EVO X

the all new evo X is already on sale in singapore..............good news for the 2.0 litre force-fed brigade



now with the introduction of the dual clutch SST, it is time to buy the evo X........i like the concept of a such a transmission, no clutch lever and yet no power loss......



instant upshifts from paddle lifters.....what else do u want....

the DSG in volkswagen cars are quite mature implementation, so it's good news that mituibishi is putting their version in the evo X....



blue colour is nice......as in other bright options for the evo IX, such as yellow and red....



interior design is quite standard for japanese cars but is still an upgrade on the current model.......u get pretty and comfortable recaro sport seats...

pick up one at your nearest dealer today!

coming up soon.....liverpool vs arsenal.....

what will happen? can liverpool turn the tide....or will it be another win for arsenal? well a draw will do no one any good......

sigh.......let's hope something good can come out of this weekend and may the reds prevail....:)

there was a BIG storm this sunday afternoon.....quite a shocker and it kept me waiting at the coffeeshop for quite awhile..........managed to run the rest of the way home when things turned a little better....

KPE....

the first section of KPE from ECP to PIE is operational..........

curious enough to try and found the entry from ECP (towards AYE) pretty fun.........constant radius and has a very smooth surface......

too bad there was a truck in front of me so LL have to slow down.........moreover speed limit is 40 km/h and i believe all sections are monitored by CCTV.....so better dun play hehe.....

if not, i think a quick entry will be very fun.....u shd try too....

good news for BD....and saturday jalan jalan

was at audio house this evening.......the samsung BD-P1000 is now selling at S$799....

also saw a sharp BD player......hope to see more choices soon and looking forward to the hifi show in mid nov....

at 799, the samsung player is quite close to the price of a sony ps3....

prior to that, visited the omega speedmaster 50th anniversary exhibition held at ngee ann city civic plaza...........shd be interesting for omega speedie fans but i found it ok only........there were many speedmaster watches displayed, from the 50s, 60s and so on......

heard the ym2 is in town so went over to paragon.... saw both the YG and WG yachtmaster 2 at dickson......did not manage to see the price tags though......they also have blue wave dial DD, which is nice....

the milgauss is already in HK........so it in SG yet...??.....so far no news le

for deep wallets only......

a picture is worth a thousand words.......

need a new CD transport soon...

and the most likely candidate to replace the long-serving California Audio Labs Delta is

back in those days, the delta was sold at about S$1500.......now in 2008, the CEC TL51X is also selling about the same price.........:)

isnt that good value.....???

i like the XLR digital output............always prefer it to the S/PDIF..........

have never used a belt-driven transport so i am not too sure how it sounds......hopefully it will be a good match with the MSB Link 3 full nelson.... ...i think the overall balance could be softer and also expect a mellower presentation......for someone getting older, that isnt a bad thing at all haha

other cool features:

a top loader, YES! and comes with a top stabiliser ....

pretty handsome piece of equipment.......

100,000 hours? for what?

the new range of panasonic viera plasma HDTV boasts a panel life of 100,000 hours.......enough for 34 years of 8 hours daily use....

what for? 1-2 years down the road, something better and cheaper will be available.........why does anyone wanna keep a obsolete equipment for 34 years.???? unless the person enjoys collecting antiques and dinosaurs...

current standard for most LCD and plasma TVs is 60,000 hours...............more than enough....right?

CSI Miami.....

caught CSI Miami on ch5 last night..............looked pretty good even though it was over a SD broadcast. i believe the HD feed must have been spectacular, cos the SD feed was of very high quality over my LG 47LB7......

must find a way to get HD5.......hehe

so get a HD set top box (one time purchase) or mio-tv (monthly subscription)...???

which blue-ray disc player to buy?

sony playstation 3..???

well it is the most affordable of all BD players...........at around S$600++

limitation is that it seems to be region-locked i.e. it cannot play R1 DVDs.....good thing is can play SACD

the other option is the sony BDP-S300 @ S$999.....however no HQV video processing and not too sure if it's region-locked as well....

a good choice is the samsung BD-P1200, although it's not available in singapore yet.......it's brother the BD-P1000 is already here at about S$900+ but again, no HQV..........

most reviews also recommend that consumers wait for the 1200 ....better features at a lower price ....i especially like the Silicon Optix' REON chip ...a better choice to upsample DVDs to 1080p...

which one? 805 or 875...???

805



or 875...??



well externally they look almost similar......:)

another dream watch......watches i mean...:)

was not really a rossi fan until recent years when he really began to his class despite riding a machine less powerful than his peers' .....the years when he went over to yamaha....

now the JLC watches that bear the rossi name, ah these are beautiful.....

1st option: JLC Master Compressor Chronograph 46 (list price S$16800) LE 746 pieces



likes:

a beautifully machined dial...........gives a cool carbon fibre-look and catches light beautifully

yellow theme on the dial and compressor keys....especially the 46 motif

relatively affordable chronograph equipped with an in-house movement (tested to 1000 hrs!!)

dislikes:

dun like that JLC deployment buckle.........i prefer something with a push button release....

abit small and looks puny next to the JLC EWC (more expensive of cos haha)

lack of a continuous seconds hand

leather strap does not hug the watch case tightly......

2nd option: JLC Master Compressor Extreme W-Alarm 46 (list price S$25700) LE 946 pieces

this one is sweet.........looks amazing (at least in pics) cos have yet to see the watch live...



likes:

comes with 2 straps. 1 leather and the other, a bright yellow rubber strap! yahoo! simply awesome the way it matches the dial....

large watch case ....very substantial.........46 mm? i think so

the rubbber strap hugs the case tightly ...yeah! i think it looks best with the rubber

like the hands and especially the yellow seconds hand



dislikes:

the price, what else....haha

i can get a good discount for the chrono 46 but nothing is guaranteed for the w-alarm as stocks have yet to arrive......

a new toy

TAOC spike foot

bought this on sunday.....to replace wooden blocks that now support the CAL delta transport.....

these are massive footers, 800 g each..!!! making it a total of 2.4 kg.........haha.........sounds abit crazy but very solid, very substantial......almost like earthquake-proof.....

first impression: pretty good as in more solidity in the lower frequencies, a more refined top-end and more details.......did i hear a lower noise-floor? maybe i did.....

i hope to discover more over the next few days........for the price, no complaint................

a miracle...???

maybe it is...............a miracle after all

KR is F1 world champion!! by a SINGLE point.....!!

can u believe it??? i still cant.........could you have imagined the way the race had turned out? unbelievable......!!!!!!

a great start by FM ....followed by THE amazing move by KR on LH.......and of cos not forgetting FA with his another MOST audacious move into turn 1 and 2, taking 3rd place over LH............wwowowowow, at that moment, i was punching the air in delight...........what a dream start for ferrari.....and u know what, the best has yet to come...!!

turn 3... LH was so close to the rear of FA' s car that when they reached the braking point, LH had no where to go but go off the track............he rejoined in 8th place....another punch in the air........now i am not sure if FA brake-tested LH cos there is really no way to tell, but the espn commentor (not steve slator, who as usual, was full of mistakes......cant even tell the cars apart when we were all watching the same monitors) was pretty sure about it......

and then weird mechanical gremlins stuck LH's car and he seemed to lose all power....dropping him down to 18th place........as sudden as the problem appeared, he was ok in no time and was soon charging up the field........as a last resort, mclaren switched him to a 3-stop strategy ...hoping that he could go as high as 6th place to secure the championship......

meanwhile FM was leading the ferrari 1-2......and both scarlet cars were trading fast laps.......they both left FA for good and were never troubled .....they looked too comfortable for their own good haha......

eventually the inevitable happened and KR emerged from the pit ahead of FM to take the lead all the way to the chequered flag......did FM sacrifice a home win??? well, i think soooooo but he did what he could as a teammate who was out of the championship fight........

in the end, alas......after 71 laps, KR is world champion......!!!

what an amazing weekend...!!!

1st: merseyside derby.........!

no torres......crouch on the bench and for voronin and kuyt to lead the attack.....

2 red cards....2 penalties and 2 goals for liverpool!! simply awesome!!

liverpool started the match stronger and almost scored when voronin had the chance but alas, only managed to shoot straight at tim howard......what a great chance to get liverpool ahead

somehow everton gained a foothold and began to string passes in the middle of the park.....although they put pressure on liverpool, they did not seriously threaten to score.........by virtue of good fortune, they went ahead when hyypia gifted them an own goal........from then on, it looked a uphill climb for the reds.....

it was never a doubt that hibbert fouled gerrard ......the replay showed that the foul was just ...just just outside the box but a penalty the referree awarded...........and even a red card.....now at first the ref was abit unsure, perhaps he wanted to give a yellow card but after considering that the liverpool captain was through and hibbert was the last defender, red card it was.....

credit to everton cos they didnt seem to play like a team with 10 men.......they continued to press ahead and gave liverpool a run for the money.....

in the end, liverpool was not to be denied............a goal-line clearance by the everton skipper with his left hand....so another red card and another cool but mightily important finish by dirk kuyt gave liverpool the 3 points....!!

what a pulsating merseyside derby......not characterised by the most flowing of football but surely will be remembered for the drama and excitement...!

kudos to liverpool for their no-say-die attitude...........perhaps a little fortunate but a win ...and a very important one....

some key observations:

no width on the right in the 1st half.........yossi was great on the left, we need wingers, we need width!!

kuyt was hugely absent in the 2nd half.........dunno why and seldom was he involved then.....

voronin was ever hardworking but when presented with great chances, he fluffed the important finish.......*wasted* cos should have done better.....credit him with the great pass to gerrard which led to the first penalty

gerrard.....mostly off-form.....but was sufficiently influential

the defence didnt look the most assured.......

one for the ladies....

after the LE themes of orange, phantom and blue, here's the latest from bell & ross.........WHITE

case in white ceramic, white dial and white leather strap..............perfect for ladies i think

internally there is no difference with any BR03-02.........

red or yellow.....

pic copyright by william loi

two ferrari by panerai chronographs in bright-coloured dials........

well i may be a fan of the prancing horse but i dun think these watches are an exact extension of the spirit of ferrari....

judged on their own, they are appealing in design and function........large 44 mm watch cases, simple and legible dials, large and easy to use pushers and crowns........just that they dun have the beauty of the cars from maranello

i like the luminous dots on the crown.......and panerai have taken the extra effort to ensure that the crown is centred with a locking mechanism i.e. the prancing horse on the crown will always face up.....

the brushed surfaces are also easier to maintain ........not cheap but i am sure many can afford

some cool stuff...

need nice shoes for work? ah i found this ..........really wonderful in rich luxurious epi leather, so smooth so creamy.....look good enough to eat even haha

hhmmm, maybe too nice to go to work in these shoes huh......

ok how about shoes for leisure.....

kinda retro in look......furry furry suede so better keep it dry! i betcha they must be real comfortable......

the following one also not bad at all........i like the LV accents, pretty low key and yet unmistakable....

and what about slippers.......???............oh dun worry about that cos there are many nice ones by LV ..

all add up together, i wonder how many thousands of dollars.......:)

ah the price of quality

so cute..!

i like this....so cute...!!

pls buy for your child or children....:)

available at your local LV boutique now....!

news....new sinn watches on the way.....

just announced on timezone a few days ago, here's a pick of the crops....

Sinn U-1000 Submarine Chronograph - in submarine steel, and in submarine steel (black)........ yahoo!! especially for fans of black watches....

what's special about these 2....hmmm, let me see...

how about an all tegimented case, bezel, pushers, crown and back. The process hardens the submarine steel to four times the hardness of the steel used in standard watches!....! brilliant!! we all need a little more toughness than what standard stainless steel can give, right?? and this coating is way stronger and resistant than normal PVD

Water resistant to 1,000 meters, and fully pressure tested to operate the chronograph functions at this depth oh my god, isnt this cool?????? functional pushers down to 1000 m...!!!!!!!!

Sinn's special movement SZ-02 will be used for the U-1000...... well, another modified movement but i think this is a right step. dun think Sinn will have a in-house movement any time soon.....at the prices sinn charges for their watches, i have no problem with that...

The chronograph functions and crown will be located on the left side of the watch. This watch will feature a new "lock and push" bezel system i am not sure why the pushers and crown will be on the left. perhaps to keep them away from harm? a secured bezel is a cool ...more security more safety

Sinn's "Dry Hold" technology good stuff..........keep the movement dry and safe...

Uses Sinn special oil which allows for safe operation in extreme temperature changes or environments oh so you can go to the north pole with the watch....

this is something to look our for but pic and price not available yet

Sinn U2 Schwarz (Black)

an improvement on the standard U-2.......

Fully tegimented case, bezel, crown and case back if u like black u will like this

Black PVD case which has been hardened through the tegimenting process to provide a more durable and scratch resistant finish stronger is always better

there are 3 other models announced but these 2 are more interesting.......:)

CORUM....another nice watch....

Corum Admiral's Cup Tides 48

this one, a model launched this year, is not bad at all...........i mean when compared to previous admiral's cup watches......

size? 48 mm.......! which is HUGE......and very imposing yet still very attractive......

the tides indicators are at first quite confusing but after reading the specifications, begin to make sense...

dial at 12: shows phases of moon and strength of the tide

dial at 9: shows height of the tide and strength of current

dial at 6: times of the tide

i quite like the crown protector in rubber and well this theme is carried over to the bezel too.....

and the rose gold model looks the best....

AV receivers......*headache* cos dunno which one to buy...???

after doing a little more homework, seems like the latest from Onkyo are delicious choices as well.....

especially the 875 ...which offers HQV 1080p upscaling for every possible input resolution...!!! *yummy*....which means our lousy TV broadcast at SD could be bummed up to 1080p, very good if u happen to own a HD TV......

the rest of the features are as mouth-watering too......too many to list......

selling price is about SGD2,000............more than OK if u compare with the competition......Yamaha, Denon, Pioneer blah blah.....

got money? get the 905 at about S$3,000 lor......more video adjustment capabilities.....if u dun need the video features, the 805 is sufficiently good....

an upset....? how about more...?

can u believe it..?

australia beaten by england...??

new zealand by france..???

BIG upsets in the rugby world cup quarter finals.................wow

yahoo!............it goes down to the wire....!!!!

so lewis hamilton, who started on pole at shanghai, had to wait 2 more weeks to find out if he will become the youngest f1 world champion..........makes the last race at brazil a mouth-watering challenge.....

his retirement keeps the title fight alive........for both KR and FA.....

well i say good for the fans....!!!!!!!

the only thing that both of his challengers can hope for......HAPPENED...!....no points for hamilton, who i think was fortunate not to be punished for his erratic driving in japan.........

well i know most ppl thought that FIA was mad to investigate that but i think he was at fault, nevermind if sebastian vettel was also careless in driving straight into mark webber......

remember that the safety car was going smoothly and LH had no reason to SLOW his car that much.........what for? no one can pass him under the safety car, he was certainly up to mischief...............under those difficult conditions, he, as the leading car, should have been more responsible.....

anyway he escaped any punishment but left shanghai empty handed......could have been worse.....

Another boring day..............

yeah what else........another boring day at work.....especially when one is working with no end in mind....cos what can one look forward to...?..

morning meeting.............afternoon meeting..............lunch time took a short nap, at least something enjoyable.....haha cos i love sleeping....

it's not about how much u do.........how good u are.......within that predetermined box (potential), there is only so much u can do.....

getting late and looking forward to go home soon..........

a closer look at the rm011....

richard mille's first automatic chronograph................

pics by copyright owner.

have cash? wanna be different? buy this...! or these...!

URWERK..................!!!!!

well i dunno if they are the latest craze but unique they are indeed........especially the way of telling time using pointed hands and even satellites.....note those rotating hour indicators on the 201........and also the revolving satellites on the 103

i also like where the crown is, keeps it away from danger...


the 201




the 103.09

so which one do u like................?? well strong and radical responses are expected haha..........there would be some ppl who cant stomach the looks of these watches..........and then some who love it to bits....

will be a choice for other strap materials???............well i like rubber for its versatility ....

i would buy if i have the money :) but my friend told me that he would not go out with me anymore if i buy this watch.....gosh.....haha.....

Smitten............!!! BIG TIME..!

at tempus, a friend was so smitten with the AP TA that every time we met afterwards, he would mention the watch at least 10 times......

so thanks to the internet and watch forums, i would like to dedicate these pics (not mine) to him...

the AP ROO TA in forged carbon

The AP ROO Polaris (LE 2000 pcs) and TA (LE 1300 pcs for forged carbon)

Better still.........buy this!

now if a one-box solution is not the answer, then of cos many boxes shd do the job better..................

so how about a AV processor, which means u need multiple power amplifiers to do the same job...........:)




more cables even............imagine more power cables, more interconnects haha.............

that is only if money is no obstacle......and then can dream of having 7 mono power amplifiers to drive all the speakers in a full surround system..............wah, can go mad just thinking about it haha



the rear looks sexy huh.............especially those XLR connectors............wowowow..!!

gives me a headache just thinking of hooking up all those components....TV, DVD, BD, HD DVD, amps, speakers blah blah blah....

but this one even better..........