pair?

I was in Singapore for work this week and have a few hours time to kill before I make my way back home. What better way to do so than a visit to SG's hifi mecca, Adelphi?

Whilst there, I first checked on the software, a.k.a. CD and vinyl. Both the Roxy Disc House and New Disc Village seemed to dedicate about half or more than half their rack space for vinyl. There's still 10% rack space for SACD and the remaining space for CD. My last visit in August 2008, things were quite different. With CDs dominating rack space and about two racks for vinyl and the same 10% for SACD. How fast the tide seems to be turning against the CD format within months!

Next, I checked out the Proac Response Tri Tower speakers. These are truly life style speakers that do not compromise sound quality. The speakers, driven by a Vimak CD player and a 50W stereo tube amp, sounded really transparent, with amazingly full width and depth reproduction of the sound stage and solid imaging. the speakers tonal balance was warm, and lightly colored, a Proac signature sound perhaps? The tubey factor perhaps? I don't know, but it sure sounded very pleasant and easy on the ear if a little bass light and tight.(it's to be expected from a slim tower consisting of three 4" cones to do the bass reproduction work). Now if only CMY has a pair for demo?

Then I checked out some Shunyata Dark Field Cable Elevators, Audio Note, the shop selling it, was very accommodating to my request for an A/B/A test to see if it works. I heard very subtle differences with the Shunyata Dark Field inserted under the speaker cables in comparison to without. The sound reproduced was somewhat richer and seem to have quieter background. Interesting, will make it a point to hound the local Shunyata distributor for a demo set to try out!

Now that's how a hifi buff kill a few hours in a foreign place.

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[the smouldering pace wu]

Our goal is to represent manufacturers who develop products with cutting edge technology, and precision workmanship. Companies that stand apart from the mass market, and have a greater love for the art, and products that enrich your lifestyle, and make you proud to own.

we like the intro of aaudio import, a specialist importer/distributor of high-end audio in the US. unlike many distributors, aaudio is selective on the products it represents. it only focuses on niche products that are cutting edge, in a class of its own and against the tide of mainstream.

the designers of such products are normally small-time cottage industry owners but heavily devoted to the art of advancing high-end audio. you may think that they don't have the money to splurge on advertising or big-scale manufacturing but that's to ignore their perfectionist attitude towards their products. they have seen too many examples of audio companies losing their competitive edge the moment they go mass-market. their non-compromising attitude prevents them to be part of the audio bandwagon.

most of these designers are not motivated by money and some of them are even struggling but it doesn't not stop them from pursuing audio excellence. it is great that aaudio can house them under one common roof.

how many products you currently own that fall into the "minority, niche" category but you feel they deserve the full accolades by merit of their outstanding performance?

it's heartbreaking to see that the world doesn't care or give a damn about saving it for future generations. that is depressing. but I am not gonna throw my life away because everyone out there is sleeping. i've already given my life to this collection. if nobody out there understands what i've done and what i have and what i've offered, then we have to give it up.

paul mawhinney has diabetes and is blind. he has over 1 million of LPs in his collection and he is asking 1.5mil lock stock and barrel. he has already closed his record shop record-rama early this year.

claimed paul : "eighty-three percent of the music that i have on those shelves you can't buy at any price, anywhere!"

apparently his collection is worth 50mil but paul is willing to let go at 3mil and yet there is no buyer. the truth is, paul has been trying to sell his collection for at least a decade. cd now offered him $28.5 million for the collection, before going bankrupt. That was in 1997.

In 2002, negotiations with the library of congress also fell through.

paul is heart broken. he couldn't believe that there is no music lover serious enough in buying.

we would like to know:
[1] what kind of titles does paul has? could they be so old that it is only good for historical and archival purposes? most importantly, do these titles attract the typical audiophile/vinylphile, who is the only buyer of LPs nowadays?
[2] does paul sell piece meal, instead of lock stock barrel. if so, what is the average price per piece?

we are not trying to be cynical, there must be reasons why those records are not moving.

having said that, if audiophiles don't like his titles because the recording is not good or they don't make it into the HP's list, then it is really a sad day for music.