Friday 30 November 2007

fruitful friday......

first stop: sitex at singapore expo...... the annual year end computer and electronics show.....

quite many people were there.... some were lugging lcd tv cos a few brands offered only cash and carry......... while some retailers were kind enough to deliver for free ......

major manufacturers are represented....... samsung, LG, sony, sharp, panasonic, toshiba and so on.... and pioneer of cos..... the kuro range of plasma tvs look really good............. i especially dig the panel's black level.......... simply delicious .....

for blueray disc players.... i think only sharp, sony and pioneer have actual products for sale...... LG displayed their BD/HD-DVD player...... panasonic BD for display/show only......

i didnt stay long..... it's too much of a market for me.... :)

2nd stop: JLC boutique raffles hotel.....

finally the extreme world-alarm is in town............. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

boutique manager was very friendly and made us feel right at home in no time.....

was greeted by a massive 46 mm diameter watch case......... the w-alarm looks way way way better than any pics could be...... and the case is THICK!!!! and i mean THICK....! if u think the EWC is thick, wait till u see this one.....

fortunately the Ti makes the watch light enough .......... the bright yellow rubber strap is also fabulous and a perfect match for the dial............ it comes with a tang buckle while the alligator strap works on a friction-fit deployment buckle....

it would take quite awhile to learn how to use the watch....... especially the alarm function....... btw the alarm sounded pretty good too............ and there's a silent mode which can vibrate.... cool huh....

this is a piece that i seriously wanna get............. but let me think over...... cos not a small amount of money is involved ..... prudence prudence ..... no no impulse ok???

as i am writing...... i can feel the effects of the subwoofer firing downstairs cos my sis is watching a dvd..... not too bad at all haha....

blancpain..... do u like this...???


the other half of the 2 iconic dive watches of the world....... the other one? of cos the rolex submariner...!

new for this year, the fifty fanthoms is 45 mm in DIAMETER.... and that is big...!! but i cant imagine the size just from looking the picture.....

well i'd got news that the watch is in singapore..... and i am going to catch a look....... :)

Thursday 29 November 2007

thursday's buy.....

3 cds......... all chinese imports

nowadays i seldom rarely very unlikely would purchase local or imported cds..... why? well since the chinese imports are freely available at close to half price, why should i spend double to get the same music???

i want only the music..... i dun need dvds of music video, i dun need fanciful packaging, i dun need gifts/posters etc...... give me the music that's all i need.....

record companies need to understand...... give the consumers a choice..... give them what they want...... not give customers what the record companies think they shd produce...... no frills is good....... ok???



first pick: a-yue latest album.......... and i am listening to it as i write..... always like his music cos he writes what to him and me are interesting...... simple fare for simple people... down to earth people...... rarely can find an album whereby most tracks are good...........

this is one good album..... his vocals is soothing and captivating........ and most importantly sincere and genuine............

something about a-yue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang_Chen-yue

2nd pick: stefanie sun's against the light...... have yet to listen so no comments.... :)

3rd pick: na ying's the best album........... one of my fav female singers and yet this is the only album i have.... haha

another amazing night at anfield.....

half the job done as liverpool beat fc porto 4-1 at anfield...... it was a MUST WIN game and the reds did their job....

a double strike from torres, a converted penalty by steven gerrard and peter crouch rounded off the night with a header from close range....

surprise surprise, besiktas came through 2-1 against marseille and the group is now OPEN.... all four can still qualify......

match day 6 will be something to look forward to......

kudos to liverpool........... may not have the best but it was enough to do the job......

Wednesday 28 November 2007

wet day.....

quite a storm in the afternoon right...??

WOWOW torrential rain in many parts of singapore...... for such days, i expected accidents to happen on most roads and expressways too..... the way singaporeans drive, they cant handle even their car when there were no obstacles, let alone on wet roads....

fortunately i am off work today..... so it was still a relaxed atmosphere for me...... to enjoy the cool breeze brought by the rain....

went to play football on a waterlogged pitch............ hehe was quite enjoyable though...... and we won! quite unexpected cos the other team was supposedly stronger.....

let's hope liverpool can do their job this morning...... beat porto first and worry later.....

Tuesday 27 November 2007

tuesday's listening.....

today i gave up on tv and went straight to listening......

to warm up the system, i popped in a kitaro cd and sat down to clean some other cds with finyl...

using a piece of cotton, i wet each cd carefully....... taking note not to apply too much pressure so as not to scratch the fragile surface..... using small circular motions from the centre to the outer edge...... once the cd was dry, i then used a clean piece of cotton to buff it clean..... some cds get far too dirty over time..... haha a little maintenance goes a long way....



2nd disc is another "butterfly lovers" violin concerto (marco polo 8.223488).... by czecho-slovak radio philharmonic orchestra.... violin by takako nishizaki, i think she needs no intro for she's quite famous...... quite a different rendition and slightly a less polished performance than the philips cd i wrote about yesterday...... i like the close-miking technique for the lead violin but the rest of the performance was not as integrated as the central chinese orchestra..........

haha that's another 25 mins, not too bad as the system was making music..... good enough to keep me occupied..... and not distracted..... not losing focus



decided to switch to new age music.... and this one is something special (xrcd 1006)..... track 1 still clouds and a solitary crane was made famous when it was included as a track in the ISSE 05 LPCD (track 4)........ the synthesiser bass shook many rooms when audiophiles who did not hear of this cd first played the LPCD......

the xrcd sounded quite different to the LPCD....... dryer, tighter and faster...... the LPCD, in contrast, was more gentle..... a little mellower......

if u like new age, i think you will like this......

this cd will give your woofers a good workout.....

monday's listening.... and oyaide

a short nap later i was well-recharged..... been itching to find some time to enjoy my stereo....

it's getting late but i could steal some time to do it....

first disc was a male basso hifi test cd........... sound quality is the usual high standards one can expect from modern MIC audiophile recordings..... music arrangement is all new and has a jazzy touch.... some may like it some may not..... there are some classic oldies which i enjoy very much...... since this is my first time with the cd, it's more like a ice-breaking session.... haha

2nd cd into the tray: cai qin lao ge........... by this time, the system components have warmed up nicely and everything was falling into place.... high frequencies were extended and sweet..... soundstaging was realistic and the emotion was coming through...... a very communicative and touching performance......

the recent enhancements have really made a BIG difference..... especially the oyaide r1, this thing is amazing.....

last disc for the night was "selected orchestral works by He Zhan-Hao"..... track 1: violin concerto "butterfly lovers" aka LIANG ZHU is my favourite piece...... this recording is by philips classic featuring the central philharmonic orchestra conducted by Han Zhong-Jie.... if u didnt know, this violin concerto "is a single movement programmatic work based on the well known trafic love story of Liang Shan Bo and Zhu Ying Tai" ............ 3 most important moments in the story were covered, the love of the hero and heroine; the rejection of their proposed marriage and the transformation of the lovers into butterflies after their death...... a moving story indeed......

total track time is 25:40 mins..... to listen one track for 25 mins straight is usually something i dun do.... cos i am quite impatient hehe.......... but this time was different..... the violin, the cello and the rest of the orchestra combined so well making the track so addictive and enchanting that i was stucked to the couch...... of cos the system played its part, i have never heard a more touching performance of this violin concerto ......

awesome....!!!

Monday 26 November 2007

sleepy monday....

was on vacation leave for the past few days...... coupled with the long weekend, i had a good break from work..... so much so that my sleeping hours were totally out of sync....

couldnt get to sleep until the wee wee wee hours of the morning....... almost cant wake up this morning..... the alarm was SOOOOOO unwelcomed.....

after dinner, i am again so sleepy.... i need a nap.... :)

brave souls....

i am surprised to learn that more than 10,000 indians participated in the rally in downtown Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia........

10,000!! when i first read about the rally, i never expected more than 1,000 would come.... beyond my expectation.......

10,000 brave souls, despite knowing that police action would be harsh, gathered to lend support and to lend their voices so that their rest of the country and the world know their plight......

illegal their gathering it may be....... but what other ways do they have.....??

tear gas and water cannons, all very potent stuff, were used on these people............. u certainly dun wanna know how tear gas feels like.....

read more at
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_GEN_MALAYSIA_INDIAN_PROTEST_ASOL-?SITE=ASIAONE&SECTION=SPECIAL&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-11-25-01-44-05

on a related note, read the following report to find out what a joke it is....... without filing the proper papers, how can one let the charge proceed..??? and still need to post bail?

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Saturday/Frontpage/2092503/Article

Sunday 25 November 2007

man city: how did they do it.....????

another win??? a perfect record at the city of manchester stadium....????

how did they do it.....?

a last gasp winning goal against reading in the 93rd minute...... these are moments i though exist only in fairy tales haha.....

anyway they are doing well.... and seems like sven is having a honeymoon at city.....

who will take a point or all 3 points at city? let's see.....

JLC boutique.... @ Raffles Hotel

i walked past on thursday..... the boutique is open for business........ small but a very cosy setup, right beside the hour glass.....

and today (as on saturday) there was an advertisement in the straits times by JLC......

so at raffles hotel, there are the blancpain boutique, JLC boutique and the hour glass.... quite a watch haven.....

with the opening of this boutique, THG raffles hotel also relinquished their rights to retail JLC watches.... :)

good saturday.....

good news for me.....

liverpool outplayed newcastle to win by 3 goals to nil at st james park......

man u puffed and huffed at the reebok but could not produce the breakthrough .... lost by 1 goal to bolton wanderers.....

amazingly arsenal continues to win hehe....... they never know how to stop huh.....

Friday 23 November 2007

another attempt



another attempt to play around with colours.... is that all they can do?

an identical effort to the orange, blue and phantom versions, this is another ploy to milk the maximum out of simple changes to the colours used.....

a different colour and selling as a master stroke to ask for more dollars from the consumers...... nah no thank you.....

WOW.....

this is no joke....



rolex's new model........ a gmt master 2 in pure bling...... fully encrusted with diamonds.....

simply awesome...... whoever can afford it should get one........... it will impress the heck of everyone at your prom night/dinner and dance and other functions..... :)

never overstay.....

so england lost 2-3 at wembley.............. despite coming back from 0-2 down.....

so steve mcclaren insisted on staying......

and so he was "terminated"...... i.e. sacked......

so pls dun overstay your welcome......

Thursday 22 November 2007

facing difficult customers......

had a conversation with a friend who deals with computers......... so he related a case with a difficult customer who demanded more for his laptop.....

A says:
i saw customer more siao than you one lor....or rather damn siao one lor.....just that haven take magnifying glass out nia

ohlins says:
haha...... what did he demand


A says:
those stupid things....... how come sticker not paste properly..... the guy said, the black colour screw got a slight silver mark.... does that means this system have been open before? i want a new one.............. the sticker is human paste one mah............ sometimes not paste properly then a bit of bubble...then he wanna new set

ohlins says:
i know.... i mean if the sticker not paste properly.... then tear off lor.......haha


A says:
yah lar............. thats why i say he siao...... he stay in woodlands..... terrace house........ router at 2nd floor....

ohlins says:
hmm..... like that is crazy...... i different i reasonable haha


A says:
then bring laptop up in 3rd floor.... asking why at 3rd floor some area the connection better some area so low............... he f***ing unreasonable

ohlins says:
haha ask him put booster lor


A says:
until my colleague donno how to handle then last week come back and tell me............. then in the end i kena go to attend............ keep demanding for a new set....... crazy f***er

ohlins says:
record n put on u tube


A says:
i feel like lor...... hahah

ohlins says:
anything wrong with the set in the first place?


A says:
of cos no lar............ he just wanna a different model............ i told him unless there is something wrong with this model .......... if not i will not change to another model for him

ohlins says:
so in the end how?


A says:
then he keep telling me this one old set...... say screw got people screw before............ knnz i told him.................if screw no one screw before... then how the f*** we assemble the laptop?

ohlins says:
haha yalor


A says:
then he replied..... ok i accept that.... but then wireless is not stable.... i said to him wireless is never stable.... if stable then people don need to sell access point liao...... he don agree....... he told me about the 3rd flr some pklace high and some place low

ohlins says:
then what he expect....?


A says:
i told him ... sir... simple..... you take your phone out of the house...... stand still.... just turn your body 180 degress..... you see your phone the network always same bar or same reception or not.............he said.... you cant compare phone with wireless mah...... they are different..... then i told him drive a car to b1 carpark radio also got no reception lar.... and some parts of the b1 carpark also got reception also can hear and also cannot hear lar............... then he said again...you cant compare a wireless and a radio....

ohlins says:
haha..... then compare with what


A says:
then i challenge him lor..... you go get any laptop... if you can find any wireless that can have stable frequency........ tell me and prove it to me... then i refund you back..... then he bring his sony laptop....... and show me.... worst,.... 3rd floor cannot detect wireless.... ...........haha..... then lan lan lor..... then until now no hear from him

sigh.............. weird customer is he...... hhmmm

hail LG.....

the panel was showing patchy and cloudy effects............. especially the lower right corner... it was very distracting during dark scenes.....

called up LG last week to arrange a technician to come down today......... they can actually respond in a couple of days but i prefer to do it when i am around ......so made it this week.....

2 guys came..... we swtiched on the panel and one of them acknowledged there was problem....... he tried to scroll through his master remote to see if he could adjust the backlight..... but there was none i.e nothing to adjust.... kinda weird right? why cant we adjust the backlight....

ok since we cant do anything about the backlight..... the LG guys decided to change a new panel for me..... he took a picture for verification.... and we took the TV down and they began to take the TV apart....


they brought a spare lcd panel...... firstly took the bracket then the rear cover....... next removed all the wires and connection panels......... unscrewed the bezel and viola, old panel was OFF......

the is how a bare panel looks like (from the rear)....



in no time, the new panel was mounted........... we switched the TV on and everything looked fine (for the moment)...............

thanked the guys...... and i continued to test the panel with tv broadcast and dvd....... so far so good..... but i noticed that, after 30 mins, the panel dun look so even after all........ haha.... there was already a slightly brighter patch on the lower left corner.........

well let me monitor for a few days........ i guess i have to accept this as an inherent problem of lcd panels?????

hopefully not.....

Wednesday 21 November 2007

hummer h3....

if u watch csi maimi..... u will know what is and who drives a hummer......



saw the car in person today........... well huge it isnt but surely u know what is there..... very typical of american designs.... :)



it's hugely expensive in singapore (over S$200k) and also reputed to be a fuel-guzzler............. so watch out if u buy one..... on the other hand, if u can afford one, you probably cant care less how much a litre of petrol cost......

more at http://www.hummer.com/#/

http://www.cybercars.com.sg/cars.aspx?M=HUMMER

Monday 19 November 2007

AP ROO: amazing collections....

Ap, saw these 2 pics posted on the internet not so recently............

so many AP ROO watches!! my gosh......



the collections are simply awesome......

Orchard Road, TA RG, JPM, Sincere, two Scuba, Polaris, two RB2.... ouch ouch ouch!! ...... :)



takes alot of money to own these babies.......

which one will u choose? my personal fav is the RB2......... the ceramic bezel is a tough nut..... on the other hand, the tantalum orchard road is also quite a prize at 100 pics LE......

Sunday 18 November 2007

a lifeline....... !

amazingly russia was beaten when they looked to be going in for the kill............. 2-1 to the israelis....

so now the english is given a lifeline !!!.......... get a point against croatia at wembley and they qualify for euro 08.....

how quickly things can change............. hmmm

steven mclaren saved his a**, oooops i mean job, for the moment......

no rooney no owen no terry no ferdinand..... but the english have luck on their side so they might just scrape through

consolidation....

found some time to rest at home.... and also took pictures of what i have done up for the living room.....

this is the frontal shot....... lcd tv is being flanked by jm lab micron carat loudspeakers..... as previously mentioned, the onkyo is so deep that cabinet doors cant be fully closed...... speaker placement is not ideal but this is a living room after all, a common place for everyone in the household.....

the micron carat sans grille..... it's a small pair of speakers, more like mini monitors..... good for voices and was used as a satellite speakers with a subwoofer system previously...... now they have been reborn for HT use hehe........ talk about recycling huh.......

the carat was designed for biwiring but the binding posts were crappy stuff (see the upper pair)...... i replaced them with vampire wire binding posts which allowed me to tighten spades or barewire tightly.....! at the same time, i also converted the spks to forgo the biwire terminals....... ah that was many many years ago......

jpw centre.......... nothing to shout about nothing to write about cos it was purchased at rock bottom prices....... a chinese chess piece was used to raise it and aim straight at my usual listening height.....

surround speakers are jm lab micron (the earlier iteration of the micron carat)............... supported by "new" speaker stands.......... very heavy very firm....... just what the speakers need... just like what a good tripod can do for a camera....

another bargain purchase........... surround rear speakers are not placed optimally and height is also compromised but gotta make do with it.... :)

last but not least......... mj acoustics ref 100 mk 2 subwoofer....... next project: to put a MK plug on my spare power cords to use on the MJ......

saturday 17th of Nov ....

ok didnt visit ISSE today cos one day is enough.......... it's usually so crowded that no one can have a quiet moment to listen attentively.... and i dun think i have much things to buy for now(unless i strike lottery haha)..... hhmmm if budget is not a concern, then i have many things to buy :P

sigh i have overspent in nov haha............ spent so much on the home theatre stuff and hurt my watch budget....

woke up .... prepared 3-in-1 coffee... read papers...... had lunch at coffee shop..... did my laundry (i handwash polo t-shirts and those more expensive t-shirts...... dun kinda trust the maid or the machine cos these need gentle loving care).....

visited my friend........... had a short listening session at his place.... the jm lab 816s getting not bad not bad.... haha.... most importantly he passed me a pair of speaker stands so that my surround speakers can have a good foundation....

drove carefully cos any quick change of direction will send these heavy stands flying haha...... i seldom drive like that but just gotta take my time..... gave myself much much more braking distance............. once i parked the car, wasted no time to replace the flimsy ikea stands with these heavyweights.....

sat down and watched the rest of casino royale............. picture is great sound is good...... i did not compare the DD 5.1 and the uncompressed PCM version... ....... i listened solely to the PCM version..... better to leave it in "mutichannel mode" than to apply THX settings..... sounded better that way........

now looking to order BD from amazon.com............. they have a 1 for 1 offer ....... limited to selected titles only...

Saturday 17 November 2007

ISSE continued...

i wont be going room by room.... cos if i do that, i would have to forgo my sleep haha

might be more straightforward if i just touch on the equipment that caught my attention.......

henry audio: featuring wooden tuning cones and wooden super tweeters..... the guy was trying to demo the efficacy of his tweaks..... but since my fren and i were not in the sweet spot, we cant tell any difference..... his cables also look pretty interesting ....there are many wires terminated with crocodile clips and connected here and there until i was also confused...... other unorthodox items i saw was a audiolab equipment without its knobs...... haha very chim

LG: good prices for these commercial LCD panels...... a 42 inch full HD LCD TV at S$3299... plus S$500 NTUC voucher.......... making it a very affordable HDTV..... effective price is less than S$3k...... i think that's a very good offer...

first time ultralinear is here, IIRC........... they are having an offer at S$15k for krell dvd player, int amp and isophon speakers..... out of the range of my wallet.... but good music they are making..... i didnt stay long enough to appreciate more.....

audionote: the best i have heard from the avantgarde...... why is that so? no idea..... the remiyo front end is quite a visual spectacle................ in the other room, the totem are pretty impressive too....

x audio: the vivid loudspeaker sounded pretty good here...... so are the usher be-718..... i have heard the 718 at their bukit timah showroom as well as at audio basic..... this is a pair of very high quality loudspeakers..... the cabinet, the veneer, binding posts, drivers are all top-notch..... not forgetting the beryllium tweeters too...... have a listen to these babies...... they may be bookshelf speakers but they ROCK.. !!!

jay audio: they are playing the jm lab electra 1027be...... good loudspeakers but were being played at too high a volume.... what a waste..... i have heard the speakers perform better at asia sound..... when driven by canary audio 80 wpc tube amp......

dynaudio: a special pair of loudspeakers were in this room....the dynaudio sapphire............. very good very good with plinius electronics......bass was deep and solid.......... the veneer and cabinet work are the usual high standards u expect from the danes...... didnt ask how much haha ....

merdeka: this room is all about lelong and cheap sale.... we were greeted with big signs showing 50% off........... and indeed most things inside are 50% off.......... extreme good deals are the psb speakers...... the platinum range is their flagship model, all at 50%...... good value is the psb image series..... NAD amps, ATI amps, parasound amps all at half price...... dun miss this if u like their stuff.....

monsoon: good deals for oppo dvd players........ at S$400+ u can get a machine capable of sacd playback and dvd upscaling to 1080p..... they also showed the new B&W speakers.....

i think that's all.............. the rest not so interesting....

this is also a good time for anyone who is in the market for a HD projector..... deals for mitsubishi at 4999 (with free sony ps3)........... optoma at 4999....... benq at 7999.......

Friday 16 November 2007

ISSE part 2....

ok before i go on to say my piece about other rooms..... just to let u know the new toys i bought today.....

1. a pack of 10 rca cap.... bought from this taiwan company venture audio.... according to the guy, they are 20k gold plated...... not sure if it works but buy to try lor....

2. TAOC SBL-13MT ....... a set of 4 tuning disc.... wanted to try the tuning slab sold at audionote but that cost S$275?? ok lah didnt wish to spend so much so i bought the TAOC... anyway i like their stuff......

3. a CD....

there are more than 10 rca outlets on my adcom preamp.... so i gotta pick and choose which ones to put on the cap... haha....

for the TAOC discs..... one on the preamp, hydra 6 and the pair of power amps....

total spent for the day? less than S$200.... :) and yes that's including the S$12 entrance fee

ISSE 07: i.e. hifi show (in plain text)...

today is first day of the annual ISSE..... usual spot @ le meridian.... haha did they sign a long term deal with shi ting yi shu (a local hifi magazine in chinese)???

wanted to take the bus (direct bus ... no need to look for parking) but ended up driving as i was running late...... alas took me 30 mins to find a parking lot along killiney road... sigh.....

haha sorry for keeping my fren waiting..... anyway visited the ballrooms first...... pioneer stuff: their range of plasma KURO...... nice but super expensive BD player in cool slippery glossy black...... and how about the super nice but super expensive EX range of speakers...... the centre speaker alone is a monster.... didnt stay long in the dark room cos my pocket is not deep enough haha

local boys creative is also onto the scene..... with a new active loudspeaker and preamp equipped with an ipod dock.... not bad at all.... sound is pretty good too...... under show condition, i consider it as a good start..... i didnt pay notice to their computer speakers.... hehe.... not that i am snobbish but i dun give much damn about computer speakers in the first place....

had a brief look at the thiel 3.7 and bel canto stuff..... but the set up was so narrow ....such that not "inviting" to listen at all..... they are more keen to show their JVC dila projectors which i didnt go in to see..... wanna listen to thiel? better to visit the showroom .......

there were many setups selling CDs and LPs... almost like the a wetmarket ...... i heard someone saying that this is a CD show not a hifi show haha...... well what is hifi without good music right? both goes together....... just how good wine should be shared among good friends......

high end research showed off top level ARC source/preamp and power amps...... all their reference series products.... the speakers used are sonus faber stradivari homage....oops shd be sonus faber elipsa (thanks to an alert extremeplace guy rc5al for pointing this out).. a pair at S$30k (IIRC)...... these mighty components look delicious enough to kill for haha..... too bad the music was boring..... so i didnt stay long...... i was back towards the end and it was much better when they played the hong shao xuan LE CD..... my fren bought a copy and surely will ask him if it's good.......

next room saw boulder equipment...... which is another line of out-of-this-world-prices marque....... however i saw a halcro preamp on the table....... is halcro coming back??? that will be good news ..... also burmester stuff.... big big loudspeakers......

ong radio shut their door ....... full house for their HT demo.....there were static displays outside the room though so saw the mc1000 preamp and the new mc2300 tube preamp too......... tubes are illuminated with a soft green light..... nice touch but the key attraction are the blue meters... :)

lexicon/mark levinson/revel joint up to present "transformers" the movie...... dunno why didnt like the setup.... maybe they were playing too loud...... i am not deaf and loud is not more impressive or better.....

surprisingly, absolute sound came out in full force this year...... they used to be kinda reticent .... a big room was showing meridian, magnepan, naim, roksan, esoteric...... yeah room is big but not conducive to listening...... end up like pasar malam........ one setup was interfering with another.... everyone is a loser here.... haha.....

ok let me take a rest before continuing.... :)

Thursday 15 November 2007

update for thursday....

ok here's the little fellow in ceramic white.....



comes with 1 controller oni..... which btw is white too..!!! ....... surprised? haha...

well compared to the 80 gb version, this one is a cut-price product..... but then it's the cheapest BD player in town..... retail price is S$559....

sony style has only black colour..... so i went elsewhere to see the whitie.... black components are far too common.... followed by gold, silver...... white is kinda unique :)

to set up the ps3 is fairly simple.... cos i using the hdmi connection only......... one gotta set the display resolution (1080p for my case)...... and then the network settings...

if this fellow can play dvd for all regions.... that would be wonderful right...??



so here's the latest setup..........

playing casino royale in full HD (1080p 24Hz)...... the sound is mighty good also....the bass response seems so much more than a normal dvd......is that normal?? .......

now looking forward to collect a few more BD movies....

btw those vases and decorations are not mine........

today's buy: playstation 3....!!

ok ok got the 40 gb sony ps3 in ceramic white........ although it stands out like a sore thumb on the tv console, i love the white too much to give up.....

more updates on the way.....

time flies..........

i was putting away the invoice for the onkyo and MJ sub ....and took the opportunity to look at some of my past purchases.....

OH MY GOD..!!!!!!!!!


didnt realise that my pair of jm lab micron carat is almost 10 years old.....!!!!!!!! amazing huh........ that's reliability..! but of cos most loudspeakers can last for many years.....

the pair of jm lab micron dates back even further........... haha.... date of purchase: 27 June 1992....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! cost = $980

wow..... amazing.....

Wednesday 14 November 2007

my dream loudspeakers (affordable category)

haha.... i like paradigm..... like the reasonable prices, the sound and the looks ..... those tall and slender tower loudspeakers.....

my target, before i decided on getting the polks, were paradigm studio reference 100 v3........

now my attention is on this....

paradigm studio signature s6 v2 loudspeakers ............ v2 for version 2....... also available in cherry and maple....... the cabinet and veneer are of VERY high quality....

selling for US$4500.......... but but but...... at no more than S$6000 here ..... isnt that a bargain??????

OF COS IT IS...! one of the most affordable loudspeakers with a beryllium tweeter.... simply awesome.... :)

that aluminum midrange cone is WAYYYYYYY COOOOOLLLLLLLLLL..... wait till u see the actual thing for it catches light most beautifully.........

ok.... check it out at asia sound if u are looking for something around S$6k......

celebrate the beijing olympic games with this....

Omega Limited Edition DeVille Co-Axial Chronograph


pics from timezone.com

serious bling watches for the ladies (just my opinion.....)

seems like most watches targeted at ladies come with a white leather strap........ white is the new cool colour? maybe.... tough to keep clean but better than black black black all the time...... i think they will look good with a brown alligator strap too.....

with so many diamonds these will cost serious money..... not my kind of watches but i can understand if ladies are smitten..... for they are kinda sporty, classy and in a horological perspective, very advanced pieces too.......

Tuesday 13 November 2007

The Straits Times ...special supplement

there's a special supplement for today's The Straits Times, titled "festival of watches"..... quite an informative read for beginners..... there is a total of 16 pages... mostly filled by colourful advertisements and pictures....



at least they are decent enough to include the MSRP for most of the models covered in the supplement.... so now ppl know that the rolex datejust special edition aka "the zebra" cost S$103,729 haha...... quite alot to ask for a watch that looks so "good"..... :)

another hot piece covered is the AP ROO TA...... it lists for S$39,900 but is currently trading at approx S$65k......! even the ADs are selling it at such a high premium...... !!!! simply amazing.....

one thing to note....... all advertisements except one are for watches...... the special one belonged to vertu..... they sure know who to target..... WIS !! which stands for watch idiot servants.... haha

that's all for now folks.......... time for dinner

IWC boutique..... Kuala Lumpur

here is a link to some pics of the new IWC boutique about 300 km away....

http://www.horomundi.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3390

some pictures for the day....

here's the MJ.....a 10 inch sealed box active subwoofer ....... sitting on 4 M8 spikes and supported by metal discs.....



the cheapo pioneer dvd feeds 480p signals to the onkyo which then upscale dvds to 1080p

so deep is the amp that i cant close the cabinet doors fully ........haha



so many connectors behind huh....... there are 4 hdmi inputs and 1 output.....if u need 2 outputs then u have to get the 905....



so at the moment:

the front speakers are jm lab micron carat...... centre spk is jpw..... surrounds are jm lab micron and surround back spks are jpw ...... i will find some time to add my old jamo sub to the centre spk.... that will definitely add substance to the centre channel......

due to old age, the foam surround of the kevlar tweeters on the micron (surround spks) are disintegrating...... sigh shouldnt have touched it.... but all seems to be working...... i dun think the foams are actual parts of the suspension system... so it shd be ok.....

next thing: good speaker stands for the surround speakers..... presently i am using ikea speaker stands, which are totally hopeless.......... haha..... not rigid at all...!

Sunday 11 November 2007

tough sunday.....

woke up 12 pm................ at the same time, the salesguy gave me a call and informed that his delivery man is on the way.......

so at about 1 pm.....the onkyo and MJ were at my doorstep.....

left it lying and .....firstly went for my daily fix: read papers...... then began to unpack slowly..... first the onkyo .... this beast is 28 kg! that's over 60 lbs....!!! quite a monster and i cant imagine what the 905 was like..... with the toroid transformer, it is a 2-person job to carry it around...

one key thing that i always do: clean all the connectors with contact cleaner to preserve the original bling bling finish...... next step: covered all the unused connectors with teflon tape... of cos it's easier to have those rubber covers... but i didnt have that many in hand..... so gotta DIY....

after all that..... time to connect the speaker cables...... from centre, surround backs, surrounds and front L-R..... made sure the polarity is correct and the binding posts are secure

other tasks:...

connected dvd player.....component and digital connection to onkyo....
starhub set-top box to onkyo....
added 1 hdmi connection for my future ps3....
and finally hdmi from onkyo to LG tv...... yeah finally 1080p.... !!!!!!!

with the amp in place....... i unpacked the MJ ref 100 mk 2....... and went through the user manual before its installation... quite straightforward.... i used only the low level input for the moment.... and also screwed the spikes in.......... turn on the power .....yeah..... looking good ... it's a tough little guy.... so compact and yet so well made....

amp set up took a longer time....gotta assign the inputs.......adjust the monitor settings for hdmi........ then started the audyssey speaker set up routine.............. the software is pretty good but also made some mistakes..... so i gotta change some settings manually......

started playing a few dvds.......upscaled picture is good............sound is good, more explosive yet richer and more informative..... so much better depth from the centre speaker..... and full 7.1 surround effects..... ....

"hell freezes over" was great.......so was eric clapton...... star wars episode 2 .....master and commander...... shi mian mai fu also........... wow so fun.... haha

tired...... but *thumbs up*..... will show u guys the pictures soon....

some pictorial updates....

current set up looks like this......



the BIG TAOC footers sit below the CAL delta



a frontal shot......



adcom sits on sound mechanics wood cones.....



polk audio LSi-15.... u cant see the side firing 8 inch woofer....



my long time companion..... michael green corner tunes....



my dedicated 2 channel system....


liverpool 2 - fulham 0

passing was good, teamwork and workrate were top-notch....... so many chances and things didnt look that good cos the last ounce of finishing just deserted crouch and voronin...

up stepped el nino...... when he received the punt from pepe reina, he had a whole lot more to do.... but he made it look so easy...... 1-0 to liverpool.....

i observed that babel liked to cut in towards the centre instead of crossing the ball on the move.... something, i believe, he shd work on to improve his game.... he possess the power and the pace..... and he needs that little bit extra to be a world class player.....

from his pass..... crouch moved into the danger area but was clipped on his heels...... penalty said the referee..... captain marvel stevie G finished from 12 yards...no mistake....

liverpool had played well on many occasions but the results never reflected that fact...... today is a fair result for their effort....

in between the day..... stole some time to terminate the canare speaker cables....and re-arrange the jpw speakers to be used for rear surrounds...... spent most of my time listening...... oh my it's beginning to feel and sound like heaven haha

Saturday 10 November 2007

saturday preview

liverpool vs fulham.....

after the midnight demolition of besiktas ...... now is time to focus on the premiership....

let's hope the reds can turn their good work into a sustained effort...... we need to close the gap....

go on ...! get them...!!!

home theatre....

ok ok the onkyo and MJ coming tomorrow..... !!!

cant wait....but i have many things to prepare .....sigh feeling feverish & suffering from running nose....

recap continued...... oyaide

fri night....after dinner and tv, it's time to get to work......

task no 1......get the right screws to secure the receptacle to the faceplate...... after a few minutes, managed to find the correct washers and screws/nuts ....ok 1st task completed

2nd and very important....turned off the main circuit breaker for the room......... some time ago, i'd arranged for mr soh to rewire an outlet at the circuit breaker to provide a dedicated supply to the room.... my only regret: unable to re-wire a direct path from the circuit breaker to the room as all the wiring are concealed..... a direct supply that would be most ideal..... i would do it if this was my house... :)

next, i removed the original uk wall outlet (gosh was so shocked to see all  the dust and dirt on the inside!), unscrewed all wiring and left them dangling in the air..... so far so good and quite straightforward, red for live, green for earth and blue for N.....

then cut off the 13 amp uk plug at one end of the shunyata diamondback cable......... i'd opened up the uk plug out of curiosity.... oh my god, the innards were of such poor quality ... although the internal wiring was soldered to the contacts and no fuse was used, it was disappointing......  ok it was time to dump the uk plug! then i gently stripped the wire and took note of the grounding wire......

to ensure a good connection, i cleaned all the bare wire ends and contacts with rid-ox (well, whoever designed the can for ridox shd be shot, for THE CONTENTS GUSHES OUT LIKE A FIRE HYDRANT!!!!) ...... put on the oyaide p-046 ..... and clamped all the ends tightly .....

oyaide connectors, although expensive , are so much better than hubell or wattagate equivalents.....



next step: connected all the wires to the r1.... i dun like the solid-core cables that is used for the wall wiring..... dun look good at all and dun inspire confidence at all .......... i did what i could to clean them with ridox..... screwed on the faceplate and connected everything before going downstairs to turn on the power.......

okall done!.... sounded simple but took me some time cos the outer insulation jacket on the shunyata is hard like ARMOUR...!..... very very tough to cut and strip....

i dun wanna repeat what has been said about the r1...... but if u r hesistant about its effectiveness, i recommend u try it...... betcha jaws will drop.....

after one night of "burning in" .....everything is sounding so good....HHHMMMMMMM......

not only more and better defined and deeper bass but also effortless portrayal of musical details.....  nothing was close to sounding etched, bright or forward in presentation ....... i especially like the very refined and expressive high frequencies.....

these japanese really good at what they do..... not cheap but aint gimmicks !!!!!

recap for fri....

this morning was woken up by noisy drills and tools again..... can this C* FU**** finish the renovations quickly??? it's been more than a couple of weeks since they hacked everything down.....come on, be swift about it lah.......... we need to get on with our lives and dun like to be disturbed for weeks and weeks, we understand and would also tolerate some inevitable noises but this is too much............

ok let's put that aside.....

yesterday was a very longgg day but fruitful and immensely satisfying...

first stop: sim lim tower

took bus cos lazy to drive....... number 12 goes to victoria street and i completed the rest of the way by foot..

went to LHS......bought many metres of a very affordable speaker cable .....canare 4s6, only $2 per metre ....i think the quality is ok and more than suitable for the surround channels.....

also wanted a 3 m of canare L-4E6S, the very well known microphone cable used in many pro studios worldwide, to terminated for use as a subwoofer cable.... anyway, a simple rca cable will do and i like the canare for its low cost and versatility ...... comeone where else u get this quality for $3 a metre...?? the connectors used are canare f9 ....

ok job done at sim lim.....

next stop: adelphi

at audio basic, was looking at the oyaide r1 receptacle and AL faceplate..... the r1, released not so recently, is an improved model over the ultimo series..... looks plain in white but i think the magic is in the materials used .... well decided to come back later cos something else to settle

looked through the dark glass of golden ear audio, a used goods dealer...... there is a PS audio lamda cd transport .... which was one of THE transport many years ago..... not sure how much he is selling for

one of the amazing finds is the paradigm signature s1 at asia sound... at a size no bigger pro ac tablette, the sound was BIG and expressive..... not cheap at $2 k but u have to pay for refinement right ?? there are many interesting new things at asia sound.... i can feel a new buzz at the place, maybe the 2 guys are doing a great job? notable products i like are the jm lab utopia diva and electra 1027 be, paradigm signature s6, anthem avm and statement av processors..... ha too bad money not enough

decided to break for lunch and then went back to audio basic..... bought the r1, face-plate and also one P-046 .... the 46 will replace the UK plug on the shunyata diamondback, the link between the wall and the hydra 6 ....

i had previously used only the P-079/C-079.... so this is the first time i will be using the 46.... key difference is the final plating.... but i am not sure how it would affect the sound, maybe i have too much confidence in oyaide products haha

my companion for the day also did his part......bought a centre speaker to complete his L-C-R set up....and then 2 men hopped on a scooter with the speaker on my lap....

had a short listening session at his place.......enjoyed my time there and we went for coffee.....close to 8 pm, made my way home.....via bus 87 and then 15.....

took a rest and then it's time to go to work....

the rest i cover later, makan time.. !

what a tiring day ...

very sleepy now cos so tired....

let me fill u in on saturday........

Thursday 8 November 2007

polk audio LSi-15 loudspeakers...

after all these years ...i continue to be surprised and amazed how good they are....

read more about these floorstanding loudspeakers at

http://www.audioreview.com/cat/speakers/floorstanding-speakers/polk-audio/PRD_130282_1594crx.aspx

deepavali..........!!!!!

went around to walk walk and browse.....

first stop: coffee shop.................cos hungry, a quick snack of toasted bread and coffee, then walked over to AV One at Asiawide Ind Building.....

for 12 inch subwoofers, only 1 model is available ...HECO...... big, massive monster finished in real wood veneer........ only thing is cost = approx S$1400...........ouch, which is a little out of my allocated budget..... however, it looks very good and sounds mightily powerful too ....with a front firing woofer and 3 rear ports, this is a considered a bargain .... if only i wanted to spend this much

next stop: sim lim square

went alpha audio...... they have choices like PSB, wharfedale, MJ and others.....

the PSB 10 incher (subseries 5i) is S$599 .....very affordable and can actually buy 2 if i have the space ..... most ppl acknowledge that using 2 subs will smooth out the bass response and both need not work as hard too .... however i cant think of any way i can fit 2 in the living room...... so i could actually save some money if i buy 1 PSB ...

pic and info here http://www.psbspeakers.com/products/Subwoofers/SubSeries-5i-Subwoofer

there is also a 12 inch (pc12+) wharfedale for 799.... downward firing woofer and finished in piano black..... looks pretty impressive too..... considering its size, it's weird the system is rated to 30 hz only ...what a letdown, i tot i found a bargain haha.....12 inch for 799, that's good ...but only on paper...

pic and info http://www.wharfedale.co.uk/model.php?model_id=109

MJ is a different animal altogether..... the 3 models, pro 50, ref 100 & 150 are all 10 inch systems but can go all the way down to 13 hz...... sounds crazy huh.... the -3 dB point is 19 hz though but that is LOOOOOWWWWWWW enough

for the price of slightly over 800 dollars, the pro 50 is good value... while the ref 100 is a couple of hundreds ma.....

pic and info http://www.mjacoustics.co.uk/index.htm

then proceeded to other shops to browse...... saw the onkyo 875 at merdeka..... slightly over S$2 k........

after that, went back to alpha and closed to deal for onkyo and MJ.......

so watch out for sunday!! here they come....

now i gotta think of ways to sell my 8 inch subwoofer and pioneer AV amp

last stop: go home for dinner.........

that's all for today folks...

Wednesday 7 November 2007

eve of deepavali....

today wednesday is eve of deepavali, a public holiday.........all indian colleagues are away on half day.......the rest still working.... :)

would like to wish all who is celebrating deepavali a great and wonderful festival of lights...!!

those that going party tonight, pls dun drink and drive.......betcha roadblocks will be aplenty from night till dawn......

so what's up for tomorrow? hmmm..........dunno yet .....see how see how...

considerations....for HT system

the 40 gb ps3 at a suggested price of S$559 is a no brainer........

i am quite sure i will buy this......welcome to the world of BD and HD.... :)

next is of cos the AV amp.....

price difference between the onkyo 805 and 875 is about S$500 ......the key difference is HQV video processing in the 875..... i am pretty confident that a BD or HD DVD player that comes with HQV will be more than a thousand dollars ... so it makes good sense to get the 875... sigh blowing my budget very soon hehe

if everything does well, maybe i'll run a 7.1 system........wow that will be real cool....

Tuesday 6 November 2007

petrol prices up 7 cents....5 Nov 07

again again again, petrol prices are up........7 cents per litre this time....!

no choice no alternative but to swallow the increase...........unless one does not mind driving to Johor Bahru to top-up..... much time and effort required, moreover singapore cars can only visit malaysia on a 3rd quarter tank rule.......anything less than that, you will be fined if caught....:)

many countries in SEA have subsidies for fuel...........whereas in singapore, we suffer from petrol duties.........

when the govt in indonesia raise prices, the people go to the streets .....protest and even riot....!

singaporeans? well we complain and go on topping up haha.....LPPL.....

just to remind ourselves:

flour prices up ---> bread prices up, noodles prices up
oil prices up ---> petrol prices up ---> sooner or later, electricity prices will go up......

i cant remember all but somehow the impression is ....everything goes up haha ---> stress goes up!!

evening ERP.....and a kuku (not fit to drive)

yesterday evening 5 Nov 07, the 1st day of evening ERP on the ECP --> changi airport

on the way home, the KN**** driver of the toyota axio, which was the car right in front of mine, SLOWED his C* car all the way from 80 km/h to less than 40 km/h ON THE EXTREME RIGHT LANE OF THE EXPRESSWAY SO THAT HE COULD INSERT THE CASHCARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NO WORDS CAN DESCRIBE MY FEELINGS THEN................if there were a switch in my car to launch a missile, i would do it..........bastard ...............felt like squeezinggggggggggg him...!!

such arrogance so irresponsible..............so selfish, only thinking of himself........................COME ON THIS IS AN EXPRESSWAY !!!!! NOT YOUR GRANDMOTHER'S ROAD.!!!!!!!!!

so what if you forgot to insert the cashcard, u have no bloody right to brake test anyone on the road......!!!!!!!!!!!

^%$#&!@*$+#@#$!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday 5 November 2007

subwoofer lor....???

maybe it's time to upgrade the sub too...........

the wharfedale 8 incher was bought for fun at S$199......8 inch woofer cant do much in this living room of mine, so i am thinking maybe a 12 inch will be good........sometimes i think it's really struggling but then, for 199 bucks, dun ask for too much....

if budget allows, i would love a 15 incher.....but the one i wanted is S$3k plus.......no worth my money as the sub is meant for the living room and not bcos the sub is no good......the servo 15 is HUGE and it's a great sub.......i think it can rock the house down....

options:

velodyne CHT-12R.....slightly over a thousand i think...
paradigm ultracube 12....about S$1300...


hmmm.....since every dollar counts, i might opt for the cheaper sub.........dun need that high quality for the living room system........mostly for movies....so long can shake the room can liao haha....

monday monday.....

went for a meeting this morning.........ended up as a bashing session.......how come these ppl got nothing good to say......easy to criticise but did they offer any solution? none.......complain only......so easy u come and do lor.....

managed to get the remote.......so started the setup for draco.......haha too bad cos no reception for HD5...... :)

ok time to return the set and look for mio tv.......i wanna catch csi miami in 1080i leh.....

Evo X again



went kallang to see sprint/supersprint.......and managed to see the car in person...



saw a black and also white evo x.....i think the white is nicer....cos there is constrast with the black grille and plastic covers.....for the black car, everything all black......one lump of black haha...

the rear is cool.....especially the twin pipes and their position is puuurrfect..... :)



there was a blue civic type r too.......car is nice, colour is great and is a good alternative if u dun like the honda championship white.....i like this blue...

Sunday 4 November 2007

sunday and HD5

tried the draco with the hdmi connection............no pic no sound at all. i think perhaps the hdmi output is not activated but i cant do anything without the remote....

alternative: use its video output............ah at last can see something, well only the menu. no reception no moving picture at all. only the mediocorp blue screen.

ok one step at a time...........is the component output working? ok lah let's try later.....

some progress on saturday....

bought soundcare superspikes for the loudspeakers......and also rid ox contact cleaner plus metal base plate for wall plug....

next project is to upgrade the wall socket.....maybe think of oyaide AC sockets...

managed to loan a draco set top box.............but cant seem to work without the remote........consolation is the box showed that there is reception even though i am using the indoor antenna...

visited the new blancpain boutique at raffles hotel...........the JLC boutique is opening there mid Nov ...

after a few many days, i think the TAOC footers are fabulous...........pls grab one set and try, u will be surprised.....

Thursday 1 November 2007

1st Nov 07......

wow today is the first day of Nov......which means we are coming to the end of year 2007 soon.....time really flies and have to get used to writing 2008 in no time haha......

nothing much to hope for at the moment......except maybe for a fatter year end bonus so that i can get my dream toys....:)

when will the 40 gb ps3 be introduced? ......no idea leh......but since i am not into gaming, 60 gb or 40 gb or 80 gb dun make a difference....i want only the blueray drive, that's all.....:P

i want a 1080p source!! quick quick come ps3....:)

other than that, a new av receiver will be a timely arrival...............something powerful like a tank to shake the walls hehe....

not the most fun of my days at work but i guess it's still tolerable.........do my piece and go home on time, isnt that what i am supposed to do...??.....

been weighing my options recently.......what should i do to maximise my dollars....?

a. get a new transport (approx damage $1400)
b. get a new DAC (maybe the benchmark DAC1) approx damange $1800....
c. get a new CD player to replace the current transport and DAC (approx $2600)
d. get a new speaker ($5000?)....
e. upgrade wall electrical outlet to high grade audiophile AC outlet....

another consideration:

is my MSB link 3 full nelson obsolete and lagging behind the current DAC by a mile? i dun have the answer but from i can hear, the link 3 is still very good ............if i could arrange a home loan for a good DAC, that will be good....that will allow me to compare the link 3 and a "good" DAC ...

sigh.......it's ok.....i can think of what to do cos time is on my side...:)