Rotel RT-940AX Tuner

I just got this second hand tuner with remote and I'm quite happy with it.Its perfect match with my Rotel amp and radio sounds great.More info on this link.

JBL on tour micro

We just bought this micro speaker, it's for my wifey to carry around and listen at work.
 Very nice looking small speaker, pocket size. Re-chargeable battery. There are many brands offering similar, but I had feeling that  JBL won't create something that's crap to ruin their image and I wasn't wrong. It's cool little thing.More details on this link.

Hp dm1

Just got new laptop/netbook.Its actually in between those two. Got it at discounted price at S$499 with Windows 7 and beats audio soundcard.Screen resolution is great for 11.6'', processor is AMD dual core at 1.65 GHz,ATI Radeon GPU,500GB HDD, 2 GB DDR3. With 6 cell battery weights about 1.6 kg which is almost same as my Vaio, but still acceptable to carry around.Got HDMI, card reader,webcam, wi-fi and bluetooth. Keyboard is good and its quite well build for this price.
More details on below;
http://asia.cnet.com/product/hp-pavilion-dm1-amd-fusion-e-450-processor-1-65ghz-45630072.htm

Asus eee pc 1005ha

I got this Asus eeepc netbook with free bag,extra 1GB RAM and USB 4 GB.Excellent value and a great little computer.I played many games on this machine ,including GTA,warcraft etc.Easy to use for surfing web and small and light to travel.Only thing I bought for it is mat screen protector since glossy screen was too shiny.After more than two years of usage I can only notice few scratches on the silver mouse button.Battery can still run for 3-4 h,originally 5h.It has wireless,blue tooth and LED display.There is no optical drive so Windows installation is done by restoring image using USB.It comes with Win XP Home.Bad: pointing device and half sized up and down keyboard arrows.

Gadget table and new setup

I've completed my gadget table as per below photo. All parts are from Ikea,I just got extra shelf that is mounted on table.I can move it left to right if needed.
 What I've realize is that I can link my WD TV via HDMI to TV-monitor, and use extra output for stereo which I connect to amplifier.Since I've also connected external HDD to WD TV,  now I have big storage for music/movies  and I'm using it as a network player.
Because of in built wireless connection it can stream radio from internet.There is option of controlling volume via iPhone app which is excellent since I don't have remote from my amplifier.
I wanted to achieve laid back listening experience without breaking the bank for external network player component.
Next investment will be a CD player and speaker stands.Until then I continue to enjoy music. :)

Rotel RA-930AX

After six months of listening I decided to replace my current Marantz PM63 amp with smaller Rotel RA-930AX.
Sales guy told me that its strange, I wish to downgrade, so I wasn't really sure should change or not..
He had a point - I paid more for previous amp,and I get half power with Rotel.However,more powerful don't nececery means a better amp.
Rotel is heavy,solid build amp and weights almos same as Marantz.30 watts per channel is more than enough for room listening.
Sound is crisp and clear,high dumping factor of 180 means great control of the speaker.It seems like a perfect match to my Diamonds..now,I just fell in love in music,once again and I've only been listening for about an hour..big sound for small bucks! :D

WD TV live - HD media player

Last week I went to Sim Lim to search for wireless internet HD TV. I was searching for a simple, wi-fi internet tv under 100USD.What I found in Sim Lim is once product from ASUS which was too expensive.Confusing was that I've seen online WD TV live with wi-fi, however, I couldn't find this anywhere in Sim Lim. This is to show that Sim Lim actually sells old products and cheat tourists :).
There are many cheap chinese media players which don't have wi-fi option and can only play files from USB drive or stick that is connected via USB port.So, even if you decide to upgrade this media players to wi-fi buying a wi-fi dongle, you will realize that that will use your USB port which is intended for connecting external drive and you might experience problems.For example, while HDD connected - you can't connect to wi-fi or similar.
I was lucky to find online offer on Courts for WD TV live.I'm more then pleased with this product.

-It is small an light
-has a wi-fi option to connect to internet
-has HDMI and AV connection so you can connect it easily to any TV set
-solid build and ease of use.
-good remote control and iphone app which enables you to use iphone to control internet tv

Since I'm still exploring all options of this WD TV, I can only highlight that you MUST have a fast internet connection to use it.It streams HD online videos like you tube with no problem.Previously I would use my netbook to watch you tube and other videos, and it was annoying that I have to switch on laptop, connect VGA etc just to do this simple actions. With this WD TV all this is extremely simple.
Bottom line is that smart TV-s are still something new and expensive, and upgrading your old TV to smart TV becomes very simple with this product.
I've connected HDD to WD TV and I can watch any divx or other video by simply selecting it in media library.Quality of the picture is great even over AV cable.
Below are few photos.
I got it for S$129 :)

 Inside box:

 Connected via wi-fi for the first time - downloading firmware.

 Free WD TV app works good.I use it sometimes as keyboard cos it's easier to use then on-screen keyboard and remote control.

 Watching movie via HDD drive.

Smartphones - Iphone4 and Motorola razr

For some strange reason, most of Singaporeans are crazy about Apple products. When it comes to iphone - it's a must have gadget.
Few months earlier I had to get a smartphone, and when I asked around for opinions everybody was telling me same thing - get a iphone (white as it was latest version). At first I tried to find alternative to this, but only thing on market was HTC or Samsung which both I didn't like.
I was using an second hand Nokia E51 which is a great phone few years ago, but it really feels like a stone age phone if you compare it to latest mobile phones.
In the end - I got 32 GB version iphone4.
Why is iphone better then other smartphones? Actually, I don't think its better.But it is simple to use, durable,has good battery life, enough memory to replace your mp3 player and great hi resolution retina display.Not to forget, the most no. of apps available in the itunes store.I don't have jail broken OS, and I use regular OS5.So far,all apps that I need are free to download.
When my dear went to get her new phone just a while ago, she had chosen Motorola razr which has bigger screen (not higher resulution) , but very sleek looks and hi quality materials as kevlar make this phone very 'posh' looking.Dual core processor makes it run flash with no problem.

So, conclusion about smart phones today - it's a powerful pocket pc which makes us so lazy to even turn on our desktop or laptop computer.It can be connected to 3g or wi-fi non stop which makes us available non stop until our phone is on.I don't really like that idea, but it's like that in 'modern' world today.

Buying second hand Amplifier - Marantz PM63

I bought this amp recently.As it's second hand,the listening test was a must, and I was lucky to hear it on pro JBL 4428 studio monitors.

Below is cleaning and repairing process.Due to old age of this amp, some contacts had to be cleaned. I've also noticed that sound was dissapearing sometimes because wires inside were loose so I had to solder them back again.

Remote control is curently not working,but I don't mind as I got it under priced because of that.
I am curently looking for solution for this, it's not easy to find this type of IR sensor.I went to Sim Lim towers to search for it but no luck.
This amp has plenty of reserve power, sounds clean and neutral.I love source direct option which bypass equalizers.

Mobile Digital DJ and 2nd home setup

It took me a while to complete my portable dj setup.I had many problems while deciding which items to buy as my biggest problem was it needs to be mobile.And under mobile I mean - it must fit in as small bag!
I always wanted to have complete setup with turntables etc, but it was always quite costly for me to get all that plus I didn't had space.So, now , in a time when most of DJ play from laptop I found it's a perfect timing for me to get my gadgets and start playing.

Mobile DJ setup is below;

Sony Vaio SZ Series - Centrino duo running Traktor pro
Native instruments audio 2 sound card
Firefox DJ3 midi controller
iGrado headphones
Mobile gear hub

The best part is that I can bring this anywhere in a small bag as I said this means a lot to me when I travel by plane.

My 2nd 'home' system :
 Marantz PM63 Amp which I bought recently together with
Wharfedale Diamonds 8.2 speakers which serve me as monitors.

I wanted to get pro studio monitors, but in the end mostly because of high price I went for amp + speakers combination.
Problem is , if I get studio monitors they will probably have 5 inch woofer and wouldn't go as deep as I want them to go.
Here is a interesting article that changed my mind about getting studio monitors.


Few photos below;

My previous car sound system.

This was my first complete sound system in car.After many years all of the things I sold and only left with main Kenwood unit.
I also had all below as per photos plus one mono amp,can't rem model and Ground Zero Hydrogen series 6x9 speakers (which were excellent btw).

Home system - Mission 702 and Yamaha HTR 5630

As for now, I have two 'home' systems.My 1st system is:

Mission 702 speakers
Custom made speaker stands filled with sand
Cables : QUED and G-snake
Receiver Yamaha HTR5630
DVD Pioneer.

For this speakers I have good words, they serve me great over years and always sound very warm and open.Their spec. show 91dB sensitivity and 150 Watts of power on 8 Ohm and they go down to 45 Hz.
It is really important to place them on stands as they tend to sound very boomy placed on the floor.

Yamaha gives them about 60 Watts RMS per channel and is a good match.

I chosen receiver and dvd combination because I wanted to setup a home cinema.Then very quickly I gave up from that idea but felt sad to sell this gear.It was convenient for me to listen mp3s and radio.

Below are few pics of my home system no 1 (6 y old photo) together with my (now old) desktop computer (AMD 1.7 GHz).

There is also one subwoofer which I have (custom made - turbo sound system) which is mainly not connected as I didn't had space for it so it's collecting dust somewhere.