Belden Bi-wire 1810A speaker cable

My previous speaker cables were QED Original with Nakamichi banana plugs that I've ordered from Amazon UK. I was satisfied with the cable for quite some time with my previous Bowers and Wilkins 685 s1 speakers as I didn't use Bi-wire feature on them. Many people mention they sound better on single wire and I wasn't too eager to try different.

However, when I changed to Nautilus 805's , I realize I only have Bi-wire terminals on speakers without jumper cables so I decided to do some online research about speaker wires and also some of the experts I know for the opinions.

 One of the biggest experts in Hifi and audio that I know is my parent's friend from Croatia (Mr. Miro) and I quote his reply ;
"When it comes to speaker wires , they do make a difference to the sound. Wires have resistance that should be minimized but also they have inductive and capacity component which do not have great effect with smaller lengths. Cable should not be rolled (inductive component) or too close in parallel (capacity component). You should take minimum 4mm2 wire. "

 Another advise on which cables to buy I got from Mr Colin who is running his own company in Singapore setting up professional studio equipment ;
"Bi-wire and single wire give us different effect.Bi give you maybe more stage feel and single maybe more musical...for project installation we always use Belden or Canare audio cables."

This advises have greatly narrowed my choice and I found a shop in Sim Lim Tower selling the mentioned Belden and Canare cables LHS Electronics Enterprise .
Mr Robert from LHS was the sales who helped me find the cable. I decided to go with Belden bi-wire 1810A.
I recommend this shop ,service is excellent. I wanted about 30 mins for uncle to fix all the plugs and spades on the cable ends. He did it very professional.
Sound using Bi-wire really makes a difference on n805 speakers! It's quite 'stage' sounding that I like because I listen to lot's of electronic music. Sound with this upgrade seems to be crispier a bit more accurate with slightly lower bass extension.
Reason why I decided to go for Bi-wire and 16 connectors is in case one day I decide to Bi-amp the speakers. I 'm very pleased with my purchase, money well spent! :)

 

Bowers and Wilkins Nautilus 805 - my new speakers

Finally I've upgraded speakers after a loong search. Since I sold my 602 S3 , I wasn't really completely satisfied with what was on market so I bought B&W 685's.  They are great speakers, but I wanted more.Upgrade bug. I wanted all that was in 602 S3 and in 685 and better. Now I got it all with Nautilus 805! I was lucky to find one good cherry pair on sale. They have some small scratches so the deal was good and the sound is simply amazing! Studio quality, deep bass, silky highs and clear mid range.Very nice sounding vocals.
I love it and it plays great on my Cambridge Audio setup. I use my previous B&W stands and the support is good enough.  That was actually my main concern before buying , because during audition they were connected on other expensive equipment and original stands.

My precious! :D

Review - http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/168/

Replacing the rubber surround on Audioengine active speaker

I've decided to replace the rubber surround on one of my speaker because it was previously badly repaired by some lousy "repair man" at Sim Lim Square. I paid $35 to fix one speaker and he completely messed it up. After a while I couldn't take it any more thus I removed the bad surrounding that was very ugly and ordered matching replacement rubber and glue from online shop - speakerworks.com.
They sent step by step instructions how to fix it. Since the cone is small on this speakers I've manage to center it properly.
I'm happy with the results as repair now looks more professional then it was done before.  What's even more important it sounds good!  Some photos of the process per below.

Replacing lens on Cambridge Audio Azur 640 v2 CD player

I bought this CD player second hand because I loved the looks and I knew that it wasn't always reading all the CD's. However, one day it completely stopped reading any CD's. After reading on many forums people were suggesting to clean to lenses. I did that, many times without fixing the problem.
I wanted to sell it after that because I was thinking somebody will buy it and fix it. It didn't happen.
So what to do? I spent some time online and ordered some parts from China. Replaced the complete CD transport and now it plays again like it's new!

Some photos of the process. See all the way below instructions;

There is only one important point to note. The laser as supplied new has a solder link in place to protect the it from static electricity damage. You need to remove this small link with a soldering iron or knife. This is shown in the last picture of this listing. It is to the left of the connector on the laser. 

1.Since the laser diode of this parts assembly is treated to prevent itself from electrostatic breakdown,make sure to remove the solder.  
2.Solder iron must use the thing static electricity.  
3.Do not shock.  
4.Do not touch lens by hands.  
5.Do not touch any adjustable parts since they have been adjusted at the factory 

 It works great! Very happy with the repair.

 

Replacing tweeter on B&W 685 S1 speaker

I have replaced dented tweeter on one of my Bowers and Wilkins 685 s1 speaker with the new one.

 It was quite simple process that took me about 20 mins.

 New tweeter costs about 100$ plus shipping but I found mine for about 80$ with delivery included.

Some photos & notes as per below;

Use your nails to pull out the plastic/rubber cover;

Make sure you use right torque with screws holding the mid-woofer.

Slide the box to side so woofer comes out

 

Use your hand to unscrew plastic ring that holds the tweeter

Dented tweeter is out

Repeat same steps to install new one.

Done!

Bowers & Wilkins 685 , QED reference 40

 I sold previous B&W 602 s3 after I had to repair them and bought 685's to replace them. 

 Sound is similar as before, more details in mid range and a top, however , bottom is not as deep as before. I expected this due to reduced cabinet and meantime I ordered MS Alumni 9 subwoofer.

These speakers are slightly less sensitive at 88dB and have power handling at 100wRMS. They sound excellent with both rotel and CA amp, but as usual for this brand - more power you feed them  is better.

It took them about two weeks to burn in because previous owner used them as surround only. I had to be more careful with positioning to get best results.

For now I'm pleased with the sound, looking forward to add on sub.

685 s1

Testing different amps. I also upgraded to new interconnect RCA - QED reference 40.

Room acoustic treatment

Notice the acoustics treatment panels behind speakers and the bass trap in the corner. 

After  installation that was quite simple , room acoustic is improved and the music sounds better. 

I have two additional panels and one more bass trap that I keep in another room. 

Iphone 6 , Ipad 3

 Forgot to update this two gadgets. I've been using iphone for quite some time already.
I bought new one , 64GB version silver grey and using privacy glass filter on it. Really excellent phone, made me move away from Samsung, but I still keep the S4 as a spare phone.

Recently I bought used ipad3 (cellular ,16 GB retina display). I use it for Spotify and music apps control, but it's also an excellent device for surfing web. For what I need this older ipad is great.

        

Replacing the rubber surrounds on B&W 602 S3 speakers

 My cat revenged on one of the speakers and left a hole in the rubber surrounding the cone.
 I've ordered the replaceable rubber surrounds and glue from online shop in Europe and shipped it back to Singapore. Good friend suggested to leave this work to experts because it's not easy to do the cone centering. After researching ,I found the old repair shop servicing speakers in Burlington square (Martin electronics) who did good job repairing.
After repair was done in 2-3 days , I've mounted back the mid-bass units and the music is back! :)