The Best Sound Ever !!!

Last Saturday I went to the KLIAV (Kuala Lumpur International Audio Visual) Exhibition with a bunch of my friends. It was an unforgettable experience to which I will detail further in this post.

The Exhibition runs for 3 days from 24th (Friday) to 26th(Sunday) and the entrance fee is RM 10 per person. The exhibition is held at the 5 star JW Marriott Hotel Kuala Lumpur which is beside two ultra luxurious shopping centre's, Pavilion KL and Starhill Gallery. The crowd was quite huge. Many of them consist of audiophiles and videophiles.

Large Crowd in the Main Exhibition Hall

Ok, I'll start with the basic systems and proceed on to the more advanced reference ones, which are located at the Conference Centre of JW Marriott.

First up, we have home theatre systems on demo by 'Desa Home Theatre Sdn Bhd'. These are relatively basic entry level systems, costing between RM 10000 and RM 30000 (yeah thats entry level in the high end world). Pictures to follow.

Entry level Home Theatre Package

Next, we have some midrange integrated and power amps by Marantz. These units costs about RM 30000 each and are quite good. Some of them have the word KI in their name, which stands for 'Ken Ishiwata' (the lead design engineer for Marantz).

Quoted by Marantz Themselves:

"The KI Signature series is a personalised range produced by Ken Ishiwata that represents the cutting edge of design and engineering expertise. Each component is individually selected and painstakingly crafted to obtain the highest audio quality. In final preparation, each model is rigorously tested for 48 hours to ensure flawless musical reproduction. Every component in the KI Signature series is constructed using anti-vibration solid metal and has a copper-plated chassis to reduce signal-degrading electromagnetic radiation and mechanical vibration. The use of UK-designed toroidal power transformers, with ultra-low vibration and leakage flux, also helps keep signals sharp"

Marantz Amplifiers Marantz SA7-SI SACD player

Next, we have this crazy dude who modifies car audio systems. This guy even managed to fit in a 42 Inch Pioneer KURO Plasma Display into the backseat, by pushing the seats to the trunk compartment area. Absolutely wicked !!! Take a look :

42 Inch KURO Plasma for backseat viewers

The Pioneer Surround Speakers and amplifiers behind the backseat

Moving on to the 7th and 8th floors of JW Marriott, we could sense the aura of high end creeping in. What we have here (in the pic below) is a very unique audio source. Take a look at the white MacBook on the far right. The MacBook acts as a digital audio source, delivering pure audio signals via Firewire 400 to a Weiss DAC (Digital to Analogue Converter). The signal from the DAC is then transferred to the Gryphon Pre-Amplifier and Gryphon Colosseum Power Amplifier which provides the juice for delivering the sound to the loudspeakers.

P/S: Sry my lens wasn't wide enough to capture the entire scene

The Gryphon System

We then proceeded further to the 'Audio Perfectionist Sdn Bhd' showroom. On demo was a McIntosh 1k Reference system. We tested a couple of tracks from the CD and was ultimately dumbfounded by the ultra high realism and dynamics of the sound. It sounded very "alive". Mind you, the speakers in the picture below are taller than me (my height is 172cm). It was just really musical. A guy in front of me asked the supervisor this question:

"How much does this whole set cost? RM 500,000?"

He replied, " You are close, its RM 470,000 to be exact"

The Mcintosh Systems

Thats all for today, there's so much to write about and I will continue within the next few days. Took me quite long to write this up. Stay tuned for the next post where I will detail more about a few other systems including the dCS Scarlatti - The World's best CD Player.

Hybrid Powers the Future Generation

I was in 1Utama shopping centre last Saturday. It was eco week and there were many eco friendly items on sale. I was looking around and stumbled upon something I cant resist looking at. It was a half cut version of the Toyota Prius Hybrid. The Prius Hybrid is currently not available for sale in Malaysia due to unknown reasons. This magnificent hybrid car uses a variety of advanced technology which I will detail here.

The Prius Hybrid (2010 model)

I was given a leaflet by the guy in charge of the Prius model. The leaflet is very informative, describing how the Prius Hybrid system could change the future by being more economical and environmental friendly

Revolutionizing What You Know About Cars !!!

Insides of the leaflet explaining the technology

You might all be wondering..."How does this hybrid technology works?"

"How can it provide excellent Fuel efficiency?"

"Why should I buy one when its finally in Malaysia?"

I will try my best to simplify things for you and answering the 3 questions above.

1. "How does this hybrid technology works?"

Take a look at the conventional car. Everyone knows that it is driven purely by the Engine. The engine is like the central core of the car (an important part), similar to what our heart is to our body. In a hybrid car however, there are 2 main core components instead of one. An electric motor and the usual engine, illustrated in the diagram below

Multi Information Display in the Prius Hybrid

This picture shows the Multi Information Display located in the center dashboard of the Prius Hybrid. It provides useful information such as current fuel consumption (99.9 miles per gallon), outside temperature, and also how is the energy currently distributed.

There needs to be a large battery in order to provide power for the electric motor, since the electric motor does not run on petrol unlike the main engine. Toyota implements a ultra large capacity NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) battery in the rear trunk compartment(boot) of the Prius. The reason why Toyota did not went with lighter and higher capacity Li-Ion(Lithium Ion) batteries is because they are not as stable as NiMH batteries and has a higher risk of explosion, similar to that of laptop and cellphone batteries (both running Li-Ion technology)

UPDATE : Toyota has produced a new system which uses Lithium Ion batteries. It's called the plug in hybrid system where you can charge the Li-Ion battery of the car by plugging it to your home power supply (aint it cool?). I will talk more about that in future posts.

Energy consumption and regeneration chart shown in the dashboard of the Prius

The following image shows the inverter unit of the Hybrid Synergy Drive System. This inverter is used to convert DC (direct current) from the NiMH battery into AC (alternating current) in order to power the electric motor

The Toyota Hybrid Synergy Inverter Unit

Now, the hybrid system operates differently under a variety of conditions as follows:

1. Start Up/Low or mid Speed Cruise
2. Normal cruising
3. Sudden Acceleration
4. Deceleration and Braking

During start Up/Low or mid speed cruise, the engine is not used at all. The electric motor uses power from the NiMH battery to propel the vehicle. Since the electric motor does not run on petrol, fuel consumption is zero and carbon monoxide emssions from the engine are null. This condition is frequently encountered in day to day city driving such as driving around town.

Under Normal Cruising conditions, such as during high speed drives in the expressway, both the engine and electric motor works together to provide the ultimate balance between fuel consumption and power allocation. An intelligent power split device located in the Hybrid Synergy Drive system cleverly distributes the correct amount of power to the engine and electric motor. Part of the power produced by the engine is used to run a generator to recharge the NiMH battery.

When sudden acceleration is required, such as when overtaking a slower car, part of the engine power is no longer used to charge the NiMH battery. Instead, the NiMH battery provides additional power to the electric motor enabling it to run at a higher speed and produce a greater amount of power and response.

In a conventional car, all the energy used to build up the car to a certain speed is lost when the driver brakes the car. This process is highly inefficient and could not be avoided. The Hybrid Synergy Drive system makes up for this loss by chanelling the energy wasted from the turning wheels to drive the generator and charge the NiMH battery, saving the energy for future use. Unlike a conventional car, during braking the Hybrid Synergy Drive system intelligently shuts off the engine, cutting off petrol consumption and carbon monoxide emissions

2."How can it provide excellent Fuel efficiency?"

The Hybrid Synergy Drive system provides excellent fuel efficiency using 2 main methods. By switching off the engine entirely during braking, and using the braking energy to generate kinetic energy which is converted to electrical energy stored in the NiMH battery. Since the vehicle is powered by both engine and electric motor, the size and capacity of the engine can be reduced, providing better fuel efficiency due to the lower CC engine.

3."Why should I buy one when its finally in Malaysia?"

The Prius is an excellent marvel in engineering technology. Imagine driving around town without worries of spending too much on petrol and also worrying about greenhouse effects with carbon monoxide emissions. Petrol prices are steadily rising in Malaysia and the Prius Hybrid is Toyota's answer to consumers pleading for an ultra fuel efficient vehicle.

I will definitely get my hands on one of them if ever Toyota brings it into Malaysia (provided I have enough money of course =P)

Tamrac Velocity 9x

Finally, after abandoning my blog for such a long time....hmm i think its a year, its coming back alive.
I picked up this photography hobby a couple of months ago and got myself a DSLR. I've been taking alot of photos since then.
Take a look at my gallery at http://flickr.com/photos/28067948@N02/.
Anyway, the crave for lenses took over after i got a DSLR. U jus cant resist the temptation looking at those big big lenses. DROOL
Since im getting pretty serious about photography, i decided to purchase a proper bag as a home to all my photography gear. The free bag given by Canon was of such poor quality i doubt my gear could survive a minor downpour.
I went to London Camera Exchange in Piccadilly Manchester today and got myself a Tamrac Velocity 9x sling bag.
Ok to put things into perspective, i'll first show how the free Canon sling bag looks like. Here it is:


And the inside's look like this

I know all of u girls will say its a really pretty bag.
Let me describe the disadvantages of it:

1. The build quality of the bag is unsurprisingly poor. The materials its made off is thin and clumsy, does not give you the solid and durable feel.
   
2. It does not have a zipper so when it rains(it always do in Manchester), rain water will sip in through the opening on the sides and get onto ur DSLR......OOOPS...
3. Look at the first picture of the bag. It bears the name EOS DIGITAL. EOS stands for Electro Optical System, which is the brand name for Canon's extensive line up of DSLR's. Now, what would you think is in the bag if ur a thief and u see someone walking around with this bag? This bag certainly cannot be relied on to carry ur expensive L series lenses and DSLR bodies.
4. This bag is a shoulder type bag, where the strap goes on your shoulder and thats the way you carry it. This is not good because as you add more equipment, the weight of all those equipment on 1 shoulder is high and I guarantee u will need to visit your chiropractor after hauling it for a couple of hours.
5. After only a few months using it, the threads begin to come loose, as you can see here:

After doing some extensive research on brands like Lowepro, Tamrac, Crumpler and Kata, I finally settled on the Tamrac Velocity 9x sling bag. All the brands I mentioned are specialized in producing camera bags.
Tamrac produces several versions of the Velocity including 5x,6x,7x,8x. The 9x is the largest model and i chose it so because it provides room for future equipments.
Anyway, here it is, all in its glory:


The design is somehow reminiscent of a turtle when i look at it online. It looks abit cute. Dont let the cuteness of it fool you. This bag is made of tough and durable materials that can take plenty of abuse. Its extremely solid and satisfying to carry it around. You feel safe, knowing that your gear is protected.

It addresses all of the weakness of the free Canon bag i addressed above.
It has a zipper to prevent rain water from getting in. Furthermore, the zippers are protected from rain via the flaps that cover it. Shown here:


Here is the shot of the back:

And the insides:


The camera body goes into the middle compartment. The dividers are attached via velcro straps in the bag and are really strong. The two vertical padded devices are reinforced with plastic to further protect your valuable lenses.

Its much roomier than the free Canon bag and build quality is top notch.

The interior of the front pocket looks like this:


Those red flaps are part of what Tamrac call their Memory and Battery management system. We photographers usually carry plenty of spare batteries for our flashes and some extra memory cards. Tamrac uses this system to alleviate the problems of not knowing which battery has been used and which are the fresh ones, as you can indicate them as empty using the red flaps. Btw, Tamrac patented this innovative and simple concept of theirs.

The bag addresses the security problem by the design itself and also two security buckles on the sides of the bag. Firstly, the bag does not look like a camera bag at all. It looks like a usual sling bag. The security buckles protect ur kit from pickpockets as it cant be opened within a split second. The buckles too are extremely rigid and solid.

All in all, i can say its a really good bag and im happy i bought it albeit the high price. Im sure it will definitely serve me well for now and years to come.

P/S - The Tamrac logo looks so kool and trendy