Show Report: 2012 Hong Kong High End Audio Visual Show

I know the price of the Range Rover and the Meridian, but the girl?

Revised August 12, 2012

Show Report: 2012 Hong Kong High End Audio Visual Show 香港高級視聽展 (August 10, 2012)


Attention: -click all pics to enlarge 點擊照片就會放大

General Observations As usual, I could almost reprint last year's show report (click here for my 2009-2011 show reports) for this year's. Year after year, the show is much as usual, with the exhibitors occupying their usual rooms on the upper floors. As a matter of fact, I have written this article using last year's template.

That said, this being the 10th anniversary, the presenter AUDIOTECHNIQUE obviously had put in even more than before. If you ask me, it is not at all a good magazine for those who want a critical and independent viewpoint (that would be me!), but it is a good source of information. The magazine has done good work in presenting the show, which is a must for many audiophiles. Admission had been raised from HK$50 to HK$80, but it's still much lower than in the West. For this, you get a SACD too (they offer LPCD in a package too, but those are known to deteriorate fast). Some people had complained about the price increase, but I think it is more than fair, as they have held the line for all these years.

As usual, more interesting were the smaller rooms in the foyer, where there were more new stuff than usual. Overall, sound was better than last year (I think I see LESS CAS, which was responsible for the generally poor sound last year).
 
As usual, the best sounds came from LP sources, followed by CD replay. Despite use of expensive stuff, CAS had the poorest sound overall. BTW, do you believe all the hype about CAS? Not me.

The coverage below is in no particular order, divided into categories and by merit only. But I shall start with a spectacular failure:

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Spectacular Failure (Large Room)

The dubious award this year goes to Eventus Audio's flagship Neo, driven by equally expensive Soulution. Sound was absolutely awful, not just unbalanced but, worse, completely artificial. Eventus has long been the subject of much hyperbole by this most hyperbolic of magazines, but it has never impressed me. To be fair, Eventus has done a little better (but not by much) in past shows, and I'd say the same about Kharma, Marten etc. Still, absolutely no excuse for this kind of execrable performance, and at stratospheric cost! Perhaps they have tweaked too much? Some of the magazine's writers write all kinds of 嘩衆取寵 absurd things on the importance of tweaking, and this is what you get!

This setup illustrates the sins of modern hifi: the more you spend, the more you do not get what you are paying for.

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Good Try (Large Room) 

I have heard big Wisdom loudspeakers (Musical Fidelity HK) before to good effect at the loft of our friend 沙田麥, but nothing prepared me for the monstrosity that is this flagship LS-4. In the cavernous room, it was driven by little known electronics, including professional equipment. The fellow here was explaining that over 15,000 watts were used! Sound (泰迪羅賓) was decent, considering how difficult these monsters are to drive. The brochure listed STS subwoofer - I don't know whether it was used. My last row spot had obvious room mode, but you're excused. Good try, but this is the kind of thing I'd avoid. You can get sound just as good from something much simpler (like Tannoy).


As usual, Ernest Audio (Tara Labs Far East), under Ah Ming's skilled leadership, got good sound out of their large Rockport. This year, for a change, they showcased a new smaller model, Avior, to good effect. Here finally was a room that breathed naturally. Electronics were the usual VTL.





I missed the Avantgarde Trio with bass horn this year. What we got instead was the YG Anat III Signature Professional. I have heard this previously in their showroom. I must say Tony did a good job. Partnered with CAT, AMR and Dr Feickert.

Over the years in HK I have known many French JMR loudspeaker lovers, and they have always sounded musical. The new dealer Audio Extreme did a nice showcase of the flagship Concorde Supreme, driven by little-known (French?) 3D-Lab electronics and North Star digitals. I was glad to run into my friend Carl, who was helping out.

Excel always get good sound out of Vivid, and this year even a small pair Giya G3 driven by D'Agostino Momentum monoblocks was musical. In another room, the Crystal Cable loudspeaker was driven by mouth-watering Dartzeel monoblocks.





Naim has always gotten reasonable sound from CAS in this show, and this year was no exception. While we are on Radar, I see they have just acquired Constellation Audio, which I did not get to hear. Note their setup is really quite near-field, and used only part of a large room. Not Large room, strictly speaking.







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Could have been Better (Large Room) 

(Distributor Jadis Electronics) usually did reasonably by show standards. But, in their big room, this year's Wilson Alexandria X2, partnered with Wadia and Boulder did not sound as good as last year. Zellaton did better but not as well as it should with Ayre electronics. Another medium sized room also showed an all T&A system, to reasonable effect.



Distributor Dah Cheong year after year mostly played their lackluster Chario in their big room and their Cabasse efforts too were not a complete success. But they really ought to be playing their Tannoys a lot more. This time, I did not get to hear Tannoy's. But I was surprised to find an announcement on a Tannoy Canterbury Gold Edition! New material, cryogenic treatment, and additional "refinements", to be delivered early 2013. News indeed!






It was exciting to see the huge PMC BB5XBDA flagship, but sound was coarse. What do you expect! They were driven by Audionet, not one of my favorites. Metronome and Acoustic Signature were the sources. Richcoln needs to get a handle on the show; remember the poor demo of Devialet last year?








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Good Try (Medium and Small Room)

HK-based Volent has been making a name for itself in the high-end. I missed an audition arranged previously by my CAS friend Momei. The sound was decent in the small room, where I ran into two of my friends, who were apparently listening intently, and totally smitten!



Also from HK was FM Acoustics look-alike YS Sound solid state amplification, not to be confused with HK's other YS Audio (tube products). Sound driving Kharma was surprisingly acceptable, better than Kharma's own room by far, though that is not saying much!







I have never taken to Matisse Asia, but this year's demo of Verity Audio Lohengrin was better, thanks to the analogue source, the beautiful Artemis Lab turntable! Artemis' tubed products were used, including the newest models.







(Distributor Hit Audio) did not use Zu speakers this year. Instead they featured the MOST intriguing Violin loudspeaker, from China (CES report here; curiously, its own site is unstable). Sound with the Line Magnetic tube amp was OK, but not as good as last year.






KEF LS50 is all the rage. This demo was not bad but I am sure it has more to give.

Wellwick has always done well by Elac at the show, and this year was no exception, despite being partnered with over-priced and over-rated Acuustic Arts.

 

Driven by Linn electronics, Danish Raidho delivered a very clean and smooth sound, enough to stand out amongst the huge number of European me-too speakers on offer.










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Good Display

Usually, the center of the large entry hall is occupied by earphones and lifestyle products. This year is no exception, but it is unusually good for once. I particularly enjoyed the display of DMA. The Tascam's look good, but what really caught my eyes was the hilariously named Schiit Audio!

Serendipity! I re-discovered my friend Richard Cheong, formerly of Dah Cheong. Thanks to him I learned that Mike Moffat of Theta fame is behind all the Schiit! No pun intended!

I will be watching all the Schiit intently!








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Not too Good




(Distributor First Impesssion) continued to disappoint. What happened to the tried-and-true combination of Avalon + Rowland? Is there nothing certain in this world anymore? It seems Italian Audia electronics is not a good match. Watch the first impression you give!

Kharma's own room was quite terrible. Coarse!








TAD Reference series should have done better too!

The same German Physiks loudspeaker that I heard to good effect at my friend oozz' small abode did not perform well in the show.




Estelon belongs to a growing and increasingly boring group of loudspeakers that feature ceramic drivers. Sound was not optimal. I took a pic as an example of modern blandness.

Sound in the Square Wave room was not good but I took a pic because of the alarming name - that would be the last thing you want in your system.







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Photo Gallery 

From top to bottom:

• My old friend/foe andyshum is now dealer for Swiss high-end Holborne turntables and Anheim loudspeakers; Sonus faber Aida on display.

• I wish I could get to hear the new Micromega digitals.

• Neumann now makes home theater stuff!

• I am dying to hear Soundsmith's strain guage cartridges! But not Focal's frightening crossovers.

• The small Pathos look beautiful.

• Through a Focal cabinet darkly.

• My friend JC would love the Davone. Still silent.

• New Tannoy's look sleek!

• Ah! I'd love to hear the Transrotor's and the EAT!!

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Hong Kong Convention Center is expanding, as is literally the "land" surrounding it. A huge landfill project shall transform the waterfront.















 
 


















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HKTDC Our Trade Development Council has a nice shop in the Convention Center. I spotted this so-called "tube" device! Light bulbs! And a nice radio.











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Star Ferry The ferry is dear to our hearts and is one of HK's greatest heritage. As a child, I grew up riding it between Tsim Sha Tsui, where we live, and the City Hall in Central, where father often took us to watch Chinese Opera. The TST and Wanchai piers and the boats themselves have luckily remained unchanged all these years.

After the show, I took the ferry to TST to attend the concert by the Asian Youth Orchestra. The waiting area of the Wanchai pier is like prison, but it smacks of nostalgia! It is always calm on the ferry, where everyone enjoys a moment of repose, hard to come by in this most hectic of cities.

 







 

Review: Pioneer SP-21BS-LR loudspeakers and SW-8 subwoofer

Review: Pioneer SP-21BS-LR loudspeakers and SW-8 subwoofer, Part I

Please read my follow up report on the SP-21BS-LR, Part II and Part III

Pioneer and TAD Many people don't know the relationship between Pioneer and TAD. Pioneer has always made loudspeakers but this is little known in the West. On the other hand, Pioneer-owned TAD is well known to the sound industry professionals, and its consumer forays recently have been formidable under respected loudspeaker designer Andrew Jones (not to be confused for Phil Jones, of AE-1 fame). Here is an informative interview. I have heard some of these recent consumer TAD loudspeakers at shows, and they have always sounded impressive, deserving of all the accolades heaped upon them, though their prices are certainly prohibitively expensive.

Before I move on, a bit of my little bit of experience with the brand:

TAD TSM-300 Many years ago, the TAD TSM-300 (good description here) and its twin Pioneer S-LH3 was a great hit in Asia. I owned a pair of the former and greatly enjoyed its highly resolving and uncolored sound when matched with SET amps. IMHO, it is best heard when placed horizontal, like in the studio. It has long been discontinued but is much sought after in the second-hand market. A poor man's TAD!

Pioneer by Andrew Jones!

I first heard about our subject's bigger brother SP-41BS-LR in a rave review in Stereophile and the associated HT package (using 4 of these) was reviewed in Stereophile's sister publication hometheater.com. I wanted to buy a pair but found that it was sold out. I waited for quite a while and when no new stock was forthcoming my attention turned to its little brother. I managed to buy a pair for half the list price with a coupon. I also bought the subwoofer at good discount.

SP-21BS-LR This is a somewhat scaled down version of the SP-41BS-LR. Importantly, the same tweeter is used but It has a 4" woofer (instead of 5.25") and the frequency response is 65-20kHz (the bigger brother goes 10 Hz lower). Like its brother, it is 6 ohm, 84db (Pioneer Product Sheet).

The SP-21BS-LR did not get much attention from the same press, but a good write-up of a similar associated package using 4 of these can be found at cnet.

The SP21BS-LR is reasonably well built. There is a internal front-to-back partial partition/brace between the tweeter and woofer. The design shows thoughtful features unusual at the price. The tweeter has a flared baffle, albeit plastic. The woofer unusually is not mounted directly on the cabinet, but on a circular bed. Crossover components are of reasonable quality. It is certainly worth every penny of its price. Compared to other much more expensive small speakers it is rather light, and that Pioneer "label" is just an awful piece of tape!!!! No matter, beauty lies within.

As you can see from the top pic, the protective mesh on both drivers can be removed. Use a small jewelry screwdriver to gently pry those out,  but be careful! They are held in place with a little adhesive applied here and there in the circular groove. 

SW-8 The subwoofer is not big and has an 8" woofer and there is not much in the spec's. However, this set of measurement, -3db at 31Hz, is impressive to say the least!

Sound - Round 1 NYC

At that time, I was listening to the Sf Electa Amator, so I simply swapped in the Pioneer's and put them on the Sf stands. For details of placement and rest of system, click here.

I was impressed from the word go. The Pioneer's threw a wide soundstage and was clean and composed. It was everything the reviews said: midband clarity, smooth high frequency and surprisingly useable bass. For classical music I thought it did nearly as well as other mini monitors I have heard.

To put it in perspective: No, they were not as good as the Sf's, which is best-of-the-best. The resolution is lower, there is less sheen on the massed strings, and it certainly did not go as loud. While I could play a good symphony, there was something a little restrained about the Pioneer.

Adding the SW-8 solidifies the sound a notch and helped the overall dynamics a bit, but the basic characters of the SP-21BS-LR remained. But I can say the subwoofer is very musical, with good speed and clarity, although I feel it did not go as deep as the measurements indicated.

Then I brought the SP-21BS-LR back to HK. I left the SW-8 behind in NYC.

Sound - Round 2 HK

Here, I did not have them on stands. As per my usual practice, I put them high up (similar to this). Equipment:

Digital: YBA WD202
Preamp: Leben RS28CX
Amp 1: Rotel RB870BX (review here)
Amp 2: Western Electric 124B (briefly, here)
Integrated Amp: McIntosh MC-1700 (last blog entry; here)

Just as in NYC, the Pioneer produced a controlled and refined sound whether I used a solid state or tube amp. As the placement was high up, the soundstage was also commensurately high. In this repect, its vertical dispersion is not among the best I have heard. Even so-positioned, the bass remained quite serviceable when I listened to big symphonic music. As before, the sound became a bit restrained when I cranked up the volume. But it was never embarrassed by partnership with much more exalted gear! The more you give it, the better it performs.

Conclusion A superbly controlled loudspeaker with no significant weakness. Nothing comes remotely close at this price.

Now, don't you think the humble little Pioneer bears more than a little resemblance to its professional bigger brother, the currently hot TSM-2201-LR? Watch this space for report on that!

Review: McIntosh MC-1700, ATC A7, Overview ATC

Review: McIntosh MC-1700

Review: ATC A7

Overview: ATC



All tube aficionados know McIntosh, a marriage of timeless looks and beautiful sound. Like others, in the 70's McIntosh abandoned tubes. To their credit, their solid state products sounded warm and good too, though not as good as their older tube products. Of course, more recently they have gone back to tube products, though they still make solid state ones too.

McIntosh MC-1700 You can find info on the MC-1700 stereo receiver in the wonderful Roger Russell Page. Study the various models and you shall understand McIntosh's evolution. The 1965-67 MC-1500 was an all-tube receiver. The 1967-1973 MC-1700 was its replacement, and belongs to the transitional age - while its tuner section is still tube, the rest is solid state. Its replacement, the 1973-78 MC-1900 began the all solid-state era. If you ask me, look-wise the MC-1700 is the best. Last retail price was USD 599 in 1973. That was a lot of money. According to the Inflation Calculator, USD 599 in 1973 had the same buying power as USD 3,181 in 2012! Of course, I couldn't afford it then; my unit was acquired in the late 80's for a song, but these have steadily increased in second-hand value.

Overview: ATC
This shall be a brief and limited Overview. ATC is well known by sound industry professionals, its history briefly chronicled in its Official Page. When I came back to HK in the early 90's ATC was enjoying its first flowering in the consumer market. I got to hear every model in the original range, some many times over the years.

ATC is most famous for their proprietary soft-dome midrange driver, the technology of which have been extended to the bass units of the smaller 2-ways. The model names indicate the volume of the enclosure. Thus SCM10 = 10 liters; SCM20 = 20 liters, and so forth. The original models have very heavy and damped cabinets. These models have had many "revisions" and "special editions", reflecting changing tastes - usually the later ones have more prominent treble. What I mention here are all original models, without any suffixes behind the numerical number. In recent years, these have virtually disappeared from the second-hand shops in HK - most have been scavenged by buyers from the PRC.

SCM20 (info here; 1990 review here) Likely the best known and loved of the range. I owned one for many years (original, single-wired, fabulous rosewood) and had truly enjoyed it. Mine came with Sound Anchor stands. It casts a huge soundstage, plays with authority even with the most complex music (say, Mahler). It is detailed, but nothing sticks out. Indeed, it sounds natural and, yes, like a much larger speaker. It has a reputation of being hard to drive, which led many people to use high-powered ss amps. I have used a Bryston 4B (original, partnered with a tube preamp of course) to satisfaction, but I am sure they sound their best with a good tube amp. Not anything would do, but a vintage Marantz 8B surprisingly can drive it with ease. Even juicier was the ARC D-115. I think its even load (8 ohm) is friendly to amps. The half as big SCM10 has a very similar sound but it is even more difficult to drive.

SCM50 and SCM100 These larger 3-ways using the original soft-dome midrange driver are much coveted. They are quite a bit easier to drive then the 2-ways. The sound of course is even better, particularly in the bass. I have actually visited someone using 300B for the SCM100 (of course, just near-field), but I wouldn't recommend that.

SCM7 The smallest in the newer commercial range, which have lighter builds and are easier to drive than the classic models. I used to own one, the original version. It was much easier to drive than the earlier A7 (see below) and has more treble content, but I felt the sound was a bit on the light side. Later this range changed to have protruding baffles, which are ugly IMHO.

A7 This was an oddity, without the SCM designation and an early commercial foray. It looks like a reduced SCM10 and is a forerunner of the SCM7. There are good reviews in soundonsound and hometheaterrevie. There was a floorstanding version called the A7T.

A7 vs SCM7 For a time I had both and compared them. Although they are similar in size and cabinet volume, the A7 is a bit heavier. There are significant sonic differences. The drivers look similar, but there is little question the SCM7 is easier to drive and has a crispier sound (spec has only a 1 db difference, 84 vs 83 db). Part of this is due the SCM7's reduced woofer size (5" vs the A7's 6"). The A7 tends to be a little rolled off at the top (probably needs more power). Indeed if you look at the spec's the A7 and SCM7 differ quite a bit (with the treble -2db points at 12kHz and 16kHz, respectively). Sonically, I feel it is a double-edged sword: the SCM7 is easier to drive but has a lighter sound; the A7 is more inefficient but has more authority and what I think of as the classic ATC sound. If you partnering gears are up to it, I feel the A7 shall come out ahead, closer to the performance of the SCM10.

McIntosh MC-1700 + ATC A7

This unlikely project came about because I was recruited to put together a system for a cafe. The owner wanted a retro look and the McIntosh fit the bill perfectly. Better yet, it has a tuner and phono capability!

The McIntosh has only 40 watts per channel, but its power supply is beefy. I knew it would not be a perfect match, but I also knew it would not be totally embarassed either, despite the A7's inefficiency. That was because many years ago when I first bought it, I took it to my friend Tanuski's home, where he had an old pair of Proac 3-way (not EBS, probably an old Studio) that nothing could handle satisfactorily, including Jadis JA-80. But to our great surprise, the MC-1700 did a very good job! I wrote about this in 2004 in my yahoo group of the same name:

"...I think it is UNLIKELY that it (Ed: Proac EBS) is tube amp friendly. Older Proac's are rather difficult to drive. Actually Tanuski had some old Studio bookshelves. We couldn't get satisfactory sound out...finally on the day he sold them I hooked it up to a Mac 1700 ss receiver and bingo the sound was so much better. The EBS should be even more difficult..."

Sound (Line) In my 300 ft room, perched high up the A7 gave a well rounded and familiar ATC sound. My friend Boylah said it was surprising that the old receiver was up to it at all.  For the uninitiated the slightly dark sound masks a little the great amount of detail on offer, and the midrange and bass had a fullness that belied its size. It is best to give it a high output source. The CD's buffered output worked better than the iPod's earphone out (of course).

FM Tuners section IMHO this is a VERY good tuner. Warm sound and reasonably good sensitivity.

Phono section The humble Technics SL-1200 Mk II with an el cheapo Audio Technica 5625AL cartridge gave a very good performance. Quiet!

Conclusions

• The McIntosh MC-1700 is a very solid performer, worth every penny of its cost. With an even load it performs beautifully.

• The ATC A7 has more than a tinge of the classic ATC sound, though it needs some care in partnering with ancillary equipment. The more you give it, the better it sounds.