"dbx" Wonder? Yamaha K-1X

The Yamaha K-1X is a Japan domestic model but also called KX-1020 in international export markets. I am not sure if the are any difference internally between them 

For some reason or another, I was never quite taken by Yamaha hifi components. Yes I do have a Yamaha AVR for my living area 5.1 HT system, and that's it. Even that is because I got it bundled with the Bose Acoustimas speaker system for a good price! So why is this in the cards? you asked. My buddy Mr Oh's influence!

This is good deck, you try, this one got dbx noise reduction system, otherwise you don't know what you're missing, he said! And so I did try with an open mind, plus I was curious about the dbx NR system. On spec, it seems to be great deal better than the generic Dolby B/C & HX Pro, which is now default features on most cassette decks. 

The Yamaha K-1X sitting in my audio rack, as usual just below the Aesthetix Janus Signature pre-amp 

The Yamaha K-1X is from 1985 vintage, it self is a further evolution from the K-2000 & K-1000 flagship decks from 1982. Key features of the K-1X includes 3 heads, dual captan transport, Sendurst tape head, Dolby B/C & HX Pro and lastly, dbx noise reduction system. Styling wise, the Yamaha looks chunky with it's rather deep width and tall box, and one peek inside shows why. While the box is compartmentalized inside, Yamaha doesn't go the whole 9 yards & copper coat it either. I see money being spent on the important things like a reliable and high spec transport with a bright green illumination, the Sendurst tape heads, detachable tape well cover made from real glass & aluminum, decent size PS transformer & thick, non detachable power cord. Yamaha chooses to go prudent with other things, like no remote, plastic face plate, no copper chassis coating as mentioned before. The tape well of the Yamaha is well designed for easy access to perform tape head and pinch roller cleaning.

The insides of the Yamaha K-1X. On the right there's 4 pcs of standing PCB for the dbx noise reduction system. With this system, there's a requirement for the audio circuitry to accommodate an extra headroom for signal to noise ratio. Weighting in at 6.9kgs the Yamaha K-1X is not the heaviest battleship around, but is solid enough nevertheless. If I have to rate it, may be at pocket battleship level? 

Another area that I love about the K-1X is the styling, this unit finished in stain brushed black has the usual tape well on the left, a recoding level slider on the right next to tape well, then flanked by an unusually long tape counter and peak level meter display. The display really sets this unit apart by use of bold typeface and very striking blue & red illumination. I think the extra long peak level meter is to accommodate the extra headroom of up to 60 db as required by the dbx noise reduction system. At the bottom of the display are six major transport control keys and a flip down flap on the right to hide all the recording adjustment knobs & noise reduction selectors for a clean facia appearance. On the whole, the styling reflects a image of bold power, yet classy altogether.  

That detachable tape well cover is made from real glass, sandwich at the bottom and insides with real aluminum frame. Very solid and chunky when removed for tape head and pinch roller cleaning 

The tape counter in red illumination has big chunky typeface, making easy viewing from near or far. The peak level meters is extra longer than usual, but does not have peak hold feature

All recording adjustment knobs & noise reduction selectors are hidden inside a flip down flap on the right side of the cassette deck

It all looks very neat on the facia when the flap is up, covering all the recoding functions, making the deck look less busy in comparison to others. The recoding level slider in use here is OK, but I much prefer a big master rotating knob for that purpose 

The sound of the Yamaha K-1X or KX-1020 in export markets is incredible, with or without dbx system in use! I used mostly pre-recorded & tapes recorded from my previous Teac V-670 and those tapes all sounded much better than I ever experienced them before. The sound is big scale, bold, and very dynamic to boot. The bass kicks ass with well defined kick drum, and clean note to note transfers, no woolly bass notes as normal cassettes. I think part of the credit goes to the strong dual capstan, 3 head transport. There's a certain kind of sweetness in mid range & highs. The highs in particular are airy & will bite if the music calls for. There's also a clarity and dynamic range that most other decks will find hard to match. In comparison, the Yamaha did lost out slightly on resolution, compared to my resident Akai GX-95 MKII deck.

I then made a CD recording using the dbx noise reduction, and on playback there was total silence in the back ground just like CD, with the dynamics and slight coldness all included. I would say this Yamaha makes the most true to source recordings one can ask for. I also tried play some of my previously recorded tapes with Dolby C on the dbx system, but the sound came out weird, very loud, and also seemingly boosted to the point of clipping. So Dolby B or C recorded tapes must be played without the dbx switched ON. But even then, the benefits of the extra headroom that this deck offers is highly evident, yes even without the dbx system. I just usually switch OFF all noise reduction during playback, yet this Yamaha is so engaging to listen to everytime, all the time!

 

In 1987, Yamaha introduced the KX-1200U, which looks almost identical to it's predecessor, but come with remote control, and other modern era tape deck functions such as track search 

 In the end, I told my poison buddy Mr Oh, that I don't want to return this deck to him! He was reluctant to sell to me because he wanted to keep it for his own "collection" of cassette decks! And yes, he has many top decks. In the end I managed to convinced him to let me continue to use the Yamaha K-1X, rather than see it sitting on his shelf as a collection.

Mr Oh also have another bullet in his amoury, he said I should try the newer version of the Yamaha K-1X, in the form of 1987's Yamaha KX-1200 U! Stay tuned for that to come next..........

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

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

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

See ya all in Penang soon!

Nakamichi Rival, Sony TC-K 555 ESX Cassette Deck

The Sony TC-K 555 ESX is a very smart looking unit with excellent ergonomics. On the right section are the function control buttons & tape counter display, and on the left are recording settings and peak signal display. The cassette well in in the middle, but in this case, it's not motorized. Later units from the ESL model onwards are motorized. 

Sony was in top form during the 80's and the Sony ES series hifi components represented their state of the art in audio philosophy, technology and execution maturity. The Sony TC-K 555 ES series had a long production run which started since 1982 - 1994 in various guises from the early ES, to the, ESG, ESX, ESR & the ESA plus ESJ are being the last 2 versions released in the early 1990's. The Sony TC-K 555ESX as seen here is made for 1987-1988 year, before being replaced by the ESR version in 1989. The last version, ESJ was released in 1992 and continued to be made well in to 1994.

The Sony TC-K 555 series is the state of the art of the Sony ES series cassette deck of the era, being on top of  TC-K 333 series in various guises over the span of 8 years in production. Both models share common design themes such as centrally mounted 3 head, dual capstan, 2 motor transport, made in house by Sony. A two display system is also used in the styling of the deck, the left window being a dedicated tape counter and a right window being peak level meters. The TC-K 555 builds on from there with remote control capability and a higher dynamic range(120db) audio circuitry design. Like the European range topper TC-K 700 from the same year, the tape door is dampened when ejected. Later models from ESL onwards in 1990 have motorized tape door. I must say the styling of the Sony ES series at that point has a serious business like look to it.    

The back panel is as per usual with line in and line out RCA jacks 

This is the original remote supplied by Sony at the time, as optional. So not many owners bought them with remotes back then. Hence the original remotes are super expensive these days. However if you get a unit from Oh, he has a compatible programmed remote supplied. Not very nice looking, but functional nevertheless!  

My own experience with Sony cassette players have been mixed over the years, as I loved my Sony Walkmans, car cassette stereos but with their hifi decks, not so great experience until now. My previous entry level Sony cassette deck, can't remember the model no. came with very high wow & flutter straight out of the box new! I rmembered sending it to the Sony service center & other repair shops many times It could never be fixed.

My buddy Oh told me that I had not experienced the best of Sony cassette decks, I should try an ES series unit. He offered me a TC-K 333 ES unit to play with, but I wanted something a little better, with remote! And so 2 weeks later I picked up this restored TC-K 555 ESX from Oh.

I plugged this unit in to my system, replacing the Kenwood KX-880G unit and from first music played, I heard a similar clarity in sound, slightly wider band width, more refined highs, with a neutral tonal quality, all hallmarks of a great hifi cassette deck. The Sony also had other less positive traits, the scale of music imaging was smaller, less big boned, or probably gave a presentation of mid hall perspective, compared to the rather forward sounding Kenwood, which gives a first row seat impression. The Kenwood also struck me as being more musical of the two, despite having slightly higher wow & flutter audible.

Both the Sony & Kenwood players are highly dynamic tape decks and both have tight bass lines which I like a lot. The Sony TC-K 555 ESX spent about 2 weeks in my audio cave and I never had a dull moment with it. Not sure why, but the Sony tape heads tend to require cleaning more often then my other tape decks. 

All Sony TC-K 333/555 ES models shared the same well spec Sony TCM 110 mechanism, which is a 3 head, dual capstan, 2 motor design unit. 

The Sony TC-K 555 ESX playing in my system, if only for 2 weeks!

Overall, the Sony TC-K 555ESX provides a very positive experience for cassette deck ownership, and has managed to redeemed it's past failings. If anything, it reinforces Oh's comment that if playing with Sony cassette decks, it must be ES series, not anything less. And so far, my experiences with Sony ES series components have not disappointed yet, be it CD player(my CDP-X7 ESD) or cassette deck, and now that makes me itching to try out their ES series amplifiers!

Currently in Malaysia, there are only 2 brands of cassette decks in which people would pay top dollar, (or should I say Ringgit?) without second thoughts. Hence in the context of today's used market place, the Sony ES decks do rival the Nakamichi units on offer. First the Nakamichi cassette decks in which the brand had built such a strong image & sound quality that it's almost bullet proof in resale value for a good working condition unit. 

Next up are the Sony ES series units. I know many who personally import these decks from Japan, despite being rated 100V for Japan domestic market voltage, instead of 240V for local Malaysia spec. This is due to the Sony ES deck's scarcity in the local market. In Malaysia, they were priced out of affordability back then in the 1980's. And if anyone had the money, they would've certainly gone for the well renowned Nakamichi then.  

My buddy Oh also brings them in from Japan, converts them to 240 V and restores them to original spec. At point of writing, he has already sold a couple of units, and he still has limited units left. So please contact him pronto at 012-206 0888 if you're keen to get your hands on a Sony ES cassette deck.

After being with me for 2 weeks, Oh tempted me with another top spec cassette deck, this time a Yamaha K-1X. Stay tuned for that one!  

Centre Circle Audio Introduces Mola-Mola Tambaqui DAC

Mr Ewald standing next to the Mola-Mola Tamabqui DAC

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Another Passive Filter? FFA Power Line Filter & DC Noise Blocker

The FFA Power Line Filter & DC Noise Blocker is basically a power cord with a box of passive filtering components inside. Frankie says one can order the FFA with US style NEMA-5 plug as well

Another day, another passive power line filter comes to market place, so what's so different about this one? Since I have played with most of the PLC or filtering device out there? 

Well for a start, this is a locally designed & made product. Designed by my buddy, non other than Mr Oh, the hifi repair man that most readers will by now be familiar with, if you've had hifi equipment repaired by him, you're in good hands! Yes, designed by Mr Oh, but made by Frankie Fong! So who is this Frankie Fong? Some may ask. I only met Frankie when he brought me a pair of the FFA Power Line Filter & DC Noise Blocker for this review. This guy is our Malaysian Elvis King apparently! Don't believe me, look at the CD cover below! Yes, Frankie has an album dedicated to all of Elvis early career songs. He's a pretty good singer too. I would love to see him perform as Elvis one day.....

 

Frankie Fong is a big time Elvis fan and does cosplay performances as well. He lives the Elvis way when on stage! 

FFA = Frankie Fong Audio? yeah right.............. You tell me, Can this Frankie Fong may be as famous as the other Frankie(Frank Powerbank fame) in our Malaysian audio landscape? Only time will tell.  The FFA Power Line Filter is basically a power cord attached with a plastic box of passive components inside to do some passive filtering of electricity as it comes in to your hifi equipment. DC Noise in power line? Don't know how to verify that either. As I plug in the FFA power cord with a box to my hifi equipment, I heard some nice improvements which I like!

First and most obvious, the bass tightens up. In my small room, big speaker set up, some room modes do remain untamed, but with the FFA plugged in most of those pesky room modes are either gone or audibly reduced. Next improvement noticed is stereo separation. In much audiophile music where there are lots of sound stage location cues, the FFA makes them more dramatically pronounced, in a nice sort of way which doesn't sound artificial, unlike some of the other tweaks I've played with in the past. And possibly the last  noticeable effect is the back ground noise becomes darker, as most good power line filters or conditioners tend to be.

However, one thing stood out for me with this FFA power cord. It prefers to work with a power line conditioner in front of it. Meaning in my case, the power from wall first goes to my Torus Power RM-16UK with my usual power cord, then to the hifi equipment via the FFA! If I just use the FFA direct from wall to equipment, the results are less impressive. The bass less well controlled, but still better than without the said FFA, stereo separation panning effect is less pronounced, and there is virtually no "darker" back ground noise as well. This is actually not normal.

And so, I tried the FFA in my HT system where I used 2 units of Weiduka AC-8.8 power line conditioner, one for my stack of sources & amps, and another one for my pair of SVS PB-2000 subs. I used the FFA to run the pair of SVS subs with & without the Weiduka in place. Again I heard the same great leap of performance with the Weiduka in use, and lesser performance gains without the PLC in use. I can't explain what I heard, but that's what I heard.

So my take is the FFA plays more like a supporting role in the whole power management for your audio or HT system. It actually takes performance levels up a notch or two with any power line conditioner is use together, but on it's own, my probable verdict would be YMMV!

However due to the excellent results I got with the FFA at the small outlay of MYR599/unit, I bought the review pair and they are now in use in my HT system. FFA can be ordered on FB market place, or one can call Frankie Fong direct at 016-2380220 to find out more.