On Soundstage

Loosely based on a true story.

The Movement Control Order due to covid19 continued into 2021. Our group of audiophiles was restless. The only HiFi thing we could do as a group was to chat, banter and debate on WhatsApp.

The discussion turned to soundstage. We know there are many audiophiles who take the soundstage as the be-all and end-all of a HiFi system. A system is not considered up to snuff if it does not produce that soundstage with the requisite qualities. 

It went on thus:

"What creates the soundstage we hear from our system?"

"Soundstage stems from the reflected sound / the reverberation / the ambiance sound from the recording environment that is captured in the recording. Having said that, an artificially generated ambiance/reverb done by the sound engineer can also create the perception of a soundstage." 

"If soundstage formation is a result of the reverb or ambiance information, then other than the recording avenue, the reverb/ambiance sound from our listening space should also influence the soundstage formation. The soundstage heard from a HiFi system is so different from that heard from earphones, the latter has only recorded ambiance sound and is without any reverb or ambiance of the listening environment, so this shows that the listening room does affect the soundstage."

"I meant the soundstage formation should primarily be a function of the reverb/ambiance of the recording venue. The listening room's contribution must be minimized or eliminated so as not to interfere with the ambiance of the recording venue. Indeed, I have heard well formed soundstage from high quality earphones too."

"What about speaker positioning? Different speaker positions can affect the perception of the soundstage, such as width and depth, not to mention other qualities like image focus and separation." 

"In purist recordings, the miking technique affects the soundstage formation. Different miking technique, such as the Decca tree, Blumlein stereo etc. will portray different soundstage."

"Then, taking in all of the above, is there a real world representation of the soundstage as the one heard on our system? Or, soundstage is purely an artifact produced by our HiFi system?"

"We have heard enough times that live performances don't have a soundstage, at least not like the one produced by our systems." 

"That is the million dollar question. But regardless of the answer, we can take it as an area for out HiFi tuning, don't we audiophiles derive so much fun from tuning our system to our liking? That is just a part of the enjoyment of our hobby."

"Well, how do we judge whether the soundstage portrayed by a system is good or correct then? If there is no real life reference, is it subjective?"

"Of course there is a way! I look at it from the angle of perspective and proportion, like when we draw a scenery. But that is story for another day, let's do this over a good coffee next time "

"Audiophiles judge soundstage quality based on various facets of the soundstage. Let's see if I can list them out and give a visual equivalent of each one. When we talk about soundstaging, imaging comes hand-in-hand too, in my opinion. 

Soundstage depth

Soundstage width

Soundstage height

Image size

Image sharpness / Image focus / Image definition. This visual analogy as to what is good or bad does not always translate to the audio one, some listeners like a slightly diffused definition, deeming it to be less fatiguing and more natural sounding. I think the key is to get it just right, like the middle image of the eagle

Image density

Image separation vs congestion

Soundstage distortion

Soundstage transparency. This image is blurry and the see-thru quality is low, but at the same time it can also be deemed as romantic and beautiful! The audio equivalent is the same too.

Soundstage 3D-ness and envelopment

Background darkness

Background noise level (noisy vs quiet). In the audio equivalent, I wonder whether sometimes some audiophiles took noise as low level details or ambiance information? hmm..... I am not sure. 

Anything else I missed?

Lastly, as to whether certain qualities are more important than others, or what level of performance is considered good or bad for each of these qualities, I think audiophiles should agree to disagree, rather than getting into heated arguments 😁."

"Are you sure it is logical to equate soundstage to visual representations?" 

"It always strikes me that people use visual description for their perception of the soundstage, such as 'I can see the singer in front of me', 'I can see the singer's mouth floating mid-air', 'I can count the heads in the choir', 'it is like seeing the band playing in front of me."

"Anyway, this is just an analogy and you can take it as just for fun lah. 😊" 

And thus our intrepid audiophiles moved on. 

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?

On Image Height

Largely based on a true story again.

Our group of audiophiles continue to have on-line discussions on topics peculiar to our hobby.

This time, the discussion turns to Image Height, which refers to how high up from the ground that the sound sources of the singer and the various musical instruments are perceived to be emanating from within the sound-stage.

This is a performance characteristic that many audiophiles hold very dearly to. Many even take it as a make-or-break item in the capability of a hi-fi system. An image height that is deemed too low may elicit a total write-off of the entire system, all other audio performance criteria be damned!

Usually, the position of "the mouth of the singer" is used as the reference point. As such, solo vocal tracks are commonly used to gauge image height.

The discussion went thus:

A: "What should be the image height from a hi-fi system? How high is considered correct?"

B: "I asked a sifu once, he said it should be the same height as our line of sight. Slightly higher is ok too."

C: "I like my image height to be the rough height of a person's mouth while standing up."

D: "Image height is the result of the interaction between the left and right speakers, this interaction also causes the variation in height. The correct height should be around 5ft /1.5m. If the height is wrong then there is something uneven with the energy distribution within the audio frequency spectrum.

B: "There are actually a variety of height possibilities:

The artist can be performing standing up,

she can be sitting on a tall stool.

or sitting down on a chair.

But one thing I am sure though, no audiophile likes an image height as if the singer is lying on the floor! 😁"

E: "There is one more position, very comfortable, called the 'Ge-You Slouch' 葛优躺! 😁"

(note: Ge-You is a popular character actor from China)

A: "No lah! we are talking about the posture of the singer, not the listener lah."

B:"In my opinion, there could be 2 possibilities to the image height phenomenon.

If image height is purely an effect or the result of the interaction between the loudspeakers and the listening space, then our "system tuning" will determine the image height from our system, in our room, for all recordings, since this interaction is independent of the recording itself. That is, we'll get a consistent image height in our listening room.

However, if image height is part of the information encoded in the recording, then we should hear image height variations from a variety of recordings, from different labels, genre, era etc, as the condition or circumstances under which each recording was made would be different.

I don't know which one is correct, but I suspect the truth is somewhere in-between these 2 extremes. I have heard different system and room tuning influencing the perception of image height. I have also experienced hearing varying heights from one same system when playing different recordings. The latter, in my opinion, signifies a highly resolved and highly transparent system."

A:"Is there such a thing as an image height that is too tall?

F: "No lah! Depends on personal taste, who knows, an audiophile may like a front row seat like this....

"

The End. 😉

On Tonal Colour

Largely based on a true story.

A bunch of audiophile buddies met online during this stay-at-home period, and the topic turned to Tonal Colour.

That is, the different tonal colours produced by different hi-fi systems - that which gives each system its own distinctive sound/tone/character/presentation when playing the same piece of music from the same recording (the Chinese audiophiles among us refer to it as '音色' or in Cantonese 'yam sek'). Note that we are not talking about the tonal colour of musical instruments here, which allows the listener to recognize what type of musical instrument it is.

I have heard a system's tonal colour described variously as golden hued, warm, cool, icy cold, saturated, light, washed out (and also the dreaded 'neutral', which some take it to imply blandness/emotionless😉, though to me true neutrality is a positive thing) etc..

The discussion went thus:

A: "Is there such a thing as a 'correct' tonal colour, which implies also then that there are wrong ones? Or that tonal colour is a matter of the owner's personal taste, i.e., it is about what I like or dislike?"

B: "I take it as a visceral matter, a matter of the heart. There is no standard, everyone can have a different taste, no right or wrong. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder."

C: "As long as the portrayal of musical instruments is still distinguishable, then it should be ok, I feel that if an audiophile emphasizes on tuning his system to a tonal colour that he likes, he may stray onto the wrong path. He will get an imbalanced sound. Like, every recording sounds warm, or voluptuous or whatever..."

B: "As long as the system has good balance, tuning the tonal colour is a sprinkling of flavour on top, it is personal taste."

D: "Let's use photos as an analogy. Look at these photos then, their colour balance is equivalent to a hi-fi system's tonal colour.

Which one is right? Which one is wrong? Or there is no right or wrong, just which one you think is the most beautiful in your eyes?"

E: "Looks like A was taken at 7 o'clock in the morning; B at noon time; C at 7pm. I think the colour in every photo is skewed somewhat."

D: "Well, the same photo can be made to look like it was taken at 7am, 12 noon or 7pm. However, the photo must have been taken at one specific time! The 'true picture' can only be revealed if the camera that captured the image and the subsequent production of that image do not involve an iota of alteration.

The camera is analogous to the recording process, the image production is our hi-fi system's replay.

The recording process is in the past tense already, an audiophile can no longer control/influence it but to accept the recording, in whatever media, as it is. What we can control is the choice of our hi-fi equipment and system tuning for the replay. If you want to replay the recording as faithfully as possible, then you'd look to build a system that does not alter (much of) anything - this, to me, is what our hi-fi hobby, as in High Fidelity, means."

F: "I understand now. Whatever the cook serves us, we just eat it, without adding any additional salt, sauce, or MSG, right? LOL!"

D: "What about this photo then? Does anyone think it is 'wrong'?"

E: "The colour is over-saturated leh."

G:"All this intellectual discussion is well and good. I think a system is to serve its master ultimately. So as long as I enjoy what I hear from MY system, then it is good enough for ME, any other hi-fi description is irrelevant!"

All: " Hear! Hear!"

The End. 😊

Listen, Listen, Listen!

The lady that inspired me to write this!

 

I was inspired by a video on You Tube, show casing this lady's tirade which happened in a local university forum. By now, to most Malaysians at least, the said video that went viral in past 2 weeks needs no further introduction.

There are not many occasions when I was inspired enough to write a poem about. I can recall two, the first time I was inspired enough to write a poem is when I first fell in love my life partner, that was enough to convince me that she was THE ONE! The next time I wrote another poem was just after I witness a small miracle, in which I naturally was promoted to the ranks of fatherhood!

For some funny and in-explicable reason, which left me pondering in the past week why? How can I be inspired by an event and people in which I have no feelings what so ever for. Perhaps if you read on, then you can tell me.

Listen, listen, listen!
That's all we audiophiles ever do
Music lovers also listen
To songs that recording qualities may not do?

Listen, listen, listen!
A forum this is not
When I speak, you listen
Therefore I started this blog, your prerogative to agree with me or not!

Listen, listen, listen!
When visiting, do not talk too much
Especially to equipments which price tag makes your eyes glisten 
The host may respond "Your equipment how much?"

Listen, listen, listen!
Even animals have problems
The more an audiophile listen
Is the music mixed with acoustic problems?

Listen, listen, listen!
All of us look for audio nirvana
Perhaps there's such a place, if by heart we listen
For some however, god only can be heard via Vahalla

Listen, listen, listen!
To the lady who is a fiery speaker
I am sure her husband is a good listener
Because at home he's got Wilson speakers?

Listen, listen, listen!
She says all is forgiven
When audiophiles disagree, emotions are heightened
Perhaps more respect, should each other be given?

Listen, listen, listen!
Love all your possessions
Skill and knowledge can quicken
The expansion of one's hifi and music horizons.

THE END

There, I said "listen" many more times then the lady did! I wish to thank her for inspiring me to write another poem, but only to be reminded of my love for hifi and my circle of audiophile friends!

This poem is dedicated to all who loves hifi and music.

PEACE!

Bye! Bye! 2012.

2012, NOT the end of the world as the Mayan's know it!

Time flies and but our hifi still ties, us to the music that is, our food for the soul. As the years goes by, we find our selves having less and lesser time for music appreciation. Music now days, it seems serves as a back ground sound to keep us from feeling alone.

I find that I get more music from the car stereo(radio stations), my computer(Internet radio), home radio, and iPhone(CD rips) rather than the hi-fidelity conduit of my hifi system. Perhaps I've been distract by my new toy, the AV system(very guilty), or perhaps spending more time at work(Nope!), family demands(a little), or may be I just need a little time off from hifi?

Regardless, 2012 has been another bountiful year for us all, with lot's a hifi/AV gear to play with, Jack was never a dull boy. I can't help when looking back, that this has been a bumper year for cable reviews! You know what they say about the hifi retail industry, when all you get are cable reviews, it just proves one thing, times are though! Logic is that when the going gets rough, audiophiles and consumers in general, tend to hold on to what they've got, what ever up grade plans get shelved. So retailers tend to focus on the next item most obsessed by audiophiles, which are cables and tweak accessories. Just like the auto industry, in though times, new cars are hard to move, as consumers hold off they purchase decisions for a year of two, at least until the economy looks more certain. In the mean time, the average motorist spends his/her extra cash on smaller items like a fancy Sat/Nav system, inch up the sports wheel and tyre, or have a fancy alarm system installed, just in case(some thief takes a fancy of the four wheels)! You get my drift.

Talking about cables, we end the year with a high note, thanks to my buddy Jo Ki of LS3/5A fame, who loaned me an experienced of his newest conquest, the all mighty Skogrand Mackarian 421 cables which are so... far ahead of the exotic cable pack, I counted my self one of the luckiest audiophile to have heard it before the end of days, if the Mayans were right! The cable market has a new world order!

Talking about a new world order and ending the year on a high, Odiosleuth got himself all wet over a CD/SACD player, which we all weren't too keen until now that is. The dCS Puccini is so mighty poisonous, that a warning should be printed on it's outer packaging "Audition at your own risk! May cause financial meltdown and domestic issue if one does not have enough antibody enzyme" Already one fella got bitten when smitten. Will the venomous dCS declare strike two???

So leave all the gloom and doom of 2012 behind, as we welcome 2013. There will be new excitement and fanfare to get us all wet too! Just watch this space and keep coming back.

Wifi, The Future Of Hifi? Dynaudio Xeo Series Loudspeakers.

Dynaudio Xeo 5 floor stand speakers on demo at CMY Audio & Visual Damansara Uptown showroom.

I remember well a remark to end all cable debates when it comes to audio discussion, "The Best Cable Should Sound Like No Cable"! Yes, folks high end cable discussion still split opinions like no other hifi component, and now comes an innovation so close to the ideal "no cable is best" scenario, yet opens a whole new can of worms altogether in the hifi cable, or is it wifi discussions?

Dynaudio's new Xeo series of loudspeakers are quite possibly the most ambitious wifi transmission based hifi in the high end dom. CMY Audio & Visual recently launch them with fanfare at their Damansara Uptown PJ showroom, but I missed the event due to work commitments(un-like most people, I had a job too, you know?).

The Xeo series looks just like the X-cite series in gloss coloured finish. Note the power ON/OFF button with LED.

So this little preview serves to test and hear for myself if this wifi hifi is worth our serious attention? CMY Audio & Visual Damansara Uptown showroom had a pair of floor standing Xeo 5 on demo complete with NAS(Network Audio Storage) supplying 16 bit CD quality tunes via USB connection to Dynaudio's Xeo transmitter box, which is said to be effective up to 100 meters, depending on indoor domestic construction. The more solid walls, the less effective the transmission rates. However, in the demo set up, the transmitter is sited not too far away, and there were no signal drop outs through out the demo period of 35 minutes or so.

Various audiophile favorite tunes were used in the demo and the powered Xeo 5 speakers reproduced music with a refinement and maturity that only a pair of Dynaudio can. The music was reasonably detailed without too much losses compared to the lofty standards of a wired high end system. My only reservation is that the back ground noise(white hash) can be lowered for improved hifi performance, if there's any area to nit pick.

The Dynaudio Xeo loudspeakers are powered with an individual power cord each. That's about the only cable one can play with this speakers. 

I see a new kind of budget or mid-fi system option here, for those who are IT savvy or just plain lifestyle conscious folks. All one needs to do is to have a NAS set up and an iPhone or similar device as the master remote, and one can buy 1 or 2 pairs of Dynaudio Xeo to set up a single or dual zone hi-quality home audio system with not a single audio cable in sight, how cool is that, compared to a traditional wired system of black or silver boxes?

The discreet Xeo black box transmitter is no bigger than the size of a CD case.

This is probably the first serious assault at cable-less high end audio, and while the traditional wired high end audio system has nothing to lose sleep about for now, with advancing transmission technology filtering up stream in future development, there's certainly hope for the "no cable is best" argument to become a possible reality. Only time will tell, not if, but rather when it happens!

Go check 'em out and see if you like what you hear.

For demo appointment or enquiries, please contact Chan or Chua of CMY Audio & Visual at 03-77272419

1,000,000 And Counting!

It's been a long, long while since I did a Mind Over Hifi posting(I must confess that very little of my mind has been in hifi of late), but the occasion warrants it today. It's been a depressing day for me. A day of opportunities lost, of deep frustrations and a general feeling of helplessness. However, when I turn on my PC and logged in to this blog, a small, if insignificant number cropped out of our page views counter. Yes folks, we've hit the million readership mark on this blog site. It's the feeling of a small achievement, that manage to end my bitter day on a some what sweeter note.

Please allow me to re-count on our journey so far.

Both me and Odioslueth started this blog as an audio adventure partnership, a little over 3 years ago, coming together from our past contributions in another audio blog site called Desirable Audio Boutique. We had intended to use this blog to promote the hobby of specialist audio for greater society participation. We shared our audio philosophies, beliefs and our practical experiences in this musically rewarding hobby of ours. We also document our equipment up grade trial, and shared our sonic triumphs with you, our dear readers. We may not always be right, but we're always man enough to own up if proven otherwise.

Soon, we found industry wide support in our passion for high end audio. We sincerely thank all those dealers who supported us with product review loaners, the little social parties called events, and most of all the friendships that were developed as result from the blog's activities. We appreciate the trust these dealers put upon us with the mega bucks gear on loan. Trust me, while we thoroughly enjoyed our time with them, the responsibility to return them, un-marked, and free from un-warranted molestation is enormous while under our care.  However, we are proud to have achieved a 100% blemish free goods return rate, except when the times that we fell head over heels over the subject under scrutiny and return in cash instead! Odiosleuth happily calls this occasion an "occupational hazard!". I couldn't agree more, happy reviews, and merry dealers, what's not to like?

Now, I am not exactly sure how much influence we hold sway upon our audience, but there sure as hell that some industry players cared enough about what we had to say. There were times when we had to make choices, between those that came bearing gifts, or those that let their legal departments do the "talking" and editorial integrity, which we'll always choose the later without the slightest of considerations. As a result we may have alienated certain industry players. There are also times when readers accuse that we always have something positive to write on every equipment under review. My guess is that if neither side is exactly pleased, then we're probably balancing along the fine line with equal measure. There's a proverb for this too, "You can't please everyone all the time, but you can please most people, most of the time".  In this blog site, we remain truly "non profit" in our hearts. For all I know, our smart readers couldn't give a jack sh*t about our ramblings here?

There are plans to bring this blog site concept up another level soon, pending legalities and other regulatory requirements which we have to comply upon in the near future. Details are still being worked out at this point, but we trust that our new effort will bring even more cheer and excitement to the high end audio market place. As we still have some on going editorial commitments to fulfil, this blog site will continue in it's present form for a little while more, so please stay with us till the very end. This is NOT a good bye note, not just yet!

Lastly, there are times when people come up to us, because they recognise us from these pages, and tell us that they love our work, or that it's the first web page they look up to when they switch on their computers, that's more than enough motivation to carry on with our sharing of musical gifts and audio joys. A million thanks to all our faithful readers, and we couldn't have done it without your un-ending support. We are proud to have gone this far with you indeed!

Calling It A Day? Audioing Signs Off.

Even the hifi clowns are saddened by Audioing's decision to call it a day. Truly, a tragic talent lost in Malaysian hifi blog sphere. I only hope he'll one day return with a vengeance.

No, it's not me calling a day! I am instead, referring to an esteemed fellow audio blogger, Audioing's decision to call it day from writing about his hifi adventures. He's a very private fella, a fervent proponent of low cost, high performance(CP ratio) audio reproduction. The hifi champion of the Malaysian salaried music lover and audio enthusiast.

A group of his staunchest readers wrote to him, asking for his reconsideration but to no avail. I met up with him over a cuppa with the same intentions, but also to no avail. What makes Audioing so special?

For one, his got a pair of really keen ears. Knows his hifi depth and knowledge. I find his blogging style special, as one sifu would put it "this guy's got real balls!". He's got a sense of humour too. I especially like his hifi social observation the most.

The good news is that, he's just stop writing about hifi. He is still a hifi connoisseur, and is still part of the hifi society. So perhaps he's just a little tired(we all get that sometimes), or he has other things on his mind for now. As long as Audioing is still listening to music and playing hifi, there's good chance to hope that he'll be back in the future(hopefully, we don't have to wait too long!).

He's even switched off the comments section of Audioing, so should any one want to have a shout out to him, please show your support by putting your thoughts, on to the comments section here. I know he's reading. Ha! Ha!

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."

Business As Usual?

This looks like business hours with some of our hifi dealers!

The Star daily's Audiofile section makes it's last appearance today after 22 years of publication. A whole generation of audiophiles grew up(and grew old) with Audiofile. Similarly, the NST's AV Today also had it's plug pulled(for now at least) sometime earlier this month. It's a sad loss, no make that double tragedy for the English reading Malaysian audiophile. What does this mean for local hifi market?

Keen eyed readers would've also noticed the lost of high end audio and AV dealer, Ultimate Reference advert panel on these pages. They too have shuttered sometime in January(if not mistaken). Audio Impressions also suffered the same fate some time last year.

It looks like the bad times are here. New vehicle sales are down, more people are losing their jobs, and even more companies have implemented hiring freeze. As expected, post Chinese New Year blues is the season people usually tighten their belts, after lavish spending from a series of festivities and holidays starting from the end of last year. It's the time to catch up on those credit card payments and make up for those house hold budget deficits.

What can we expect from all this? Expect less new brands and models coming to our shores, as our dealers struggle to clear their existing stocks. Expect more "SALES" and discounts. Expect some lesser brands to eventually disappear from the market place, as dealers streamline their product ranges. Expect less overall marketing activities.

I suspect this is all just the beginning! Expect things to get worst before it gets better. Perhaps this is a time for our local hifi dealers to conserve and emerge stronger out of this down season? Business as usual? Absolutely, as they say, hifi business is highly cyclical.

Still, it'll be hard to imaging both me and Odiosleuth to continue these pages for 22 years. That's a mighty long time! Kudos to all the guys who contributed to Audiofile for that long a time. You guys deserve a break and lastly, my Monday mornings will never be the same again.

Gear That Impressed in 2011

Before we embark on sharing more hifi equipment with you in 2012, it is appropriate for me to first highlight a few pieces of hifi equipment that had stood out in the year that just passed. Each one of them had lived in my system for a number of weeks, each one of them was extensively listened to. I found them to be able to stand the test of time and will provide long term listening enjoyment to the potential owner.

Digital Frontend:

1. Wadia 571 CD Transport, 931 Digital Controller, 922 Mono Decoding Computers.
List: RM174,880. CMY

The Wadia rig in the foreground of the picture

A take-no-prisoner, leave-no-stone-unturned approach to digital playback. The sound is highly detailed, very clean and refined, yet impactful and dynamic when called for.

If you love the Wadia sound, but found this quartet too stressful financially, I'd recommend the Wadia 381 CD Player, which Big E and myself listened to last year. It is the entry level in Wadia's current line-up but gives you a slice of the Wadia top dog's sound quality and sound characteristics.


2. Technical Audio Devices TAD-D600 SACD/CD Player
List: RM129,000. AV Designs

The TAD-D600 has music in its heart. It went about doing its job in an even-handed and low key manner that I did not realize just how very excellent it was, until I took it out of my system. Then, I missed it tremendously.

Flawless rendition of all musical genres, rich sound with dense sonic images.


3. Krell S350a CD Player
List: RM10,500. Hi-Way Laser.

This Krell is a surprise find for me. I wouldn't say that it comes close to the two preceding heavyweights, but the Krell S350a punches way above its price class in terms of build and of sound quality. Many will find there isn't much more they want from a CD player.

The sound is organic, robust and musical. A very good music making machine.


Pre-amplifier:

1. Ayre KX-R
List: RM77,700. Hi-Way Laser

Hifi jewel at its best. Impeccable build quality. The sound has an excellent vitality and an attractive, slightly golden hue.

The Ayre KX-R is both musically and technically beyond reproach. One of the best pre-amps currently available.


2. Pass Labs XP-20
List: RM31,200. Perfect Hi-Fi

This Pass Labs sounds neutral, smooth, robust, dynamic. An excellent all-rounder. My current resident pre-amp, enough said.


Power Amplifier:

1. Parasound Halo JC1 monoblocks
List: RM39,000. Centre Circle Audio

A gentle giant. When playing softer music or small scale ensemble, the Halo JC1 has the finesse of a small amplifier, like an excellent 30-50 watter. However, the 300 watts in reserve means the JC1 will stand up to any challenge. I prefer its high bias setting which gives 25 watts in class A.


Loudspeakers:

1. Marten Getz
List: RM80,781. Swedish Statement

A 'High Definition' loudspeaker.

The Marten Getz was the first pair of loudspeakers in my system that challenged me to discard my old notion of high fidelity sound.

Very detailed and clean, but not clinical when matched well (my Pass Labs XA-60 was an excellent match). The high was pristine and extended, the mid was clear and open, the bass was tuneful. I called my long-term living experience with the Marten Getz a 'cultural shock'.


Power Line Conditioner

1. Running Springs Audio - Duke
List: RM9,187.50 with the Mongoose powercord. Ultimate Reference

Power line conditioner with 2 outlets, aimed at power amp or monoblocks. Takes away haziness, adds dynamics, hugely improves bass quality.


Cables - strange, I did not get myself any cables to write about the entire 2011. So there is nothing to say.


Special Mention:

Technical Audio Devices TAD-C2000 Preamp / TAD-M2500 power amp / TAD-CR1 loudspeakers
List: RM128,000 / RM115,000 / RM148,000. AV Designs

I had the TAD-C2000 and TAD-M2500 for short listening in my system (one evening) at the turn of the year. While the TAD-CR1 loudspeakers have been running in my system for a few weeks, I have not reported on them yet. So, I'd not include them in the main body of this post.

However, each and every one of the TAD gear had sounded more than impressive in the listening session and other times in the dealer's showroom. Music listening through them was deeply satisfying, and that's what our hobby is all about.

Listen to them if they cross your path, I bet you'd learn a thing or two.

That's all I have. Onwards to 2012.

2012, The Last Mile?

If the ancient Mayans are right, it's all coming to an end, come 21st December 2012! Repent and make peace with your loved ones, friends and the divined one, while you still can. Ha! Ha!

At this point in time, it would seem like the ancient Mayans had it all figured out like a few thousand years ago. The impending melt down of the global economy, the political up heavals facing many nations, the natural disasters that just hit countries like Japan, Thailand and New Zealand. 2012 has surely came with makings of the Hollywood blockbuster movie with the same year as it's tittle. It's not a good sign.

There's a lot of gloom and doom out there, but for us audiophiles and music lovers, there is always music for us to seek refuge, from the daily grind and chaos. Our obsession with hifi may not be able to distract us from all the uncertainties, but music has a calming effect.

I've been consuming much of my music while driving in the car, more than thru my hifi system actually(I drive around a lot). Looking back, by new year's eve 2011, my audio system has under gone much change, since the early days of Hifi-Unlimited blogging. Nearly every component in my hifi system, except for my power amp, has being replaced. Many have asked me recently about my dream hifi system, the one that I aspire to. I must say that if you'd just asked the same question a few years ago, my answer would surely be the very same equipments I have in my hifi system today. So my answer to my friend's inquiry would be this, "I already have all that I want, I am very satisfied with my hifi performance today, thanks for asking by the way".

Now before you accuse me of bragging, showing off and what nots, please allow me to clarify my position. My hifi system's performance is not perfect, far from it in fact! I do not live in an ivory tower. However for me, it has come to a point where my system's overall performance synergy has been equalised. It's a well rounded system that will please me on all musical forms and genre, within the constrains of my smallish 10 x 12ft room. Most gratifying of all, I have my very own little music making hole, to hide away from the worries of the troubled world facing us today!

I've come to realised too, that to make the next performance "Great Leap Forward" as Chairman Mao would say, will require me to start a whole new chain of hifi upgrades, again! That's not something I am really keen to do at this point in time. I shall take it slow and steady, and just enjoy the accumulated fruits of my labour. Since I already have my dream system, so to speak, I shall take time to maximise it's performance envelope instead, literally go for the last mile, with my existing components, plus a few tweaks perhaps?

In the mean time, don't let all the gloom and doom get you down, just be thankful for all that you have, no matter how insignificant, and make the best of it. After all hifi is just a pursuit of an ideal, an ideal of absolute sound. Now before you ask me what is "The Absolute Sound?". Don't get me started on that! Ha! Ha!

What I am trying to say is this, if you're reading this, hifi matters a lot obviously, and if for whatever reasons you're not too happy or quite satisfied with those in your possession now, it's not like it's "The end of the world" as we know it. Hey! The Mayans could be wrong after all!

And by the way, we'd be presenting our Best of 2011 gears very soon, do stay tune if you wanna know.

Happy New Year!

Audiophile, And Proud Of It!

A music lover's romance or audiophile's wet dream? Why make the distinction, as long as this beauty is helping me to re-position my speakers. Ha! Ha!


It seems like my earlier music review article, featuring The 1969-1981 Singles, by Carpenters have rubbed more than a few feathers the wrong way, only because I confessed to recognise the talents of the hugely popular artistic duo via the latest 24/96 remastered hi-rez downloads. The so called "music lovers" immediately accused me of being an audiophile, like as if it was something that I should be ashamed of. Many also pride their huge collection of music as proof of being a music lover, rather than an audiophile, yet they have very ambitious audio rigs at home, and behave in a highly critical manner when they go visit fellow audiophile homes. I wish to ask this pertinent question to those who behave as such. Why the double identity, split personality behaviour?

It's actually been happening for a few years now, that I see and hear many audiophiles declare themselves to be music lovers. I could not understand that why we should be ashamed of our fairly healthy, if somewhat obsessive hobby, in pursuit of "The Absolute Sound"? We are also not as proud to "parade" or show off our equipment to fellow enthusiast, unlike those motorcar or super bike loving folks!

When I was in to stamp collection, I proudly lugged my heavy albums with me to share my collection(OK, plain showing off, if you wish!) when I knew I was about to meet fellow collectors. My friends who like to go fishing talk about their latest sea fairing adventures and show photos of their finest catches with pride. So why are we audiophiles so eager to disguise our hobby in to something else? What's the shame in being some one who adores good sounding equipment, just like the boys who adores the fast cars and perhaps, even faster women?

In a world of six billion human beings and counting, some statistics point to the figure of 2% or so, that can be considered as audiophiles. My buddy ML would even call the said statistic as highly optimistic!  No wonder the hifi market is slumping due to a lack of fresh young blood. If we, the music loving audiophile can't even be proud enough and admit to being one, who else will be convinced enough to follow our foot steps?

As ML pointed out, audiophiles seldom attends "live musical concert" as they prefer to stay at home to listen to music through their hifi systems. I see nothing wrong with that. What one chooses to do with his/her time is of nobody else's business. I personally know many music lovers who do not own any audio equipment that we could in any way considered capable of hifi! My little girls loves music for the music it self, only because they can enjoy music via their iPods, the radio station or even the crappy OEM Honda car stereo. They still move and respond to the beat of the music, despite all the lesser than average audio fidelity. The maestro,Tey Cher Siang and many other musicians I know, do not own any audio equipment that we, the snooty audiophile community will ever consider as hifi, yet they enjoy listening to music any way(to be frank, I know the maestro is trying to get to hifi kingdom, someday)! For me, it's these particular group of people, if any one else, who deserves the title of "music lover".

If one craves for hifi equipment, only because he/she wants more bass, or clearer sound, while listening to music than they are most likely to be considered an audiophile, perhaps in the future if not now. Me? To be honest, I do not know exactly which group I should consider my self to be, an audiophile or music lover?

Here's my story so far. At six of seven years old, I discovered the addictive quality of music, when I listened to stuff, from The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, and bands like Kajagoogoo, Yazoo, Depeche Mode, Culture Club, Duran-Duran and Men At Work. It wasn't really about hifi or sound quality until I was about 15 years old, when I'd tweak the tape capstan(these were the compact cassette days!) tension to get better bass and improved speed stability. The hifi streak took over as a dorm dwelling student as I started to upgrade my stereo system, what ever it was back then. Strangely, the routine of ritual called work, plus the need to save up for a nice car and home put an end to my hifi days, but I never stop buying, listening and enjoying music, which at this point is almost always the latest chart topping hits. Some where along the line, I started appreciating female vocals and some guitar(I first heard about Roger Wang about this time) music too. It wasn't until 10 years or so ago, that the car audio bug bite and soon, I was building formidable mobile systems. I moved on from the car audio only a few years back to build my current hifi system today. While doing so, I managed to revisit and appreciate much of the music that I once discounted. It wasn't until too long ago, that I started exploring musical genre like jazz, classical, or just plain audiophile music.

So one can easily see, that in my short lifetime, I have drifted in and out between music lover and audiophile with various degree of intensity. At this point in time I'd consider myself more audiophile than music lover, only because I write in these pages and the current hifi system helps me to expand my musical horizon. If you're reading this now, surely you're more of an audiophile than anything else! Otherwise, you should be spending more time on Pop Pop Music blog as linked on the right side panel or go to http://www.thediapason.com/ amongst other worth while music journals.

However, my question now(again?) is this, music lover or audiophile? Why make the distinction?  How does it matter if you've got a hifi system and love good sound with the aim to better music enjoyment? Why does one need to feel so ashamed to be called an audiophile, that he/she has to disguised as "music lover"? After all it's not like we're doing anything bad and harmful such as paedophile? Oppss......... perhaps something is better left unspoken? Your thoughts on the subject matter?

Steve Jobs 1955-2011.

It's been a while since I've done a Mind Over Hifi post. I am sure most would be made aware by now, the tragic passing of Steve Jobs, Apple Inc's iconic boss. He has not only impacted the IT world as in the past, but in the last decade or so, he has practically re-shaped the music retail industry, and how we are all interfacing with our hifi equipments today, no thanks to products like iPod, iPhone and iPad. That's why I feel compelled to make this post, sitting here in my music cave listen to my hi-rez music files interfaced via my iPhone controlling the Bryston BDP-1 digital media player, and reading the online news on my iPad!

To be honest, I was never much of an Apple fan boy, although many of my buddies in the graphic arts industry worshiped the man from the days of the very first Mac PC. I vaguely remembered that a buddy had to save many years of his working wages, surviving on a strict diet of teh tarik and roti canai(Malaysia's ultimate low cost fast food combo!) and possibly a pack of Maggie noodles or so each day, just to afford an Apple Macintosh PC, back then in the 1980's. Fast forward to the recent past, in year 2006, I had offered my little darling princess a cool looking silver iPod Shuffle as a carrot for her to excel in her exams. She was motivated but failed to hit the mark required for the carrot. She tried again the next time a few months later, and this time the shinny iPod was hers! She would've naturally learned how to download songs on to her iPod by the time she got it, while I was still struggling to comprehend how to operate the single LED and 3 button(one on the iPod and the volume/track up/down control on the white headphones supplied) music device. That was my very first experience with an Apple product. My young family have since embraced music via the iPod. Coming from the Sony Walkman generation, I can always see, that if only 10% of those iPod youngsters someday would venture in to the realms of hifi, how rich the industry would be in the not too distant future? Another un-intended consequence of Steve Jobs and Apple's success.

When I stepped in to the world of CAS, it just made so much sense that the iPhone would be used as the hifi system interface to my music library. Of course, that cheapie in Big E would have to wait for the telcos to bundle the iPhone 4 in to an affordable "plan" before I jumped on the band wagon. Needless to say, the iPhone was the coolest gadget I've ever had. It excelled in everything that I wanted to do with it, like taking nice decent quality pictures on the go(some of which have being used in this blog posting before), playing games to amuse my self while patiently waiting for an appointment that was running late, catching up on my e-mails and surfing the www while on the go and a host of other features(not to mention all the free and paid apps available!) that never fails to amaze me at all, except..... for the bloody lousy phone signal reception quality! 

Then came the iPad 2, courtesy of my big, strong and friendly credit card a/c(which I had built up buying all those damn hifi gears!). Again, the iPad charmed it's way in to my family's daily life. Personally, for my own use as the interface between my music library and hifi equipment, the palm sized iPhone still trumps over the iPad, despite it's smaller screen size. I just find it less distracting to appreciate the music that is being played.

And by the way, many would also regard the recent and current Mac Mini is a great platform for CAS and iTunes as one of the best music library interface ever presented.

That's how the late Steve Jobs impacted the cultural and hifi lifestyle of a hair shirt audiophile like me, which I am sure many would have similar experiences to share.  Heck, I just remembered that even Linn(the hi-tech hifi/music company) has apps for the iPhone/iPad devices! It looks like the cultural/lifestyle impact that Steve Jobs have on the audiophile and hifi industry will likely continue for sometime in to the future.

Please excuse me, while I go back to reading the many interesting stories of the man on the www.

May he rest in peace.