A Fabulous HiFi Trip to Sarawak

Posted by Tan

A couple of us from our HiFi gang made a short weekend visit to our audiophile friends in Sarawak, it was a feast for our ears (and for our tummy too, the food was also fabulous to say the least).

We visited multiple systems in Bintulu and Miri. It is my pleasure to share our friends’ pride and joy here.

There are 2 learnings I made on this trip. One is that our Sarawakian friends tend to prefer to tune to a slightly “softer” sound in their set-ups (as opposed to ‘hard’ or ‘hifi-ish’ sound). Rather than having a brighter, hard-charging, metallic treble region, their systems’ highs were refined and well behaved, not calling out for too much attention, but also never dark and not lazy. The midrange had body and never lean, the bass region had some warmth. So, the listening sessions were always aurally comfortable and never fatiguing despite we covering multiple systems with multiple hours of listening each day.  

The other of my learnings was that everyone paid attention to their room treatment. They knew that our listening space had a significant impact on the sound quality, so a lot of attention and effort was paid to getting the room acoustic right. This is definitely a good approach to avoid the never-ending equipment merry-go-around that many audiophiles got themselves into.

Let’s get to the listening impressions. These are presented according to the sequence of our visit:

System 1 Bintulu – Soul Note cdp and preamp, Accuphase monoblocks, Estelon loudspeakers

Our listening kicked-off to an auspicious start. This was an excellent sounding system. I gathered that the owner started his HiFi hobby just a few years ago, but the progress was fast in getting to his current highend setup, and the sonic achievement was significant as confirmed in our listening session.

I was very impressed with this latest iteration of the Estelon loudspeakers, the XB-Diamond mkII. The sonic presentation was invariably refined and smooth, as smooth as a baby’s bottom 😊. This is not saying that details were glossed over; rather, lots of details in the music came through but were presented in the musical context and never irritating to our aural senses. When dynamics and impact were called for, what we got was the steel-fist-in-the-velvet-glove type, there were both strength and composure. The highs were a standout, they were silky and always full of details, never lost their footing even with challenging recordings. The diamond tweeters on these beautiful loudspeakers were outstanding.

Of course, the supporting cast’s contribution was critical in achieving the final results too. What can I say? The Japanese electronics, all flagship models from Soul Note and Accuphase proved themselves to be a great match with these Estonian beauties.

 

System 2 Bintulu – Marantz cdp, Rega turntable, Leben pre and power amp, ProAc loudspeakers

I have fond memories of my time listening to British loudspeakers in my system (mainly Rogers and Harbeth). I never got around to own any ProAc, though I was mighty impressed when I first heard the ProAC 1SC – a tiny bookshelf that sounded sweet and musical, on top of a seductive midrange and dynamics that belied its size.

This ProAc system brought back memories of all the good things about the British sound. The sound was warm and musical, rhythm and pace flowed, vocal, especially, was natural and articulate. The highs from the ribbon tweeters on these D20Rs sounded more natural and neutral to my ears than my previous experience with ProAc’s dome tweeters. 

Being a floorstander, this ProAC also presented more bass than its bookshelf sibling, it was balanced more on the richer, rather than the lean, side of things. Here, the bass provided a sonic foundation and contributing a nice bloom of the overall sound, attesting to the owner’s skill in room acoustic treatment and system setup. This is a system that allowed long hours of fatigue-free listening.

 

System 3 Bintulu – Marantz cdp, Jadis pre and power amp, ProAc loudspeakers

Here, we have another pair of ProAc loudspeakers, the bigger K6. I always had the impression that ProAc generally matched very well with tube amplifiers and it seems to be the case here with the Jadis pre-power combo.

In this big room, the system conjured up a big, room filling sound. The K6’s delivery did not depart from the character of ProAc in general, there was a warmth to the music, the bass region was rich and also prominent, the midrange and vocal stood out with good body coupled with more richness.

The owner just moved into his new home for a few months, I think you can see from the photo that this system’s setup was still a work-in-progress, there was a lot of work being done on the acoustics, I am sure there will be more to come from this system.

 

System 4 Miri – Esoteric cdp, Accuphase pre-amp and monoblocks, B&W loudspeakers

This system is stuffed with flagship level equipment. The digital frontend was Esoteric’s top integrated SACD/CD player, the Grandioso K1X, upgraded with the matching Grandioso PS1 external power supply. We were given an A/B demo on the contribution of the external power supply. I was very surprised by the magnitude of improvements wrought from the Grandioso PS1, they were not at all subtle. With the Grandioso PS1 plugged in, the sound grew in stature, had greater resolution and came with more saturated tonal color. I couldn’t imagine going back to the lone cdp after hearing it with the power supply.

For amplification, most of us would be happy with a pair of monoblocks, or a pair of stereo power amps for biamping purpose, but here we saw 4 Accuphase monoblocks being used to biamp the B&W 800D3 loudspeakers. The Accuphase monoblocks were in turn plugged into 2 units of Accupahse PS-1250 power conditioners, situated behind the racks.

This substantial system produced a huge and deep soundstage in this cavernous room. The B&W 800D3 produced substantial sonic images with excellent body, the sound blanketed the listeners with warmth and airiness. Dynamic expression was done with great control, which was to be expected from the 4 class A monoblocks, Vocal was outstanding, I can’t really put my fingers on what the secret sauce was, I’d just say it was imbued with just enough sweetness and magnetism such that it was really attractive to listen to (the young Jackie Evancho’s voice was so beautiful). I imagine it would be difficult for one to live without that ‘secret sauce’ once one got used to it, but I believe all this was just a walk in the park for this flagship in B&Ws renowned 800 series.

This was again a very listenable and non-fatiguing system for long hours of listening.

 

System 5 Miri – Orpheus cd transport and dac, Goldmund pre and power amps, Dynaudio loudspeakers

Many people would think that the big Dynaudio C4 Platinum loudspeakers could not work in this relatively small room. That was indeed the case when I visited this system a number of years ago. The bass boom was somewhat pronounced then, such that much of the frequency spectrum further up was obscured when there was substantial bass energy in the music.

That was pretty much history now. In the intervening years, the owner experimented and did substantial acoustic treatment in the room (I saw a number of GIK bass traps). The bass problem was now solved, and it proved again the importance of appropriate and targeted room treatment.

This system had not one offensive bone in it, I am sure the legendary Esotar tweeter used in the C4s had a substantial role in this. The sound was smooth and the presentation was warm. Detail delivery was good, nuances in vocals were clearly resolved. Again, a system that would allow long hours of comfortable listening and one of the best Dynaudio based systems I have heard.

 

System 6 Miri – dCS Vivaldi digital system, AVID and Techdas turntable with multiple tonearms, cartridges and multiple phono amps, Naim Statement pre and monoblocks, Focal Utopia loudspeakers

This was one massive system. The owner was an analogue fan, so the LP frontends were especially extensive, I can’t recount all that I saw on the LP rigs as I am not that knowledgeable in that area, except being impressed by the two turntables, each with multiple tonearms and cartridges, everyone playable, all high-end.

Following on from the frontend, the amplification was equally high-end, being the Naim Statement trio (pre and 2 monoblocks). We could see only the pre in the listening room as the monoblocks were situated in another room behind, which also housed the owner’s massive digital music server system. The end of the audio chain was the imposing Focal Utopia Stella EM Evo loudspeakers.

No music could faze this extreme and extremely capable system. I liken the experience to sitting in a sedan with a 6L V12 engine, one got the sense of limitless power and yet it was power delivered with smoothness. The soundstage was wall to wall and enveloping, each sonic image within the soundstage was clearly defined and delineated. The sound was fine-grained at all volume and dynamic level.

We listened to LP almost exclusively, vocal was as sultry as it come and the airiness was pervasive from every track. The sound was silky, there was not one note that got harsh, too bright or ear piercing. I noticed that my nerve never got tense nor my attention got bored throughout the listening session. Music enjoyment, without saying, was extremely high.

Without a doubt, this system occupies one of the top spots on my list of impressive HiFi visits.

 

System 7 Miri – Audio research cdp and pre-amp, Krell power amp, Dynaudio loudspeakers

Another pair of Dynaudio floorstanders in a not-too-big room, but this setup worked too. In fact, my impression was that these Dynaudio Contour 60 loudspeakers and the room were working hand-in-glove as if they were made for each other. All in all this was a testament to the owner’s excellent setup effort.

The owner professed himself to be a fan of dynamics and impactful music. He definitely achieved his sonic objectives with his system. We listened to many dynamic soundtracks, drum tracks, and electronic music, all were handled very well, with the Krell power amp exerting a good grip on the loudspeakers, and the room acoustics not allowing the sound to misbehave.

This was another Dynaudio system that impressed me. Together with the Dynaudio C4 system, our Sarawakian friends sure have a way with Dynaudio.

 

Well, my coverage of this excellent HiFi trip is thus concluded. My gratitude to all our Sarawakian friends who so generously opened their doors and spent their precious time with us. I had the chance to listen on-site to systems I only saw in photos and heard through handphone recordings. I got to experience never-before-heard models, setups, and equipment combinations, all of which added much to my Hifi knowledge, something I could not get by playing in my own system alone. So, let’s go out to visit and listen to fellow audiophiles’ systems, and reciprocate by opening our doors to others too.

PMC Launches "Twenty" Series Loudspeaker.

To celebrate PMC's 20th Anniversary, the company has launched the new "Twenty" series loud speaker range of 4 models. The models starts from the entry level 21 & 22 stand mounts and continues with the 23 & 24 floor stand designs. These new models depart stylistically from any of the previous PMC designs in the form of a 5 degree sloping box, sitting on a spiked plinth. PMC's Product Manager, Keith Tonge mentions that the gently sloping front baffle mechanically time aligns the high frequency and bass driver, leading to use of an x-over of high quality parts and extremely simple design. Sloping box aside, many of the key performance features of the "Twenty" series are adopted from lessons learned while designing the Fact series speakers. The drivers which are made to PMC's spec by SEAS, especially the tweeter, looks like a close cousin of those found on my resident reference, the Fact 8 model. The bass drivers also looks similar to those on the Fact 8 but uses a different cone material. As with all PMC speaker designs, an Advance Transmission Line(ATL) is used to augment the bass response. To increase box rigidity, the inner surfaces are also lined with veneer matching with those on the outside, just like the Fact series.

Peter Thomas also chipped in saying that many people at various occasions had expressed interest to buy the Fact series speakers, because they liked the sound quality and the looks department, but were often daunted by the fairly up market pricing of the Fact series. So as a 20th Anniversary gift to these potential speaker buyers, PMC decided to work on a loud speaker design that would give the sound characteristics and visual cues of Fact series, but at a much lower price point, making high quality sounding speakers more accessible to more music lovers who appreciate high standards of sound reproduction.

PMC invited all the world's hifi press and journalist, including us bloggers for the occasion. Here are some pictures from that event, hosted at the Radisson Edwardian, New Providence Wharf.


The all new PMC "Twenty" series speakers. From left,  model 24, 22, 23 & 21.



Seen here is the model 23 in optional(extra cost) piano gloss black.



Another look at the model 23 in cherry veneer finish.

The various drivers and components used in production of the "Twenty" series speakers.



The extremely simple design x-over with hand matched high quality components.

Peter Thomas, the world's smartest speaker designer?

Some of the hifi press and journalist coming in for the press conference. I had the great honour to be placed right next to Paul Messenger(holding his jacket), Britain's foremost speaker expert who contributes to HiFi Choice and Stereophile.

The "Twenty" series is nice, but the bad boy BB5-XBD gets our vote for the ultimate "wet" dream speakers. Two thumbs up!

At the initial short listening sessions, I personally felt the model 21 of the "Twenty" series would be a giant slayer in the sub RM$10k speaker market. The small stand mount design impressed me with it's larger than life sound, dynamics and transient response, with a linear ability to play loud for such a small speaker. The 21 gave the sweetest of female vocals I've heard with an absolutely transparent mid range.

As one moves up in the range from model 22 onwards, the bass quality extends lower with dynamics and loudness envelope expands, but some what at the expense of the mid range sweetness of the 21. In fact the model 23 which is a floor stand version of the 21 sounded just a tad warmer in the lower mids then the rest of the "Twenty" series speakers. The model 24, the floor stand version of the 22, offers the best blend of compromises in between dynamics response and mid range sweetness.

Oh.....! by the way, selected models of the PMC "Twenty" series speakers are now on demo at AV Designs showroom at Menara Rohas Perkasa. Please contact Tony or James at 03-21712828 for demo appointment.

Visiting Fluid Mastering Studio 1.

PMC UK had planned to bring us to visit Metropolis recording studios in London, followed by Fluid Mastering studio as part of our hifi trio "educational" program. Alas, as luck would have it, Metropolis was fully booked for the day as recording from the previous night finished late and the next sessions arrived earlier than scheduled. Still, we managed to get a glimpse inside one of London's biggest commercial recording studio. It's a hip and happening place. Enjoy the photos.


Metropolis studios is located inside an old power plant, aptly called The Power House!



The art gallery like foyer reveals the extent of the sound treatment done to the place. The bands were jamming inside and we heard absolutely nothing outside!



The first floor foyer, which leads to the in house cafeteria and a lounge of open space.



Jo seen here with all the artists whose albums are recorded here at Metropolis.


We were then quickly ushered to the nearby Fluid Mastering studio 1 where we're graciously hosted by Nick Watson, one of the Mastering Engineers working that day. Nick quickly explained to us the difference between a recording and a mastering studio. The first is where the music is recorded, and the later is where all the subtle magic happens. It touches up raw recordings in to it's final commercial presentation, in form of a master for stamping, be it for CDs, LPs, or tapes.

While we're there, Nick was working on a live concert recording. He played us the original recording and the remastered tracks back to back. We all could hear the subtle touches that the remastering had an an effect to the original recording. On the original recording, there was a wall of sound effect, where the music was relatively flat, and no staging or imaging was discern able. The bass guitar lines on the track was at times drowning out the female vocals too. The remastered track cleaned up the bass lines and made it tighter, and it now never interfered with the vocals. The highs seemed "airier" and there is now some resemblance of what we audiophiles recognise as staging and imaging. There was overall more depth to the music, making it easier to follow.

Nick says it typically takes a day to master an album, however there are really though ones that can take two or three days of work. The final mastered version of the recording is then sent to the artist for approval, which most of the time is O.K. However, there are some artist who set very specific standards and may require further adjustments pending their final approval. With the artist's approval, a master stamper can then be made for mass production of CDs or LPs.
  

Nick Watson at Fluid Mastering studio 1, seen behind are a pair of PMC BB5-XBD active monitors with Bryston amplification. A pair of smaller Spendor monitors are also used to check reproduction of the mastered music file.



On the Captain's chair. Nick uses various software and hardware on his console to fine tune all the recordings that comes to him.



A pair of Studer reel to reel tape player is used for playback and transfer.



An LP cutting lathe is used to cut a master stamper, which is then used to press production LPs. 

 

A CD transport mated to Weiss DAC on the console.

 

A Rega P3 is used to monitor playback of  LP.

Some of us asked if Nick thought that LP is truly superior as a music format compared to CD? He reckoned if he had mastered them both of the same album, there should be no difference at all. If any, he says, it's because a vinyl set up offers more personalised tweaking to met preferences of the owner of the hifi system. A good CD based system would almost naturally be more accurate due to it's lack of adjust ability.

James of AV Designs then asked Nick to play some music which can stress test the Bad Boy PMC BB5-XBD. Nick choose a bass heavy dance/club track which high lighted the capabilities of those famed PMC monitors. We were awe struck by the agility and superb bass control of the flag ship PMC monitors. There are no BB5-XBDs in Malaysia today as yet, so this experience is priceless.

Next, PMC launches a new speaker range to commemorate their 20th Anniversary celebrations!

Pictures are courtesy of James Tan, Felix and Big E.

PMC Presents, The British Music Experience!

The British Music Experience located in the O2 Arena, is a must attend attraction for "music lovers". It's a kind of music and pop culture museum meets interactive music workshop theme concept. The O2 Arena is also a place where happening concerts take stage. PMC certainly thought it was a cool place to entertain us, the hifi scribes and dealers worldwide.

As we enter, we're greeted by a generous music memorabilia and merchandise area. From there we enter a general zone where we're shown entertainment options available in Britain thru the post war years till present day. There are also interesting period rooms, ranging from the big band 50's to the flower power 60's, followed by the psychedelic 70's, then the progressive rock/punk 80's, and not forgetting the boy band and girl power 90's till the present day British music scene. Each room is filled with music, interactive counters, period costumes worn by famous artists of the time, complete with projection videos and lighting effects, to make it all a relevant experience!



This section shows the various television sets and programs available to Britain over the years.



The reception and bar area for the thirsty crowd.

There's also a dance booth, where one is given video instructions, on selected song dances popular over the decades. Remember the Saturday Night Fever moves, or the strangely familiar Macarena steps anyone?

However, the area where we spent most of our time in was the Gibson Interactive zone, where video tutorials are available via head phones ala recording studio style for any given musical instrument, mostly guitar, keyboard and drums. There's also a vocal recording booth available for those karaoke champions wannabe. We're thought to play/sing like a pro rocker and can choose to have our own performance recorded on to our own smart ticket which we can later decide if purchase the said recording is worth while. Here are some photos of us having fun!


Jerry Kuo, Editor In Chief from U-Audio Taiwan, having some guitar practice. 



Jo, recalling his experience at a recording console, remember Pop Pop Music's Love's Tapestry CD folks?



Felix going really deep in to his cords!

 

Now, who's this John Mayor wannabe? Think Ain't No Sunshine concert performance at the last guitar festival on Blu-ray!

 

The author going for some drum kit action.



Did Mark Knopfler forgotten his hair band? No, it's just James Tan from AV Designs, doing his "kamikaze" guitar hero thing!



After all the ruckus we made in the Gibson Interactive zone, it was time for some rock music concert, performed by The Tin Spirits along with some special guest.



Now, that was fun! You can visit the http://www.britishmusicexperience.com/ and do a virtual tour of the place, and in case you do visit London for leisure in the near future, do include it in to your visit itinerary.

PMC 20th Anniversary Celebrations!

Folks, our hifi trio's London trip was timed to coincide with the PMC 20th Anniversary Celebrations. PMC will play host to us from here onwards. The event was a glamorous affair, held at the London O2 Arena, which is where part of the Olympics 2012 will be staged too!

PMC brought in all the hifi press and worldwide dealers to join in the festivities. I'll leave you with some of the photos for the night! 

The grand entrance to the London O2 Arena.



This sign signifies not only 20th Anniversary Celebrations, but something more potent to come!

 

Happy 20th Anniversary PMC!

 

Peter Thomas speaking his thoughts for the last 20 years.

 

The Malaysian(mostly) delegates, staff of AV Designs and some of the notable hifi scribes.

 

The London O2 Arena at night is a beautiful. and futuristic looking site.

The hifi trio congratulates PMC and wishing them another 20 more successful years!

Pictures courtesy of James Tan of AV Designs and Big E.



The BBC Heritage Revisited.

One of the main reasons that the hifi trio made the London trip was to visit Paul Whatton, to experience what is considered as the holy grail of every LS3/5A enthusiast. Yes, you've guess right, it's the elusive BBC no.1 & 2 pair of the LS3/5A. To the casual observer, this pair looked as non-script as any pair of LS3/5A spec mini monitor, made by Spendor, Rogers, KEF, Harbeth and many of the licensees over the years when it was in production. However, look closer at the discreet BBC badge on the top right corner and the bespoke look becomes apparent. This pair of LS3/5A spec mini monitor carries significant history, and wears it on it's veneers, due to the fact this was the production ready prototype, built by a team of BBC engineers, including the late Maurice Whatton, Paul's father who at the time was also involved in some of the other legendary BBC designs, which incidentally includes the larger LS5/9 variety. Paul continues his father's legacy today as a BBC contractor.

The highly prized, yet elusive BBC LS3/5A No.1 & 2. 

 

The back view, 40 years or so of hard use, and each side of a veneer panel tells a school of hard knocks story.

This pair of BBC no.1 & 2 LS3/5A speaker was the final reference before the design was approved to be production ready. Apparently in the consideration of making the speakers more production friendly, the licensees entrusted to mass produced the speaker needed to make adjustments to the passive x-over design over the original pair, so that it's easier to match each speaker as pair in the field during use. This was a necessary evil as at the time in the 1970's, KEF's production, and QC spec tolerances of the T27 tweeter and the B110 mid bass driver were pretty wide, compared to the much tighter standards deemed acceptable today. And if Jo was right about his assumption, that the mass produced LS3/5A would have drifted in terms of absolute sonic properties, compared to the very early examples, and surely against the numero uno & duo pair. Is it really so? Let our ears be the judge then!

Paul explaining the details and events that unfold in the making of LS3/5A loud speaker, do read all the really juicy bits on his website!

The KISS(Keep It Simple Stupid) set up!

Paul's system is set up in a smallish living room, typical of a British middle class home. The speakers are set up along side the longer wall, firing straight ahead with little toe in, in to the room. A fire place is nestled in between the speakers to keep the room warm during the winter months, and the rest of the front end equipment, comprising a Thorens TD124 turn table for analog source and a Musical Fidelity A3 CD player for digital source, feeding the audio signal to a DIY tube pre-amp, utilising a very simple circuit of EF86s connected as triodes with an ALPS volume pot, residing inside a gutted out Quad 22 pre-amp box, driving a pair of restored vintage Quad II tube mono block. On first look, little or no audiophile tweakery is apparent, in fact all front end sits inside and on an IKEA self assembled shelf, and cables are rather standard looking freebie red/white RCA and power cords. Paul even throws caution to the wind by stacking his gear one on top of another(certainly a no-no for the prime and proper fastidious audiophile!), due to space constraint. The speaker cables are DIY braided, which consist of three runs of CAT5 cable stock on each side!

Only the IF Designs Tallis speaker stands, made by Roger Lokyer is especially designed for the LS3/5A gives a discreet hint of what this system is truly capable of. Paul also told us that these stands were rather expensive when they were available a few years back.  However, Roger may be considering making these highly coveted stands again soon, but only in limited edition guise! 

The IF Designs Tallis stand are a beauty to behold, especially with the LS3/5A sitting on top. It cost GBP450/pair when available in 2003.

Since the Thorens TD 124 was sporting a broken Supex 900 cartridge, due to a domestic accident(ouch....), it was not used in the listening session. Paul says he also has a broken Ortofon MC10 cartridge(another domestic incident? ouch..... double ouch!). However, I am glad to report that even with the Musical Fidelity A3 CD player, the sound was tonally lush, deep, yet at the same time presented a free, and acoustically open sound staging. Listening to Miles Davis, Kind Of Blue CD, on the first track, tittled So What, I heard the density of air filling the brass body, the blow, using a combo technique of lips, teeth, mouth piece exhaust and finger keys to manipulate each note, the trumpet sounding slightly matte, and the tenor sax taking on a darker, smoother, more burnished tone quality, both gently caressing and coodling my precious pair of ears. Miles presence with the trumpet and John Coltrane's tenor saxophone sounded life like and shockingly real. When playing voices, I did not detect the nasality so often heard with poorly set up LS3/5A speakers, not one bit. In fact, the mid range was dense, thick even but never sounded shut in, or cupped. I find this LS3/5A speaker based system to be surprisingly as transparent as today's best hifi system, which probably accounts for it's level of musical realism. While the system's dynamic range was excellent, it wasn't quite as linear as today's hifi equipment. The volume limits were often breached, and we could heard either the tube amps clipping or the KEF drivers over driven, when playing Pink Floyd's The Wall CD. Stay within it's comfort zone however, this system is one the most complete sounding and as convincing as the best that I've heard. Jo was begining to wonder a loud, after hearing this LS3/5A pair set up with an attitude of abandonment, why did he even need to bother?(with all his tweaks that is) We were indeed left with a sense of bewilderment, which element in the equipment chain contributed to the "magic" of this system, the Quad II and LS3/5A partnership? The DIY pre-amp with Paul's magical DIY touch? The source? Jo then deduced that it was most likely the BBC no.1 & 2 working it's charm on us. Paul told us that the famous(or is it infamous?) Ken Kesler was completely bowled over by the charms of the BBC no.1 & 2 when he heard it sometime ago.

Now, the BBC LS3/5A has been replaced by Paul's favorite speaker, the Quad ESL 57.

It was at this point, Paul showed us around his wonderful collection of vintage hifi. "There's something of an attraction that I find in vintage hifi, that's not on offer with modern hifi equipment!" said Paul. I spotted a pair of pristine condition Quad ESL57 electrostatic speakers. I asked to be enlightened, Paul obliged, but cautioned that the pair had been sitting in his work shop for some time now, and will need to be charged up before playing. We let the Quads charged up while we chatted over a glass of wine. The hour soon passed and we'd cue up the same Pink Floyd CD again. During the first 20 minutes or so, the sound beamed straight out of the panel from the ESL57. I've never heard modern speakers beamed like that, but as we listened along the sound slowly but surely opened up. The musical presentation of the ESL57 is very different compared to the LS3/5A.  The sound stage is wide open, although the imaging isn't as tightly focused as the dynamic cone speaker. However, it was the richness of it's mid range presence which won me over. It's highly transparent mid range does wonders for the vocal tracks and mood music. The ESL57 is somewhat compromised when it comes to frequency response bandwidth and overall loudness. It seems some what rolled off at the extremes and will buzz when push beyond it's volume comfort zone. The Quad ESL57 will always be cherished for what it can do and will continue to have a place in hifi history. I can now understand why it's re-sale values have done so well for so many decades.

Some thing from the Casino Royale era, a Nagra SNST-R miniature reel to reel tape recorder, seen here with it's partner in crime, the Nagra Kudelski DSP playback unit. A mint condition, working pair could fetch as much as Euro$10,000.00 on the collector's market!  

Proud babies, the speakers or the men?

Paul also maintains the http://www.ls35a.com/ website with intention to help fellow enthusiast to verify values, spot fakes, and basically what to look out for when shopping for the LS3/5A speakers, and other vintage hifi equipment. He has helped countless enthusiast via the detailed information available from his website. As it is getting more expensive to host the site and keep it running, Paul appeals to users who finds his web site and advise helpful to kindly make a donation as it is non-profit oriented.

Paul shares his secret recipe for baked potatoes, they're YUMMY!

This artistic ceramic candle holder is NOT Paul's handy work, but the labour of love from Miranda, his romantic partner.

On his spare time, Paul is also aspires to be a great cook and expresses his artisan side via ceramics. We were served with roast lamb, baked potatoes for dinner topped off with cheese cake for desert. Ahh...... this was a rewarding visit for the hifi trio which ever way one looks at it. Thanks Paul, for sharing the collection of your historical pride and joy with us.

The lovely photos are courtesy of Big E and Felix(mostly!).