Your mileage may vary

Not another boring audio review, I don't set out to write a me-too story the world isn't short of. Even if it's controversial, I want to write something of my own. Read with a grain of salt I ask of you. I'm not here to please anyone, anyway, nobody can please everyone. We are living in a polarized world as we've never been, learn to live with the diversity of views with a caveat, and don't believe all the information and reviews on the net not without due diligence. There are good and bad advice, good and bad tips, as always.  

When sound is concerned, the absolute result counts. No if and but. I'm a practical guy. As opposed to linear thinking which employs a series of sequential steps, the description by itself renders thinking inside a box. It limits the possibility. Because they measured well, they should sound well. Because the speaker placement is well ratioed to the room, it should sound best. By rationalizing the system cost, the sound should be optimized and etc. It's common that a cable comes along that elevated the sound to the next level and throws off the cost ratio equilibrium. What then? It becomes a critical component and a cost component. These rationales have no place in sound. It's okay that you don't intend to blow the budget, don't be cowed down to the system cost ratio for it has no bearing on the sound, to say the least. To those who insist on measurements, measure the sound not before you've attained a good one. And most certainly not with individual component measurements, I tell you why. Equipment that measures right, a room that measures well, what is the odd the in-room sound is good? Are you serving your head or hearing? 

Fresh from the maiden Gelombang 2022, Kuala Lumpur, I'd give the show a thumb. Overall, the sound in all exhibitor rooms was largely devoid of standing waves. As it is, we go to audio shows to check out what's new, the current trending, to catch up with long-lost friends and to find out our fellow audiophiles' system progress. A visit to follow up probably? 

I spent an hour listening to a live show at Gelombang 2022 Kuala Lumpur on a hot lazy afternoon. Kind of odd listening on a bright-lighted afternoon, that's why I listen in the dark for the mood. The sound emitted from PA speakers, the grainy highs, dull, lacking life, and the mids weren't rich as I'd like, I observed the sound tuned at the request of the performing artist and was glad to find we were on the page on how the sound should be sound. Respect. Despite poor tonality, I immensely enjoyed the performances and found my body rocking along to the tunes. The secret is immediacy. Get-up-and-go, no dargging. I bet many audiophiles don't really mind immediacy because they listen to mainly succulent vocals.

Time to complete my visit, I moved on to the showrooms and couldn't help with the stark contrast of live music against listening to the boxes. The realism of musicality has left the room. I was struggling to settle down. This discontentment diminishes along with time, isn't this real with our audio passion? We're happy living with a little more highs, a richer mid and a beefen low or in any of the combinations of those. The findings I was able to take away from the live show are the reverbs as in harmonic distortions, directness and ambience. Take these elements away, the sound losses its charm. I object to an acoustically dead room, some championed that you should listen to the direct sound from the speakers aka an anechoic chamber fashion. This is unreal because we've never lived in an environment like that. I don't listen to sound effects for music appreciation, that's me. Play classical music if you will, the purity of tone and music rightness will heighten your listening skill. Dare I say classical music is the highest form of music composition?

The fact that we were able to accustom ourselves to the sound of our system over time. Every system has its strength and weakness, we must learn to embrace the differences and cherish the colour of the sound. We learn to appreciate how others voice their sound, an art in its own right if they do it right, of course. New audio purchases excite us. Through them, we keep the passion burning. Not to undermine small tweaks, a small step to a big improvement in sound. 

OK, the recordings are black art. Aren't we listening to the recordings more than anything else? Even on some tracks within the same studio recorded album sounds different. I much preferred AAD or ADD format recordings over the modern DDD format recordings for the analogue-ness. To illustrate, they don't produce holographic Harry Belafonte back in Carnegie Hall album-like anymore these days. The wonderful ambience as if you were there. Cinematic picturesque versus laser sharp projection, sure, this is the sound of your preference. Whenever I work on a system, I always fall back to live music as the cornerstone of sound, but classical music is my gold standard. The higher the resolution, the soul-less the sound, and resolution is the current trend of audio. I prefer the texture, the warmth and the adequate resolution, take Harry Belafonte back in Carnegie Hall for example. What's not to be liked? Enough said, your mileage may vary.

In short, it's through the recordings we distinguish the character of a system. The way we set up a system in our room contributes to the unique sound of our system. No system sounds the same even with the same electronics and speakers. This goes to show that the room is a colourant. Different philharmonic hall different sound, makes sense to you? Managing your room goes a long way to extract the best sound from a system, even more so than the equipment sometimes.

A new dawn has come

Gee... it has been so long since my last posting. Time flies when you're really having fun. My procrastination is to be blamed as well. I write for fun, not for money. Many audiophiles out there are looking for the next big thing, they are largely out of my reach I must admit, unfortunately. Talking about making ends meet, that's my problem. 

The audio industry needs consumers to drive innovations. Covid pandemic for the past two years had pulled the handbrake on the audio industry, everything becomes a standstill. Without a sizeable sale, the audio innovation will die. The industry needs money to go around for innovations and developments. I know most audiophiles are concerned with the price-performance ratio, they love the high price-performance products but it's out of the question in the absolute high-end audio, you pay for the performance. Being the best is staying on top of the game. Please, keep your value and judgement to yourself given every audiophile doesn't start at the same point, at the same playing field, sonic preference and whatnot. High-end audio doesn't need all that negativity. Some can afford better things in life, some cannot. Hello, reality. A comment that without a good conscience is outright ill-minded. The relentless contempt against the high-end audiophiles by the lower end audiophiles is crazy, do you have to? Audiophiles couldn't agree upon sound is nothing new, controversy is a way of life more so in the audio community. Nothing good to say, stuff food in your mouth. 

For a long time, consumerism has taught us that high prices correlate directly to high quality. We have grown to accept it as a norm. Apart from luxurious brands, rarity, the difficulty of production, the use of exotic materials also drives the prices up, not something made up that take you for a ride. Merit is the way to go. The ever steep pricing of modern high-end equipment keeps audiophiles complaining, anyway, since when do audiophiles cease complaining? High price or low price, they complain, it's a habit. I have seen a person who complains just about everything, he would have wished that he wasn't brought to the world. I foresee audioing will soon be a luxurious passion in several years to come given the dying of the middle class. This partly explains the booming of the pre-owned equipment market. The other reason, kiam siap (unwilling to pay). If new equipment is priced out of your reach, it wasn't meant for you, the end of the story. Wait, grab them in a few years time in the pre-owned equipment market. Timing is an issue, mental is another, the devil in you couldn't resist too good a deal to pass up that derails your course of system building, eventually.

There are many ways to skin a cat. One does very little with his system set up or overdo. The devil is in the detail, I do a little too much for the anticipated butterfly effect. Continuous optimization is the key to good sound, how little wrong you commit, tireless adjustments and corrections, many good things you have going on or in any other combination that brings about the sound quality. It's the journey, not the destination, man. A progressive upgrade deepens your knowledge. To take a shot at the top at a go? You might not even be sure of what you what. Audio accessories like isolation cones, plinth and rack are bell and whistle? I don't see the point of the heated scientific against empirical evidence discussion, empirical evidence is good enough for me. Scientific measurements cost money, do you prepared to pay? A consistent repeated result on every single application is the fundamental of science.

Mistakes are inevitable, don't let that be the reason that makes you give up. Be open-minded. Mistakes promote improvements, taking you to places. A big part of mistakes comes from making hypothetical assumptions because we think we are smart and in fact, we are lazy. A high-end system owner, a better audiophile? A techie, a better audiophile? An audio dealer, a better audiophile? A reviewer, a better audiophile? A noisy audiophile, a better audiophile? I wouldn't bet on them. Stop assuming, go listen to his system and take it from there.

Audio is a personal endeavour, a personal fulfilment, a personal statement. You do your audio thing, set your personal tone, mind your own business, cherish different sounds. Sound is the last word in audio, technology is the way to get there. Going into topology, components and the circuitry layout, this is the art of voicing by carefully selecting components through relentless listening. Though the components are measured by the voltage, microfarad and operating temperature, each of them sounds different on its account. They impart a sound of their own, thing becomes more complicated when a different mix of components adds up under the hood. Don't judge a book by its cover. On the other hand, it makes perfect sense that the manufacturer streamlines and narrow the number of inventory while on the opposing end, the artisan uses a variety of components to voice his sound. Some take pride in their products, take things further by making their own components, audiophiles appreciate this.

Form follows function is the design gold standard, this is very true with speaker building. You want a tube sound, accept its downsides, go tubes, do not let its downsides deter you from it. If solid-state is your thing, go all the way. A design that mimics either character will end up neither here nor there. It's my belief that every audiophile to develop his own unique brand of sound, bear in mind that there's no perfect system, period. Each system has its pronounced strength and weaknesses, you focus on further invigorating your strength to stamp your system's uniqueness. Let's say vocal is your forte, an achievement if your fellow audiophiles regard your vocal playback as a system to beat. Dynamic, transparency, silkiness, soundstage, bass and likewise, these are some of the areas your system can stamp your system. Moving on, your system can also be instrument centric. Be it piano reproduction, drums, sax, chorale and et cetera, any system capable of one of these will shine. Less is more. 

Tone-colour as defined by Oxford is the property that distinguishes the sound of a continuous tone played on two different musical instruments or sung by two different voices at the same pitch and intensity should not be the subject of judgement. Look, the man likes what he likes, our opinions have no bearing on his preference. It's him, his money spent who will live with his system, not you. Please don't play God, the master of the universe, you're not. Tonality is the commonly accepted point of reference. The sound of a poorly and well-designed driver illustrates my point. In this regard, high price offerings always trounce low price offerings. Thankfully there's a consensus about good sound (tonality and timbre) that most mature audiophiles could agree upon. I couldn't stress audio maturity enough. 

Media today is a powerful instrument than ever in the cyberage we are in. Young adults absorb everything the media published without scrutiny is worrying, they continue on with their sharing on social media like wildfire. Media with an implicit vested interest or agenda, lending itself a mouthpiece or propaganda for a certain individual or party often time is heavily biased. We must all guard ourselves against bad media, repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth. Journalism etiquette is pretty much thrown out of the window, we are now left with only a handful of credible media. Boring headlines will not attract eyeballs what more the world today is about readership and followers, the hardworking newsmen and the social influentials are rewarded for their readership and followers. Readers must exercise their due diligence to avoid being a victim of bad media.

It's always a great learning opportunity to visit an audiophile, I give those do little systems a pass. Naturally, an audiophile's approach to sound derives from his past experiences and the influences of fellow audiophiles. We regard an individual as an expert for his in-depth insights into a field of study that we could learn a thing or two from him. The equipment guy will resort to equipment upgrade as the primary remediation, the cable guy with his cable deployment, the speaker positioning guy with speaker repositioning, while the acoustics guy, does everything. Naturally, the more exposed he gets, the more complete an audiophile.

YL Audio

Big sound, the enormous lateral and depth of sound-field is a real treat courtesy by a big system in a big room. Nope, can't deliver big sound without either of the two. Intuitively, James' system takes me away. By the way, I was listening to the demanding Carmina Burana not many systems can pull off if you want to know. Holographic and effortlessness were my immediate impression, I'm happy for him for he has come so far. Without dedication and resources, it will not be possible. Five years the least gets him to where he is today. 

Talking about the next big thing, this guy has gotten two. His red-hot Kronos Discovery and Echole Infinity after some time of break-ins have finally shown their true worth this time. I've been listening to this system in and out a couple times but didn't have the urge to post until now. What's a transformation! Wow! This is a real man system. A new dawn has come. Long story short, the tonality is more flesh out, denser, more substance and with more authority this time by a significant margin. Incredibly, the sonic voids in his room have mostly vanished, the sound fills up the room thoroughly. To elaborate, some systems can sound loud but never really fill the room, with noticeable sonic voids, let alone an enveloping effect with hardly anything behind the seat, the gradual fading. His timbre has largely remained identical with the micro-level detail retrieval moved up a few notches, so was his palpability. Thereness. It's a calculated risk for him to upgrade his system by moving up to the top echelon of the product line up within the brands. 

24 Nov 2018

Together (Kronos, Absolare and Echole) as a package, the sound that evening was penetrating, far-reaching (if you have experienced the power of live soprano to know what I'm talking about, we have listened to the sensational Carmina Burana live by Petronas Philharmonic Orchestra downtown, the best ever chorale from PPO in my opinion) and yet with ease, an impossible feat I never thought attainable. I just don't know how one could resist the mighty Kronos Discovery if he's an avid turntable guy. Kronos Discovery has taken up the shortcomings and improved upon Kronos Pro, it's the turntable to beat. All basis of turntable designs focuses on the cartridge to pick up only the mechanical vibrations from the vinyl groove. A dedicated rack is Kronos's answer to the challenge, going a great distance to minimize the unwanted vibes from top to toe. Vibration is energy, you cannot kill energy. This doesn't require a scientist to figure things out while others opt for mass to reduce vibration. In addition, the attribution of SPCS shouldn't be disregarded, I sensed more drive in the music, drive makes music exciting. What we have here is a turntable, phono stage and racking in a single package, making life easy leaving the analogue front end to Kronos with only amplification and speaker for you to have a crack on.

The flagship Echole Infinity banking on the proprietary metallurgy of silver, gold and palladium in a greater diameter opens yet another galactic dimension of sound. Never sounds harsh and forceful, it was gentle with the music. James has an almost full Echole Infinity loom, this guy's passion is unparalleled. From Omnia, LE to Infinity, I heard his cable progression and never ceased to amaze how far we could push the sound boundary. It's mind-blowing, so with the hefty cost of ownership. I perceived an escalating resolution and fidelity with every step up in the cable lineup. The conductor is the lifeline of a system I know many are saving some bucks here. Get rid of the bottlenecks, not create a bigger one. Get an Echole cable loan, just one cable in your system, you will know what I mean. Neutrality is non-existent, Echole is not neutral so does any other offerings in the market. Its tone colour tilts ever so slightly to the yang side but the silky highs and ethereality, not bright, brittle or glassy, not anything like a chill wind blows at your neck with low-quality silver cables. Enough said. This system stands out with big music. Oh man, turn off the lights, with only the glow of the tubes as ambient light, put the needle in the groove, let my hair down, turn off my analytical mind, what a great way to spend an evening away. I left his house with a stirred soul. 

That's it, folks. Till I write again if I will. Stay safe, Gold bless. Happy new year, may this year be a good year for you.