Renewed rivalry

It is great fun to hang around with audiophiles gossiping, you never know where the conversation will carry you, do you? Some audiophiles could come up with really kick ass stories with outrageous  descriptions that might have professional reviwers' face red. The truth is, they often hit the nail by its head. Having said that, there is no substitute to a wealth of experience, if you ain't have it, you ain't have. Of course, great deal of fund invested into this crazy hobby, you get knowledge and experience. You will distingush white lies better. Don't fall for that.

Ridicule, 讪 in audio context means unsubstantiated allegations as to promote thyself. It takes place at mamak restaurant 24/7, a Malaysian favourite pass time. The cheapest way to burn time. Cheap audio guys sit there enjoying the company and waiting for others to pay the bill even though he is the host. Most often than ever, they are the one who dominate the conversation.

So, if you were ridiculed, you only have yourself to blame for being shallow and inexperienced. Regardless what, we were ridiculed all the times. Now, the key word is "unsubstantiated remarks", I steered clear away from them. I only pen down my adventure and experience. If you asked me about high end audio, my experience only limited to a few home visits and audio shows. I got little to tell.

"You do this, you get noble highs, lushly mids, humongous bass, panoramic soundstage etc, one tweak fits all." This is a classic. Sound familiar? It is almost an audiophile's natural ability to ridicule audio wannabe, it is like we were born with it. Do observe the facial expression of others when one ridicule, it is almost a sure thing that they couldn't hold their cunning smile or avoid eye contact unless they were being ridiculed too.

Four guys were excited about remodelling/constructing audio room. One constructing his room according Golden Cuboid ratio, the other one is in a little dilemma, a small room or a big room. His small room could not accommodate his floorstanding speakers and if  engaging structural change, it will get messy and costly. Chinese saying third party always has a better picture at a problem. The other one is trying out new diffusers, the results are encouraging and the other one redo the room treatment. Plenty of action.

The fun is YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU WILL GET!!!

Ceiling is the most overlooked acoustically. Concrete  and  common plaster ceiling are   shitty. Soundwave bouncing around like crazy in a room with concrete ceiling. Thin plaster ceiling will rattling like mad. Some do bat caves (left image) only got me in awe. As with my continuous tweaking, my soundwave behaves more pistonic, my room slowly becoming my audio liability, shit! The rattling mode changes, it bothers me to the bones that I just skip listening to those tracks. And as long as I don't cranked up, I'm OK. I can't go through re-doing the room again.

 

 A few of us are celebrating early Christmas. The banker is currently all cloud nine for the praises he received week in week out. Confidence grew. His wife has changed from resentment to approval for the banker has gone through ups and downs in life of late. No more "qi qi gut gut" (nagging), worrying he would snap, ending up in mental hospital.
 

The banker did  his audio with so little money, he and his super calculator. He is playing David in David and the Goliath. So much so that, a new rivalry is quietly brewing between the banker and KF, whom have been out of action for a couple of months. KF as if just been released from Pudu Jail and walking over pomelo leaf ritual (a Chinese cleansing ritual) , KF came to audition my system to testify if I have gone banana, self bloated. 自己講，自己爽!
 

I wanted to start playing but KF lighted up my room to see my tweaking. He did a 360 viewing!!! And he said "You will kick yourself when your air condition unit needs servicing." He is right! No way the serviceman reaching there unless I remove my tweaking. After he had a good look, I seated him down and spun some really good recordings but they did not seem to give any impact on him. "Lively" he said. Play something common,  I need to drag Cai Qin out for KF. He takes a long breath, close his eyes, sit real still, engage in "deep listening" mode. Within seconds into the notes, KF jumped and screamed "Your Cai Qi sounded so young, 35 as opposed to mine, like 50! Do not stop (the player), continue playing!" Half into track 14, KF "Stop, stop, stop!". "OK, OK, OK, I am all ears." "Don't get all crazy, your Cai Qin does not sound sultry." KF missed the slight midrange bloom to make the vocal  lush and horny. I don't blame him because I know where he is coming from. Vocals is not my audio gauge but violin, piano and double bass. If I got these right, chances that I won't go wrong - faithful to the recordings.

 

The midrange bloom will delude audience of a violin into viola, the extra warmth will get vocals darker and chesty than it should have been, a well sign of ageing. Some love this coloration. Colorations make the sound listenable. A total linear response and drop death neutral will not cut it for me. The listening does not last long. Mind you, speakers are the most colored component of all. Changing speaker yields the most audible difference, cable comes second. I guess people change cable as an alternative changing speaker - changing speaker is a more expensive endeavor. It could lead to changing the other componets in the link too.

 

KF left my house with handful of Chengal wood. And he invited me to Amcorp mall the next day to get some spikes, a tweaking I did not reveal publicly. KF is moving fast to make up for lost time. He is missing out the real audio fun, the progress of audio.

 

Want to win a war, you need to beef up your arsenal. You need to do something. KF will take delivery of one Power Bank this coming Saturday. Look like we will have a party in Kajang. By then, KF will be on a more level playing field. Power Bank vs Power Bank, this will narrow the gap. Both are going exactly the opposing route. KF is considering upgrading his speakers while the banker is considering adding an active sub. Interestingly, KF 's strength is exactly the banker's weakness and vice versa. And I get to hear both sides stories. The story continues next year...

 

This post will wrap up 2012, I like to take this opportunity to

 

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.


Happy audioing! It ain't fun doing something you don't enjoy. 

Chengal blocks - Take Two

After receiving true Chengal teachings, I couldn't wait to try them. Excited to put what I have learned to use, most importantly I'm eager to see the results. On the other hand, I cut loss my earlier Chengal by recycling them, had them sliced to the right thickness. And so, I  drove around my neighbourhood in search for a good Samaritan to cut to half inch thick. Nobody cares for small job these days.

Rewind, a quick listen without Chengal blocks, "a horse does not know her face long" says the banker, your guess is as good as mine. The magic was gone.  And so, I found a person who is willing to help me for a small charge. Paid RM50 for an hour job and thank them for a big help. A basin-ful of small Chengal blocks is now at my disposal.  I'm ready to rock n roll.
 

The cut was reasonably precise. I inspected the blocks piece by piece and spent some time to sand away the rough edges with abrasive paper. When hobby is concerned, all hardships becomes a joy. But with a few exceptions, it is hard to embark on a hobby as profession that pays your bills these days. How I wish I have half my audio motivation in my work? The cross section cut of Chengal exposes  no loose fibre, no pore holes. It is a sign of hihg density.    

The left image was taken at one coffee shop in PJ. The two wood pencils isolation caught my attention, makes me wonder if he is uncle Y's buddy too? The owner is an avid audiophile since 70s, he runs a famous bak kut teh in Taman Connaught. The topic on audio triggered his enthusiasm. He is currently playing a pair of Audio Note ANEs. Don't play play! A small world indeed, it appears that his buddy is our good friend too. All hell breaks loose.  Audio Note fans are the most brand loyal group. You could expect the bak kut teh uncle system ranges from RM80K and above.

Me : "Uncle, what speakers are you using?"

Uncle : "Odio Note." He has a strange slang.
Me : "Odio Note??? I never heard of, uncle."
Uncle got a little annoyed "Odio Note, it costs RM20k per pair." I started pulling his leg.
Me : "O! Audio Note, the Audio Note by Peter something. You must be playing ANE, top of the line."
Uncle : "Yes. It costs RM20k per pair."
Me : "Audio Note has a wonderful midrange to die for."

Ice is broken, I gazed at  the guy whom is seated at one side of me, he plays a million dollar system and he returned with a wicked smile. Just for the thrill.
 

Images on my first right  was my initial Chengal cable support setup, 6" block. I had then replaced them with a smaller block. As you can tell from the image on the second right, setting them up is a back breaking exercise,  ensuring cables sit on the blocks and sit vertical block perpendicular to the horizon plane. To do that, you need to uncoil or untwist the cable as cable has memory of its own. The blocks are about 6 inches apart to avoid cable sagging. In my case, I got to deal with bi cables per side. Doubly hard.



 

Then, I reverted back to horizontal block perpendicular to horizontal plane mostly, some small blocks are horizontal upright to make way for the power cords.
 

 

Before, the pre is on the ET rack, power amp and Power Bank sits indirectly on the Chengal plank in # formation. DAC sits on a piece of glass/Chengal plank.

After, my DAC sits on marble supported by Chengal plank and pre sits on smaller Chengal plank in perpendicular position. Power amp and Power Bank are isolated from the carpet floor.   I changed the DAC plank configuration to only two planks in upright position. The DAC is isolated via marble/ebony cakes.  This is the best configuration that I had arrived to in terms of sound reproduction and  the below listening experience is based on.

My first concern is will the blocks survive the storm from the speakers? Will they not fall like domino if I cranked up the volume. Surprisingly, the small Chengal blocks hold up well.

With all other factors ceteris paribus, the precious subtleties prevail. High end audio is all about subtleties, right?
 

The difference in sound is obvious, deaf also can hear. You may also light off, your gears powered up, close your eyes and feel the atmosphere. First of,  I heard a new level of tranquility never before experienced, indescribable. It is like Christmas Eve, the most peaceful night of the year.  The tranquility is as if the gears are in perfect harmony, ushering a blacker than black background.

The  tranquility unfolds a "longer tailing" and deeper soundstage as if the electro-signals struggle less to transform to sound. I like what I hear.

Everything was on 30/30 vision given my rather low end transducer. Ambiance retrieval benefited from this tweaking. Studio or live recording, heavily damped or lightly damped studio, closed mike and not so closed mike is easy to tell. No sweat.

Patricia Barber Nightclub is a wonderfully  recorded album. It was recorded live in a club after night, after the crowds left.  My type of jazz got to have the hitting and brushing of cymbal. Albeit you can hear the hissing of the master tape, the spaciousness of this CD is awesome, border less. Patricia tears down my concrete walls. The sound is natural and if I'm to nitpicked, the images are slightly bigger than what I used to. I got nail this later. As with most jazz singers, Sara K, Stacey Kent, Diana Krall, Norah Jones etc, their  album shares a strong respective similarities in style and presentation, from track one to the last track. Same tempo, same arrangement, same vocal technique, very predictable, no surprises. The double bass is softer than before, a little more tenacity is nice. This is one of my desired results. It just does not sound right if double bass is hard, punchy and "short breath". Bloated. I desire my double bass of candy like quality. Listen to this album at night is an excellent choice to wind up your hectic day. Her lazy voice paralyses you.

This is one of my favourite CDs, Beethoven Romances Nos 1 & 2 by David Oistrakh. Great composition and impeccable performance by a great violinist playing with a Strad (in all honesty, I could not tell it was a Strad) and a West Germany pressing that is known for tonal accuracy. Recording is very good by today's standard albeit the recording gain is rather on the low side, you need to crank it up a bit.  This CD will mercilessly reveals your system's flaws. David's attacks on violin showcase his masterful technique, brutal force (E note) at time, caressing (D note) at time and how he works the violin is genuinely a gifted talents of a great violinist. He even takes on the whole orchestra!!! The violin strikes the high pitch as thin as a 0.5mm line (ball pen), and no one will even complain my highs is unrefined. Some says Marten speakers possess a hair thin highs!!!  My highs does not sound hard, cold  or choppy, you are in trouble if yours do. The recording is transparent enough to tell where the musicians are, most importantly this CD is very accurately recorded, instrumental in keeping my tonal accuracy in check. Balanced sound is my ultimate goal.

 

Small Chengal blocks as tone wood showed me a alternate route to high resolution, nimbleness of musical notes, see through transparency, trimmed images, tranquility and blacker soundstage at a small cost. The more revealing your system the more significant the effect. As in many cases, do not overdo it. You might need to retune a bit here and there to balance up the whole sonic picture. Good luck!

  

 

Capitalising Chengal as tone wood

Still come in here, audio bastard? Where is your dignity? Where is your bloated ego? Go fly kite! Above was an episode that someone lashed out malicious attacks on me. Being meek is not being weak. I can't see no reason to put up with this, an eye for an eye.

Let's get back to our usual agenda, shall we? Just when I was feeling a little "demoralized" with Chengal, I knew I am missing something. In the midst of cluelessness, uncle Y text me to offer guidance. Uncle Y is one of the nicest men in the local audio community, a humble, soft spoken person. He reckoned that I did not use Chengal in a way that was supposed to be and offered to give some pointers. I chanced upon an excuse to visit him. The banker too, was eager to tag along with me to probably learn a thing or two, more so, an insight to real high end audio. It was also nice to see uncle T there that evening too, whom has just returned back to audio. He too was armed with a poisonous tweak, and we are the lab rat running into it....

Apart from pre and dac, uncle Y's audio rigs remained the same the last time I visit. He loves to tweak and seldom resorts to changing gear unless something really extraordinary come along. Talk about attention to details, he prepared my usual listening materials! His seating distance was spot on, I tried listening with one foot forward, half a foot forward and his normal seating spot. The sound was well balanced. A common mistake people made is they apply near unilateral triangle for big multiple drivers floorstanding speaker system, highs, mids and lows did not sync. Uncle Y's system is 2 + 2, the skills to integrate the subs is essential to make the speaker system work. This is no easy feat, requiring patience to sync phase and timing to achieve oneness. 

This is an "eye dotting" ritual for the banker. Exposure is essential to shape one's audio route, a check and balance measure. I first offered the banker the sweet spot. Within seconds into the familiar music, I heard sighs of admiration from the banker albeit at very low volume. "That's how the big boys play! Time and fossil fuel is not wasted after all.  The banker has hopped in Hogwarts Audio Express and needless to say, he was totally blown away, a fact that you can tell from the expression of his face. Love to play poker game with him one day, he has his cards written on his face. On Maastricht Salon Orkest Serenata by Andre Rieu, our birds appeared to be a little grainy, a little vicious, a lot less airiness, the birds fly to great height...and especially on the violin reverberance, the bow brushing the metal strings, as if the violin is breathing. It is a very life like experience like you were right where the event takes place. There and then, I knew that a little tenacity and 10kg weight loss (imaging) to my system is most desirable. Maestro Andre reveled in his play, so palpable. Oh! The scent of the rosin... how sweet sounding. Who needs 30kHz, 40kHz or 50kHz engineering excellency?

 

On Chai Qin's smash hit "Lover's tears", we cranked the volume to 3th row from 5th row of the stage, the vocal was refined, smooth and jitter free. The images was rock steady, with a mouth of 50 cents coin imaging. Uncle Y played us "Don't cry for me, Argentina", this has got to be the best I have ever heard. "Grand Canyon" presented a wide and deep stage, we could almost touch it. Uncle Y's formidable front end consists of a CD Pro2 based transport, dCS debussy and an atomic clock combo, and with some help from Nordost Quantum. The front end is as best as you can get for a red book play back, no hard and cold digitis is traceable.

 

Me feeling the goosebumps that night, not any better than the banker. Felt like being run down by a car (staging). Uncle Y's system has got more body, more effortless, more finesse and better integrated than before. Bursting details is always attention grabbing, they scream in your face. Uncle Y made his details sounded implicit on first account, the more I listen, I don't find myself missing anything. The details on the silver disc is all there, perhaps a little more immediacy.... Uncle Y knew what is lacking, he pulled a rabbit out of his hat - a sticker and stick on the CD, remedied that shortcoming. This time around, I felt like being crushed by a truck. This story comes later pending for permission. Resolution and musicality go hand in hand. The micro details retrieval is world class.  I suspect Chengal effect and two Power Bank also help to contribute. And third Power Bank is coming. I knew what evil is Power Bank. "Everybody says one (Power Bank) is enough, but they will order a second unit, a third......" uncle Y says. Uncle Y is meticulous in CD playback, demagnetising CD is part of his Standard Of Play, high quality playback every time, guaranteed. So, it is hard to tell exactly which constitutes what. Trust me, his speakers do not sound like that in nature.

 

This is not a review on uncle Y system but I couldn't stop praising uncle Y attitude for "going extra miles". FYI, Uncle G and uncle Y are the unsung hero in pioneering Chengal as tone wood that many doubt it. All I can say is talk is cheap, never try never know. There are people in Hong Kong too messing around with Chengal. A carpenter whom toys around with tone wood opined that Chengal has a very close tone to Ebony albeit different properties. So, it seems that what I read is correct, do not over isolate your rigs. The sound gets dry, hard, cold, thin and uninvolving. The first truth that hits me hard is E&T rack (right pix). The assembled rack is lightweight, far from drop dead rigidity and solid. Resting my rigs on the  rack, the sound just opened up. KF has had the same share of experience.

"Nothing substitutes good engineering" makes a lot of sense. Likewise, "Nothing substitutes good logic." If you can't accept the logic, drop it. Go live your life happier.

Let me lay down the truth, all active equipment vibrate upon powered up. Can you eliminate energy? No, reduction is possible. Why? Go ask Einstein. You can not kill energy!

To apply Chengal as resonance control, the first principal is you got to rest Chengal on the floor indirectly. No floor, less magic as I was advised. Second principal, oberve the wood grain, rest the equipment on horizontal wood fibre grain. Third principal, big plank for heavy equipment, small plank for lighter equipment. Fourthly, avoid rubber footer on Chengal. 

An audio veteran once asked me, if I conduct audio post mortem before embarking the upgrade path? Yes and no. There are certain things in audio that you do not realise inadequacy until you have heard other systems. Tenacity is what I would like to strengthen in my system. 

There is no hard and fast rule on Chengal on audio application. If you do not have an ear for it, ignore this. If you are lazy, walk away. If you complain about the aesthetic, forget about it. For me, this is jolly good fun. I do not aim to be a giant killer, but a baby giant killer. Ha ha!

And so, Chengal plank should be used with care. I had experimented Chengal on pre, dac and power amp. Due to power amp footers, I rested power amp heat sink on Chengal plank. The weight distribution was uneven, the carpeted floor amplifies the problem. The sound suck. No go, thus, I ruled out Chengal application on power amp or Power Bank in my case. I could still apply Chengal on pre and dac, plus a little improvisation. My findings concur with uncle Y that positioning Chengal in horizontal wood grain  sounds much much better than vertical wood grain, sounded, quicker, snappier and without too mushy. I also find Chenggal works on rack. The key issue is how to capitalise the Chengal resonance. There you go, a window of opportunity is opened. On CD player or transport, I have my reservations because the resonance on CD player or transport is among the worst, horizontal resonance at spinning mechanism and vertical resonance at the toroidal transformer, these called for different resonance control. I like the idea that CD player is dead levelled at all angles to ensure the signal pick up is constant and optimum. How to deal with the resonance, I like ball bearing isolation cone.

 

Trying out things take time, I shall come back with more detailed stories ........

 

The fading Chengal magic

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me  to grieve - "Nobody, nobody but me". The story goes like this, my lappy quit on me and I drove to Digital Mall to get a replacement. There was an officer dutifully giving tickets to offender. Instinctively, I walked straight up and asked if it is alright to park on the other side. The officer said it is ok. When I got back to get my car, I noticed a ticket on my windscreen. Lenovo (你老墓), of course I can't help feeling discontented, for sure. This is totally unaccpectable, penalising a law abiding citizen. Why not go catch snatch theft? Why not go rob a bank?

 

Anyway, as with the sweet surprise from Chengal blocks, I was contemplating to sit my gears on Chengal plank. I also read somewhere that you should not over isolate your gears. My inquisitive got the better of me, I bought Chengal plank to have a go for it.

Fast forward, the planks are in place, fire up the gear and spin the silver disc. Straight away, I did not like what I hear. I tried tweaking around Chengal with glass, marble, spike, interconnects and etc, let's just say I have failed to make Chengal plank work in my system.

It is time for me to temporarily cease tweaking but sit back, take a sip of coffee and enjoy my music.

Friends reminded me that I should not write with an audio baggage upon my shoulder, the ego will eat me up. I'll become self opinionated, self consumed.

So,  audio bastards read this, there is no respect for others without humility in one's self. You guys condemn me and dare come in here, what does this tell you?



 

Blocks that dramatise

 -

Friends have been complaining my blog is dated, they are right about that. However, I'd like to stress that firstly, I had retired my old blog. Secondly, you do not complain or demand especially when you do not have to pay for it. You don't like what you read, go read something else. Nobody needs to please nobody, nobody is indebted to nobody. People are taking advantage of people, knowingly and unknowingly, I see it everyday. Residents do not pay for their share of security cost. Enough said, only others can be a better judge on yourself.

Learning does not confined in a classroom, particularly audio. There is a lot of knowledge you can grasp from cyberspace. The more you read, the more you are informed. You will come to a stage that you realise that you are not that "knowledge" that you think you are. That's a problem with people nowadays, they think they are knowledgable, they know enough. So, before you go tell the world of your big audio claim, do your homework or get ready to be grilled! Audio visit is a great way to learn. I learned two things from my latest visit, dynamic contract and ageing. 

Coincidentally, audio shares a lot of similarities in photography. Now, dynamic contrast as is photography, is the difference between the lightest light and darkest dark in sound and certainly not crescendo. To the extreme end, photography is far more complex than audio. Fork out two millions, you get instant fame and a respectable system but not in photography, avid photographers travel and camp for a perfect photo shot.

If you are not tone deaf, brass has the necessary sheen and somewhat metallic character to them that make them distinctive and assert individuality. Woodwind has a darker and mellower character while strings possess the blazing bright note. All of them inherited a colour, these colour make ready for the composers to create desirable dynamic contrast that evokes mood. Classical music is the pinnacle of this art form.

 

Ultra dynamic contrast is one of the proprietaries of high end audio. Budget gear only mediocre in this department. Worry not, I will reveal a secret that will help to raise performance on this area. This is a Godsend tweak, ridiculously cheap in the world of audio - the homegrown Chengal wood block.

靠山吃山，靠海吃海 meaning you live by your surroundings. Chengal is a tropical hardwood widely available in Malaysia and Thailand. Typically possess 915 to 980 kg per meter cubic of density, durable and termite proof. Chengal is traditionally used for bridges, poles and boat building. It will not sink in the water like Ebony does. More on wood effect on soundon, go google tonewood.


嬌婆守不到寡 is another catchy urban proverb saying horny bitches could not stay true to fidelity, I have got myself 20 pieces of Chengal blocks, they measure 2"x 3"x 6". They cost about RM150. The blocks provide the necessary speaker cables and power cords elevation from the ground to reduce moisture and noise pick up. You could expect improved separation, cleaner and "free-er" sound. At present moment, I use cheap plastic container and empty CD case for the said purpose. Told you, I'm a cheap fella but I don't con people.


Replacing the cheap plastic container and empty CD case with Chengal block ushers in a mystical improvement. The violin on Debussy's Claire de Lune of "The Perfect Tunes" receives a dose of silkiness and you bloody well know what it means, finesse. Damn, I'm spoilt with the quality of "The Perfect Tunes" recording. The strings snappiness improved a wee bit, sound silky and expensive. The texture of the images as if you have just removed your hair and applied a thin coat of make up to cover the pores. No worry if Hasselblad on portrait.

OK, before I wander too far. The silkiness is what the high end audio community is craving about aka the noble sound. Try some silver cable in your system, you'll get what I mean. Photography talks about quality pixel, not quantity of pixel - fine details and high ISO. These properties separate hobbyist and fanatic.

Finesse is synonymous with refinement. On "My Funny Valentine" by Blue Company, spits mouthful of foam. His breathy rendition of this number, is nevertheless unheard of. He was on the verge of falling out of his vocal range on many occasions as if his last song. We, crazy dudes love these!

The banker, another horny fella, always look to cut short learning curve. He, the honourable "Cost-Performance King" has quietly denounced his title. He followed us like in a poker game, wanting to get his hand on everything we try. He too, bought Chengal plank.

The banker has arrived to a high level of mids and highs sophistication that could shame some respectable systems. His bass unfortunately could not keep up, sigh! His Power Bank is coming soon, will push the limit further.

He noticed the changes in my system on that night he came to collect his plank. KF quietly sticking out his white flag. He has long been in hibernation mode. Deep down, he is still murmuring "My bass can storm better ... living on his past glory." Little does he knows, purple fringing....

Aren't most audiophiles like that too??? We get a little too competitive, sometimes. Hey you who read this, O yes, you, you, you.

Two things I can derived from the Chengal block.  Electro-signal less prefers to travel on saggy path. Secondly, the Chengal resonance jives with the cables. Some have tested rubber wood, Lasak wood and many others. Likewise, all of them impose different character. Chengal is preferred.
On audio, Chengal block as if like Botox jab, restores youthfulness. The images are trimmed, somewhat. Everything seems to be in low fat mode. O yes, the edges redefined and the artificial warmth are removed. A sure sign of signal contamination somewhere, somehow, I guess. Don't look at me. I don't have answer to everything. Surely, I don't intend to be Mr. Know a Lot.

Fortunately, the moist of notes are well preserved. Notes gained agility. Better separation. Greater musicality. Now, what do we have here? 5% gain in audio performance if you allowed quantifying. I do know that I will stop here and enjoy my music.

Next, I will explore Chengal on equipment....
 

Threesome, anyone?

You know what? You get to be lan si (snobbish) being first. First in your class, first to achieve a record, first in competition etc, there is a lot to be proud of. For audiophiles, first to own a flagship, first to own an alien brand, first to discover kick ass power cord and so on are the most satisfying.

Humbly, I also scored some personal first in audio, I'm first to own Mosfet LMos150, first to owe DIY63 dac with outboard 6 independent power supply, first to DIY Lighter Note in Malaysia, probably not. Now, I could add another score to my "First" tally, first to listen to three Power Banks. Hehe! I bet some out there are seriously wondering if three Power Banks worth a go?

The latest FPB replaced the filter setting to input polarity setting

The story begins with me offering to fetch uncle G, FPB designer and a technician to commission Power Bank in a reputable audio system. I'm sorry for nameless heads that I did not get the permission to reveal the identity nor the system but I can reassure you that this is a million dollar system and you do not get many in this level of play in Malaysia.

Infrastructure in Malaysia is among the best, road fatalities in Malayisa is also one of the highest in the world, what does it tell you? Poor civic mindedness. The recent deployment of AES is akin to 24/7 invincible traffic police raise public outcry. I opined that AES makes the road users behave and restores order on the road. It definitely will help bring down the number of accident. Life is tough, no one wants another ticket. With AES in place, everybody adhere to the traffic rules. It is a good thing at least to keep the reckless driving in watch. So, the journey took us close to three hours to reach our destination, a little more than it should.

The host can't wait to receive uncle G, it is like old friend. He was cordial to us and after the friendly hello, the guys went straight to work. Vocal is the host main music staple. He first spun some vocals to establish a standard. Uncle G brought his trusty Clarity 16 and ready to kill. You got to be impressed with uncle G agility, this uncle is no ordinary elder. Don't play play, I bet he can beat all of us climbing stairs, easily. Clarity 16 is a voodoo. Don't try it at home if you don't intend to buy unless of course you can bear with Insomnia.

As its name implied, this thing injects clarity. Better separation, notes are distinguishably detached from notes, more airy, more sparkle at the top and slightly more gain. The host was happy. The host has one Clarity 16 in his rig already and two Clarity 4s, but Two the merrier. Clarity 16 blew Clarity 4 away and the result was astonishing . Uncle G looks real cute. "See, what I told you?" Tips : Clarity 16 is most effective at the source and power amp, Clarity 16 stays.

After a little less than an hour, the guys had Power Banks fired up. Power Banks steamrolled Clarity 16 with ease. That did not surprise us. In combo, the improvements have compounded. It was time for my "Wow!", that's my role on that day play. The host was stunned, his eyes were wide opened in disbelief, speechless. There and then I know that the ice was broken. What could be better than a product speaks for itself? If Clarity 16 brought forth 10% of audio improvement, together as in a combo, brought forth 30% compounded with interest. Bear in mind, Power Banks are new, they should sound better as the breaking process continues.

We stopped at 1:30 pm for food. The host treated us a mouth watering lunch. The menu was, authentic shark fin soup, fried sliced lotus root with peas, steamed prawn with special soy sauce, one Pomfret two cooking styles, steamed on side and fried on the other side of the fish, mushroom oyster oiled chicken and Cantonese fried hor fun. The host has a mission, a taste for us to savour. Excuse me, I start craving while blogging. The lunch was fabulous. Taste versus sound, we are now even.

Power Banks have hit a little more than two hours after the lunch break, my findings are consistent with my first encounter with my Power Bank, the sound has become more liquid but with less than doubly darker background, inner ummph, separation and sparkling. One plus one does not always equals to two. The glossy sound (extended highs) however compensated the rather over damped room. The host hold his smile like most business men do, his poker face. He has finally found his missing puzzle. The Clarity 16 and Power Banks combo is a runaway success.

The clouds of doubt have been thoroughly removed, the host initiated to try the third Power Bank to see how far it can go. We happily obliged as all of us wanted to know the result too. It was a little Armageddon. The third Power Bank brought forth an unexpected leapfrog improvement. "Wow!", that's my role again. I suspected Power Bank hammered the source right. The traditional Chinese plucked strings has a bumpy decay, that was not entirely present and choppy before these upgrades, a full note with some degree of resiliency was audible. It is like chewy glue, no way you could chew them to pieces. The masculine power was immediate akin to additional 200W power. The host dropped the idea of upgrading the power amp and save up. The designer looked and whispered at me "Want a second unit?" Bugger..... @#$%

The fun did not stop there. Uncle G and I were eager to know if a better power cord could make a huge impact on Power Bank. The stock skinny power cord that comes along with the third Power Bank looks pathetic. The earlier Power Banks were connected to the sub DB. The host resisted the temptation. "Enough! Enough! Enough! Don't suck me dry. I'm putting a stop in audio". A stop? Easier said than done! Uncle G ignored the host reluctance, pulled and plugged his power cord to satisfy our inquisition. Hell ya!

Wow! What a notably improvement. On Dave Garret live in concert, his pale skin colour (from the projector) became accurate. Even the unlearned technician can tell. What amazes us was the colour depth of Dave's violin!!!The wears of lacquer on his violin was visible. The strings on his violin were articulate. Black becomes blacker, white becomes whiter. Contrast increased. The colours vibrancy was to be appreciated, saturated. The shade, brightness, chroma improved. All of us fell from the chairs. This power cord is essential.

On the action packed "Da Wu Sheng", the knockings, the gush of wind, the shrill of Chinese sword and spear, the percussion and the drum were vivid. The wind, O my God! Can you guys enlighten me wind in hertz? GSC and TGV are no contest.

Audio wise also benefited from the uncle G's power cord. Cai Qin's Lao Ge is high on musical value but average on recording quality. Lao Ge was recorded in 1985, if your Cai Qin sounded milky, thick and ripe, go check on your system. The host rendition of Lao Ge was pin point and transparent, and with the right age, supposing in her late 20s. You can rob a bank but don't rob Cai Qin voice. She was 27-28 when she records Lao Ge.

These virtues alone on Lao Ge are unheard of, really. Dare I say, the Cai Qin mouth is of the size of 20 cent. The images were rock like. Phenomenal for a more than six foot height multi drivers speakers that could have the ability to image like bookshelf speakers. Separation was breathtaking, reveals plenty of space around the musicians. Eat that out! This track can serve as his showcase reference. The host has set a very high bar on Lao Ge, difficult for others to surpass.

"I have finished with my power cord, I will now pull my power cord, thank you." says uncle G. "No, no, no, don't touch it! Let it as it is."
"Please check how much is the power cord, buy it, courier it to me and I will mail you a cheque"
"No, no, no, what was I thinking? Leave the power cord here and I will write you a cheque." His audio adrenalin never cease.
"Hey Mr designer, I want to order another Power Bank to make it four." Surprise order! God only knows when he will get his unit.

The host was lucky to receive three Power Banks ahead of his time. I looked at uncle G and teased him a bit "Now that you know what can Power Banks do, how to wait?" Anxiety, I knew that he has been waiting for his second unit for some time now.

"Damn @#$%! I will definitely have Insomnia tonight. The highs and mid better mine and they will haunt me in my sleep. The wait for Power Bank is killing me!" Uncle G was on a roll, the passion of audio rose higher.

Clarity 16, Power Banks and the undisclosed power cord combo has reignited a cold audiophile. The host sound has now elevated many storeys in performance. Shouldn't he be thrilled?