Audyssey: South of Market (SoMa) Audio Dock

They claim to be "the best sounding dock in the market." And I think they are right.

Eugene from Sound Decisions invited me to experience this 13x23x23cm sound machine at their showroom at The Adelphi. When I arrived there, he first took us on a brief tour of the showroom. The 150-inch projection-screen home theatre set-up was awe-inspiring. But that's not what I was there for.

He then promptly led me to where the SoMa dock was placed. After sharing some technical specs, he docked his iPhone onto the port and played some music through it. Frankly, it sounded fabulous. There was no doubt on the kind of quality that this small box can deliver. The designers from Audyssey have proven again that size does not matter. The amazing part was that the SoMa dock was placed between a pair of floor speakers and it appears as if the sounds came from the big speakers!

Non-iPhone devices can also be used! SoMa Audio Dock functions as bluetooth audio speakers, as a speakerphone, even as speakers to your existing audio devices using line-in connection. You can also customise the sound EQ using an iPhone app. You could even dock your iPad, but due to the iPad size, the frontal sound direction is slightly blocked. In essence, the SoMa dock should not be placed in an enclosed area so that the sound can fill the room.

I was surprised that there are many normal-branded docks selling around the price range of S$300 - $600, with some specialised audio brands going up to $1000. Based on in-store samples, they sounded like normal home system speakers. But here is Audyssey, the brand behind all the audio technologies that go into high-end audio equipments like Marantz, Denon, Onkyo, selling for S$635. For that, the Audyssey SoMa dock is reasonably priced with that kind of exceptional audiophile quality it produces and the connectivity it offers to non-iPhone devices.

Don't take my ear for it. Go for an audio test and experience yourself.

P.S. The sound is that good that my audiophile colleague is seriously considering to buy one.

Sony Headphones Review: MDR-EX1000 and MDR-Z1000

On 14 June 2011, Sony Electronics Asia Pacific officially launches the new high performance monitor series headphones - the MDR-EX1000, MDR-EX600, MDR-EX510SL, MDR-EX310SL, as well as the flagship professional studio monitoring headphones, MDR-Z1000. On the same day, Waggener Edstrom (PR agency for Sony) couriered me the MDR-EX1000 and MDR-Z1000 for my review.

The media review package comes in a customised box complete with gold engraving of my name. Sliding off the obi reveals the caption "Ready for the Purest Sound Experience?"

Opening the box reveals another teaser: "Immerse Yourself in Audio Perfection."

Underneath the top box compartment is a carefully-crafted message signed by the Chief Engineer, N. Tsunoda and Engineer, B. Matsuo, of the headphones and a DVD of media photos.

Removing the cardboard finally reveals the headphones.

On the left is the MDR-EX1000, the row of colour-tagged earbuds with 10 different sizes.

On the right is the MDR-Z1000.

Such attention to detail even for a media package! I am mentally prepared for an audio experience as promised!

MDR-Z1000
The design is a luxury. Lightweight magnesium alloy housing and silky-soft urethane cushions offer me the much-needed comfort. The headphones are driven by 50mm driver units that uses newly-designed liquid crystal polymer film diaphragm, delivers a frequency response of 5 - 80,000 Hz, low 24-ohm impedance and high 108dB/mW sensitivity, and wired by 7N OFC Litz cord.

MDR-Z1000 Photos compiled from Sony press kit

So, how does it actually sound?

Making comparison to my S$120 Sennheiser HD215, while the MDR-Z1000 is priced 5 times more, it does not sound 5 times better. The MDR-Z1000 sounds warmer and delivers more bass than the HD215, yet the high frequencies are still delivered without compromise. The soundstaging of the MDR-Z1000 is tighter than the HD215 and offers better acoustic isolation. The headphones feel more secure around my ears without discomfort. I can't say which of the two I would prefer, but it's certain that they both offer different tonality to the kind of music you are listening to.

MDR-Z1000 excels in delivering a warmer sound and controlled treble frequency without sounding noisy. I also prefer wearing the MDR-Z1000. Its asymmetrical left-right design gives an ergonomically perfect fit (you can't wear the headphones the other way round).


MDR-EX1000
I have owned quite a few in-ear headphones, none of them quite made for professional use. The reason for not investing in one is that I seldom indulge myself in personal portable stereo listening since I do not commute to work in public transport. So I am contented with the occasional listening of the stock headphones that come with the gadgets I bought.

I remember during my Secondary school days, I was very particular with the quality of my personal stereos, and my audio investment is exclusively on a pair of top-grade Sony earphones. After more than 2 decades, I finally got a chance to re-experience Sony earphones.

MDR-EX1000 Photos compiled from Sony press kit

The MDR-EX1000 is the most comfortable pair of in-ear monitor headphones I have tried. All the other in-ear monitor headphones felt uncomfortable and "intrusive", so I usually prefer to use the traditonal earbuds headphones. The magnesium alloy housing units do look unusually large against the ears, but it's surprisingly light and the weight is distributed as the cables looped over the ears. Instead of hard plastic mould, the loop is made of flexible material that is easily shaped to fit around your ears.

I like how the sound is balanced across the entire frequency spectrum, produced accurately from the original source. The bass is not as encompassing as the MDR-Z1000, but that's to be expected due to the obvious driver size difference. If the headphones are used at outdoors where there's lots of ambient noises, you might not get the optimal audio quality. So I would recommend that you use this for portable monitoring of quality audio tracks.

Final Thoughts
It's a privilege to review the 2 top-range headphones from Sony. They are truly delightful to listen to and offer great comfort. If price is of any indication of quality, then these headphones might not be the ultimate best in the market - there are headphones that cost above US$1000! Still, it's good to know that Sony has produced their very best.

Price-aside, every person's audio perception and sensitivity is different. So the only way to judge is to experience yourself - if you get the chance - and decide if you like what you hear.

Fire at My Apartment Block

24 Jun 2011: A fire broke out at one of the units in my apartment after midnight.

At about 1am, the fire alarm went off, which was quite normal at our condo. That was why most of the residents like me would ignore and stayed at home. At that time, I was watching DVD and wifey just returned from a company event.

What triggered further attention was when I started to smell smoke. Wifey also ran out of her room and appeared to notice the situation was unusual (she later told me she heard people shouting "Fire!" which triggered her attention). I calmly walked towards the main door, trying to pin-point where the smell came from. When I opened the door, I found my answer: smoke was seen slowly building up along the common corridor.

As I was never been put in a real fire emergency situation, I somewhat felt lost for a minute. My mind wandered and wondered: Was this considered an emergency? Should I stay in our house? Should I just dash out? Do I have time to pack something with me as we flee? Should I switch off all electricity? Do I have time to plan? Is the fire very near my unit, which warrants me to leave instantly? Or is the fire at somewhere distant, which gives me more time to settle the logistics?

Eventually, wifey's reactions said it all. LET'S RUN FOR OUR LIVES! (Ok a bit dramatised). We woke up our helper and Mayenne, who was sound asleep throughout the alarm. She wailed a little, but eventually she was cooperative and did not cry as we made our escape. I grabbed my wallet, my mobile phone and my house keys, put my computer into sleep mode, switched off some lights and left a few on, wetted some towels to allow us to breathe through the smoke.

And off we went.

By the time we got to the stairs, we saw many residents already making their way down. After descending for about 3 levels, we found that the smoke was getting thicker. We panicked: does that mean we are stuck at the upper floors and unable to descend? Should we head towards the roof? My first thought was that we should just push on, because the longer we wait, the thicker the smoke would become.

To add to the fear, we had no idea where the fire and smoke came from. Were we actually walking into danger? Should we stay put and wait for professional help (i.e. firemen)?

Good thing every block has 2 flights of stairs, so we thought of trying the other flight of stairs which could have lesser smoke. We were right. We managed to get past the floor that the smoke originated (5th floor), and the rest of the descent was smoke-free.

By the time we got down, the Civil Defence Fire Engine was already there, which meant that the fire was ongoing for quite a while. The security guards were shouting across the void deck, apparently due to some miscommunication, but it was soon brought under control. All the residents waited at the open space. No ambulance came, which meant there was no casualty.

I took a peek at the burning unit, which was facing the guard house. There was thick black smoke bellowing out from the window, but no visible fire.

For a good 30 minutes, residents were still trickling down from the apartment. They  probably lived at the upper levels so was not aware of the situation till much later. We waited for more than half an hour, and seemed that it's not going to end soon, so I decided to bring Mayenne to my mother-in-law who stayed about 5 minutes drive. The thing was: I noticed no one drove off the cars, so I thought it would be rather awkward to drive off, as if I was running away, an act of "kiasi" (afraid to die). I didn't want to be made a talking point as "the only resident who drove his car away to prevent his car from being damaged". So I brought my family to the main road, hailed a cab, and sent them off while I waited at the scene for updates.

Once wifey settled Mayenne, she came back on the same cab, and by then the police was already releasing the residents back to their homes, one floor at a time. When our turn came, we had to waddle up the staircase - the lifts were not operational - amidst the puddles of water and retardant foam used to put out the fire. Then we reached the floor where it all started.

Surreal.

Once we got back to our house, we washed ourselves up. It's amazing how much black soot our nostrils accumulated over the short exposure to the smoke during our escape. And how much these soot would have gone into our lungs. So, a warning to all: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE SMOKE FROM DOMESTIC FIRE. The composition is not the same as incense smoke or BBQ smoke. Just one breath and you can feel the choke.

We finally got into bed and lighted out at 3.30am, but we never did have a good rested sleep. Our senses were still open to any sensitive sounds or smell, in case of after effects.

This morning, I left office at 8am. The lift was still not working, so I had to take the stairs. I walked past level 5, and decided to take a look at the unit that was burnt. Other than the black soot, the door and gate and the false ceiling still looked intact. It appears that it's just a smoke built up. The fire probably wasn't big enough to  cause major damage to the common areas.

So finally I have encountered a real fire situation, and made me think what we could have done better, or if the situation was more serious. Here are my thoughts:

1. Equip with a fire extinguisher at home - in case the fire occurs right outside your unit.
2. Prepare a list of items that you want to bring with you, so that you can grab them without thinking.
3. Store some emergency items in the car so that you can have alternate source to turn to.
4. Switch off all electrical appliances, and close all room doors, so that it will slow down the spread of fire. If fire does not come from inside your house, close all windows - so that smoke or water from outside will not damage your property.

I also hope that an alternate notification is provided to residents instead of just fire alarm. This is because of the frequent occurrences of false alarms that most people would disregard the bells. Such notification should be non-automated, e.g. getting a loud hailer to announce the emergency. Anything that make it sound like it's done by a human and not an automated system that could be mistaken as a test message.

This incident actually brought the community closer, because with only 1 of the 4 lifts working, we got to meet more people at the lift lobby and in the lift and there is a common topic to talk about.

ASUS Transformer TF101: Experiential Review

There are many reasons to get a new gadget. My reason for getting the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer is a light-powered light-weight multi-functional computing device. My current iPad would have fit the bill if not for the following limitations:

• The soft keyboard is not suitable for extended typing, say, writing blogs.
• iPad does not support Adobe Flash, and because of that, many websites do not display properly. That totally spoils the web surfing experience.
• No multi-tasking. Only one app can run at any time. Which means I cannot make one app do some kind of background processing (e.g. image processing, news feeds, file downloads) while I access another app.
• Inadequate notification engine. While iOS 5 offers better notification features, it is still not as flexible as Android.

The only good thing I'd say the iOS platform offers is the reliability of the apps. If you need an app to do a darn good job, then iOS delivers. The app store is more organised and offers all sorts of visually exciting apps in the name of entertainment.

A netbook/laptop doesn't exactly fit my requirements because its functions are an exact duplicate of a desktop in a smaller package. A laptop generates more heat, is heavier, does not go on standby as fast as Android/iOS tablets. Also, a netbook with a low-spec processor running on Windows 7 probably runs laggier than the Android doing equivalent functions.


So, what can I do with the Transformer?

Wrong question. The question you should ask is: what can the Transformer do for me? Let me count the ways.


At Work - with the keyboard dock

The first impression that everyone has on the Transformer is "netbook". In fact, no one notices anything unique about it until I start to tap on the screen. Would you agree with me that when someone uses a tablet during office meeting, he is seen to be "playing" instead of doing work? With the keyboard dock, I can really do work with the Transformer. Two weeks back, when I had problems with my office laptop, I actually took out the Transformer and use for work - taking notes, managing office email. Even after owning the iPad for nearly a year and bringing it to work almost every day, I never could use it to do work, simply because of the on-screen keyboard that takes half the screen space. The ability to dock and fold like a netbook adds to the portability and convenience. The Transformer also comes pre-installed with Polaris Office, proven by independent comparisons and reviews to be the best app that loads your MS Office documents most accurately.

As my Transformer is Wi-Fi only, I Internet-tether to my iPhone 3GS via Bluetooth, which I feel is consumes less battery and delivers higher reliability. I can also tether to my Samsung Galaxy S via the usual Mobile AP (Access Point) protocol.

Battery life is magnificent. With the keyboard dock, I am supposed to get up to 16 hours without charge, although realistic reviews put it at about 13 hours. Still a feat compared to the peers.


File Management: 2 USB Ports  + 2 Storage Slots
A computer is nothing without apps and data. Getting data into the Transformer is extremely simple. You can of course use the Cloud to access your data - apps like Dropbox and Google Docs lets you access your documents, edit it, and save it back to the Cloud.

For off-line access, Transformer offers you 2 full-size USB ports, 1 microSD slot, and 1 MMC/SD slot. You can plug all 4 storage devices at one go and move your files around. Having these standard ports make the Transformer even more computer-like and there is no roadblock on the ability to access any data from the most common storage devices.

On your favourite file manager, click the file you want to view, and if there are multiple apps that support the file, a pop-up will ask you which app you wish to open this file with. To remove this nag, you may choose to define a default app (similar to your desktop OS).


Remote Desktop and Content Access Apps unique to ASUS Transformer
The Transformer comes pre-installed with a suite of ASUS apps that improves your usage experience. You can easily remote access your desktop with MyCloud, or view your photos, music and videos from your DLNA-supported devices with MyNet. To achieve the same functionality for other tablets would require separate app purchases, so it's so nice that ASUS throws in as part of the deal.

ASUS also provides free webstorage for a limited time, and a music content platform asus@vibe where you can listen to free music stations or purchase music content.


Multimedia Showcase- Videos, Music and Photos
The Transformer isn't that impressive when it comes to multimedia. The built-in front and rear cameras don't offer as high-quality image capture as my Samsung Galaxy S, though I find no reason why I should be using my huge tablet for serious photo or video capture.

Video playback compatibility is also not that versatile - my Galaxy S can playback exotic high-definition video formats like MKV without lag, yet the Transformer stutters with the same files. Having said that, most of the mainstream file formats like AVI and simple-profile MP4 play just fine using third-party video apps, and when it plays well, the display quality shines.

To me, the lack of true multi-format video support is not a deal breaker as I could still stream content from my home networked PC using VLC Direct. As a comparison, the iPad fares no better in supporting various video formats, and I too use Air Video to stream video from my PC. I certainly look forward to better video format compatibility, either with firmware update or improved third-party video apps.

Photos fare much better because the high-quality IPS display brings out the colours and vibrancy. Even with DSLR high-resolution images, the Transformer renders them clear and sharp. You can also mirror the tablet output to a larger screen via the built-in mini-HDMI, though the tablet appear rather awkward when the cable is plugged to the port at the top right of the Transformer with the keyboard dock.


Keeping In Touch with Social Network - Notification and Multi-task
With the Transformer - or any other Android tablet for that matter - you can rest assured to be notified of any system messages or incoming app updates even when you are occupied with your current app. With the dual-core 1GHz Tegra2 processor (and some rooting enthusiasts even overclocked it to 1.6GHz), multi-tasking among apps are snappy. As I was drafting this article on the pad, I could receive notifications of my TweetDeck feeds or new mails from Gmail, and I open the apps directly from the notification bar to read them for a moment before I return to my blog draft via the task switcher. There is a row of pre-defined function keys to access the most common tablet functions. If this feels like operating a normal laptop, it is. To me, the beauty of the Transformer is that I can use it for doing serious word-smith, or I could remove the dock and enjoy it like a tablet.

Entertainment - Games and Apps
The truth is: Android devices can't hold a candle to iOS when it comes to the variety of game apps. For my case, that's what I need the least.  Even after owning the iPad for a year, I probably spend less than 20% of the time playing games. But now that Android 3.x officially supports USB peripherals, it means gamers can plug-in USB game controllers to play games on Android tablets instead of the on-screen controllers. The Transformer dock already comes with 2 full-sized USB ports, so you can get into the game at this instant rather than having to purchase proprietory connectors to plug USB devices.


All In A Day's Life
To sum it all up, the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101 is a multi-purpose computing device. With the keyboard dock, you can use it like a netbook, doing all the word processing, managing file transfer across devices, or a stand with extra battery juice. Remove the dock and you can play games, watch videos, read ebooks, like any Android tablet. If you are deciding between a basic netbook or a tablet, then the Transformer would be the most ideal option.

I love everything about the Transformer, but every device has its weaknesses. The challenges of using the Transformer would have to be:

• weight: with the keyboard dock, it can be relatively heavy and bulky. But then again, I could just remove the dock and it'll be as compact as a tablet.
• keyboard size: the keyboard layout is too cramped for me to type accurately, and the touchpad is too close to where I place my lower thumb area, resulting in numerous unintended cursor actions.
• hardware button placements: the power button is placed close to the volume buttons, and many times when I want to increase the volume, I ended up pressing the power button instead.
• reflective screen: it can be hard to view the screen under bright lighting conditions. But you could stick-on a matt screen protector.
• limited tablet-optimised apps: the Android app developers don't seem to be churning out enough apps to utilise the Android tablet form factor. To make it worse, the Android Market does not segregate the Honeycomb apps.
• bugs: Android isn't as robust as iOS. You will experience minor technical bugs that geek like me would probably understand and accept. For instance, occasional force closes on apps, unexplained battery drain on the keyboard dock even when the device is powered down, keyboard response lag when using with some websites. If you are expecting a bug-free tablet, then you will be disappointed.

The Asus Transformer offers me the tablet experience with the versatility of a detachable keyboard. It is truly a transformable device for all uses: from the demanding road warrior to the laid-back couch browser.


Join Chester on Twitter at http://twitter.com/musicdiary/  to hear of his rants and findings as he uncovers them. 

Sennheiser Headphones HD215

My Sennheiser eH2200 headphones of almost 10 years broke down on me. Due to Mayenne's rough handling of the detachable cable jack, one side of the headset lost its signal. The headphones was the main reference source for my audio mixing all these years. The ear cushions have been changed several times at the Sennheiser service centre, and the headphones quality have never degraded all these years.

I had eyed on the HD215 for quite a while already. My criteria of choosing headphones is: the EQ must be flat, so that my audio mixing can be unbiased. So I shunned all the models that boast "a better bass response". Another reason for choosing HD215 is that one side of the headset can be swiveled away for one-ear monitoring, which I do very often.

Some first impressions when I tried on the HD215 for the first time after I unpacked: it's heavier than eH2200. Wearing it for long hours is a little more tiring and my ears get more sweaty than my old set. The frequency response is totally different from the eH2200. The eH2200 high frequency has always sounded unnatural to me and the bass less "fulfilling". The HD215 has more natural-sounding bass but now the mid-range is overpowering the rest.

What I really like about the HD215 is that I can literally hear more of the music. It sounds more defined and directional (i.e. "soundstaging"). Despite a stronger mid-range, my ears can pick up the entire frequency range as compared to the eH2200. There was no loss of details as I previously experienced on the eH2200.

I am extremely happy with my new purchase, which comes with a soft casing to keep my new prize from Mayenne's view. The eH2200 is still wired to my mixer, a decoy for her to continue playing with it. Who knows, she might end up a better musician than I am.


Chester is a composer to over 100 published works under the Warner Music album series, "Piano Spa". With some luck, you can still find them at HMV and That CD Shop with the unmistakable 2-CD-long packaging. Follow his trails on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/musicdiary/

Internet Tethering via Bluetooth on iPhone 3GS running iOS 4.3

Old iPhone 3GS running on iOS 4.3 and newer are given a new lease of life with the "personal hotspot" function. It only supports Bluetooth and USB tethering, where the former is a lesser-implemented tethering method that not many devices support.

With my recent acquisition of the ASUS Transformer, which actually supports Internet tethering via Bluetooth, it gives me one less reason to sell away my spare iPhone 3GS phone. In fact, I think it's a better idea to do Internet tethering instead of buying a 3G-enabled tablet. This is because I can still use my iPhone on its own if I so wish without having to remove the SIM card. Though my primary phone is the Samsung Galaxy S, I still use the iPhone for reasons which I shared in my other article.

One screen too many?

When the iPhone is connected to a personal hotspot, the status bar turns blue constantly. A rather interesting sight, for I never knew it is possible to see the iOS status bar in colours other than black.

Bluetooth tethering is a more secure method of pairing devices and offers more consistent connectivity. Wi-fi tethering is more commonly supported. iPhone 3GS has at least one, so that's good for me. Bluetooth tethering is also available on the even older iPhone 3G under "Internet Tethering". For more info, visit the Apple Support link here.


Chester regularly seeks tech topics that enriches his life. Follow his road of constant discovery on Twitter at http://twitter.com/musicdiary 

Motorola XOOM: Snap Review

Lucky dad. He told me a few days ago that his boss bought him the Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi 32GB, so he asked me to "enlighten" him on the tablet. Yesterday, he passed it to me and told me that I could "blog about it like what I always did for other gadgets".

XOOM seen with the original Folio Case

To me, there is nothing exciting about XOOM since I already had experienced the Android Honeycomb on the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer (TF101). The Motorola XOOM runs on stock Android 3.0 firmware, which makes it rather uninteresting as compared to the Transformer. There aren't any extra widgets or pre-installed entertaining apps or multimedia content like what ASUS provided. But here's what I gathered from my snappy hands-on experience (less than 3 man hours to be exact).

Seeing double? The left is a life-sized brochure.

Screen - unfortunately, Dad has already applied a matt screen protector, which instantly makes the screen less appealing compared to the Transformer. I won't go into further discussion, since comparison could be deemed unfair. If that's any lesson learnt, it would be this: applying a screen protector would reduce the visual quality. I hope I am right, or else that would mean the XOOM is indeed having a less-stellar display.

Hardware buttons - XOOM has a large power button behind the left speaker which is within easy reach of the left hand finger. Kudos to that for ergonomic design. In contrast, the volume buttons are miserable in size, and I find it hard to press them easily. A microSD and/or SIM compartment on the top is covered by a cap, which reveals a bit of the circuit board. At the bottom, there is the micro-USB port. micro-HDMI port, and charger ports. The camera flash is a nice-to-have but I doubt anyone would be seriously using a tablet for flash photography.

Yes, I used a XOOM brochure for comparison, but hey that's to scale.

Size - XOOM is the smallest 10.1" tablet in the market, thanks to a thinner bezel. It's even smaller than the iPad even with a larger screen.

Boasting "Dual Core Technology". Eh... which Honeycomb tablet doesn't have it?

Interface - it runs on stock Android firmware, so nothing special compared to the ASUS Transformer. Gotta go to the Android Market to download apps before you can enjoy the tablet, though there aren't many apps that are optimised for Android tablets.I did install Zinio as they are offering free magazine downloads for a limited time. Strange though, the number of free magazines are different from the Transformer. Was the Zinio offering differentiated by tablet brands?

Zinio on XOOM gives me 3 free publications, compared to dozens on the Transformer

Usage experience does not deviate much from Transformer: the occasional crash warning, the jittery video playback on some encoding formats. Most of the times, the tablet runs smoothly as expected. I do prefer the size of the XOOM compared to the Transformer.

My thoughts - The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer is definitely more useful for me, because it comes with a modular keyboard dock and pre-installed ASUS content. XOOM costs S$100 more: you lose the dock but gain 32GB built-in storage memory and smaller footprint.

I returned the XOOM to my Dad the following day so that he can enjoy the gadget. Unfortunately he does not have Wi-Fi at home, which is a huge pity, for the Internet is the ultimate gateway to the tablet experience.


Chester owns the Transformer tablet and is also a fan of TRANSFORMERS toyline. Follow him at http://www.twitter.com/musicdiary/ as he is scheduled for some more gadgets review courtesy of xinmsn.