ok, i am a bit late in discovering kokokaina - the latest singing sensation from boleh land. but what a voice! since we already have malaysia's michael buble in sean ghazi, now we have our own norah jones. she has the same shock factor as joanna wang due to her young age. some say she is better than norah jones - she is our own junior billy holiday!

check out this video - which has close to 700,000 views in youtube.

amazing talent she is. wish i could sign her up!

[the delicious carmen soo]

[1] you can tell one person's character from the way he treats his competitors. the local chinese magazine, after much pressure from the dealers and the market forces, has started a website. in two of his articles, the computer-challenged editor attacked yours truly by saying that "hifi bloggers are full of nonsense, deceit and irresponsibility" and that 2v1g is "a low-budget production with ordinary recording and unknown singers". am i supposed to retaliate? not worth it. i shall leave such low-life with his own opinions. he is not worth my attention. the discerning audiophiles would know who's the one having the substance and mettle.

[2] meridian is having a major shake-up worldwide with the addition of a new investor. (i haven't googled for info on the net yet). malaysia, hong kong, japan and france distributors have relinquished its distributorship. it is not likely that absolute hifi will take up distributorship for malaysia because meridian is never their cup of tea. so my 808 will remain a distant dream.

[3] one dealer has instigated the idea of forming "an association of hifi dealers in malaysia". i don't know what's the benefit of such move but i already see major obstacles ahead to unite the dealers. too many politics and very little in common. but i will see what i can do to help the initiative. someone also made the suggestion to "buy up av xpress" in an attempt to "commercialize it" and "beef up its contents". hey, you mean my magazine is for sale?

[4] 3,000 copies of 2v1g have been snapped up and we are into our 3rd pressing. hooray! to those who support us - thanks a million!

(Sorry-lah, I can't make the picture of a pair of audio interconnects look like the photos in maggielurva's last 2 posts ;-) )

I have had the Kubala-Sosna Emotion interconnects in my system for the last 3 weeks, and am halfway through writing up a review for the next issue of AVXpress. But hey, there is still some way to go until the next issue, so maggielurva asked me to share some of my impressions of them on this blog first. So here we go.

I put on the K-S between my Copland CD player and my Pass Labs X2.5 pre-amp. The first impression was that they were not the kind of cables that grabbed your attention outright. Music just came forth from the system with a very even-handed manner, there was no one sonic area that screamed for my attention.

If I had given up on the K-S at this point, that would prove to be a big mistake indeed, because after 3, 4 days of listening, I started to realize and appreciate my system’s performance with the K-S in it. The K-S slowly got through to you rather than knock you off on first listen!

The biggest effect the K-S had on me was that I felt more relaxed listening to my system. The way the K-S handled musical flow reminded me very much of my impression of the Meridian G08 CD player (I do not mean to say that the K-S made my system sounded like the G08 though, but just the rhythm/flow/ timing part). What I blogged about the Meridian G08 (under ‘A Tale of Two CD Players’ a couple months ago) could be borrowed here, so pardon me for my laziness while I steal from there to describe the K-S – the K-S lingered a bit over the music to allow you to savour the full development of the musical notes, sort of like letting you ‘smell the roses’ on the way. I find this to be quite charming, as it gave me a new perspective on the music. You might get slightly less adrenalin rush but gain insights into the music. In this sense, the K-S comes across as composed and mature in my system - and also ‘sophisticated’, if I may add. It is also important to note that this obvious sense of relaxation did not seem to diminish the musical message or details.

With the K-S in it, my system’s bass performance went up a notch, it went much deeper and I felt that my EgglestonsWorks The Nine loudspeakers' bass capability was fully utilized. The bass was focused and impactful, the Native American drum tracks on Bill Miller’s The Red Road were the best I have ever heard on my system. The K-S mid was another area they excelled in, it had body and richness. The highs were smooth and quite detailed, they were also nicely integrated well with the rest of the sonic spectrum. I thought they were also nicely a little self-effacing, and because of this behaviour, they made many of my CDs quite listenable (bad recordings still bad, but more listenable). Like maggielurva mentioned in his previous post, the K-S may match better with modern amps, if you think your modern amps are a bit shrill or thin, try the K-S,I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

There are a few more areas that the K-S did quite well, like the coherence that they always imbued all kinds of music I threw at them. I’d elaborate more of these in the full review write-up. I’d end this sneak preview of the K-S with a passage I have written for the review article – “The listening experience with the K-S was analogous to sitting in a chauffer driven Mercedes sedan - it was luxurious, smooth, secured and comfortable. The sound, like the ride of a Mercedes, had a high level of maturity and sophistication that was very appealing. It was hard to forget once experienced”.

[the puurrfect 10 - lin zhi ling]

mystery solved.

a helpful audiophile friend - after various experimentations - confirmed the peculiarity of kubala-sosna emotion cables - that it only likes modern (read post-2000 production) amplifiers and speakers. it works fantastically in kharma and marten speakers and the latest krell, rowland, pass labs and ARC. it doesn't work in older krell and audio research. the sound in older amps is bloated and bulky, like what i experienced earlier.

that also explains why it works so well in hifi kaki's pass labs xa60 and not in my 20-year-old ARC.

i hope kubala-sosna fans will rest easy now.

i am not sure if joe kubala himself knows about this. hope he reads this blog.

[the beautiful charmaine sheh]

a dealer advised me to tone down my exuberance in this blog, for many dealers have become very "worried" of what i said in this blog. he cited several cases:

[1] i tend to make conclusive remarks too soon - i tend to side certain products.

[2] i should avoid doing shoot-outs in the future for malaysian dealers don't like it

[3] i am too opinionated and that i should have more reviewers to review a particular gear before i publish it in this blog. i should have at least 10 sets of systems before i am qualified to comment on a product.

with regards to comment [1], i make no apologies, for this is my blog and i have my own personality and style. i have always maintained "the caveat emptor" condition - you read with knowing what i like and dislike. the last thing i want to be is a "mr. please all", to satisfy all the dealers but myself. i loathe selling-out.

i still maintain my huge enthusiasm for stage III asp gryphon and no one is going to change my mind. i still maintain that it sounds superb in my system. so if you don't agree with it, stop believing what i write and stop reading this blog.

so, it is important to know the blogger's biases (and whims and fancies) before you take his words seriously.

the addition of hifi kaki and other bloggers in this blog also shows that i am open enough to have varied opinions.

so i beg you - readers and dealers alike - read with caveat emptor.

with regards to comment [2], i admit it was my mistake. because i am an industry figure, i have a responsibility to educate and inform. i shouldn't pit one product against another. i shall stop doing shoot-outs in the future. readers are encouraged to read between the lines. and i believe my readers are smart.

with regards to comment [3], i make no apologies again. which revered reviewer does not have an opinion? would you rather read a wishy-washy article (like in many magazines) rather than one which has a clear opinion (like hifi+)? as i have said, the fact that i invited hifi kaki and master ken shows my intention to broaden the perspectives of this blog (and magazine). but maggielurva would always be maggielurva, that is having an opinion (not opinionated, mind you) and honest to his art. is it because malaysia is not ready to have a writer like me?

having 10 systems before i qualified to review hifi? come on, stop kidding yourself, even robert harley or jonathan valin doesn't spend time evaluating a piece of component in 10 different systems. everyone knows system matching is important. if i said a component does not sound good in my system does not mean it does not sound good in hifi kaki's system or master ken's system. you have to take my criticsim with a huge pinch of salt. again, no one forces you to believe what i write. if you don't like what i write, then why are you reading this blog?

so, in summary, i promise to be more diplomatic in the future but within what i think is fair, without compromising my integrity. it is a fine line between commercialism and honesty and i am still learning the balancing act. but just so you know - in politics, i rather be a lee kuan yew than an abdullah badawi. in hifi, i rather be a roy gregory than a ken kessler.

i am just an honest and straight forward guy, so please don't bother me with all these politics.

oh, btw, don't you think charmaine sheh is highly desirable?

what audio component(s) that had the most impact in your audio life? much like your first love.

my first love was when i was 17 (that was a long long time ago) and it left an indelible mark in my life. that was the sweetest and most innocent chapter in my life.

in audio, it is definitely the audio research classic 30 and that happened in 1990 . i was too young to appreciate the past giants of ARC like sp-11, d70, d250 and all those models that preceded the classic series.

i used the classic 30 to drive the legendary ls3/5a and i had a good few months of audio nirvana before i upgraded the ls3/5a to spica tc-10 (remember spica in the 80s?).

the classic 30 simply has the sweetest sound among all the ARC amps i have ever heard. not only that, it taught me about high-end values.

high-end values that i hold dear and are still applicable till today. the bland and analytical tube sound of today is nothing like the glorious tube sound of yore.

tell me about your first love audio.

If we were to financially budget according to sound quality contribution of each audio component in the overall playback chain, I would challenge you to the following:

• Source: 12.5%


• Amplifier: 12.5%


• Speakers: 17.5%


• Cables: 12.5%


• Supports: 7.5%


• Room: 17.5%


• Electricity: 12.5%


• Others: 7.5%

The numerical values of the % are completely arbitary – I do not have any proper methodologies, let alone scientific basis in arriving on the % values. There is no scoring method for the matter either. Forget about the values. What I want to illustrate is the “relative contribution/ranking” of each major audio component/accessory category to the final sound quality that we can discern from an audio playback chain.

My points are these:

1. The room and loudspeaker each contribute and influence the audio signature of any audio system the most. Together, e.g. 35%, the room-speaker interaction/pairing will dominate the sonic character of the audio playback system and will immediately make-or-break the perceived sonic fidelity of an audio playback system.


2. Cables and electricity quality (voltage, noise, dynamic current availability) are each by themselves as influential as either the source or amplifier in determining the resulting sonic quality. They are all ranked equal, e.g. 12.5%. In suitably transparent systems, the magnitude of sonic differences that can be heard from cable changes or mains conditioning/enhancements is as great as if one is changing sources or amplifiers.


3. Paying attention to the supports for your audio equipment yield surprisingly significant dividends. The likes of Mana Acoustic racks, Black Diamond Racing cones, Shun Mook platforms and the endless home experimentation with granite, ceramic, wooden, blue-tack and air-suspension contraptions all come to mind.


4. Other factors, mainly tweaks in phenomena which have not resulted in widespread audiophile acceptance, collectively also yield surprisingly significant dividends. These include cable elevators, any sort of RF noise-busting/shielding devices (especially with digital components) and ‘static charge buster’ devices/pratices. There are many more examples in this category and no doubt there will still be more to be discovered.

If one has not experienced the magnitude of changes as I alluded to above for variables like cables, electricity, room, supports etc., it may be a combination of the following:

• one’s system overall set-up and interaction masks the magnitude of the changes due to these variables (a topic I will blog about the next time which I hope will not be too dry for some)


• one is not sensitive to the type and/or magnitude of the changes brought about by these variables


• one is psychologically biased against these variables because of what one can/cannot see with the eye/mind (e.g. a source perform a complex function but a cable’s function is so simple – so cable changes cannot yield profound sonic differences) or previous preconceptions/notions of these variables. Only blind A-B tests can eliminate/expose one’s biases in these areas.

Now, irregardless of the validation offered by your experience on the above issue of “relative contribution/ranking”, we need not necessarily allocated $$$ and spend in accordance to this principle. I am not aware of anyone who would spend their audio budget according to the “relative contribution/ranking” concept. Neither will I.

But it is possible to get good sound for little $$$. For example, if you believe the room indeed contributes significantly to the final sound, it is possible to get staggering improvement in the overall sound quality with comparatively little dough since room treatment and speaker placement can be had at low outlay. Of course, you can have the whole she-bang and spend a lot on a customized room for audio (a previous project of mine which I hope to blog about in the future).

In the end, I say you should ‘blow-it’ as you financially can afford to in order to explore areas that interests you (just like traveling the world - some like scenery, others on the culture & way of life, others yet on adventure – ultimately whatever grabs your fancy but certainly constrained by your budget). Just don’t regret. Do you?

ah teo, an aspiring audiophile, after reading this blog, was impressed that they are still gullible people spending RM24K on some unknown cables (which he claimed to best all cables in the world in 30 seconds), so he quit his ice kacang stall and started his cable making biz in a make-shift factory in jinjang.... the rest, as they say, is history.

whoever says hifi is boring and not fun needs to check with teo audio.

in recent years, many cable manufacturers have come up with "proprietary" technology to keep up with the competition. audioquest's DBS, harmonic tech's "lighting", to name but a few. now add "liquid conductor" to the game and you will have teo audio as the first to pioneer such weird technology.

hailed as the first revolutionary idea in high-end cables, teo audio employs patent-pending liquid metal conductors, claimed to breakdown barriers in electromagnetic signal transmission. teo's liiquid cable interconnect cables also claim to be best characterized by their absence of character.

we are not sure how the cable looks like and how to terminate the cables manually?

will the water leaks out if we terminate it manually by local technicians?

more importantly, is the chief designer a chinese hokkien? ;-)

we are looking for a female jazz vocalist for our new album...

check this out!

yes, bright idea strikes on the auspicious date of 8th of august 2008 - the born of a new jazz duo, tentatively code-named "JZ8". yeah, my fixation on numbers ;-)

i have found a gifted jazz pianist who really plays to my style and preference. i need an excellent female vocalist to complete the duo. she comes in the form of meeia foo [符琼音]- astro talent quest (ATQ) 2005's runners-up.

meeia delivering power-packed covers of "power of love" and "coming home" (2v1g album's 1st song)




so who's better? winnie ho's "coming home" or meeia foo's "coming home"?

unlike 2v1g's winnie ho, i have not much info on meeia except that in the same year she won "the most beautiful voice" award in the world's meet of talent quest held in hk. from youtube, i could see that she is active in china in various singing contests. i don't think anyone has signed her yet so the chance is 50/50.

while my pianist is eager to work with us, we are not sure about meeia. JZ8 is going to be very different from 2v1g but they cover the same genre of mandarin pop.

will she agree to do such a groundbreaking project with us?

i have cast my net to hunt her down.

with experience gained in making 2v1g, we are approaching JZ8 with so much more confidence. another great pop/audiophile crossover album in the making?

E.g. “How much should I spend on audio cables?” This was a much often quoted question in the 1980s when interconnects and speakers cables were trying to shake off their ‘snake-oil’ image and make a transition into the realm of bona-fide audio components, backed with scientific research and correlation to sound quality. The likes of Audioquest, Van den Hul, Sonic Link, Kimble and Monster Cables were notable pioneer in ‘brain-washing’ the audio community at large that cables do make a meaningful difference in sound quality.

Cables were by-and-large considered by audiophiles as ‘secondary’ issues – they lie slightly above the realm of ‘tweak-land’. The belief then was that the effect cables had on sound quality would be minor compared to the source, amplifier or loudspeaker. Of course there were times when sound quality differences were so minute during cable changes that some would swear they heard no difference. I am sure this belief still persists today amongst some but judging by the sales of specialist audio cables around the world, I believe the transition has been successfully made – cables deserves meaningful attention as part of an audio playback chain though most will not spend as much on cables as they do on the source, amplifier or loudspeaker.

I remember the often answer bandit amongst British hi-fi publications was: 10%. During the 1980s, an audio playback system was often thought to consist exclusively of source, amplifier and loudspeakers. So if you have a system where these three components costed, say RM10,000, then the answer is you should be prepared to spend about RM1,000 for your cables.

How much would you spend?

in the movie "the dark knight", joker uttered to batman these corny borrowed-from-jerry-mcquire words - "you complete me", words that i thought i want to reserve for my future woman but alas, i have to use it here to draw attention.

close friends know why i have been silent on the hifi front - i am queitly and patiently breaking in my stage III concepts ASP gryphon interconnects.

to add anymore superlatives to my experience would tantamount to selling out and that's not my style. but i must open the eyes (and ears) of those who steadfastly hold on to the belief that cables are only accessories and are to be taken as an after-thought.

i have said many times how real and complete the soundscape created by the gryphon is, compared to the rest of the cables i tried. its presence in the system is highlighted by its absence. or to phrase it another way - a good cable is like no cable. you only get drown in the music. is this the highest accolade a cable can get? u bet it is.

as it is slowing opening up, the gryphon adds plenty of juices and headroom to my 110-watter triode amp. you may think i exaggerate but it turbo-charges my ARC tube amp and makes it sounds like a 300-watter. and those who didn't consider maggie as their choice speaker because "it doesn't have enough bass" or "it can't rock and roll", you are more than welcome to come to listen to my maggie (at a later stage when the gryphon fully breaks in) and eat your large piece of humble pie.

liew, the distributor of stage III concepts in malaysia, said that the bass from my maggie is even better than his behemoth focus audio top-model floorstander driven by krell evolution combi, fed by dCs scarlatti cd combi. i don't need to doubt liew for he has no reasons to polish my shoes. even master yong once said my maggie's low bass is better than his ATC, and that was before i have the gryphon. but why is that many maggie owners can't coax the bass out of their maggie (and ended up giving up this gem of a speaker)? and those in the rest of the world who always preach that maggie needs powerhouse solid-state amplifications to sound good, you are just dead wrong! if i had my way, i would like to bring jim winey to my house and share with him his pride and joy!

RM24K per pair is a crazy amount of money in trying times like these. it would especially leave a bad taste on those who are not earning much in low-wage malaysia. i would like to apologize if i have offended those lower-income audiophiles. i have never meant to brag or blow my own trumpet. even if i were to buy this cable, i would need to pay by installments. it is just part of my quest for perfection and my desire to share good things with your readers. hifi is rewarding because it drives us to be a better person. at least, i am motivated enough to work hard to earn the moolah to feed my hobby. we all need to work hard if we need to get good things in life.

which leads me to think hard - how could cables make so much difference to a system? how could cables make the amp sound so much more powerful than it is? and if i were not to spend on these exorbitant cables, i would never realize the full potential of my system. not only that, i would never know that a mid-fi system can sound that convincing! in fact, i haven't paid liew yet; he gave me 3 months to audition. at the same time, i am being offered a used meridian 808 at RM24K by another friend. i don't need to hesitate for a minute - i would invest on the gryphon and not the 808. 808 wouldn't give me the quantum leap that gryphon would.

to those cable naysayers (and there are many of you here!), i urge you to be more open-minded and give yourself a chance to explore good cables along your journey. of course, your system must be fundamentally right first before any good cables would make a positive difference. hifi kaki is never a cable investor but now he is a convert because i showed him the way.

i am always a believer but this time, the gryphon makes a cult out of me ;-)

rega's gone lifestyle - it is so good that one can chew on it!

btw, is tong lee still the rega distributor in malaysia? i doubt it...

Daring, Artistic, Reliable, Elegant and Definitive - this is dared amplifiers for you frugal audiophiles!

dared's origin is from an audio company called danyigao audio equipment limited in shenzhen, china. featured here is their dared vp-16 12-watter push-pull class AB integrated amp with 6V6 power tubes.

eugene of audio matic (012-3222698), amcorp mall is one dealer who has high standards and he thinks the dared is good enough to meet the demands of money-tight audiophiles.

another tube amp to dare your shrinkng wallet? fret not, this is is not only beautiful, sonically pleasing but financially agreeable as well.

i dare you to try the dared!

what a stylo pose ;-)

the day we posed for this group photo (after the photo shooting) was the same day that the AKG C12VR mic got stolen.

looking back, the journey was filled with bittersweet memories.

we are now looking forward to the making of the 2nd album with much more confidence.

cmy has issued this challenge to you - for under RM1,500 a pair, please find fault with usher s-520!

the S-520 is the entry-level two-channel bookshelf speaker from usher audio technology, a taiwanese company that manufactures more than two dozen two-channel speakers (not counting their home-theater models). i am not saying that for under Rm1.5K, you can't find many worthy contenders. you can't find a contender with this kind of craftmanship and looks! kudos to the taiwanese for making such beautiful products affordable.

rave reviews from all over world confirmed that this tiny usher trashes anything below RM3K and that included brand A, brand B, brand C and brand D. so bring forth your wharfedale diamond, dali royal minuet, xavian mia, AE1, epos and many other similar monitors. usher s-520 is afraid of no one!

if you have the guts, call CMY (03-21439406) now and bring home a pair to audition.

the pair i saw in CMY comes with glossy piano finish and it is lustily desirable! just how did usher do it at this price point? the mind boggles!

younger audiophiles, who started their hobby in the last 5-8 years, would always need to catch up on hifi history, especially on the golder era of hifi in the early 80s to mid 90s.

there was this UK speaker brand which was very popular in malaysia called monitor audio (MA). the reason why it was popular was MA was the first one to use metal dome drivers in its speakers. the quest of high frequencies supremacy started way back with MA. i remember that a local hifi editor used to own MA speakers for years.

today monitor audio has become the world’s foremost expert in developing metal dome drivers. metals have amazing properties for more life-like sound reproduction when treated correctly. MA's design team is led by experienced speaker engineer dean hartley, and the english speaker company has been producing a range of excellent, affordable speakers since its management buyout in 1998. convinced that metal would revolutionise driver performance, MA experimented with tweeter domes throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s. the landmark design came in 1988 when MA released the gold alloy dome tweeter. It represented a technological leap from single-metal domes which, almost without exception, sounded unconvincing. The R352MD loudspeaker used an aluminium-magnesium alloy dome that sounded significantly clearer and smoother. these radical design elements formed the basis for successive generations of ceramic-coated aluminium magnesium (C-CAM®) metal domes.

the tweeter technology is the fiercest of competition in high-end speakers today. MA has led the game all these years. isn't it time you reacquaint with this 35-year of speaker glory? call ann of ban leong and she will be happy to talk to you about MA.

malaysian sole distributor:
ban leong bros sdn bhd
563, jalan 20,taman perindustrian ehsan jaya
taman ehsan
kepong 52100
tel: 62772799
http://www.banleongbros.com/

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.

he calls himself the commander-in-chief; he names his biz "helter skelter" not because he likes the ride in amusement park but because he is a big fan of the fab 4.

we used to be partners in music exchange; we couldn't get along and i ended up selling the entire biz to him. but it doesn't stop me from promoting his biz here. i am a very gracious guy.

helter skelter is the biggest record stockist in malaysia, with over 40,000 pieces and still counting and what's more, he has started a blog to promote his LPs.

if anything, i respect him as a bona fide music lover with immense passion, unlike the typical posers you find among the audiophile circle who call themselves music lovers. hint hint: those who only collect audiophile-approved LPs.

so visit helter skelter today and find your treasure!

sorry for the silence for the last few days. please give me some time for my brief report on the KLIAV show.

finally, for av xpress readers outside kl, hope we make it up for you by providing a pdf version in rapid share and youshare!

you can print in color printer (if you want to appreciate the beautiful ads) or black and white if you just want to read the articles.

interesting to note that this is the best printed issue of av xpress so far because we have terminated the previous printer and now changed to a new one for good. the quality of print (as well as our ad design) is very good, s-o-o-o-o much better than our competitor.

some complained that it is still too thin. well, i know, i know. we have limited resources and it is a free bulletin. also, the cost of raw paper has increased by 40%, just so you know.

in future, we would reduce drastically the number of hard copies and hope that most of you would download from here or here

enjoy. remember to give us some feedback!

[apologies: the pages are not sequenced properly due to our conversion method. please arrange it based on the page number]