Chario in town
(March 17, 2011)

Ever wonder how the name Chario comes about? The founder of this 35-year-old Italian loudspeaker company Chario was in town recently, over dinner and a drink, SPL! magazine editor spoke to Carlo Vincenzetto about Chario. Click here for the full interview.

Entreq
(March 17, 2011)

We are introducing a new Swedish product line in our store – Entreq. What’s unique about Entreq? Entreq offers a whole range of unique audio accessories and cables – in a uniquely Swedish flavour - How does interconnect cables with wood housing for the RCA connector? Or eschew the use of solder for RCA cables to connectors? And a range of high end USB, Firewire and even an I2s cable that brings out the best of your digital media. There are even damping devices that truly work! Available on demo at our store now!

Audio88 and Bada Audio
(December 23, 2010)

Bada Audio is one Chinese amplifier manufacturer that had stood the test of time. One of their most distinctive model in their line up – the Purer 3.8 remains in production for over twenty years! While many Chinese audio companies have come and gone in the same period, Bada has got the Purer 3.8 perfectly positioned – moderate pricing, solid foundation on the audio circuit design, substantial build quality and of course the use of tubes, which remains the foundation of many amplifiers with an ear for good sound.

We find Bada products follow what we believe in – that tube amplification done right – will sound good and yet remain affordably priced for many audiophiles, not just those with deep pockets, to be able to enjoy music from tube amplification.

On the same subject of Bada, we have two new CD players from them – the HD-23 and HD-26. Gorgeous design and gorgeous sound. You have to listen to believe how far Chinese hifi has progressed, yet one thing still remains – affordability.

Back to the new CD players – the HD-26 has a tube output stage, which should be no surprise to you. It has balanced and unbalanced digital out so it can also function as a high quality transport. The Sony mechanism spells reliability and together with the magnetic clamp ensure good performance. The all-important DAC hails from Cirrus Logic while the Philips servo circuit and clock.

Or do you prefer the sound of Burr Brown DAC? Then you should check out the HD-23 with its PCM1728 decoding chip. There you have a choice of what sound you like!

The above three products from Bada are in the store now. Do drop by for a demo.

Audio Space WE series
(December 23, 2010)

Audio Space is back with one of the most monumental product release – the WE series! Tube lovers will know WE stands for Western Electric, the company that makes the famous 300B vacuum tube.

There are two models – the WE-91B poweramp and the WE-300BL line preamp. Fans of WE will recognize the name - Model 91A, the classic WE amplifier using 300B and 310A tubes. The Audio Space WE series captures the soul of the WE 300B. Hear it now at our store!

Audio88 at the Sound n Sight 2010!
(December 23, 2010)

We are happy to meet up with our friends and customers at the show. We have lots of new stuff to showcase – the new Shanling electronics and the all-new Audio Space WE series electronics.

The new gear are now in-store, do drop by during store hours for a demo.

Shanling
(Novmeber 25, 2010)

From the brushed aluminum panels to the exquisite curves that leaves no corners, the new Shanling 1.1, 2.1 and 3.1 series amplifiers and CD players set new standards in value and performance! Just came in are the A1.1, A2.1 and A3.1 integrated amplifier along with the matching CD player. Let’s take a closer look at each of them.

A1.1/CD1.1
With 5 inputs and a preout, the A1.1 is a good entry level amplifier with 70 watts rms x 2 in a chassis with thick brushed aluminum panels, an electronic volume control, IEC power outlet and high quality speaker cable binding posts. The CD player comes with a USB input (24Bit/96 kHz), coaxial digital output and 24Bit/192 kHz for CD processing.

A2.1/CD2.1
The higher power A2.1 delivers 100 watts rms x 2 in slightly taller chassis, a balanced XLR input, and two sets of speaker output. The CD player have both balanced and unbalanced output, USB (24Bit/96kHz) and 24Bit/192kHz for CD digital to analogue decoding.

A3.1/CD3.1
The flagship combo features a higher performance amplifier – a tube input stage (12AU7), Sanken transistors and Elna capacitors, a phono stage and two sets of speaker terminals. Rated at 200 watts rms into 8 ohms, the A3.1 remains affordable despite the specifications may suggest. The CD3.1 in contrast to the lesser CD2.1 and CD1.1 uses a top loading mechanism with extensive isolation, a tube output stage, high quality 24Bit/192 kHz DAC and digital filters, USB input (24Bit/96kHz) and coaxial input as well as coaxial and balanced digital output.

Franck Tchang
(Novmeber 25, 2010)

What is an acoustic resonator? Essentially, it is small and compact device that converts the room’s low frequencies into higher frequencies and to control unwanted resonance. It uses a specially designed tuning devices shaped like small bowl-like devices that are made from precious metals. Franck himself is a metallurgist and it is his understanding of the materials itself that lends a range of products that are used to fine tune a room’s harmonic response. It is entirely passive and placed at the recommended position to elicit the maximum effect with minimal visual impact. Say goodbye to all those ugly room absorption/deflection panels, foam and blocks!

Audio88 at the KLIAV 2010 show!
(August 1, 2010)

We had a great time meeting up with Malaysia audiophiles at the recently concluded KLIAV 2010 show. Held annually at the 5-star hotel, The Marriott, in the high end shopping district of Bukit Bintang, in downtown KL, the thousands of fans who throng the show is very encouraging despite the doomsayers prediction of the demise of High End. What demise?

Run Silent, Run Deep
Silent Running Audio Isolation Platforms
(August 1, 2010)

Isolation platforms are the best value for money audio accessory money can buy! Why? Think about it, you can change your CD or SACD player over and over but if you invest in one good isolation platform, it will last you a lifetime of upgrades. And not to mention, it makes everything you place on it sounds quieter with less noise, less interference and brings out the best of any component.

Silent Running Audio (SRA) isolation platforms are proven – for many years, in hifi shows like the CES, numerous manufacturers use SRA to demonstrate their equipment. Why don’t these manufacturers build their own, or perhaps build some form of isolation into their product so that it won’t need any additional isolation?

The simple answer is – why re-invent the wheel? SRA is the expert when it comes to equipment isolation, the years of research enables SRA to build a cost effective product that stands the test of time. Whether it is a platform for your CD player or preamp, or a complete equipment rack, SRA makes some of the best in the business.

Come down to our store, and be convinced. Once you hear the difference it makes, you will have to have it in your system or you wished you never heard it. Either way, you have nothing to lose, except noise, distortion and a whole lot of better sound potential from any equipment you might have!

Affordable HD projector
Vivitek H1080FD
(August 1, 2010)

If you are serious about Home Cinema, you would choose a projector based system over any LCD or Plasma TV. Watching ‘Cars’ on a 150-inch anamorphic screen is an entirely different experience. And thanks to the recent drop in price for full HD projectors, we can offer you the Vivitek H1080FD DLP projector.

Vivitek is a Taiwan based company which designs and manufactures for many other brands. Vivitek also offers its own lineup of projectors for data and home cinema applications, like the H1080FD, though an entry level model at S$2388, it has Texas Instruments DarkChip2 with Brilliant Colour DLP processor while comparable projectors may only offer the aging DarkChip DLP processor. Hence the H1080FD offers superior colour, contrast and image quality. Oh did I mention about the low noise of 26dB from this unit? Price vs performance, the H1080FD got the competition beaten hands down!

The Vivitek H1080FD is now on demo at Audio88. Do drop by with your favourite Blu-ray or DVD disc for an experience you can easily afford to bring home!

Belles Soloist 1 Integrated Amplifier
(July 30, 2010)

Affordable Hi End performance

Heard of Belles? I don’t blame you if you hadn’t. That, however, is about to change! Audio88 is now the new distributor of Belles electronics. Founded by David Belles, that’s where the name come from, he has been slaving for some thirty years making some of the best ‘old school’ amplifiers – you know, no multi-layered and surface mount circuit boards, all discrete parts, no integrated circuits (op-amps), all analogue design and definitely Made in the US of A. Old school indeed!

Old school has its benefits – servicing these amplifiers is a snip – try comparing that with any ‘modern’ amplifier using surface mount, multi-layered circuit boards? I seriously doubt any manufacturers using multi-layered surface mount circuit board designs are able to service any product within a couple of years after they discontinue the product. There are many audio enthusiasts who said modern amplifier designs somehow never sounded as good as it used to, I think we know where the blame lies!

Back to the Soloist 1, this is Belles only integrated amplifier in their product lineup and incidentally also one of the models in the flagship ‘Statement’ series. For S$3900, you get an all discrete design, all American made amplifier with 180 watts rms per channel into 8 ohms and 300 watts rms per channel into 4 ohms, a whooping peak current delivery of 32 amperes, line only ‘pure performance’ integrated amplifier. It runs on Class AB which means not too hot though the massive heat sinks on the sides of the amplifier means thermal stability figures very much in David Belles designs. The amplifier is not DC coupled that explains the extremely wide bandwidth of 0.2Hz to 100,000 Hz and a damping factor of 2000, the Soloist 1 promises amazing headroom and dynamics with sweetness and purity of sound.

Belles Soloist

Good things comes in small packages’

Audio Video enthusiasts gonna love this product! Imagine after years of suffering the poor sound quality of AV receivers when asked to perform on two-channel stereo, this pre power amplifier is the perfect complement to your AV system. First you have a remote controlled preamplifier which means it can be tucked away with your other AV gear, the HT Bypass mode seamlessly integrates the preamp with your AV receiver, then you have the very compact chassis – just 12 inches wide, the Soloist 3 preamp and Soloist 5 power amplifier offer the sound quality you would come to expect from a David Belles design. The power amplifier is rated at 65 watts rms into 8 ohms or 110 watts rms into 4 ohms, enough performance yet compact and versatile. How much does the combo cost? Just S$3200!

Supporting Act - Arcici
(June 16, 2010)

An established line of audiophile furniture is now available at Audio88! Arcici is one of the earliest pioneers of high-end equipment racks good enough for the finest equipment available (some 30 years ago) and remain one of the most respected of its genre.

Arcici pioneered the air suspension, using an air bladder enclosed in a shelf to support components sensitive to vibration – a turntable or a CD player being the most obvious. The Reference Suspense is the latest version with 3-bellows air bladder system (see the ‘nipples’ in front of the top most shelf – it’s the air valve receptacle for the supplied air pump to fill the air bladder). The equipment shelves have their own isolation as well, each shelf is a dual layer with a ball bearing isolation ‘feet’ between the shelves to filter off vibrational energy.

The Imperial rack also pioneered the use of thick acrylic shelves for audio equipment, Their one inch thick acrylic is an inherent self damped, your equipment sitting on this acrylic shelf becomes oblivious of all the vibrations and resonance around it. The steel uprights with gold trimmings and the black onyx acrylic shelves make the Imperial a stunning and elegant statement! The Imperial rack is not just for high-end audio equipment but is also ideal for home cinema systems as the rack is infinitely customizable when your system grows.

Arcici racks are made in the USA, they are not cheap but we feel it is ‘affordable’ as it will be a one-time investment, which last a lifetime of optimal performance for all your audio and video components. For more information on models and pricing, please drop by our store.

YG Acoustics Carmel
(June 10, 2010)

YG Acoustics most affordable loudspeaker, the Carmel has landed! OK affordable and YG should not be in the same sentence but with the quality of their speakers, we would say the Carmel is perhaps one of HiFi’s greatest bargain. You get the same drivers (Scanspeak Ring Radiator tweeter and Scanspeak Revelator midbass units) as used in the Anat Reference II, the CNC machined speaker enclosure, their unique DualCoherent crossover where YG optimizes both frequency and time coherency, all that in a small footprint that spells small-room friendly and most important, easier on the pocket.

The Carmel shares the same sonic cloth as the Anat reference, albeit paring some of the deep bass extension of its larger brother. It is after all, designed for smaller rooms where the Anat Reference may be a little too intimidating. Standing stark naked in all its aluminum glory, at just over a metre tall, each speaker weighs some 30 Kg. The cabinet design departs somewhat from the Anat Reference – it has a triangular cross sectional shape – to reduce internal cabinet turbulence and standing waves. The Carmel sells for USD19,000. All are invited for a demonstration!

Audio88 new showroom at #04-08 is now opened!
(May 31, 2010)

We are pleased to announce the opening of a new showroom at the Adelphi. The new unit at #04-08 caters for an increasingly sophisticated customer base with a taste for the finer audiophile products. Do note this new showroom complements our existing showrooms, which will remain in operation.

Here we exclusively showcase high-end systems like Marten Design and Chario loudspeakers together with Bladelius, Vitus and Audio Space electronics. If you would like to sample some of these products, do make an appointment with us so as to enable us to setup the required components for your audition. Do contact us at 6333-5515 for more information.

Amphion ION
The Imaging Wonder!
(May 25, 2010)

It is a known fact that some of the best imaging loudspeakers are compact two-way monitors. The sacrifices in the low end (and sometimes high frequency extension as well) are well worth the rewards in soundstaging – pinpoint precision and dimensionality. Now we are not saying there aren’t good imagers from larger boxes but inevitably, the small ‘uns are right on!

This brings to mind the Amphion IONs, the smallest loudspeaker in their line up – and possibly the most attractive as well. This compact two-way monitor boasts a 4.5inch midbass drive unit and a 1 inch tweeter. Amphion applies their proprietary ‘Waveguide’ technology that directs sound via the shallow horn loading for the tweeter to the listening position and attenuates the sound pressure level outside of the listening area, eg the room. The result is the sound interacts less with the room thereby sounding more consistent irrespective of the acoustics of the room.

There is more. The crossover is also part of the design that gives Amphions’ its distinctive signature. Traditionally, most speaker designers cross over the midbass to the tweeter at around 2 – 3 kHz, the smaller the tweeter, the higher the crossover point. This however is a critical area of the frequency response that our ears are most sensitive to. We can ‘hear’ the changes in character of the sound as the frequencies rise from the midbass to the tweeter – the inconsistency of the phase and dispersion patterns are obvious. Amphion IONs for instance, crossover at 1600 Hz, a much lower frequency. In addition to the ‘Waveguide’ horn loading for the tweeter enables the voice coil to be ‘aligned’ with that of the midwoofer making the IONs a perfect single point source.

Audio Engine by David Wiener
(Apr 21, 2010)

Who is David Wiener? Designer Extraordinaire would be an apt description given David’s wide ranging portfolio under his wing – fashion designer, furniture designer, entertainment systems designer and even a stint with Ferrari. The association with Ferrari racing led to the Ferrari inspired DW collection. The DW collection is now available at Audio88!

DW Collection truly deserves the accolade of lateral thinking – and engineering. The products are elegant as they are functional, exhibiting a depth of engineering never seen in traditional hifi. The Art.Engine and Art.Suono are just two of the many products that grace the DW Collection. More is on the way so do drop by the showroom for a demonstration of the incredible DW Collection.

Art.Engine

What looks like a ‘lifestyle’ loudspeaker, is a music system that more than meets the eye. As David Wiener’s claim – ‘The Ferrari Art.Engine redefines personal music listening. As the world changes its listening habits and embraces digital music and iTunes® computer management of personal music libraries, the Art.Engine stands out as the only music system designed to reproduce the original artists’ music in its truest form, bringing today’s compressed music files to life.’

The Art.Engine is a complete music system in what seems like a loudspeaker enclosure. Notice the singularity of the word – the Art.Engine houses two arrays of drive units on either side of the enclosure to re-create the stereo image using powerful DSP and digital amplifiers built inside the compact 47-inch tall enclosure.

The enclosure is an expensive fabrication from a solid 250 Kg billet of aluminium, machined to size and trimmed with carbon fibre panels. High quality automotive paints as used by Ferrari for their exclusive performance cars. As mentioned, the amplifiers are housed within the chassis – four 200-watt digital amplifiers with its proprietary DSP to restore the dynamics of compressed digital music and recreate the original musical experience. The Art.Engine comes with wireless connectivity enabling your digital music files (MP3 to full CD quality) to be streamed from your computer. An Art.Suono iPOD dock (sold separately) enables wireless streaming of music from your iPOD.
Oh, before I forget, the Art.Engine is a limited edition product of 1000 units only.

Vitus Audio now resides at Audio88
(March 8, 2010)

Danish high end amplifier, Vitus Audio is once again available at Audio88. This delectable amplifier company is one force to reckon with! Vitus amplifiers are not for the faint hearted, they are truly evolutionary high end products that bears comparison, not with other ‘flavour’ of high end amplifiers, but to create the sound of real music played with real musical instruments.

Well, say no more, (the Vitus SL-101 line preamp is on the way) the SCD-010 CD player and the SS-101 power amplifier is on demo with the Marten Soprano speakers. Oh, we sold the Miles3 recently. Each of these products is worth a mention in its own right but here’s just the teaser for now. Can’t wait? Come down for an audition now!

Chario Loudspeakers will be available soon at Audio88!
(Feb 18, 2010)

Chario Premium 2000T
The flagship model of Premium Series, this 3-way design uses a new high performance 27mm fabric dome tweeter, a new 170mm cellulose fiber coated midbass and a separate 170mm cellulose fiber coated downward firing woofer. The tweeter uses a forth order crossover (steep slope) and a T38 wave guide first offered in the higher range Constellation series. This wave guide extended dynamic range and ensures accurate energy radiation control off-axis minimizing room interaction.

The low frequencies come from a proprietary NRS configured subwoofer, a well recognized feature implemented with all Chario floor-standing loudspeaker systems. Chario claims outstanding performance of the Premium 2000 Tower is due to the full 3-way design and reinforced baffle that allows the front drivers to radiate a clean acoustical wave. Because of a dedicated floor-matched subwoofer, high-excursion induced signals at very low frequencies don’t interfere with the fine structure of the middle range, providing the listener with a detailed listening experience.

Chario Premium 2000T is available at Audio88 from mid March 2010.