Northern Audio Visual Penang, On 11th - 12th June 2022

Finally, an AV Show in Penang! Held on the weekend of 11th - 12th June 2022 at Ascott Gurney Hotel. Organized by none other than Wilson Teoh, also organizer of the Gelombang AV Festival, to be held in Kuala Lumpur Melia hotel from the weekend of 5th - 7th August 2022. The Northern AV Penang will be a glimpse of  what is to come in Kuala Lumpur.

The Penang show is fully booked by exhibitors, and best of all, entrance is free!  

See ya all in Penang soon!

Centre Circle Audio Introduces Mola-Mola Tambaqui DAC

Mr Ewald standing next to the Mola-Mola Tamabqui DAC

A WhatsApp message from Nelson of CCA inviting me to atend the launching of Mola-Mola brand of hifi equipment, and particularly, the Tambaqui DAC that's the feature of the event. I haven't done industry updates in years, and not so keen to start either. However, this event is significant in a few ways. Foremost, this is probably the first hifi event, since we have entered the endemic stage of COVID-19. I wanted to gauge the turn out for the event as it will translate to audiophile & music lovers appetite for hifi events. Should be a good indicator of turn out for the Gelombang AV Fest which is due to be held by 5th  August as the turn out was actually quite good.

Sorry I digressed. This article should be about Mola-Mola & Ewald Verkerk, the Sales Manager in attendance. Mola-Mola is based in Netherlands and are part of a group that has OEM capabilities and recording audio industry equipment supplies. Mola-Mola hifi only has one aim which is to aim for the absolute truth in music reproduction, nothing added or subtracted, just pure music as is recorded. And by the way, Ewald shares an interesting story behind the naming of Mola-Mola brand. Apparently the branding consultant suggested brand name that repeats it self, as repetition reinforces the brand in the consumer's sub-conscious mind. Does Coca-Cola sounds familiar?

Hmm......... he may have a point there, Coca-Cola, Mola-Mola.......... Does anyone get it?  By the way, all of Mola-Mola products are named after Hawaiian fish breeds!

Mr Ewald Verkerk is an industry old hand as he is also represents other European hifi brands 

Currently the Mola-Mola hifi range consist of a pre-amp(the heart of every hifi system, according to Ewald, and i couldn't agree more!), a pair of Class D power amp, an integrated amp and lastly the Tambaqui DAC. From the product run down session, I was quite impressed by the innovative features of the pre-amp which includes programable presets, optional phono & DAC card. What's more interesting is the DAC is the same grade as the stand alone Tambaqui! The Mola-Mola hifi products are innovative in a sense that they are mostly FPGM based software control. The company also has an App that is IOS & Android compatible, so your phone can also be part of the remote operating & access to settings as well. All PCBs are high quality 2 layer SMD type and are simplified with minimum real estate requirement for better sound quality and making the hifi components compact in size to accommodate today's shrinking living space. WAF is high as the hifi casing is no expense spared wave form box milled from a piece solid aluminum billet. For something that's high end in aspirations, the Tambaqui DAC is very much future proof by being far ahead in the Technology curve. Being FPGM software programable will also see to that via software up grades.

For me, however, all that technology means nothing if didn't sound any good. The Tambaqui DAC does not disappoint however. From CCA's demo system of equally Euro high end components, the digital files play back via the Tambaqui sounded effortless, unforced, fluid and very analogue like. Certainly the potential to be the best DAC money can buy is all there to be heard.

Please contact Nelson of Centre Circle Audio at 012-2876807 for a demo appointment or inquiry.   

New Member, New Journey, Let's Welcome Sonerin!

For a while, it seems like we have been pretty jaded with all things Hi-fi. I am happy that Sonerin, my long time sifu in all things CAS & HT has decided to come on board and contribute to this pages. In the few short years I've known Sonerin, he has been super helpful and his IT professional back ground adds a lot of depth & knowledge in todays IOT Hi-fi, which is increasingly connected to the rest of the home, car & mobile phone. Our Smart mobile phone will the control center of all our devices in the near future of connectivity.

We are fortunate to have Sonerin contribute in these pages, and let us give him a warm welcome as he makes hi first posting. I for one am looking forward to his continued presence with more than a breath of fresh air here! 

Sonerin, take it away please?

JBL, Mark Levinson, Lexicon have arrived at AV Designs

I received a bunch of brochures from AV Designs on the new product lines from the Harman stable that they are bringing in. The range is extensive, comprising of models from JBL, Mark Levinson, Revel and Lexicon, covering both Hi Fi and Home Theatre.

Among the lot, I spotted the JBL L100 Classic loudspeakers (above) and Mark Levinson No 5805 Integrated Amplifier (below).

 

See whether I'll get to listen to them in my own man-cave and write about them one day. 

For more details, contact AV Designs 03-62411237.

https://www.avdesigns.com.my/contact-us/

HiFi Unlimited is Back

Wow,  it has been 7 years since our last post in HiFi Unlimited.

Willy (aka Big E) and me have been off HiFi blogging for quite some time, though during this hiatus, we never let go of our HiFi hobby and our music enjoyment.

Somehow, the idea struck us recently to revive HiFi Unlimited. It was kind of a "wanting to return to the root" moment.

We remembered the wonderful time we had with this blog where we shared our HiFi journey and the enthusiasm we had with the HiFi equipment, systems and music that crossed our path. We also enjoyed and learned from the interactions with you, the readers, tremendously.

We want some of that fun back.

So, we are going to start writing and sharing on HiFi Unlimited again. Things will be kept casual. We shall share our journey, our thoughts, and the happenings in the HiFi scene around us, and we shall do this from a purely hobbyist and enthusiast's perspective.

Let's go!

We Have Moved On To www.AV2Day.com

Continue to follow us on www.AV2Day.com

It's official! Time for us to bid farewell at HiFi-Unlimited here. Like every journey, there must be a destination. We believe we have come to a point where the destination is here and now. It's been almost 5 roaring fun years of blogging about hifi with my partner in crime Odiosleuth. We have both grown so much richer in our musical and hifi experience, yet left some what poorer in finances(hey! it's about having fun while you're at it right?)!

For all those who followed and accompanied us along the way, fret not! Your lunch/tea/coffee break reading will remain just as interesting, if you choose to follow us over to www.av2day.com for a new chapter in our hifi and AV journey. In www.AV2Day.com , you will also see Lam Seng Fatt's musical and hifi journey continue from his days at HiFi-Avenue blog. Dick Tan will be our AV guiding light in the fast moving world of home theater.

Last but not least, we sincerely wish to thank all our dear readers and all the dealers who supported us with loaner equipments all these while. We hope that all who have supported us in the past will continue to do so in the future on www.AV2Day.com , a new chapter in the Malaysian hifi and AV scene.

See ya there!

Marten Competition, Win A Pair Of Django L Loudspeakers!

A pair of Marten Django L Loudspeakers can be yours!

Missed out on the competition pair of Marten Django XL last year? I know, some lucky guy in Brazil or is it Mexico won it?

Despair not, for here's hope to win the Django XL's baby brother instead. It's called the Django L due to it's smaller size, but does it mean Marten would soon come out with an M and an S Django model? Who knows.

Waste no time, log on to www.martencompetition.com  for rules and regulations plus find out how to submit your entry.

And may good fortune smile upon you!

Event Report. JVC Launches New 3D HT Projectors For 2013.

The new 2013 range of JVC 3D projectors are now on sale.

JVC launched it's new range for 2013 3D projectors, mostly(except the entry level model DLA-RS46) featuring 4k up scaling, with the use of their upgraded e-shift technology, now called e-shift2. The event was held at the excellent AV Designs showroom in Rohas Perkasa, where members of the lifestyle and AV Press showed up in full force.

The whole JVC marketing team was seen there, including Mr Steven Woo of JVC Kenwood Malaysia Sdn Bhd. & Mr Takehide Sakamoto, who is MD of of the company in Malaysia.

Mr Takehide Sakamoto, MD of JVC Kenwood Malaysia Sdn Bhd. launching the new 2013 range of projectors.

Mr Steven Woo wasted no time by briefing us the salient points that makes JVC 2013 projectors worthy of one's considerations, by presenting a long feature list and finally very attractive retail prices, by 4k projector standards that is!

We were soon ushered in to AV Designs demo room 2, where the more real world priced JVC DLA-RS48 were demo-ed in normal full HD and 4k up scaling modes, plus the immersive 3D qualities that only a big projection screen can provide. Despite being the entry level 3D 4k model, the DLA-RS48 projected rich and vivid colours, truly high resolution pictures, with good depth and dense black quality, despite offering only 50,000:1 native contrast ratio! Sometimes technical specifications can be deceiving indeed.

Mr Steven Woo presenting the technical briefing and specifications session.

All smiles for the photo session.

A closer look at the JVC DLA-RS66 projector, priced at RM$39,999.00 each.

A closer took at the accompanying 3D active glass, which is said to reduce cross talk, resulting in less flickering sensation when viewing movies, causing less fatigue in the long term.

We were than moved to the big boy AV designs demo room 1, where all the best AV gear your $$$ can buy is on demo. Here, we are treated to the state of the art JVC DLA-RS66(with 130,000:1 native contrast ratio!) projector partnered with state of the art Bryston amps and PMC speakers. Every time I come in to this room, I never wanna leave!

In true Malaysian style, the event ended with a Q&A session, followed by a healthy serving of F&B!

To see for yourself is to be impressed by the latest range of JVC 3D projectors.

Do contact James or Tony at AV Designs at 03-21712828 for enquiries or demo appointment.

More Malaysian AV On The Web! Checkout AV2Day.com

There is another Malaysian web page dedicated to AV on the net! It features industry veterans such as Dick Tan(AV Today Mag & currently Organising Chairman Of KLIAV Show ), Lam Seng Fatt(The Star daily's Audiofile & Hifi-Avenue blog), and not so newbie WL Low(a.k.a. Big E in these pages). The three amigos will be supported by more guest contributors, including the supreme high end guy TE Tan(a.k.a. Odioslueth in these pages).

There shall be more of everything, from movies, music, as well as HT and stereo topics to read about. More products previews, reviews, factory tours & industry news among other relevant stories. AV2Day.com is named as such in the honour of AV Today magazine, started by Dick Tan many, many years ago as the foremost pioneering hifi rag in Malaysian shores, way back in the 1970's(which by the way, I still have acouple of copies)! That very same pioneering spirit will drive the AV2Day.com web page to higher and loftier goals, delivering quality infotainment for the Malaysian audio/video enthusiast, who seek to keep abreast on the latest in the scene products.

AV2Day.com is also the only KLIAV officially sanctioned media partner, though that does not mean exclusive coverage. We hope to bring more KLIAV insights and demo to those who could not make the yearly show pilgrimage, due to a variety of reasons.

A new voice for the Malaysian AV Industry.

Go check out http://www.av2day.com and tell us if you like what see here, on the comments section with thanks.   

Chinese New Year Sale! @ Hi-Way Laser PJ.

Hi-Way Laser's CNY Sales price list.

As the Chinese New Year, or Lunar new Year draws closer, Hi-Way Laser is offering mostly their ex-demo, or last year's model AV equipment for sales. Look at those un-believable prices!

For those fortunate enough to get bonuses, here's your chance for AV shopping spree.

Contact Kenny at 019-2813399 or sales availabilities or enquiries.

Bryston B-135 SST2 Integrated Amp Is Now Here!

Bryston B-135 SST2 integrated amp front.

Rear view of the Bryston B-135 SST2. My only gripe? No balanced or XLR inputs!

No amplifier manufacturer wants to be caught without a high end integrated amp in their line up these days, and Bryston is catching up. With today's homes being more compact, most urban folks have learned to do more with less. That's why the high quality integrated amps such as Bryston B-135 SST2, which is rated at 135 watts @ 8 ohms and 180 watts @ 4 ohms load, seems like a good solution to saving space while offering optimum sound quality of audiophile grade.

I had the opportunity to sample the B-135 SST2 powering a pair of PMC PB1i loudspeakers and came away impressed with the degree of bass control and definition in the sound. Fed by Bryston's very own BDP-1 digital media player and BDA-1 DAC combo, with all Wywire cabling, the sound was not only well controlled, but possessed a degree of transparency and rhythmic sure footedness rarely found on lesser integrated amps. Fact is the PMC PB1i loudspeakers are not exactly the easiest to drive, let alone for an integrated to exert control over, which is credit to Bryston for the new found SST2 circuitry and new short signal path pre-amp, which based on the latest SP-3 AV processor's design.

The said system is now on demo at AV Designs showroom, located at Rohas Perkasa in KL.

Please contact James or Tony at 03-21712828 for enquiries or demo appointment.

Pathos Musiteca Music Server On Demo Now!

It's 2013 and the Pathos Musiteca has the honour to be the first new product in Malaysian shores.

What do your get when you add together fine Italian styling, chic design, functional ergonomics, computer server, tube circuitry, and lastly great sound with audiophile brand credibility?

The answer is the Pathos Musiteca music server, featuring integrated touch screen interface, with iTunes like album cover art menu. The Musiteca also functions like an all in one solution for those getting in to high end music server. First, there's a slot for loading CDs which one can play immediately, or ripp using it's built in software. Then there's the touch screen interface mentioned above. And lastly, the a built in DAC capable of decoding 24/196kHz hi-rez audio files. As with all Pathos products, there's a tube output section where one can choose to use single ended or balanced connections.

All the above means nothing if it does not sound good either, and the Musiteca does not disappoint in this respect. The sound is smooth and detailed, with a liquid top end, and honeyed mid range.

It's now on demo in Centre Circle Audio's Taman Tun showroom, so why don't you drop by for a listen?

Call Sky wong or Nelson at 03-77282686 for enquiries or appointment.

Centre Circle Audio Year End Stock Clearence!

Centre Circle Audio Year End Stock Clearance Price List.

Centre Circle Audio is having their Year End Stock Clearance, based on the price list above. Some items listed are going for as much as 50% off usual retail price!

The silly X'mas season has never been this jolly(for audiophiles at least)!

If you see any of the above that catches your interest, hurry over to their Taman Tun showroom, or call Sky or Nelson at 03-77282686 for enquiries.

Clarity MP's New Showroom @ Amcorp Mall.

Clarity MP Sdn Bhd is pleased to announce the official opening of it's showroom in Petaling Jaya, at Lot L2-12, Amcorp Mall. This is Clarity's second location in PJ, after its flagship showroom at Jaya One. Clarity's new venue will showcase SpeakerCraft in-wall solutions, a suite of Mark Levinson And Lexicon electronics, in addition to Revel's marquee* Ultima Salon 2 loudspeakers.

Complementing these are SpeakerCraft's multi-zone music controls, as well as Rako's ambient lighting control system. Kindly see contacts listed below appointments.

Contact Persons:
Cliff - 0163631314
Terry - 0124733005

A&L Audio Station Gets On With dCS!

The demo system comprised of a pair of Dali loud speakers, a pair of  VTL tube mono blocks and the dCS Vivaldi CD transport(from top shelf), DAC, Up Sampler and Master Clock. Pre amp is not required as the DAC outputs 6V max, capable of driving power amps direct. Cabling by Tara Labs.

We attended the dCS Vivaldi ultimate digital source launch party at the A&LAudio Station show room in Bangsar Village II Shopping Center over the weekend, and while at it, we also took the opportunity to do a dealer focus too. The show room, located on the 2nd floor, houses separate AV and hifi demo areas.

On hand to demo and pitch the RM$350k(OMG!) dCS Vivaldi system is non other than Raveen Bawa, who is Export Sales Manager for the company. The dCS Vivaldi is the ultimate digital source front end for luxury or super high end audio systems. Raveen was keen to state that while the 4 box Vivaldi is the new dCS flagship, it does not supersede the Scarlatti, which is also a 4 box digital system. Also on display is the dCS Pucinni, the entry level range of the company. A Debussy DAC for entry level computer audio is also featured. The point here is that entry level for dCS products here will still cost a whole lot more than a used car your money can buy!

Raveen Bawa explaining the finer key design points of  the patented RingDAC topology on the proprietary PCB board(one of the finest quality board I've seen on an audio equipment!) 

Besides enjoying the pristine sound quality of the dCS Vivaldi system, we walked around the showroom and took some pictures to share with you the A&L Audio Station show room.

Show casing the now flag ship cable brand of A&L Audio Station, Tara Labs.

Shelves of AV and hifi equipment of display, featuring brands like Pioneer, Marantz, Denon, Yamaha, PS Audio and Densen.

Speakers row, Dali and PSB on display.

Lifestyle hifi for the 'hip & happening' Bangsar crowd.

Geneva iPod docks finds it's spot in hifi retail.

Mr Lim, just one of the friendly faces at A&L Audio Station Bangsar Village. The other being Mr CT Seong, but he was camera shy, and we could find him with the cam in hand! 

The show room facade of the A&L Audio Station in Bangsar Village II Shopping Center.

As usual, I could not let Raveen leave without throwing him juicy 10Qs about dCS, the company, people and the products.

Stay tune for the 10Qs session to come soon.

New Batch of Swans Arrives at Centre Circle Audio

We were informed that the second shipment of Swan loudspeakers had just arrived at Centre Circle Audio's showroom. Pay them a visit if you missed out on them earlier.

Check out this link for the models available -> http://hifi-unlimited.blogspot.com/2012/06/swans-sing-at-centre-circle-audio.html.

Contact Nelson or Sky at Centre Circle Audio 03-77282686 for an audition.

Sonus Faber Venere 1.5 Speakers, Now On Demo At Pefrect Hi-Fi.

The latest range of affordable speaker series from Sonus Faber is called Venere, available is a variety of sizes and models to suit stereo & AV use. I heard the Venere 1.5 stand mount model as pictured above singing at Perfect Hi-Fi Amcorp Mall showroom, and they do sound like a great value for money speaker option for those shopping at below RM$10k budgets.

Contact Jepson at 012-3930263 for enquiries and details.

Event Report, Franck Tchang Demo At CMY Audio Visual.

Franck Tchang pitching his unique flag ship Super Tango loudspeakers to the audience.

Franck's the name, and fun's the game! That's what one can expect when attending an Acoustic System International demo, by Franck Tchang. Two week ends ago, CMY Audio & Visual hosted such an event at their Damansara Uptown showroom.

Franck was in town to promote some of his latest products, and the one and only pair of flag ship Super Tango loudspeakers on this part of the world. "I only made three pairs of these, no more! There's a pair in my home, another pair in Europe somewhere, and this pair you see here. However, the more common Tango speakers will continue to be manufactured as per order basis", he said.

The demo system system is use featured Metronome CD player, Prima Luna pre & power amps and Franck Tchang's Super Tango loudspeakers plus ASI cabling.

Some of the audience in the listening session.

Next, Franck was promoting his new product, namely an Acoustic Phase Corrector! It looked just like that block of wood used to held up his acoustic resonator cups, but Franck says the design is different as it was designed to do a different job! Franck reckons there's 3 types of phase one should take care of when setting an high end audio system, one is the electrical supply phase(to which Franck admitted being most important), two is the recording phase(such as those highly prized Decca classical recordings for example, which is why he absolutely recommends having a pre-amp with phase inverting switch) and lastly, the room phase(which is a result of speaker to room interaction, which can result in unfavourable sonic results).

With the first two phase issues tackled, the final hurdle remains, and that's where his Acoustic Phase Corrector comes in to play. As usual his demo is highly convincing as in one can really hear the difference as he plays around with his Resonator Cups and Phase Correctors, working in unison with his Sugar Cubes. All are Franck's take on non invasive method of room acoustic treatment, compared against common solutions, which can be bulky and unsightly(resulting in poor Wife Acceptance Factor!).

Franck Tchang's latest innovation, the Acoustic Phase Corrector. The front face, seen here with the blue dot points to positive phase, and if one should turn it around, will result in negative phase. Easy as that! Franck recommends the use of four Phase Corrector in a hifi room.

A short Q&A session with the audience ensured from then on and that's when Franck puts on his charm offensive! I'll leave you with some of the more memorable pictures of the session.

"What? Me crazy? Maybe just a little!"



"What do you mean you don't believe? You can't hear the difference?"

WyWires Comes Courtesy Of AV Designs.

Guys and gals, still need more high end cables to play with? How about a cable that's design and developed and demo-ed in conjunction with TAD's high end audio equipments?

Yes folks, the brand is not new as it's being demo-ed in hifi shows the world over with mostly TAD partnering equipments, resulting in many "Best Of Show" awards since 2008.

However, thanks to the boys at AV Designs, we now have access to this new high end cable products. Odiosleuth is already liming up for his review samples! 

Should you feel the same, please contact James or Tony at 03-21712828 for more info.

CMY Audio & Visual Gets MS HD Power!

Good news for folks hunting for power products on an econo budget. CMY Audio & Visual has sourced a new brand of China made power delivery product with excellent build quality and reliability, a visually excited John(CMY head honcho) tells me.

They are great for budget hifi and AV requirements, and comes with a range of contact metals available, platinum being top dog. John assures that they're super affordable for the quality. We've being promised some to try soon.

For more details, call John or Dicky at 03-21439206.