sometimes we are so consumed by hi-fi that we forget there are more important things in life, such as hi-fi!

Wah, I sure got problems in manhood already, I have been getting weak knees these past few weeks. First, it was the Naim CD5X, and then it was the Meridian G08, now it is the Goldmund EIDOS 18CD. Selling at more than 20K, wah lau, must be something good within lar.

I dunno whether it’s the Swiss preference or a similarity shared by rigs costing 20K and up, coz both Siltech and Goldmund share similar traits in many areas. The only difference between the 2 is tonal temperature, while Goldmund goes for the breezy cool and pristine sound; Siltech turns towards the lush and warmer tonal shade.

If you have not heard rigs costing this price, don’t even tell anyone about resolution and definition. This player is able to dig real deep into recordings, giving plentiful of details. Indeed, Goldmund has got really no problem in extending sky high and plunging super low. However, I find the details over staggering; do we really need this much of details to enjoy music?

Don’t even think of telling me that this might be false resolution due to excessive highs, coz the details cover from top to bottom. Everything is presented in an incisive manner, cohesive and crisp, snappy and visceral. The outline of the image is sharp and precise. Not only that, there is this classiness and elegance similar to Siltech, products of $$$? Your guess is as good as mine.

The bass, though articulate, is not as capable in building the musical mood like the Meridian. In fact, dry could suitably describe it as it’s clean and taut. Although the highs extend far better than Meridian, it lacks the weight to give it a sense of presence. I find the mids finely grained, too, but not to the extend of giving rough edges. Results of too much details?

If you are an audiophile rather than music lover, by all means, go Goldmund. The sound reproduced is top notch technically compared to Meridian, giving more details and resolution. Sadly, I listen to music rather than sound.

If both players come free, I would still go Meridian! Meridian dealer, hint hint!

Do you really like pop music? Britpops to be more exact? Don’t forget that a lot of rock started right after Beatles. Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple remain the few bands residing in the soft spot of my heart. Sandie Shaw, anyone?

With my rigs, clearly, it was not built around beats, but rather, on tonal attributes. When given the chance to audition one between CDS3, CDX2 or CD5X, I chose CD5X as this is the farthest budget I could push if I ever got smitten by it.

On first listen, I was really surprised actually to note its capable soundstaging and imaging qualities, something that Naim was not known for. Although the depth is kinda narrow and upfront, it throws a really wide stage in my setup. Live concert like?

This player holds rhythms and beats up above all else, there’s an overriding effect on all the music being played. You know like playing piano, there’s a beat keeper; this player plays the role of a beat keeper in my setup.

Listen to the drum work or any percussion instruments, there’s an energetic quality to them, visceral and on the spot. They never fail to follow the pace! But then, all else take a backstage, following the speed frantically disregard of genre played! Fuhhh!

On the other areas, I can live with the mids and highs. The mids is grainless and sweet, though not as communicative as Meridian (a far margin!), but definitely head to head amongst the good (not great!) players out there. Highs is not as extended, but enough to let you enjoy even audiophile CDs.

It’s great at making pop music, out of anything! But who would afford 10K just to play perfect pop?!

goldmund eidos 18cd sacd/cd player, currently auditioning. review by kc forthcoming.... stay tuned.

This is for those who might miss it in the comment section, plus some bits and pieces I might add in here and there.

Months ago, I read a review about this superb and so deemed the best sounding player within its price range player. Being a sucker for hyped reviews, I soon announced that this would be my dream player without knowing how it sounded.

Months later, Leslie upgraded. Man, how awed I was to find that it was miles ahead of the 508.24! Every single area, not just some. Sorry Les for discouraging you on the upgrade as I thought 508.24 was already a tough act to beat!

Anyway, after I had a demo at home, this is my next upgrade, PERIOD! BUT, if your setup is not transparent and balanced, forget about getting the G08. Coz this is one heck of a balanced player, doing everything in approriate balance yet never fail to embrace musicality as the ultimate goal!

From top to bottom, nothing stands out but integrating seamlessly to build up the flow of music and emotion. The bass is by far the most organic and articulate I have heard, the top is extended with a natural sense of weight and density.

The mid is the killer part of this player! Talk about presence and emotional conveyance, I have never listened so deeply into my CDs. This player has got the eerie capability of portraying the singer with full bodied outline, anchoring vividly in front of you!

Everthing takes a lifelike presence in my room. 508.24 has got the capability of giving the instruments individual space and dimension, G08 surpasses this by giving the whole presentation the space and dimension in a seamless organic canvas! Soundstage was deep and appropriately wide, with great layers.

I can only say that Meridian is selling this at lesser price than the player deserves! At sub 10K, I have not heard a player that came close to it, and that's a huge gap!

THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST I HAVE HEARD IN MY SETUP! AND ONE PURCHASE THAT I CAN CONFIDENTLY SAY WOULD LAST ANYONE A LIFETIME!

Of course, if I strike lottery, then maybe a 808 lor.

cheer chen.... best recording and best chinese album

the real joy of being a hardcore audiophile lies not in buying audiophile-approved cds (as they are mostly boring and soulless stuff) but discovering pop/indie cds that have supreme recordings.

introducing cheer chen qi zhen 陈绮贞 , the biggest indie artiste in the chinese music scene today. it may be a misnomer calling chen an indie singer since she has somewhat crossover appeal with the mainstream chinese pop music fans as well.

i will leave you to google her background. suffice to say that this 4th album, entitled "adventure" 华丽 的冒险 is her best todate, a tour-de-force of album that also wins my vote as the best chinese pop/indie album as well as best recorded chinese pop/indie album in the last decade. (note: as i speak, cheer chen has been nominated in the best female singer category, best album category and best production category in this year's prestigious golden melody awards - taiwan's answer to grammy awards - to be held on 10th june 2006).

some of you may not be literate in chinese but hey what's there to matter because the recording is so rich, raw, airy and sumptuous. recorded by taiwan's top recording engineer kenny and mastered by doug sax, this album is full of artistry yet never looses sight of pop sensibility. every song is a gem. every song is well crafted and immaculately produced.

a word of caution: if you are used to jay chou and lee hom variety, sorry you won't be able to appreciate this intellectual gem.

it has become mine and kc's favourite test cd to test a system's ambience, liveliness and presence factor. try track #11, the last track. if you can't produce the kick drum and upbeat tempo with aplomb, time to retune your system.

note: this album cover is the limited edition which is not available in malaysia. the normal version has blue cover.

My exposures to cables are mainly on AQ, Harmonic Tech, Stealth, Stage III, MIT, Transparent and WireWorld. Although I wouldn't care less to listen to cables below 2K, I was god smacked and flabbergasted and (you fill in here...) when I was passed a pair of Siltech Forbes Lake, the entry level to their signature series.

Damn, with the listing price of RM19K, my knees were weak even to get them up my apartment and plug it in. You could tell how excited and short breathed I was when I switched on the pre, power and CDP. It was like, 20k leh, must be good lar, if not how to sell at this price?!

I guess people who know me have already grown sick over my hype on new products I tested. But I assure you, this ain't no hype! I always have the problem of going gaga over products that was good in certain areas but fail to deliver the promise as a sonic whole. This is where I learnt to appreciate the presentation as a whole rather than parts of it.

This cable is by far the most expensive and delivered by far the best performance that graced my setup. With no change to the rigs, it is able to elevate the performance of my setup to a level of delicacy never before experienced. The minute changes in details and intensity in musical passage is second to none.

The transitional nuance (OK lar, microdynamics) between the softest and loudest passage alone was so captivating and delicate that it certainly mimic lifelike realism. The mid has got this classy elegance not easily found in lesser cables. Everything is portrayed in grainless manner, a quality I found in many hi-end rigs.

Cables below 10k have got a common tendency, to some extend, draw your attention to certain aspect of the sonic presentation. For example, AQ Anaconda has got the drive that would send you tapping your foot due to its bold and forceful drive. Stage III Magnus has got this rich harmonics and splendid highs that you would never fail to notice.

Some quibbles I have might be due to its overly done noise filtering network. With 2 huge chunks of ferrites per side, I sense certain shut-in in lower mids and slight bottom heaviness. Other than that, the cable gives perfect harmonic textures and density.

Forbes Lake exudes realism, classiness and grace to the presentation if your setup could live up to expectation.

We’ll have to wait to see if AQ Cheetah and Sky come any closer. Till then, it’s STATE OF THE ART!

The recent CDP comparisons have really opened my mind and enriched my knowledge, which I have never imagined gaining without years of bumpy rides!

I have been trying to replace my current CDP, tried Benchmark DAC1, no luck. Then I brought home the CEC TL51XR, the latest mid entry player from CEC. A belt driven transport with 24/192 DAC. Please be careful though, there are many players touting a 24/192 DAC, this only means that they are multibit players. They are not upsampling players, the players must explicitly state upsampling, or else, they are just 44.1 players.

Anyway, the CEC is no slouch a player. Giving instruments a complete harmonic texture with almost grainless presentation. Is this analogue sound? I'm not sure, but switching back to my Sony tells me surely that it is. The sound is rich and the mid is just smooth, tangible and densed. The Sony is a bit on the soft side, light weighted and grainy as compared to the CEC.

Technically, the CEC is very much more superior sounding than the Sony. There is no shortcoming in speed, drive and extensions. You want inner details? Plentiful. However, this player is neutral to a capital T! Well behaved and very much indifferent in presentation.

I once thought that the source should be as neutral as possible with almost no coloration at all. Hence, I normally stick to Jap players due to the cultural appreciation in freshness and rawness in food/seafood. And the CEC has got no problem in giving you this, everything is fresh from the CD with no additive at all!

However, when pitted against the behemoth Meridian G08, everything just paled down! The CEC lacked the extra zing, the quality to get you engaged in the music. Cheer track 11 seemed bland. Michelle's latest album brought no indulgence, too, she seemed like cold fish straight from track 1, which is not supposed to be!

With an entry level setup like mine, the CEC is able to give you well defined body, width and depth. But still, the cold fish nature is still very much apparent if you listen carefully. At sub 6K, I could be very much happy with it if my setup is on the bright side. Heck, with Stage III pure silver jumpers, I could bring more out from this player, but still a cold player it is.

TL51XR sure is sushi, just without wasabi!

naim cd5x - PRaT is a two-edged sword

if there is such thing called expedited learning then kc and i have the best of it in the last few months, trying out some really really esoteric stuff.

it is always fun doing a shootout in my system - the outcome will be known in practically seconds, due to the revealing nature of my system.

today, kc brought the following:

1) siltech G6 forbes lake (signature series), RM20,000

with a price tag like that, you would have expected that it would trash my stage III magnus (RM6,000) but it turned out to be a even contest. the siltech is even smoother and more refined than stage III, rendering minute details in a spectacular fashion. it is so classy and composed but alas, it is quite a slow cable compared to stage III. we suspect it is the network box (some sort of ferrite thingy) that causes all this slow speed.

both kc and i prefer the stage III magnus but our ears are opened by the superior refinement of the siltech forbes lake.

round 1 winner: stage III magnus

2) naim cd5x (RM10,000)

now, this is the most entertaining contest ever done in my listening hall. it is like pitting one hifi camp against another hifi camp.

pitting naim against the formidable meridian G08 is a suicidal act but we want to know how the new generation naim cdp actually fares.

playing naim cdp is akin to changing the drummer in a band, a drummer on steroid that is. the beat and rhythm of the naim makes every cd sounds like a pop cd! the drummer is always over eager and over enthusiastic member in the band, so much so the rhythmic foundation overrides the whole musical presentation. the drummer in naim cdp seems like drumming in isolation, totally out of sync with the rest of the band. the beat of the drum seems like in an auto-pilot mode, no matter what is the pace of the music!

this is fantastic for pop/rock music, we wouldn't be bothered with the out-of-sync drum but when you play female vocal audiophile type, that's where the naim sounded decidedly contrived. when we switched back to the meridian, ah, so nice and comfy. the drum effect slows down and follows the rest of the music in unison.

kc and i were so amused by this contrasting style of the two cdps.

the naim is suprisingly refined and elegant, tho' not to the exceptional standards set by the meridian. but it loses out to the meridian by a big margin in airiness, communication and emotioning.

the naim makes a singer sounds like she is a salaried worker, just wanting to get the job over and done with. but the meridian makes the singer such a wiling performer, belting the song with all her heart and soul.

this is a new generation naim for sure. it is much better than all the naim cdp i have heard in the past. for once, naim has class and refinement.

but seriously, the PRaT thing is a two-edged sword.

before shootout, kc had almost drawn out his cheque book and written a cheque to CMY but after the shootout, as usual, he was awaken.

round 2 winner: meridian G08

after missing the bass and image solidity of ARC vt200, i decided to take one unit of james sub home from audio image for audition.

after some playing around for 3 hours with the gain and crossover settings - the only two variables - i am finally happy with the end results.

this is a very subtle and unobtrusive sub, so much so that i don't actually feel its presence when the music doesn't demand it. when it does, oh, it is a beauty. and the best part is - it is truly seamless. even with my eyes closed, i couldn't detect its location.

my overall impression is a very fast and agile sub. the mids does thicken (but not overly so), the highs does beef up (and not overly so).... everything is just so subtle. however, there is no discernible improvement in imaging and soundstage, something that i hope it can. maybe i haven't played enough audiophile cds to compare the soundstage.

another big improvement is the increased weight. the vt200 makes me realize how light-weight my classic 120 is. the james manages to put a solid anchor to some of the images. everything seems more stable.

this unit will be on extended loan to me. so those who want to sample this highly-acclaimed subwoofer, do drop by.

james blunt - chasing time: the bedlam sessions.

get this else regret for the rest of 2006.

ARC VT200 - solving the puzzle

being an ardent ARC supporter, i have been eagerly waiting for the day i will get a chance to audition the new generation of ARC amps. not the cheaper VS series but the higher end of the VT series. i can't wait to solve the debate whether ARC is moving backward or forward in the pursuit of high fidelity. after living so long with the classic series (and loving every minute of it), i doubt there can be ANY improvement in the aspects of tonal colours/beauty and the exquisiteness and sweetness of the triode sound. there can be improvement in other areas but NOT LIKELY in the areas i mentioned above.

the arrival of VT200 at my house has been rather late, due to a complex set of circumstances. i have been waiting for this day for at least 2 years, to say the least.

after a good 3 hours of listening to it, with familiar sources, i am confident to make a few mature conclusions.

firstly, advances in technology can buy you humougous soundstage. VT200 throws the biggest and most spectacular and panaromic soundstage i have ever heard in my living hall. the depth and the layering are staggering. none of the previous "soundstaging" amps, such as ASL hurricane and C-J premier 350 can even beat the VT200 in this area. listening to music is now like "watching" music. the experience is exhilarating. i revel greatly in this experience.

secondly, the 200watter in ultralinear mode (my classic 120 is triode) does not necessary buy you SPEED and ATTACK but it does buy you immense solidity in imaging. every image is achored solidly on the ground. in contrast, the CL120 seems light and floaty. in the bass department, the VT200 is unexpectedly lethargic; the CL120 is much more nimble and agile in bass than the VT200, though it does not have the CONTROL and WEIGHT of the VT200.

thirdly, the ultralinear sound is way too soft and dull, compared to vividness and vivacity of the triode. in contrast, my CL120 is lively, sparkling and has tonnes of presence factor. the highs and mids of the VT200 are rather recessed and dull. well, some would call the highs and mids of VT200, NATURAL or TUBE-LIKE, but that's not the way i would describe them.

after a good session with the VT200, i switched back to my CL120. immediately, i embrace the CL120's lively personality and sonic signature, although the soundstage now has shrunk a lot and things become a bit fuzzy. but make no mistake, the triode rules in the midrange and highs. the triode sound is a heavenly marriage with the maggie's true ribbons.

many of you have commented how my CL120 is underpowered to push my maggie 3.6R. yes and no. yes, the VT200 does have much more control and headroom, maybe 20% more than CL120 but when it comes to bass, the CL120 actually is faster, more nimble and agile. i am not sure if it is a compatibility issue but VT200's bass just doesn't grip me. it is a tad slow and lethargic. it is baffling why a 200-watter behaves like that.

i am not sure if this VT200 unit is in tip-top condition or whether it has the authentic ARC-approved svetlana winged-c 6550s tubes. but experience with tan's VT100 tells me that THIS is the signature of the VT series - lack of presence, soft and unexciting.

the VT200 will be with me for some time so i want to give it more chance to prove itself. but so far, except for the stunning soundstage and rock solid imaging, not much is in its favour.

so, puzzle almost solved. the ARC of yore are indeed better than the ARC of today in terms of highs and midrange.

it goes to show that technology can buy soundstaging, but it can't really buy the critical ingredients like midrange and tonal beauty.

it also prove that modern-day reviewers (like stereophile's wes philips who raved about VT200) may not have the hands-on experience with past ARC classics such as CL120, VT130SE, VT150SE. perhaps, that also explains why older guru and ARC lover like HP has never touched ARC products in the last decade.

i have always been telling many audiophiles that in terms of tube amp design, there has not been breakthru since the late 70s/80s; technology hasn't really helped much. some old classic tube amps still pretty much reign and retain its supremacy.

i am quite relieved.

now, where to find an amp that combines the triode beauty of CL120 and the soundstaging supremacy of VT200?

wattgate 320i 20A female IEC - can't be found in either MY or SG

i was trying to buy the wattgate 320i 20A female IEC from dedicated audio, USA, online. to my suprise, when i was filling up the address part for the order info, the website doesn't contain MALAYSIA for the country code! frustrated, i wrote an email to dedicated audio.

and within 1 minute, yes, you hear it right, within one minute, i got a instant reply from dan, the CEO of dedicated audio (blue denotes me; red denotes dan):

i am a customer from MALAYSIA, i notice that you don't have my country in the COUNTRY CODE. Can you please add it in so that i can transact? Thanks

Hello, we only accept wire transfers from Malaysia. What products are you interested in?

i replied immediately. again, dan replied almost instantaneously!

hi,

phew! that was fast :-)
i wanted to buy the WATTGATE 320i 20A female IEC.....
i hope you can accept credit card for such a small amount.
thanks.

I just read your feedback at Audiogon. Please understand this is not a personal attack but we have encountered many false CC transactions from Malaysia. We get stuck with the bill.

Simply place your order and place your country name in the address. Select USA as the country. Under the notes: ATTN: DAN and I will straighten it out in the am (currently 1145 pm here). Please be sure to add this to your shopping cart to cover the added Int'l shipping costs

http://dedicatedaudio.com/inc/sdetail/596

thanks

phew! you know what that means, don't you? within one minute, dan actually took the initiative to check my audiogon feedback and is satisfied with my credibility!

i am so damn impressed!

on the other hand, shame on all those credit card fraudsters/scammers from bolehland. you have tarnished our reputation and i hope you get caught and be punished by the law.

after 100 hours, the meridian g08 has completely smoked the meridian 508.24 (my previous cdp) and left the latter bleeding in the alley, picked it up and then dropped it in the morgue!

it is such an fucking amazing cdp. i can never imagine cd player can improve to such an extent. who says the potential of cd player has been maximized? you ain't hear nothing yet.

it has a big tone - rich, lush, supple and full. it is harmonically rich and wealthy. it has a rich texture and an exquisite tonal quality.

look at it this way - music thru the g08 is like a sonic woven fabric which if you can pull and stretch in whichever manner you like and yet it retains the elasticity and texture. or put in another way - there is so much texture and pull-and-stretch "action" in the music that mimics a fine fabric.

i haven't even mentioned the highs, mids and lows yet.

THREE WORDS SUM IT ALL - TONE, TEXTURE, ORGANIC

meridian g08 - a thorough bred and a true gem

it was a no-contest. sorry that the results have broken kc's heart, who is bent on buying the benchmark, after such positive results in his system.

true, the benchmark have pretty good highs, plenty of resolution and definition but compared against a super-duper like g08, it pales in most areas.

first, where is the bass from benchmark? in g08, the basslines were rhythmic, tuneful, voluptuous and almost enveloping the whole soundstage, though slightly "fat" due to it not being fully run-in. in contrast, benchmark's bass is way too anaemic and not well-defined.

benchmark's sound is a bit "disintegrated" from top-to-bottom, compared to g08 evenness across the spectrum. this could be attributed to benchmark's lack of mids and bass foundation, hence the feeling of lightness and hollowness. compared to g08's colourful tonal palette, benchmark's tonality is simply two-dimensional. another trump card of the g08 is the rich harmonic textures and density, which put it high there in the high-end league, way surpassing the ageing 508.24.

of course, everything is taken relatively. on its own, at RM4K, benchmark is good for its clean and pure sound, but giant-killer it is not.

on my score card, if g08 was to score 100 marks, then my previously-owned 508.24 (which i sold to a lucky audiophile in sibu) would score 75%, and the benchmark 60%.

harsh contest indeed but A/B-ing in a highly revealing system like mine is alawys a risky business. having said that, i must add that in kc's system which is slightly bottom-heavy, benchmark may be a revelation hence the good results observed by him.

post-script:

kc reached home and tried the benchmark in his system again. he wasn't wrong, the benchmark sounds excellent and perfectly balanced in his system. i guess it must be system synergy at work here. now, kc, feel good and go ahead and set benchmark your benchmark!

note: this review is contributed by my audiophile buddy, kc

Sometimes, in fact, most of the time, reviewing/raving about a particular product is a risky business. The product is reviewed in the context of your setup and unless the components are of known characteristics, the review is very much as useful as rubbish.And a lot of time, it's always easier to criticise a product than to praise it.

This Benchmark DAC1, which made me swallow my own words after 4 hours of playing. The first call to Leslie sounded like this, "this DAC is dead cold, whatever you feed to the recording console/mics, it spits them all out! It's good as an operation tool where you will get all the info on the CDs, but dead cold!"The first track I listened was Cheer Chen's track 4 with rainy drops, it's as if the drizzles were of smaller size and pouring at denser drops, they are crystaline clear! But the edges were rough and coarse on the vocal, as if it's wrap under sand paper. On track 11, speed is fast and snappy, but lacks the delicacy. Dead cold!

So the first sms sounded like this, "for another 1k on top of the DAC1's 4k, I would rather get the Stage III Magnus, which reaps more improvements!" I kept on playing the DAC1. There more CDs I played, the more detached I was from the music. So the second sms sounded like this, "Sometimes I doubt do we really need more details to enjoy the music more when more details does not actually bring you any deeper into the music!"And the third sms sounded like this, "I don't feel the urge of upgrading sometimes as it was not like last time when I go up to AQ and Stealth, DAC1 brings more hifi than music!" Then Leslie called and we chatted about the DAC1, which was nothing encouraging from me. So another sms later sounded like this, "DAC1 lacks Meridian's delicacy and refinement!"

Before I know it, I was slapped hard in the face and everything I said now was working against me, I have to swallow them all! I sms-ed Leslie again, "f***, I guess I have to swallow my words, the Benchmark is opening up, more fluid and liquid! After almost 4 hours of playing!"So I played Le Mon's Tin Man Mong Yau track 3, 6 and 10, omigod, another sms sounded like this, "s***, the highs is like angels sprinkling flowers, I was smitten! I have to say this, very similar to Meridian!" The highs is so delicate and articulate! Les called and asked about the bass, since I was not aware of that yet, I said not sure yet.So I spinned White Snow track 1 and was awed again! Another sms sounded like this, "Omigod! Talk about dynamism, impact, liquidity, speed, delicacy, fluidity and wutever hifi crap, this DAC has abundant, it's its uncanny ability to recreate life like performance and honest realism! From highs to lows, I could not find fault!" The thunderous drums towards the end was rolling in distinctive presence! Never heard of in my setup!

Yesterday nite, I spinned Damien Rice and the DAC1 did nothing but digging deepest to the CD, delivering top notch resolution and definition. What it does not do is add any harmonics to sweeten the music and impose itself unto the music. With stone cold setup, the sound might be thin, but never thin in truncating the decay and harmonic palates; on transparent tube setup, it's a godsend!

To me, it's really good!

babysitting the burning-in process of new tubes, especially tubes you are trying for the first time, is an arduous and nightmarish process. it requires tons of patience and good faith. at many points in the first 70 hours, the sound was so bad that i couldn't bear to listen to it. if you are paranoid (like me), you may even think that your amp has got problems!

therefore, it makes sense for a lot of tube dealers (in USA especially) to pre-burn-in the tubes for 70 hours before they sell them to the public to avoid all these growing pains.

here's a blow-by-blow account of the first 70 hours...

first 5 hours - sounded promising. strong presence. highs are slightly strident. bass is muffled. everything is a bit taut and tense. but overall a good preamble to what is to come. 75% on my score card.

5-20 hours - horrible. shitty sounding. no energy. soft. sissy. closed-in. no definition. blur. totally unlistenable. extremly low gain. these are the worst stage of the tubes.

20-30 hours - highs started to come out but the overall presentation is still soft and recessed. still no definition. very soft gain (volume) . very very unbearable.

30-40 hours - somewhat improved. highs become better. definition becomes better. still inconsistent gain - sometimes loud, sometimes soft. mids and bass are still not well defined.

40-50 hours - getting much better. still lacking of energy and gain. 75% on my score card.

50-70 hours - bass still hasn't come out. anaemic presentation due to lack of bass. highs are 80% defined. still low gain. separation is no good. lacking oomph.

70-80 hours - voila! bass came out though still puffy but strong and tuneful bass! the sound gains energy! 85% on my score card. highs are still not the best yet. but overall quite satisfying.

80-90 hours - highs started to develop. mids also gain definition. 95% on my score card. this tube really needs more than 100 hours to sound its best!

characteristics of re-issue tungsol 6550

the tungsol sound is characterised by two things - robustness and the voluptuous bass. the mids, after 90 hours, still lack a wee bit of resolution and details. the bass is fat, taut, clean and tuneful, in fact, the bass is the best thing about this tube. the highs on the other hand, is not the most refined/pristine, compared to NOS 6550s. but we are hopeful that all these will further improve after 100 hours.

overall, it should partner well with systems which are not too "fat" or "tubey". considering that it is a current production tube and it is only 90 hours burned-in, it has far exceeded my expecations. i would give it a provisional score of 95%.

i would further update this after 100 hours.

technology of yore - ultimate in cool

i happen to pick up a copy of this month's stuff magazine (the local version of the international gadget magazine) and was in awe by the advances of technology. blinding speed, is how i describe the progress of technology these days. the explosion or convergence, whatchamaycallit, in audio, video, voice and data are phenomenal.

i couldn't understand more than 80% of the terminology/jargon/tech talk in the mag, tho' i enjoy reading it very much. and to think that i am supposed to be tech/IT savvy. absolutely horrendous explosion of information and entertainment gadgets. i could spill out some terms to you off hand - ipod-on-video, PS3, wiresless digicam, gigaphone, K-Jam, digital music servers... the list goes on.

several questions spring to my mind immediately:

1) just how fast can malaysians adopt technology? we can't even adopt ipod as speedily or as pervasively as s'pore, furchristsake.

2) will you wait for something for months to arrive at our shore, only to know that it is already outdated by the time they have it on sale in low yatt plaza or imbi plaza?

3) what about the quality of service and repair of these gadgets? malaysian suppliers are notorious for "sell first, service later" mentality

i am not a technology follower, as you can judge by the handphone i use and the hi-fi system i listen to. i want my phone to be just, err, a phone and nothing else. if i need to take photos, i can use my digicam, thank you very much. and furchristsake, who would pay RM100K on a two-channel audio system in today's age and time? i certainly belong to those technology dinosaur category. no wonder i can't impress young chicks these days :-)

also, i have no interest in HT/AV (home theatre/audio video) until they sort out whether 7.1 channel is better than 5.1 channel and the endless and tiring format wars. even those who are supposed to regulate the standards are in total disagreement among themselves. what's the point?

at the end of the day, i still go back to what i am familiar with. two-channel hifi playing on compact discs or maybe SACD at a later time. of course, turntable playing LPs (long-playing/ records) is still the ultimate in cool. all this technology is not necessary a boon. it makes people like me wanting more to go back to embrace the technology of old.

but then again, i am a dinosaur so take my views with a pinch of garam.

a little bird told me the following...

that a certain high-profile audiophile in kl has bought a goldmund eidos reference cd player costing a cool USD140K. in the process, he dumped all his reference-grade barang-barang mahal including naim CDX2, burmester 001 (both cd players) and sonus faber stradivari speakers... if you want to buy them secondhand, contact me, i want a cut too

that one audiophile is also contemplating of upgrading to the top model of avantgarde horn speakers costing over Rm1 million.... *sweating profusely*

that a new retail outlet will be surfacing in mont kiara carrying distinguished brands like goldmund, karma, electrocompaniet, NBS (cables)...

that a certain hi-fi retailer is opening up new branches because the existing branches didn't fare too well with business falling below their targets...

that a certain dealer is going to lose the dealership for a famous solid-state amplifier... hint, hint, the designer of which is a legend in d.i.y

a word of caution: the above are merely hearsay, don't hold me responsible...