Guangzhou AV Show 2013

Audio show is an avenue for us to listen something that we have no chance of listening, said a smart ass and I could not agree with him more. No difference than luxury car shows, that's makes me smart ass No. 2. So, we had our sight on Guangzhou AV show this time and had been planning this trip for more than 6 months, taking advantage of cheap AirAsia fares. For the sake of ease of coordination, we limit the members. Small group, least waiting.

Guangzhou AV Show has split into two shows at two different venues and time this year. There will be another bigger one in the coming December promises more exhibits, a mixture of high, mid and low end from local and import.

Thanks to a good plan, we hopped on the subway and got there smoothly. Entrance cost RMB50 per head, a well printed brochure and a commemorative CD. The show occupied two floors, twenty eight big rooms, my guess is thirty feet width, fifty feet long, eighteen feet height. Phew...., all big rooms. The room is bigger than my house!

Crowds were not coming as yet, we were the early bird. 

Audio Note + Avantgarde Uno Nano combo is not unfamiliar to me. This combo sounded musical enough without the aggression of the lower treble that would boots me out of the room. I have a little concern if the combo sounded a little metallic, I guess I was wrong. What do you know, horns tend to be metallic, aggressive and raw. They played soft music, no chance to attest their bass performance. Anyhow, this system certainly not for the bass freak who is looking the ultimate punch to fill his ego up.

My O my, Primare or Arcam + KEF LS50 combo rocks, I can't remember which is which. The sound was room filling beyond my imagination. Even at high volume, KEF LS50s maintained their composure though weakening output from 70Hz below. The dealer was smart to play materials to avoid weaknesses. It was a daunting task for 5'5" driver to cover full range and I was taken in by LS50 expansive soundstage. KEF sound has morphed from dark and sunny. It was a commendable system nevertheless, you got to hear to believe. Dollar per dollar, KEF LS50 gives a run for the money.

PMC Fact 12 was premiere in the show. Driven hard via German AVM Ovation MA8 power house, 1000W into 4 ohm. My initial impression "Wow, these new Fact 12s got balls". My past experience with transmission line speakers is slow bass but I heard none of that with PMC. There must be something PMC do right here. The size of the speaker fits perfectly in many Asian homes. You guys know PMC sound signature, neutral, business like and linear. Neither thick or thin, they certainly do not add or subtract the sound. Though they may not grab your attention instantly, they grow on you.

Naim + Naim Ovator S800, quick, agile and exciting. Ovator S800 is bigger than the image suggest. That's my note in my head though the sound is not my cup of tea. Something is missing for me, the sound was not well marinated.

Seen on the pix is Constellation flagship Hercules, capable of 1100W at 8 ohm. If you are aware, Constellation Audio designers are of Mark Levinson and John Curl, impressive credential nevertheless. We wondered around to hear what they are capable of but they were not meant to be heard after all. Technical breakdown, they found DC leak somewhere and clipped the fuse both Hercules and Performance. Bad show.

MBL in full assault. The sound has a level of effortless that makes them unique. The highs nevertheless, in a league of its own. This thing sounded open, real open. Credits go to their boxless coloration. Classical on them is simply awesome as they reproduce the spatial thing like no other. White, mmmm is not a good choice of color, I prefer the signature black and gold.

This system is one of group member most anxious to hear, Boulder 2150 + Wilson Alexia. I have listened to many power house through Wilson to come to conclude Wilson is a sonic chameleon, a very revealing transducer. You get what you feed. Wilson employed silk dome tweeters that set new Wilson apart from the old. Hence, the highs is more bodied, civilized, polite and rounded as compares with Focal inverted tweeter. Perhaps, Focal tweeters sounded a tad livelier. I was a little disappointed with the combo, the low bass could have more weight.

What's a piece of engineering marvel! Super neat circuitry. The milled aluminum enclosure spells High End. Brushed aluminum has now become the color of High End.

They say beauty lies in the eye of a beholder, I sure hope that they guy came up this does not suffer from vision impairment. Jadis Olympias do look ugly to me. French, along with the Japanese are horn loving nation. SET amps are the preferred amplification. Driven by Jadis electronics, the vocal has the exquisite sweetness that Jadis comes to known for. When comes to horn, nasality, shoutiness and coherence are definite deal breaker. Manage it, you will have an awesome speaker. Playing Olympias within their mean, they will reward you handsomely.

T+A electronic from Germany on static display. T+A is the larger audio company in Germany, and knowing German, they are technical inclined.

This is one of speaker I eager to listen, Cabasse La Sphere active speaker. Cabasse produces musical instrument before they move into speaker making. The father of coherent point source, four way speakers with twenty two inch bass driver. La Shere is capable of going down to 20Hz flat. It is a piece of technical wonder, full range point source in sphere enclosure. Sphere enclosure offers no standing waves. Cabasse wanted La Sphere to behave like a microphone emanating all frequencies from a single point. They sounded tight, forward, immediate, omni directional bass, work for you? A giant eye, these are definitely eye catcher.

This Tidal T 1, four tower speakers via Tidal electronics. German again, yoooo! These smell expensive, indeed they do. Auntie also knows which to hear! Come on guys, impress me with big music. Now, here's a thing. They play soft material at low volume, none of that able to make the featured system shine. We returned again at 5pm hoping to catch some big actions, they were closing and asked us to come back the next day. What's a waste of time!

Dynaudio Evidence Platinums are in the house, the new flagship of Dynaudio. Here's the thing, I could not quite figure out how Dynaudio could squeeze out serious bass from the twin slim towers? No angry spreading necks looking like the Confidence series, Evidence Platiniums look better contoured. They resemble the Dyanudio signature sound, dense, punchy, weighty and rock steady images. I like what I'm hearing. However, the aesthetic of the speakers did not commensurate with the price. I was expecting more intimating physic. Sometimes, look alone can impress before they sing.

Eventus Audio on silence display.

Guess what, Soulution + Eventus. I did not get to listen to this. Shot! A favourite of a group member but I missed it. Shame on me!

French Jean-Marie Reynaud, JMRs lining up. Tweeter eye, who copies who?

Modwright + JMR, an American and French marriage.

Newcomer Italiano Impeto? Look ordinary, sound ordinary too.

ATC SCM300ASLT anyone? ATC physic looks like a refrigerator, punching out a lot of air. If only the highs could be a bit more.....detail a bit more exciting...... Nope, I'm not sold, sorry guys.

KR Audio, king of SET?

Danish Avance's flagship Super Century, don't they look like Gryphon Atlantis. They sounded airy, warm, detailed and dynamic, a sound resembling the Nordic. They have more sparkling highs than the Dyn.

Another Italiano in the house, the flagship Rosso Fiorentino Florentina. These things sounded neutral, fast, dynamic and with plenty of bass, without the heaviness of note that we all get accustomed to Italian gears.

Rosso Fiorentino Florentina's younger siblings, unplugged

Nagra + Wilson Benesch A.C.T seems cheap among the exhibits. Nagra 845 based power amps, pump out 50 solid watt. The magic of SET, the masculine of 845, the finesse of Wilson Benesch, what do you get?

The better sound comes from Darzeel + Wilson Benesch Cardinal was playing at the other corner. It struck me that the sound was heavenly. It led me to think Darzeel and Wilson Benesch combo is a match made in heaven. It has the rightness to the sound. My jaw was on the floor. Dude, it was that good. Bass-phile, can't find home here.

Meridian all digital assault. Forgive me, I am not impressive.

This combo requires no introduction, McIntosh + Focal

We heard them in KLIAVS 2013 but Focal Grand Utopia EMs were showcased there. McIntosh was a good match. This system has the potential to rock the house with gut wrenching bass. Grand Utopia moves serious amount of air.

JBLs looked intimated.

Sexy red Tannoy Kingdom Royal, snug at one corner.

No, these things belong to the museum. As we were browsing, a pair of Tannoy sneaked and roared from behind by these vintages. They gave me the knee jerk. The bass was huge that got our attention. We quickly find a seat, behave and eat our humble pie, listening for more. They entertained a request, a Chinese asked for Teresa Teng. O! Not that! I nearly fell off the chair. Play big music, man. Even the white man went back stage.

He he he! I will be testing these cables from Switzerland after return home.

Conclusion :

In a sea of audio products and expensive exhibition cost, the dealers must capitalize the event to cast an impression in the head of the show goers. Mediocre effort, better not exhibit at all. Not only it jeopardize the brands they carry but wasting resources.

Big system demonstrates big music to show what they are capable of, instead they play simple music that absolutely does not make sense. If only vocal, there are plenty of choice and do not cost astronomical prices. This is my major grumble. For the price they are asking, I wanted to hear tonality, dynamic, transient and low level resolution. These things cost money. That's what I can generalize things over here. Who need a system listening solely to vocal?

None of the systems sound shitty. All system manage varying degree of accomplishment in tonality, soundstage, dynamic, low level detail, coherence, build quality and bandwidth. I bet your preference differs from mine, so, if you are serious, go to your nearest dealer for an audition. Don't be sorry purchasing without auditioning first or just reading review. I do understand that some dealers are miles away, if you buy based on review, your passion is as big as a nut. Be a sheep dog instead of a sheep.

Will I return next year for the show, probably not.

Need Based Audio

Yo yo yo, what's up, what's up! Just came back from Guangzhou Audio Visual Show, China.

Met the men, Leo Fung and 葉振棠 (Johnny Ip). Leo Fung as always dressed in black with all comb over with a ponytail, a  signature he keeps for donkey years. The man is an important figure in audio and recording industries, his famous "black room" attracted many audio pilgrims. Johnny made his name singing Canton pop in the 70s - 80s when the Canton soap drama was at all time high. At 70 years old, his vocal is still very good. He sang without any accompanies in the show, he maintained a masterful composure. No breathing complication. Little that I know, he has just release an album.

Thought of writing tweaks, but then again better not. "Shen Gong" (the black art), the effect is only appreciated by some and considered a work in the mind of the other some. To the latter, it is a state of psychology, feel good having them around. Different school of thought, eh. No invitation to open debate. Look, there are all kind of birds, only few can sing.

High End Audio these days for their astronomical prices are not solely sound quality but the pride of ownership. High End audio prices today are unimaginable back 20 years ago! You can do a lot of things with the money then. Is High End shrinking? Is High End dying? Are High End companies going for the kill? And since they don't sell many, it makes sense to jack up the price to make up for the earning. There are two sides of the story, both are unsubstantiated. Arguably, high price is the great divide, you are either High End or commoner, eh? One thing for sure is that owing a kiss ass mega system certainly grants higher self esteem than owing a luxury car. There is a perceived effort from the owner to make the system sounds good, while as luxury cars, you do not.

Buying a high end audio is a launching pad to audio stardom. Instant talk of the town, the audio community is gladly inducting a new member into the hall of fame. An  exclusive club. Chill dude, segregation happens in every aspect of our life.  Even the banks have premier banking and what not, catering fat pocket customers. Good private schools too require the parents to be in high social ranking! Exclusive clubs,  exclusive restaurants, exclusive this and exclusive that, you name it. In the world of consumerism, who care? The rich don't understand the poor, the poor don't understand the rich. And value is not in the rich men's vocabulary. Rarity, history, technologies, branding, being the best are neither in the poor men's vocabulary too. Substandard stuff, mai liao si gan, don't waste time. It has become our catchy phrase.

Coincidentally, a brand with impressive built, rocket science technologies, glowing reviews and industrial credibility bears a high price tag, I was having high expectation on a component but utterly let down by their lacklustre  performance. This is half million Ringgit piece of component. Guys, if you wanted to buy High End, audition is a must. Look! This system is setup by the dealer. Trusting online reviews? It is better off trusting your hearing.

Ironically, the mid price audio is also raising prices to keep up their game.  The combination of these factors promotes DIY audio, catering the needs of the unprivileged fi like me. Value is a big thing, I would think twice buying a high end component even if it is a pre owned component. A high end component in a budget system? You get the graze in people's eyes, mockery follows. What's a waste of time explaining the justification?

Need based audio, which is how I look at things. Buy what is necessary. Of all components, you don't mess with CD player and speaker. The former is too technical and too many parts to handle, even some High End companies don't get their hands dirty making CD player. Japanese are good with delicate parts. Many High End companies utilise Japanese transport, mod and re-badge it. Chinese and Korean are starting to their presence felt. I found truth in one Ang Mor saying. He says "MBA trains people to make the number looks good. They shut down factories, they retrench people, they outsource, they rent building, they subcontract, they buy technologies, they acquire competitors, they only keep their design teams for the sake of keeping the number looks good. It will only looks good in short term! Little do they do, they are slowly killing themselves in the long term." How do you innovate without manufacturing facilities? The higher management level, the least they know about operation and products. How do they drive the company? I called them Number Intelligence, good at crushing the numbers but poor at generating revenue.

Speaker building requires skills and testing facilities. It is more of an art than science. Even with the latest software and testing facilities, the Chinese can launch a satellite to the orbit but can't deliver in audio. It is a skill they have not mastered. The Japanese developed the Beryllium drivers in 1977, employed in Yamaha NS1000. Yamaha NS1000 is the most well known speaker from the East ever making its way into pro sound. Twenty years later, we see the wide use of Beryllium tweeter.  However, Japanese giant, Pioneer Corporation seeks help from the Ang Mor (the Whites) to develop their flagship. These capabilities, even the Japanese  do not have it. What left on the table now, DAC and amplifier, unless you demand the state of the art amplification with rocket science technologies, ultra wide bandwidth, huge current delivery unfazed of 1 ohm devil speaker impedance, unlimited dynamic, speeding bullet transient etc etc, these require serious technologies.

Now, unless you are brand conscious and resale value conscious, you have my blessings to go High End. It is your money anyway. But now, Customized Audio is slowing picking up pace especially in the States, UK, EU, and many other countries. CA is strictly for those who know what he exactly wants and in for a long haul (the jaded fi). No more buy and trade audio components merry-go-round. The designer will determine either current feedback, voltage feedback or no feedback amps to mate with the speakers. I have heard a RM60k+ branded power amp (no name to be disclosed) was blown away by a local customized amp. The performance disparity was great, the branded amp sounded mediocre after direct comparison. Everyone who has listened to the system, got really impressed. The real beauty of it is the price is one sixth of the branded amp.

System synergy accounts for a big share of ill sound. The amp and speaker relationship is largely mystical. The only way to find out if there is a cordial relationship is to test it out. Dealers these days, gladly loan amp to test but their faces quickly turned sour if the sale was not realized. Let's us not to be deceived. If good resale value is a concern, go other investment instruments but audio. Audio is never a good investment tool and of course you do gong (got lucky) sometimes. Believe me, the odds are against you. Insufficient fund for audio purchase, save up. Don't fall for short term consolation, you stand to lose at both ends.