1. Spotify for my Hi-Fi / 2. SMPS vs Battery

1. Spotify for my Hi-Fi

My family has subscribed to Spotify Premium for a while. The kids love it for its convenience, huge selection, and user friendliness. For me, as Spotify does not offer CD-quality or hi-res music, I have been using it to check out new music or for casual listening on my handphone. 

But, I have this nagging feeling, I was itching to know how Spotify's lossy music files would sound on my Hi-Fi rig (Spotify uses the Ogg Vorbis codec, which is similar to MP3). I know they won't sound close to CD/SACD quality, but if they sounded just ok I'd have even more music to play. 

I decided to experiment. Not sure of the outcome, I resolved to keep things simple, keep the cost down and make use of what I already have. 

I already have a DAC. My TAD-D600 CD//SACD player comes with digital inputs, and I know the quality of its DAC section is formidable. The digital inputs are AES/EBU (XLR) and S/PDIF (coaxial only, no optical). They accept up to 24bit/196kHz. Spotify's bitrate is not even close, so no problem there (gentle reminder to Spotify Premium subscribers - set "music quality" in your Settings to "Very high", that will give you the highest bitrate of 320kb/s). 

Next was how to get the bits into the TAD-D600. I wanted a simple and low cost option. I thought the most straightforward solution was to go through the Bluetooth route, where I could stream the signal wirelessly from my handphone or my notebook PC. Bluetooth's transmission protocol can handle Spotify's 320kb/s bitrate without loss (sure, there are many other higher quality solution than Bluetooth that I could explore of course, that will be for another time).

So, my requirement was to get a Bluetooth receiver sans DAC that would output at least a S/PDIF signal via a RCA jack. The obvious thing was to search online for it. It turned out that there are many choices for Bluetooth with S/PDIF optical output, but one with RCA was not so common. I found one eventually for slightly over RM100 (~USD25) from where else but China. 

The no-name Bluetooth receiver with digital out

The Bluetooth receiver takes a 5v DC power input via a mini USB jack, so any phone charger would suffice. I used one from my iPad. 

For the digital cable I dug up my old van den Hul The First interconnect cable that also doubled up quite well as a digital cable. 

I didn't have a high expectation of the sound quality. I just wanted to be able to listen to music, to explore, via my Hi-Fi rig. With the bar set low, the results surprised me actually. I could not only listen to music but actually enjoy it a lot too. 

The Bluetooth feed going into the coaxial digital input of the TAD-D600 player

From the audiophile's point of view, I can say these from my listening experience with Spotify played via a HiFi rig:

- The sound is relatively warm - so most of the time it is a nice and comfortable listen. Just put on one's music-enjoyment mode and put the sound-analysis mode behind. That is to put it positively. To be more critical, the sound is rolled off at the top though not to the point of making the music sound dark, the lower mid and the bass region is also somewhat blurry and lacking resolution (thus the perception of  warmness in the music). 

- Playing simpler and quieter music is very acceptable and quite enjoyable (folk, vocal accompanied with a few instruments, small ensembles). Not quite so with complex music (such as big symphonies, dynamic sound tracks, or hard rock), and not when one wishes to push the volume higher. The sound would fall apart, getting somewhat disorganized, and rough around the edges when faced with these challenges. It is like there aren't enough "bits" to go around to construct the music.

- Dynamic range and transient attack is somewhat compressed compared to what I am used to from CDs. This is not an entirely bad thing, simpler music would do more than fine, sounding sweet and relaxed.

- There is soundstage and imaging, though on a smaller scale and less sharply done than with CDs, but it is there. Separation and layering are quite acceptable too.  

Here are a few clips of my system playing streams from Spotify. The video recordings were done on an iPhone SE 2020, handheld (so pardon the not-so-stable video), no other equipment was used.

1. Anne-Sophie Mutter and John Williams - "Rey's Theme - From "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" - from the album "Across The Stars". Track 1

2. Mendeleyev, a "The Voice" contestant, doing a cover version of Bob Dylan's "Girl from The North Country"

3. Regina Spektor - "The Call". 

If not for my daughter's Spotify playlist, I would not have discovered this song - this thing is really letting me discover new music already. 

Streaming Spotify is not going to replace my main CD music diet, that is for sure. Some say 320kbit/s is close enough or even similar to CD's sound quality, I respectfully disagree, it is just not so with my own experience, especially when listening at more realistic level. However Spotify has open up a great new dimension for music exploration. I have gone on to buy the CD version of albums that I heard and liked on Spotify. 

After a few days, just like any audiophile, I started to think what tweaks I could try, to see whether the sound quality could be improved upon. 

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2. SMPS vs Battery

I mentioned that I used an iPad charger to supply 5V DC to the Bluetooth receiver right? Just like any other phone charger it is of the SMPS (switch-mode power supply) type. We read a lot in the Hi-Fi press that an SMPS is noisy and an LPS (linear power supply) is better for sound quality anytime. 

But an LPS can be expensive, some go into the 4-figure region, which kinda violates the rule I set for myself - simple and cheap. So my mind turned to battery - don't we also read that battery power supply is quiet and good, even better than LPS in some applications? 

Initially I thought of using a handphone powerbank for this purpose. It worked, but the powerbank shut itself down automatically after a few minutes of use. I think its internal circuit sensed that it was not connected to a handphone that is being charged, though the Bluetooth receiver is actually drawing power from it. 

So I turned to online shopping again. I found a power supply originally meant for bicycle LED light. It takes 4 AA batteries and has a USB output, just the thing for the Bluetooth receiver. Cost? Less than RM20 (~USD5) shipped from China. 

I was a little surprised when I plugged the Bluetooth receiver into the battery power supply. The sound quality did improve, but it was not about the background noise or the sound becoming quieter, which was the effect I expected from battery vs SMPS. 

Rather, the rolled off highs took on a bit more extension and clarity, the lower mid and bass region gained a bit more definition. Dynamic and attack were better, and this opened up the sound further. The roughness and feeling of disorganization with complex music or when played loud was reduced. 

Not night and day differences, but not bad for such a low cost and simple option. 

Not sure how well you can hear these differences from a phone recording. Anyway, here goes, the same music as previously, with the preamp volume set at the same level as before.

4. Anne-Sophie Mutter and John Williams - "Rey's Theme - From "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" - from the album "Across The Stars". Track 1 - Recording 2 with battery power supply on the Bluetooth receiver

With the battery supply on the Bluetooth receiver, there is a bit more shimmering in the violin tone, and greater extension in the higher registers. The sound is a little more dynamic, it holds the listener's attention better. It is more exciting to listen to overall, pay attention to the points where the music shifts gear around 0:31, 1:38 and 2:05.

 

5. Mendeleyev, doing a cover version of Bob Dylan's "Girl from The North Country" - Recording 2 with battery power supply on the Bluetooth receiver 

The strumming on the guitar is more emphatic and has better attack. The guitar is also brought more in line with the vocal, whereas previously the guitar tone is relatively more subdued. Mendeleyev's vocal also shows more nuances. 

 

I am happy with these results and has been exploring new music, though the MP3 level sound quality is nowhere close to CD (but of course). We audiophiles do not know when to leave well enough alone, I started thinking again about what else to do to improve the sound quality from Spotify further. Well, that's for the next write-up. 

HOT NEWS! Frank AB-2 Tower Sub

Now, this is one that we Malaysian audiophiles can be very proud of.

Our very own Frank Voon, of the Frank Power Bank and Frank Ultra Bank fame, is at it again. He sent me some photos and recordings of his latest innovation in action. And my, I almost got knocked off my chair seeing his latest creation. It is big and it is innovative. It is called the Frank AB-2 Tower Sub, but it is not like any other conventional subwoofers that we are used to see. 

Do you use a pair of small speakers that you absolutely love (LS3/5A, ProAc Tablette, AE1, and small classic Sonus Fabers come to mind), that you are not willing to give up for anything else? Do you want to keep your speakers as they are, not to get a bigger version of them, but you just want to coax deeper bass and bigger scale from their presentation? Then Frankie's latest creation is the answer.

The Frank AB-2 Tower Sub allows you to incorporate your small speakers into it and, wollah, now your favourite speakers have grown, retaining all that are good about them and you get the extension that you want at the same time.

Each side of the Frank AB-2 has 3 sections and weighs a hefty 95kg. The top and bottom sections are the bass bins, each consisting of a 9" scanspeak woofer (so there are 2 woofers per side). The middle section allows you to slot in your own small speakers. Each tower comes with multiple crossovers for the user to calibrate each section's response. What's more, a supertweeter is installed at the back of each tower for a greater ambiance portrayal. 

Didn't I say that this is an innovative product? 

From the technical drawing above, you can see how the small speakers are incorporated into the mid-section of the tower 

The Frank AB-2 is passive, so you need to supply your own power amp, Frankie told me that 50w per side would do very nicely. 

The Frank AB-2 Tower Sub in action in a few early adopters' rigs:

Thanks to Frankie for sharing the photos and videos. Hope I can arrange an onsite listening session asap when the pandemic concern is over.

The Frank AB-2 Tower Sub can be had in any colour you like, it is custom made to order, expect a lead time of 35 days to take deliver. More info is available on Frank Acoustic's website :  http://frankacoustics.blogspot.com/2012/07/washington-audio-customer-testimonial.html?m=1

Contact: Frank Voon 012-2981011

V For Balanced Tonal Quality, Pioneer GR-555 Graphic Equalizer

Pioneer GR-555 Graphic Equalizer on top, bottom Canbridge Audio A120 4 channel power amp, bottom

There's a popular saying within audiophile circles, No highs, No Lows, Must be Bose! Since replacing my previous Bose 301 MKIII speakers with a pair of Bose 901 MKVI, my front channel sound field improved tremendously. I get more of that "theater feel" when watching movies. Absolutely a positive improvement in enjoyment. However it was when replaying concert BDs, I faced the very reality of the popular saying! Something had to be done!

As the original Bose 901 series came with an equalizer if bought new(mine was "terpakai" sans equalizer as the previous owner lost it), I had to get one. The choice was either to an original Bose 901 EQ from Ebay or just get any that comes along that fits.

I waited for months for a popular Japanese branded EQ to pop up on our local hifi classifieds, but no luck until this nifty little Pioneer EQ pop up on FB Market Place. I guess real audiophiles really don't give a shit about EQ after all!   

Concert BDs was an Achilles heel for my HT system, not anymore! Tsai Ching in concert as see here

The whole HT equipment stack!

 I picked up the Pioneer GR-555 Graphic Equalizer right away and went home to install in to my HT system for the front channel Bose 901 speakers only. The EQ connects between the Denon AVR-X 4400H receiver and the front channel of the Cambridge Audio A120 power amp. Luckily I had previously bought a pair of extra Monster THX-400 interconnect for moments like this! 

The Pioneer GR-555 EQ is very definitely product of 1990's design school. On the satin black finished front facia, it has 7 band up/down slider control for both L & R channel, giving custom EQ adjustments on each side if necessary. Amber colored L & R dancing EQ bar display mimics the slider control. Round the back panel 2 sets of input & output RCAs are available including one set for Monitor signal in/out & a second set for Tape in/out, if one needs to EQ when recording.  The whole unit feels well screwed together, and as if you need proof, hey! It's still functioning after more than 20 years!

Bose 901 Series MKVI speakers, No Highs, No Lows, must be Bose! With an EQ, the sleeping giant is awakened!

With the Pioneer GR-555 EQ in the loop, when set to a V equalization curve, the Bose 901 MKVI came alive, especially when playing concert BDs! It sounds more musical, less mid range centric and widens up the bandwidth, especially the bass & treble regions. Certainly much more musically engaging than before. When watching movies, the whole system gets a small but noticeable sonic lift. Guns, canons & explosive scenes gain a degree of harder hitting impact. Even left, right, front, back panning effects are more pronounced & dramatic then before.

Not every HT system needs an EQ, but in my case, for the small outlay of a used item, it was definitely well worth the addition.  

The Solid Path, SVS SoundPath Subwoofer Isolation System

I remember my first HT set up in the early 90's with early Dolby surround sound, minus the sub woofer! There was no sub woofer output from the Nakamichi AV1 receiver, one of the top choice of the day. Almost 30 years later, it's quite unfathomable how one can set up an AV system without any sub woofers. And the trend today is to go for either a single 15 inch sub woofer or dual 12 inches, hence the Dolby Atmos 5.2.4 moniker that my system is specified. 

While having more sub woofers has it's advantages such as more even room loading, less hot spots, and more linear LFE response are just the few mentioned. However there are also more problems associated with multi sub configuration. Room boom is there, uneven bass response due to acoustic cancelations and more shaking & rattling of the ceiling. That last part is where I suffered until recently when the SVS SoundPath Isolation footers came along. See pictorial guide below for full story:

I got 2 sets of 4 pcs since my pair of SVS PB-2000 only required 4 feet each in a box.

 

Included in the box are the 4 isolation rubber feet, and 3 screw sets clearly marked M4, M6 & SVS screws. I used the SVS screw pack since I am using the feet set to go under my SVS PB-2000 sub woofers. Also included in the package is a feel good, quality printed instruction card. 

My SVS PB-2000 sitting very close to the floor with it's original supplied feet. The SoundPath isolation feet lifts the sub woofer by at least an inch from the ground, resulting in less surface bounce of the sub sonic kind.   

A quick comparo between the original supplied feet(bottom 2) which is small and tip toe hard rubber material only. The SoundPath isolation feet(top 2) has a metal base, connecting between the actual wooden surface and the soft, thick rubber material that interface with the floor. 

Installation of the Sound Path isolation feet is rather easy, you turn the sub woofer on it's belly, manually un-screw the original feet from each corner of the sub woofer, then re-install the isolation feet in it's original screw hole with the supplied screw set in the bag labelled as SVS. The whole affair taking no more than 10 minutes each PB-2000 sub woofer. 

Upon installation, the sub woofers are put back to where the belong and the quick sound check follows. By comparison, bass in now cleaner, more well defined and less boomy. The impact of explosion scenes is now more felt, but surprisingly my ceiling rattle has been drastically reduced. With the isolation feet installed, I felt the need to recalibrate my Denon Audyssey setting all over again. With the channel levels re-matched and  recalibration, I got a more focused and well defined dialogue, and much more effective main channels too.

Sometimes it's strange how doing improvement to the bass tend to result in better performance in other areas as well, as in a stereo system! Hard to explain but true. And these SVS SoundPath isolation feet are worth every penny of it's asking price. It's well made and bring a whole lot of overall sound improvement to my HT game! Highly recommended for any sub woofer of any brand. If you've got an SVS sub woofer, it's a totally no brainer upgrade!

The Results, My Home Theater

Continuing from my last posting about my HT room project. I have allocated a room measuring 17ft x 13ft x 11ft(W x L x H). My projection screen mounted on the 17ft wall which leaves me the 13ft total projection length. The final outcome is that 11ft projection length(measured from tip of lens) was used as projection length for the Optoma UHD 50 projector to project 120 inch screen size(measured diagionaly as in TVs)  

The 120 inch XY screen dominates the 17ft wide wall. Also noted is a pair of SVS PB-2000 sub woofers, flanked by a pair of Bose 901 MK VI series main speakers partnered with a single Bose 201 MK III as center channel.

Form the next picture below, you can see that my sofa is backed up against the back wall still measuring 17ft wide, but with space taken up entry door on the left, and equipment rack & disc library on the right. Overall, this is a SIM 4K picture quality & Dolby Atmos 5.2.4 sound specification based system. And if you look carefully, you won't see much cabling, as most are either imbedded in wall or in ceiling. All the cabling was laid when I planned my HT room project during my home renovation in 2018.

 

You can also see that the Optoma UHD 50 projector is mounted right above the sweet spot of the sofa! Flanking the projector is a pair of Bose 101 surround speakers. If you look carefully on the right, next to my equipment rack, is the Bose Acoustimas 5 passive sub woofer, which is set to high pass at 80Hz as part of the rear surround system. 

My equipment rack from top: Denon AVR X-4400 H receiver for Dolby Atmos & DTS-X processiong & powering center channel & 2 pairs Dolby Atmos ceiling speakers which are Bose Model 25, Oppo UDP-203 4K disc player with the Oppo BDP-95 Full HD player with Cinivia free. Further below is the Cambridge Audio A120 4 channel power amp, powering front main speakers & surround sound duties. Further below is the Weiduke AC 8.8 power conditioner which powers the whole stack of equipment as seen and my dual HDD toaster for my 4K movie collections. 

On the right side corner of the back wall, is a compartmentalized area, mainly for library of disc collection. I also installed a dedicated MCB box in my HT room. If the book shelves looked familiar, is because they are from Ikea!

I also did some acoustic diffuser works on the ceiling to break up sound waves, coupled to heavy drape curtains on both sides of the side wall upon the first reflection points of the Bose 901 MK VI main speakers. The ceiling acoustic diffuser also works as the mood light & 2 pairs Dolby Atmos ceiling speaker mounts, if you look carefully.  

Overall for the money I spent, at about MYR25,000 on all equipment count, I feel satisfied with the intangible return on entertainment values, especially these days of MCO where the cinemas are closed. The 120 inch screen give big picture cinema feel when just sitting about 13ft away. When viewing Full HD movies, the picture is bright, vivid tonal pallet and very punchy, if some what veering slightly bluish(like most Sony or Samsung TVs factory calibration). Upon having sifu Michael Wong(contacted via FB) coming over to help calibrate my projector, the picture quality improved in terms of field of depth layering of majestic scenes from movies. Since the Optoma UHD 50 is a SIM 4K(i.e. non native or up sampling to 4K), the picture quality in 4K post calibration took a turn for darker and being a budget projector, the blackness(or greyish black) weakness is laid bare and exposed for all to see too clearly. Movies like Batman's The Dark Night should be avoided in 4K mode, due to the projector limitations. Bottom line is if you're expecting JVC level of 4K reproduction here, you'll be sorely disappointed. However if you are like me, where my majority of movies are on Full HD, with only the occasional 4K viewing diet, then this projector will get the job done very well.

The sound is an area I am more than happy with. I run the Denon Audyssey Auto  Calibration with the supplied OEM mike and already gor very decent results. I then further fine tune the channel levels, the high pass frequencies for speaker and low pass for LFE, and timing compensation with EQ off. It was just some tuning from disc to disc over time and until a point, I never need to fine tune the Dolby Atmos settings again, until I changed something that is.

The sound is with effective in surround panning, & the Atmos ceiling speakers are especially effective when watching raining or thunderstorm or aircraft scenes, especially is movies like Top Gun & Mid Way, just to recall the 2 movies that impressed me. The dual SVS sub configuration gives thundering bass and full on explosion impacts, to the point that is room and plaster ceiling shaking! I love using Bose speakers all round for HT because they are really good value at used prices and they can really go loud without popping their drivers! They are also very warm sounding for music concerts, and especially enjoyable when playing those Vienna Philharmonic New Years Concerts! 

I have made some improvements along the way since system installation over a year ago, and I'll get to those later. What do you think? Kindly feedback on comments section with thanks if any opinion or questions............

Audio & Visual, My Home Theater Set Up

All this while I have only talked about my hifi. Now it's time to switch to my AV adventure. I started building my AV system at the end of 2018 and it has gone thru a few small but worthy upgrades since. I will start with an equipment roll call, which are based on items currently in used. Drum roll please! 

Starting with the most basic 4K compatible, 120 inch XY screen. Here is a China made screen that offers great bang for buck.

The XY screen features rigid aluminum frame with instructions for DIY mounting if required. I got the dealer to wall mount it for me. It has nice 80mm side frame finished in black velvet like material to frame in the projected picture.

The Optoma UHD 50 projector was chosen for it's ability to throw the biggest picture size at a reasonably short distance. In this case, it must achieve 120 inch screen size at a projection distance of just 11 feet or so. It's also cheap considering it's entry level status, but still comes with Sim 4K, i.e. up sampled 4K, non native. Picture quality is good with vivid, punchy colours and offers great contrast. Only let down is the greyish black quality, as expected from an entry level projector. Still if one doesn't compare, one will not notice. I tried to upgrade to a JVC projector, but the projection length doesn't fit my space constraint. 

Source is by default the Oppo UDP 203 4K disc player. I am glad I got this as Oppo announced they are stopping production of BD players. Very nice picture quality in up sampled 4K mode and certainly reliable too. 

As a 2nd option source in the system, I included an old Oppo UDP 95 Full HD BDP. This dinosaur BD player come from the Cinivia free period in time. I still get very decent picture quality from this player.

The back end of the Denon X-4400 H is certainly busy with lots of configuration options. I choose to set up a 5.2.4 Dolby Atmos surround system, which means 5 chanels including center, 2 sub woofers and 4 Atmos ceiling effect speakers.

When it comes to AV Receivers, my choice is always a toss between Marantz or Denon range. I chose Denon X-4400 H at the time due it's punchy sound quality. Due to the Denon's tendency to overheat when the whole 5.2.4 system is powered by it, I have decided to hook up a power amp to compliment the Denon. Hence when planning a HT system, make sure the AVR has some kind of a configurable pre-out, for the flexibility of  expanding to pre-power set up. The whole Denon X series AVRs have a tendency to overheat, from the X-1500 H to the X-4500 H, and now X-2600 H series onwards.

Little is known about this Cambridge Audio A120 4 channel power amp, except that it was a 1990's product. It pumps out a healthy 120 Watts per channel and doesn't seem to run very hot which is good.
 

I use this Cambridge Audio A120 amp for front & rear surround channel duties, taking the load off the main Denon AVR certainly helps in the sound quality and reliability of completing the whole movie. The Denon on it's own tends to overheat and trip in the middle of an average 90 minute movie! 

I managed to fulfill another childhood dream when I scored the used Bose 901 MK VI series speakers in piano gloss black. As a hifi speaker, this Bose will not meet my audiophile requirements anymore, no matter how much it inspired me during my much younger days. However as a HT main speaker. it's a great step up coming from my previous BOSE 301 MK II. The sound is lush, less direct and offers a more enveloping front effect to movie soundtracks. It also great for my occasional concert watch too! 

For my center speaker duty, I go for a single Bose 201 MK III series speaker. Tonally, it complements the Bose 901s and it's small size makes it easy to place below the screen, yet that 6 inch mid driver means I can set the center x-over point to 90 Hz for the full male vocal effect!

I use the Bose 101 series for wall mounted rear surround & Model 25 series for Atmos ceiling effect speakers. Both the Bose 101 & Model 23 series are just slightly different variations of the same speaker design. The 101 being for home in/out door use and Model 25 for pro/commercial use. The 101 has a built in passive high pass inside, while the Model 25 has a 16 ohm transformer inside, both of which I had by passed, sending audio signal direct to speaker driver, making whatever differences inside a non factor. These are great surround & Atmos speakers due to their easy wall/ceiling mounting brackets.
 

I am a self confessed bass freak and nothing can change that, so having multiple sub woofers in my HT set up can only satisfy me. This Bose Acoustimas 5 series sub woofer is used to augment the Bose 101 as part of rear surround solution. The built in x-over in the Acoustimas helps to protect the rear surround channel from being over loaded in the loudest soundtracks, yet also allows me to set my rear surround to 80 Hz high pass, for that full range surround effect! By the way it doesn't count as a sub woofer in my system, even though it is one by any physical means.

When it comes to sub woofers, the SVS PB 2000 is my main squeeze. I started with a single one, as a 5.1.2 Dobly Atmos system, but as I moved to 5.2.4, it just made sense to add another SVS PB 2000 as the single one was feeling somewhat lonely. Adding the extra sub woofer allowed to bass management response to be more linear, projects more even bass spread around the room and less clipping in high octane explosion movie scenes.

If there ever was a best value trophy component in my HT system in terms of functionality, this Weiduka AC 8.8 power conditioner takes it! These days LED lighting source rules and my HT room is filled with all kinds of soft glowing LED lights. LED lights however come with very noisy switching power supply. I starting having high pitched dee.....eeeeee sound when my HT was switched on together with the LED mood lights when I didn't want to watch movies in the dark. I then fitted this Weiduka device in, powering all my source, AVR & power amp, and poof! The dee.....eeeee high pitch noise was gone........... And that's no psycho acoustic effect either! I also power my HT system with a variety of power cords from Lapp, Gotham & Furutech.  

All low level audio signals are routed via Monster THX 400 RCA for HT, 2 pairs were used to connect between the Denon AVR & the Cambridge Audio power amp. love those rubberized soft touch, yet grippy RCA plugs for easy handling, especially once installed behind my HT equipment rack. 

 

And lastly speaker cables are all generic use budgetary roll. 3 rolls of 30 meters was used to complete my HT project.

 

I initially had 12 meters of pro grade HDMI cable installed between my source/AVR to beam visual signal to my projector. At point of planning & wiring the project room, 4K compliant cables were few & far in between. While most of my disc collections are Full HD BD, the few 4K source that I had were problematic. The picture would blink every now & then with 4K source. I check on the web indicated I needed this optical HDMI cable. And so I bought this 15 meter roll from FIBBR during one of my trips to Guangzhou back in 2019. 

As you can see, virtually all my chosen components for the HT system are either entry level, or well used items. I also don't want to spend too much $$$ on cables or accessories. Next, I will show the whole completed she bang in my HT room, measuring 17ft x 13ft x 9ft(W x L x H).

A Hi-Fi Trip to Ipoh - Part 3 - KUZMA / AUDIO RESEARCH / VITUS / MAGICO

Mr. Lam's system was the third and last stop on our Ipoh trip. The system was tucked into a cosy room in the house that also doubled as an AV room. 

The room was tastefully decorated, with the fittings also doubled up subtly as room treatment, as can be seen in the photos below. The uneven bricks making up the front wall, and the timber strips on the ceiling would also act as sound diffuser, while the randomly placed foam pieces on the ceiling and the carpet on the floor would help to dampen the room. 

To treat the side walls, acoustic panels from Vicoustic were placed on the reflection points: 

Lam's system was as follows:

BMC Audio CD player, which Lam did not play during our visit

We listened exclusively to Lam's all Kuzma analogue rig shown above. The turntable was the Kuzma Stabi R turntable...

with the Kuzma 4point arm...

...and the Kuzma CAR-50 cartridge,

...feeding the Audio Research Reference Phono 10 phono stage, which came with a separate power supply

The line preamplifier was also from Audio Research - the Reference 10 line stage also with a separate power supply chassis

A peep into the Reference 10's separate, tube-based power supply

The power amp was a 85kg behemoth, the Vitus SS-103. It came with 50w on tap in class A mode and 150w in class AB mode. Lam thought the class A mode sounded better, that was also how we listened to the amp during our visit

 

The loudspeakers were the Magico S5 

...fitted with very substantial-looking upgrade spikes from Magico

Power conditioning was taken care of by a Powertrans power conditioner fitted with 9kVA isolation transformer

I like this idea. The Powertrans was placed outside the listening room, and the power cables were routed through drilled-through holes on the wall to get into the room. 

The sound from Lam's HiFi system was big. It was room-filling and then some, given the pedigree of the equipment here, that was no surprise. 

The 50w Class A power from the Vitus amp controlled the big Magico S5 very well, I couldn't hear any compression let alone any distortion at any time, not even during orchestral crescendos. The sound also had an overall roundness to it, it was dynamic but never aggressive, very similar to my past experience of Magico loudspeakers. In addition, there was a layer of what I think many audiophiles would call 'analogue-ness' to the presentation, wherein one wouldn't term the sound as 'analytical' but still there was a high degree of details in it. Here, that was further coupled with a buttery, smooth flow of the music. Well, it must have been the combined effect of the LP frontend and the top-of-line tube preamps, perhaps?  

The highs from the Magico's Be tweeters were very smooth. The mid was vivid, it came with a good saturation of tonal colours, definitely not the thin nor washed out kind that lesser speakers could exhibit. The lows, with two 10in woofers per side operating in a midsize room, dug deep and was very strong, just as expected. The bass notes sounded big, but, and this was critical, they never spilt into the muddy, boomy territory. Overall, I thought the bass region stole the show a little bit, though that also added excitement in the listening session. We were invariably swept up in the unbridled energy exhibited by the music and went on a thrilling ride, what a sensation that only a sizeable and capable system like this could deliver!

A well put together system coupled with a conducive room equals sensational music replay. Lam sure has reaped great rewards from his effort!

Thus concludes our Ipoh trip. There are many more HiFi systems in Ipoh, hope I'll get to savour more of them in the near future.