The Adelphi - hifi heaven in Singapore

I just got back from Singapore and thought I would share some quick snippets of the famous Adephi centre. 4 floors (not the orchard road variety) that is filled with a lot of the hifi one would dream seeing in one location outside of as hifi show. I spent about 6 hours on Monday and 3 hours on Thursday listening to a few select systems.

ps my bias's are generally against SS and digital as they have the ability to remove most of the true harmonics and tone of instruments and from music - so take any SQ comments with a grain of salt.

Great sound

hifi.com.sg - 2nd floor from memory- really well laid out shop and listened to system comprising of TW Acustics table, with Air tight ac-3 cart, air tight ATE 2001 full function pre amp, air tight ATM 211 monoblocks with huge Avantgarde Duo Mezzo speakers. Yes BIG HORNS

Frankly I had not really heard a large horn system. This thing took me by surprise and sounded really wonderful. No honking here, just music - music presented in a effortless way of the organic wholeness, not music presented as bass/mids/treble. One looking critically could say that it did not have endless highs or booming lows, but frankly you did not care as it was fatigue free music. Wille Nelson with Winston Marcellis never sounded so alive and pure. Elvis came alive singing Moody Blue and way on Down.

We started with the phono inside the airtight re pre amp, went to the just as expensive multi faceted AMR phono ( built like a brick). I can see with all the adjustments including eq's, you could really get this to sing. For fun I asked the guy to bring in the little - but oh so retro beautiful Leben phono from the small system. This is a MM only, so it should have not worked with the air tight MC, but thanks to the 107db Avantgarde speakers, even the owner's jaw dropped when he heard the purity, tone and music makiing ability of the little Leben.

Very impressed with the sound and customer care the owner gave me for over 90 minutes.

MBL - got there on Thursday and it was full of mainly MBL and some Rowland. Frankly I was expecting SS hell from the big MBL's with their true omni directional speakers and not a turntable in siight.

I had a listen to the MBL's famous MBL 101's driven by 4 x 9008's with 1621 transport & 1611 d/a.

This thing sounded really great with a huge wraparound soundstage and focus that was frankly unbelievable. That the speakers could dissappear so easily from around 8 feet away was spooky. This system had detail galore. but presented in a laid back manner that was not in your face.

This really did make the really good recordings shine. The helicopter from the start of Floyd's another brick wall was awesome. They guy played a version of then theme from hawaii 5 O that sounded unbelievable.

The guy cringed when I played Everlast singing Leave your lights on - on Santana's supernatural album, but I still thought it sounded quite good, but you could hear the compression vs the other music we had played.

This shop even had a few photo albums that he showed customers installs and rooms etc to show the versatility of the MBL's.

Overall, completey different if equally valid take on recorded music. The guy just laughed, he said many of his customers had turntables and never played CD's as they sounded bad. MBL gets CD to soung good, so imgaine how much better having a turntable in the system would sound - he had a great point.

The best SS system I have heard.

Very Good

thew trouble with so many of the shops in the Adelphi - or most shops in generally is the appalling lack of musical variety. If I ever hear another perfect Jazz female vocalist or the perfect blues blues recording I will puke.

This system comprised of Electrocompaniet CD player played thru Bel canto dac, , reference preamplifier, Nemo monoblocks and Thiel 3.7 speakers. This system sounded clean, dynamic, smooth, enuf harmonic's to keep me interested.

It is just the music was so mind numbingly boring I could not really get a handle on how it would play rock n roll or elctronic music for example - I would imagine quite well.

Not so great

I was looking for to listening to the Ayre/Avalon system. Ayre CD/SACD player, KXR pre, MXR mono blocks, all hooked up with the insanely expensive MIT Oracle ic's and speaker cables and the new Avalon Time speakers.

Hmmm, sounded controlled, dry, small shallow soundstage, forward and thin in the upper mids and lower treable. In fact the more I think about it, it just sounded like mediocre SS harmonically bleahced equipment. It may have been a setup issue, who knows.

a big dissappointment, expecially when I went to the MBL room after that.

The Worst

Combo HT/stereo room. Room was really good, Lexicon precessor, ML pre and power amps with the top of the line Revel Salon's - music bring driven by some music server where you choose the songs from the big screen.

the upper midrange and lower treble on this system were as thin as a piece of glass. As soon as any quitars, hi hats, midrange action or dymanics happened in the music, it was harsh and metallic almost as if it was being showed thru an aluminium tube.

Could not get out of there fast enuf.

there you go.

What an adventure TT,

Thanks for taking the time to describe it. I have heard stories from others of the fabled Singapore hifi scene, but that it had generally dwindled away. Good to hear there are a good few places left to experience these dream systems.

Grimmie

I would say from visiting the Adelphi that it probably used to be better, however it is still very good. Certainly teh best thing to do in a city that does seem like one great Westfield shopping centre.

for example the ex conrad johnson importer looked like he owned a s/h repair centre. No wonder cj dropped him and is looking for another rep.

There are 3 good record stores on level 2, one had plenty of nice Japanese vinyl.

The stores in HK are spread around a bit, and some of the higher end brands do show the non natives a bit of attitude, where the Sing guys seemed quite Ok for me to listen and take up their time.

cheers

Good job they weren't French TT

Then you'd have seen attitude.

G

PS> Where the hell is that Voltaire character these days?

Thanks for the write up and most enjoyable to have an imaginary tour the mall through your experience.I went on a Sunday back in Jan and it was a lousy move.

I laughed at this description.:o

" it was harsh and metallic almost as if it was being showed thru an aluminium tube.

Could not get out of there fast enuf."

hifi.com.sg - 2nd floor from memory- (...)

Very impressed with the sound and customer care the owner gave me for over 90 minutes.

Was this the owner by any chance:

[ATTACH]18765[/ATTACH]

... if so, he is an old uni mate of mine from many years ago :o He owns Audio Note Singapore and hifi.com.sg.

I have not been to the Adelphi for many years. Sounds like it is the same as it has always been. The last time I went I hardly got any service, but that was probably because I was still a student and looked as if I had no money to spend (and I didn't!).

Was this the owner by any chance:

[ATTACH]18765[/ATTACH]

... if so, he is an old uni mate of mine from many years ago :o He owns Audio Note Singapore and hifi.com.sg.

I have not been to the Adelphi for many years. Sounds like it is the same as it has always been. The last time I went I hardly got any service, but that was probably because I was still a student and looked as if I had no money to spend (and I didn't!).

Keith, No, the owners name is Cecil. No Desmonds that I could see.

I still think business is slow, so perhaps that is why I got great customer service - or it could have been my boyish good looks and charm - nah business is slow.