MOD Audio Video Issue 13

A Classic is Reborn

Extraordinary craftsmanship - Made in Spain Audiophile grade custom manufactured components Hovland MusiCap film and foil capacitors Polished stainless steel chassis Exclusive Ars-Sonum designed manufactured output transformers Individually selected and paired tubes from special series Exquisite sound quality, outstanding transparency and dynamics.

Output power: 2 x 30 wpc rms into 8 ohms Output tubes: 4 x EL34L

AURAL DESIGNS ... purveyors of fine music

Almarro . ARS-Sonum . Auditorium23 . MR . New Audio Frontiers . ProAc . Tektron . Vimak . WLM

1 Coleman Street #03-11 The Adelphi Singapore 179803 Tel: +65 6339 0134 www.aural-designs.com

Malaysia Distributor

Wo Kee Hong Trading Sdn Bhd

(225801-X)

2nd Floor(Left Wing), Bangunan Infinite Centre, Lot 1, Jalan 13/6, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Tel:+603-79548088 www.wokeehong.net

The UK Home Cinema Choice magazine “... the Chromium Style 5.1 was 'ab fab' (absolutely fabulous) and "Why should you seek out the Quadrals over the countless other brands that can produce something similar? The answer is because the Chromiums sound absolutely fantastic. Set up and with a few hours under its belt, this is one of the most cohesive sounding speaker systems out there...."

Distributor for Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore Intercessor LLP 1090 Lower Delta Road #07-07 Singapore 169201 Tel: (65)-62730873 Fax: (65)-62210959

The Absolute Sound Recommended Preamp/Poweramp SA-T8 and SP-T800

- STU-8 RDS Tuner - CD-S8 HDCD Player - SA-T8 Symmetrical Hybrid Stereo Preamplifier - SP-T800 Symmetrical Mono Hybrid Amplifier

Distributor for Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore Intercessor LLP 1090 Lower Delta Road #07-07 Singapore 169201 Tel: (65)-62730873 Fax: (65)-62210959

Accustic Arts - AET - Acoustic Revive - Acrolink - Audio Replas - Burson - Copulare - Cryo Audio Technology - CSE Japan - Fiio - KingRex - Kojo Seiko - Kryna - Lansche Audio - Nanotec System Madison Audio Lab - Mimetism - Millennium - MSB Technology - Musica - Octave - Oyaide - Parasound - Phase Tech - Phiaton - SAEC - TAOC - Usher Audio - Vivid Audio - Zonotone

1 Jalan Anak Bukit #01-01S Bukit Timah Plaza Singapore 588996 Tel: +65-6466 2642 Fax: +65- 6466 2652 www.xaudio.com.sg

X Audio Pte Ltd

-

Data CD IV Transport Signature DAC IV Signature Power Base with Digital Transport Supply iLink II Integrated Transport Option

Accustic Arts - AET - Acoustic Revive - Acrolink - Audio Replas - Burson - Copulare - Cryo Audio Technology - CSE Japan - Fiio - KingRex - Kojo Seiko - Kryna - Lansche Audio - Nanotec System Madison Audio Lab - Mimetism - Millennium - MSB Technology - Musica - Octave - Oyaide - Parasound - Phase Tech - Phiaton - SAEC - TAOC - Usher Audio - Vivid Audio - Zonotone

X Audio Pte Ltd 1 Jalan Anak Bukit #01-01S Bukit Timah Plaza Singapore 588996 Tel: +65-6466 2642 Fax: +65- 6466 2652 www.xaudio.com.sg

AnalogueAirbearingTechnology Handcrafted in Denmark

Magne

Standard model

Awards The Absolute Sound Editor’s Choice 2011 Turntable of the Year 2010: HiFi+ Turntable of the Year 2009: High Fidelity Turntable of the Year 2009: Stereo Mojo

Sindre

High-end model

Sleipner

Sleipner Air Pump and Controller

Reference model

Airbearing turntable and linear tracking airbearing tonearm Proudly representing

Modular Audio LLP

1 Coleman Street #04-25 The Adelphi Singapore 179803 T: +65 6333-0286 M: +65 8201-0233 W: www.modularaudio.com.sg E: info@modularaudio.com.sg

Only $5999

plus early bird special package for first 20 sets sold!

Sony VPL-HW30ES

Improved 3D brightness Contrast ratio 70,000:1 Brightness 1300 ANSI Lumens SXRD panel technology Motionflow Dynamic Lamp Control Technology Separate 2D and 3D modes Advanced Iris3 control Extremely low fan noise (22dB) New remote commander Adjustable Lens Shift Panel Alignment Function RCP (Real Color Processing) Ver.2 Fully Digital Signal Processing BRAVIA Sync

KEC Sound System Pte Ltd 1 Coleman Street The Adelphi #01-25/#04-36 Singapore 179803 Hotline: 6564-3188 www.hifibargain.com

Redundant Hifi Sorry if the headline offends you, I have no such intent.

Creative Editor

Hifi is not redundant, not for a while anyway. What I am

Terence Wong

gone obsolete?

terence@mod-avi.com

Sales n Marketing Singapore

Wong Ng Lai Leng laileng@mod-avi.com

Malaysia

Simon Chang

simon@mod-avi.com MOD AudioVideo is published by

talking about is – what do you do with hifi gear that has

A good example is the AV receiver – if yours doesn't have HDMI, its as good as redundant. Also the networking connectivity is slowly gaining acceptance as more and more people start ripping their CD collection to a network attached storage or NAS. If your AV receiver doesn’t have that capability, its days are numbered too. And how about ‘smart’ TVs and Blu-ray players that are internet enabled? Yes, that is important too.

In contrast, your 5.1 speaker system will hardly be

MODAVI Private Limited 10 Anson Road International Plaza Unit 21-02 S 079903

outdated. And for this reason, if I have a tight budget to

MICA (P) 169/07/2011

where your hard earned money will work for you. For

The title MOD AudioVideo, its associated logo or devices and contents of this magazine is the sole property of Modavi Private Limited. Reproduction of either in whole or a part of, is strictly prohibited.

Modavi Private Limited is not responsible for any ommissions, errors, unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or other materials. We reserve the right to edit all relevant materials. Modavi retain ownership of all materials received published or otherwise.

work on, this is where I will put my money on. Good speakers cost money but in many ways, they are a good investment, as they stay relevant. So are good cables, if they are well made, they last a lifetime. Know things that go obsolete in a few years pay the minimum because they will have practically no resale value and even if they do, it won't amount to much. And some electronic components like amplifiers can deteriorate over time too, so take it that these products will have limited ‘use by’ life. Anyway, that’s another story...

Sounds like guide 101 to buying hifi!

The Absolute Sound magazine calls the Proscenium Black Diamond II ‘The World’s Best Turntable’ It just got a whole lot better ...

proscenium Black Diamond series III Allnic - Atma Sphere - Audiodesksysteme - Jade Audio Isoduo - Karan Acoustics - Kuzma - Marantz - NBS - ProAc - Soul Note - Walker Audio

Jay Audio

161 Lavender Street #01-10 Lavender Place Singapore 338750 Tel: (65) 6292 2773 www.jay-audio.com

High End Lust List

Shape Audio Organic Harmony Collection The world’s only loudspeakers cast in solid bronze, silver and gold respectively. Each of these ‘sound sculpture’ is handmade by artisans, after which the sound is crafted by designer Luciano Pasquariello. The Organic Harmony is a ‘stereo loudspeaker’ (meaning one unit provides stereo output) with built-in 1000 watt DSP amplifier. You connect the speaker to your network or direct USB. The Organic Harmony collection is also the world’s most expensive loudspeaker - price starts from USD86,000 for the entry bronze where a limited number of 99 pieces will be made. The next level, the Sterling Silver sells for a little more - USD412,000 and is limited to only 5 pieces manufactured. If that isn’t expensive enough to stir your interest, perhaps you might like to consider the only one made in pure 18 carat gold weighing some 215 Kg for a cool USD6.8 million? www.shapeaudio.com

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High End Lust List

Bodor Audio + Presence System Hungarian audio company Bodor Audio + makes a complete system comprising a CD player, a preamp, a power amplifier and a pair of loudspeakers, the Presence XL. If you look closely at the loudspeaker, it is actually a full range drive unit in its own enclosure perched on a subwoofer enclosure which also houses a super tweeter. The Class D power amplifier is quite unique in that it is a 4-channel amplifier, you can use as a 4 x 150 watt power amp, or bridged for 2 x 300 watts. Bodor Audio + also offers custom finishes to match your decor. If you didn't know by now, Bodor Audio is started by an audiophile and an interior designer! www.bodoraudioplus.hu

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High End Lust List MartinLogan Montis The Montis is the largest hybrid XStat transducer in the MartinLogan Reserve ESL Series. The Montis comes with a 24-bit Vojtko™ Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Engine, in conjunction with a powerful 200-watt class-D amplifier to deliver a low-frequency performance reaching down to 29Hz in a compact cabinet. The use of DSP allows complete control and performance optimization over the low pass filters, woofer equalization and limiting functions, all of which are mapped mathematically in the digital domain. Additionally, integrated low-frequency equalization below 100Hz further enhances bass performance by allowing precise tailoring to adjust for individual room acoustics. www.martinlogan.com

Penaudio Sinfonia Penaudio hails from Finland, the flagship loudspeaker Sinfonia towers at almost 1.8m is a full range loudspeaker using high performance soft dome tweeter using hexdym magnet, dual 160mm magnesium coned midbass and dual 260mm (11 inch) woofers that handles below 80 Hz. Penaudio's designer Sami Penttilä is a musician and with the Sinfonia, he has realised his ultimate loudspeaker. www.penaudio.fi

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The HR1 monitor system eptomizes the term "No limits". If you desire the absolute best loudspeaker system ever built, and capable of full range 18hz - 25Khz bandwidth, unlimited dynamic range, ultra low distortion, and with incredible wide dispersion. Barring it's immense size, if you are looking to own the world's finest sounding loudspeaker system, then there is no better choice than the Ocean Way Audio HR1! All these characteristics plus a completely natural sound without a trace of harshness makes the HR1 truly unique in the world. There is nothing made anywhere that looks, sounds and performs like this system.

From the audiophile's perspective the HR1 provides a very natural effortless sound with the ability to produce staggering impact if required. From a recording engineers stand point, complete honesty superb resolution and imaging make the HR1 a very valuable tool in making exceptional sounding mixes. If you play something that is superbly recorded there are truly no limits to how great it can sound.

Whichever way you see it, the Ocean Way Audio HR1 monitor system is simply the closest you can come to the actual live performance in every sense of the word. Truly worthy of the unbashed accolade of:

'The Greatest Sound on Earth!'

Ocean Way Audio (Singapore) Pte Ltd

1 Coleman Street #01-09/#02-08 The Adelphi Singapore 179803 Tel: +65-63381846 E: info@oceanwayaudio-sg.com W: oceanwayaudio-sg.com

What do Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones have in common?

Quincy is the producer of the world’s best selling album – Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ – which reputedly sold some 110 million copies worldwide. And what does ‘Thriller’ have in common with Ocean Way? To answer this question, we need to backtrack a little – By the way, Quincy Jones is also producer of the predecessor of Thriller, MJ’s ‘Off the Wall’ and also Thriller’s follow up ‘Bad’.

time the HR-1 system appears outside of the United States.

Before that, you will need to book Ocean Way studio in Sherman to hear these speakers! The three-channel LCR system installed in the showroom is specifically tailored for ultra high-end home cinema system applications. Though the speakers were demo-ed as a stereo setup, Viola had trouble supplying enough amplifiers on time, it will eventually be demo-ed as a LCR setup once the rest of the equipment is shipped in.

Ocean Way started as a recording studio based in Hollywood, California and was built in 1952 as United The HR-1 comes with a Western Studios before Allen complex crossover system Sides bought the studio in and requires expert setup.

1985 and rename it Ocean For this reason, we are Way Studios. Allen is a indeed fortunate to have Mr recording engineer who’s Allen Sides who was in town career has recorded more to setup, tune and officiate the famous names and highly opening of the store and his acclaimed recordings than flagship loudspeaker – the any other – Elton John, HR-1. We took the opportu Green Day, Eminem, nity to speak to the man who Rolling Stones, Dr Dre, Paul is already a legend in the McCartney, Avril Lavigne, recording industry, having Toto just to name a few and of recorded over 500 albums course the legendary Michael (and collaborated with Jackson. MJ who recorded another 800 albums) in his ‘Off the Wall’ in Ocean Way, career. Allen, who bore an wanted a bigger sound for uncanny resemblance to his follow up album, so Allen actor Aaron Eckhart (The Sides, whose credentials Core, Batman – The Dark Allen is a recording engineer who’s career has include making his first Knight and the sci-fi flick recorded more famous names and highly speakers when he was 15 Battle, Los Angeles)’ is a acclaimed recordings than any other ... years old, took up the soft-spoken man oozing with challenge and built the biggest studio monitor, one that has incredible talent and enthusiasm. no equal when it comes to sound quality, dynamic range and SPL output.

MOD AV: The design of the HR-1, what was your inspiration?

The result is the legendary Ocean Way HR-1 – a 4-way actively driven speaker with four sub bass woofers, four Allen: Altec Lansing Manta Ray, the ‘Voice of the Theatre’. midwoofers, horn loaded dual dome midtweeter domes and As the name implies, were used primarily in cinemas for its super tweeter. Today, most people call the HR-1 the sheer output and efficiency. There were many variations of ‘Michael Jackson Loudspeaker.’ That’s a shame because the VOTT over the next 40 years but they were a sort of credit must be given to its creator - Allen Sides. It is the reference standard – horn loaded compression drivers with HR-1 that was used in the production of Thriller and in more super efficiency - 10 watts and goes incredibly loud. Being ways than one, contributed to the success of Thriller. efficient, they can create generous amount of output, and dynamics. Today, the closest thing to the Manta Ray is JBL’s The opening of Ocean Way Audio in Singapore is the first flagship Everest.

Picture on left - Kevin Tan of Ocean Way Audio (S) on the left and Allen Sides on the right.

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The Everest is a pretty good loudspeaker, though it doesn’t go very low, bass extension drops off rapidly around 50 Hz. In contrast, the HR-1s go down to 18 Hz – flat! The sub bass

Stenheim ‘Alumine’ The fusion of the finest Swiss high-end audio designers, with the consumate skills of watch industry artisans brings forth a new epoch in the design and manufacture of a new loudspeaker The Alumine.

An exquisite sound quality that truly have to be experienced in one’s lifetime...

Ocean Way Audio (Singapore) Pte Ltd

1 Coleman Street #01-09/#02-08 The Adelphi Singapore 179803 Tel: +65-63381846 E: info@oceanwayaudio-sg.com W: oceanwayaudio-sg.com

with four 15-inch woofers with Alnico magnets only operates from 18 to 50 Hz, the midbass comes in the form of four horn loaded JBL 15-inch drive units, which operate from 50 Hz to 600 Hz though they will go anywhere up to 1.2 kHz with ease. The midrange is a pair of 3-inch dome drive units which works from 600 Hz to 10 kHz in a 90-degree horn 400 Hz dual cross firing throats. The ultra high frequencies come from a single 2” aluminum dome tweeter which takes the high frequency extension to 25kHz. The design of the horn is critical to the speaker’s dispersion – some horn speakers tend to beam as the frequency rises. The HR-1 measured response at 45 degree off axis is as good as directly on axis. This is the key to a loudspeaker having a natural sound and loads the room properly. The HR-1 is not about loud although it is actually sounding effortless at 108 dB with just 7 watts of amplifier power! No, the HR-1 is about ultra low distortion. Typical high-end loudspeaker tend to sound loud at 85 dB, because that's when distortion becomes audible. For a recording engineer, we need a loudspeaker that has great accuracy and we need to hear an accurate representation of the sound. It has to sound bigger than life.

Allen Sides and the smaller Ocean Way HR-3

Ocean Way loudspeakers are made with extreme precision – left and right channel is matched to within 1 dB from 400 Hz to 16 kHz. We select and match the drivers. Then we need some level of equalization. Our custom Ocean Way equalizer is passive, using torroids for each specific frequency band. Most active crossovers would use inexpensive ICs but the results are not quite as good.

MOD AV: Rooms with a lot of glass will be difficult to control the bass?

Allen: Using a warble sweep and an analogue chart recorder, we don’t just look for flat frequency response, our method allows higher capacity for correction of ‘bad’ rooms.

Allen: Oh yes there are! Many CDs you buy is all but a pale shade of its actual sound quality. The best quality possible is the original mixed down master tape, make into several copies on the Sony 1630 or 1610 digital recorders by the actual engineer at hand and these recordings go straight to the pressing plant which then create the master for making the final CDs. However, should copies be made of the first generation copy, which is then used for making the master, then there is potentially a lot of qualitative loss.

Allen then went on to demo some of the recordings he has made, specifically the soundtrack of Avatar, which stands as one of his proudest achievements!

MOD AV: What is the highest recording quality used in studios today?

Allen: There are actually no standards; engineers use whatever equipment the studio provides - 24 bit and anything from 44.1 to 192 kHz. What is interesting is the process of making a recording that you can buy in the stores. Did you know that even a HDD to HDD transfer could result in signal loss?

MOD AV: In your opinion, how much of a qualitative difference is there between a good CD and the original 24 Bit master?

Allen: Actually can be quite close. As long as master is made from the first generation copy, you need not worry too much.

MOD AV: (Shock, horror!) There shouldn’t be any loss given the bit accurate transfer!?

Ocean Way Audio is distributed by Oceanway Audio (S) Pte Ltd MOD AV 23

Vivid Imagination - Philip Guttentag of Vivid Audio speaks to MOD AV You can never mistaken a pair of Vivid Audio loudspeakers

for anything else. Vivid loudspeakers are more sculpture than furniture. The curves of the speaker enclosures mimic that of automobiles, fast and sleek ones at that. The ultra glossy automotive paint finish baked over a hand finished carbon fiber polyester resin enclosure painstakingly put together assures the craftsmanship will always have a human touch. The design of Vivid loudspeakers is never on a whim, there are sound reasons in the design of Vivid loudspeakers.

loud

speakers in Singapore.

MOD AV: How would you describe, the uniqueness of Vivid loudspeakers in today’s crowded high-end audio market?

Philip: We don’t make that many (models) loudspeakers but each and every loudspeaker is conceived, designed and built exactly the same way as the flagship G1 Giya. Only difference is the drive unit configuration and size of the speaker. As we For instance, the flagship G1 Giya towering at 1.7 metres make our own drive units, all our speakers use a seems like a Gaudi inspired sculpture, rightly deserving of variation of five drive unit designs. So if you pick the Philip Guttentag its own pedestal to stand on. The speaker drive units seem smallest V1 and compared to the G1, they use the fused to the enclosure – there is not a single screw in sight. exact same D26 tweeter! In each Vivid loudspeaker, You can admire the shape of the G1 Giya from any angle, from the front, the the drive units are decoupled from the cabinet using an ‘O’ ring – this is side profile and even from behind; there are no straight lines. As you walk critical to achieve the level of dynamic range and linearity of speaker around the speaker, the flawless paint finishing captures and reflects light in a output unique to Vivid. way, which continuously emphasizes its form.

A loudspeaker developed a lot of energy when playing and that energy It is no accident the G1 Giya is both form and function, at the same time. A needs to be properly channeled away. Other loudspeakers depend on a clever feat of disguise; where the engineering is hidden within the aesthetics. firm and rigid mount onto the baffle of the loudspeakers cabinet, which Like in a performance car - it looks good on the outside, despite all the acts as an energy sink. Vivid chose to cancel that energy by coupling a plumbing underneath the bonnet. So is the Giya – attention to sound second drive unit – in the case of the G1 and G2, the side facing sub bass engineering lies within its carbon fiber shell. drive units are braced back to back, and decoupled from the enclosure. At Laurence Dickie is responsible for high sound pressure levels (SPL), the energy Vivid loudspeaker is a very young company – this year cancels each other. This results in a loudspeaker all the design work on every Vivid Vivid celebrates its 11th anniversary. In this short period, Audio loudspeaker... able to play louder with less compression. On the Vivid has created more artisans of sound – a smaller G2 K1 and B1, the midbass drive units are braced back Giya, the smaller K1, B1, V1.5, V1 and C1. Each model to front and works in the same way. The smaller V1 follows the exact constructional design of the flagship G1 series does not have a second driver so the entire Giya, only smaller, for use in smaller rooms. Talking of midbass driver is supported by a bracing shaft from drive units, Vivid is one of the few loudspeaker the back of the magnet to the rear of the enclosure, manufacturers who make their own drive units. This where a large nut is used to secure the shaft completes the circle – a Vivid loudspeaker can only be against the back of the enclosure. The nut presses a product of artisans, it cannot exist in a production line. against an ‘O’ ring, not the enclosure itself, so again the mounting arrangement decouples itself from the Vivid is based in South Africa where the loudspeakers are enclosure. made. However, its principal design and co-owner is Briton Laurence Dickie, who is credited to the design of Laurence designed the drive units for the Nautilus B & W’s flagship Nautilus loudspeaker and pioneered a and the drivers used in Vivid loudspeakers are a lot of new technologies in that loudspeaker that trickled further refinement of those same drive units. The down the range of B & W loudspeakers. Laurence was drive units have a very wide bandwidth but in our introduced to Philip Guttentag, who was a high-end audio crossover, we choose the most linear output for distributor, the other half of Vivid by an ex-B & W each drive unit design. We use individual crossovers colleague. Their common interest led to the creation of a for each drive unit instead of one large network. This new loudspeaker company as we know of today – Vivid way the interaction with the return signal is Audio. minimized. We understand speaker placement is always an issue with any loudspeaker so we Philip visits his distributors on a regular basis and this design Vivid loudspeakers to interact less with year, he had already visited Singapore in February, yet boundaries. he is here again in September. The 9-hour flight time not withstanding, Philip looks fresh and ready to meet The B1 for instance, has the second woofer in the with eager fans and prospective customers (plus yours rear but the rear woofer only operates up to 100 truly) at X-Audio, the distributor for Vivid Audio Hz and then rolls off.

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It behaves like a subwoofer and allows the speaker to be placed really close to the rear wall without any detrimental effects. In effect, Vivid speakers are easy to place and easy to integrate into any room.

MOD AV: Sound like B & W’s PV-1…

MOD AV: You use aluminum drivers throughout …

Philip: Yes, aluminum, no need to go into using exotic material like titanium as it has no sonic benefits and the material is more expensive.

Laurence also designed drive units and speakers for professional use – monitoring studios for instance. Have you asked why don’t studios use typical high-end loudspeakers? Typical high-end loudspeakers while they sound good, is incapable of producing high SPL as demanded in a studio.

In using aluminum drive units, with decoupling from the enclosure allows the speaker to play exceptionally loud with very low levels of distortion and dynamic compression. You will not play as loud in a home and at low playback volume, the distortion level vanishes into insignificance. For example, our small D26 tweeter is capable of playback to 98dB when only 89dB or so is clearly loud enough!

Philip: Yes, that’s also Laurence design as well! But the Vivid subwoofer will be bigger - 12” vs 8” woofers of the PV-1. Yes, home cinema is going high-end and the trend is connoisseurs want the best of both worlds – a system that does justice for music and one capable of handling the dynamic demands of home cinema. Vivid fulfils both admirably.

MOD AV: Thank You Philip, for your insights on Vivid Audio!

Vivid Audio is distributed by X-Audio Pte Ltd.

MOD AV: Are Vivid speakers used in studios?

Philip: Yes, in Europe – Germany, Sweden and Switzerland, there are Vivid loudspeakers used for professional monitoring.

MOD AV: Tell us more about the operation in South Africa?

Philip: We have a 1500 sq meter factory space with about 30 staff. There is the ‘dirty’ area where the speaker enclosures are fabricated and the ‘clean’ area where the enclosures are painted and the speaker assembled and tested. We have an oven to bake the automotive paints used in all Vivid loudspeakers and each speaker has seven layers of paint, hand rubbed down after each layer is painted.

Very labour intensive but relative labour cost is much cheaper in South Africa compared to other places….

MOD AV: I suppose if Vivid is made in Germany or Switzerland, it will cost twice as much? Is there any perception of quality, or the lack of, for Vivid being made in SA? Philip: (Smile) In countries like China, yes we have that perception, elsewhere, the reception has been overwhelmingly positive. Vivid has an office in the UK, where Laurence resides. Laurence comes over to South Africa once every month or two to collaborate on the designs with our electronics and mechanical engineers.

MOD AV: With the growing trend of high-end home cinema and Vivid does have products like the C1, which is a center channel loudspeaker, will there, be a subwoofer?

Philip: Yes we are working on one – it will have dual 12” woofers back to back in a pressure sealed enclosure…

Vivid Audio flagship G1 Giya

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Little Bird Focal is justifiably proud of the smallest of the Bird series, the Little Bird. It is by itself, a complete speaker system that just happen to be ultra compact at just 0.5 litre, is equally at home on a desktop as well as when mounted on a wall. Two compact stand options are supplied which lifts the speaker a couple of inches off the surface it is standing on. The stands utilise a ball and socket pivot arrangement, allowing the speaker to be directed at any angle, especially useful when it is wall mounted. Used by itself without a woofer system, the Little Bird offers a sound that belies its petite stature.

Bird Only slightly larger (2.2 litre) due to the use of a 14cm mid-woofer vs the 10cm midwoofer of the Little Bird, this model offers high power handling up to 100 watts, higher output and better bass extension. Like the Little Bird, the Bird is easy to place with its integrated stand, which allows the wiring to be concealed. If floor mounting is desired, there is an optional 90cm high stands which will work with any Bird series loudspeakers.

The Bird’s of Focal Focal’s Utopia series will always be revered

by audiophiles as one of the most respected range of loudspeakers from this French loudspeaker company. With their proprietary ‘W’ cone using a composite cone sandwich technology and their world famous beryllium tweeter that enabled Focal to rise to the ranks of high-end loudspeakers as we know them today. Did you know that many other high-end loudspeakers uses Focal drive units?

Now Focal lends its considerable design innovation on the other end of the market – multimedia speakers and speaker systems. Their first foray dates back to 2003 with the Sib and Cub satellite/subwoofer system. It serves to bring Focal sound to the masses in a compact and affordable system. The Sib is actually a well spec miniature loudspeaker – it sports a nice 13cm Focal ‘polyflex’ midwoofer and a 19mm mylar tweeter. It is in the spirit of sound, every bit a Focal product.

Eight years on, the multimedia market takes on a more prominent place for many people - the TV now becomes the centerpoint for all multimedia needs – internet access, gaming, access music via network storage, more people are listening to music via their PCs through a desktop system and the future of large full sized speakers seems dated except for the niche audiophile market.

As the demand for multimedia grows, consumers are willing to consider a wider range of price points for multimedia loudspeaker systems, in short – people can differentiate sound quality and are willing to pay more for quality.

To deliver that quality, Focal went back to the drawing board – there were some limitations of the Sib loudspeaker design when used without the matching Cub woofer system. Focal redesigned a new multimedia speaker to sound good by itself if need to be, without the aid of a woofer system. Maintaining the compact size of a desktop monitor while delivering an extended bandwidth especially in the low frequencies calls for some innovative design elements. Focal engineers delivered with the new Bird series.

The Bird series starts with all new drive units – a 10cm and a 14cm midbass drive units as well as a new aluminium dome tweeter. Then there is the enclosure - a hollow enclosure will give a honky characteristics, adding coloration and irregular frequency response. Focal designed a new enclosure using strong ABS material with internal damping. No resonance means low levels of coloration and more accurate rendition of the signal. Many (cheap) multimedia loudspeakers use a single full range drive unit which needs just a few watts to produce sound, however these full range drive units have poor response characteristics. In contrast, the Bird series uses proper tweeters and midbass drivers and they need proper amplification – Focal suggest at least 15 – 75 watts to deliver the full potential of the speaker design.

The Bird series comes in three flavours – the smallest is the Little Bird using a 10cm midbass and tweeter, the slightly larger Bird which is still desktop suitable, with a larger 14cm woofer and correspondingly bigger sound with deeper bass extension and the Super Bird, in essence, a wall mount version of the Bird with dual 14cm midbass woofers for high output and even better bass extension.

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Super Bird Using dual 14cm midbass, one of which is a passive radiator, increases bass extension without additional power demands on the amplifier. The Super Bird takes on the task of a high performance, high output multimedia system with music or movies. The Super Bird comes in a shallow enclosure, matching today’s slimmest of LCD and LED TVs. Power Bird Large full sized speakers are necessary for a rich sound quality.

Or so it seems. When used in a large room, the Power Bird adds an important element of richness and finesse to any of the Bird loudspeakers. It comprises a stereo amplifier (to power any of the Bird loudspeakers) and a 16.5cm active (80 watt) woofer system in a shallow and sleek enclosure. With two digital and three analogue inputs, the Power Bird is able to cater for DVD, Blu-ray, game consoles, set top box etc. It looks equally comfortable standing upright against a wall as well as lying flat on your sideboard next to your audio components. iTransmitter Focal employs ‘Kleer’ wireless streaming technology enable your iPod, iPad or iPhone to stream digital audio datastream to the Power Bird without compression as used in Bluetooth. Kleer wireless streaming technology also has other benefits, it uses just 1/10th the power of wifi. Available in 3 options - a 32-pin iTransmitter dongle (sold separately) attached to the iPhone, iPod or iPad, a USB dongle for

connection to notebooks and PCs plus a dock for charging your apple device. The system is extremely flexible - several transmitters can be synchronized with one receiver or several receivers can be connected with only one transmitter and several transmitters can be synchronized with several receivers, without interacting with one another. The transmission range is about 10 meters.

Kleer promises superior audio performance without compression as well as uninterrupted signal connection without signal drops. A free app, Focal Remote (free download at Apple app store), in your apple device will allow you to control a system equipped with wireless Kleer technology. Kleer is not format dependent and will stream all audio formats may it be MP3, WAV or Lossless.

Bird reinvents a modern, high-quality, compact and designer inspired multimedia loudspeaker system which does more than you can ask for. With the Bird speaker system, it now becomes easy to enjoy music in the traditional way, with classic sources like a CD or from your mobile devices. Bird, offers the freedom of sound...

Availability and Pricing The little Bird 2.1 System, Bird 2.1 System and Super Bird 2.1 System retails at SGD$1,388, SGD$1,588 and SGD$1,788 respectively.

The iTransmitter wireless transmission for iPod/iPhone or iPad retails at SGD$168. These products are available at Ong Radio.

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“the CrimsonPlus is something of a superstar...”

“vivid, yet natural colours and an impressive sonic performance”

Chord CrimsonPlus Cables that carry an audio signal will affect the way your system presents the dynamic information present on any recording, be it music or a film soundtrack.

Dynamics are crucial to any piece of music, whether simple guitar and voice or an orchestra in full flight.

Musical instruments have a rich harmonic content and with the right cable, the timbre of individual instruments becomes apparent and easy to hear, be it piano, trumpet, violin or the human voice. When all this information is properly and accurately presented, it becomes easy to hear and follow individual instruments within complex musical arrangements. Sit back, relax and immerse yourself in the whole performance.

Our passion is fired by getting the best performance out of a system, regardless of cost. From Crimson to Sarum, the same dedication is applied. But don’t just take our word for it...

Chord HDMI cables Like every other component in your system, the HDMI cable you choose can have a significant effect on your enjoyment of films, TV and games. We have applied our 25 years experience in cable design to producing class-leading HDMI cables.

These acclaimed, high-speed cables will deliver the best possible picture and sound quality from any high definition source, including 3D. Whether a film aficionado, MMORPG player or a sports fan, Chord HDMI cables will put you right in the middle of the action.

We are passionate about games, films and music and wouldn’t expect you to settle for anything but the best.

Distributor for Singapore and Malaysia

Wo Kee Hong Distribution Pte Ltd

1 Jalan Kilang Timor #08-03 Pacific Tech Centre Singapore 159303 T: (+65) 6637 9888 www.wokeehong.com.sg E: sales@wokeehong.com.sg

Wo Kee Hong Trading Sdn Bhd

2nd Floor(Left Wing) Bangunan Infinite Centre Lot 1 Jalan 13/6 46200 Petaling Jaya Selangor Darul Ehsan Malaysia Tel:+603-79548088 www.wokeehong.net E: kennysea@wokeehong.net

WALKER AUDIO’s PROSCENIUM BLACK DIAMOND III TURNTABLE

Walker Audio makes just one high end product – a turntable

(accessories not counted!) and that is the Walker Proscenium Black Diamond turntable. The Walker is not a turntable for the weak. It may not look it but it is one massive turntable. The turntable comes complete with its parallel tracking tonearm with an air bearing as well as an air bearing for the turntable’s main bearing. As a result, the turntable comes with a vacuum pump and pressure chambers to ensure an absolutely silent turntable with zero friction. How would that benefit a turntable? The lower the noise level, the better the turntable in retrieving low level detail, dynamics and transparency and present the signal to your amplifier.

The Walker Proscenium has had numerous changes made slowly over the years, each time, the little changes brings the turntable’s performance a little higher, a little further from the other high end turntables. The cost of manufacturing also increases steadily over the years and the first ones who bought the Proscenium must be a very happy lot.

The Proscenium Black Diamond II was pronounced the ‘World’s Best Turntable’ by the Absolute Sound magazine just last year and now, Walker Audio had made significant improvements in the Proscenium Black Diamond turntable that Lloyd Walker is forced to call this new version, a MK 3.

The upgrade is not a small one, the new Proscenium Black Diamond MK 3 features a modified suspension system that

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significantly improves the sound quality by adding a separate, isolated air supply that uses lower air pressure in the suspension chambers. New coupling material was also added to isolate the air chambers from the equipment rack.

“We actually had no intention of upgrading or changing the Proscenium Black Diamond II turntable,” said Lloyd Walker, President and Founder of Walker Audio. “That unit is already considered one of the best in the world and we thought we had achieved the pinnacle of analog playback possibilities. We were wrong. The changes to the air pressure and the new coupling material result in a musical presentation that is truly phenomenal.”

The company experimented with ways to use lower pressure to extend the life of the air chamber pods instead they found this adjustment profoundly improved the audio quality. The result is a significantly improvement in performance that deserves a model upgrade to the Proscenium Black Diamond III. Utilizing the perfect pressure for isolation, rigidity and resonance control – while still able to achieve their original intention of extending the life of the air chamber pods indefinitely.

All earlier models can be upgraded to series III specifications; price for upgrade kit will vary according to the model. Please contact Jay Audio for pricing and other details. The Proscenium III turntable with tonearm sells for USD90,000!.

Unifield 1

VR35

Unifield 2

High End Loudspeakers at affordable price!

Unifield 3 and VR-4 SR Mk3

VR-5 Anniversary

Mr Von Schweikert

VR-9 SE

Authorised distributor for Singapore and Malaysia

VR-11 SE

Blk 925 Yishun Central 1 #02-229 Singapore 760925 Tel: +65 6756 5585 www.audioline-hifi.com

Von Schweikert ‘Master-Built’ Cables Master-Built cables

are designed and fabricated by a subsidiary of Delphi Aerospace. These cables use lab-grade Single Crystal Laboratory-grade copper solid core wire with aerospace shielding, with noise reduction technology (patent pending), and German hi-purity plugs. The highest grade of the three price points use Teflon shielding for super clean high frequency response. They are best used as a “system” to take full advantage of the sonic benefits.

USD350/foot pair.

VSA Speaker Cables VSA “Purple Line” bi-wire speaker cable - Von Schewikert “entry level” bi-wire speaker cable uses Single Crystal Copper laboratory-grade copper, uses a smaller diameter conductor than their ‘Standard’ version.

MSRP - USD1,250/pr for an 8-foot pair. Extra length is USD100/foot.

The entry Purple Line cord is a simple design, using small gauge conductors with superb bandwidth and dynamic range. Perfect for use with front-end electronics or small amplifiers but not recommended for high-powered, high current-draw amplifiers. MSRP Price: - USD600 for 6 foot runs, additional at USD50/foot pair.

VSA “Standard” bi-wire speaker cable consists of 4 cable cores connected together at the amplifier end, but separated at the speaker end by 36” for separate bi-wire isolation. Each Delphi “Laboratory-grown” single crystal copper conductor is 0.75” diameter. MSRP Price USD3,500 for 8-ft bi-wire pair, additional per foot length USD200.

Standard cord has Twin-RFI-blocking and hybrid 3-conductor path, utilizing aerospace shielding technology to “purify” the signal. MSRP Price: USD3,600 for 6ft length in Tuxedo Black, additional at USD200/foot pair.

VSA Reference quality power cords with Noise Reduction Technology VSA power cords: Shielded power cords with RFI blocking design, Twin or Triple Shielding, multi-strand/solid core hybrid for Full-Bandwidth power transfer. Tailored according to choice of length and plug configuration at each end. Standard with IEC plugs, other types of plugs optional.

VSA “Signature” bi-wire speaker cable consists of 8 cores inside each jacket for a total wire gauge twice as large as the standard bi-wire model.

The spade lugs and banana pipe plugs are made in Germany with the finest copper alloys. The dynamic range and impact of this cable is simply the finest in the world. Jacket is titanium grey nylon with noise reduction coating. MSRP Price - USD6,000 for 8-ft pair, additional per foot length USD400.

Signature Chord - State-Of-The-Art model with triple-RFI Shielding and 6-conductor hybrid design for the ultimate in bass power and treble purity. (2 Pat. Pendings). The passive built-in noise reduction and wide-band frequency range, combined with the extremely high dynamics, this power chord will clean up your sound to an amazing degree, without the disadvantages of an active power conditioner. MSRP Price: Signature Chord - USD6,200 for 6-ft length and IEC plugs, additional at USD350/foot pair.

VSA Interconnects VSA Purple Line interconnect: VS entry-level I/C cables. MSRP Price: USD500/m pair, USD600/m for balanced XLR 3-conductor version, additional at USD100/foot pair.

VSA Master-Built Digital Cable World-class digital cable with correct engineering to prevent digital data corruption that generates error correction mode in the DAC, causing harsh, bright, or foggy sound quality. Hand made with premium materials using the finest aerospace design technology available.

VSA Standard interconnect: MSRP Price - RCA USD1,250 for one meter pair, additional USD150/foot pair. Balanced XLR USD1,600 for one meter pair, additional at USD200/foot pair.

MSRP Price: USD1,800 for standard 1-meter length, with either SP/DIF (RCA) or AES-EBU (XLR) plugs. Additional USD100/foot pair for RCA and $130 for XLR plugs.

VSA Ultimate-Reference Signature interconnect : MSRP Price: $3,500 for one meter pair with RCA, and USD4,250 for balanced XLR, additional at

For more information on Von Schweikert ‘Master Built’ cables, please contact Audioline at 6756 5585

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KR Audio Electronics hails from Prague, in the Czech Republic offers a line of hand-crafted, high quality tubes (all glass is hand blown

by Czech artisans) and audio equipment. KR Audio started as a tube manufacturer, first with the historic Marconi valve reproduction and then tubes for audio as an OEM up-grade option in hi-end audio amplifiers in 1994.

Our company began the research to make improved triodes in 1992 and The success we found with our products is a direct result of the comparison between the hand-made KR tube and the mass produced tube made on 60+ year old tube machinery.

Given the unique technology developed, KR is able to satisfy the demand for superior 2 channel stereo amplifiers. A KR amplifier in the existing sound system or the application of a KR tube gives the listener increased dynamics, greater detail from the recording, be it vinyl or CD, and an almost tangible imaging.

Kronzilla SXI Mk 2 integrated amplifier

VA340 Mk 2 integrated amplifier

KR continues to manufacture tubes and is the inventor of the Kronzilla, the KR T-1610 tube (left picture) the largest and most powerful audio tube ever made!

Also available as a monobloc power amplifier

P150 preamp

VA350 integrated amplifier

Authorised distributor for Singapore and Malaysia

Blk 925 Yishun Central 1 #02-229 Singapore 760925 Tel: +65 6756 5585 www.audioline-hifi.com

New Chord Cable for HD Sound and Video Chord USB Silver Plus For audiophiles using media servers and computers have been frustrated by the lack of an audio quality cable that is well shielded, uses high purity conductors and di-electric. Chord Cables from UK has just released their first USB cable – the Chord USB Silver Plus. The USB SilverPlus features heavy gauge silver-plated twisted pair data conductors.

Chord champions the use of silver-plated conductors, critical to high-speed signal transfer. The twisted pair configuration significantly reduces noise and cross talk. The heavy gauge conductors also ensure excellent performance over lengths of up to 5 metres, well over the specifications for a standard USB cable. Using sas-foamed polyethylene as a primary insulation material as it has an extremely low dielectric measurement, and this contributes to a cable’s ability to carry high-speed data accurately.

integrity. Damping vibration is another area of cable design that Chord takes extremely seriously.

High frequency effective shielding is a vital component of every Chord Interconnect. The dual-layer shield on the USB SilverPlus is comprised of a high-density braid and a heavy gauge foil. This same combination is used on Chord’s award-winning HDMI cables.

Like many other Chord cables, a special soft PVC outer jacket is used to minimise the effects of any vibration the cable is subject to. The soft jacket is extremely strong and gives an ideal combination of flexibility and protection.

Heavily gold-plated signal pins and plug surround ensure long-term signal

Available in 0.75, 1.5, 3 and 5 metre lengths.

Chord HDMI Active Chord cables are distributed in Singapore and Malaysia by Wo Kee Hong Pte Ltd.

The HDMI Active is the premium HDMI cable offered by Chord cable company. The objective of the HDMI active is to outperform all HDMI cables. To achieve that, Chord has always rely on using heavy gauge silver plated oxygen free signal conductors. The 26AWG conductors reduce signal attenuation. The shielding used is traditional Chord: overlapped foil shielding around all critical signal paths to minimise crosstalk. Double outer foil and high-density braid also combine to minimise the levels of external interference.

The exciting aspect of the Chord HDMI Active is the inclusion of a high frequency filter on all lengths. The filter reduces the intra/inter channel skew between the four pairs of TDMS signals. In tests using Denon, Arcam, Yamaha and Playstation 3 DVD and Blu-ray players, all aspects of picture were improved by using the HDMI Active cable.

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Ars-Sonum Filarmonia The return of the Classic EL34 amplifier

Ars-Sonum’s Filarmonía integrated amplifier fits into the category of the ‘classic EL34’ amplifier design - a 30 watts RMS from a pair of EL 34 in Push-Pull configuration per channel into 8 ohms, using a special selected ‘L’ version for the Filarmonía. It uses a phase inversion driver stage with a JAN5814-A (E82CC/6189/12AU7/ECC82) double triode and an input section with a 6922/ECC88/6DJ8 double triode.

According to Ars, one of Filarmonía's most remarkable characteristics is the topology of its output stage, which does not use the typical ultra-linear configuration, but a special screen-grid regulated pentode circuit with auto-regulated polarization, designed by Ars-Sonum which allows an extremely accurate and steady working point at the final path.

This technology makes possible to use a very low global negative feedback of only 6dB helping to keep distortion levels low and result in greater phase coherence, better frequency response stability at all levels and across the audio band and lower TIM Distortion levels. This global negative feedback is complemented by the slightest use of local negative feedback at the previous stages.

special care has been taken to design a power supply that has independent stabilization for each channel and amplification stage to achieve lowest possible crossotalk and channel inter-modulation.

The output stage’s polarization circuit uses high precision components, matched for tolerances below 1%. The output transformers and the cathode resistors deserve special mention as they are matched within a 0.5% tolerance.

The driver and phase inversion stage use tubes from professional series (JAN 5814A Philips) and low-noise, high-precision components, such as metal film resistors selected and pair-matched at 0.5% as well as special series film & foil top audiophile grade capacitors (Hovland Musicap).

The E34L JJ tubes are subject to a meticulous selection process, matched quartets to within 2% ensuring that stability and performance are kept uniform throughout the useful life of the tubes. This aspect also allows a very precise Class A working point for most of the power delivery of the amplifier. Only during the shortest transients the output section works into Class AB, quickly returning to its optimal working point for a better musical performance.

The input stage is based in an exceptionally low noise tube (JJ E88CC) and the associated components have been carefully selected to achieve the highest signal to noise ratio. They include precision metal film resistors from Vishay and Philips and an ALPS Blue Velvet volume potentiometer.

The output transformers - designed by and exclusively manufactured for Ars-Sonum– are designed for extended, wide frequency responses, without the need to use global negative feedback. “Their main attributes are a high primary inductance (>50Hy), extraordinarily low fugue inductance (<2mHy) and the highest precision balance (<1%) between primary windings. All these distinctive specs are achieved with proprietary winding techniques and the most careful craftsmen work.”

The power supply is the heart of the amplifier and for the Filarmonía,

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An input transformer with electrostatic screen brings an outstanding common mode noise rejection and also provides an extra degree of protection to the user. The passive components within this section have been selected – using audio grade filtering and decoupling caps (Aerovox/BHC, Elna and Panasonic electrolytics and Wima MKP polypropylene film ones). The power resistors are selected at 1% tolerance and they are also over specified to ensure the most reliable performance for many years.

The amplifier is built using a combination of point-to-point wiring and a printed circuit board. Ars research into the design and development of the amplifier’s layout of the internal wiring and the circuit board, achieved the best signal-to-noise ratio possible, keeping interferences and parasitic capacitances among components and stages the lowest possible.

The chassis is made of die cast steel, folded and soldered with the highest precision and then polished and chrome plated. The lathe-turned, hand-polished, solid aluminum control buttons are exclusively hand-crafted for Ars-Sonum. Finally, the new SE version utilizes high quality, pure copper Cardas speaker terminals. All Ars-Sonum products are made in Spain.

Short of the flagship VR11,

the VR9 SE is perhaps the pinnacle of a high-end loudspeaker for smaller homes, like most of the apartments we have here. In fact it would suggest the VR9 is more than capable of filling a room twice the size of this setup is a testament of Von Schweikert’s sonic capabilities and flexibility of the design.

How does the VR9 fit into rooms varying from small to large?

The secret lies with the way the speaker load the room and utilizing room gain. To do that, the speaker needs to have a wide dispersion. A speaker with a good dispersion, meaning having close to identical on-axis and off-axis response, tend to have fewer problems with room acoustics and more friendly to placement limitations. To ensure the VR9 has good dispersion characteristics, Von Schweikert uses a 5” rear ribbon tweeter to augment the front ribbon tweeter. The rear ribbon tweeter, Von Schweikert calls it an ‘ambient’ driver - “Ambience circuit uses Dimensional Control (effects level) to compensate for room acoustics and soundstage depth. Provides a Global Axis polar response pattern to simulate live musical reproduction.” In short the use of the rear ‘ambient’ tweeter essentially creates an omni-polar response that simulates real sound propagation.

The tweeters come in two parts – low treble and high treble. The low treble region is handled by a Scanspeak ‘Ring’ Revelator from 4 kHz to 20 kHz while the 5” ribbon tweeter handles the high treble from 20 kHz up to the system rated 100 kHz. The settings are fixed but users can play around with the gain (level) on all the three tweeters to suit the room, the equipment and possibly their taste.

Just below the tweeter is the 7" carbon Kevlar-cellulose Aerogel midrange driver. The midrange and the three tweeters (including the rear tweeter) come in one enclosure and that sits on the bass enclosure housing dual 8.5" magnesium mid-basses.

There is no user adjustment for the midrange and midbass drivers.

At the rear is the sub bass enclosure with a 15” Kevlar-Nomex honeycomb subwoofer. A 1000-watt Class D amplifier drives the subwoofer down to 16 Hz (- 3dB) and user adjustment for level, phase and crossover frequencies (50 ~ 100 Hz). Phase adjustment is continuous between 0 ~ 180 degrees. The whole 5-way design assembles into a single unit making it extremely easy to move about, especially when the loudspeaker base comes with built-in castors.

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1) The 15-inch kevlar Nomex subwoofer driven by a built-in 1000 watt amplifier...

2) ... hence the need for a power socket. The VR-9 is biamp with one set of speaker terminals for the front 8-inch woofers, which also feeds the signal to the amplifier for the rear subwoofer.

Finished in black gloss, the VR9 is not an overly imposing loudspeaker despite the extensive complement of drive units and built-in electronics and with the castors, easily moved about if there is a need to. The speaker can be bi-wired – one for the mid-tweeters module and one for the bass module. An additional ‘jumper’ wire for the sub bass is possible so perhaps it should be called tri-wire. The speakers are super efficient – Von Schweikert rates the sensitivity at 94 dB and claims 20 watts is enough for the VR9 to sing. Each speaker stands at around 1.2 metre though the depth is pretty deep at 45cm and weighs some 160 Kg.

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The system here is driven by a pair of KR Audio’s Kronzilla DX MK 2 monobloc with their famed T1610 output tube – a pair of T1610 in single ended mode per chassis provides 100 watts of power for the VR 9. KR P-130 line preamp drives the monoblocs with its cute pair of ‘pop-up’ tubes. A Cary Audio CD 303T SACD player fronts the system.

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3) The more modest P160 preamp with its pair of driver tubes glowing in the dark.

4) The KR Kronzilla DX Mk 2 monoblocs delivers a healthy 100 watts from that pair of gargantuan T1610 vacuum tube.

5) On the front of the VR-9, the ribbon tweeter augment the Scanspeak’s Ring Revelator tweeter. The ribbon tweeter only handles above 20 kHz so you probably won’t hear much from them but the ultrasonic frequencies do make a difference!

6) Around the back, the rear tweeter, a lone ribbon add an element of spacious to the VR9 character. The three tweeters have adjustable level settings only. The single pair of binding post is for the tweeters and midrange unit.

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Cutting edge technology will always have its advocates as well

Damping includes Millenium M Block stabilizer placed over the CD transport and DAC’s power transformers.

as doubters. Take the plasma tweeter for example, very few loudspeakers use this very innovative drive unit – some might cite its cost of implementation would only reflect on a high price tag on the finished product, some might suggest the technology ‘isn’t matured enough’ to be widespread, or perhaps some might suggest there are cheaper alternatives that are almost as good or even better and finally for many, the concept of the plasma technology is simply beyond them. So for this reason, we don't see many loudspeakers implementing this awesome drive unit.

If you are wondering what I am talking about, it's the subject of this visit – a high-end system using Lansche’s Number 5, a mid sized loudspeaker employing the plasma tweeter (for that matter, all Lansche loudspeakers use plasma tweeters and they don't come cheap!). What exactly is a plasma tweeter? A plasma speaker or plasma-dynamic loudspeaker is a loudspeaker that creates sound by varying air pressure through an electrical discharge brought on by the ionization of a fluid surrounding a conductor that is carrying a current. A simple way of explaining is to use an electrical discharge to push air, thereby creating sound.

So how does that translate into better sound? How about a ‘mass-less’ drive unit – the holy grail of drive unit design: no inertia as it has no mass to move, one that has no mechanical membrane of any sort, hence will add no colouration to the sound it produces. The sound is air being squeezed and forced out by an electrical discharge.That accounts for that eerie light emitting from the tweeter. A plasma driver is traditionally used for high to midrange frequencies down to about 200 Hz. That makes plasma a very good full range drive unit augmented with a woofer system. However, for Lansche (and its derivatives used by a few other speaker manufacturers) uses the plasma driver only for the high frequencies. Perhaps it may have something to do with practical reasons - high voltages and heat. The plasma tweeter in the Lansche already gobbles 600 watts and runs pretty hot within the plasma chamber. Now if you have another plasma midrange driver…

The plasma tweeter aside, the rest of the speaker uses conventional drive units – a 3-inch dome type midrange driver and a pair of 8-inch woofers. The crossovers must be pretty extensive, there are user jumpers to effect the output level of the tweeter and midrange drive units. The speaker cabinets looks pretty conventional, though the glossy lacquer and superb veneer finishes makes the No 5 stand out from the rest.

Driving this unique loudspeaker is Octave’s flagship, the Jubilee line preamp and monoblocs power amplifiers. Octave is a German tube electronics manufacturer and it will be no surprise the Jubilee is indeed a big tube amplifier – eight 6550 pentodes (KT88 can be substituted) per monobloc means a lot of power – about 250 watts. The preamp is tube as well and comes with a separate power supply. The power amps are indeed towers of power, the chassis are meant to stand on the floor with the tubes placed on top of the amplifier. The pictures show the protection grille removed.

Both a digital source and an analogue source are in use. CD playback comes in the form of Chord’s RED Reference CD player, though in this case it is used only as a CD transport. D to A conversion comes in the form of Acoustic Art’s Tube – DAC II. The analogue source is Acoustic Solid’s One turntable with its matching tonearm WTB 213 with a Japanese Phase Tech cartridge, the P3G. To optimize the response of the P3G, the Phase Tech EA-1 mk II phonostage was employed.

Around the back of the system looks like a snake’s nest! All the high-end power cables and speaker cables buy a pretty neat system! The standout item must be the Oracle MA-X2 speaker cable from MIT with its massive filter block (and a massive price tag)!

Power cables from Purist Limited Edition series snakes all around the components including the Lansche, which needs a power, source for the plasma tweeter. Interconnects are all balanced from Acrolink’s 8N-A2080 limited edition. Power filtering includes an Acoustic Revive power distributor, an Oyaide M1 power receptacle (American style wall socket) and a CES TW2200 isolation ‘balanceformer’ (for the transport and DAC).

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The room housing the whole system is about mid sized – acoustically treated with aesthetics in mind. I am certain the power source comes in from the main ECB direct to this room to keep all the electronics satiated. The owner of this setup is no stranger to high end, having used many well know audio products before deciding upon this combination through trial and error. Swee from X-Audio who supplies the Lansche loudspeakers, Octave electronics, Phase Tech phono stage and cartridge as well as the Acoustic Art DAC has been a regular visitor, bringing his best gear to test out on this system.

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The parting shot from the owner of this setup, the level of enjoyment has escalated immensely when he uses Millenium’s Carbon CD damper!

1) Acoustic Solid’s One sure lives up to its name!

2) Octave’s Jubilee have a voltage read out though it is microprocessor controlled.

3) The eight 6550 coupled with an unfailable power supply means the rated 250 watter power amp is no slouch!

4) The Oyaide wall socket is said to elicit astounding improvements to the sound.

5) If you have a lot of money to spare, the MIT flagship speaker cable is worthy of your consideration!

6) Chord’s RED Reference CD player wouldn’t be what it is without Millenium’s carbon fiber disc stabilizer!

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Windows Media Player 11

A music server

is usually nothing more than a purpose built computer to play music or perhaps a more accurate description – its job is to render (being a more appropriate term) music files stored within any hard disk drive to your music system. Both Apple and PC computers have done an acceptable job, at least for the computer geeks with their propensity for debugging their hardware more frequently than changing their underwear - it is no secret, maintaining a music server can be a constant battle of adapting both hardware and software to work harmoniously. Add wireless and NAS management into the picture, most consumers are better off with an ordinary CD player!

Then there are audio component styled music servers, such as Sooloos, Naim, Olive and Linn to name a few. They come prepackage with an operating system to render music files exclusively. Running on an open source operating system such as Linux, these systems though still based on a computer, obviate the need for a keyboard and mouse for a touch screen (integrated or external) to operate the system. Essentially, they no longer function as a computer but these offer an easy to use interface, fool proof operational capabilities and looks right at home next to your other hifi components.

Why then should you bother with a music server when the CD player is so convenient? CD will eventually disappear – how long that takes, it’s hard to say but if we use CD sales as a gauge, a recent survey suggest CD sales was half of what it was compared to a decade ago and the declining trend will continue. Perhaps in another ten years, the CD will be as venerable as the vinyl LP record, with ‘specialist’ labels producing limited quantities for collectors and sold at high prices?

No, a better reason for a music server is the future of our music will be in ‘HD Audio’ – the ‘high-end’ of music recordings – quality good enough for the best ‘high end’ music systems you can imagine. In fact with high-resolution 24bit recordings, even your existing equipment – amps and speakers – will perform better. The most popular HD audio formats are Apple lossless and FLAC in 24bit/96kHz or 24bit/192kHz. The red book CD supports only 16bit/44.1kHz music files and as such the CD cannot support these HD audio music files. There are some exclusive titles that come in the form of a DVD disc, which has enough storage density for HD audio music files (8.4GB vs 700MB for a CD) but they are more expensive than regular CDs. These discs would need a DVD player capable of reading and playback of any audio codecs from any media files, which does not identify the disc as a DVD videodisc but as a storage medium for these HD Audio music files.

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iTunes Right now you can buy HD music downloads from Linn and Naim music stores though it is only meant for their small catalogue of artists and music.

The other HD download site with a more respectable collection of music, HDTracks does not sell music outside of the United States, yet. There is still no indication iTunes music store will operate here and rumours that they too, will soon be offering these yummy 24bit HD downloads. HDTracks catalogue may be small compared to iTunes music service but the trump for HDTracks is the company is fronted by David and Norman Chesky of Chesky Music, a well regarded audiophile music label for CDs and now HDTracks is set to be the defacto audiophile download site. Once you are into buying music online, you might be pleased to know some musicians are starting to sell music directly from their own website including the likes of Patricia Barber. By the way, HD Audio and Dolby shouldn’t be in the same sentence.

Will audiophiles embrace music servers over their beloved CD/SACD players?

For many, if only these three reasons are fulfilled - for 24bit HD music when they eventually become more widespread, that they sound as good if not better than the best CD/SACD players and it must be an easy to use, plug and play device. Audiophiles while waiting for pure 24bit music to be sold online, can start to add a music server to their system and ripping their CD collection to a hard drive.

Aurender’s iPad app

Widealab, a South Korean company has launched the

Aurender Series Digital Music Storage and Playback Systems. The first model available, Aurender S10 uses dual hard drives – a normal 2TB spinner and a 64 GB Solid State Drive (SSD). Why dual drives? The larger spinner is to store the ripped/downloaded music while the SSD is for the Linux operating system and for caching the files before playing them. What is caching? This is one of the secrets of the Aurender’s performance.

No noise, no interference How well a music server perform starts with the audio data – when a music file (a song) or a music folder (a number of songs pre-selected to be played), the system will transfer the files to a cache, for a computer, it would be the RAM, or if insufficient RAM is available, the file will remain on the HDD. To play the files, the HDD has to spin up, and render the data in real time. There are limitations to accurate reading and playing back of the data from a spinning disk in real time. Aurender uses a SSD as a file cache – the music files are transferred from the spinner HDD to the SSD. An SSD does not have mechanical parts that wear down or emit noise compared to CD mechanisms and hard disk drives. SSD has no disks, almost instant access and vastly lower random access times than hard disk drives and compact disk drives. This ensures absolute accuracy in reading and playback of music files. When the SSD is rendering the music files, the HDD shuts down to cut off all possible interference and noise.

Bit Accuracy With a bit perfect datastream rendered, the data can still be corrupted before it reaches the Digital to Analogue converter. This is Aurender’s next little secret. Computers have clocks to control many aspects of its operation, add the need for accurate reading and playback of data, it will need a separate dedicated clock for bit accurate rendering of music files.

Aurender ensures flawless playback using highly accurate clocks, which are used exclusively as references in reading and playing back music data only. Aurender's clocks are based on ultra-stable OCXO oscillators, which are 100,000 times more accurate compared to the usual crystal clocks used in typical CD players! Only atomic clocks using rubidium oscillators are superior in performance to OCXO oscillators. The OCXO oscillators used in the Aurender are of the premium selected and boast an accuracy of less than 5 billionth of a second. OCXO oscillators based clocks along with proprietary re-clocking uses Field Programmable Gate Arrays to guarantee that the signal to the Digital Analog Converter is as accurate as possible.

User friendly, all audio codecs supported What good is a music server when accessing the music is a chore? Thanks to the current popularity of tablette devices such as the iPad, Aurender

has developed a convenient and easy to use iPad user interface (free download from Apple App store. See previous page for screenshot) By using the iPad as an interface, users can easily view all details of the music collection according to Song, Artist, Genre, Album, Composer and Conductor, in addition to instantly selecting songs, creating and editing playlists. Aurender S10 supports 16 bit / 44.1 kHz through 24 bit / 192 kHz audio output via all three physical interfaces.

All relevant file formats are supported including FLAC, AIFF, WAV, and Apple Lossless.

The S10 comes equipped with AES/EBU, Coaxial and Optical outputs for connection to an external DAC. Gigabit LAN and USB connections are used for transfer of music files from external storage devices or PCs. The Aurender S10 comes with a custom Linux OS specifically for audio applications, handling uncompressed and lossless formats, up to 24 bit/192 kHz resolution. If you would use a typical PC as a music server you may only have USB to render digital data, in comparison, the Aurender does not use USB to transfer the datastream to your DAC. USB has limitations such as transference of data in real time.

For a high end component, the S10 comes in an amplifier sized milled aluminum casing just like a typical high end audio component. It would fit snuggly next to your preamp and DAC! In fact you could mistaken it for a small power amplifier when the front panel LCD display is set to VU meter mode! Set in blue light, it looks like a McIntosh component sans the black glass faceplate.

Or you can select the track display mode which displays name of artist, track, bitrate, file format and timer. You can even select the level of illumination or turn off the display entirely. What’s cool, you can control this aspect as well as a host of other settings with the iPad. The case is a fanless design, hence noiseless, with shielding/protection of sensitive components from electromagnetic noise and vibrations. Heat from the internals are taken care of by heat sinks on the side of the unit. When you bring it home, all you need is to plug the mains cable, the digital cable to the DAC and plug in an external USB optical drive and you can start ripping your CDs! So how does the S10 perform? There are three critical aspect to take note of – ease of use, the stability of the system (no hanging) and the sound quality of the digital data stream. The iPad large 9.7 inch screen provides some realistic real estate to display all the necessary data including album artwork, overall, no complains though Aurender could supply different ‘skins’ for users to customize to their preference. I have no real complains about the app though it will be good to have an app for Android tablette as well.

In the few hours of use, the system worked flawlessly. As the OS is custom tailored for a singular purpose instead of having to multi task multiple roles, it would have much less potential problems compared to a normal PC. Like MAC OS X, the OS for the Aurender is a ‘closed’ system that will only work within the strict confines of how the software operate, there is little possibility of, say a computer virus afflicting the system. In short, it should be bulletproof and fool proof. You may not let your less tech savvy family members near your computer but there should be no reason to worry for the Aurender S10.

As the Aurender is to be used with an outboard DAC or if your amplifier has an onboard DAC, the Aurender offers the purest, bit accurate data stream to your DAC via AES/EBU or Coaxial digital input. Performance as a music transport rivals that of top-tier CD transports. If you are looking for true high-end performance in a music server, the Aurender S10 should definitely be on your audition list.

“ Finally someone has built a music server like a true high end audio component… “ (Chris Connaker of Computer Audiophile)

Aurender is distributed by Raindrop Audio.

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PC Audio Essentials USB to SPDif Converter

USB Digital to Analogue Converter Wavelength Proton 24/96 USB DAC with headphone output

M2Tech HiFace

Handles up to 192kHz/24bit S/PDIF audio format available from your PC or MAC USB port, converts and output a high quality S/PDIF digital audio signal to your DAC using very low jitter oscillators and proprietary drivers. An inexpensive and convenient solution without sacrificing performance. RCP $250

M2Tech HiFace EVO

The HiFace Evo by M2Tech offers asynchronous operation up to 192kHz is used in conjunction with proprietary drivers which allow for Kernel Streaming, Direct Sound and WASAPI operation (the latter under Windows Vista and 7).

Windows and Mac drivers are available. Very high precision, very low phase noise (jitter) crystal oscillators are used. To further improve their performance, they have a dedicated shunt voltage regulator which ensures a very low noise and spurious-free supply. The HiFace Evo is powered by an external power supply a wall plug type 9v supply or an optional high performance dedicated battery supply to avoid the dirty USB bus supply from negatively affecting HiFace Evo’s performance. Linear regulators are used all around, to allow all jitter-sensitive digital circuits to operate at their best. Several outputs are available at the same time: coax on RCA, coax on true 75 Ohms BNC, AES/EBU on male XLR, optical on Toslink™, optical on ST (for high-speed operation up to 192kHz), straight I2S for direct connection to DIY DACs on RJ-45. All outputs, except straight I2S, are galvanically isolated (coax and AES/EBU via a pulse transformer). AES/EBU output can be set to professional or consumer mode by an internal jumper. In addition, an input for an external clock is available, for those who have a extremely precise and stable clock generator to be used with HiFace Evo. The HiFace Evo automatically recognizes the presence of the clock on its input and switches on it whenever available. This input is also galvanically isolated via a pulse transformer. Three LEDs indicate power, external clock presence and incoming data from the PC. RCP $590

Wavelength WaveLink HS 24/192

Wavelength Audio’s founder Gordon Rankin is well known for his work on Asynchronous USB audio, with his proprietary code licensed to a number of high-end audio manufacturers. Gordon has now perfected the long-anticipated Wavelink HS, and it has been worth the wait. Capable of up to 24-bit resolution and 192kHz sampling rate, no software drivers are required for Mac computers, and for PC one is needed only for 24/192 since Windows does not yet support Class 2 USB Audio. The Wavelink HS features a ultra-low jitter master clock, transformer isolation from computer, and is shipped with 2 high-grade cables - a BNC-BNC digital cable and a USB cable. With Gordon’s proprietary Streamlength code, the Wavelink HS is definitely one of, if not the best USB-S/PDIF interface available today. RCP $1350

Raindrop Audio Pte Ltd 520 East Coast Road #01-01 Ocean Park Oranda Singapore 458965 T: +65 8228 8187 E: info@raindropaudio.com www.raindropaudio.com

The Proton is a DAC that is convenient to use and sounds excellent. The USB supply may not be ideal for optimal sound quality, the Proton only uses USB power to provide for the necessities and then for the critical areas the LiION battery can supply the clean power for the DAC and the headphone outputs.

The battery is recharged when the computer is not active, asleep or off on many desktops. The Proton supports 24 bit data at 44.1, 48, 88.2 and 96k and is indicated on the rear by four LEDs. As all Wavelength products use proprietary Streamlength Asynchronous USB code- separate clock from data – bit accuracy is assured. The Proton uses Mundorf coupling caps for the line outputs and the legendary Black Gate BGN coupling capacitors for the Headphone outputs. RCP $1350

M2Tech Young DAC up to 384 kHz sampling rate USB

M2Tech hails from Italy and their Young DAC is poised to set new performance and value benchmarks with its 32-bit resolution and 384kHz sampling rate capability! Within the compact aluminum case, the Young DAC features a high speed asynchronous USB input based on hiFace technology, without the limitations of conventional USB protocols, further developed to allow for higher sampling rates.

A 32-bit D/A integrated circuit is used in a non-conventional mode to allow for 768kHz internal operation. A high performance oversampling filter, custommade on a programmable logic device (FPGA) implements minimum-phase filters optimized for sound quality which allow for a very low noise floor. A comprehensive input set (USB, S/PDIF on RCA and BNC, AES/EBU on XLR and optical on Toslink) provides connection versatility. High-speed asynchronous USB connection. Oversampling filters with minimum pre-echo and phase linearity. The output buffer uses a special low noise and low distortion op-amp with its class-A biased output stage. RCP $1900

Ayon Skylla II DAC

The only DAC in Ayon Audio’s product line up, it is also Ayon’s best effort in creating a high-end quality DAC to cater for all digital sources including USB for computer audio aficionados. Ayon calls the Skylla II a “Reference triode tube DAC with integrated Preamp”.

The Skylla DAC features a full balanced digital and analog design. In its digital section, four Burr-Brown PCM -1704K DACs are arrayed in a true differential dual mono configuration. The differential gain stage is composed of two 6H30 high-current tubes per channel. The Skylla DAC features a vastly overrated, high capacity power supply for the 6H30 analog output stage with tube “bridge” rectification, choke coupling, three oversized power transformers, two for the analog and one for the digital section. This imbues the Skylla with a sound rich and detailed, highly transparent and holographic, the resulting sound field representing a complete, realistic reproduction of the recording, a life-like mirror image of the original performance. The Skylla DAC provides audiophiles with a new, exalted level of digital playback experience, comparable only to the best available analog sources. RCP: $9900

has an advantage of being almost point-source with the two diaphragms placed close together and moving in phase. Thus sound is radiated in all directions, creating a natural sound field with a wide listening area.

The HTZ-HW919BD is a complete Soundwing system; the 3-piece complete home cinema system comprises a Blu-ray player, a single Soundwing speaker and a compact subwoofer. The amplifiers to drive the Soundwing and subwoofer are housed within the Blu-ray chassis using compact digital amplifiers which run cool – a fan at the back of the unit extract the heat from within the chassis. The Blu-ray drive plays all 12cm optical discs – CD, CD-R/RW, DVD, DVD-R/RW, Blu-ray in 2D and 3D as well as Blu-ray R containing music, video or photo files. Video codecs supported are AVCHD, AVI, DivX, mp4, MKV, WMV while audio codecs supported include mp3, WMA and WAV. HD Audio is supported - It will also play music/movies and photo files from the front mounted USB using flash drives or external HDD. You can also ripped your CDs into a USB flash drive in your choice of bit rate – 128 kbps, 192 kbps, 320 kbps and even lossless. On the front panel, there is a 3.5mm audio input to connect a music player but there is no headphone out. Sorry, fans of headphones look elsewhere as there isn’t even an audio output (for an external headphone amplifier) with this system.

Pioneer HTZ-HW919BD ‘Soundwing’ You may call Pioneer’s Soundwing

a soundbar but it is quite unlike typical Soundbars - the difference is how the sound is projected from the speaker. Instead of firing directly towards the listener, the Soundwing projects the sound upwards towards the ceiling. Pioneer’s concept is to envelope the listening area allowing a wider ‘sweet spot’ compared to typical virtual surround.

How do Pioneers’ engineers achieve this? They call this HVT Technology. Pioneer's HVT technology claims ‘to transforms horizontal movement of the voice coil into vertical movement of the diaphragm (?) thereby dramatically reducing speaker height as well as unwanted vibration, while achieving quality sound delivery through a sleek and slim design.’

The HVT double diaphragm speaker used in the HW919BD is an omni-directional speaker with an ideal dispersion pattern. The speaker

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The system has tremendous expansion capabilities – dual HDMI inputs allow connection to HD cable set top box, game consoles, etc as well as an Aux input for an analogue device. There is an optical input, just so happen the HW919 does not offer an Audio Return Channel via HDMI so you will need the optical audio out or analogue line level out from your flat screen TV to the HW919BD. Legacy analogue component and composite video output are offered in case your CRT TV doesn’t have HDMI. A TV antenna is a necessity for the FM radio function but it would be nice if it offers access to internet radio. The HW919BD offers a LAN port to connect to the internet for services such as BD Live but is limited to YouTube, Picasa and some weather report station. For iPod and iPhone users, you can either connect to the system via a supplied dock or use Bluetooth if otherwise. A simple remote is supplied.

The Soundwing speaker (singular) can be placed in front of your table mount flatscreen TV or if your flatscreen TV is wall mounted, a pair of L-brackets is supplied for wall mount below or above your TV. Initially the table top stand option seems a tad wobbly but is now rectified with a ‘stabilizer’ plate to prevent the speaker from toppling over. The passive subwoofer is relatively compact and slim package with a side mounted 7-inch woofer.

Setting up the system is no major technical challenge – the HW919BD has one of the nicest user-friendly interface I have come across. Just three sets of speaker wires – two from the Soundwing soundbar (not removable, just don’t mixed up the left and right speaker – they are colour coded to avoid confusion) and a third speaker cable is to connect to the subwoofer. All the setup you would need to do is to

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measure the physical distance of the speaker from your listening position and input that distance into the system. This enables the DSP to determine the throw distance of the virtual surround. The Lip Sync feature is where the audio will be delayed (due to DSP processing) to match the video – hence syncing. I don’t think there will be that many projector users buying the Soundwing, whom this feature is most useful. The 'Sound' option allows some flexibility in the use – 'STD' meaning the system takes over the DSP processing, 'Bypass' means the encoded surround sound in the disc comes into play and the system takes a back seat, 'Bass Blast' for boom heads, 'Clear voice' for emphasis of the vocal region, 'Game' for enhanced virtual surround, 'Night' to compress dynamic range so that the soft volume plays louder and loud volume plays softer, 'Mus. Retouch' for playback of compressed music files by applying some eq to compensate, 'Loudness' to increase bass and treble to compensate for our hearing when playing back the system at low volume levels.

Sonically, the HW919 keeps up with its genre of product, make no mistake; it will sound significantly superior to your TV speakers. You will enjoy a richer and cleaner presentation even on your TV programmes (use your TV analogue or digital audio out to the HW919BD). Most suitable for smaller rooms and spaces, that is where virtual surround is able to do its job. The speaker output orientation does give a somewhat 'less directional' sound coming from the screen though by placing the speaker in front of the TV means some of the sound will reflect off the screen towards the room while some will be directed to the ceiling and bounce back into the room in a more diffused manner – brilliant! Does it give a realistic surround sound effect? The virtual surround effect gives a larger listening area as claimed, though it will not hold a candle to a true five-speaker surround system. Like typical soundbars, if you don’t have rear speakers, you would have to accept that there would be compromises to the surround sound experience.

One of the strength of the HW919BD is the ‘shock’ factor of the sound – somehow, the loud transients come across most convincingly – it sounds dramatic, adds an element of excitement some systems, including separates, sometimes fail to convey. Dialogue is another of this system’s strength while the bass end is rich and deep with a nice tight punch without sounding too boomy. If it does, then you will need to do some adjustment to its placement, as there isn’t any form of electronic adjustment as in active subwoofers.

The HW919BD is an interesting option for all-in-one home cinema system.

It cost no more than a typical 5.1 all-in-one system, you may be opting for this system for more than just surround sound – the strong bundle of features, simplicity in its setup and use and a competitive price package at $1199.

Good: 3D ready Blu-ray, easy to setup, compact speaker system, network features, bundled with iPod/iPhone dock.

Would be nice to have: Headphone socket, internet radio.

Yamaha AVENTAGE series AV Receivers

AV Receiver RX-A3010 The AVENTAGE flagship model combines standard-setting audio reproduction capabilities with an awesome array of advanced features. Its powerful 9.2-channel amp is expandable to 11.2 channels. Together with Yamaha’s most advanced CINEMA DSP HD3 technology, this allows the creation of the most densely detailed, realistic, all-encompassing sound fields in the industry. It uses an HQV video processor for high definition video and provides 8 in/2 out HDMI terminals. An A.R.T. Wedge providing rock-solid chassis support, a heavy aluminum front panel, H-shaped frame inserts and many other superior parts ensure the sound quality is not compromised by chassis resonance.

The Yamaha AVENTAGE with comprehensive connectivity and functionality

Outstanding features include Multipoint YPAO-R.S.C with angle measurement for automatic sound optimization, SCENE PLUS, AV Controller app compatibility for operation from an iPhone/iPad, and network functions including Web Browser Control. It supports audio output to four zones and multi-zone video output.

Yamaha new AVENTAGE series

high performance AV Receivers incorporating the world’s leading surround sound technology as well as innovative features like A.R.T. Wedge, AV Controller app compatibility and extensive network functions.

The four models in the series - RX-A3010, RX-A2010, RX-A1010 and RX-A810 are designed to provide massive, full-bodied sound for movies and accurate reproduction of all music sources. Employing Yamaha’s exclusive CINEMA DSP HD3 and CINEMA DSP 3D surround sound technologies, these receivers produce incredibly dense and expansive sound fields with unprecedented imaging accuracy. They also offer many advanced technologies previously only offered in more expensive models.

A.R.T. Wedge Helps to Ensure that Vibrations Do Not Affect Sound Quality The A.R.T. (Anti-Resonance Technology) Wedge is a fifth foot mounted in the center of the unit. It dampens vibrations from the power transformer, power transistors and heat sinks, as well as vibrations that might be caused by the sound from the speakers.

Aluminum Front Panel Offers Visual and Aural Benefits All of the AVENTAGE components feature an elegant aluminum front panel and silky touch volume/selector knobs. The aluminum front panel is used to effectively shield sensitive circuitry from external noise and electronic radiation generated by dimmer switches, fluorescent lighting, video monitors and so on. This ensures optimum sonic performance in the widest range of installation environments.

CINEMA DSP HD3, CINEMA DSP 3D and Virtual Presence Speaker Provide Unrivaled Surround Sound Performance

CINEMA DSP HD3, using four CINEMA DSP engines with advanced 3D processing and two front presence channels in a 9.2-channel configuration, gives the sound field an enhanced vertical dimension for more realistic and exciting movie sound. CINEMA DSP 3D programs use nine channels to create wide, high and dense sound fields for sensational surround sound.

The Virtual Presence Speaker function lets you select a CINEMA DSP 3D program and enjoy three-dimensional sound even without the usual two presence speakers.

Network Functions Allow More Sources, Efficient Control The DLNA 1.5 certified Yamaha AV Receivers let you connect to a PC for access to Internet Radio, music-streaming services, and stored music files in external network storage. For convenience, the receiver’s operation can be controlled via a web browser from the PC or a PDA. AV Controller App for Easy, Convenient Operation Using the Yamaha AV Controller app that is downloadable from the iTunes App Store, it enables the receiver to control power on/off and volume, select input and DSP modes and operate other functions from an iPhone, iPad and other devices. An Android app is also available.

Advanced Multi-Language GUI On-Screen Display Yamaha’s latest Graphical User Interface has a high-resolution display with clear, easy-to-use menus and also includes a selectable Status Bar that shows input source, volume level, DSP mode and audio format. The GUI provides a choice of six languages: Russian, English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese, and can be displayed over both normal and 3D pictures.

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The flip down front panel reveals all the necessary functionality such as SCENE selection, USB and front HDMI inputs

AV Receiver RX-A2010 The RX-A2010 also allows the user to set up a 9.2-channel system, and takes advantage of Yamaha’s proprietary CINEMA DSP 3D technology to provide a wide range of surround sound programs that take movie sound into a new realm of experience. It also uses an HQV video processor for high definition video. 8 in/2 out HDMI terminals ensure that all desired digital sources would be seen and heard at maximum quality, while the A.R.T. Wedge effectively dampens vibrations. Multipoint YPAO-R.S.C. analyses room acoustics to achieve optimum sound at any of several listening positions. SCENE PLUS and AV Controller app compatibility allow easy operation. Network functions include Web Browser Control and there are many custom installation functions for multi-zone operation including video in zones 2 and 3. It supports audio output to three zones and multi-zone video output.

AV Receiver RX-A1010 The RX-A1010 is also designed for class-leading audio quality, with special Yamaha construction features like the A.R.T. Wedge and a fully symmetrical power amplifier layout. It will power seven speakers and provides CINEMA DSP 3D, HD audio decoding and 8 in/2 out HDMI terminals, with one input on the front panel. The SCENE PLUS function simplifies operation by providing one touch power-on along with selection of the desired source and the appropriate DSP program, with a choice of 12 SCENEs. It has numerous network functions such as Web Browser Control and multizone functions such as zone 2 video output. It supports audio output to two zones and video output.

The fifth foot adds stability to the chassis reducing vibration and distortion to the sound

AV Receiver RX-A810 This premium quality 7-channel AV Receiver offers many of the same exclusive Yamaha features as the higher end models, including A.R.T. Wedge, CINEMA DSP 3D, 8 in/2 out HDMI, Multipoint YPAO and SCENE. Extra convenience is provided by AV Controller app compatibility that lets you control power on/off, volume, input and DSP mode selection, and more from your iPhone, Web Browser Control from a PC, and front panel HDMI and USB inputs. It supports multizone operation, with zone 2 on/off and control from the front panel.

RX-A3010 offers extensive connectivity including network functions, dual HDMI output and seven rear HDMI inputs

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Yamaha Digital Sound Projector YSP 4100 The simple clean lines of Yamaha Sound Projector otherwise known as YSP belies a level of sophistication that goes beyond the convenience of the ‘soundbar’ form factor. Unlike typical soundbars – the Yamaha YSP goes beyond the limitations of virtual surround. Using powerful DSP programming, the YSP produces true discrete surround – as if there were multiple speakers surrounding the listening area. Yamaha uses what they call a Digital Sound Projector – multiple units of small full range speakers – each 'beaming' the sound in different directions – to the ceiling and sidewalls – which then reflects the sound towards the listening area. Yamaha calls this beaming technology 'intellibeam' - the effect is akin to numerous speakers placed around the listening area giving an immersive surround effect.

To do this, the YSP 4100 employs a powerful DSP engine to dictate where each of the 40 units 4-cm full range drive units, each driven by its own 2-watt digital amplifier, to direct the sound. Two watts per speaker may not sound a lot but with 40 drive units, the total sound output is enough to drive a small to medium sized room to pretty high sound levels. The 4-cm drive units are augment by a pair of 11cm (4.25 inch) woofers placed at each end of the enclosure. Each woofer has its own 20-watt amplifier.

What is amazing about this system is Yamaha is able to pack all these amplifiers and speakers into one unit that isn't very much bigger than typical Soundbar! Imagine how much space a typical AV receiver with 5 satellites takes up. Plus you don't need to pay someone to run wires all over the house and mount speaker brackets. In fact the Yamaha YSP 4100 at only 90mm at its thickest

portion, is slimmer than its predecessor, the YSP 4000. The width of the unit is sized to match a 42-inch LCD or plasma display and there is a larger YSP 5100 to match 50-inch or larger displays.

In terms of connectivity, the YSP 4100 comes well equipped – 4 HDMI inputs, 1 HDMI output, 2 optical input, 1 digital input, 2 analogue input plus an optional iPod connectivity (wireless). There is no USB input, LAN or headphone out. It does come with a built-in FM tuner with 40 presets. It has Auto Lip Sync function to match the sound with the picture, especially useful when used with a projector-based system. A detachable power cable makes it convenient should you want to slot the YSP into a cabinet or sideboard. The YSP 4100 comes with 7.1 line level preout; it offers the possibility of

converting the YSP into a LCR (Left, center, right channel) and then add discrete surround speakers. Using the line level preout offers an opportunity to expand the scope of the YSP. Setting up the YSP 4100 is largely an automated affair – the same HDMI cable, will feedback the setup GUI on your display. A supplied microphone is then plugged into the front 3.5mm socket (this

socket does not function as a headphone socket) and placed at the listening position close to your ear level using a supplied microphone ‘stand’.

Via the user interface, you just need to hit ‘start test’ and the speaker will count down for a few seconds which you should leave the room before it emit a series of test tones – the microphone then picks up the direct and reflected sound which then defines the sound space in your room. Also do pick a quiet time of day to do the setup, preferably let everyone in the home know that you are setting up the speaker so that they would keep quiet for the duration of the test. The test takes less than 5 minutes after which the system is fully calibrated and the settings can be stored in one of the memory preset. Do note – the room acoustics play a very major part in the system setup – curtains, open or closed windows even furniture can have an effect on the reflected sound. However if you are up to it, you can try manual setup, and if you are willing to try, you can get surprising results! Or if you may like to fine-tune the sound slightly after the auto setup, to suit your taste. For instance, if your room is small, you may like the idea of making a wider and more expansive sound or if your room is bigger, the reverse would be appropriate for a more intimate presentation. The YSP has such flexibility you’ll be amazed at what technology has given us!

The YSP 4100 does not come supplied with a subwoofer and can be used with or without one. If your room is really small, you probably can get away without one but if possible, a subwoofer can transform the system into something quite formidable! The YSP will detect if there is a subwoofer, or if not, channel the .1 subwoofer channel to its own bass drivers. Yamaha offers ‘AirWired’ for wireless connection to a subwoofer via an optional kit. The ‘Airwired’ system delivers uncompressed PCM

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data to the subwoofer without any quality or signal loss. The same AirWired technology also enables wireless connection to an iPod dock.

Two very useful features are the ‘univolume’, which enables the YSP to even out the variations of sound output from different components and the ‘HDMI control’ function, which allows the powering up and powering down of the YSP with a supported HDMI control device such as a TV or Blu-ray player (Yamaha indicated it works with Panasonic Viera series) is powered up or down respectively.

Yamaha being one of the pioneers in the use of DSP audio processing has endowed the YSP 4100 with an exceptional feature set – it has 3 movies and 3 music DSP modes plus another 5 other modes for ‘entertainment’. The surround modes are equally extensive, the normal 7-channel surround mode via ‘5beamPlus2, 5 channel surround mode ‘5 Beam’, enhanced stereo with ‘Stereo + 3BeamPlus2’ plus a few others.

Selection of the surround mode is via the setup menu - you choose and forget. This simplifies the sound selection process - the remote will be used for the selection of pure 2 channel ‘stereo’ or multichannel ‘surround mode’, the latter with the appropriate DSP enhancements. The YSP 4100 will decode all current HD Audio such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio HD modes via HDMI so you can get all the high definition audio signal from Blu-ray discs.

Yamaha offers an optional wireless ‘AirWired’ kit – the SWK-W10, which allows the YSP 4100 or YSP 5100 to connect wirelessly with any subwoofer. Unlike the use of Bluetooth, ‘AirWired’ does not apply compression/decompression to the signal for transmission with consequential loss of audio quality. Running the subwoofer system wirelessly enables the subwoofer to be place anywhere within the room up to 20 metres. You only need to pair it once via small dip switches – on the YSP menu to match the setting on the wireless subwoofer receiver. During the test for several days, the reliability of the wireless connectivity was up to mark. With the AirWired kit, you will need an interconnect to send the subwoofer signal from the wireless receiver to the subwoofer. Sonically, I cannot tell if there is any difference in sound quality between the wireless kit or wired (with a dedicated QED subwoofer cable).

Yamaha YSP 4100 with wall bracket S$2799 Yamaha NS500 subwoofer S$799 Yamaha SWK-W10 kit S$229

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Rear panel of Yamaha YSP4100

TheYSP 4100 comes equipped with extensive connectivity for all your AV components including high definition HDMI

If you have been familiar with virtual surround systems or have been using one, the YSP will show them a thing or two what REAL surround sound can do! For once you can hear sounds floating around you in a three dimensional space. Not just sounds to the left or right of your screen but for instance, you will hear sounds coming from over your left shoulder that makes you turn around to see if you have a speaker there, which of course there isn’t. It’s eerie but it shows the YSP technology actually works.

When it comes to music playback, the YSP 4100 is no slouch, just set to ‘stereo’ mode (minus all signal processing) it gives an honest sound performance to be had. Though there is only ‘one speaker’, the sound never has too much center fill. In fact in terms of soundstaging the YSP4100 gave a very dimensional sound presentation as if it comes from two speakers. Add its natural tonal balance, seamless and coherent sound balance goes a long way to convince all but the audiophiles. The YSP 4100 represents Yamaha’s mastery of a technology that offers an alternative for fans of home cinema.

Yamaha YSP 4100 + NS500 subwoofer As part of the NS500 series, the SW500 is a compact subwoofer that will fit nicely in small to medium sized rooms, larger rooms may entail a second unit to enable the low frequencies to be spread evenly throughout the room. The subwoofer is ported on the side, making the subwoofer ideal for corner placement. The SW500 employs Yamaha’s proprietary A-YST II - for ‘Advanced – Yamaha Active Servo Technology version 2.’ What is a servo system? A servo is a negative feedback loop in the amplifier monitoring the back emf, the so-called return signal from the subwoofer to the amplifier. The system will then correct the output. The system works continuously as it is playing.

The 10-inch woofer is driven by a 250 watt amplifier. The amplifier offers continuous user selectable crossover frequencies, an output (volume) setting, a 0/180 degree phase selector, an auto standby power selector and a selector between music and movies mode. The latter emphasize the bass frequencies for more impact when used for home cinema playback. The ‘music’ setting gives an accurate flat bass response, ie no emphasis. You can connect the SW500 in several ways – if you have an AV receiver, you obviously would use the line level subwoofer output to the SW500. If you are using a normal stereo amplifier, you can use the hi-level speaker cable option, using another pair of speaker cables from your amplifier to the subwoofer speaker cable terminals.

In the case if you are using one of Yamaha’s YSP Sound Projectors, there is supplied dedicated system control cable from the YSP to the SW500. As the SW500 is tested with the YSP 4100, the system control cable option is used.

This overrides the auto standby power settings. However you still need to use a line level interconnect to send the audio signal to the subwoofer. The control cable as its name implies is only used to trigger the subwoofer to power on and off. Or you can use the SWK-W10 AirWired wireless subwoofer kit, which conveniently eliminates the need to run a long length of subwoofer cable around the room – at an additional outlay of course.

SWK-W10 ‘AirWired’ kit

Set up with the YSP4100, the SW500 plays an important supporting act for the total sound output from the system, fleshing out the midbass and lower bass, adding a richness and authority to the sound. Once you experience the combo, you can never do without a subwoofer and the YSP4100 with the SW500 is a very synergistic combination. The Active servo control system in the SW500 certainly does its job, never letting the powerful low bass go out of control.

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Toshi Nakashima of Bewith

have been very busy – as OEM supplier upgrading Maybachs 57S and Mercedes SLR Roadsters in Japan with custom Bewith products. That led to a slew of new products, product updates and bespoke versions.

BEWITHSTATE DAC

The hottest news from Bewith is the BEWITHSTATE ‘multiprocessing DAC system’. The new DAC will be offered alongside the existing AZ-1 and AZ-2 DAC. The newcomer offers a 6 channel output with newly designed op-amps for improved sound quality. The conversion chip used in this DAC is said to be proprietary. The unusual design is the ability to link up multiple units of this DAC (up to ten units) to improve its processing capability. The BEWITHSTATE offers a lot of inputs – both digital as well as analogue inputs plus video input/output.

Bewith also introduces a new transmission format called ‘Mirror Link’ which allows high speed digital audio and data control by suppressing interference.

This digital network connectivity is first offered in the BEWITHSTATE DAC. Toshi indicates the BEWITHSTATE DAC is no second grade AZ-1, it sounds even better than the AZ-1 when one BEWITHSTATE is used for every channel.

RCP S$2700 per unit.

Bewith Accurate II Bewith Confidence II Bewith Confidence II Sunrise

The Accurate and Confidence series component loudspeakers have been upgraded to MK2 status.

The MK II models has been completely redesigned except for the basket and the magnet! The new ‘Sunrise’ edition stands out as the ‘Japan made’ emblem – the center dust cap is painted bright red, just like the Japanese flag.

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BEWITHSTATE Digital to Analogue Processor The world’s first ‘Modular’ DAC design allows up to 10 units to be daisy chained, using each unit to process one channel at a time - for the best possible sound quality.

Proprietary DAC, Bewith Op Amps, 5.1 capable, multiple analogue and digital inputs including video, six channel output per unit.

Hear your music in a new light - Bewithstate

Distributor for Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines

155 Kaki Bukit Ave 1 #01-00 Singapore 416012 Tel: 6444-7277

Bewith Reference R-107S

The most compact amplifier from Bewith, the R-107S monobloc. Measuring a mere 18.7 x 8 cm, the R-107S, small enough to hold comfortably in one hand, it will take up very little space in your car, or perhaps its compact size allows for more amplifiers into the same amount of space your previous amplifiers would have taken up!

Looking like a miniaturized A-110S from the higher Accurate series, the Reference series R-107S offers a comfortable 70 watts rms into 4 ohms.

From the brushed anodized aluminum chassis to the high quality input sockets, power and speaker terminals, the R-107S employing Bewith's famed 'Air' circuit, providing the full Bewith quality many have to come to enjoy.

Bewith is distributed by JM Audio.

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Bewith’s latest DAC processor is going to stir the increasingly crowded market of affordable digital sound processors. BewithState, as it is called, has the ability to expand the system along with your setup. Though it only affords a six channel analogue output, it has a dual video input/output, which may point to the direction of the future Bewith products. For a complete Bewith system, a six-channel processor is enough – the unique Bewith speakers render the complexity of a 3-way speaker system redundant. This system also introduces the latest R-107S compact monobloc power amplifier.

This Camry starts off with a classic Alpine head unit, the 9965, which unfortunately has one of the shortest production run of any Alpine head unit. Touted to be a ‘mini F#1’ when bundled with the PXA-H701 processor, the 9965 never enjoyed the success it deserves probably due to its relative cost. It's a nice sounding unit though and the owner of this Camry had this unit for a while and perfectly satisfied with its performance.

The 9965 is not the main source, it’s the Bewith MM-1 Mirror Media player - using inexpensive CF cards, it plays back MP3 and WAV music files. Clips over your rear view mirror, the MM-1 uses high quality optical glass, it functions as a mirror with a small built-in 3.5” LCD on the left corner showing the playlist. If a reverse camera is fitted, video will be shown on the LCD when

fans of Bewith would gladly pay for the extra for something that might possibly be a limited edition. In this system, the two units of the R-107S 722S Edition drive only the C-50 tweeters, the C-150 midbass uses the more powerful Accurate 110S monobloc amplifier. the reverse gear is engaged. Bewith claims the MM-1 playing back MP3 on bit rate 192 kbps or more is good enough to give audiophile grade sound quality.

The digital signal from the MM-1 then feeds the BewithState processor. This new processor uses 24bit DACs and custom ‘made for Bewith’ ICs. According to Toshi-san from Bewith, the BewithState though has a 6-channel output, is capable of chaining up to ten units, with each unit driving just one channel, making a total of 10 discrete channels! Used in this manner, the stack of BewithState outperforms even the flagship AZ-1 processor. “Its all about processing power”, says Toshi. Here we have just one unit doing the job. Perhaps one day, there will be a chance we can hear a Bewith system using five processors!

Two Bewith Confidence C-180 subwoofers in a small, ported enclosure is mounted below the rear parcel shelf and vents into the cabin. This frees up a lot of space in the boot, which would otherwise be taken up by the enclosure. A third Accurate A110S monobloc drives the two subwoofers wired in parallel into a 2-ohm load. Bewith voltage regulator, the R60A provides a measure of supply stability to the system, two units are used in this setup.

Driving the Confidence component speakers are two units of the new R-107S monoblocs. This new amplifier falls under the entry ‘Reference’ series and replaces all the existing Reference series amplifiers. It is a very well made amplifier with a nice black anodized aluminum chassis. The new amplifier would fall under the super compact sized amplifier; you can literally hide a dozen of them in your car! There is also a premium version of the R-107S, named R-107S 722S Edition. This special edition is a special version made for the Mercedes SLR super coupe in Japan. It uses a copper chassis and premium parts in the circuit. It does cost 50% more than the standard R-107S though

The two voltage regulators, the Bewith R-60A below the two R-107S 722S Edition monobloc amplifiers

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1 - Bewith MM-1 Mirror Media 2 - The subwoofer enclosure mounted below the rear parcel shelf, the three Accurate A110S monobloc amplifiers behind the rear seat bench 3 - Bewith Confidence C-50 tweeter 4 - Bewith Confidence C130 midbass 5 - the new BewithState digital sound processor 6 - The complete system sunk into the spare tyre well 7 - The R-107S 722S Edition monobloc amplifiers

155 Kaki Bukit Ave 1 #01-00 Singapore 416012 Tel: 6444-7277

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The Focal Point of the System The ‘star’ of this system

must be the all-new Focal Utopia 165 W-RC component speakers. As part of the flagship ‘Utopia’ series, the 165 W-RC employs a cheaper version of the famed Be tweeter and a new midbass woofer design.

The midbass is rated at a 2-ohm load, as such it will be more demanding from your amplifier department but any well-made modern day amplifier should be up to it. Selling at about half the price of the Utopia Be No 6, it bridges the huge price and performance gap between the K2 Power series and the Be No 6. This new component system will certainly win many fans that have lusted for the Be No 6 but without the means to meet price tag of the Be No 6 and the demand on the amplifier department.

Focal FPS amplifier is part of Focal’s new Focal Power Symmetric line – the name speaks for itself – the concept of ‘power symmetry’ lies not only in the layout of the amplifier, but new output devices such as the IGBT (Insulated Gate-Bipolar Transistor) which marries the benefits of Mosfets and traditional Bipolar transistors in one.

This improves the linearity of the amplifier’s performance by optimizing the current supply. Focal FPS series enables the amplifier to be improved further by adding a ‘Hi-Cap’ a plug in capacitor, which increases the power reserves in extreme applications.

The installation done by Chuan Sing comprises a simple 5-channel system using 2-way component speakers, the Focal Utopia 165 W-RC augmented with Focal’s famed 21WxBe subwoofer (in case you couldn’t see the subwoofer, it is concealed under the dash, under the front passenger seat!) Driving the 165 W-RC is a single unit 4-channel Focal FPS 4160 with 120 watts (4 ohms) x 4 channel and a FPS 1500 monobloc for the subwoofer. The front end source is Pioneer’s all time favourite – the DEH P80RS II CD Receiver – for its extensive suite of features for a custom installer active crossover settings, time alignment and EQ. For ease of use and to keep the driver’s attention on the road, a simple custom fabricated remote is built into the driver’s armrest for track selection and volume control. Simple and effective, nice setup!

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1 - Fan assisted cooling for the Focal FPS amps 2 - Here the pair of FPS powers the entire system 3 - Pioneer DEH-P80RS CD receiver is popular for its feature set 4 - The famous Focal Be tweeter, now more affordable than ever!

5 - The custom remote on the driverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s side armrest

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6 - Can you see the hidden subwoofer enclosure?

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Chuan Sing Auto Accessories Centre Hotline 6280-2822 www.chuansing.com 23 Serangoon Garden Way S555935 129 Sin Min Drive #01-229 S575703 21 Toh Guan Road East #01-21/22 Toh Guan Centre S608609

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The large liftback hatch

of the Honda Integra is a boon for installers, having a lot of space and easy access to work on. This encourages the installer to come up with a more delectable creation!

One of the first cars we featured some 5 years back in this magazine’s predecessor is an Integra with a high end system featuring the Audison flagship Thesis amplifier and Alpine F#1, the former, one of the first I have seen here. Today, the Integra comes with a more modest setup but nonetheless, a very respectable system – also an Alpine front end with a full complement of Audison amplification and Hertz loudspeakers from Italy.

Starting with the front end is the all new Alpine IVA-W520E DVD/LCD head unit which plays all manner of optical disc with the exception of Blu-ray – CD, CD-R/RW, DVD, DVD-R/RW as well as various codecs digital media in thumb drives. Like all DVD/LCD units, the 5.1 (for surround sound) and active crossover is rendered to an outboard processor.

Here, the famous Audison Bit One processor, the number one selling processor for the last two years, does the honours of splitting the signal to the 3-way Hertz Mille component speakers with a unique ribbon midrange.

To power the 3-way speakers in active mode requires six channels, here two units of the popular new Audison SR series are used – four channels from one unit to drive the tweeters and midrange and the unit bridged for more power to drive the Hertz midbass. A third amplifier, an Audison SR10k monobloc drives the Hertz Mille subwoofer. A large Connections power capacitor keeps the system nicely juiced when the going gets rough.

The system is beautifully setup in the vast boot of the Integra. The subwoofer enclosure is nicely tucked to one side. The tweeters are mounted in pods for stability of rendering the soundstage at ear level, while the ribbon midrange is placed on the dash firing towards the windscreen to diffuse the sound. The midbasses are hidden behind the door panels, obviously heavily damped with extensive soundproofing to keep the bass energy in and stop any possible rattling on the doors. A nice and cost effective system, well done AudioDr! 72 MOD AV

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Hertz ribbon midrange complements the soft dome tweeter

AudioDr.net Pte Ltd 5 Kaki Bukit Road #01-07 Eunos Technolink Singapore 415936 www.audiodr.net Tel: +65 6547 8588

The best selling digital processor, the Audison Bit One

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The Japanese seems to keep the best stuff for themselves,

or at least for a while before letting the rest of the world have a piece of the action. Mention JDM (Japan Domestic Model) and Japanese car enthusiasts would enthuse about the ‘special’ models that are only sold within Japan. Of course that doesn’t stop enterprising persons doing a special import.

However JDM for this Jazz/Fit refers to the ‘special, only available in Japan’ Alpine component loudspeakers – the DLX-Z30T tweeter, DLC-09X midrange and DLX-Z17W midbass. This component system was specially imported by Singapore’s Alpine agent, Wo Kee Hong, to test the speakers under the heat of competition. Darren Auto, one of Alpine’s authorized dealers worked closely with Wo Kee Hong to import the speaker system in time for the SASCA competition in July. The car won a 2nd runner up position – in the highly competitive SQC unlimited category!

Alpine’s ultra compact PDA digital amplifiers have been a great success when it was first launched. Now the second generation is set to replace the earlier PDAs with even better specifications. There are 3 PDA amplifiers used here – two units 4-channels F6 drive the component speakers while a third PDA, an M12 monobloc drives the subwoofer.

Subwoofer? If you have been peering into the luscious setup for the amplifiers in the boot, you must be wondering where on earth is the subwoofer? In the quest to marry up the sound from the component speakers, some argue having a subwoofer upfront, close to the primary speakers - the so called ‘upfront sub’ – yields better performance than having the subwoofer in the boot. Where would you place the subwoofer then? Many competition vehicles mount the subwoofer just under the dash, below the front passenger position. It does reduce legroom for the front passenger but at least it does not require any major modifications like removing the dash to install the subwoofer enclosure.

The midrange and midbass use a special membrane surround – Alpine calls it a double gather edge. It looks like some corrugated surround molding and the design is said to have more excursion than a typical roll surround. This enables the midrange and midbass to hit harder and play louder than any other similar driver using conventional roll surround.

The tweeter uses a copper phase plug – the use of the phase plug is to improve the dispersion and also acts as a heat sink to drain away the heat from the voice coil, allowing the tweeter to play louder with low distortion levels.

The all Alpine system comprises an IVA-D800E single DIN sized DVD/LCD with retractable LCD display. Seven channel audio is provided by the new Alpine PXA-H800 digital processor. This new processor takes over from the popular predecessor, the PXA-H701 which has been the defacto standard for a low cost, high performance DAC especially popular in the competition circuit. The PXA-H800 is markedly improved over the H701 in many areas including using superior quality DACs and digital filters.

The entire system is ‘sunk’ into the spare tyre well Nice lighting to showcase the system

The ‘Double Gathered Edge’ surround is a unique feature for this component speaker setup

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Left - The Alpine IVA-D800 Single DIN headunit

21 Toh Guan Road East #01-24 Toh Guan Centre Singapore 608609 T : +65 6795 3636 www.darrenauto.com

- The double surround is very obvious on the midrange unit - The midbass on the doors and the subwoofer enclosure is sited below the glove compartment

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