A&L Audio Station Gets On With dCS!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Speakers row, Dali and PSB on display.

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

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

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

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

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

Stay tune for the 10Qs session to come soon.

Why(these) Wires? Wywire Silver AES/EBU Digital Cable.

The Wywires Silver AES/EBU digital cable came in basic zip bag packaging.

There seems to be 3 sure fire ways cables are marketed now a days. First and most profitable route, is to offer state of the art performance, with just as "SOTA" retail price to match. The next is to offer the best audio performance to price value ratio in the budget sector. The last way may well require the most delicate balance of offering true high end audio performance accompanied by a fair retail price that reflects it's quality and intended market positioning. I think Wywires  are attempting this very delicate balancing act. They are not exactly a new brand in high end circles, but they now have an official retailer in Malaysia, in the form of AV Designs. Wywires gained fame by winning "Best Sound Of Shows" at various audio and hifi shows, in partnership mostly with TAD electronics and speakers. Now, in my book, if any cable is good enough for the TAD partnership, it certainly won't be short on audio quality performance, as we'd already know how super transparent the TAD electronics and speakers can be, and would certainly expose the weakling in their midst.

The Silver range is Wywire's intermediate range, as there's an entry level Blue range below and the more expensive Gold Signature range above. I'd also like to caution that the Blue range ain't necessary cheap, or the Gold Signature range super expensive either. All I can say is that Wywire's pricing are refreshingly sensibly priced to reflect their audio performance levels. How many cable companies can resist from pricing gluttony now days? Since we are on the subject of pricing, the Wywires Silver AES/EBU(also available as co-axial) Digital cable retails for RM$2,355.00/each.

Terminated on both ends with Xhadow XLR plugs. The Xhadow plugs does not have the usual clip lock like on the industry standard Neutrik, but they do grip the panel sockets very tightly. 

The Wywires are refreshingly built lightly too, with non-flashy dull grey braiding and terminated at both ends with the superb locking Xhadow XLR plugs. There's very little form that does no function. This philosophy extends to the packing too, as all one gets is a QC Authentication Card and the cable it self inside a clear plastic zip bag.

I plugged the Wywires Silver in between my Bryston BDP/BDA-1 digital media player & DAC combo, in place of my usual reference, the 3 times more expensive JPS Aluminata AES/EBU digital cable. Now as all things high end in audio, the JPS does not represent a 3X gain in sound quality, compared to the Wywires. Instead, I find that the Wywires silver is a cable that's nearly as capable, if not ultimately, the JPS is still the superior cable, in the context of my system. Why so if you asked?

Well let's get a few issues out of the way, the Wywires present a tad more forward(not to be mistaken for immediacy) sound staging properties compared to the JPS. I found it's highs slightly less liquid, like as if the last ounce of moisture around the high hats and cymbals have evaporated. Having said that, the Wywires are still harmonically rich, with woody decays and reverbs from string instruments like piano, violin and cello being well reproduced. Playing one of my recent favourite CD rip tittled Hit Man, featuring David Foster & Friends is a good example. I could hear deep in to the sound stage of the concert, and the bass response of the Wywires Silver is punchy and propulsive, with deeply satisfying solidness, very few cables can match. The tonal quality of the Wywires certainly fall in to the neutral band and the level of transparency is high, if only the JPS Aluminata is more transparent, only because it could reproduce the most minor of musical details, and make them easily discernible. Not that those details are not there on the Wywires, you just need to listen more intently for them.

The other areas such as noise floor, transient and dynamic response are a strong suit of the Wywires and seemed to rival the JPS, which seems unfair, only because the later is 3X more expensive. Like I said, high end audio at this point had crossed the threshold point of diminishing returns. It's not rather if the Wywires Silver can rival the JPS Aluminata, but rather how close in audio performance the former can get at one third the investment, and the answer is probably as smart an answer as a no brainer as one can get!

This is the first Hit Man concert, featuring David Foster & Friends, available on Blu-ray and DVD plus CD combo. It's a great concert recording, with great visual colours and details on HD and the CD of the concert is just as well recorded too. the package offers great entertainment value.

While listening to the David Foster & Friends CD, which features so many excellent artist, but I most remembered Catherine MacPhee doing The Prayer, a duet with Andrea Boceilli, I got goose bumps when they're both doing their fortissimo towards the end of the performance. On this performance, Catherine not only served as eye candy, but the sexy lady can certainly open her lungs and sing her heart out, at times eclipsing the highly rated Andrea Boceilli(as pictured below). Like I always said, if any hifi equipment can give it's listeners goose bumps and be emotionally engaged by the music playing, then it's a worthy component or consideration, at any price.

Catherine MacPhee performing The Prayer, a duet with Andrea Boceilli. I never took her seriously as a singer until after this performance!

I know for certain, that Odiosleuth is considering the Wywires range of cables for himself, as he now has the full range of Wywires Gold Signature cables in his evaluation. They cover power cords, interconnects and speaker cables. Now what makes the Gold Signature range so special? They all have Jack Bybee's rather controversial Quantum Purifiers attached.

As if I've not been tempted enough, the good guys at AV Designs has decided to up the ante, and thrown me the unltimate challenge, in the form of the Wywire Gold Signature AES/EBU digital cable, which in pricing terms are more than equal to my reference digital cable. 

Stay on for another digital cable battle!

Wywires is sold by AV Designs, contact James or Tony at 03-21712828.

New Batch of Swans Arrives at Centre Circle Audio

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

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

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

One of the Best Wilson Audio Systems...

This is, in my opinion, one of the best sounding mid-size Wilson Audio (Sophia, Watt/Puppy, Sasha) based systems that I ever had the pleasure to listen to.

This system caressed vocals like no other Wilson systems I have experienced. Voices were creamy, sultry, seductive - these are adjectives more commonly applied to a tube based system, but in this case they are appropriate for this pair of Sophia 2, from a marque which is more famous for its impactful and dynamic sound. On our Saturday afternoon visit, the owner Kenneth told us that vocal was his favorite genre and the system definitely reflected the owner's tasteful selection of music.

I have great respect and admiration for Wilson Audio loudspeakers, every one of them could produce so much sound, in terms of extension and details. However, they require capable partners to properly work with and control them, otherwise they might become like a pair of bucking bronchos wrecking havoc to the sound. To get them to reward you with their best, the owner must be more than competent. In this regard, Kenneth had done a fine job, as reflected in his amplifier selection (Pass Labs XA160 monoblocks) and his work on the room's acoustic treatments. The end result was like cruising in a big performance car, smooth, comfortable and with a lot of power on tap.

Let's take a look at the system:

 

There were 2 digital frontends in this system, the first was an Esoteric SA60 CD/SACD player...

The second was a CAS, with a MacBook (not shown) feeding red book and high res bitstreams to a M2Tech DAC

 The M2Tech power supply, sitting on top of a Isotek power conditioner. High quality powercords from JPS, Shunyata and Siltech were used

ModWright LS36.5 tube linestage

 

Pass Labs XA160 monoblocks

 Wilson Audio Sophia Series II

Auralex acoustic treatments on the side wall and the ceiling

One extraordinary feature of this system was the addition of a pair of subwoofers to the main speakers. These are sealed subs from Rythmik audio, model F12. According to Max Loh of Maxx Audio, the local distributor of Rythmik, the use of 2 smaller size subs, instead of a big one, allowed easier integration to the main system, as each sub can be tuned separately to cater to the differing acoustic characteristics at different sides of the room. A sealed sub, rather than a ported one, would also have less issue with overhang, such that the bass will not lag behind the main system. Still, Max said that it took him long hours of work and measurement onsite to get the integration right, and he agreed with the owner that if he couldn't get it right there was no deal - now that is dedication for you. Since the subwoofers were now permanent residents in Kenneth's system, you can guess what the verdict was. The work did not stop there though, Max mentioned that he had some more acoustic treatment work to do with the room to improve the bass definition even further.

 

Rhythmik F12 subwoofer pair sitting behind the main speakers

In a quick A/B listening test (switching the subwoofers on and off) during our visit, we could hear the subwoofers extending the bass response in room, but more beneficially they expanded the scale of the sound. The system sounded bigger with the subwoofers on, the soundstage expanded and subtle atmospheric cues became clearer.

We thank Kenneth for his hospitality. It was an ear-opening listening session.

Super Supra. Supra High Speed HDMI With Ethernet Cable.

Supra High Speed HDMI With Ethernet cable.

Many folks(especially the tech brigade) are in the opinion that HDMI do not make an iota of difference when it comes to picture quality. As for sound quality, a plausible "maybe" is the usual answer. Hence when the good guys at A&L Audio Station ask me to review the latest range of Supra High Speed HDMI with Ethernet cable, I was thinking about the tough "job" ahead. I mean if I plug the cable and see/hear no difference, the cable would have to be returned, and no review will be written, i.e. time(a precious commodity now days) wasted. Thankfully, and rather unexpectedly, this is NOT the case.

The rather basic blister pack packaging, which means more value for performance.

The 2m length review sample of Supra HDMI cable came in basic blister pack and the item it self does not look very fancy either(which is good, because audiophiles have a misplaced impression that thick, heavy cables are best! Not the case with HDMI cables, because thick, heavy and stiff HDMI cables have been known to break at the termination point after some time, or worse still, rip out the HDMI jack from your display device, from repeated plug in/outs!). Hence light weight, shielded and nimble HDMI cables are best for the job of transmitting audio and visual signals. I proceeded to plug the Supra HDMI cable between my Pioneer BDP-140 Blu-ray player to my Denon AVR 1612 AV receiver.

This 1970 release is more historically accurate and balanced version of the events leading up to the attack of Pearl Harbour, which started the Pacific War. Comparing to the latest movie by Micheal Bay tittled Pearl Harbour simply, has more fictional elements in the plot, and ends with the success of 1942 Doolittle Tokyo raid, which is the start of the war tides turning towards America's favour in the Pacific Theater.

The opening scene of Tora! Tora! Tora! The re-mastering for Blu-ray release is worth another view for it's pristine restored picture quality. Colour tone is beautiful and accurate at once.

From the very first disc, the re-mastered for Blu-ray Tora! Tora! Tora! I was immediately blown away by the opening scene, as pictured above, where a boat load of Japanese Imperial Navy sailors, all parading in their white uniforms. I noticed that all their uniforms had varying shades of white(some yellowish, some grayish, some slightly bluish and some just plain whiter than others, just like in those laundry detergent advertisements!), from one sailor to another. As I had just finished the very same movie just a few hours ago with my regular reference cable, a Chord Super Shield HDMI in place. My memory of the movie is still fresh, therefore was surprised by the detail colour tone portrayal of the different levels of whiteness on the navy uniforms. Another scene from the very same movie that showcased the Supra's talents were the Zero fighters take off from aircraft carrier at dawn, en-route for the Pearl Harbour attack. Some of the early take off scenes were rather dark, and the dark coloured Zero fighters couldn't stand out from the deck of the carriers when viewing with the Chord cable. However, with the Supra HDMI, I could make out a whole lot of dark details of the Zero fighter, as it takes off from the carrier, including it's darker shadows beneath the wings, reflected from the deck.  Such is the Supra's prowess when handling dark image details.

So far, so good, I also noticed better depth portrayal in the scenes where planes are flying with the sky as it's back drop. Human flesh tone is entirely realistic, be it Negros, Caucasian or Asian types. Whilst I only used Tora! Tora! Tora! as a reference illustration, I noticed nearly the same detailed improvements on both ends of the grey scale linearity spectrum on every movie I watched. I found myself pulling out old movies after old movies, just to have a go on what was missing previously. I became an obsessive videophile, all because the Supra High Speed HDMI cable allowed me to do so easily. Again, even my family members who are not normally not too bothered about such things noticed so, that they asked me not to return the Supra cable, since it's relatively affordable, priced at RM$406.00/2M length.     

The insides of the Supra High Speed HDMI With Ethernet cable.

The Supra High Speed HDMI(ver 1.4) With Ethernet supports 3D pictures and resolutions up to 4k on specification. I am now enjoying my movie pictures more effortlessly, but what about the sound? I am happy to report that this HDMI cable likes to rock! With soundtracks that feature rock music, like those from The A-Team and Battleship, I not only enjoyed the picture, but the slamming sound quality as well. Bass seems to dive an octave deeper, and the sub-woofer seemingly working harder than usual to rumble my sofa too.  This is my new HDMI reference cable, and it's so..... good in performance yet affordable in price, that I am beginning to wonder if having the second Supra High Speed HDMI cable from the Denon AV receiver to my Samsung plasma display is gonna yield further picture quality gains? Stay tuned to find out as I request for a second sample to see if two is indeed better than one!

Supra is sold by A&L Audio Station, contact Yap(Wah Chai) at 03-79582884.