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

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

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

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

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

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

The whole HT equipment stack!

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

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

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

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

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

Best Of 2012!

Odiosleuth did his countdown of the best gears of 2012 last month. Here's my belated list, due to high work load, poor health and the need to finish all the reviews before I write this. Un-like the previous years, we didn't quite get an optimum mix of equipments in all categories to list a top 3 followed by other notable mentions in each particular class, be it digital or analog source, amplifiers, or speakers. We did, however got an overload or cables to write about. You know what they say about the hifi industry, when the going gets though, sell 'em more cables!

So this year, I'd just list down 10 of my most memorable hifi experiences, followed with a few notable mentions, which though some not officially reviewed or previewed in this pages, we have strong reasons to believe that they are of notable sound quality and product of substance, worthy of your time to further investigate, should you be shopping in those categories.

Here goes, THE BEST OF 2012!

Eggleston Works Ivy Signature.

The Eggleston Works Ivy Signature speakers are now on demo in Centre Circle Audio. To me these are almost the perfect big boy speakers that can be had in an imperfect world. Beauty, brain and brawn, the Ivy Signature has it all. Bass, bass, bass, the Ivy's got plenty of it, tight, accurate, and with no overhang. The highs have the best of silk dome smooth qualities in the air too. The mid range fully fleshed out vocals, with plenty of presence and bite. It's got some of the best bang slamming dynamics in the business, yet able to handle the small things, such as truth of timbre, harmonic texture, tonal colour with aplomb. The Ivy is also one of the most transparent speakers out there today, exposing recording flaws and imperfect musical performances as they are only meant to be, yet the Ivy take no hostages, and you never have to pay the price of exposed imperfections. It just gives the whole essence of listening to music that much more value. It's a do it all speaker with potential stunning performance, but they do demand the best front end components and all else connected before it to give their all. Priced On Application only. Consider this as the preview that qualifies it being here too.

dCS Puccini CD/SACD player

The dCS Puccini charmed it's way in to our hearts and mind, not quite the way we remembered it to be. I always thought dCS had a house sound that is full of details and resolution, but can be musically underwhelming. That is until the kind folks at A&L Audio Station had us putting the Puccini thru it's paces right in the comfort of our own homes. The dCS had details in spades for sure, but within those details, also lie the musical intent and emotional content of the playback performance. One can put the "entry" level dCS with the SOTA likes of TAD-D600 or the Wadia 9 Series stack of components we rated so highly last year, in the same ring on a three corner fight, and the Puccini won't disgrace it self, even if the odds of winning are stacked against it. It kinda reminds me of the Jaguar automobile motto not too long ago, it's got Pace, Grace and Space!

Skogrand SC Air Markarian 421 cables

Another memorable product experienced recently is the Skogrand SC Air Markarian 421 cables. It's a SOTA cable that not only lives up to it's name by price, but actually matched by performance too. Some say they heard god speak to them when listening to their hifi with this cable, others that have not experienced the connection, but still nothing short of audio nirvana if such a place existed?

Can't afford the Skogrand but want a taste of today's SOTA cable performance? For a smaller outlay, one can consider the Wywires Gold range, which gives a Skogrand like musical experience, but the only difference being, the Wywires does not quite have the fully developed mid range density of the more expensive cable, all other performance parameters being near equal.

Wywires till too expensive? Fret not, the latest Taralabs range of budget cable, namely TL-2/14 speaker cable. The sound is very much in mould of Skogrand and Wywires, except that it lacks the bandwidth and transparency of the two, but not the bass slam! Highly recommended!

All the above three cables share the same sonic DNA's and in some way or another, they might as well be cousins from the same family tree just a few generations ago. The only difference is rich relative, middle class uncle, or poor cousin just starting out in life.

SVS PC12-NSD vs PB12-NSD sub woofers

When it come to low, low bass, can't go wrong with SVS Sound. Be it the trouser flapping experience of the top woof PB13-Ultra, or the entry level PB12-NSD. For the budget conscious AV enthusiast who still cares about the slamming "low down" experience, there's not much in the market that can compete with the PB12-NSD.

Aesthetix Calypso pre amp

I love tube pre amps for their beauty in tonal colour. The Aesthetix Calypso comes as fine as tube pre-amps do. They play in the same sonic levels of ARC LS-26(now 27!), yet beats the LS-26 with much more pronounced dynamic contrast and burst of musical transients. For those who love the convenience of having phono stage and pre amp all in one box, there's the Janus(twin of the Calypso) to consider. And finally, Aesthetix offers greater value for performance ratio too, brand power aside. Odiosleuth highlighted why he was impressed with the Aesthetix Atlas 200W hybrid power amp, and I share his enthusiasm, plus what a fine pre/power combo the Calypso/Atlas would make.

Rega Apollo R CD player and Brio R integrated amp

It's hard to ignore the shoe box sized Rega R series components, as musical reproduction, NOT hifi goes! They're god sent to those starting their journey on hifi, or some one coming down to earth from the orbit of upgrade stars. Also perfect as a second system that doesn't take up much space. However, it's the Rega Apollo R that deserves most of the accolades as it will not make a fool of it self, even when inserted in to a system costing many times it's own price! If you believe in the almighty, the Rega R series component's only sins are of the omission kind.

KE blade speakers

The KEF Blade is a technological tour de force show case for the company's 50th Anniversary in business. It's a speaker with designer elements and high WAF(Wife Acceptance Factor), yet sounds like an audiophile's pair of dream speakers. By today's crazy high end speaker prices, the KEF actually seems like a pretty realistic buy too. It's only weakness? Bass doesn't quite go as low, nor as hard as some American speakers.

IsoTek EVO3 Polaris PLC

I think this IsoTek EVO3 Polaris is the finest effort ever by the company, yet it's asking price is not astronomical either. It's honest to goodness British way of doing business which will endear them to the market for a long, long time to come! I am still thinking about it, now that it's gone, if that's any indicator of how good it was. Most times, you'll only miss a good thing after it's long gone.

YG Carmel speakers

The YG Carmel is perhaps the company's most captivating speaker in it's line up. I would consider it to be a serious rival to Magico's V3 speakers in every way. It's the exquisite small speaker for modern quarters(i.e. small rooms) given today's sky rocketing real estate prices, many well heeled folks have less space for hifi. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them and may some day aspire to have them as my permanent daily reference too!

TAD CR-1 speakers

The TAD CR-1 is certainly one the best, if not THE BEST, small high end mini monitor ever. Need I say more? I congratulate Odiosleuth for his fine speaker choice, but now, herein lies the problem, the CR-1s are so revealing, that it's exposing all the short comings fo the poor guy's front end components, be it, even if they are already mighty good to start with. Here's to another round of up grade orbit, buddy. Ha! Ha!

OTHER NOTABLE MENTIONS:

Pioneer BDP-450 Blu-Ray player

The Pioneer BDP-450 is an excellent Blu-ray player, especially in 3D mode, no doubt about it. What surprised me however, is that it makes a mighty impressive CD/SACD transport too, accessed via it's co-axial audio output, for connection to an external DAC. It's built like a high end audiophile CD player too, with rigid all aluminium and steel casing, equipped with weighty proper metal feet, not make believe plastic feet. The transport drawer action is smooth like a high end CD player too! Sound is detailed, smooth, coherent, noise/jitter free, and most of all, musical rhythmic flow, accompanied by big-big sound stage, deep and wide.

Wilson Audio XLF speakers

No, I didn't hear Wilson Audio XLF speakers yet, there's only one pair in Malaysia now. My sources are based upon people(whose ears I trust) who have heard them in action, and they rated the mighty Wilson  as the BEST speakers they've ever heard(and these are true blood high enders who have listened to nearly all the top hifi systems in the region), period! I wish to congratulate the proud owner fo the Wilson Audio XLF, you know who you are!

New B&W 802D speakers

I was never in love with any of the previous incarnations of the B&W 800 D series speakers, despite their high tech diamond tweeter and kevlar mid bass driver calling card with 1st order x-over topology for the smoothest hand over frequency point. They were very good on the hifi performance parameter, but they always struck me as being rather business like in their musical presentation. If diamonds are a girls best friend, then some degree of musical beauty is to be expected, and in it's latest form, the B&W 802D actually delivers them in spades. Looks like they'll be around for a little while more!

ASI Super Tango speakers

These Frank Tchang designed Super Tango speakers are nothing like you've ever heard in high end dom! They will never be another pair of speakers that sound like the Super Tango. They are definitely not shy and rockers will love their explosive dynamics with gutsy and big hearted musical delivery. Viva la de France! They an enigma, if they ever was one.

Marten Design Django speakers

Marten Design Django XL is a scaled down version of the Getz, but with beefier bass, tuned for American taste. All the sonic goodies offered by the Getz are there with little down side, at only half the price! Marten Design just launched the Django L, which is a smaller brother, trickle down technology have never meant better than this!

Well folks, that's the end of our adventures in HiFi-Unlimited. Stay tune for some last words before we call it a day.

Mid Range Excellence! Pioneer BDP-450 Blu-ray/SACD Player.

The Pioneer BDP-450 Blu-ray/SACD player.

Pioneer has built an enviable reputation with the success of it's range of Blu-ray players. I have being using the starter 3D Pioneer BDP-140 as a reference my self. While it's audio/video performance is very accomplished for the price, I've always wondered, what if I spend a little more $$$ for a step up in performance?

Along the way, came the new BDP-X50 series range of latest Pioneer Blu-ray player revamp, and the model in question here is the BDP-450, which is the middle child, sitting in between the entry level BDP-150 and the exclusive LX-55 top model. The Pioneer BDP-450 retails for RM$1,899.00/unit, so it's really a big step up from the entry level model(price wise). So if the BDP-140 or BDP-150 already offers such good performance levels(assuming the newer BDP-150 is as good, if not better performing), for a mere RM$699.00/unit, what more can the BDP-450 offer?

The Pioneer BDP-450 residing in my HT system.

First up, the Pioneer BDP-450 offers superior build quality, with it's heavier gauge steel chassis(which houses beefier power supplies), all satin black brushed aluminium face panel, chunky audiophile style feet(not the fake plastic ones for sure), and definitely smoother disc loading drawer action. At the back panel, the goodies galore continues with dual HDMI output(for those who want their video signal to flow direct to screen, by passing the surround receiver's video board) for superior picture quality, while the other HDMI output sends audio signals to the said receiver. Is there really a performance upgrade by going the twin HDMI output route? I don't know, I didn't test, but I bet someone would do. I connected the BDP-450 as I would with my resident  BDP-140 for a fair comparison, which means one HDMI cable, sending audio and video signal to my Denon receiver and the second HDMI cable from receiver to my Plasma display.

The only same old, same old part as shared with the BDP-140 and BDP-150 is the hand remote wand, which I can understand Pioneer's decision to keep it as it works pretty well actually. The whole unit looks well put together with nicely aligned panels and centered disc drawer on top of the clearly legible display, which is dim able(the entry level model does that too). Like all 2012 refreshed Blu-ray player models onwards, the BDP-450 also comes equipped with Cinavia anti piracy software pre-installed.

The back panel, 2 HDMI outputs is the main selling point here.

Now we get to the nitty gritty of the Pioneer BDP-450 in terms of video performance, which the colour and picture dynamic qualities are cut from the same fabric as the cheaper Pioneers. There seems to be finer pixels in the darker scenes leading to improved black detailing. I see smoother fast motion scenes, with richer and more saturated colours. Depth of field in panoramic land scape scenes are definitely more convincing. I watched Kingdom Of Heaven Blu-ray disc and came away suitably impressed. I think a more highly regulated power supply section of the player contributed to the performance gains. Still, I thought for so much more outlay, the picture quality improvement ratio did not seemed catch up enough.

However, it is when playing 3D Blu-ray disc that I felt all the extra outlay for the BDP-450 over the lesser models became worth while. Comparing the BDP-140 to the BDP-450 in 3D mode, made the cheaper player's 3D qualities look like card board cut outs, and on certain scenes, more like a cut & paste job! I was using the Monster Vs Aliens 3D Blu-ray animation movie for comparison. With the BDP-450, the 3D effects were smoother and more organic looking, while still maintaining the pop-up effect and excellent layers within a field of depth within the confines of my 64 inch Plasma display. The BDP-450 made watching 3D movies less fatigue and more enjoyable, due to less cross talk, and less noise within the video signal. I used to find 3D fascinating for a 25 minutes only(I start to feel giddy after that) of viewing period with the BDP-140, but I could finish the whole movie on 3D mode with the BDP-450 without much fatigue setting in. I know my kids certainly look forward to more 3D animated movies from here onwards.

It is with 3D movies like Monsters Vs Aliens that the Pioneer show it's capabilities to the fore. The disc loading drawer opens and closes with smooth action.

The Grudge is a scary Hollywood take on Japanese horror, much like The Ring, but only more effective in the script build up and make up & graphics. Sarah Michelle Gellar(Buffy The Vampire Slayer) stars.

Now we get to the audio part, which the first aspect that impressed me easily was the bass, which certainly dived deeper and rumbles more solidly. The stronger bass foundation gives the center chanel a more anchored, less floaty conversation, especially with male dialogue, which feels more manly, with a bit more of that chest. Surround panning effect is more seamless and more easily located, especially the rear surround chanels, which sometimes makes me look back over my shoulder, because I actually thought some one behind was breathing down on me, it's that real! It happened when I was watching The Grudge, an American perspective on Japanese horror, like The Ring, only scarier!

Just for kicks, I played a few music SACDs and found the sound to be highly detailed, musical, rhythmically assured, smooth, and with liquid top end. The sound staging is stretches across my living lounge with good depth. I was of course, playing music thru my Denon/Bose HT system.  The Pioneer BDP-450 would certainly make a great audiophile SACD spinner or transport, if one has a huge collection of SACD disc.

My Denon AVR-1612 AV receiver(top) and Pioneer BDP-450 Blu-ray/SACD player(bottom).

It was during this time that I have to experience Cinavia anti piracy effects on my system. After playing an offending Blu-ray disc for about 20 minutes or so, the player will mute audio output and a message would appear on screen to suggest that you're playing an illegal disc, advising you not to adjust your system set up menu. Apparently, most Hollywood movies released after March 2012 is Cinavia encoded. Otherwise, the Pioneer played each and every legitimate disc or otherwise with no problems what so ever.

Another area I liked about the BDP-450 is the quick start up feature and fast disc loading times. It took less than 20 seconds to start up each time from sleep mode, and each time a new disc is loaded, the smooth closing tray would then take no more than 45 seconds to recognise and load the top menu of the said disc. Older players can sometimes take more than 2 minutes to load a Blu-ray disc top menu upon closing of disc drawer.

I think the Pioneer BDP-450 will do well in a 3D capable HT system, where the said feature is used often enough. It's a player that truly offers a step up in terms of audio and video performance from the entry level units with higher build quality to spare. Audiophiles looking for a reliable CD/SACD transport would not be disappointed with it either. For those with budget AV systems however, the entry level BDP-150 should still offer more efficient cost to performance ratio.

Pioneer products are available at all appointed dealers nation wide.

My AV Revival, When It All Comes Together.

The 64 inch Samsung PN64D7000 Smart TV dominates the AV set up, based in my family lounge measuring about 18 x 25 x 12ft(W x L x H). My sitting distance from the display is about 20ft away, but the nearest seat in the house is probably more further than 10ft from the screen, but the picture quality is still ok, without the screen pixels being visible just yet. 

In my last post, I've introduced the new building blocks chosen for integration with the existing speakers for my renewed AV system. You may have spotted that they are practically all last year's model! I think if if one is looking for value performance and not necessary must have the latest specs, then last year's models at clearance prices can make great buys, for those on a limited budget like me.

For me at least, all the best equipment is pointless, as I must still find a way to integrate them in to my family lounge. The trick is in the AV rack, which I've chosen to by pass all those performance enhancing specialty rack for this lovely looking, solid hard wood AV rack, which softens the overall hard edge look of the display and equipment, to fit in to my domestic lounge decor, mostly made from similarly warm tone lacquered hard wood too. It took me a while to do furniture shopping while all the equipment arrived and awaiting to be set up.

Astro cable TV decoder made by Philips and Pioneer BDP-140 represents the source of my home entertainment.

The Denon AVR1612 receiver is a reasonably powerful sounding workhorse, and actually sound like it's got more to give than it's modest power specs would indicate, provided you sort out the power cord issue. It runs cool too, which its why I could get away with such a tight fitting ventilation space. After more than 2 hours of high power rumbling my lounge, the Denon only felt slightly warm to touch.

With the arrival of the AV rack a week or so later allowed me to proceed with setting the system. A good buddy, who is an authoritative figure in the industry came to lend his pair of hands and expertise in helping me do the initial set up. The whole process of connecting all the cables and making doubly sure that everything has it's place took nearly 3 hours of hard work, including using the Audyssey as starting point 5.1 chanel calibrating but when the first disc was ready to play, it was testing time.

We used a variety of Blu-ray movies to reference the sound calibration, including Avatar, Transformers 3, and Lord Of The Rings Trilogy. Some of my older reference DVDs, like Black Hawk Down and Terminator 2 were also used to familiarised my self to the new system. The remaining fine tuning was for the 5.1 chanel surround set up was completed over a course of two weeks, with more movies and pop corn sessions. It doesn't really feel like work actually! 

The ol' skool Bose 301 Series II dates back to 1988, when I bought my first hifi set, the fact that it still serves my home entertainment today speaks volumes of it's quality. The Velodyne VX-10 is another blast from the past, since 2003. It's a 10 inch sub woofer with a self powered built in plate amp, wired with Monster sub woofer cable from the Denon AVR 1612. The Velodyne produces enough low rumble during movies, courtesy of the corner enforcement placement.

The Bose VCS 10 center chanel speaker is probably the weakest link in my AV set up for now. Plans are in place to do something about it. Stay tune to find out.

The Bose VCS 30 installed with wall mount brackets. I place them about 1 feet higher than ear level when seated, for most effective surround panning results. I had my family lounge wired in wall with tin plated Belden speaker cables, to maintain the wire free look, prior I moved in during 2003.  

The final result I got was brilliant pictures and big sound quality to match. The system went pretty loud too, and seemingly able to rumble the family lounge when the movies call for it. The surround panning effect works seamlessly to immerse the movie experience that bit more satisfactory. I get a kick when kids and some un suspecting adults turn their heads towards the back as the surround effect pans out, only to realised I've got a pair of really small Bose VCS-30 speakers around the back, while watching movies. The element of surprise is relevant for one to get totally absorb in to the movie one is watching.  Dialogues are highly intelligible and clear if a little weedy sounding, compared to the big, full bodied sounds of the front and surround effects. For me, this is an area that needs to be further improved, at least to get as tonally seamless with the big Bose 301 Series II as possible. I've figured out the improvement plans, which will need a bit of time to materialised. Also on my mind is that 10AWG power cord for the Denon AVR 1612 receiver, which can still be heard to be performing on the edge when loud explosions and dynamic sound track passages. The symptoms manifest it self as the sound just one the verge of breaking up on the near max volume.

Remote control heaven! From left: Astro, Samsung, Denon and Pioneer.

A scene from Lord Of The Rings Trilogy. Mood lights are dimmed for best viewing pleasure.

It's been a fun and satisfying experience setting this AV system, which is my fourth project(my first AV project was under taken in the early 1990's. It was a full fledge projector based, 5 chanel(there was no.1 yet at the time!) Dolby AC-3 system, comissioned by my dad in his home) over the years by the way. More AV adventures to come as I set about to unleash the full potential of my AV system.

My AV Revival, The Building Blocks.

Let's face it, no matter how superb sounding our hifi can make music sound, I think sometimes we need some movies too. As you may have guess from the equipment list on my previous 5.1 AV set up, the system was sound performance biased. I admit that at the time, the sound sometimes gets bigger than the picture it self. However, given the prohibitive cost of good big screens at the time, the choice was obvious.

I decided to set up a more balanced 5.1 AV system this time, paying equal attention to sound and vision. The task is less daunting this time round, due to the falling prices of big screens, and the relative affordability of Blu-ray players now days, couple to the more mature HDMI hook up format, reducing cable needs dramatically.

As my AV ambitions are less demanding compared to my stereo aspirations, I decided to go the budget route, yet the AV system must not dominate the family lounge, but rather serves to gather the whole family together for weekend pop corn and movie sessions. The kids just love it!

The system component selection reflects my thinking, and must work with my existing Bose 5.1 speaker set up already installed previously, along with the Velodyne VX-10 sub woofer. The existing Bose 5.1 speakers comprises of the 301 Series II for front chanel pair, and VCS-30 surround and center chanel set. It's imperative that the AV receiver have enough power to rumble the Bose speakers!

Pioneer BDP-140 Blu-ray player

This Pioneer BDP-140 Blu-ray player will soon be replaced by the newer BDP-150 model. I am not sure at this point the specifications of the newer model, but it surely looks very similar to the BDP-140. This is the entry point for Pioneer Blu-ray players, but the picture and sound quality is anything but budget. The build is light weight, but like everything else from the Pioneer stables, it well screwed together and come with a remote of overly large button count, majority of which I'll probably never use. For playing DVDs, the BDP-140 has impressive picture up scaling quality, much to the surprise for many of my buddies who came to view my new AV set up. There are now quite a few Blu-ray players from other manufacturers priced below the sub RM$500/unit market, but I believe if you're serious about movies as much as I am, then the Pioneer BDP-140 is quite likely to be the minimum entry level, even if it's just paying a bit more for the extra quality. This player is not fussy about disc quality, and has so far only rejected two disc of the hundreds that I've fed it.

Denon AVR 1612 AV Receiver

The Denon AVR 1612 AV receiver is something of a dark horse, as I initially wanted the older AVR 1611 instead, because the older model had more power on specs. The newer AVR 1612, is a 5.1 chanel only receiver, but comes with Airplay function for Apple iPod users, which I've not used. The AVR 1612 also has Audyssey Multi EQ to make initial setting up a doodle, followed by further fine tuning for the 5.1 surround chanels. Again, the Denon is well built, if somewhat light weight, thanks to it's five chanel class D power modules coupled to linear power supplies, which means it runs supremely cool, even with the most demanding of movie sound tracks. What surprised me was the highly detailed, yet musical nature of the amplifier section when I played some 5.1 chanel decoded SACDs, fed by the Pioneer BDP-140 on HDMI 1.4 connection! The remote is again of the buttons overload variety, but comes with night reflective white buttons(which glows light green when in the dark) for those commonly used. I had one issue when setting up the Denon, is when I substituted the rather short(but rather thick) original power cord supplied, with one that was longer which I had previously used to power my PC, and the receiver struggled to cope with loud explosion scenes during movies. The sound was breaking up and pictures were jittery too. I believe the power current draw is high and a big bad(10AWG at least!) power cord would be needed to get maximum performance out of the AVR 1612. Oh... by the way, the KLIAV 2012 show just saw the launch of the Denon AVR 1613, which looks surprisingly similar too.

Samsung PN64D7000 Smart TV

I never really taught my budget would stretch this far, but a buddy on the up grade path made ownership of this Samsung PN64D7000 Smart TV possible. It's a pre-owned item, but well taken cared for and most importantly, it fit's my budget. It's a 64 inch plasma TV framed by rectangular glass at the seams design gives it a futuristic look. I must say this Smart TV does so many things, to the point that I sometimes feel it's smarter than me! Like for instance, Astro has an annoying habit of pumping up the volume during advertisements, that I always have to tone down the volume by remote when using my old TV. The Samsung Smart TV does exactly the same, but only automatically. The volume restores to it's original setting when the actual program continues after the commercials. Still on Astro programs, which I am using the oldest 1st generation Philips decoder(non HD subscription), yet the built in picture up sampling feature of the smart TV brings picture and sound quality bang up to the top. Again those whom have viewed my Astro program chanels were amazed that I am not subscribing to the HD chanels, based on what they've seen. The titanium satin finished remote is just as smart, as it's soft touch buttons lights up when one presses any button and the layout is rather intuitive. The smart TV also does 3D pictures with very vivid results, provided the optional active 3D glasses are used. I only have one 3D featured Blu-ray disc at my disposal so couldn't test more of the effects. My buddy has a habit of having all his displays, regardless if they are projector or screen based calibrated to ISF standards, which renders balanced tonal colours and very realistic flesh tones. Well calibrated ISF standard screens have an uncanny ability to render picture depth layerings and details with exceptional ease. Another thing to note is that one can sit relatively close(about 3 feet) to the screen, and still don't noticed the pixelated effects. The screen also has great blacks(in my opinion, second only to the once mighty Pionner Kuro screens) This makes movie marathon sessions possible, because the eyes do not suffer from fatique or stress. While at it, I noticed the screen runs only moderately warm, even after hours of use, which is a far cry compared to earlier generations of plasma screens. This Samsung Smart TV is the smartest move as far as high quality screen choice is concerned.

I proceeded to assemble the whole system and integrate the new components with the old Bose speakers. And the results?

Stay tuned to find out!

Back to Basics

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And that is music to my ears too.

The Movie Guys Have Landed!

My Hifi/AV room was a hive of activities. AV Designs sent their crew to get my home theatre system installed. The kids were anxious, they pestered me frequently with "Can we watch movie yet?"

It took slightly more than half a day. The AV Designs crew went about getting the job done efficiently. You know they have done this numerous times. It was also the cleanest job any contractor has carried out in my new house, literally. The AV Designs guy asked for my vacuum cleaner. For every hole they drilled in the wall, they put either the vacuum or a plastic bag underneath the drill bit to collect the dust. At the end, I needed to do only a very light wipe-down of the place. It was a job well done!

The equipment list:

Projection System:

JVC DLA-B250 D-ILA Full HD Projector -RM9,999

This is JVC's new entry level full HD projector. It also marks the first time that a JVC D-ILA projector is available below the RM10k price point.

Unic FVP-106 Framed screen, 16:9 format (106in diagonal) -RM1,500

I decided to take this lower cost screen option. The other screen option that James proposed is from the renowned Stewart Filmscreen. Its SNL-100 framed screen (100in diagonal) would set me back RM7,900. If you want to see what a premium screen can do to the picture quality, visit AV Designs' showroom, one is used in its demo system.

Wireworld Chroma 6 HDMI cable 9 metres -RM1,190

Audio/Video System:

Pioneer VSX-LX53 AVR -RM4,599

Pioneer BDP-LX71 Bluray Player - RM4,599

This bluray player is under evaluation at my place for a short while while I decide. I am still contemplating whether to go for a Bluray player; since for DVD duty I can use my Marantz DV7001, while for Bluray replay, I am considering a Sony PS3, which can do dual duties, as in Bluray movie and gaming duties (not that I am a big gaming fan, but the children would be thrilled).

Wharfedale Diamond 10DFS Surround speakers (4 pieces) - RM1,000 per pair
One pair for surround L-R, and one pair for surround rear (shown)

Q-Acoustic Q-AV Subwoofer - RM2,790

Cabling - RM1,500, Pictured is the oxygen free bulk cable used for the surrounds.

As an alternative, a higher end audio option was also proposed by AV Designs. For the surround duty, it was the PMC DB1i at RM4,400 per pair. For subwoofer, it was PMC's TLE-1 at RM12,500. Both are pictured below.

As you can see, I have chosen to go for mainly entry level stuff, figuring that it being my first step into home theatre, there is much for me to learn; and upgrading, just like hifi, can come later (and honestly, after all the renovation and furnishing for the new house, I also needed to look after the wallet a little bit. :-) ). AV Designs' James Tan proved to be flexible, he listened and recommended the combinations accordingly.

I have also saved some money on the audio side by using my EgglestonWorks loudspeakers for front left-right duty. After decoding by the Pioneer AVR, the L-R analogue signal is passed through the Pioneer Pre-out to my Pass Labs pre-amp which has a bypass for HT, where the pre-amp is set to unity gain and the volume control is done by the AVR.

There is also one unusual thing about the audio setup of my home theatre system, see whether you are eagle-eyed enough to spot it. I'll touch on this in my next post. Anyway, I shall share more on the audio side of my HT system in the next post.

On the visual side, I can say that I was totally bowled over by the picture quality that the JVC DLA-B250 displayed, despite it being new out of the box and not yet calibrated too. The quality on Bluray material was approaching films I see in the cinemas. The picture was natural, easy on the eye, yet very detailed. My better half and the children also commented spontaneously on how clear and nice the picture was, without any prompting from me. I believe it can only get better after AV Designs come over to do the calibration next week.

If you like to discuss with AV Designs your home theatre needs, you may contact James Tan at 03-21712828