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Simply called Uncle by us in the Chinese tradition of deferring to one's elders, Linnman's father held his audio court in the family room while Linnman's more expensive rig was consigned to one of their flat's bedrooms. That's seniority in action.


Uncle's speakers of choice were Revel Salons, with electronics by Karan, a Linn Sondek CD12 front end and cables by Stealth and Kharma.


Very similar in general setup to Dr. Kenneth whose system he enjoyed very much, Uncle particularly likes Western opera, with Mozart being his favorite and Puccini and Donizetti regularly on the menu as well.


Uncle built his own tube amps when he was young and knows audio going back decades. It makes him a valued back story mentor for AE when it comes to putting present goings-on into context.


This system was surprising in how it took the basic gestalt of the previous setup and elevated it a few degrees on the raw resolution end of things. The Balkan electronics didn't telegraph transistors at all and the sound was full-bodied, dynamic and ridiculously far behind the speakers which were set up effectively in the nearfield as enforced by the door behind the right speaker.


Despite being crammed into living rather than dedicated listening quarters -- the unruly viper's pit of cables in plain view, a thick bundle even snaking across the high-traffic wood floor to reach the right speaker -- this system performed like a true HighEnd system such as you'd expect to find in an upscale salon. But then perhaps not, seeing how the usual Hong Kong audio dealer suffers from the wall-of-speakers syndrome where every speaker model in inventory is stacked three deep and two high in the main room to act as unpredictable bass traps and resonant acoustic devices.


With less metal than the Hørning and Mosquito systems, more wood than Marvel's but less air due to a more damped room, this system's ether level was somewhat higher than the Sonus Fabers. When Uncle asked what I'd recommend as the next upgrade step, I pointed at Marvel and his Mosquito speakers. Of similar layout as the Revels, their carbon fiber hulls and stout metal launch plate guarantee complete freedom from boxiness. They seem like natural stand-ins for the Salons at an even higher level of resolving power. That's how J. Lam does the business. He just sits quietly on his couch and lets his own clients do all the talking and selling. What a setup!

Linnman meanwhile confided to a lack of interest in listening to his own system. As a result of many experiments in gear substitutions, his had recently devolved. Taking the pulse confirmed the matter. His three-way Kharma Exquisite Midi References were all metal, no wood. Unconscionably expensive, their vaunted ceramic midrange seemed to be the culprit. Linnman's Orpheus Lab source, Wavac preamp and Zanden 9500 monos clearly were innocent. Perhaps not fully broken in yet -- this is a relatively recent upgrade for Linnman -- the speaker at present exhibited an annoying lack of tone plus bite in the upper midrange that telegraphed particularly two octaves above middle C on piano and female vocals.

Rather than upset, Linnman was visibly relieved when I described my impressions. Though he intends to give his Kharmas a fair shake at prolonged break-in, he's perfectly prepared to part with them should things not progress deeper into the tone/body domain. He's been too close to things to put his fingers on the precise reason why he's been listening more and more to AE's resident system and less and less to his own of late. The feedback was welcome and he'll be in the saddle soon again. He'll apply his tuning magic which was so aptly demonstrated at AE's and Marvel's to his own crib.

Which gets us to Peter Tsang, alternately referred to as Mr. Kondo for reasons obvious in a moment.

Peter is one out of two AE customers who've opted for the new Hørning Eufrodite outside of J. Lam's own digs. Peter's source is a Naim top-line two-box unit. Everything else is Kondo - an M-77 preamp and the Gakuoh monos or legendary Ongaku, with all wiring by Kondo.

Here's an interesting tidbit which our resident Kondo-maniac Edward Barker will confirm shortly in his own writeup. If you fancy the Kondo sound, be advised that you must start with the preamp and the cables. No Kondo cables, no glory. Start with a Kondo amp but forget about the preamp and you'll miss the boat. Use a Kondo preamp and his cables -- silver between source and pre if you can only afford it there, copper between pre and amp -- and you'll get 80% of the magic using a good amplifier from a competitor (Canary Audio in Edward's case).

Initially, the system evidenced no real sonic problems except that the sound just sat there behind the speakers, seeming slightly pale and lifeless and removed. It's when Peter -- whose parts inventory includes rare WE transformers and vintage tubes I've never heard of, seeing he's built plenty of tube amps from scratch in his life time -- replaced the M-77's stock 6X4 rectifier with a Gold Lion U707 that the ether element jumped from zero to hero on a moment's notice. The difference in gestalt was enormous. All of us heard it, all of us responded in kind - incredulous. I was instantly triggered and Peter's system, more so even than AE's, was ripe with the kind of musical magic where sounds reach across space and make something in your heart vibrate. Peter had clearly been testing the kwei loh. Had I signed off on the original sound, he'd probably advised J. Lam to ask for a refund on my airline ticket.


Though he had only 3 weeks on his Eufrodites, Peter's evidenced none of the remaining bass plumminess of AE's. In fact, the Kondo Gakuohs amps shocked all of us with their incredible drive, especially playing fare that likely wouldn't have occurred to Kondo-San who was exceptionally fond of classical violin and piano. Peter broke out in a huge smile when I put on Renaud Garcia-Fons, Yasmin Levy and Bebo y Cigala, all alien fare to him. The bass energized the entire room without causing compression; the speakers completely disappeared as apparent sound sources; and the metallic overtones of Gitano vocals didn't suggest tweeter breakup but telegraphed as deliberate vocal stylings.


This system majored on wood and air, with sufficient metal to support overtly rhythmic fare but a clear emphasis on tone and harmonics. There still were a few bass notes slightly too hot but the speakers sat directly on the carpet; Peter hadn't even tried the Ongaku yet knowing he first needed to go through break-in (can you believe his patience?); the speaker placement hadn't been tweaked yet; and Linnman hadn't performed his full Acoustic Systems room tuning magic yet.


Regardless, this system communicated in superior fashion to anything else I'd heard in Hong Kong. This goes to show that HiFi issues are secondary. Even perfect sonics and ultimate resolution have to pay their respects to the senior ether element. Lucky are the few who can start there, then attend to the remaining loose ends in the world of measurements and tangibles. Most of us toil in the latter trenches, hoping to eventually break through to the intangibles. Peter sits pretty on top of the mountain. Lucky devil, our Kondo man.

And what a bloody difference one lone tube could make. A rectifier at that. It boggles the mind.


In the end, when I was made, somebody decided to wire me as a high-efficiency speaker guy. From a musical mojo aspect, the two Hørning systems did me the most even though one still had obvious sonic issues to overcome. Marvel's system was the most advanced in HiFi terms and emotionally compelling while not as powerfully so as Peter's or J. Lam's. Peter's simply sang to me. In a perfect world, you'd cross Marvel's and Peter's rigs and hope that their offspring inherited the best of both. Mister Zanden's system was eminently well tuned to his purposes and might just benefit from a little bit more metal or leading edge definition. Doctor Kenneth's superb electronics might be asking for a speaker change to keep up with his evolving needs. My own rig? If these gentlemen came to Cyprus for a visit, they might tell me to sell it all and start over again. You see, it's easy to critique someone else's system. Suggesting how, exactly, to improve it is an entirely different kettle of fish. That's what you have folks like J. Lam for and audiophile friends. Reviewers are just talk.

This visit to Hong Kong proved to be a crash course in Chinese hospitality, audiophile brotherhood and a shared curiosity into what tickles our musical monkey bone and how to make it happen more often. What impressed me most was my hosts' honest desire for candid feedback. Let's face it, we all have not just money but also our egos invested in this enterprise. How often do you invite complete strangers to your digs to ask their honest opinion, especially if your rig would be considered high profile by anyone's measure? See what I mean? These guys were a bit fou. That's not faux by any stretch but verrückt as the Germans would say. Or fou in French, a bit crazy and mad. Thank the heavens for such craziness.


Sincere thanks are due to my many hosts, for many fabulous meals, beautiful music, taxi services but above all, the instant friendship and kindness offered to a complete stranger. More than anything else, that really touched my heart!


謝謝。 Let's play it again.
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