Best Tweaks & Accesories 2010.

Regular readers will know that we are not naturally big on tweaks. We've always found tweaks to solve some problems, yet will always leave their signature imprint on to the sound of a system. It's as if we will always get a one step forward, two steps back sort of results. The best tweaks are those that work as advertised, but leave the minimal of it's own sonic imprint on the system's sound quality. However, some tweaks mean more to us than others. Here's two so far in 2010!
The best tweak ever, not just 2010, but any other year too! Tweak your knowledge, not your hifi!

I won't call this a hifi tweak at all, but rather a mind set and knowledge tweak! In my opinion, the weakest link in any system is very certainly the owner. However, how many times have we heard audiophile A blame equipment XYZ for being poor or "equipment PQR not my cuppa tea" kinda statement? I believe other wise, a system can only sound as good as the owner's knowledge and effort to implement the know how. Why is it that we audiophiles never blame our selves for our system's failure to sound good?

Fret not, before we sink further in to the deep abyss of hifi guilt conscience, there's always a book called "Get Better Sound" by Jim Smith. Jim guarantee's that if any one takes the time to read the book in it's entirety, then implement just 5 of his tips, one should already get better sound without the need to spend a single cent! From my experience, I wholly agree to Jim's guarantee. By the way, I've always believed that if all one need is money to solve a problem, than it's not really a problem. Real problems can't be solved by money!!!

I also believe many people can solve my problems, I just need some more cash! Ha! Ha!
The Cardas and Telos RCA & XLR caps are a love it or hate it affairs, no two ways about them!

The RCA and XLR caps are highly controversial, any way one looks at them! However, if one finds that it makes a difference or a perceived improvement to the sound, then why not? We tried 2 brands, Telos and Cardas, both are high quality designs with similar levels of fit and finishing. I find the Cardas to be more yin and the Telos ones to be more yang sounding, even if they seemed subtle. But that's what this tweak is all about, a last mile tweak that can mean so much to some, yet mean so little for all the rest!

I certainly preferred to mix and match between the Cardas and Telos to get a balanced sound result. I also have one final thing to say about this tweak, it's either go all the way and cover all those holes or just ignore it and do nothing about it. Both Odiosleuth and I started experimenting with the caps on various locations, but eventually, Odiosleuth left all his RCA & XLR inputs and out puts wide open and I ended up covering every single little hole for input or output on the system!

Final instalment of Best of 2010 next.

Brasileiro Z Yan

I have been listening to the Brasileiro Z Yan CD produced by PopPop Music for the last couple of weeks. The CD went into my player in every listening session. This is telling something - Firstly, the song selection is interesting and the performance are excellent enough to stand up to repeated listening; Secondly, the quality of the recording, especially the purity of the vocal part is fast making it one of my reference discs for the female voice.

With her petite frame, I half expected that Z Yan had a girlish voice, one that might sound saccharine sweet and veer more towards the school of Teresa Teng. Was I wrong! The first time I slipped the CD into my player, I was surprised by the body that Z Yan’s voice exhibited. Her voice also showed maturity, but it is one that is tempered with a dose of youthful sweetness plus a dose of innocence. Sort of like a girl growing up and on the verge of blossoming into a woman.
The innocence in Z Yan’s voice is the part I appreciate the most. Her technique probably does not equate to a Cai Qin or a Cheer Chen, but her innocence is a breath of fresh air after listening to too many modern day commercial pop artists.

I was surprised that the track I liked most was track 5 “Coyness”. I thought the original singer of this song, the Chinese pop diva Faye Wong, had it down pat. But out came Z Yan’s interpretation which impressed me and convinced me that there indeed could be another side to this popular song. Faye Wong, with her signature breathy style, painted the dreamy picture of a girl pining at a guy, fantasizing how it would be if the guy reciprocated her love. Z Yan instead rendered the song in a straightforward manner. Hers is a modern, confident girl, who resolved that she’d no longer be hesitant in expressing her love, and feeling certain that the guy would love her back just like she loved him.

On this track, I also love Roger Wong’s Spartan and minimalist guitar accompaniment. Roger is a great collaborator; he placed his notes at the right places, sort of filling in all the gaps in between Z Yan’s vocal and making the performance complete.

My other fav is track 4 “romance in the rain”. In addition to its slightly quirky tune, this track is also a good test of your system’s resolving power and how correct your system is in rendering timbre. There is a scratchy sound that goes ‘sha sha sha….’ throughout the track. If your system is resolving enough, you would know how the sound was made. I don’t want to spoil your audiophile fun, suffice to say that it is a creative yet simple way of making music not with a musical instrument. If you are in doubt, you can get the correct answer in the production note of the track. The resulting sound effect fits this track’s Chinese title, literally ‘sha sha rain’, perfectly.

The album has a mix of classic and modern Chinese pop songs, a mix of slow numbers and fast numbers, tracks that are simple in its arrangement, such as Roger Wang’s solo guitar, or tracks that have a backing band, including saxophone, drum, double bass, piano etc.. In addition, the recording quality is consistently high throughout.

With such varied combinations, everyone should be able to find something to love on this album.

Best Cables 2010.

Cables are the most controversial item(or is it Power Line Conditioners now days?) in hifi related discussion! I know many readers here, whose blood pressure goes up a few notches each time they read about our expensively insane, high end cable escapades!

If you're one of those people, then 2010 would have surely made your blood pressure boil less, as we become less cable obsessed. Talking about cables, I would like to share my thought on the cable loom theory a bit, based on our experience with the Kimber Kable set, courtesy of Hi-Way Laser.

I think that if one does not want to go out and explore the pit falls of cable matching, then cable loom theory does apply very positively in practice, as it'll provide a consistent sonic characteristic that'll take away cable matching guess work and almost guaranteed to achieve very high standards of fidelity vs price ratio performance . However, I am in the opinion that a set of well matched, highly synergistic cables from various manufacturers can potentially give more ultimate satisfaction. Having made that statement doesn't mean my mind is set in stone just yet. I'll need to do at least one more set of cable loom to prove or disprove my own conclusion.

In the mean time, here are the top three cables we liked in 2010.
Cardas Clear speaker cables.

Cardas Clear interconnects.

This Cardas Clear range of interconnect and speaker cables are the best we've heard from George's efforts. Gone are the romanticized, much laid back tonal qualities of the Golden Reference cables(which I like a lot, and feel there's still a place for them in today's market place), replaced by what is now crystal clear transparency and highly neutral, not to mention natural sonics. I really appreciate the new custom designed XLR connectors on the interconnects too! Only one brick bat, at these astonishing prices, Cardas should really give the cable packaging a re-think! But we already know what he would say.
Kimber Kable KCAG interconnects.

These mid priced Kimber KCAG silver cables are an interesting option. They offer high value overall performance, that will surely impress many. It is tonally neutral, highly transparent and looks like a pair of high polished jewels. Even that packaging case is special too!
Kimber Kable PK-10 power cord.

Another Kimber Kable rounds up our top three cables this year, and it's the PK-10 power cord. A 10 gauge design, meaning it's suitable for powering every hifi equipment, including juice hungry power amps. This near budget design out performs many other more expensive power cords for sound quality, and low noise floor levels. Terminated with gold plated Wattgate audio grade plugs on both ends! Need we say more?

More Best Of 2010 to come.

Best Power Line Gear 2010.

Power Line Conditioners is an indispensable equipment for today's high end audio system. As a result of the digital life style revolution, which more and more house hold product uses the ubiquitous Switch Mode Power Supplies(SMPS) with wireless features(think LCD TV panels, cordless phones, computers and wifi routers!) we are now living in an environment soaked in EMI/RFI pollutants, transmitted either via power lines or air bourne.

Dedicated power lines for audio system only is the first basic rule to good sound(which for what ever reason, some of us don't even have this option!), but when faced with the RFI/EMI assault from modern house hold electronics, the PLC helps to preserve or purify the in coming power supply. Other power supply accessories that promote good and tight contact points are helpful too. Here's our best for 2010.
Torus Power twins! Top RM8A, and bottom RM8 AVR(with indicator display).

2010 was not an exciting time for the local PLC market. We have tested most in year 2009, and the only new toy available is in the form of the already proven Torus Power RM8 AVR. Compared to the original Torus Power RM8A, the AVR version offers the final, all in one power isolation and voltage regulating solution. I never expected the RM8 AVR to improve sound stage depth, mid range density, imaging stability and more pronounced spatial cues, when compared to the original RM8A. Expensive at RM$26k but one of the best PLC equipment available today.
ORB 6GG High End Tap is only recomended for systems of deserving status and sound capabilities.

The ORB 6 GG High End Tap is the most expensive, but certainly the best power tap on sale today. Build quality is solid, with solid core bus bars made from nearly the purest of gold(that's what the manufacturer claims!). One would not know how extreme, the contribution of good contacts for good audio reproduction. Due to it's price however, I can only recommend it for use in price no object, truly well set up(meaning extremely transparent sounding) high end systems. For the most of us, there's always Furutech, Oyaide and perhaps Sine?
The first volt is the most important? So is the first contact point! Sine SW-1PUK and SW-2US gives your hifi system an excellent starting point.

The Sine SW-1PUK and SW-2US wall power sockets do make a huge difference in sound, just like the above ORB High End Tap, operating on the basis of superior contact alone. If one out let is not enough, one can get an extension tap like I did in the form of the Sine SA-6 power bar, which I reviewed last year and subsequently bought one this year.
I found the Enacom to be highly effective at the extension power bar, plugged in between your source and pre amp or amplifiers. As most CD players and turn table motors do put back an awl lot of grunge in to the power line, the Enacom can at least, act as some form of rudimentary filter, to isolate your pre amp or integrated amp.

The Enacom AC Noise Eliminator deserves a special mention here, due to it's low entry cost and removable nature, should one decide not to like it in the future. The Enacom will certainly help to calm down some over exuberant system and give the mid range presence region just a little lift for more convincing 3D imaging illusion. Only one thing, your mileage may indeed vary with this little plug in filter!

We'll get to the best cables for 2010 next!

Best Speakers 2010.

Speakers are about the most personal choice one can make in hifi purchase. Every pair of speakers will invariably sound different by comparison to the next pair. They all have some of their own tone colour signature somewhat, and the way they load a room can make or break the system's sound, regardless of what equipment lies in front of the hifi chain.

Since we did not get much speakers to play with this year, I'd thought we'd highlight 2 models that we use as our every day reference, which are still available from their respective dealers if one is interested.


Eggleston Works The Nine, is Odiosleuth's daily reference speakers. They portray big sound and are tonally warm with some of the smoothest high frequency reproduction. Vocals are presented in a full bodied manner that few speaker can match. However, The Nine will also allow one to revel in the gorgeous tonal palette of classical instruments. This pair of heavy Eggleston also needs a big room to sound it's best, and will certainly benefit when partnered with a pair of beefy mono block power!


The PMC Fact 8 is my recent purchase as a result of it's review. For me, their transparency and speed are both prized quality but also their Achilles heel. They will reveal poorly matched or even just less good equipment in the front of the audio chain. The PMC is tonally neutral but can present female vocals in a seductive manner. One area that will certainly split opinions of those who heard the Fact 8 is the bass. It seems many don't like the bass character of the ATL(Advance Transmission Line) tuning, while some thought nothing of it. For me, the best part is that the PMC extends pretty low in the bass area without overloading my small room, thanks to it's adjustable passive cross over feature.

There are a few other speakers which we've heard(but not rviewed) this year and feel are very good at various price levels and would like to make a quick mention of them here. The honours go to:

1) Magico Q5, makes the most beautiful and beguiling tonal qualities I've ever heard from any pair of loud speakers.

2) Wilson Sasha, as a further refinement of the W/P concept, the Sasha possesses all the classic slam bang W/P qualities that are so endearing but adds warmth and dimensional refinement to the mid range, which makes the Sasha nearly the most complete Wilson speaker ever.

3) Focal Utopia Skala, brings huge sound stage and pin point imaging to the fore. That further refined Beryllium tweeter design sounds warmer yet more transparent now. A speaker to take on the Wilson Sasha, but only more refined in execution.

4) TAD CR-1, is possibly the best sounding stand mount monitor in the market today, as we've all heard it sing at this year's KLIAV Show. Need we say more?

5) Raidho C-3, is not the speaker for bass heads, but if refinement, wide band width response, ear cuddling soft tonality and utter transparency is your thing, then this is right up your alley.

6) ATC SCM 100 ASL(Active), is great value for money, even if it's not quite cheap! But think of all the money you'd save on high quality muscle amp? This big bad boy(if a little un-cultured) of a speaker will do the disappearing tango party trick and can rock with vengeance too!

7) Epos Encore 50, is surely the biggest bargain big speaker in high end dome today. Priced at RM$20k or so, it gives all the above contenders a seriously close run for their money in all hifi related and musical parameters. It's that good!

By the way, all the above are big, big speakers that'll require premium space to work well. Yes, even the TAD CR-1 monitors are quite big, even if they do look deceivingly small.

More best of 2010 to come.