not bad an effort....

remember the hokkien CDs i bought quite awhile ago.... ??

it was only today that i brought them up to the listening room.....

oh am i impressed cos the recording quality is very good......

too bad the CD booth that used to be my haunt for cheap MIC CDs is no longer around......

the big one bows out...... sayonara sembawang...

the writing was on the wall..... for quite some time in fact

and we all know that sembawang has been having 50% and clear-out sales.....

but i was still kinda surprised to see their store at parkway closed when i walked past last week....

so today's papers confirmed everything and covered abit on their demise and bankruptcy.......

now i feel a little upset over their loss cos i was already buying music at their very first store in sembawang shopping centre back in my secondary school days.... and they have been a big part of my involvement in music and audio for all this while.....

wow, it makes me shudder to realise that it has been SO MANY years........

goodbye sembawang...... sayonara..... you will be missed.....

new genre for songs....

first time i am trying out taiwanese hokkien songs....... 

will let you know whether the music and recording are worth your while ok??

import......

bought all 3 today for 30 dollars...............

very affordable as they are parallel imports from CHINA....... and about half the price of local versions........

also spent the late evening listening.............

hmmm.... even without shunyata hydra 6....... things sounded pretty good cos i am using a oyaide MTB-6 until i can find money for the acoustic revive....

a real bargain....... TDK

i've been forgetful ..... again i missed the deadline for my credit card bill payment haha...... anyway i have done a part payment over axs and also deposited the cheque ....

now hope they can overlook this hee...... well it's only a couple of days right?

after my AT headphones had overwhelmingly trumped and whacked the ipod earphones, i was itching to try out other possibilities...... a grado sr60 is an obvious candidate but it's S$120........ not very expensive but knowing that i would use it only occasionally, i overcame the temptation to spend the cash.....

by chance a hope came from sony, always the popular choice for earphones i guess.... it was actually from a sony walkman phone, which explained why the cord is soooooo short........

without an extension cord, there is no way i can bring this out..... haha i practically had to hold the ipod as close as possible to my face to use the sony in-ear phones.....



build quality is top notch and comfort is also very good....... the moment the music flowed through the phones, i know this is a gem.......... details are aplenty but never harsh or bright........while bass is deep and rich ....... it made listening a joy .....

i think bass is truly a strength of in-ear phones...... once you are used to this aspect of their performance, open-bud earphones are just soooooooo ordinary.....

therefore the solution is straightforward: buy an extension cord .......



and i made my way to parkway........ and found a few choices for extension cords and earphones:

audio technica 1.0 m extension cord $9.50
daiyo 1.2 m extension cord $7.20
panasonic in-ear phones $29
philips in-ear phones $49 (includes extension cord)
audio technica in-ear phones $35

hmmmmm........ so an extension cord is close to 1/3 of the price of an entry level earphone........ but if i buy the philips i get a free extension cord, which mean i could use the sony phones whenever i want........ i found it fun to challenge myself to compromise at not more than $40........ so which should i pick?

hmmmmm, something in me told me not to rush........ and so i detoured to cd-rama to shop ...... it was there i found the most incredible bargain.........

it is the cheapest in-ear phone i can find!!... and i thought the panasonic was the cheapest..... this is from one forgotten brand TDK at only S12.90!!! what's more it came with a free extension cord!!!!

this is ridiculous value.......... quite unbelievable........ *shake head*





and IT IS F****** RIDICULOUS when i realised how good they are............ first impressions tell me they are at least as good as the sonys......... possibly better if given more time....... right now i am listening and smiling to myself so it's so darn cheap.............

anyone who's interested to buy a earphone pls look this up at popular cd-rama............ u wont be disappointed at S$12.90......... it may even embarrass your expensive earphones.........

to make the trip more fruitful i also picked this up....

more toys............

visited one of our usual hifi haunts this afternoon............ listened to the usher be-718 driven by a tube amp (octave v70) this time....... talked about hifi tweaks and cables..... and of cos the music....

also wanna find out more about acoustic revive products...... sounds pricey but feedback has been nothing but excellent...... some of the more affordable tweaks are out of stock..... well next time maybe......

in the end came home with these:

a carbon fibre cd mat........... very thin very light...........



2 cds..... another butterfly lovers violin concerto....... hehe.....



and this cantonese album......

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