Letter from Hong Kong (21-1): Eric Lo Sums Up 2020 and Looks Forward to 2021A lot has happened in Year 2020. Especially in HK , we are still under the Fourth Wave of COVID attack while my sisters remarked that The US still has not recovered from the First Wave!
Due the nature of my profession, there is never a case of WFH to me; whether this is a blessing in disguise or not, who knows!
I appreciate this space where I can scribble down some of my music and audio thoughts and discuss my experience and take on music appreciation. I hate to use the term Hifi listening since Hifi is the means and not the most important aspect. Music enjoyment is the end product and is paramount. The priorities must not be reversed.
I seldom read Hifi mags and reviews, unless I am interested in acquiring a certain piece of equipment. I will then google it and find some relevant info online. Much like the restaurant guide website Openrice in HK, I get the necessary ifno but largely ignore the reviews by members. I will at times read the reviews lightheartedly and take them with a grain of salt and not be too serious about them!
I trust my ears: years of listening to music and my deep love for it are my most important tools for critique. They have never failed me so far. One thing very important is to know your setup's limitation and to tailored it to shine on what you really treasure most. Of coz, those who look for full orchestra playing Wagner in large music hall will definitely need to spend a whole lot more , or go with horns to achieve the outcome!
To me, what I treasure most is the music connection to my soul through the setup. What I would like to feel holistically from the musicians are the feelings, the excitement, the mood and the technique that brings these virtues to the audience. I love to feel the interaction between the musicians, the combativeness, even antagonism, the melding and blending. Timing is extremely important as well, whether they play in perfect sync or deliberately play off beat to create the effect they want us to hear, these are the things that I would look for in particular; also the dynamic contrasts, microdynamics, and the vocal signature of each singer. Last but not least, foot-tapping factor is of utmost importance! The more feverishly I tap, the better the performance coming from the setup ! Without it, it would be meaningless; with even the most revealing equipment with fathomless soundstage and accuracy, if I cannot feel the emotions and heat from the performer, it would mean nothing to me. Of coz, my ultimate goal is embrace all hifi and musical aspects, all in one for truthful playback - no more, no less, no coloration, yet sounding natural more than neutral.
Here were my own important acquisition of the year 2020 in Hifi (5 stars being most important)
- iCon4 AVC preamp *****
- Steaming of Tidal *****
- Cheapo Taobao Bluetooth device H-10U *****
- Auralic Vega DAC ***1/2
- Micromega MyDac - surprise of the year which I will write a follow up on it separately ****
- Gotham cables , RCA, power cord and Digital cable****
- Office setup (NAIM SBL, Musical Fidelity A1s , Project 1.3 T.T. and Phono/Line amp by Rayaudio which is covered already in my recent post. ***
- Youtube streaming with Premium version sans the annoying ADs ****
iCon4 allows me to connect my 47 Lab Gaincard to different sources without altering the sound character. And this year I have tried different sources and am extremely fascinated., like a kid in a candy store!
Tidal is absolutely a great invention which allows me to connect to a sea of music at home or on mobile! And sound quality is respectable as well!
Bluetooth H-10U is definitely a bargain product of year 2020. I in turn poisoned many friend after being poisoned by my friend Kwong, much like in the zombie movies, haha! Sound coming out is coherent and has all the virtues that I am looking for, foot-tapping, exciting and musical, yet not sterile at all! Especially playing music from Youtube!
Auralic Vega allows me to explore different types of digital sources and use of CAS through my laptop and is quite a versatile unit indeed! Sound is quite good but is a bit polite in ultimate terms.
Micromega MyDac is definitely a steal with the musicality, soundstage and full, round, tuneful and ripe bass. It can even play through my laptop!
Gotham cables as raved by Doctor is definitely no slouch and all their cables are great, in particular GAC4 interconnect! Must-have for budget minded folks like mine!!
Office has become a experimental ground for exploring different setup under a limited environment. The system sounds decent but surely a lot of improvement can be obtained. But I am already extremely happy with the Sony Discman fed to MF A1s and Naim SBL!!
Upgrading membership of Tidal and Youtube allows me to stream Youtube without the annoying Ads which is definitely big big plus for me!
Looking ahead , I am still looking for the best way to online streaming
of Tidal music. I have acquired a Emerson Wattson Streamer/DAC recently
and will see how it fares!
Also, I would love to have more home visits to broaden up my horizon ! There are so many aficionados with different paths and beliefs in Hifi and it'd be nice to learn from them!
A
lot has happened in Year 2020. Especially in HK, we are still under
the fourth wave of COVID attack while my sisters said that US
still has not recovered from first wave!
Looking ahead to 2021, I am still looking for the best way for online streaming of Tidal music. I have acquired a Emerson Wattson Streamer/DAC recently and will see how it fares!
Also, I would love to have more home visits to broaden up my horizon ! There are so many aficionados of different paths and beliefs in Hifi and be nice to learn from them!
Here are some music recommendations from Youtube and they can be also found in Tidal in studio versions as well.
Sparks all over in this live recording
Stephen playing bass in guitar style and Gardot's soulful voice makes it a perfect one!
Mysterious yet sensual voice !
Inger Marie's soulful voice
Rodrigo y Gabriela's take on this all time favorite song of mine
Lars bass is soulful
Posts
Nice post, but some lines are repeated twice (towards the end, before the YouTube links). Have a great 2021!
ReplyDeleteStrange that my draft does not show the repeated text....what the heck, haha
DeleteGreat round up post my friend. Your music sharing coverage is spot on, thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks Icefox, let's meet sometime soon, sure there's a lot to chat about!
ReplyDelete