Legacy Digital Playback

Back in the 80's , the media of Compact Disc (CD) are introduced. It has large influence over the technology world and pretty much everyone would probably own some CD in the life. That is how popular CD as a media is to world until the 90's when Sony came out with a small version of the disc which is know as Minidisc (MD). The media is pretty much the same but smaller in size and still hold the same among of information. In the audio world is the standard 70 mins play time on the CD. MD is not just smaller in size but also encase in a shell not like CD which is a plastic disc expose and can be damage. Sony being known in the audio world has large customer based which is almost a guarantee for success. Unfortunately , despite all the fact MD did not really get popular. It was use mainly in Asia and some part of Europe and not so popular in the States. Ironically during the 90's hard disk and other media like Ipod is getting popular. Not a good timing for the MD and with 2 - 3 years after MD was launch it also quickly died out. 

Myself being the kids from the 70's, I have my fair share of cassette, tapes, and CD. When MD was around, I am pretty fascinated by it. Although very much into but is still not kind of affordable to own a MD player and getting the disc is not also not as much as CD back then. Honestly, for the beginning of the journey was much into movies and therefore Home Theater is the thing for me starting around 2007. Along the journey, kind of switch things towards music. By now, digital is the most common playback for music. With streaming of music it has now become the main stream. The old school head of me still very much into physical media. Even in Home Theater I will prefer the Bluray Disc than streaming. Naturally, I have been playing with CD mostly and some Vinyl along the way. I have always been eyeing for MD which is hard to come by this days. One fine day, out the blue I have chanced a upon a seller of pre-loved item to be selling this TASCAM MD player. The brand itself is well known during its day. With RM700 price tag, I am more than willing to jump into. The downside is the unit doesn't come with a remote control. Quite a bummer but, I thinking I will be able to find a replacement remote.

From the front look is kind of like a CD player except the loader is size is smaller. The front panel consist of quite many controls. Remote can be really optional. The usual button for play, stop, search and eject. The other control is for selection of input which is not quite common for player which usually has output. One key feature of MD player is the ability to record. On the left side of the player has a big knob to set the input volume. This is use to control the volume during record. On the right side of the player has a smaller knob which is selector where the knob can be press to "select". This is to control the function of deleting the disc, labelling the content of the disc. 

On the bottom right corner has a keyboard input. Of course this is the old fashion P/S2 keyboard which doesn't exist anymore. The purpose of this is to connect a keyboard to the player so is easier to type in the name of the song or album for each track. Is far easier than using the knob or even remote control. Very thoughtful design considering back in the 90's there is no touch screen.

Taking a look at the back of the player is the usual power cable which is not detachable. It uses a 2 pin plug. On the far left is the analog (RCA) input and output. Than follow by the optical output and optical input. Next is the analog (XLR) input and analogu (XLR) output. This unit can be switch between 120V and 240V. Is a good feature to have. I have to say this player has all the necessary input and output. What I think is nice to have is the Coaxial connection. That will be really a complete package. Is really nice to have output for both balanced and unbalanced.

The standard MD is 72x68x5mm. The typical disc store about 70 min of music. The one I have is the 80 min. In term of quality both 70 min and 80 min disc has no difference. Surprisingly the disc can still be purchase from online platform like Lazada. The price is about RM30 a piece. Is exactly like a re-writable CD. It comes with cover like a CD case. 

As this unit doesn't comes with a remote, I have search for it online for after market remote. Is really not hard to find one online to be purchase but it costed quite a pretty penny. Is roughly about USD20 + USD5 for shipping. That comes to about RM130 for this remote. Considering the player only cost RM700, I was pretty doubtful to get it but without a remote can be annoying if you want to select next song while seated. After some contemplating, decided to go with it. I am really I have got it. The after market remote works perfectly, almost like the original remote.

The player itself is pretty simple, just plug it in and pretty can start playing like a CD player. Of course what I have is just blank disc. I will have to record some songs / music to start listening to it. The nice thing about the player, it has various input of RCA, XLR and optical. It can pretty much record from any sources that can output with RCA, XLR and optical. For my setup, I have connected it from the preamp RCA output to the input of the MD player. This makes is easy to play any kind of source and able to record to the MD player. With the connection setup, firstly tested to record from a CD player. It work flawlessly. Pretty easy with just a push of the record button while the CD is playing to record. After that also tried recording from my Volumio player running on Asus Tinker board. WAV, FLAC and DSD is able to record flawlessly. One last thing, was recording from the Rega turntable. It works as well without a hitch. The only downside of this all is the time need to spend. Is old school, for 80mins disc will need to play 80 mins of songs / music to record. Is time consuming but I guess the positive side is you are able to select anything you want to be recorded to make your favourite playlist.

For playback, the MD output from optical to Wadia DAC. I have this connection, it sounded more natural to me than output from the RCA or XLR. The output of the RCA is quite reasonable but the sound is a bit lean. Whereas, the XLR is a lot more punchy but is also with its harshness. I will assume the DAC inside the player is pretty outdated. With the optical to bypass the internal DAC, the outcome is more natural and smooth sounding with the Wadia DAC. 

Among all the different format being recorded to the Minidisc, the one that sounded neutral and more musical is from the recording of the DSD file. Is a bit surprising as I might initial thought will be it will work better with older tech like the CD player. If I have to rank it for all the format, this is how I will put it:

1. DSD

2. LP

3. CD

4. WAV

5. FLAC

6. Streaming

On and all the outcome from playback on the MD is really enjoyable. Is really comparable with current quality of audio. With the 80 mins disc, approximately able to store about 20 songs / music. Is a good amount without having to change the disc as often. Overall my experience with MD is a pleasant one. I will recommend this to anyone who are looking into MD. 

A Hi-Fi Revisit Trip to Ipoh - Esoteric, Audio Research, Wilson, Vitus, Magico, GIK Acoustics, Torus

Posted by Tan.

Time flies. The last time we made a HiFi trip to Ipoh was in 2020 (you can find my visiting impressions under the 'Home Visit' label). A few weeks ago a few of us made another day trip and re-visited 2 systems. I am glad to note that both systems showed clear and significant improvements in sound quality, where their owners had put in effort not just on equipment upgrade but also acoustic treatment and power conditioning.

The first system we got to was Mr. Pung's Esoteric-Audio Research-Wilson Audio system. Since my last visit, Pung upgraded his digital frontend to an Esoteric K-01X SACD/CD player, which we listened to exclusively during the visit, giving his analogue frontend a rest for the day. It sounded so good that none of us had the urge to ask for Pung to switch to his analogue rig, proving that this top-of- the-line single-chassis Esoteric player is a real force to reckon with. 

The other area Pung put a significant effort in was room treatment. He added a number of bass traps from GIK Acoustics, placed at strategic corners of his room. He also did further fine-tuning with the positioning of his Wilson Audio WATT/Puppy 7 loudspeakers, we could see that the loudspeakers were now placed further apart and with shallower toe-in.  

光阴荏苒。我们上一次的怡保音响之旅是在 2020 年（你可以在“Home Visit”标签下找到我的访问印象）。几周前，我和一些友人又进行了一日游，并重新访问了2个系统。我很高兴的说这两个系统在音质方面都显示出明显而显着的改进，它们的主人不仅为器材升了级，而且还在声学处理和电源处理方面下了功夫。

我们探访的第一站是 Pung先生的 Esoteric-Audio Research-Wilson Audio系统。Pung 先生已将他的数码前端升级为Esoteric K-01X SACD/CD机。我们在这次探访中就只听了数码音乐。这Esoteric K-01X的声音表现听起来非常好，以至于我们都没有要Pung 先生切换到他的黑胶唱盘的冲动。这说明了这架在Esoteric产品线中排名第一的一体CD机是一股不可忽视的力量。

Pung先生也在房间处理方面投入了精力， 主要是在房间的角落中添加了GIK Acoustics低音陷阱。他还对Wilson Audio WATT / Puppy 7扬声器的摆位进行了进一步的微调。我们可以看到扬声器之间的距离拉得更开，而toe-in角度也减少了。

This system was sounding excellent during our 2020 visit. This time it sounded even better. The one big improvement was in the bass region, which I'd attribute to the GIK Acoustics treatment. This time round, bass was more articulate and was better defined. The bass region shed just a wee bit of fat and took on more muscle tone, making it more agile and punchy.

The ambient background noise level improved too, music now played on a blacker background. While the Wilsons continued to portray a big sound and being dynamic and impactful, they also added on a small amount of gentleness and softness (as opposed to 'hard') in their voicing, toning down the analytical side and making the system sound more natural.

Since this visit, we gathered that Pung was further upgrading his system. He was moving on to the impressive Wilson Alexia. I think another visit to Ipoh is due soon. 

这系统在2020 年的家访时听起来已经很棒。这次听起来更好。一个很大的改进是低音，我将其归因于GIK Acoustics的声学处理。这一次，低音的表现更清晰，线条更好。低音部位减掉了一点脂肪，呈现出更多的肌肉和张力，听起来更敏捷更有冲击力。

聆听环境的背景噪音也有所改善，音乐呈现在更漆黑的背景之中。Wilson喇叭继续描绘出一个大音场，声音充满活力和冲击力，但这次它们在发声中也加入了少量的柔和度，稍微淡化了细节分析，使系统听起来更自然。

这次家访后， Pung先生进一步升级了他的系统。Wilson Alexia喇叭已经到位。我看另一次到怡保的家访即将到来。

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Our second stop was Mr. Lam's Kuzma-Audio Research-Magico system. Lam had recently upgraded his Vitus amplification from a power amplifier to the massive and imposing SM-103 monoblocks. He also added a Torus TOT series power conditioner to his frontend equipment which did wonders to the sound quality according to him and it tempted him to consider upgrading to a bigger model that can handle the power demand of his entire system. A bigger Torus was coming to his system. 

第二站是Lam先生的Kuzma-Audio Research-Magicco系统。Lam先生最近将他的Vitus 后级升级到Vitus 的巨无霸SM-103 monoblocks。他也在他的前端设备中添加了一个Torus TOT系列电源处理器。据他说，这Torus对音质产生很明显的改进。这促使他考虑升级到可以处理整个系统的电源需求的更大型号。一个更大的Torus将入驻他的系统。

This was also an excellent sounding system during our last visit. However, Lam's upgrades elevated the sound quality further, and this was not just felt by me but a consensus of everyone on this trip. What we heard during our last visit in the area of scale, dynamics, detail retrieval etc. continued to impress, but now there was an additional heightened sensation of  naturalness and realism in the sound. Honestly, I could not put my fingers on what the exact changes in the sound were, but there was this instinctive recognition that the music just sounded right, like what we'd hear in real life. That was a quality that not only made all of us enjoy the music but also want to listen on and on. I'd venture to say that this is the best Magico based system among the handful that I had heard over the years!

So, that was a satisfying day for HiFi. More visits will surely come now that the MCO travel restrictions are lifted. 

在我们的上次家访中，这也是一个很好声的系统。然而Lam先生的升级更进一步提升了声音表现，这不仅是我一个人感受到的，而是家访中每个人的同感。上次感受到的大编制，大动态，细节表现等在这次家访中继续让人印象深刻，但这次又增强了音乐的自然和真实。老实说，我很难描绘声音的确切变化是什么，但有一种本能的认知，即这音乐听起来是正确的，就像我们在现实中听到的那样。这种品质让我们一队人享受音乐，而且欲罢不能。我敢说这是我多年来听过的几个Magico系统中最好声的！ 

这是令人满意的音响一日游。现在MCO限制解除后，我们肯定会做更多的家访。

Modern Vintage

Recently there are many audio companies is coming out with new product with vintage look and feel. Is really quite catchy if we talk about fitting in your home. Most people probably play their gear in the living room or some in the bedroom. Look of audio gear is becoming more and more important to capture the not so audiophile group. Mission a very old audio brand started back in the 70's is also a well known brand to many. Is not being just good but also affordable. 

Mission had earlier launch the 770 which is base on the older model which debuted in 1978. The most current Mission 700 is the trickle down of the 770. The design look pretty similar and technology use  is also past down from the bigger brother of 770. The Mission 700 has 2 different colours, is either black or walnut. The colour of walnut is a total match to the vintage theme and more over the front face white colour is the perfect match to the bookshelf. It really bring you back in time. 

The speaker has single binding post. Which I will is not a deal breaker. The binding post itself is solid and doesn't feel like entry level. It matches well with the speaker. The post is the standard type which can fit banana or spade. I have user the banana plug which fit in very nicely. 

The speaker also comes with its own dedicated stand. As the stand is design to fit the speaker, from the look at it feel like the stand is part of the speaker. The stand is not assemble ready. This makes it easier to transport. The assembling of the stand is pretty easy, won't take more than 10 mins to assemble both stands. The stand itself weight 14kg. Definitely not slouch in that area. The stand comes with spike feet and footer 

The height of the stand is 48cm, its almost the same height as the speaker. The entire stand is made of high carbon steel. That should keep any rust away but will still avoid humid area I suppose. The black colour stand really compliment well the speaker.

With the speaker on the stand, it just look gorgeous. This is one big thing that really draw me to the speaker. It can easily fit into your home without have to compromise. Just like another piece of furniture to the home. The other good thing is the weight of speaker and stand is close to 30kg. This is a good thing not just for the audio but is steady without much worry it can be down over. 

Of course other than the look the audio quality is something impresses me. In the picture is the Leak 230 integrated amplifier powering the Mission 700. The speaker cable is QED silver XT from source of Asus Tinker board running on Volumio.

Playback from the volumio with hi-res files and streaming from Apple Music are use to try out. The hi-res file playback is generally better than streaming with the streaming sounded more compress. That is to be expected. The first song tested with "Leona Lewis" - Happy. I will describe the vocal to be crispy clear. The sound easily fill the room. Seating 6 feet away from the speaker still gives the feeling how enveloping the sound is. Totally doesn't feel like a bookshelf. The bass is pretty solid too. From 6 feet distance can feel the chest thumping bass.  Although it can hear slightly boomy. Probably is the distance among the 2 speakers is too close. Both speakers are seating just 5 feet apart. 

Next song test with "Michael Jackson" - Black & White. The song is very energetic and the fast pace music is handle well by the speaker. The background music is all well handle, doesn't get muddle up with the vocal. Also the high are just nicely round off, the speaker is consider warm but still give the excitement when listening to pop song.

3rd song play "Adele" - Cry Your Heart Out. Adele is well known for her powerful voice, is just mesmerizing listening to it from the Mission 700. The center staging and imaging of the voice is just so good making the speaker totally transparent. 

Overall wise the speaker is well rounded with different genre of songs. Its also not fatigue in listening for hours. I will say British speaker are well known for being warm sounding and Mission does it well. The speaker is also easy to drive with just 70 watt integrated amp is more than enough to make it sing. The speaker is not quite the entry price point but is definitely won't cost a bomb. Job well done by Mission. 

Yukimu

 

Yukimu as the name sounded Japanese and indeed it is a product made in Japan. The company only made audio accessory like brush for vinyl, noise absorber. I got chance upon the product from a local dealer here (Begins Acoustic). There 2 pieces of product as above picture are the noise absorber. Is quite self explanatory as its main purpose is to reduce noise in the audio chain. Again noise absorber or noise eliminator and many other names is nothing new in audio world. 

Yukimu noise absorber has 2 different options. One is the USB type and the other is the RCA connector type. This are the very common types of connection is almost every kind of audio equipment available today. Is also quite obvious the 2 different types are to cater for different need dependent on the connection available of the audio chain. The question will be if there 2 connection available are they to be use together ? The answer will be yes but I don't hear any kind of benefit at least from myself.

Lets see on this RCA type connection. The unit came in a wooden box and the warranty information as stated in the card if you can read Japanese. Is pretty need and like many Japanese product, even the packaging is well thought of. One personal thing for me is the confidence it gives you when buying made in Japan product. The unit itself is just 52mm in length and 17mm width. Is a little bigger than the usual RCA head for a cable. It can easily fit into any RCA connection on the hardware of the audio chain.

The flexibility here is the noise absorber will work by connecting it to any available RCA connector. For my testing purpose, I have connected it to the power amp. Of course it can be easily connect to the pre-amp, CD player, or any other equipment with RCA connector. This is a good point to note as it will be easily add into any audio chain. 

For try out of the unit, I am using my Asus Tinkerboard running on Volumio which is connected to the Wadia DAC. From the DAC connected to the Accuphase Pre and Power on XLR (Nordost). Since this is a Japanese product it will only be right to try out some Japanese song. The try out with Ayumi Hamasaki (Endroll). Japan Pop use to be the big thing before the Korean came and dominate it. The really noticeable is the vocal being really sharp (not ear piercing). It gives the lively feeling of the singer and at the same time airiness of the audio. The lower bass extension also improve with the feel of the chest thumping.  Pop song can be quite easily fatigue in listening with audio crowding when multiple background instruments playing. The noise absorber do help in the separation and at the same time tame the high frequency.

The second option is the USB type which is suitable for computer or media player and according to the Yukimu is also suitable for NAS drive. For my try out, this was connected to a laptop and USB output to the Wadia DAC. Is quite a known fact that common USB on computer has a lot of noise. With this unit connected really have the immediate impact to having a quitter background of the audio.

Trying out DSD audio format on this album of Scorpion. The song title "In Trance". Rock song is quite noisy at times especially with the high pitching singing. Listening on USB connection can be even worse. The Yukimu does a good job here. The overall sound stage improve with the background music loud and clear. The most noticeable is the vocal is not covered by the background music especially with the kick bass and electric guitar. The same effect on the lower bass which become more solid with the noise absorber. The significant part is the feel of the bass on the chest is pretty cool especially on rock song. 

In summary both the units of noise absorber has its own advantage but I have to say the USB has more impact to overall audio compare to the RCA type. It also make sense that digital audio is in most system today, USB noise absorber is quite an important piece in the audio chain. Of course, digital audio can comes in many forms especially streaming which might or might not going through USB which the RCA can comes in handy. Is quite thoughtful of the manufacturer in catering for all different needs for the current and vintage audio chain. To know more of it can visit the website https://www.beginsacoustic.com/ 

TAD's Flagship Power Amp The M700S and The TAD Evolution One TX Loudspeakers Now at AV Designs

At long last, TAD's flagship power amplifier has arrived on our shores. 

Over the years, local audiophiles have had many opportunities to savour TAD's excellent-sounding product line-up at AV Designs. However, TAD's flagship amplifiers, the M600 monoblock, and its successors, the M700 monoblock and M700S power amp had remained elusive. 

The wait is now over. 

The M700S is the stereo version of TAD's top dog amplifier, the M700 monoblock. They are practically indistinguishable from each other on their looks, just that the M700S is rated at 175w per channel while the monoblock doubles that to 350w. 

This stereo power amp has a handy feature not normally seen in others, i.e., with the flip of a switch at the back, its operating mode can be changed from stereo to bi-amping. In bi-amp mode, it takes in 1 input channel from your pre-amp, and sends out the same signal on both output channels, one to independently feed your loudspeaker's bass and the other to its mid and highs. This is a great upgrade path, you just add another M700s into your system when the time comes. Of course, this will require your loudspeakers to be biamp/biwire-able, which all TAD loudspeaker models are capable of, but you would be out of luck with some loudspeakers such as those from, say, Wilson Audio and Magico.    

The M700S is big, imposing and heavy at 75.5kg per unit. Yet its lines are refined and clean with no unnecessary adornment, the design language simply oozes class and quality to my eyes. Much of the bulk and weight is taken up by the block of solid metal (cast aluminium, as far as I could ascertain from TAD's website) that serves as the amplifier's base, it gives the M700S a wide and steady stance and doubles up as a stand for the amplifier (yep, just plonk the M700S directly on the floor, you need not invest in any additional hifi rack/platform/feet etc.). 

The M700S has only balanced / XLR inputs

The M700S is used to drive the TAD Evolution One TX (E1TX) loudspeakers in the AV Designs demo system. The E1TX is also a new arrival in Malaysia and it is the biggest loudspeaker in TAD's Evolution Series. 

  

Like all the loudspeakers in TAD's line-up, the E1TX uses a coaxial driver, the tweeter is made of Beryllium and the midrange magnesium. The upper most frequency response is stated as 60kHz, which is much higher than most conventional loudspeakers

The E1TX has 2 bass drivers. Its bass response goes down to 29Hz

There are 2 side-firing reflex ports, one on each side of the loudspeaker

The E1TX is bi-amp/bi-wire-able

In fact, the entire demo system consists of a complete TAD cast except the streamer, which is a Bryston unit. As seen below, the TAD-D600 acts as a DAC, and the preamp is a TAD-C600 unit. Both are from TAD's Reference Series where the M700S also hails from. 

This system did all the technical stuff with aplomb - details, separation, definition, dynamics, frequency extension, sound-staging, attack, speed/pace, tonal colour/timbral accuracy etc. were all top notch. But more importantly these were done not for their own sake but with the gaze firmly on serving the music. The musical message was never lost, and the proceedings were always musically satisfying. I found that I could not focus on analysing the sound for long into any track, the sound compelled me to switch off the analytical and nit-picking side of my mind and go into music enjoyment mode again and again. 

(Note: video taken with an iPhone SE)

The control of the M700S on the loudspeakers was flawless. Its control in the bass region was especially outstanding. Barring any acoustic issue in your listening room, you'd hear deep, well defined and well-delineated bass notes. The bass played tune. The highs from the M700S coupled to the Be tweeter of the E1TX were never gritty or painful to the ears even when played very loudly. The highs were pristine, fast and very articulate and had the requisite shine and bite if the recording called for it. The midrange was natural and true, I could detect a little welcome trace of warmth in the sound, which I believe was from the E1TX, that would make not-so-good recordings easier to listen to.   

The scale of presentation from this system was big. Playing dynamic orchestral music and heart-thumping techno, the M700S remained unfazed. It never lost its grip and the music always remained coherent. I don't know what the limit of the M700S's drive capability is. I thought my ears would give up long before we reach that red line. Credit of course must also go to the E1TX loudspeakers, these guys can really go loud well. 

With this listening impression, I don't know what more an audiophile would ask of a system really (but of course in TAD's scheme of things, there are 2 more speaker models in its Reference Series, the CR1TX and R1TX, that would, based on my experience with their earlier generations, somewhat outshine these already very excellent E1TX, though at much more substantial price points). So do yourself a favour and pay AV Designs a visit to listen to them before they found their new owners. Actually I gathered from James Tan that this M700s is already spoken for. 

The list prices of the TAD equipment are:

TAD-M700S power amp - RM220,000

TAD-C600 preamp - RM177,000

TAD-D600 CD/SACD player - RM177,000

TAD-E1TX loudspeakers - RM109,000

P.S., I want to put in an extra word for the E1TX - while they cannot be said to be 'affordable', in my opinion they are not over-priced or crazily-priced in the current high-end scene, given its design, technology and workmanship. So if you are looking for a loudspeaker upgrade at this price range, please shortlist the E1TX and give it a good audition.   

AV Designs / James Tan - Ph: +603 62411237 website: https://www.avdesigns.com.my/