International Sound & Sight Exhibition 2018

Our very own annual International Sound & Sight Exhibition (ISSE) just ended. The show was held between 16th to 18th November 2018 at Parkroyal Hotel. Here is a brief report on the show.

Big rooms first :-

High End Research

The all-new Wilson Audio DAW

Streaming was carried out by an Aurender streamer hooked up to an Orpheus Lab SACD player / DAC and integrated amplifier

Ong Radio

Drool-worthy McIntosh gear

The Mac equipment paired with Opera Grand Callas speakers

Horizon Acoustics

Full Grandinote system. Playback was switched by a Totaldac D1-Seven / streamer and a Grandinote digital source

Close-up of the Mach 4 speakers

When I dropped in, the Grandinote Demone monoblock amplifiers were in play. Cabling was a mixture of Luna Cables and Verastarr. Great system - One of my favourites of the show !

Audioline

Live demonstration of different CD pressings. How about a $2,000 glass disc or a much cheaper Ultimate HQCD press ? Very nice demonstration which really showcased how much difference a pressing could make. 

Really impressive sound from Accuphase electronics and Diapason Dynamis speakers. I adored the various models from Diapason. Boring boxes ? Certainly not here.

TGI Technology

The biggest surprise had to come from these cute speakers. Take a plastic sphere and mount a full range driver with accompanying electronics and battery pack, and you get the Eupho E3 speaker. Connection can be done via Bluetooth, USB, 3.5mm minijack or Toslink optical. 

Weighing just 1.6 kg, these speakers sounded remarkably good for their price tag. At $399 for a single speaker (including tripod stand, leather carrying strap and table-top mount), there is no excuse not to get one. Who said lifestyle speakers had to sound bad or break the bank ? And yes, two of these can communicate wirelessly to form a stereo pair. 

On to the 7th floor rooms :-

Advanced Audio Acoustics

The second surprise of the day had to come from these LS3/5A inspired speakers (the JM 3/5A SE. At $750, they sounded really good. Some mention was made of a special deal for the show, and I ran as fast I could before I succumbed to temptation. 

Tritone AV

I sat at front row and predicted a bass boom and poor driver integration given the near-field position and small room. Guess what ? They sounded great - very precise, transparent and dynamic. Makes me wonder why Legacy speakers aren't more popular locally. They certainly deserve to be. I had to check with Mervyn Loh, MD of Tritone to ensure that they were not running any form of room correction software. This gets my vote for best sound of the 7th floor.

Telos Asia Pacific

Project Perfection

Raindrop Audio

Ray Ng of Raindrop has always assembled good sounding setups, and this year is no different. The setup was a mix of SoTM and Ayon equipment and sounded very good. I liked this setup very much. 

Audionote Singapore

Audio 88

To be continued ...