Positive effects of AC Enacom

An audiophile, who has experimented with numerous different tweaks and footers, tried the AC Enacom.  His feedback has been very positive, here’s the verbatim text of it:

The AC Enacom is an amazing product. I was skeptical something so small and affordable will make a positive difference to my audio system initially.

The moment I plug it in, the experience was jaw dropping. The background was dark as night, the “Digital” sound of a CD based system just disappeared. The music has an immediate 3D feel to it and the sound stage was much wider. Everything sounds more real, just the way it should be. When it is fully run in after 300 hrs, the effect was even better. I have gone on to buy 3 more and the effects are cumulative though at a diminishing increment.

This product is the most cost effective upgrade I have tried and heard period!

Here is the link to the Manufacturer’s site info: http://www.combak.net/enacom/EnacomMain.htm

A Visit to Avantgarde Hong Kong

On a recent trip to Hong Kong, I couldn’t resist the temptation to visit my friend Edward Cheung who runs Avantgarde Hong Kong. The showroom itself, located in the Central part of Hong Kong Island in a building called Pottinger House along Pottinger Street, is not easy to find if you’re a tourist (like me) as there are no signs out in front.

You really got to know the address to be able to find the exact building, and in that sense I wouldn’t expect many casual browsers to drop by just because they happen to chance upon the showroom. However, the location makes sense as it seems to be right smack in the midst of the business district and that’s where you find many of the people who can afford this type of gear!

Once the elevator door opens into the main showroom on the 4^th floor, the ambience is cozy and classy – exactly the type of environment where I would like to spend my free afternoons. Apart from Avantgarde Acoustic speakers, Edward also represents familiar brands like AMR, Dr. Feickert Analog, Lehman Audio, Ortofon, Nottingham Analogue, TW Acustic and Shunyata Research (among others). Talk about great minds thinking alike!

The 2 system setups that were on demo that day were both neatly laid out and well matched, with great sound quality. The one I particularly enjoyed was the one with the DUO Grosso horn speakers and driven by an AMR CD player and amp. The sound was transparent, controlled, refined and with the great sense of ease that typifies the Avantgarde speakers due to their super high sensitivity. Violins for example, were portrayed with that ‘you are there’ sense of realism that is often talked about but seldom really achieved on many other systems I have listened to.

Something that really piqued my interest was the interesting room tune panels and bass traps that were used in one of the setups. They look so attractive to me, that I can imagine many would buy them just for decoration! The fit and finish of these items were really first class and you can expect to see them in Singapore in the not too distant future!

I have included some photos of the showrooms for your viewing pleasure.

Audience’s Adept Response power conditioner

There has been a number of glowing reviews of Audience’s Adept Response range of power conditioner recently. Check them out on our news Journal section here: http://www.hifi.com.sg/journal/default.asp

Sneak preview of our set-up for the International Sound & Sight Exhibition 2009

Preview photos of what we are exhibiting this year.

Our demo system above

The very latest Nano G2

AMRs all in a row.

Shunyata- Inside and Out

Inside and Out

Shunyata Research founder, former military scientist Caelin Gabriel has invested twenty-five years of research in developing a multi-stage approach to power distribution that emphasizes the passive isolation of each component within complex electronics systems. His extensive testing within state-of-the-art military and computer systems demonstrates that noise generated within interconnected systems poses a greater challenge to resolution than externally generated AC interference. In essence, the laws of proximity rule when it comes to the effective treatment of radiated and power supply generated noise.

The First Line Of Defense — A Power Cord?

Shunyata Research’s eight models of power cords are designed to act as sympathetic, noise-isolated extensions of the primary winding within a component’s power supply. Seen this way, the critical importance of the power cord becomes clear. Shunyata Research power cords are custom manufactured to offer superior near-field isolation from the internally generated and radiated high-frequency distortions inherent within all electronics systems. Shunyata power cords do not represent the last few feet of an AC grid leading to a component; they are the first few feet from the perspective of each component’s power supply.

What’s In The Box?

Uninterrupted AC distribution Shunyata Research Hydra and Guardian power distributors are designed to function as multi-outlet, discrete channel extensions of its power cords. Hydra and Guardian products employ custom-designed networks that filter and protect systems from both incoming and outgoing AC interference without altering or otherwise degrading the original AC waveform — even within high-current applications. Hydra and Guardian products work hand in glove with Shunyata power cords to create ultra-low impedance, noise-isolated current pathways to each component outlet.

Hydra and Guardian products are used by many of the world’s premiere electronics manufacturers because they do not interfere with or alter the character of their products performance. They provide the instantaneous current that todays high-performance products require, ensuring fast transient response and full dynamic contrast. The passive, non-reactive designs of Shunyata power products promise years of trouble free operation and consistent results across all types of critical recording, playback and film electronics.

The Foundation Of Performance

Shunyata power-systems unprecedented critical, professional and commercial successes demonstrate the importance of isolating each component from noise within electronics systems. This begins with the initial point of external electrical contact — the power cord.

Footers, spike bases, dampers and other tweaks (Part 2)

In the 2^nd part of this article, I am highlighting some of the accessories that have proven over the years to be more of a necessity for most systems, in the sense that they provide significant improvements to any system that they are used in.

Audience Auric Illuminator

The Auric Illuminator improves the audible and visible playback quality of all optical discs. Originally developed as an advanced optical resolution enhancement for the U.S. Military, Auric Illuminator is incredibly effective in helping your disc player to retrieve all the available data on your discs at the right time. Auric Illuminator allows the laser pickup to track the disc more accurately and thus causes less error correction, among other things. The result is a smoother and clearer sonic presentation, and for video, better picture definition and colour saturation. Trying it once will make a believer out of you!

http://www.audience-av.com/illuminator/

Boston Audio Design

This company makes a range of anti-resonance isolation devices out of compressed carbon graphite. Due to the excellent energy dissipation qualities of the material, their family of Tuneblocks make excellent value-for-money accessories that is claimed to get the most out of your present components. They offer a range of isolation footers for components, record mats, speaker spike bases and CD stabilizer mats.

http://www.boston-audio.com/

Harmonic Resolution Systems

HRS is famed for making probably one of the most expensive (and highest quality) audio racks in the world!  Apart from this, they also offer more affordable accessories like the S-1 isolation platform, Nimbus Couplers, Damping Plates and a record clamp called the Analog Disk. All of their products feature a specially formulated elastomer surface to effectively damp resonances over a wide frequency spectrum.

http://www.avisolation.com/index.html

Harmonix

Not to be confused with HRS, Harmonix is a Japanese company that is widely acknowledged as the Rolls Royce of resonance tuning. They have different products that are designed to treat and enhance literally every component in your system and even the room itself! Too many to name individually, Harmonix products usually use a combination of wood and metal that are individually tuned by the designer, a tedious and arcane art, if you ask me! They are also beautifully turned out and with prices to match!  However, what is really important is that these devices really work, and in a way that is amazingly effective! Folks, you really need to try out some of these tweaks to appreciate how valuable they can be in any high end system.

http://www.combak.net/feet&bases/FEET&BASES.htm

Solid Tech

Solid Tech’s Feet of Silence suspension footers was our first experience with this Swedish company and they have been a phenomenal success for us over the years. Since then, they have expended their range of isolation devices to include the Disc of Silence, Isoclear, Rack of Silence and the Radius Solo range of hifi racks. Each product being purpose built to isolate and dissipate resonances in their various guises. Every one of them excellent value for money products!

http://www.solid-tech.net/

Shunyata Research

Shunyata has been largely responsible for showing me the value of a good power cable in any audio system. In the past, I was just as skeptical as anyone to the claims of various companies hawking power cords. Whatever improvements I heard in the past were marginal and often did not justify the money spent.

That was before I tried the so-called ‘power snakes”! Man, the real improvements that I heard way back in 2006 with a set of these earlier version power cords in any high quality system made the term “jaw droppingly good” seem highly appropriate. Since then, Shunyata has consistently improved their award-winning range of power conditioners and power cords to keep a couple of steps ahead of the competition

Check out their new range of CX power cords and Version 2 Hydra conditioners. They are guaranteed to elevate your system to new levels of performance that you could only dream about in the past.

http://www.shunyata.com/

 

 

Nano G2

The latest Nano G2 is here! AND in a special custom Lamborghini Orange colour!

Footers, spike bases, dampers and other tweaks (part 1)

Of late, some customers have been labeling us as the king of tweaks, an understandable reaction to us bringing in a number of different brands of tweaking or ‘tuning’ products recently. Being more of a ‘hands –on’ type of guy, I find audio accessories are always fun to play around with, and besides I find that they almost always work. Whether you know how or where best to apply them, is another matter.

This is where a little bit of skill and a certain amount of ‘trial and error’ experience comes in. But just sit back and spend some time listening to a system that is fully loaded with various isolation devices, conditioners, power cables etc., then listen to it again stripped bare of all of those. The vast difference in the sound quality will make a convert out of you right away! And when I say vast, I mean vast! There is really nothing subtle about the effects of a good set of isolation or tuning devices in your system.

What qualifies as a ‘tweak’? Anything whether big or small, that is inserted into any given audio system and tackles a certain shortcoming in that system is considered a tweak to me. It can be a AC line conditioner, a power cable, an isolation board or set of footers, contact enhancers, or even things you stick on components or on the walls of your room to tackle ‘negative energy’ can be an effective tweak if they serve to ‘cure’ a perceived problem in your system.

Different products address different weaknesses in your system, or are aimed at different systems at different price points. Therefore, there is a place in the ‘tweak universe’ for the plethora of accessories now available in the market and I have never encountered any one product that can be considered a ‘cure all’.

The following is a brief summery of some of the newest products we have introduced to local customers, and some of their unique qualities.

Advanced Acoustics

Most audiophiles now acknowledge that the room itself is usually one of the weakest links in any audio system. This company makes a range of room tuning panels that absorb the reflections from your walls and minimize excessive bass response from your speakers. They are easy to hook up, easy to maintain and come in a choice of attractive colours. Again, a “before and after” comparison will convince you of its necessity in any serious system.

http://www.advancedacoustics-uk.com/highendaudio/

AMR Gold Fuse

Have you ever considered that a tiny item like a fuse can profoundly affect the performance of your audio system? If not, then think again! The AMR Gold Fuse can be used in any electronic component whether for audio or video, and has been known to improve tonal richness, lower distortion and improve dynamic range (for audio) and also improve picture definition and colour saturation (for video). One of the most simple, inexpensive, but effective tweaks that you can buy!

http://www.hifi.com.sg/products/accessory/amr/goldfuse.htm

Fo.Q

This Japanese company manufactures a unique range of accessories that is coated with a special material that converts vibrational energy into heat. Apart from normal accessories like isolation boards and turntable mats, they also offer an interesting range of damping strips that you can use to control resonances of speaker cabinets, mains transformers, tonearms, headshells and any thing that your imagination can come up with!

http://www.foq.jp/index_e.html

SSC (String Suspension Concept)

This German company manufacturers a wide variety of products that can be separated into 2 broad categories – Pucks and Bases. Meant to be used under all types of components and even speakers, they have the ability to absorb and diffuse vibration by use of a unique network of strings. Extremely well machined and finished, all products are made in Germany.

http://www.hifi-ssc.de/english_web/index.html

Shunyata Darkfield Elevators

These products are primarily meant to elevate any type of cables from the floor in an attempt to control vibrations and manage static fields. The elevator is constructed from expensive, multiple layers of electrically conductive foam. This allows static charges to migrate through the elevator eliminating the build up of static field differentials between the floor and cable that would otherwise create noticeable signal degradation. This results in improvement in the areas of clarity, resolution and wider soundstaging to any high quality sound system. Sounds like voodoo to you? Just give it a try and I guarantee that you‘ll be convinced in no time!

http://www.hifi.com.sg/products/accessory/shunyata/darkfield.htm

In part 2 of this article, I will be writing on some of the tried and proven products that have opened the eyes (and ears) of many customers in the past. All of these products whether new or old, have time and again showed us that it is possible to elevate our systems to new levels of performance without having to chop and change our main components, thus avoiding having to spend tons of money in the process. So stay tuned!

Article on Audio Note Singapore

Hey folks, I’ve been informed of a link in www.zerogain.com where there’s an interesting (at least I think so!) interview and article on our company. To be fair, the writer also featured other worthy dealers in Adelphi apart from Audio Note S’pore. Thought some of you might want to take a look at it:

http://www.zerogain.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22891

The Duevel Experience

The new Duevel Omni-directional speakers have been running-in for more than a couple of weeks already, and they have certainly presented a different and refreshing perspective to the way we traditionally listen to our music. Being able to radiate sound over a 360% angle, these speakers release you from having to sit within a narrow ‘sweet spot’ in order to enjoy music from your speakers. Basically wherever you stand or sit in the room, you are enveloped with a sound that is open, airy and almost 3 dimensional, with a tonal balance that is unwaveringly similar.

Duevel makes the bold claim that their speakers are “in phase in every direction, always; and that they are perfectly time aligned, with completely natural sonic propagation properties”. Well, when listening to these speakers, you’d tend to agree with such statements as they sound uncanningly like what a live musical performance would sound like!

For more traditional audiophiles, you still get all the ‘audiophile’ qualities like wide open soundstaging, good centre focus for the vocals, good separation with individual instruments standing in their own acoustic space and very good extension at the frequency extremes. The centre focus may not be as pin sharp as some other designs, but I think this is a more realistic representation of what a live performance would sound like.

From the entry-level The Planets to the top-of-the-line Sirius, all Duevel speakers are 2 way designs that are relatively easy to drive, and we have gotten excellent results partnering them with some of our low powered single-ended tube amps.

For me, the icing on the cake for the Duevel speakers is their distinctive physical appearance. Look at the photos and you probably agree with me. The profile of these speakers is so individualistic and artistic that they make other conventional designs look positively boring! Even the wood finishes are so ravishing that they make me feel like bringing a pair home! Certainly the WAF (wife acceptance factor) is pretty high in my book. Duevel definitely puts forth a very strong case that there are more interesting ways to enjoy your hifi system other than sitting in front of boring oblong boxes!

Duevel website:  http://duevel.com/home/loudspeaker.shtml