February 2015

An Audiophile On Vacation...
Singapore's stereo shops serve up serious sounds.
Article By Steven R. Rochlin

  Reference Audio, managed by Ben Ngan, has a glorious selection of brands including Gryphon Audio, CH Precision, TAD, Viola and Air Force One. If that were not enough for you, then add in EAR, Antelope Audio and Wilson Benesch too. I so love the way the Gryphon Audio speakers sound and image! The Pantheon speakers as driven by the Mephesto was a match made in heaven. If you have never heard Gryphon Audio gear, then either you are living under a rock or within the USA. C'mon, seriously, why has not a single USA distributor stepped up to the plate to carry Gryphon Audio?

Audio Note Singapore has, what else, products from Audio Note UK. Cecil Tan and I seem to have the same preferences and discussed many things about a variety of gear. His used equipment shelves were like a walk down memory lane for me. 47 Labs, Manley Labs, Silbatone... are these guys stalking me? Audio Note Singapore also carries Avantgarde Acoustic hornspeakers, Constellation Audio, Egglestonworks, Shunyata, Aesthetics, and Silverstone Tubes. So Heather and I sat in their big room and heard the Audio Note UK Ongaku and Avantgarde Duo Omega hornspeakers. Oh my, I sense a newfound sound within my head. I think they call this sound 'money flushing' out of the wallet as OMG I think we need to dump the modded Dunlavy Signature IV for the Duos. Actually, I have been discussing with Holger (of Avantgarde) about getting a set of Duos for about two years and now that Heather approves I feel it is time to jump on a set. So, like Gryphon Audio, why is it that not a single distributor within the USA has bothered to carry Avantgarde Acoustics recently? It deeply saddens me that Americans are so deprived, as there are many great products available elsewhere within the world yet not in the 'land of the free'.

Oh, and before I forget... Heather and in are already talking color preferences of the Avantgarde Duo horn section and wood panels finishes.

(Telephone rings) Ummm, hi Holger (of Avantgarde). This is Steven Rochlin of Enjoy the Music.com. Can you, um, send a pair of Duos to the USA in the color combo of... for <cough> review purposes <cough>.

Hands down the busiest store today at The Adelphi is Jaben, who carry an outstanding array of portable media players and headphones / IEMs. They also have the Sennheiser Orpheus in their front window. They really know how to tease a man! Asking about it, at first it was said not to be for sale. Then they said it might be for sale, yet at a price. And next they said they'll contact the store owner who will e-mail me the price. This reminds me of the whole Audeze LCD-3 1 of 1 Steampunk headphones where at first they were not for sale. Then, well, maybe for sale... and we all know who now has the Steampunk LCD-3 headphones today don't we (hint: me!).

Of course there is more than just audio, as Motor Sports had many high quality model cars for sale.

KEF has a grand store on the first floor filled with a wide variety of speakers. If you love KEF, and don't we all, then you have to visit their store at Singapore's The Adelphi mall.

Another portable media player and headphone / IEM store is AV One with Focal, Audeze, Hegel, Woo Audio, Carat, etc. Eric Ching was very helpful and loves the Audeze Steampunk LCD-3, as he remembered them and wanted to buy the set years ago and was told they were not for sale. Like a Cheshire Cat I smiled and.... Sometimes in life it feels good to be bad. Hmmm, does that make me a bad person? I think not, but then again maybe it does. Eh, guess some 'burdens' we all have to live with. Ya know, I miss not having the Steampunks near me to enjoy as they are home right now. Ok, next trip bring the Steampunk LCD-3 and for God sakes do not forget to pack the Astell&Kern AK240 too (mumbled under my breath, "Steven you stupid, stupid bastard"). Wonder what TSA will think of the Audeze, as they hate the Dub Bot (Double Robotics 'genius on a stick') so it should be fun to see their reaction to the Steampunk'ed LCD-3 headphones.

Well, that rounds out Heather and my trip to Suntec City, Sim Lim Square and The Adelphi here in Singapore. Sorry about the photo quality yet am on holiday and so didn't bring the Big Rig photo setup. The camera shop there did have a used Hasselblad 40 Mpixel digital unit for sale. Hmm, do you think providing 40 Mpixel images might be a touch overkill for a website? Just think of the photo resolution we could deliver to you during shows! So i have one question for you.... Got bandwidth?

If you ever visit Singapore, and you truly should as the food is so delicious that I have shamefully gained 3 lbs in the past week(!), you must visit The Adelphi and perhaps add in Sim Lim Square if you truly are an electronics geek. Now where is that food stall that serves up Delicious Boneless Chicken Rice 加东美味起骨雞飯 at East Coast Road, Stall #3, or that incredible-tasing Ah Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice 阿仔海南鸡饭 at 1 Kadayanallur Street, Maxwell Food Centre #01-07.... Note to self, you already gained 3 lbs. this week alone, so at this rate when leaving Singapore i'll add nearly 20 lbs (11%) of body weight. YIPES!!! According to the Samsung Galaxy Gear S I have been setting records for distance walked, so it is not due to a lack of exercise mind you.

(Humor) Whatever you do never visit Singapore. Don't do it! Save yourself and your diet! Ummm, Heather, honey, sweetie-pie, love of my life, I need to buy new clothes as the Armani shirts and pants I brought with me to Singapore no longer fit.

As always, in the end what really matters is that you... 

Enjoy the Music,

Steven R. Rochlin