ISSE 2011 - 8

Gradient loudspeakers / SPEC amplifier / Aurender music server / Ayon CD player...

Aurum speakers / Vincent electronics

Martens speakers / Vitus Audio electronics

MSB transport DAC / Audiospace amplifier / DeVore Fidelity speakers...

Voxativ loudspeakers....

ISSE 2011 - 3

Next up I came across the La Sphere loudspeakers from Cabasse....

I can only describe them as BIG and LOUD...... and yes they can play LOUD!

Partnering electronics.... including Cyrus

Pioneer AV amps......

Pioneer AV setup..... Nothing special nothing spectacular to mention about....

ISSE 2011 - 1

I have uploaded quite a few pictures from the ISSE on Saturday afternoon but now it's time to say a little more...

After paying for a 2-day pass, I headed straight towards the end of level 3 where Yamaha was showcasing their range of AV products....

Nothing spectacular overall .... Prices are reasonable and as usual Yamaha components are pretty to look at...

This audio dock reminds me of the mini compo era..... Kinda retro???

AV amps and AV amps....

Stello components...

The inner partition was playing Transformers da movie.....

The next elegance..

Compared to the awesome G1 and G2, the new G3 looks a little awkward ....

Could be the exposed tubes for the tweeter and midrange or it could be the curvature of the bass tube...

I can't exactly pinpoint where and what is the issue here....

No matter what looking at pictures is no substitute for seeing the real thing.....

So I can't wait to see the G3...!

Moved...

When I bought the CD, I didn't know this track was one of the theme songs for the Ch8 drama The Oath....

After getting to know it better, I realised that this 2nd effort was even better than the first ......While the drama had yet been shown on TV .......

There are many beautiful songs in this album but this is one of which that stood out....

Good enough to move listeners like you and me....

Enjoy...

bass test

In order to know the room better, I played a frequency response test last night......

I couldn’t hear or feel a thing for 25 Hz.....

I know that expecting a pair of moderately-sized loudspeakers to play 25 Hz is too optimistic but from 31 Hz onwards, the Polks are fine.....

In fact I still find them pretty amazing loudspeakers in comparison to what is available on the market today....

They were selling for about S$2,400 6 to 7 years ago....

And today you can get a pair for about $3,300 (last saw a pair at Audio House Liang Court)....

I believe they can give any loudspeakers selling for S$4,000 a good fight....

I know they can....

hard sell

I had no problem selling my DNA-1 to upgrade to the CIA D-100 mono amps......

So even though the D-100 are better than the DNA-1, no one seems to be interested.....

Branding and perceived value count a lot when it comes to the resale market.....

Actual performance stands at a distant second or third consideration ....

Damn...

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"Left wall..."

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RR-77 and partners

Between the 2 black boxes are 3 TAOC SBL-13 .... and there's a Sound Mechanics cone on top of the RR-77....

I think I need a piece of crystal though....

How to raise the RR-77?

A shelf, a bench, a box and 2 empty reels end up as the raised platform for my RR-77....

You can just make out the DH Labs cable that feeds the PSU2...

A thicker cord for the RR-77

When I first plugged in the Acoustic Revive RR-77 I became a happier audiophile.....

This outwardly simple and lightweight device improved the spatiality and stereo imaging by quite a good margin. Most importantly, it made the room “BIGGER” and allowed me to play louder....

All these gains were pretty apparent even though I was using the stock power supply: a generic made in china wall wart unit.....

I should be contented but I was restless ....

So after hearing about what a good power supply can do for the RR-77, I decided to plonk down $$$ for a Kingrex PSU 2 and all that was said was true ..!! Cos the effects of the RR-77 was magnified and given a big BOOST......!! It was not subtle, not at all....

But even this setup is not ideal as I was using the supplied power cord, nothing fanciful ....

I strongly believe that a high quality PC will surely improve things ....

Since my isolation transformer power filter is lying around unused I decided that it could be the upgrade I needed.... This trusty partner allows me to use US plugs to feed the PSU2 and from my collection of power cords, I picked the DH Labs ...

Now I have to believe my ears ......!! I’d just realised that using a good power cord for the PSU2 to feed the RR-77 can be an ear-opening experience too...

You have to try it....

I think even a thick belden cord can do much better than any stock cord.....

In case I get tempted, I should refrain from trying a modded Kingrex PSU2......

That could be really be a killer, at a cost ...

Nuforce the music maker

I have a new nickname for the DAC 9, the music maker, which was inspired from K19 the widow maker....

Somehow this new black box is giving my old CD a 2nd wind & breathing new life into these songs recorded so many years ago....

All the noise, distortion and grittiness associated with early digital recordings have been cast aside ....

Only music is left.....

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steps for new CDs

i am sure every audiophile has his favourite treatment for new music collection....

some are relatively affordable while others can be as expensive as your wife's SK II treatment essence.....

and here is what i do to new CDs....

a. apply nanotech cleaning liquid and polish

b. apply nanotech treatment liquid and polish

c. demagnetise

if i have a little more time and cash maybe i can try antistatic treatment..... e.g. antistatic gun, SK CD....

but at the moment, enough is enough....

3 wooden discs

This is the recommend way to place 3 shunmook mpingo discs on a CD player .....

And I think it kinda works better than the equilateral triangle placement meant for other electronics....

Why didn't I do it earlier???

Damn....

Revisit

Tonight I'm giving the active circuits of the Adcom preamplifier a good spin....

It must have been months and probably years since I'd used the active stage ..... And I thought I should let some electrons flow thought the caps and chips...

Other than giving me too much gain, it's pretty awesome..... In fact I'm quite surprised by the energy and spatiality ...!!

Maybe it's because I'm using the full potential of this balanced preamplifier .....

Just as Mr Nelson Pass intended

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gain up

never in my dreams did i expect this outcome:

the system has TOO MUCH gain now..... !!

what do i mean by too much...??? well, the Nuforce DAC 9 gives out 8 volts from its balanced output!! a regular CD player / DAC typically has 2 volts from its RCA connection....

since using the adcom as a passive preamp, i've always desired more gain.....so much so that when ordering the D-100 power amps, i'd even requested for the high-gain version......

with the 2 volts from the MSB DAC unbalanced output and using XLR cables between preamp and power amps (6 dB gain), my regular volume setting hovered at 12 o'clock, sometimes even reaching 1 o'clock...... and i kinda liked it that way since volume pots usually do not track well at their lower range ....

now?

i am using XLR cables from DAC to preamp to power amps and it's tough to go past 9 o'clock.........

by then it's REALLY LOUD....

before bring it home, i wondered why is there a low gain version of the DAC 9 (2 volts RCA / 4 volts XLR) available on special order.....

the answer is...

it's possible to have TOO MUCH of a good thing.....!!

Nuforce DAC 9 - first hand account

do you believe what you are hearing in a showroom setup when all you wanted to know is how good a particular component is?

i don't, cos nothing exists in isolation..... and i no longer pay that much attention to these auditions due to the many variables at play e.g. unfamiliar rooms and its acoustics / unfamiliar components and cables etc make these listening sessions confusing to see the least..... many systems in the shops do not even come close to what i think is reasonable performance and of cos i cant depend on their setup to make up my mind.......

then how do i go about listening and buying audio gear?

the only way that matters is a home audition ... but if that is not possible what's next?

reviews by personalities close to my heart and inclinations are always useful ..... I would then have a short-list of stuff that i shouldn't ignore e.g. B&W 802D, vivid giya G2, wilson audio sophia etc......

sometimes i even buy on gut feel too, which is what i did for the nuforce DAC 9....

a few months back I was very close to buying the W4S DAC 2 which is a 24 bit / 192 kHz capable DAC with multiple inputs..... unfortunately i wasn't able to sell my MSB Link 3 DAC and since i'd promised myself the new could only come after the old was gone, i had to postpone the upgrade........ till now i am still holding on to the MSB.....

since then there have been many new wannabees in the market........ calyx, burson, nuforce to name a few but not all fit my requirements........... and my DAC must-haves are

• 24 bit / 192 kHz chipset
• AES/EBU input
• true balanced outputs
• multiple inputs
• usb input
• less than S$2500

this means that even the very promising and popular calyx is not in my short-list as it does not have an AES/EBU input.......

after a few futile attempts to sell the MSB, i'm convinced that it will be staying ..... firstly i was not keen to sell it at a "lelong" price and then no one is interested to buy it at my price..... after all its technology is a decade old (even though it can be upgraded by MSB) and there's no usb input (again an upgrade is available)....... without an usb input, it's safe to say any modern DAC is doomed to fail....

once my previous stance to buy only when the old is gone is no longer valid, i again scowled the market for a suitable DAC........

this time, i caught news of this newbie from nuforce...... other than the full features offered, what piqued me is the no over-sampling, no up-sampling chipset and no negative feedback used in the analogue circuit...... all seems very promising but do the nuforce guys know what they are doing? when everyone else is fighting the numbers game with upsampling and higher sampling frequency, these guys are going the opposite way ..... will the DAC 9 be like a breathe of fresh air? judging by how good their amps are being received, maybe they do know what they are up to.....

when i knew that the DAC 9 has hit the local market, i didn't rush down to Audio Iconic immediately; better to cut myself some slack and ask if i really wanted a new DAC......

it was until this week that i could find time to visit the shop and listen ...... compared with nuforce cd player, the DAC 9 sounded bigger and richer......... however it was also obvious that the DAC 9 has a higher output and this gives it a big advantage when the volume match was not done strictly........ maybe i have to trust my instincts when the showroom audition was not conclusive......

in the end, i bit the bullet and bought the DAC 9 on gut feel......... at that moment, i could only hope my choice is right .....

after about 60 hours of playing time and a few listening sessions, there's no doubt it's better than the MSB .... i am experiencing a big soundstage that can extend beyond the edge of the loudspeakers, richer and deeper low-frequency extension, more details and musical textures in the midrange and a more extended treble.....

now i can forget about being critical and start to enjoy the music ...... which is what the hobby is all about: MUSIC.....

Home test

How am I going to face my own setup and speakers after listening to the superb classe & B&W 802D setup earlier in the day..?????

Fortunately I can....

Even thought my speakers are outclassed in all areas, they are still listenable and liveable with .....

But it makes me wonder how the 802D will sound in my room..?????

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