Power cable matters

It is helluva of fun to see friendly rivalry between KF and the banker, old horse versus young pony. In the course of rivalry, I was made a double agent!!! Both sides get insights from me. Poor ol' me, I don't get paid for their campaign. KF and the banker are good friends, nevertheless. We promote healthy competition, no sour loser from either side. You win some and you lose some. Life could be such a boring routine schedule without excitements, as if you are waiting for the day to fall six feet under. Should you guys come to KL, these new two audio landmarks should not be missed apart from the usual big boys, that if of course you get invitation from them. Nevertheless, these are the real world system for the 99ers.

Now, I wanted to share my recent power cable adventure. Anybody know since when power cable gets serious in audio? Some said the good people from Hong Kong pioneered audiophile grade power cable in the 90s. This claim comes unsubstantiated. Power cables influence on  the sound really puzzles me. Look, the main task of power cable is to carry alternate current from our wall socket to audio components. Copper is the conductor, still is. Power cable does change the sound, period, deal with it.

It isn't hard to tell cable companies hype up their marketing claims, and as if they are the connection to audio nirvana. Most agreed that power cables these days are a riff off, cable manufacturers promote the ideology to consumers to treat cable as an audio component, not an accessory. What is the significant? Accesory is something you can live without. You can not live without component.

What is more effective than to get equipment manufacturers to endorse their cables. So, willing buyer, willing seller. Everybody walks away happily. In present economic hardship, high end cables are meant for the selected few. Advertising and promotions alone squander away a big chunk of the cost, dealer cut, logistics, duties, reaching the consumers at exorbitant prices. Let's not deny, advertising and promotions is a powerful tool to make consumers "feel good". Buying a relative unknown brand is not cool and sometimes be scorned by fi, it attracts banter. Even if your audio buddies did not say a thing, they give you that strange look. Branding works. Pricing does not work. People want value, this "awakening" sprouts the birth of web based small cable companies in the States that offer customised cables at a more reasonable price.

Sadly, high end cable does not hold value like audio equipment, say 30% of the price paid.

Let examine, a good power cable must be, apart from the purity of the copper, in Litz geometry, shielded and cryoed. Gauge of wire, measured in AWG, is dependent on the amperage. Trying swapping 15A and 20A power cable, you will comprehend "gutsy".

If you are foreign to this blog, I am a big advocate of tone and dynamic, the very essence of music. Timbre accuracy is important to me, as such I prefer neutral sounding. Neutrality is easier said than done, I wonder if neutrality does exist let alone in audio. What is the difference of neutral sounding and natural sounding. In my context, neutrality is drop death neutral whereas natural allows tolerance. I appreciate natural timbre. Unwittingly, I am gravitating to classical music and non ampflied music. In classical music, you listen to the beauty of tone, almost poetic (with some composers' works) and composition. Well, it took me twenty years to realise that, shame on me!

At this juncture, I have a few power cables. Shunyata Research Copperhead being my most expensive power cable ever and two DIY HMS power cables by William. Copperhead is my first foray into commercial branded power cable. It struck me as a balanced and quiet power cable while HMS is a power house, full bodied, gutsy and powerful. HMS feeds current to my DAC and amp.

You guys would have guessed right at this juncture, my system sounded a little murky in the lower register. Hence, led to a veil at the upper bass. Voices sounded fuller in the expense of transparency. Transparency comes from the recordings and not from the equipment. The urge to try different power cables is quietly growing, itchy back side. I am ready to burn cash. Then, I came across Mr Lee who run a small boutique hifi in Sungai Petani. I was interested in Western Electric power cable and asked if a return is possible if not suitable. Mr Lee graciously agreed to let me try for a week and accept return if I am not satisfied. The only condition is that I will have to bear a restocking fee which I am more than happy to oblige. Within three days, I receive WE Model IV in a securely packed package.

Western Electric is a big name in amplification but not power cable. I doubt that WE research intentively on cables. In those days, nobody pay attention to power cable. The power cable trend was way after its time. So, how possibly good could Model IV be? Big question mark, dubious but I am not about to sentence a product until it is proven unworthy. Try it on is the only way to find out since good sound can come unexpectedly. So, I dutifully plugged the power cable into my DAC and let it run for a day or two.

Model IV is flexy, which is a blessing for a small room. HMS, in contrary, is stiff and hence the current equipment arrangement pretty much to accommodate its stiffness. Common sense, cable straining and coiling compromise its performance. Diameter of Model IV is 18mm, not actually anaconda in size, but just about slightly bigger than  HMS, and no information on WE wire gauge provided. Good length power cable starts from 1.5 meter and no more than 3 meter. Power cable will sound fury/rushed with anything shorter than the suggested length, lame with more than 3 meter.

As much as I wanted Model IV to work, I tried to not bias. After 48 hours on it, though it may need more hours but, it will somewhat reveal its sound character.  Model IV does not shine upon first listening. Nothing in particular stands out. If you are detail freak, WE is not for you. If you are speed demon, Model IV is not for you either. If you are looking something to spice up, Model IV is also not for you.

Ebullience! I found gold in Model IV. Its tonal color and sheen are where the gold is. Playing Beethoven's Symphony No. 6, aka Pastoral Symphony, the joyous, cheerful, serenity and carefree are beyond description. Nothing particular uncommon. Airiness is amazing, rendering acoustical space. Instrument tonal portrait is first rate, no dubitable instrument. Violin sounds like violin, horn like horn, trumpet like trumpet, Model IV catches the essence of tone. The Dane's Dynaudio, the Italian's old Sonus Faber and Brits' ATC are thick for me, German's Elac and Old Pro Ac are thin for me. Model IV has about the right tone density. Model IV, while not exactly honey coated but the sweetness is discernible, its tone density sits in between those extremes. Model IV is without a question an Olympus, if you know the Olympus colors. Nordost is the Leica. Highs, mids and lows of Model IV has the delicate balance. The banker's system has a lighter tone weight, KF is richer.

Instrument sheen, the extra radiance is wonderful. Brass and piano in particular, benefited this to assert their individuality. A quality not heard in average systems, "nested" in mega bucks systems!!! A sound that gets people closer to the real thing. WE is instrumental to this nobility. Isn't this labelled as noble sound that get people go craze about?

Model IV accords top to bottom articulation. It paints the sound with solid color,  not overly rich or creamy, or pencil color or crayon, you can listen for hours. I am really happy with the exquisiteness. Maybe I will prefer a more saturated tone when my age catches up and my hearing losses its sensitivity. Model IV is generally forgiving but not too forgiving to tell me that I had been living with a slight boom at my right speaker. Ouch! There is my system undeteched Achilles heel. Model IV decouples the consistent double bass notes admirably. But, there is still some work to be done there to resolve the confusion. The sub electrical distribution box created the mode! That's shouldn't be difficult to remedy.

WE Model IV vs the resident HMS

HMS is a power house. Gutsy sound. You feel the extra uuumph right away! The balance of HMS tips toward the bottom. The pace is a tad slower, the images are slightly bloated and the presentation lacks exquisiteness and airiness upon comparison. However, the bass is addictive, tsunami alike. HMS ponderous bass also disguises the possible room mode. On the explosive symphony like Massenet - Ballet Music by City of Birmingham Symphony, the bass on HMS is authoritative. Bass freak will love HMS. HMS is a great choice for power amp but not with the other audio components.

While Model IV  bass is not in the same league with HMS but it makes up anything above bass. Model IV  renders a more livelier presentation, better micro detail retrieval and better acoustical ambiance around the instrument. On a well recorded piano, the piano is simply breathtaking. The note is pure, the ringing of the strings, the boxiness of piano were unambiguously vivid. The nimbleness is equally impressive, without being absorbed in the acoustical darkness. On Stradivari original sound track under Philips label, the beauty of a Strad prevails. What distinguishes a Strad with other violin is the golden hue of tone and sweetness. Nothing close to sawing the strings.

WE Model IV vs Shunyata Research Copperhead

This is a meaningful comparison since many are familiar to Shunyata. I am sorry that I did not conduct the comparison. I felt Shunyata is right where it is now, at the transport. Too much work there to test different power cable make. I need a very silent and neutral power cable to power my transport and DAC. What ever color the upstream will be hell difficult to correct at downstream. Certainly, HMS bass reigns again.

Conclusion

Will I recommend Model IV to you guys? Probably not because my problems may not similar to yours. You must determine what you want. In my case, Model IV is precisely what I want. Recommending a cable is daunting task due its tonal taste and system dependent. Most importantly, you and I listen differently. Is HMS bad? No, I see HMS not suitable powering DAC in my system but it will be godsend for modern crops of delta-sigma based machine. These modern machines play to a very high resolution and that skim a lot on bass.

In term of cost of ownership, Shunyata being the most expensive, follows by HMS, half the price of Shunyata, and Model IV, a quarter of the price of Shunyata. Do I believe in a coherent cable loom? No, this question is equate to asking would you buy all equipment from the same manufacturer? Every company has different core competency. Naim might be one exceptional.

Oppa Kajang Style

Google disables the image uploading really frustrates me like crazy as such, I could no long access to web images. I can now only use word to tell story instead of visual. Visual is a very powerful tool, a good visual tells better than word. Visual gives depth.

My audio buddies started 2013 with a bang, audio of course. Ladies and gentlemen, the banker is starring himself in "The Emperor's New Clothes", orchestrated by Puccini Wrong. If you do not know this figure, he is the unsung audio wizard. Hot on heels is the banker, he is now on a roll. He vows to shake off the "value/compromised" perception of his audio, he wants performance merited. Compliments, praises, nice word, positive feedback, he wins all those like business as usual already. Most concurred that he stretches his dollar to insane level.  His system has a wow factor, a diminutive system that sounds bigger than it is, not rightfully so, makes people wonder why spend more. 

 

The banker's eerie smile does not go down well with the old school, KF. In the eyes of KF, no bass no glory. KF is playing the war frum now. We all know KF's cards too well. Have you done vomiting? Hurry up! I am going to throw out soon. 

 

KF has a plan. He had his fund ready to upgrade his speakers. How on earth did he make a U turn? At first, KF was skeptical about the effectiveness of Power Bank since he himself is coming from electrical background. He ordered his Power Bank much earlier than the rest of us but he wouldn't want to be a guinea pig. We went ahead with Power Bank because we trusted the designer. After hearing rave mini reviews, like a man who strike lottery, he suddenly becomes very quiet, and quietly installed his Power Bank. We all well awared of the magic spell of Power Bank, we have got over the excitement already. Thus, the underlying truth is that when you are up there, you would have little interest in a less accomplished system unless there is something that interest you. Look now, no denial syndrome here. Thus, we gave KF a cold shoulder.
 

Strangely, hardware eventually become dysfunctional if you do not use them often enough. KF showed up with a bitter face, his Marantz CD63 KI Signature refused to play. The transport died. Anxiety builds up for the Power Bank is coming. Without Marantz, no game. Nothing serious with the player, a belt change and Marantz gets back up and spinning again.

It takes two to tango, KF has been tango-ing alone. The passion wears faster, happiness and sorrow are meant to be shared among friends. KF is in geographical out of the manageable radius. Such is with KF, who lives some distance from most of us. Knowledge transfer would be difficult. Now, KF was excited with the Power Bank and hoped that Power Bank could catch up with the banker.   KF extended the invitation to us to audition his revitalised system.

What can I say? We have moved on. We have got some kick ass Schumann Harmonisers. We have magic stickers that make CD sound incredible. We have the voodoo spikes. We have good power cords.  We have .. We have... What is High End audio? In my context, it is about attention to details. You pay attention to the whole system, hardware, room, electricity, cabling, carpet etc. It is not about how much you spend on hardware, it is all about the attitude.

Look here! I do not intend to challenge anyone. I'm just being honest. You just do not condemn honesty, the least it is better than "Good, good, good...Pui, pui, pui." This phrase made famous by Puccini Wrong. The plot is a man was asked about what he thinks after listening to a mega system, he replied, good, good, good. Behind the back of the host, spewing negative remarks. And for all mega system owners, they have lost their right to the truth. Nobody dare to reveal what they really think.

So, you can never predict how wrong the timing can get, sometimes. Me, Puccini Wrong, Dr Mimosa and the banker  hit south on one Saturday evening only to find out KF was attending a wedding dinner.  We made the trip to enjoy the food there with or without KF. I lied to the restaurant operator without a blink of an eye that we were Ho Chak (a local TV show on eatery) crew members and we were scouting good food for the show. They bought my story. "You all bloggers can really make things up." Puccini Wrong said. He must realize that he too enjoys the fruit of my sin.

"This is the highest form of culinary preparing Talapia, a cheap fresh water fish.". Most people prone to overcook Talapia, the flesh turns soggy and loses its rightful texture. Our fish weighed like 1.5kg, with a healthy chunk of meat, cooked to perfection. Our fish was prepared in sushi slices. Each slice roll wrapped with spring onion and ginger stick, curled up like cuttlefish upon cooked, goes with simple soya sauce. The texture was similar to Snakehead, a fish that is known for its texture, sweetness and wound healing properties. Snakehead cost twice if you wanted to know. See, we are self proclaimed low cost gourmet!

So, KF brought his trusted buddy, a retired chef, over to get an honest opinion. All hell breaks loose. The retired chef was in awe with popping eyes and mouth opened wide grasping for air or something. Saliva was dripping all over. These reactions were quickly captured by KF. So cute! Isn't this satisfying? We all spend so much money just to impress our buddies. KF even burned a copy of CD played the very day as a gift to his buddy, and requested his buddy to play on his system. See, KF was having his little own audio fest, free admission, and a complimentary test CD. His buddy dare not play his system for a couple of days, let alone playing the demanding CD, it sits at one corner collecting dust. This was KF's catch! Naughty, naughty.

  

KF was super excited, started teasing the banker. Why with all those left wing tweaking? Just get a second Power Bank will do, KF said with full confidence. This is an act of pulling a tiger mustache, you would not want to disturb a sleeping tiger, would you? Holy moly, little did we know, KF went ahead and ordered a second Power Bank. He twisted the supplier's arm in order to cut queue. No wonder the timid KF had suddenly become so vocal, with full authority.

 

 

A diminutive system with twin Power Bank, are you kidding me? Like a monster truck with giant tyres, ready to run over anything in sight. I did have a short audition on this setup, too short to form an impression. Furthermore, the second Power Bank takes time to break in.  I was amazed with the control somewhat like unlimited power supply. I promised KF that I will pay him a visit during a long break.

 

 

KF, you Kajang style alone, eh!

The parable of Seed

"Knowing where to go is one thing, getting there is another."

Who is the smart aleck came up this inhumanly wisdom? Honestly, I like it. You want to be rich, have you give much thought how to realize your goal?  
You want your system to sound good, have you give much thought getting there?

"The power of dream." says Honda san.
"We listen." says Mr Prudential.
"Only the music" continues Mr dCS.
"Malaysia Boleh! (Yes, you can)" says proud Malaysian.
"Das audio, he he!" says the German.
"Aiyoh! Just do it." says Nike.

Many embark on audio due to peer pressure. This is a big mistake. My advice to them is convert audio to home theatre system so that the whole family members can enjoy some quality family time. Most in this group are not audio inclined, with third party's sick advice, you get horrible results. They tend to think that money can solve everything. More than that, without passion to fuel this hobby, the day of audio is numbered.

 

Music is the soul, audioing is the mean to playback recorded music. This is sustainable passion. Without the love in music, one is as if a domestic mastering engineer playing the boring technical tracks. Doesn't that mirror some folks out there? These guys are easily recognisable, just peep into their music collection. A collection of technical tracks, audiophile approved CDs and probably a few common music. If I may use biblical parable, they are like seeds fall on rocky soil, super excited at the beginning,  passion wears by the days and eventually give up audio. The day will come they look at their stack of expensive toys and sigh "Why no one stop me...?". My cook friend wanted to sell everything and restart again.

Music never dies. Can you imagine getting into your car without music? Call it psychoacoustic, without music is utterly boring. Some are too dependent on others to tune the sound for nobody own good, one man's meat is another man's poison. End of the day, little passing of audioing knowledge.

Worst of the lot,  their mouth stinks like a polecat, no oral prescription can get rid of the bad odour. Nothing ever good come out from their mouth. My O my, their system don't sound as great as what they have projected. Zero creditability and integrity. What's a joke! Grow up.

Bashing seems to be their nature.  I have heard the harshest comment behind the host's back. I think it is only right if one factor in  real world parameters like room size, money value, music staple into your audio assessment. Hey hey hey, I know what you guys are thinking. I did not in any way telling you guys my system rock!!! Above average at best, ok.

With that being said, I re-auditioned a system that I auditioned a year ago. I was pleasantly surprised how full the sound gets, the bass driver has opened up beautifully. The sound was not recognisable if I was blind folded. Because the fullness of sound, the highs was no longer attention grabbing that lend me to think the resolving highs is buried. Careful listening reveals that the resolving highs was there when called upon. If those are in my hands, I would toe them in to enjoy 15 degree off axis response, stronger response from the tweeters. Although flat response is the name of the game, I still prefer a rise of one to two dB above 15kHz. This gives presence, immediacy and better edge delineation. The system nevertheless sounded respectable in many regards.

Over here, it is a standard protocol that the host entertain the social tea/coffee session if there is any, not a big cost that would default your loan repayment. If lunch or dinner, every group member fork out money to share out the bills. Yet, they are some so thick skinned expecting the host to pay everything. Group breaks up because the same fool always get to pay the bills.

These people, I keep watchful eyes for they take friend for a ride. Like a vulture, they always looking to take advantage of you. Sincerity is the recipe for long lasting friendship. Money is not everything. When you get old, friends become your the greatest asset. If I wanted to do good, I donate to charity.

Puccini Wrong and his buddy grilled me yesterday. There was no escape after hopping in his car. Two against one, not fair. Story  begins with a friend wanted to borrow my passive pre that I am a lousy guy for not lending my passive pre to a follower. I was reluctant to because there was a great deal effort to place where it is, getting my fat hands there is hard due to space constraint. One started to hit me that he would loan dCS Puccini while the other join in with his Burmester Mark IV and gieve the strangest stare at me, "You lend?". Giant stone on a crab, am I to succumb to pressure? In monetary term, my pre is peanut, but it is very precious to me in a way. It marks my audio milestone, performance/value is a bang! Boy! I love my passive pre, simple, pure, transparent and no tonal editing.

I am compelled to tell you folks that the banker has been offered to post a review. Writing sharpens your mind, brush up your langauge and increase social network/asset. The banker too, has a distinct style of writing, not bore to death type of writing like reading a financial report.  He is right next to the successfully run Taiwanese audio mag - Audionet.  The banker is to be considered the Malaysian Audionet's chief editor Mr Lau Han Seng. God, I am eager to see his post.

Rather than being a dull and dutiful father of three lovely daughters, the banker is tirelessly audioing. He has a super excited disposition, could jump for joy for weeks and he started out 2013 with a bang. Unstoppable, he has just add a new pre and a new sub into his rigs, he says these are present to himself. His wife asked how much the sub costs? A little white lie would not hurt, 700RM. Get out of here. Just google and search, the truth will reveal. Smart wive would just leave it as it is. Rumours have it the banker sleeps with his gears. Golfholics, fishingholics, audioholics, bike-holics, hash-holics etc, I guess that's how desperate housewives come about.

The banker is foreign to sub and currently making the sub to work hard. So hard, that the neighbours showed up at door front complaining about shaking ceiling and moving table. Not a nice feeling receiving complaints if you asked me.   It amazed me those work in telco customer service, believe it or not, those guys take more than 1000 calls per day! It did not tke long to realize the rattling of his plaster ceiling.

Hard to imagine people has no hobby but money making. A friend of mine works 365, can you imagine that? This guy is loaded, he has enough for two generations. Money excites him I guess but he is so dead!

 

Happy New Year

Hurray! We survived the scare of Mayan myth and solar storm. Dude! It's 2013, I'll drink to that.

Having been warned about the intense solar storm and what potential damages it could harm our electronics, I powered off my audio system for four days just for the peace of mind. I hate to find one day my audio components are not working. We often find ourselves in odd situations, don't wee, whereby we could not have it whne things are around but things appear right in our eyes when we don't need them. So, I spend my time listening to others' systems.

As per our social economic exchange of view with friends, talk of house breaking rate is on the rise. People, be cautious! These crimes are committed by foreigners from South America. They rent a house in the neighborhood to study the "habit" of the targeted house. That's one way they beat the security. These guys often drive a nice car, and knowing that the foreign guards, a job the  locals do not want,  would let them drive in. Thirdly, break in normally occurs at 3-4pm when nobody home.

On the other hand, we always get bad apples in our neighbourhood, really rotten lot. My friend likes the statement "Don't ask your neighbour to pay for your security." seen somewhere in Damansara. Many refuse to pay their share of security and take the community for a ride, enjoying free security. This happens everywhere, my place is not exempted. Now, I am not talking about low cost or medium cost real estate but also 1-2 million Ringgit worth of real estate. I despise these people. Look! They can afford to live in a house worth millions but could not afford the security? My security operator told me he once received a complaint from a unit that did not even pay for security from day one. Man! This is so sickening!

To review 2012 audio spending, I have got one Power Bank, three harmonisers, tone woods, some serious spikes and 100-150 CDs. More listening, that's how I get timbre accuracy and tune for refinement. Music is the very heart and soul of hifi or otherwise will be like a soundsmith, altering the sound for the sake of audible difference.

My budget exercise is important to keep my woman quiet. She gets to know that the friends around me play expensive audio. And also, to keep harmony in the house, do not skip your dinner with spouse for audio. You are asking for troubles, so to speak. Like a fellow audio friend used to tell me, we learn to co-exist with our spouse under one roof.

Damn, I see a lot of serious upgrades in the last two months. Feeling kind of venerable, eh! First off, the banker had got a kick ass auto bias module and upgraded components in his CD player. He changed the op amps and upgraded the clock. The result was astonishing, lesser jitter. The op amps are worthwhile upgrade, the presentation has gotten more zeal from a typical Marantz player. The caps were old and dry, those get replacmenet too. All these translate to more energetic and upbeat presentation.

As the name implies, the module modulates a consistent bias regardless of your tube wear. What this means you can mix and match the tubes, replace only the dead tube. I knew from the start, if you can not listen without tubes, you are cursed by tube. Good tubes are scarce and ain't going cheap by the days. It is not me against tubes, but I am more concern with running cost. Sometimes, we turn the tubes on and premature off due to change of plan/mood. The tube life is then shorten.

Tubes are, circuitry aside, born sensitive to bias, current and resonance.

The auto bias had kept the banker jumping for joy for two weeks. The banker reported the auto bias installed in the pre  accorded a blacker background, more consistent soundstage and more steady presentation especially when the demanding passages call for. He also noted the decay has a wee bit longer and more distinct, no softening notes, not consumed by the darkness of soundstage.

And now, the banker's Telefunken tubes are coming to end of their life. And a pair of NOS Telefunken tubes would cost him a cold hard RM1000. We were laughing, once you are smitten by Telefunken, this is the dirty work of KF, there is no turning back. You wish to have a genie who can realize your wishes. Telefunken black plate. And right at the same time, the audio devil showed up with his  ultimate Jeff Rowland clone pre, and says "This guaranteed to rock your boat." This audio devil does nothing good but spewing vernom where he goes. The banker was just like a kid who can not reject a new toy, he took the bait.

DIY Jeff Rowland clone pre comes with a cool remote control volume, a featuer I find very useful for a lazy bum like me. A CD player without a remote control, that's not cool! Trying out new things is one exemplary steep learning curve that avid audiophiles must endeavor. Only then, you are granted the admission of snobbish audio bull shit and "lecture" others especially new birds. You get to see new birds sitting there quietly grasping "knowledge" without knowing which is right.  They are usually the target of bully. This story continues...

All I can say is that as of today the banker had made a name for himself -  small system big sound, winning many approvals from friends and relatives. The wow factor, small speakers, low watter amp in a moderate room, his bass is an obvious defiance. What do you expect? Big room, small drivers, incapable to excite meaningful air velocity. His highs rivaled many expensive systems though, particularly with little bass audible. If someone could loan him a dCS Puccini, it could make people kick themselves (highs) for why pay more.

So, while US is facing fiscal cliff, I'm afraid the banker is having his little own audio cliff. Having said that, his highs stood out. Boys to men, this is a big audio hurdle. He will soon find out a balanced and neutral system is not an easy feat to achieve.

The banker wanted to take another step forward. This is an agonizing and helpless moment. I told him to set his priorities right. Get a room or rent a room. Of all the real estate I had viewed to date, they build the rooms suitable for standmout speakers. They do not build a sizable room for floorstand speakers. No, no, no, you can't take the master bedroom away for audio! This is the real people with real world priorities. And the real world problem here is you do not get an ideal shoe box room for floorstand speakers unless you do structural change. This will cost a bomb.

I know a few who managed to wrestle the living room from their spouse and converted to audio room. On this account, I look up to them, the man of the house. Clap, clap.

Our long lost friend, KF has been out of action for many months, shocked us by installing a Power Bank and a second Power Bank two weeks after. I almost fell off my chair hearing this. This uncle moved fast, very much alive and kicking and he kicked me right at stomach! I can imagine he is showing his fist to the banker, I'm not done yet!

It is good to hear from him again. The story comes later.

I have been laid back for the past two weeks, my mind did not want to work. That's a problem if you take too long a break. I needed more time to pull myself together. I wish you all A Happy New Year, work hard and audio harder!