hehe

Actually nothing is ever run-in where Simon is concerned, probably a pair of speakers need 700 yrs to run in if u ask the guy(especially his Ls3/5a) LoL
Just kidding there, he seems to have a longer burn-in threshold than any average joe around this block of town
Not that it's not justified but it can be quite impractical as we all have other priorities in life also apart from running in audio gear(instead of enjoying them). Even manufacturers quote a modest running in period, some even say just a few days of regular playing will do the trick(the change after that is minimal at most). You must remember that manufacturers test their gear with minimal running-in(they don't have the time to spend months to run in before they can market a product) and the quality they claim to a product is usually based on initial testing impressions with minimal run-in only. So what u hear from a 5 yr run-in period of say a pair of speakers is not what they expect you to hear as they didn't spend so long to run them in before they had to market those speakers. In that 5 yr period, they probably could make a few more versions of the same product ie..601 S4, 602 S5. Even companies that make speaker drivers work similarly, they make a new driver and test them stat(immediately), and if the measured response (technically and by ear) is not what they want or like, they ditch the drivers stat and make new ones that match their requirement, I don't think they sit there & run the new drivers in for months and then only retest. These guys actually have no time to listen to how their new speaker drivers will sound 5 yrs down the line

I am quite a practical person, who also believes in running in audio gear (at a moderate level at most...weeks to a few months at most) but never fanatical about it. It's often very convenient (especially for dealers) to say something does not sound nice bcoz it's not well run-in, give it a couple more weeks..maybe months...years...decades (and b4 u know it, u are no longer into this hobby d)
Sometimes, I just can't stand dealers who over-emphasize on run-in(like yrs) before a product can sound its best. If that's the case, nobody ever needs to change any equipment, despite poorly matched to personal taste as running-in 'will' eventually solve all the problems and change the initial sound(more likely your ear has grown accustomed to the new sound character and reference as the psychoacoustic adaptation has kicked in).

Back to 601 S3 thread, so Reno, have u pulled the trigger yet? Keep us informed ya! U can try out Hiway Laser for these little buggers.

Cheers

This post has been edited by Omegaminx: Jun 1 2006, 01:29 AM

Simon was also the one who told me to run in my EPOS ELS 3 for another year (I told him its been run in for a year already). No one has told me to do that b4, not even Yap (from Octaves) with all his blackgates mAYBE he was factoring the possibility that I listen for only few hours a day or something.

Ok, ok back to B&W

well actually I think I will buy after AV fair in July. Maybe can buy there also.... coz during the fair I can really audition or see a lot of other brands before doing any decision. And they say it'll be cheaper there

when's the nx av fair.. is it in jw marriot again?

I believe it is. Somewhere mid end of July

Renovatio,
OK. I will do my part.
I can quote you better price but I must talk to you first on what you want on sound characteristic, your current setup and budget (the most important ).

Omegaminx,
Agreed with you, but I don't like purposely burnt in. Just listening it through out some times.


mysticaldodo,
Check my signature.
JW Marriott on 21 ~ 23 July 2006

haha you need to first answer my PM about HD595 As for the stereo setup, it's still vague, because lately used too much money... might need to wait till next bonus time haha.

As I said before no consignment note given out to avoid parcel jacker.
Wait their phone call

I hope they bring in the Horn Shoppe in the AV fair. We need more sensitive speakers here and I can't DIY

I thought Octave Electronics got selling?

Not as far as I know. Do they?

Reno: I think u can buy the 601 at the fair but auditioning is tough with all the noise & everyone looking at you leh, your attention will shift a bit.

Mystical: Since u a r using Epos ELS3, I believe one yr is more than enough lo fren, Epos themselves quote that even their ELS sub(using 10" driver) would loosen up mostly by a week(a few days actually on their website), thereafter even if u need any further fine tuning, it would only be a tiny bit. So since the sub is labelled that way, u can extrapolate that speakers definately don't need a year (unless u play them only once a year ). My M12.2 also run in quite nicely d after <6-8 weeks of regular (6 hrs average on most days)....been > 1 yr and still no change in sound that I could discern.
BTW, Octave is quite expensive, when it comes to tubes, I usually purchase online for new NOS tubes. Only certain models I get from them after factoring in shipping cost etc. Somehow, I didn't like their Ls35a demo with an exteriorized crossover on the floor, seems quite lifeless to me, too flat(I would probably throw eggs at the singer in real-life if she sings this way, get what I mean).

Davis: you gonna bring ppl to the perfect hifi booth for audition? Must be Sonus Faber and Melody SP3, no?

This post has been edited by Omegaminx: Jun 1 2006, 10:04 PM

May be not just Perfect HiFi but others booth as well provided I am free to roaming around . Might be selling Philips and Sennheiser product at Perfect HiFi booth or Philips own booth (still negotiating).

It has already been burned in before I bought it I bought the demo unit for a cheaper price. I think the Simon just guess cause he was wondering why I want to upgrade. A good thing too since it shows he's more concern for his customers needs then to sell his ware. I'm going to go for a new standmount before considering a sub first.

EPOS M12.2 I always wanted to hear it.

mysticaldodo,
There is a forummer using EPOS M12.2 but he is not active in audiophile section.

Mystical buddy, just go on to Acoustic Arts in City Square and ask the boss there. Lawrence is quite kind to demo for you, also don't forget to try the M5, a very nice standmount with very similar performance as the 12.2 but better price. To be honest, sometimes, I wonder if I should've bought the smaller M5 but alas, 12.2 are simply very articulate and dimensional(nice soundstage). The best thing about Epos speakers is the minimalistic crossover (almost none)...this has its pros but also cons but Epos manage to achieve an exacting balance here. Howver, Epos might be releasing a new line soon, a higher end one, so hold your horses if u can wait a bit...but no harm auditioning mah
maybe during AV Fest, the new line may debut but then again, perhaps next year as no concrete updates so far from Luke(of Epos).
The Epos ES14 is a great one if it's fully functional, reason why my interest got piqued when I read that one was going for cheap (this is a different design by Marshall and not the current Creek team)
What standmount u have in mind now? Get the ProAc Studio 110, it's that good and quite a bargain for the RM6xxx spent (at least better value than the Tablette ref 8 sig mini mon IMO). AVI Neutron IV also very detailed but lack some lower registers. I am waiting to hear the new Monitor Audio GS-10-signature (might get this if the price is right but waiting for reviews from >2 hifi mags at least and personal audition later)

Simon is a nice chap, hardly ever pressing for sales, come to think of it, Grado SR80 and some hifi mags are the only audio gear I have bought from the guy so far but he does know quite lot about hifi to begin with. Apart from his obsession for burn-in, I suppose u can trust him on other advice.

Davis: whatcha waiting for, lets invite the new guy into the forum and start dancing and singing man
Maybe he has more audio gear to share with us.

This post has been edited by Omegaminx: Jun 2 2006, 06:57 PM

I bought from him. Soft spoken and nice guy but I don't want to trouble him yet since I don't think I'll be buying it. I think I know someone selling M12.2 for a cheaper price but it is also harder to drive from the specs I've read.

There so much limited choice here. I don't even wanna know what the markup CMY puts on their ProArc gear and Naim stuff. Stereophile said the Tablette 8 lack resolution and finesse so I wonder too.

Damn, I wanna go Singapore lar

Know the distributor of Monitor Audio? I always wonder. Laurence dun carry them anymore btw.

On and on he does hook up in here reading a while but he is not intereted posting in here.
That fellow using silver cable with bullet plugs (my next project) on his setup.

I am also using bullet plugs (Eichmann plugs actually, cost RM50 per plug, so 4 will be around ~RM200 not counting cables yet and workmanship unless DIY) for my interconnects' RCA head, but not silver cable as they would sound too bright for the Epos. Supra (tin coated) is better suited for those speakers with a tinge of prominence in the highs. I prefer silver coated cables for ATCs which are by nature a bit more neutral and some would even say dark (or warmer to convey an idea across but they aren't really...at least to me).

Davis u meant silver coated cables I hope, no? Or pure 99.999% silver throughout, which is bad news for a few reasons, ie. everything will start sounding fast and bright with a metallic sheen lingering on the sound/music with a thin bass note(sounds quite unnatural especially rock/metalica which is already quite bright for most recordings) & very expensive (might as well buy new speakers and frontend to get more sound difference) & too costly to produce in real life by manufacturers (most say pure silver but actually mean pure silver 'coating' only or maybe a few strands of pure silver amongst the crowd of copper) hehehe
The type of dielectric might make more difference in most cases.

Mystical: Monitor Audio is distributed in M'sia and Singapore by Ban Leong brothers but the price over here seems always higher than usual
Their office is in Kepong but you can audition their products at the dealers as they have no showroom
If possible, try not to audition at Rave (in City Square), the old man there is simply too proud of his products(Jadis, Wilson Benesch, dCS, MA, Ho's, Spark)...and gives you that look...if u r relatively young (with no pot belly, graying hair, Rolex watch and receding hairline to show your wealth). He also sells MA but I would rather pay a bit more and get it from other dealers anytime. Apparently he believes he is a super-audio guru who knows it all, and tries to impinge his opinions on you (you know the type if you disagree, u r in for a treat...hehe). This kind of dealer is the type whose knowledge is mainly from experience alone (streetwise and from years of selling) with no scientific backup(theory) as he has stopped reading audio articles for many years & don't know what's going on in the internet(bulk sales are crap and the wrong way to go according to him).....dangerous seller....and irritating too. Others are no problemo so far


Take care

I already know about that guy from Rave. Not everyone is like that though, Adrian (another old man - 50 years?) from Audio Image and even the grandpa from 1 Utama ( the one that sells Aarron speakers and Alliante, the shop in the new wing one next to Esquire Kitchen) do not boss people.

I actually nearly bought the Cayin HA-A1 headphone amp but I fell out with headphones soon after so didn't go ahead. Anyway he only has the Monitor Audio Silver.

I'm using silver allthroughout my system I'm not talking about inside the hardware, though I did change the RCA connection of my cdp to silver.

My speaker cables are single silver wire, my preamp and cd IC are silver from Dr Wong from Euphonic Research and my phono amp IC is silver-gold metarlugy (spellcheck) which is very laid back, smooth and slightly louder then my other 2 silver IC which are very neutral sounding (and maybe boring ). My system, I don't consider bright but smooth sounding with zing when needed but its really thanks to the EPOS speakers and the upgrades I made to my cdp. However it was a bit bright before that though. I also tried Infinity's silver plated copper IC but it was a bit bright and lean but for that price it performs way above its class, would recommend it over those entry level ICs