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Reviewer's Bio
Wong Kok Chieat
AKA Lil' KC or Little KC
At the tender age of 14, Lil' KC has been fascinated by the world of audio. Reading What Hi-Fi on a monthly basis has brought about strong memory and sensitivity towards specifications and technical audio jargons. It was not until years later that he found those to be useless, or rather, not so useful.
Everything audio went to a halt when Lil' KC attended college. But fate brought him back into the world of audio when Lil' KC joined a local forum and started doing house calls. It was then that Lil' KC started brewing his own tastes and requirements for his ideal setup. When Lil's KC was exposed to a setup consisting of Wadia transport and DAC feeding the VAC Avatar integrated amplifier, which in turn drove a pair of ProAc Response 1SC, everything changed. It was then Lil' KC realized that there was a price to pay for things that Lil' KC yearned for!
A few years after Lil' KC started working, it was time to get serious into audio again. He bought a used Sony XA5ES and a pair of used ProAc Reference 8. Later, he managed to source for a used Audio Research LS2B pre-amplifier and Audio Research Classic 60 power amplifier. Then Lil's KC was brought into the intriguing world of audio cables and it was never the same ever. The rigs stayed long and consistent while tremendous amount of money has been dumped into acquiring exquisite cables. At least the cables are exquisite enough for a 23-year-old teenage.
Soon, the setup evolved into a stable state for 3 years. It was the same Sony CD player, ARC LS 8 pre amplifier, the same ARC power amplifier, and the ProAcs. Cables were full fledged AQ DBS. The RGPC 400MKII came in and everything was singing happily for more than 3 years. It was not until the decision to move up to ProAc Reference 8 Signature and AQ DBS Cheetah that tipped the balance and got Lil' KC all worn up. It was a great lesson learned that not all things expensive put together would give expensive sound.
Fast forward to early 2007, Lil' KC decided to relocate to Singapore. It was then a great excuse to start all over again. From valve amplifications, Lil' KC decided that it was time to turn into solid state amplification. With the passion burning strong, Lil' KC could do nothing but share great experiences and superb sounding gears among the audio community. Along the years, Lil' KC has been always lucky and prospered with affluent audiophiles with exquisite tastes. It was from them that he got to listen to flagship MBL, Goldmund, Audio Research, Magnaplanar, Krell, AudioNet, Jeff Rowland, ATC, Apogee, Meridian, dCS, YG Acoustics and many other exotic brands.
Even the audio dealers are kind enough to invite Lil' KC over for a listen whenever new things arrive. At times, Lil' KC would get lucky and got a loaner or two. It was with these exposures and favors from friends and dealers that got him long into this hobby.
Still, as always, Lil's KC listens to music, rather than equipment.
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