AE OPEN DAY on Oct 6

Piano Tuner

I report here only after the open day was passed. This is the first time I have such an idea. Instead of weekend, I deliberately choose weekdays assuming weekends belong to family. What I did was to send invitation via whatsapp just two days before. I expected participation to be timid. And I turned out to be damn wrong. People kept flowing in continuously non-stop until 8pm. I met new friends. I also met people who bought goods from me but had never seen his face until today. I just finished my day at 9:30pm. I was at AE beginning at 1pm.

Piano Tuner

Touraj of Vetere is in town for a few days and he brought with him the HB speaker cable. Many customers also want to audition the Wagner by Cessaro. I had no stock until last week. Touraj spent 3 hours to position the speakers right under sub-optimal conditions because the big Cessaro Carmen stands behind the Wagner. The latter is required to be posited closer to the rear wall in order to show off her true might. We don't have such luxury. The Wagner is almost 2 meter away from the rear wall.

But it still managed to impress all those who came for him. The speakers are freshly out of the box, and the HB speaker cables are uncooked as well. We spent 4 hours yesterday to set everything up. And today the Wagner still managed to impress - it sound big - real big. Some wasn't sure which speakers they were listening to. They asked me to confirm if I really connected the Wagner, and many actually walked over to the back of the Carmen to make sure I wasn't cheating.

Piano Tuner

Small speakers do not have the easiness of the bigger counterparts. This is always true. I can't claim the Wagner has the easiness of the big Carmen. But when it comes to attack, transients, and big swing of dynamics, it is a real beast. Touraj is a music lover, but his favourite music often involves complicated passages of electronic bass moving at very fast speed. The Wagner in conjunction with the HB speaker cable ace in spades to make you sweat. We also played really loud in the late evening.

Piano Tuner

And what I discovered in common amongst all had paid a visit to AE today - they didn't want to leave too soon. I saw surprises from their reactions. And the last session that began at 7:30 was ended at 9:30pm in spite of hunger. Touraj kept playing many test pressings that no one wanted to leave. And most of them displayed tremendous dynamics.

Piano Tuner

I shall leave the space for others to share. I am thankful of those who spared their time today and that include Ah Man, Eddie, Telly, Peter and his friend, Simon, Joe, Kahw, Charles, Mackie, and some others I didn't recall their names completely as they were all too quickly dived into the music.

CKKeung

Congratulations!
Such open days shall definitely be held more often!

Piano Tuner

Comments from Peter who visited yesterday

"The soundstaging was strong and for a speaker without much below 50Hz, the bass quality was pretty good too. I thought there was quite a bit of air as well. Danny felt the same as well but he commented that he wanted to hear more depth (I didn't agree on this point)

It did sound as though the speakers are not run in yet so the sound was a bit tight and a little bit "in your face". Having said that, your room clearly has had a lot of acoustic work done which then focuses most of the sound on the speakers only (no noises from the room)."

Good session. Thank you

Mr.FIRE4

多謝昨天的開放日, Wager當然 是主角, 但條HB喇叭缐可能是現今最快和爆炸性最堅的一條, 尤其是大量不同性質的低頻一齊出現的時候盡顯身價, 能量感十足斤兩, 而且迅變極快, 取向完全和訉號缐不同.

Darth Vader

I listened to the Wagner with stereophile test recording generating frequencies from 100hz, 80hz, 65hz, 50hz, 40hz and 31hz. I thought I won't hear anything beginning 65hz. I was wrong. Very surprising. I still felt energy at 50hz and 40hz. But at 31hz, energy is very tiny. But that is normal! No wonder the bass response of the Wagner is so good! I am sure if the speakers can be placed in the rear wall, it will even be better.

乙女

各位兄長，今天的Wagner好靚聲。

flatwhite

Wagner is truly brilliant

I tried it, thanks to PT, Wagner driven by wadax, k15EX and chouku

This is my second time to AE. and echoing others, it's really like playing from Carmen from behind

The depth, articulated bass, realism are top notch from this relative small speaker

Yet it's crazily heavy. PT told me it's nearly 200lb each, which dampens the resonance

Rock, violin, vocal all amazing stuff

However , as it is very new, burning in will bring it to the next level

Also, positioning issue is an area that needs tuning, but of course , it's difficult in the showroom as literally can't place the Wagner close to the back wall

After all,
A very pleasant experience with the Wagner
The only problem is, my home is too small to fit he speakers ......
And of course, PT things are making me bankrupt

MAC

I have long been waiting to try the Wagner. After a recent encounter with the Chopin and knowing this is an improved version, I came with a level of expectation.

First impression is actually the dilution of looking at the much bigger Carmen standing tall at the back, and since the colour of the cabin are both black, the Wagner seem to have disappeared under the Carmen's big purple horn. The soundstage is big and dynamic, for the first few tracks we played, I have to keep reminding myself that "Yes" I am listening to the small one. I couldn't relax at first, trying to recall from memory how it should compare with the Carmen. I soon gave up, knowing that it wouldn't matter in a home environment given the level of dynamic and soundstage achieved. The question is whether the living room is big enough for the sound.

The mid to high is as expected, fast, translucent. And I really enjoy the decent sense of weight which is rare to find. We played a fair bit of live concerts and electronics at first. The attack is fast, and some tracks can be so real to the point where it can sound a bit harsh. But real concerts are suppose to be like that and I am perfectly fine with that as long as it gives me the sense that I am sitting in the concert.

Then we played a few piece of violin and cello recital, and that's when it really impressed me. The micro details are all there as expected from the top end source. What impressed me most again is the sense of volume and weight coming from the resonance. The level of realism leaves a lasting impression, and it is troubling when I turn on my system at home.

The speakers are not quite run in so I expect some improvement as it opens up. When I get a chance, playing a few of my usual test piece will help give a better understanding of what the Wagner is really capable of.

PT I think this open house is very successful and i actually find it more convenient than I initially thought. Good stuff!!

Romanovym

I just dropped by for a casual listening during lunch time, and was surprised by the soundstage and 3d image of Wagner, so deep and full of contours. I felt the singers move slowly on stage when playing Phantom of the Opera, and I can nearly see the shadows of them performing in front of me. I can never imagine this can come out from such a small speaker. The speed and energy is not in proportion to its size!

Piano Tuner

There will be another open day soon.

Piano Tuner

鄧麗君是一個歷史傳奇人物。她的歌星生涯只是在宏大歷史中的一小段，上天給她的任務其實可以追溯到北宋。當年蘇東波的「水調歌頭」可以説是我國曠古䥶金的詞牌，其中最後的兩句 - 「但願人長久，千里共嬋娟」更是意景無限，而且喻意深長，眾所共嗚。

蘇軾當年一定想不到人類最终可登陸月球，更加想不到他的水調歌頭成為了現代的經典金曲-「但願人長久」。更妙的是，此曲真的在中國火箭升空經過月球時，在機艙內播放了。難道蘇居仕早在數百年前已經和將來的「小鄧」結下奇緣？

她在七十年代中雖然已經紅遍港台和東南亞等地，但當時日本的經濟正處於高速發展期，遠拋離亞洲各國，而且藝能界更是亞洲之首。她二十歲初，被一間日本唱片公司說服下，到了日本發展。當時她完全不懂日文，雖經努力學習下有點成績，但最初只是安排到夜總會或歌廳表演。她第一隻唱片在日本是失敗，不賣錢，唱片公司對她極為失望。日本是一個極為排外的社會，再加上是中國人在其藝能界發展受到不少冷眼，試試想當時的她壓力有多大？

第二張唱片「空港」一曲扭轉了她的仕途，還贏得了新人獎，穩定了她發展的基礎，可是公司不想她用中國人的名字來立足，於是便冠以「Teresa Teng」的英文名來發展。跟著的年年月月，她變成了超級巨星 。許多日本人更開始認為她已經變成了百分百的日本人，所以她在日本的每一次公開演唱，她總是堅決表演的其中一段穿上旗袍，唱華語歌曲。我十分之欣賞此等情操。其實大家可以去YouTube找她在很年青時獻唱「梅花」一曲已立即可以感受到她傲華的情懷。而後來她真的做到了 - 「只要有中國人的地方，就有鄧麗君的歌聲」。 九十年代初我在美國留學的時候，由西岸的西雅圖，三潘市，到中部的芝加哥，再致東岸的紐約，波士頓等地的中國城都是播著她的歌曲。

八十年代中國改革開放的初期，鄧小平在民間被稱為「老鄧」，可是晚上的世界卻是屬於「小鄧」！由於她是台灣人，所以她的歌當年在大陸是被禁播的。89年的天安門事件更令到鄧氏表達了不返中國大陸演唱的言論，直到鄧小平南巡開放了南中國以後，半官方的機構才正式表達歡迎鄧麗君來大陸演唱。可惜95年五月，她在泰國因氣喘而香消玉殞，享年42歲。仲使她從未踏足中國大陸，可是她對中國人的影響，仍然持續下去。

短暫但色彩非常的人生往往帶來震撼。對於我來說，1977年4月22日在日本新橋的表演，最為震撼！因為她當時只是24歲，尚未懂得控制情緒。此珍貴現場錄音由Side 2, 唱完「阿里山的姑娘」後，她便忍不住哭，但不是悲哭，而是一種苦盡甘來的哭，非常令我感動。更可貴的是在近咪錄音下顯露了柔軟的音色下內藏了充滿爆炸力的中音。

現時的系統在Vetere/Wadax/Robert K15EX/Zanden 長空/Cessaro 的真誠聯演下，在我前方只有一個有血肉和靈魂的歌手，我研究了重播她的聲音多年，今次很希望能將重播鄧麗君的丁點成果和知音人分享一下。


PT

Piano Tuner

好多謝直師父賣了此珍貴錄音給我，非常感謝。