International Sound & Sight Exhibition (ISSE) ran from the 2nd to 4th of December 2022 at Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre. This is the very first ISSE held since the COVID pandemic.
Here are the pictures taken and my commentary on the rooms. Apologies for missing out on some rooms due to time constraints.
EAhibrid and Cornerstone Audio
This room was shared by three exhibitors, EAhibrid, Cornerstone Audio, and a Thai gentleman that was demonstrating his tweaks and footers. EAhibrid was showcasing their Pure DC B1 battery supply that uses 2170 lithium batteries that are also used in Tesla EVs. Mr. Paul Huang, founder of EAhibrid explained some of the technology used in the Pure DC B1. I happen to have one at home, so I will do a detailed review on that soon.
Cornerstone Audio is new to ISSE. For such a young company, they have an impressive list of brands under their belt, including Quadraspire (racks), QLN speakers, Sean Jacob power supplies and Lab 12.
The very cute looking accessory is both a resonator and grounding device. Called "Meow", they are sold in both male and female version. The ears act as a waveguide and the tail unscrews to accept the grounding cable.
Atlas Sound & Vision
Atlas had two systems on demo. The first system was a combination of NAD electronics and GoldenEar speakers. The limited edition NAD C 3050 LE was available for pre-order too. The classic looks were really attractive. This system surprised me with its big and dynamic sound. I was convinced that the big GoldenEar tower speakers were playing, but it turned out to be the diminutive BRX bookshelf speakers. I did a professional review on these, so I really should have seen it coming.
The Accuphase and KEF setup oozed refinement and control. This was even more surprising as the music was being streamed through a Bluesound Node wireless streamer which was connected to a DAC card in the Accuphase amplifier. Really nice sounding setup!
High End Research
High End Research assembled a relatively modest system this year (by their standards) with A Metronome CD player, Electrocompaniet preamp, Pass Labs power amp and Wilson Audio Alexa V speakers.
Horizon Acoustics and Project Perfection
Horizon paired their electronics (Totaldac server and DAC, Modwright buffer, AGD pre and monobloc amplifier) with Project Perfection's Diptyque speakers. The sound was very comfortable, relaxing and resolving at the same time.
The Modwright Analog Bridge is an especially interesting product. Offering a choice of both 6922 and 6SN7 tubes which are switchable on-the-fly, the Analog Bridge also uses a 5AR4 tube rectified power supply. This is the perfect candidate for adding tube warmth into a system. You could use it after a DAC with digital volume control, or a passive preamp.
Project Perfection
Project Perfection used Audio Research Electronics with Apertura speakers. It baffles me how they got so much clean and deep bass from that modest-sized two way speaker!
Stardust Pictures Pte Ltd
All eyes and ears were on the Falcon LS3/5A gold badge speakers, and for good reason. Supremely musical and engaging, I saw two orders being placed while I was in the room. Stardust are also newly appointed distributors for Alexandria Audio from Bali.
Simplicity Control - Magico and Luxman
Absolutely beautiful Luxman electronics paired with Magico speakers.
Ong Radio
I've always had a soft spot for the soft blue meters from the big M. Ong Radio was playing some soft relaxing music when I was there, which was a perfect match for the hypnotic meters.
Reference Audio
CH Precision and Melco electronics, with Gryphon speakers and amplifier.
Simplicity Control - The "If you have to ask, you can't afford it" Room
At a wallet busting $ 1,081,925 this system is destined only for the extremely well-heeled. Once upon a time, this would have been considering an eye-watering price tag, but thanks to soaring property costs, this sum only covers about 70-80% of the cost of centrally located public housing in Singapore.
Consisting of Goebel speakers, EMMLabs digital equipment, Kronos/J Sikora/ DS Audio analog equipment, Pilium amplification and Albedo/Goebel cabling, I would describe the sound as tight and supremely controlled.
Sound Decisions
The Sound Decisions boys had a variety of stuff on display. When I was there, the Dutch & Dutch 8C speakers were in play. Supported by an able cast of an Innuous streamer, Merason DAC and Synergistic Research power conditioner, these speakers sounded wonderful. On the last day, room equalisation was employed. So if you heard them on the first and second day, you didn't hear them at their best. These had a tight, grippy and highly detailed sound.
The Perraux and Amphion gear colourway was quite striking, and may just seal the deal if you are having problems with the Minister of Home Affairs.
Sky Audio
The Divini Reference 8 speakers sounded good. The drivers look like they are from the Scanspeak Revelator series. Partnering electronics were from SPL. In consistent Sky Audio fashion, the setup was tuned to be musical and engaging.
Yamaha Singapore
Having heard the NS-5000 speakers at previous ISSE, I can confirm that these are truly special speakers. The previous pairing with Pass Lab amplification was more to my liking though, but these are still worth further investigation.
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