May 30, 2012

Arabesque, Caecilie Norby.

Caecilie Norby is an established jazz soloist in Europe, and particularly celebrated in her home land, Denmark. She has a rather deep, whisky soaked, raspy voice tone, which blends nicely to this dark feeling album.

I personally find this album a fit for those with unique or adventurous musical taste. It's a potpourri of jazz vocal style sung on classical tunes, yet contain the sparseness of arrangement technique that can only be pulled off by Scandinavian producer, Lars Danielsson. Now if Lars seems like a familiar name, think Voyage by Youn Son Nah reviewed in this blog on 16 September 2010 released by the same Record Label ACT.

The album starts with a distinctive piano solo, interspersed with a double bass backing while Caecilie sings about The Dead Princess. This is a rather sad song, as it's title suggest. Another unique song that caught my attention is titled No Air(track 3). Here we have a vocal filling lyrics that takes after the classical Nocturne tune. The mood is at once dark and some what quirky, yet so very artsie in a rather sparse and quiet arrangement, a unique Lars Danielsson signature touch.

Track 8, Pavane Opus 50 is yet another interesting vocalized take on the on a familiar piano tune, only this time adopted from a jazz standard by Faure Pavane.  Hvirvelvinden(track 12) is yet another creative vocal take on an age old tune. Again the mood is sombre at best, not that I understood any word of the song. Track 14 titled Nocturne is not quite what it seems, as it's instrumental, mostly solo piano accompanied by a flugel horn.

It's hard to describe the songs here, unless one hears it for one self then it all makes sense, what I am trying to write about here, the artistic values that is. Thankfully, the recording quality of this album is much easier to describe in a word, it's excellent, as one would expect from an Scandinavian audiophile label, ACT. My sound description here is based on my downloaded 24/96 hi-rez FLAC file, played back via my Bryston BDP/BDA-1 combo.

Here's a uniquely executed concept album for those who wishes to explore the outer limits of their musical appetite.  

May 28, 2012

PMC Launches Twenty.C Speaker.

Andy posing with the Twenty C center channel speaker, in piano gloss black finish.

PMC loudspeakers UK have launched the Twenty series matching center channel, aptly named Twenty C. Andy Duffield, one of the hardest working marketing guy in the business, was at the AV Designs showroom elaborate on the finer details of the Twenty series speakers and the official unveiling of the Twenty C in the Malaysian market.

The event was duly followed by an AV and music demo of the Twenty series speakers in multi channel surround mode. Needless to say, the speech intelligibility is superb for such a small and discreet center channel.
A closer look at the Twenty C.

Andy also mentions that there are signs that the Twenty series is starting to out sell the classic i series speakers, due to it's modest step up cost and huge performance advantage. The Twenty series will eventually include a matching sub woofer design, in the not too distant future, to complete the AV configurable of the range. Full AV demo of the Twenty series is now being hosted at AV Designs.

PMC Loudspeakers is sold by AV Designs, contact James or Tony at 03-21712828.

May 26, 2012

Eight Methods of Loudspeaker Positioning

 I came across this very useful article on loudspeaker positioning from Audio Art, Taiwan’s leading hifi magazine. The original article is in Chinese and can be found via this link http://audioart.audionet.com.tw/space/8.htm. To share this article with you, the following is my translation attempt.




“Before we get into the ‘Eight Methods of Loudspeaker Positioning’, let's introduce an important concept, that is that ‘the loudspeakers and the listening space is One’. Sound performance is the product of interaction between the loudspeakers and the listening space. No matter how bad your listening space is, you should be able to ‘find a pair of loudspeakers that are more suitable for that space’, or ‘use a positioning method that is more suitable for that space’ in order to achieve the best result.

How to ‘find a pair of loudspeakers that are more suitable for that space’? This is not the main topic of this article. However, you can follow a few principles – “do not use big loudspeakers in a small room’, ‘do not use small loudspeakers in a big room’, ‘a room with a ‘soft’ acoustic, such as one constructed with lots of wood, should be matched with big loudspeakers’, ‘a room with ‘hard’ acoustic properties should be matched with loudspeakers that have a softer tone’. Add to these the general knowledge that ‘a room that is more fully stuffed with things will possibly sound better; a room that is emptier will possibly sound worse’. If you follow these principles, the sound quality you can achieve even if not perfect should not fall far short.


 

Once you achieve an acceptable sound quality, then you have to do loudspeaker positioning. Try the various methods to find one that is most suitable for your system.

1.    The 317 Ratio Method

Divide the length of the room by 3. Position the loudspeaker at 1/3 length of the room, the space between the loudspeakers is 0.7 X 2/3 room length.

The loudspeakers should be slightly toed in, but no toe-in is acceptable too. The listening position must be away from wall behind the listener.

This method is suitable for rooms that are bigger and better proportioned (e.g., 1:1.25:1.6 or 1:1.6:2.5). A balanced sound with a wide and deep soundstage can be achieved. This is the method most commonly recommended by Audio Art to our readers.

2.    The 331 Ratio Method

Divide the length and width of the room by 3. The loudspeakers are positioned at the intersection points of 1/3 room length and 1/3 room width.

The loudspeakers can be slightly toed in, but no toe-in is acceptable too. The listening position must be away from wall behind the listener.

This method is suitable for rooms that are bigger and better proportioned. Its essence is similar to the 317 Ratio Method, the only difference is that the space between the loudspeakers are narrower. You can also achieve a balanced sound with a wide and deep soundstage with this method. This is the preferred method of the chief editor of TAS.


3.    The Screw Hole Method

Position the loudspeakers at a spot between 1/3 room length and 1/2 room length. The loudspeakers should be placed very close to the side walls (unless the room is very wide). Toe in the loudspeakers by more than 45 degrees. The listening position is between 0.5m to 1m behind the intersection point of the loudspeakers’ projection path.

This method is used to cure the problem of sharp highs, thin mids and insufficient lows. It can give excellent results in a lot of bad listening environment. This is Audio Art’s recommendation for the challenging listening space commonly encountered in Taiwan.

4.    The Equilateral Triangle Method

The first condition is that the loudspeakers must be placed away from the wall behind them (at least 1m away) and away from the side walls (at least 0.5m). The second condition is that the 2 loudspeakers and the listening position form the points of an equilateral triangle. The third condition is that the loudspeakers are to be toed in by 45 degrees or more. The fourth condition is that the size of this equilateral triangle is set according to the room and the system. In a small room, or with a low-wattage amplifier then the triangle should be smaller; in a big room, or with a high power amplifier then the triangle should be bigger.

This is what is commonly known as near field listening. Its benefit is the reduction of the effect of the reflections from the walls on the direct sound, so that more precise imaging and a wide and deep soundstage can be achieved. This is the method to let you hear the most direct, the clearest and the highest amount of recorded details. A lot of reviewers prefer this method. This is also the preferred method of the designer of Venture Loudspeakers.


5.    The Long Wall Positioning Method

The loudspeakers are placed along the long wall of the room, which is the opposite of the norm. The rest of the method follows the Equilateral Triangle method. The listening position must be away from the back wall, minimum 1m distance.

With this method, the amount of midrange and bass energy will be boosted, soundstage depth will be reduced. If you are unsuccessful with methods 1 to 4, then you can experiment with this.

6.    The Rhombus Method

The use of this method is limited to square rooms only. View the square space as a rhombus. The loudspeakers are placed along the walls that form 2 sides of the rhombus. The tips of the rhombus - behind the loudspeakers and behind the listening positioning, must be acoustically treated with round diffusers. The loudspeakers should not be placed too close to the walls.

This method is used specifically to cure excessive standing wave in the bass region. If you don’t want to use this method in a square room then move a lot of furniture into the room to tame the standing waves.

7.    The Near Wall Positioning Method

This is the oldest method. Place the loudspeakers close to their back wall, the distance can be 20, 30, 50 cm, you can adjust according to your preference. Usually the loudspeakers do not need toe in.

Use this method when the highs are too sharp and the mids and lows are too thin. This method will add body to the mids and lows to achieve a better balance. The soundstage depth and width will be reduced, but compared to bad sound quality, sacrificing soundstaging to get a better sound is the correct way.

8.    The Bookshelf Method

The 7 preceding methods are for floorstanders or loudspeakers placed on stands. This 8th method is for bookshelf loudspeakers used without stands. Usually, the loudspeakers will be placed on top of a cupboard or inside a bookshelf.

If the loudspeaker is on top of a cupboard, use a marble or granite slab as base, and use cones between the loudspeakers and the slab. In addition, place a bag of metal beads or a heavy metal piece on top of the loudspeaker to damp the vibration further.

If the loudspeaker is placed in a bookshelf, then make sure its top, bottom, left and right are stuffed with books (a thick magazine like the Audio Art is very useful here), make sure that the books are tightly packed, there must not be any loose space. Cones are not necessary.

You will get a sound that is solid and comes with good body. The highs will not be too sharp. The emphasis here is on getting a good tonal quality, soundstaging is secondary.


Things to take note of: These 8 methods are those most commonly used. Usually there is one most suitable for your situation. However, there are 2 things still to be emphasized. 1: “loudspeaker positioning is not rigid; it is also not absolutely necessary to employ very precise measurement.” If you cannot achieve good sound with these 8 methods, then by all means go ahead and devise your own ways. Loudspeaker positioning is infinite. 2: “once you have found the right spot, the right method, the loudspeakers’ performance will be very sensitive to minute differences’. This is the time to do minor adjustments to get the best out of it.

The final emphasis: When positioning loudspeakers, the first principle to keep in mind is that there will be one position and one method in every room that will allow the loudspeakers to be most synergistic with the room. Finding this spot for the best synergy is what we seek for our loudspeaker position."

May 24, 2012

The Chamber Wind Project, Live At KLPAC!



Dear music lovers,

klpac and Birdian Saxophone Quartet present The Chamber Wind Project. Sit
back and enjoy this unique and wonderful musical journey by our local
wind ensembles, as they bring you a feast of wind music from Baroque to
Contemporary, music that is sure to fascinate you!

Featuring High Winds Ensemble, Zephyr Flute Ensemble, Trio D’Anches Kuala Lumpur.

Presenter: klpac & Birdian Saxophone Quartet
Genre: Concert
Date/Time: 30th & 31st May 2012 (Wednesday & Thursday)
Venue: Pentas 2, The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre
Tickets: Price: RM 45 (adult), RM 35 ( TAS Cardholders, Students, Disabled)

For more information, please visit http://www.klpac.org/?p=6586

Call / Walk in:
klpac @ Sentul Park (03-4047 9000)
TAS @ Lot 10 (03-2142 2009 / 2143 2009)

Walk in only:
Ilasso Tickets (03-7957 6088)
A606 Block A,
Phileo Damansara II, PJ

Please support Our Local Ensembles!

This is a service anouncement only.

May 21, 2012

De-Luxury!

This system not only sounds "noble" but more likely aristocratic too!

During our recent Seremban foray, we listened to a few high end systems, but this particular one just took my breath away and redefined what deluxe(is this what some other blogger call NOBLE?) sound is like. It wasn't the most expensive system of the day, nor it was the most ambitious, but it sounds so musically luxurious, not to mention classy, I just had to share my experience. Hence the title for this posting De-Luxury!

This system is also about what is achieve able when one puts his complete trust with his hifi dealer. I am sure by now, most keen eyed readers won't need me to tell you that this is a complete system put together by CMY Audio & Visual.  The system owner is Mr T(I can tell you he doesn't spot a Mohawk hair do!), who over the past 2 years have been consulting with Steve and Richard from CMY Audio & Visual about charting his hifi and musical journey. Just in case you're wondering, what musical journey? I tell you because CMY Audio & Visual not only supplied the hardware, they also supplied Mr T most of his music software too!
The ProAc Response D38 is not a small speaker, and just fits tightly in to this dedicated listening room. 

The back view of the ProAc Response D38 reveals the Siltech 770L Classic 25th Anniversary speaker cable(bi-wire version) in use. Combine this with the 770i interconnect from the same series and it becomes understand able, why this system sounds so polished and classy.

Coming back to the system, what can simpler than a single CD player for source, feeding a pre/power amp combo to drive a pair of speakers? That's actually the beauty of this system, it's an epitome of less is more. However, Mr T makes sure all his hardware are top notch equipment from the finest stables. A Wadia 381i CD player serves as source feeding signal to a Jeff Rowland Capri pre amp and a Model 625 power amp, JRDG's latest thinking on power. A pair of ProAc Response D38 loud speakers complete the big picture. All equipment are placed on an acrylic rack, with nearly all Siltech Classic 25th Anniversary 770 series interconnects and speaker cables taking care of the delicate audio signal routing. Mr T has a pair of Richard Gray's RGPC 400 Pro doing PLC duties and a mixture of top grade Siltech and Harmonix power cords transmitting cleaned power.

The system is set up in a dedicated, non acoustically treated listening room measuring 14 x 21ft. About the only thing that could be considered anything near acoustic treatment is that curtain running across, covering the whole sound stage wall. The simplicity theme continues in the tweak area with only the use of Symposium Rollerblocks(3 per equipment) and Ultra platform to isolate the pre amp and CD player from the hifi rack.

The system is set up is clean & tidy, with minimal thrills and accessories. Top shelf is JRDG Capri pre amp, mid shelf is Wadia 381i CD player and bottom shelf is JRDG Model 625 power amp.

The back view reveals it all.

A pair of RGPC 400 Pro for parallel power delivery to the system. 

The sound of this system is thoroughly modern. It's crystalline clarity quality, highlights detailed harmonic textures & timbre and linear dynamic shading. The highs belong to the classy category of "Noble" sound, which is smoothly super extended and liquid. The ring of cymbals and the triangle becomes highly addictive, once experienced. However, that doesn't mean this system is all highs and nothing else! The mids are slightly coloured in the ever so vocal centric British fashion, which is no bad thing in it self. The bass doesn't particularly dive to the lowest octaves like the big bad ass American speakers, but the ProAc Response D38s are a supremely tight fit with the room, acoustically speaking of course. There's no trace of boominess, boxiness or over whelming bass characteristics. Whatever bass that is available just sounded natural and tuneful. Top to bottom octave coherence is about as good as can be for a system of this stature. It's as if this system has gone to finishing school for audio etiquette.

The walk thru sound staging is another impressive area of performance for this system. The imaging is big boned, with the backing musical instruments scattered all around behind it. This system not only ticks all the right audiophile check boxes, but also sounds musically right and enjoy able too. 
A closer look at the JRDG Capri, sitting on top of the Symposium Rollerblock and Ultra platform for total isolation from the hifi rack. The JRDG Capri will soon make way for the Corus!

One particular area that Mr T is considering when improving his system next, is the pre amp. He has his eyes set on the outstanding Jeff Rowland Corus, bigger brother of the Capri. I know where he's coming from, after all I've personally experienced both pre amps before in my own system. The Capri certainly punches way above it's weight, in terms of sound quality vs price value ratio. It certainly did not embarrassed it self in the company of this system, even if it's the cheapest component here. However, I do agree with Mr T's assessment that by replacing the Capri with the Corus, the whole system's audio performance would be further lifted, from it's already fine form. I am not sure when, but I do hope the next time I visit again, the JRDG Corus would've already being part of the system, and I just, somehow know, that it's gonna be awesome!

Congrats to Mr T for setting up such a fine sounding system, and thank you for allowing me to share your joy with our readers.

May 17, 2012

Sorry! No Sales Here.

SORRY! We DO NOT practice shopping therapy here.

We've been getting a lot of e-mails lately, asking if we could supply quotations for hifi products and shipping rates, or if we do stock brand XYZ cables? We also get request if we'd commercially be interested to distribute audio equipments?  I just wish to remind our dear readers with this post that we are a non commercial site, as such we will not respond to such request, because there are just too many to do so. We do accept paid advertisement panels from supportive dealers however, on the strict condition that we retain our editorial integrity.

Should you wanna buy any hifi equipment or related items, kindly contact the respective dealers whose website links, and contacts are listed on their advertisement panels on this site. There are also various local and international "HiFi For Sale" sites that caters to your shopping needs.

We only aim to share our passionate opinion for great sound and excellent music via this site.

Thanks for your support and kind understanding.

May 13, 2012

Back to Basics


I think there is no better music to an audiophile dad’s ear than to hear his children ask, “Can I have a hifi set in my room? I want to listen to some music.” That was what happened to me a few weeks ago. My teenage son threw me that very question. I, of course, very gladly obliged.

Not wanting to get overboard with his first system, I decided to use whatever was lying around and add the missing others at the entry level.

The loudspeaker part was easy. I still keep my first ever pair of hifi loudspeakers with me. They are the Signet SL260B/U, given to me by my father. So it is definitely fitting to pass them on to the next generation. Signet was quite a rage here when they first came onto the hifi scene 20 years ago. Their good sound quality helped, their excellent value helped (a pair of SL260B/U went for around RM1,500), but I am sure they also had a big boost from the many endorsements given by The Star’s Audiofile reviewers. The brand has gone out of business, but the product endures. I took the pair of Signets out of their wrappings, dusted them down a little, pressed them into service and immediately there was music. In fact, they are performing quite admirably still twenty years on, more on this later.


For the frontend and amplifier I had to source something new. I went cheapskate with the frontend. Instead of a proper CD player, I decided to use a cheap Pioneer DV-3022KV DVD player that was originally intended for our second TV. Not knowing how my son’s music interest would turn out, whether he’d go the iPod, CAS, or the old school CD way, I decided to skimp on the expense for the time being. For an outlay of around RM200 for the Pioneer I am not going to complain. But this is definitely an area with potential upgradeability.

It then crossed my mind that Hi-Way Laser was having a clearance sale. Paying Kenny a visit, he suggested either an entry level Marantz or a NAD for the amplifier. I had some good experience in the past listening to these 2 companies’ products. One can’t make a mistake with either. I settled on a NAD C315BEE integrated amplifier (RM1,280 clearance price) eventually. I gathered from some googling that the NAD C315BEE was supposed to be the replacement for NAD’s legendary 3020 integrated amplifier, that is as good a place to start as any for a budding audiophile.


The Pioneer and the NAD both came with captive powercords, so nothing further was needed there. For loudspeaker cables, I used some old Oehlbach, which I bought during the same era as the Signet. The interconnects are the only audiophile ‘luxury’ in this system, they are a pair of vdH The First from my unused cable ‘collection’. So here I have a situation where the cables are more expensive than the components they are connected to, a situation I would not normally endorse if one needs to fork out money to procure the cables.

The system was put together thus and the whole shebang was placed on a rather sturdy Ikea bookshelf in my son’s bedroom. A few hours of run-in was done for the system, in account that the NAD just got out of its box.

What I heard after this was rather impressive for such a low outlay. Firstly, this humble little system does the first few fundamental things right by my book – the high is not bright, it is also not harsh; the low is not boomy nor is it too fat, it has rather good speed and keeps excellent rhythm; the mid is not the thin and reedy type, instead it has rather good body and sounding organic. Secondly, the room with all its furnishings does not induce echo or cause the sound to become noisy, too busy or confused, like an empty room would. Thirdly, the sound is coherent, even with some overcooked pop recordings. It is surprisingly musical, I could and was even attracted to listen on and on, and that was with a teenager’s typical music diet, which in this case consists mostly of pop recordings from the likes of Maroon 5, One Direction, Grayson Chance, Owl City, Adele etc...

The NAD is a gutsy little integrated amplifier. It shows excellent control and very good dynamic and loudness capability, though it is just rated at 40w per channel, with 90w available under dynamic condition. Many times we did not realize how loud the music actually was, until we discovered that we had to raise our voice in order to talk to each other. The sound remained clean, clear and musical at humanly acceptable loudness level, confirming that the pairing of NAD and Signet went pretty well. I'd think the NAD C315BEE would also match well with other entry level British loudspeakers at the RM1-2k range such as offerings from Q Acoustics, KEF, Mission and others.

Of course, I am not saying that this little system can rival a highend system. For examples, it does not extend as far out at both ends of the frequency spectrum; there is a little bit of dryness to the sound; it also does not have the silky smoothness of a highend system. Looking at the photo, the audiophile in us will immediately say that the positioning of the loudspeakers is also all wrong. Indeed, there is no soundstaging to be spoken of. The music sounds a bit constricted if I adopt the audiophile practice of sitting a few feet away and listening at the middle axis between the loudspeakers.

However, not wearing my audiophile hat, I was actually quite enjoying this new musical experience, with new music and new artists (these 'new's are to me, of course).  The listening could be done by sitting at the study table at the side of the room, lying down on the bed or sitting on the floor. The sound quality and the balance are kept well enough for pretty good music enjoyment. This is what I am pleasantly surprised with.


A few things can definitely be improved on - spread the loudspeakers further apart and place them on stands, separate the components instead of stacking them, upgrade the frontend. Well, that is work for the future.

For now, it is music time. Since the day the system was put together, I heard music coming out of my son’s room every day.

And that is music to my ears too.

May 10, 2012

Maxx Audio Visual In Seremban.

KL hifi gang bangers making their way in to Maxx Audio Visual. See if you can spot the identities these guys?

Maxx Audio Visual showroom is located at 66, Jalan Toman 4, Kemayan Square, Seremban town, about an hour's drive from south of Kuala Lumpur. A few KL hifi gang bangers were making a day trip to Seremban to meet up with like minded enthusiast, and sample their audio systems, plus tuck in some of those famous original Seremban Siew Pau!

First stop along the way, we stop by Maxx Audio Visual and share with you, pictures of their showroom.
Maxx Audio Visual main foyer is mostly dedicated to Triangle loudspeakers and Exposure electronics. Seen here on demo are the latest Triangle color, with matching stands.

More Triangle, Genesis Trio speakers with their dedicated designed stands.

Thriangle Espirit series loudspeakers, and some pre-owned hifi selections.

Cables galore, XLO, Kimber and MIT.

Maxx Audio Visual is the authorised Triangle distributor in Malaysia.

This is the high end AV demo room,

A closer look at some of the AV components that make this room tick.

Triangle Magellan Cello(left), standing proud next to Genese Quartet, which is a bargain speaker for it's size! Interested? Call Maxx Loh to find out.

A Krell 250W stereo power amp driving either pair of Triangle floor standers.

SVS PB13-Ultra flagship sub woofer. Hear to believe the mind blowing experience!

This SVS is the biggest, baddest...ass sub woofer I've heard. It's got the power to not only shake the room, floor or sofa, but also one's pair of guli-es(balls). During the AV demo, I felt all that with my trouser's bottom flapping too!

After the totally out of this world AV demo experience, with our guli-es shaken, not stirred, we headed for those famous Seremban Siew Paus.

You can contact Maxx Audio Visual by calling Benjamin or Maxx Loh at 06 7620811 or 017 6778820. And lastly, don't worry, they are really friendly chaps!

May 6, 2012

Audio Image Is Now House Of Burmester.

This is the latest state of the art Burmester 100 flagship phono pre amp, a.k.a. phono stage. It even has it's own built in ADC(Analog to Digital Converter) for those who wish to digitally archive their treasured LP collection.  It is just one of the Burmester equipment on demo in Audio Image.

Audio Image has been officially appointed the Malaysian representative for Burmester Audio Systems, the well respected high end German marque. Adrian, the boss of Audio Image has almost the full range, from the new Rondo replacement budget series to state of the art Reference series of Burmester hifi equipment on demo in his Petaling Jaya showroom.

While at Audio Image, do check out the pair of Magico Q3 speakers on demo with Burmester Reference range electronics.

Demo is by appointment basis only, contact call Adrian of Audio Image at 03-79563077.

May 3, 2012

Executive Tweak! Enacom AC Noise Eliminator Limited Edition.

The new Limited Edition executive tweak, for AC Noise Elimination, by Enacom.

The last time I tried on the Enacom AC Noise Eliminator(see Odiosleuth's review dated 08 July 2010 and my over view dated 26 September 2010), I ended up buying the review sample and still enjoying it's wonderful, if less than subtle effects in my system today. When I got a call from MK Lai of Nova Hifi, asking if I am keen to try out the just arrived Limited Edition? And why not!

The Limited Edition is a further refinement of the concept with the use of high grade Harmonix power cord, and audiophile grade Wattgate US style plug, as pictured above.
My original version Enacom AC Noise Eliminator, with standard 2 pin plug and thin diameter power cord. Still in use for this comparison.

The new version Limited Edition come with audiophile grade Wattgate US Nema style plug connected to the Enacom tweak via thick black, and stiff Harmonix power cord.  It's so stiff the Enacom can do the "Negara Ku!" Ha! Ha!

What ever sonic observations I note in this review is basically comparing between the basic version, of which I already use and the Limited Edition executive tweak! The new premium version sounds even more silent in the musical back grounds, over the already dark original. The main difference I immediately heard was the tightening of the imaging outlines. While the original version had a rather organic presentation of the imaging outlines, the executive tweak highlights the outlines in a more striking manner. It's not unlike using a pencil to draw around an object we wish to highlight from a piece of art paper back ground, back in our junior art classes!

That very sonic property alone makes for more stable imaging across the sound stage, in the right system. I however suspect that in another system that is already strong on this aspect, adding the Enacom AC Noise Eliminator Limited Edition, priced at RM$950/pc, may prove to be too much of a good thing, which in this case, the regular Joe version may be a better option, value proposition aside. As with all tweaks, try before you buy is well advised.
The packaging of the Limited Edition looks standard though!

Enacom products is sold by Nova Hifi, contact MK Lai at 019-2226129.