@ yonggoh - very nice bro. i really love the dark brown wall colour. and the custom rack reminds me of your bedroom setup. you seem to like suspended shelves. i do too. hahaha.

unfortunately, that is the sad reality of the AV market that consumers and enthusiasts in MY have had to endure.

buying a HT or hifi gear to many ppl is an investment in time, effort and $ (irrespective of its relative value), and is not akin to buying a toaster or electric kettle where one can just pick it off the shelf and off u go. consumers are left on their own accord to rely on sometimes unsavoury and often inept front line staff of dealerships who know little about their products, let alone the technical skill sets needed to ply their trade. these guys are driven by self-interest (namely commission or other forms of remuneration) rather than have the best interest of the customers at heart. it is made worst because MY does not practice a "return policy" for such products (or for almost all items for that matter!).

buying a HT or hifi gear requires auditioning. serious auditioning, not plug it in and the ON light comes on and everything is honky dory auditioning. serious auditioning requires the right listening/viewing conditions in an appropriately treated room and supporting ensemble of equipment in the signal chain. serious auditioning requires time to try out various settings, tweakings, equipment changes, and not having to put up with sour-faced puss who grumble when u ask them to change equipment for A vs B vs C shoot-outs. serious auditioning means testing and playing to your heart's content without any obligation to buy.

if the product is good enough, consumers will buy. nothing to worry about. consumers will be most appreciative of your support and will support you back in return. don't be a freaking wealth-assessing-the-moment-u-step-in, con-job, money-grabbing and then f-u snooty retailer. the HT/hifi game is no longer the privy of only the deep pockets. it is moving into mainstream. everyone starts somewhere, even the lowest-end of systems. but it is from here that the seed grows. a supporting and nurturing dealer will be reciprocated.

a good seller is one that is passionate about the product they represent, and even more passionate about sharing this with everyone. he is also passionate about HT/hifi in general (meaning he would also be an enthusiast just like us) and spends time updating his techie-geeky side and knowing what's in the market and not just confine his myopic views to only the products he represents. How often have you had any store assistant or even the proprietor, assuming u r not a regular customer, take the time to understand your current setup, room dimensions, usage pattern, etc. before jumping into his sales pitch or recommend improvements to your system? a good seller will go beyond the call of duty, and heck may even suggest equipment for you that he doesn't even sell. what is that i hear? did someone just faint in disbelief? lol .... hopefully we will get there some day.

i am happy to see guys like htkaki and junwei (and i'm sure many others sellers in here that i may not be aware of) that are moving in the right direction and happy to "invest" their time and effort to share their knowledge and passion and build relationships within the community (which i'm sure they hope will eventually crystallise into business, but that aside). its a step in the right direction ... slowly but surely.

sorry, i just felt like ranting today. it's friday evening after all. have a good weekend.

@ gilbert - hope you will eventually find a good sub to your liking.

Nice.

Suggestions for next toy : a universal remote control? pop-corn machine? wine-cellar?

if you take a closer look, you'll see that yonggoh's setup already includes a ps3.

noticeable difference in AQ after treatment?

have always wondered if these sort of treatment requires professional help or would a DIY suffice. i could never trust myself to do it, knowing how little i know about these things. seems a pity spending all that $ on hardware without yielding the desired results ....

Since we're travelling down nostalgia street, all of us old timers grew up with hi-fi la .... that time mana ada HT, HD, blu-ray and all that jazz. hahaha.

My humble first set-up in the late 70's was a JVC integrated amp, Rotel turntable and Quad floorstanders. Before vinyls, it was 8-track catridges but those were pretty crappy lol. My first CD player was a Sharp in 1984, coupled with the venerable NAD 3020 amp. I still have my very first CD that i bought in 1984.

Back then, I think the UK influence was much more apparent as most people used to read What Hi-Fi (before they went overly commercial) and were bittten by the British brands bug.

This post has been edited by terranova: Jan 7 2011, 11:39 PM

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/speaker/index.htm

@ ronald - thanks for sharing. just curious, does the remote work for the avr and bdp despite being blocked by the tv?

nice one shuto. the finish is exquisite. i'm sure it sounds heavenly too. never demo-ed a SF before, beyond my league.

Use the Cremonas as wides in a DSX config?

not in MY, so can avoid all the local poison, esp the mother of all poisons called htkaki.

i get what u and ronaldjoe mean re. not needing wides with a good soundstage. good point.

@ mpyw - thanks for sharing bro. nice! the sofa looks damn comfy. lol.

you retired the Orbs from back surround duty?

and yea i was wondering the same thing as yonggoh too .... why tiles and not carpet?

i thought arremie was a klipsch kaki ?

Squeezebox Touch. Nice ...... I take it you're running optical into the 4311?

Have you compared the audio quality against this signal chain : source (hdd) -> 4311 (thru networking feature) -> speakers?

Wondering how the AKM4420 would stack up against the Denon's AKM 4358VQ multi-channel DAC? I've always been slightly sceptical of the AQ since Logitech bought over from Slim Devices.

for audiophile grade, you'd have to move up to the Logitech Transporter. but the price is really prohibitive. i think the SB Touch hits a nice price point vs features/quality.

hi. is that a server rack? how much did that cost?

i've always thought of using somthing like that to organise my HT system instead of buying those AV racking system from Middle Atlantic and AVRAK.

@ alamak - thanks for sharing all the above info. 42U racks are pretty common here in HK, that's why I asked.

I'm running 8 HDDs using 1 x QNAP TS-409 (4-bays) and recently added 1 x QNAP TS-412 (4-bays). Both running RAID5. Seems like a more expensive option compared to your Norco solution. Curious to hear more too, since u mentioned that u can have 1 HDD to RAID5 the entire array. I'm not IT literate, btw, so I hope u can keep the explanation as simple as possible.

or you could try a mirror .....

sorry couldn't resist that one .... carry on.

@ pierreye, gundamalpha and klimal - thanks for sharing. very nice.

me likey your man cave. looks cosy and private. can't wait to see the end result. you're in good hands with junwei.

Binoculars and a roll of tissue ...... hmmm .....