Must Hears in Adelphi etc. in Singapore

[rtsyrtsy]

Similar to the Must Eats in Singapore in the other heading, let's go for a more appropriate topic for this forum...audio listening in Singapore.

I'll be sure to hit Adelphi (and the neighboring Funan for some camera shopping...why don't they make point and shoots with flip out LCDs anymore?!?).

What do you think are the must hears apart from these below?

Hopefully there's an IBXRW or an OBXRW I can hear. The Living Voices I heard with Hansen were wonderfully impressive. I now wonder how the use of Kondo cabling and crossover parts changes this star of the speaker world. I also read that the W's are selling so darn well that few actually have them on stock.

I'm also rather curious about the controversial Zu Druids and its close cousin, the WLMs. I'd also try to reacquaint myself with Audio Note UK's boxes (or should I continue to call then Snells?) and find out what people like / not like about Avantgardes.

As you can see, I'm on a possible speaker hunt.

I still like my Signums but this forum's push towards flea-powered SET is making me lustful of higher efficiency speakers.

I'd also be interested, time permitting to hear Art Audio, Dehavilland, Bel Canto Ref 1000s, and Nottinghams...stuff I've not spent quality time with.

What else must I add?

[santiago]

Hi,

I lived in Singapore for the past 4 years and continue to spend half of my time in Singapore. I am a frequent regular at Adelphi and dealers there have become personal friends of mine as well.

I suggest you check out the following:

1) Music by Design at the 2nd floor:- Great stuff (e.g. Cary, Burmester, Acapella, Magico, Duevel, Piega, Vienna Acoustics, Wavac, Lyra, Acoustic Signature, Sota turntables, Gemini speakers, the list goes on...) Full of audio toys with also the best record or analog inventory in Adelphi. THey carry records that you will find in Acoustic Sounds. It will be cheaper buying records there than ordering online from the States if factoring shipping costs and tax.

You can check out Cheng Fai and Alfred.

2) Sound Decisions (the 4th floor)- Great 2 way and 5.1 systems. They have Lamm, Thiel, Ascendo, Bel Canto, AVI, Acoustic Plan, Synergistic Research and a great home theatre set up.

Check out Sammy Low or Sanjay Nambair

3) Norman Audio (4th floor)- Interesting collection...Manley, Triangle, Spectrum, Clearaudio, Benz Micro

4) Kingston (4th floor)- Conrad Johnson, REL, Westlake speakers (they are really good!)

5) CD Acoustic (4th floor)- Harbeth, Vandersteen, Rega, Dynavector

AVOID

Mcintosh or Ong Radio- Exclusive Dealer of Mcintosh who charge 40% premum over list price. Got ripped off when I bought Mcintosh equipment from there before

Acoustic Note- Rude folks. They carry paradigm, totem

Adelphi is a audiophile toy heaven. Sales people are less aggressive than Hongkong who try to force a sale when you are just browsing.

All the best

[zenn]

To my ears ... they are all nothing compared to Hansen's Setup.... IMHO of course.

[choariwap]

i think jaben has an orpheus setup you can try out for a small fee

[rtsyrtsy]

I guess it's just fair that I update you folks on what I heard...

My first stop was our fellow Wiredstate member, Joseph Ramon. He's the brains and ears behind Soundscape. I heard the Einstein CDP + Kondo pre & Kegon + OBXR2.

I'd steal CJ's tag line and describe this set-up as it sounds just right. No over-etched detail and resolution like other audiophilic set-ups. No overly syrupy mids. No sub-terranean, bowel-movement-inducing bass. What it had was a balance of the good stuff. Obvious resolution, fast, emotive. This set-up is right up my alley.

Too bad JR didn't have Leben or Shindo electronics...I would've never left.

Next stop was Cecil Tan at Audio Note Singapore. With a Nottingham TT and 47 Labs' Shigaraki series greeting me at the front door, I knew I had a good start. I've been corresponding with Cecil for years now and it's just great to finally shake his hand.

I had little time so I went straight to what I wanted to hear, an Avantgarde Acoustics Uno. Source was the CDT-3 + Reimyo DAC and Air Tight 211 amps (maybe 845) and strung together by the dimunitive but impressive sounding Audience Au 24.

Cecil had the balls to play a piano solo. And the system sounded at least as good as it looked (I liked the Uno's porma). I was immediately reminded of the Ike's Voigt with the rare RS driver. Midrange magic was certainly present. But this is way beyond my $$$ so I politely thanked Cecil and askd him to pray for my promotion (maybe 2-3 of them) so I can come back and shop at his store. I've found over the years that I'm quite sensitive to timing anomalies...and a cross-over less SET-driven midrange and a S/S and cross-overed sub just didn't hang together for me, timing wise.

I then checked out the Zu Druids in flaming red. The dealer (forgot the name) wasn't as accomodating and asked me to come back after another customer's audition. The Druids weren't ready when I did so I had to come back a third time. On the third time though, they prepped a Wavac 300B and the Druids (forgot the digital source).

The Druids to my ears commit a sin of ommission...and not just the last octave of bass but the last 2-3 octaves maybe. Maganda sana but I know now why Zu makes the Method sub. I didn't expect a 10 inch driver to be wanting in this category but the bottom end failed, to my ears. The mids, highs (it wasn't as bright as I read in some reviews), timing, were good...

On a separate trip, I went back to JRs to reacquaint myself with the OBXR2. This time, with a Naim combo and later a Lavardin IT. The French S/S is good...it'll give my Aleph 5 am honorable exit.

Net, the true star of this visit is the OBXR2. Yum, yum. Tama lahat nung mga nakausap ko even before the trip...this was the speakers to bet on.

[Oldfogey]

Thanks for posting your impressions, Russ

of

[Hyperion]

Russ,

Dude, I know I am biased since I also own OBXR2s (and not to mention that I sell the stuff hehe) but yes ... they sound just right. They are simply tonally, dynamically and temporally spot on such that music never sounds unnatural, incoherent or boring. Play the music that used to sound bad or messy on other hifi speakers ... and they sound good on the OBXR2.

Congrats btw ... the OBXR2s will give you a much bigger jolt of surprise (and pleasure) when they take over your Signum's place one of these days. You have been warned.

Btw, I've been thinkin about the OBXRWs too but every time I listen to my OBXR2, I am so satisfied that I can't imagine WHAT ELSE is missing. I am glad that Ignorance is Bliss.


Larry,

Tol ... musta na dyan sa singapore? Parang gusto mong magpalibre ah.

You haven't heard my OBXR2s yet hehe ... my former system that you heard sounds puny, confused n compressed compared to now. But you already know that don't you since you already have LV speakers too.

[rtsyrtsy]

Btw, I've been thinkin about the OBXRWs too but every time I listen to my OBXR2, I am so satisfied that I can't imagine WHAT ELSE is missing. I am glad that Ignorance is Bliss.

The price diff between the W and 2 is significant. I'd bet there are significant improvements but probably not proportionately so.

I guess if you can afford to pay the diff, that's OK. Maghahantay na lang ako ng mag-uupgrade from an IBXRW to one of Kevin Scott's new horns!

In my case, I definitely feel that other elements of my system would be left behind by the OBXR2's.

Ttommy's endorsement on the Bent Audio TAP is an example.

My entry level Audio Note digital front end is another example (I'm really curious to explore USB DACs) and of course, a good number of you folks would yell "analog!"

The near ubiquitus recommendations on Dehavilland electronics is yet another.

He-he...walang dead end sa hobby na ito. If you think you hit rock bottom, you can always start digging!

Hansen,

You drive the OBXR2s w/ Premier 11a. Do you prefer it with active or passive pre?

Have you tried the higher power SETs (e.g. Cyber 211) or the parallel 300Bs (when I close my eyes, I'd just imagine they are Kassai's or Kegons!) with your LVs?

Have you tried the non-oversampling Opera CDPs? Any comments?

[botching]

russ,
kanain mo na yang OBXR2 at bumili ka rin ng amp dyan Tapos ibato mo na lang sa akin yung pass aleph amp at signum mo

[rtsyrtsy]

Botching,

No amp...I picked up a CJ on Agon a few months back...

I think I'll enjoy the CJ for a long while. That's primarily because my next set of electronics would likely be something from Dehavilland or if I am extremely lucky, Kondo. Higher powered SET siguro ang next amp ko, hopefully integrated.

The Aleph 5 and CJ PV-11 are with an officemate. He decided to buy it. The Signums are with him too but on audition. If you seriously like it, say so while I can still pull it out.

I've moved my living and dining room to make way for the LV's...of course, I'm excited.

My family's in Manila for summer...visit me then...session tayo sa bahay...

[botching]

russ,
I'm stucked here in riyadh for at least a month or 2 until ive been officially transferred to my new employer.
I'll be in our dubai branch office(training) by june - i'll see you then.
Just joking about the signums
I'll be moving later to a bigger place para magkaroon ng separate audio room. Also seriously contemplating a purchase of a nice floorstander and tvc passive preamp/tube power amp combo.Tiis at ipon muna for the meantime, then pag nagkapondo (commissions) its better to go for a high end setup na, to end the upgrade, upgrade once and for all! (kaya? )

I've moved my living and dining room to make way for the LV's...of course, I'm excited.

yes. . . sana nga madali mo na yang LV para maka audition na rin sa bahay mo

[rtsyrtsy]

botching, you got PM...

[JackD201]

Dude, I know I am biased since I also own OBXR2s (and not to mention that I sell the stuff hehe)

Btw, I've been thinkin about the OBXRWs too but every time I listen to my OBXR2, I am so satisfied that I can't imagine WHAT ELSE is missing. I am glad that Ignorance is Bliss.

I've heard that one before....from me

Bibigay ka rin Hansen W W W W W W W W !!!!!!!!!!!

W - What are you dealer for? Time to get high on your own supply!

[rtsyrtsy]

JackD,

I wanted to hear the VR's at the basement in Adelphi (with Plinius electronics) but the store was almost never manned...at least during the 2-3 times I passed.

They are physically impressive though from outside the shop and they were not even in the finishes that I like...

Hansen,

When you go for the W's, don't sell your OBXR2. Ayaw ko na madinig yang W.

[zenn]

Larry,

Tol ... musta na dyan sa singapore? Parang gusto mong magpalibre ah.

You haven't heard my OBXR2s yet hehe ... my former system that you heard sounds puny, confused n compressed compared to now. But you already know that don't you since you already have LV speakers too.

Hansen,

With your former (not so puny setup) it was enough to humiliate most of the Adelphi setup, except for the Zenn Audio Edgarhorn setup. My friend has listened to your R2s and he can say that it is the best so far. We also heard the RWs and were not impressed on how they were setup considering being driven by Kondo electronics and cables. I don't want to think that my Auditorium IIs sound more real and more musical driven by Diva Audio electronics. I am saving for the RWs though by not spending on expensive/audiophile cables . I now use a S$4 speaker cables (yes four dollars) for the 4-meter biwire pairs. I also use normal (made in UK) computer power cords. No tweaks whatsoever and I have sold my Qauntum electroclears and other more expensive tweaks because they are now screwing the sound of my system. With LV, nothing is hidden or shall I say everything is just right so no need for band-aids

I have saved a lot by switching to Living Voice. No more expensive tweaks, no more expensive cables but I can safely say that the sound is around ten-fold better than my Signums can ever produce (aside from maybe less sweet) . The proceeds of the cables and tweaks sale is around the price I paid for my Auditorium IIs.

For non-audio (read music), I listen to live performance every Sunday with my family (without fail). We are fortunate enough to have a live band in our church and the players are professionals and good dude.... My friends (colleagues) have a band. They practice/jam forthnighly which I also attend. Drink afterwards hehehe.

[rtsyrtsy]

Zenn

As someone who moved from a Signum to LV's, might you have any tips for me especially for initial set-up? E.g. positioning, etc.?

I read that non W LV's use a Hitachi cable inside...might you know which one? It may be worth an experiment to use them (hopefully cheap), especially for OBXR users.

Cheers!

[Hyperion]

Larry,

How right you are regarding tweaks and $$$ cables. The LV sounds best without tweaks and they simply are not fussy with cables. I have a toolbox full of unused tweaks that merely serve as colorful memorabilias.

It's a good thing you hear live peformances all the time. My last is Ziggy Marley's reggae gig at the Hotel Sofitel (formerly Westin Phil. Plaza) pool area ... the music was of course alive n kickin especially when he did songs by his father - the legendary Bob Marley.

russ,

A good starting point would be OBXR2 at about 4' from the rear wall and 10' apart (then try to move incrementally up to 13' apart). Toe in enough to get a solid and focused center image, as well as solid imaging beyond the left and right speakers.

The internal wiring are Hitachi solid core copper 12 ga I think. I think LV can supply a wiring harness made from this cable complete with color coded bananas. But KSL wired OBXR2 probably sounds closer to the OBXRW hehe ...