I've been asked by Marvel to mention my thoughts about the AirBlade here.
As good as the Cessaro Wagner Silver Signatures are, the AirBlades add a significant touch of air between the instruments and extension to the high frequencies all the while maintaining natural, as opposed to 'steely', sounding treble. The layering and positioning of instruments within the soundstage is simply incomparable without the AirBlades, to the extent that I think the AirBlades complete the Wagners.
My system is far from complete and has quite a few compromises (including speaker placement in particular), but I am very happy with AE's service and selection of gear.
The Magnum Opus by Arthur Marker - Air Blade Signature Edition
Resolution of Singing Diction Left me Breathless
The Air Blade invented by Arthur Marker took my breath away two years ago. It still does as of today. Aaron Kwok, Asia’s mega star, got a pair for his system after auditioning them for 15 minutes. Ever since its inception, all showrooms of Audio Exotics in Hong Kong and Singapore permanently feature it. Without them, the picturesque experience is instantly reduced to 2D from 3D. Real instruments radiate more than 180 degree independent of frequency range. On the contrary, behaviour of conventional tweeter’s dispersion angle (max around 60 degree) narrows rapidly as frequency goes up higher.
The Air Blade is often misunderstood as a super tweeter, but it is NOT. It is a tweeter with 180 degree dispersion with minimum roll off even at very high frequency range (See Chart X). Skepticism of it often arises because human eyes easily conclude it is an unnecessary add-on, usually references to presence of tweeters (diamond, ceramic, beryllium etc) in the main speakers reaching stratospheric range of 30khz - 40khz, albeit with very narrow dispersion angle. Dispersion is different from extension. The Air Blade thus augments the tremendous deficiency of conventional tweeter regardless of its frequency extension and built materials. Physical placement of Air Blade matters to integration with the main speakers, on top of level (0db, -3, -6, -9, -12) and crossover frequency range (3.5K, 2.4k, 1.6k and 1.0k).
Air Blade Signature Edition
Never would I imagine Arthur Marker had been quietly pushing the envelope further - the Air Blade Signature Edition. It has the most advanced diaphragm material of any driver complemented by WBT pure silver binding posts and Mundorf silver foil capacitors, and ELMA Switzerland rotary switches. The chassis is manufactured by advanced Metal Injection Molding (MIM) technique finished with top notch PVD gun metal coating. The acoustically optimised cabinet is made of 12mm thick aluminium slabs (the chassis of first generation of air blade is made of wood), which adds significant mass to grounding because aluminium is an efficient electrical conductor. The inserts of the chassis is beautifully crafted. The whole object is simply an industrial art of the highest caliber.
Elma Rotary Switches made in Switzerland
The foil (diaphragm) is made by amorphous material, which has a chaotic molecular structure preventing resonance modes to develop. This aspect may seem negligible for most but research must start at the molecular level to distillate perfection. It has to be very thin and yet with high mechanical resistance. For example, Kapton is good for PCB but not the most ideal choice for speakers because of its crystalline structure is vulnerable to buildup of resonance modes. The material of the foil is a special design for the signature edition. Meticulous engineering feat and artisanal craftsmanship lead to staggering measurement results. The company who made the measurements for Air Blade Signature mistook their system was out of order upon witnessing the first result. The technicians repeated the test three times before they were convinced. This directivity plot proves it is the first ever driver achieving the widest and most uniform dispersion independent of frequency range! Though the scale is not exactly the same, these two charts clearly illustrate the improvement of the signature edition over the normal edition.
Molecular Structure of Various Materials
The most even dispersion driver independent of frequency range ever made
The Directivity Plot of Air Blade Normal Edition
The Directivity Plot of Air Blade Signature Edition
I received the first pair in the world 3 weeks ago and went through many intensive listening sessions in order to comprehend the technical mastery of it. I wonder why would Arthur make a signature version of it when the stocks of the normal air blade cannot keep up with the demand from connoisseurs. It took another two weeks to integrate the signature edition with the Goebel Divin Majestic alongside acoustic adjustments. I also made a decision to adjust the physical position of the gigantic speakers by moving both channel away from the side wall by 4.5 inches without changing the toe in angle. Such labor is all meant to do justice for Arthur’s magnum opus.
The realism of vocal regardless of genre is staggeringly akin to human flesh singing inside the room. The most indiscriminating test is to record a few audio clips by iPhone 13 and sent them to a sample of non-audiophile group containing professional vocalist recital musicians playing classical instruments, pop singer, and students studying performing arts at music institute. 15 out of 18 responded to me in such similar context, “Did you record this next to the singer inside a studio? Because I can feel his palate moving and tongue twisting so clearly. I could easily tell how the singer shape the vowels and articulate consonants with energy.” Consistent feedbacks drove me to the study of diction in singing so that I can share my experiences professionally.
Basics of Diction in Singing
Diction is the distinctiveness of speech. In singing, it means enunciation of a vocalist’s expression. The clarity in the pronunciation of lyrics is the soul bridge between the singer and the audience. The lyrics must be clear so that listeners could comprehend the meaning of the song. Excellent articulation of vowel (A, E, I, O, U) in turn improves the pronunciation of syllable, a unit of pronunciation with one vowel, with or without consonants. (For instance, there are two syllables in water and three in inferno.) Projection of vowel opens the mouth with airflow going out. On the contrary, diction of consonants (b, d, f, h, s, t, v, m, z) requires closing the mouth, and airflow is trapped inside the mouth. Consonants also tense the tongue, which ought to be relaxed during singing. Researches have proven that consonants (b, d, f, h, s, t, v, m, z) average 0.058 seconds each in speech and 0.108 in song. The semi-vowels (l, m, n, r) average 0.145 in speech and 0.354 in song. Vowels average 0.280 seconds in speech and 0.797 in song.
Singing flourishes only when beautiful tone radiate from singer’s throat and illuminate the meaning behind the lyrics. Yet consonants that accomplish the meaning often pollute tone beauty to a certain degree. The two contradictory forces are: the musical element of the voice (accurate, sustained vowels) and the expressive communication of speech (well-defined consonants). The musical use of voice necessitates a knowledge of maintaining beautiful tone constantly. In contrast, the communicative use of voice requires a command of ever fluctuating symbolic sounds (consonants). Singers must manage two contradictory elements to deliver beautiful tone in real time.
Digestion of reading materials on singing diction is a serious wake up call. At the highest end, we should demand much more than a solid/stable imaging in front of us. Resolution of diction is never an element of evaluation in high end audio. On the contrary, tonality dominates most of the evaluation criteria. Descriptions of tone neutrality are usually by means of subjective relativity such as warmer side of it or cooler side of it. However, the sharing perspective is unprecedented here.
I am completely blown away because it is so much easier to discern the diction of the world’s greatest vocalists telling his/her stories. For example, Bob Dylan is the most identifiable pop vocalist with the most over exaggerated emphasis on his vowel sounds ever. Other pop singers with clear diction includes Kevin Cronin, lead vocal of REO Speedwagon, Mariah Carey, Frank Sinatra, Karen Carpenter and Don Mclean etc. Julie Andrews (Sound of Music) is another great example. The presence of air blade signature rewards me discovering her excellent enunciation of consonants at the beginnings and ends of her words. She also utilized vibrato at the end of her phrases to avoid breathiness.
Joan Sutherland, one of the most acclaimed soprano in the 20th century, had an extraordinary tone but were often criticised by experts (including German Baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau) with poor diction. I don’t understand why the critics said so until now. On the other hand, the diction of Dietrich is renowned with the most clearest voice ever in spite of boatloads of consonants in the German language. Yet, each words of him radiated energy so clearly even though airflow was trapped inside the mouth. The skill is to execute consonants fast with energy. That requires decade long of painstakingly training. I was extremely touched by the voice of Wong Ka Kui (黃家駒), the lead vocal of BEYOND (a local band in HK in the 90s) who could deliver powerful consonants defining his style.
The vividness of diction brought about by the Air Blade Signature transcends the listening experience of vocal because dispersion capability with the lowest possible distortion of it amplifies the contrasting elements in singing. It makes me appreciate much more about the power of language.
The signature edition develops the proprietary merits of the normal edition to the extreme. That triggered me and my crew spending 5 hours to physically reposition the Goebel Divin Majestic Speakers that weight 530kg per channel in order to achieve seamless integration between the main speaker and the Air Blade Signature. The contextual backdrop of reviewing them is holistically complicated. Simple comparisons between the normal and the signature edition do not make sense given the changes of parameters involved. Reporting subjective listening impressions from different piece of music does not make real reference. I rather focus in-depth on one established discipline with voluminous literature for cross references.
The famous german philosopher, Hegel once said, “The forms of human thoughts are displayed and stored in human language.” The lyrics of Texas Sky by Lori Liberman summarises the role of Air Blade Signature in Divin Lab, “You were like the Texas sky, born with lightning in your eyes. You left me breathless. And when you said good-bye, you stole the clouds and took the sky. And left me breathless. Like the endless Texas sky.”
This is a very fine piece of writing. For quite awhile, PT hasn’t written any English. Reading your Chinese article using google translator filters all the essence, practically meaningless for foreigner. The Air Blade is indeed a revolutionary product, and I reckon only young minds are capable of inventing such. I wonder how many open minded audiophiles out there. Damn most are in the 60s now chasing memories of the past.
Uncle Ray, I damn concur with you about the inspirational angle PT executed eloquently in writing. We have all become lazy thanks to digital gadgets. We don’t want to move. We don’t want to work physically. We don’t even want to think. We are voluntarily to be imprisoned by the internet. At least, when I read such quality work, it stimulated my desire of flying to HK to experience. I am pretty sure people in HK with luxury of proximity don’t bother to pay Divin Lab a visit. Because it is the same around the globe. People have become damn lazy to move around. We trust the internet more than real people. We can easily put all the damn blame to COVID.
Where is Marvel bro? I haven’t seen his posts for a long while.
After getting in more revopods for each component, I noticed that they tend to be, at times, a bit on the brighter side. So, if you have a neutral to bright leaning chain, be a bit careful about it. I do wish they were a bit sweeter up top but other than that, they’ve been pretty great.
Image size is large, texture is great, clarity is top-notch, and bass is very confident. For the final configuration, I ended up with just 3 on each component and with the delrin tip pointed down.
Comments
As good as the Cessaro Wagner Silver Signatures are, the AirBlades add a significant touch of air between the instruments and extension to the high frequencies all the while maintaining natural, as opposed to 'steely', sounding treble. The layering and positioning of instruments within the soundstage is simply incomparable without the AirBlades, to the extent that I think the AirBlades complete the Wagners.
My system is far from complete and has quite a few compromises (including speaker placement in particular), but I am very happy with AE's service and selection of gear.
The Magnum Opus by Arthur Marker - Air Blade Signature Edition
Resolution of Singing Diction Left me Breathless
The Air Blade invented by Arthur Marker took my breath away two years ago. It still does as of today. Aaron Kwok, Asia’s mega star, got a pair for his system after auditioning them for 15 minutes. Ever since its inception, all showrooms of Audio Exotics in Hong Kong and Singapore permanently feature it. Without them, the picturesque experience is instantly reduced to 2D from 3D. Real instruments radiate more than 180 degree independent of frequency range. On the contrary, behaviour of conventional tweeter’s dispersion angle (max around 60 degree) narrows rapidly as frequency goes up higher.
Aaron’s Air Blade next to Goebel Divin Nobleness
https://www.facebook.com/1375795022474575/posts/3277519608968764/?d=n
The Air Blade is often misunderstood as a super tweeter, but it is NOT. It is a tweeter with 180 degree dispersion with minimum roll off even at very high frequency range (See Chart X). Skepticism of it often arises because human eyes easily conclude it is an unnecessary add-on, usually references to presence of tweeters (diamond, ceramic, beryllium etc) in the main speakers reaching stratospheric range of 30khz - 40khz, albeit with very narrow dispersion angle. Dispersion is different from extension. The Air Blade thus augments the tremendous deficiency of conventional tweeter regardless of its frequency extension and built materials. Physical placement of Air Blade matters to integration with the main speakers, on top of level (0db, -3, -6, -9, -12) and crossover frequency range (3.5K, 2.4k, 1.6k and 1.0k).
Air Blade Signature Edition
Never would I imagine Arthur Marker had been quietly pushing the envelope further - the Air Blade Signature Edition. It has the most advanced diaphragm material of any driver complemented by WBT pure silver binding posts and Mundorf silver foil capacitors, and ELMA Switzerland rotary switches. The chassis is manufactured by advanced Metal Injection Molding (MIM) technique finished with top notch PVD gun metal coating. The acoustically optimised cabinet is made of 12mm thick aluminium slabs (the chassis of first generation of air blade is made of wood), which adds significant mass to grounding because aluminium is an efficient electrical conductor. The inserts of the chassis is beautifully crafted. The whole object is simply an industrial art of the highest caliber.
Elma Rotary Switches made in Switzerland
The foil (diaphragm) is made by amorphous material, which has a chaotic molecular structure preventing resonance modes to develop. This aspect may seem negligible for most but research must start at the molecular level to distillate perfection. It has to be very thin and yet with high mechanical resistance. For example, Kapton is good for PCB but not the most ideal choice for speakers because of its crystalline structure is vulnerable to buildup of resonance modes. The material of the foil is a special design for the signature edition. Meticulous engineering feat and artisanal craftsmanship lead to staggering measurement results. The company who made the measurements for Air Blade Signature mistook their system was out of order upon witnessing the first result. The technicians repeated the test three times before they were convinced. This directivity plot proves it is the first ever driver achieving the widest and most uniform dispersion independent of frequency range! Though the scale is not exactly the same, these two charts clearly illustrate the improvement of the signature edition over the normal edition.
Molecular Structure of Various Materials
The most even dispersion driver independent of frequency range ever made
The Directivity Plot of Air Blade Normal Edition
I received the first pair in the world 3 weeks ago and went through many intensive listening sessions in order to comprehend the technical mastery of it. I wonder why would Arthur make a signature version of it when the stocks of the normal air blade cannot keep up with the demand from connoisseurs. It took another two weeks to integrate the signature edition with the Goebel Divin Majestic alongside acoustic adjustments. I also made a decision to adjust the physical position of the gigantic speakers by moving both channel away from the side wall by 4.5 inches without changing the toe in angle. Such labor is all meant to do justice for Arthur’s magnum opus.
The realism of vocal regardless of genre is staggeringly akin to human flesh singing inside the room. The most indiscriminating test is to record a few audio clips by iPhone 13 and sent them to a sample of non-audiophile group containing professional vocalist recital musicians playing classical instruments, pop singer, and students studying performing arts at music institute. 15 out of 18 responded to me in such similar context, “Did you record this next to the singer inside a studio? Because I can feel his palate moving and tongue twisting so clearly. I could easily tell how the singer shape the vowels and articulate consonants with energy.” Consistent feedbacks drove me to the study of diction in singing so that I can share my experiences professionally.
Basics of Diction in Singing
Diction is the distinctiveness of speech. In singing, it means enunciation of a vocalist’s expression. The clarity in the pronunciation of lyrics is the soul bridge between the singer and the audience. The lyrics must be clear so that listeners could comprehend the meaning of the song. Excellent articulation of vowel (A, E, I, O, U) in turn improves the pronunciation of syllable, a unit of pronunciation with one vowel, with or without consonants. (For instance, there are two syllables in water and three in inferno.) Projection of vowel opens the mouth with airflow going out. On the contrary, diction of consonants (b, d, f, h, s, t, v, m, z) requires closing the mouth, and airflow is trapped inside the mouth. Consonants also tense the tongue, which ought to be relaxed during singing. Researches have proven that consonants (b, d, f, h, s, t, v, m, z) average 0.058 seconds each in speech and 0.108 in song. The semi-vowels (l, m, n, r) average 0.145 in speech and 0.354 in song. Vowels average 0.280 seconds in speech and 0.797 in song.
Singing flourishes only when beautiful tone radiate from singer’s throat and illuminate the meaning behind the lyrics. Yet consonants that accomplish the meaning often pollute tone beauty to a certain degree. The two contradictory forces are: the musical element of the voice (accurate, sustained vowels) and the expressive communication of speech (well-defined consonants). The musical use of voice necessitates a knowledge of maintaining beautiful tone constantly. In contrast, the communicative use of voice requires a command of ever fluctuating symbolic sounds (consonants). Singers must manage two contradictory elements to deliver beautiful tone in real time.
Digestion of reading materials on singing diction is a serious wake up call. At the highest end, we should demand much more than a solid/stable imaging in front of us. Resolution of diction is never an element of evaluation in high end audio. On the contrary, tonality dominates most of the evaluation criteria. Descriptions of tone neutrality are usually by means of subjective relativity such as warmer side of it or cooler side of it. However, the sharing perspective is unprecedented here.
I am completely blown away because it is so much easier to discern the diction of the world’s greatest vocalists telling his/her stories. For example, Bob Dylan is the most identifiable pop vocalist with the most over exaggerated emphasis on his vowel sounds ever. Other pop singers with clear diction includes Kevin Cronin, lead vocal of REO Speedwagon, Mariah Carey, Frank Sinatra, Karen Carpenter and Don Mclean etc. Julie Andrews (Sound of Music) is another great example. The presence of air blade signature rewards me discovering her excellent enunciation of consonants at the beginnings and ends of her words. She also utilized vibrato at the end of her phrases to avoid breathiness.
Joan Sutherland, one of the most acclaimed soprano in the 20th century, had an extraordinary tone but were often criticised by experts (including German Baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau) with poor diction. I don’t understand why the critics said so until now. On the other hand, the diction of Dietrich is renowned with the most clearest voice ever in spite of boatloads of consonants in the German language. Yet, each words of him radiated energy so clearly even though airflow was trapped inside the mouth. The skill is to execute consonants fast with energy. That requires decade long of painstakingly training. I was extremely touched by the voice of Wong Ka Kui (黃家駒), the lead vocal of BEYOND (a local band in HK in the 90s) who could deliver powerful consonants defining his style.
The vividness of diction brought about by the Air Blade Signature transcends the listening experience of vocal because dispersion capability with the lowest possible distortion of it amplifies the contrasting elements in singing. It makes me appreciate much more about the power of language.
The signature edition develops the proprietary merits of the normal edition to the extreme. That triggered me and my crew spending 5 hours to physically reposition the Goebel Divin Majestic Speakers that weight 530kg per channel in order to achieve seamless integration between the main speaker and the Air Blade Signature. The contextual backdrop of reviewing them is holistically complicated. Simple comparisons between the normal and the signature edition do not make sense given the changes of parameters involved. Reporting subjective listening impressions from different piece of music does not make real reference. I rather focus in-depth on one established discipline with voluminous literature for cross references.
The famous german philosopher, Hegel once said, “The forms of human thoughts are displayed and stored in human language.” The lyrics of Texas Sky by Lori Liberman summarises the role of Air Blade Signature in Divin Lab, “You were like the Texas sky, born with lightning in your eyes. You left me breathless. And when you said good-bye, you stole the clouds and took the sky. And left me breathless. Like the endless Texas sky.”
Chris Leung
信念
近年跟御品音響三個Showroom一起成長，理解到要處理一套音響系統，可以簡單、可以高深，分別在於你如何對待「處理」兩字。Chris、Marvel 和我，選擇了一條艱辛的音響道路 — 要不活在前人的陰影下走下去，這信念要有多強才能夠堅持？
兩聲道音響系統，要做到絕對的精準，空間越大越難拿捏，這是我這幾年內多次實地親證後，才真正明白到這挑戰有多嚴峻。停在理論基礎上，是不會理解一套大形系統在大的空間下，面對著複雜的變數，是多大的挑戰，因為在諸多客觀因素底下，可能要反幾座山，才能望到另一片天。
Marvel 是一位有學識的君子，在我們當中是相對保守的一位，有他的偏執。中環的 Showroom，一路走來並不容易，因為思想無邊無際的 Chris，每天都在提升自身的要求及標準，去悍衛所建立新的價值觀。他們的互動卻產生了良性的化學作用。到今天由Marvel主理的中環試聽室，在他努力不懈進步的精神下，已經能做到具説服力的表現，我是衷心欣賞的。
Chris 是一位左右腦都發達的學者。感性的人容易被音樂帶動情感，不管甚麼類型的音樂，到最終目的都是情感的抒發，打動不到人心的音符，稱不上好的音樂。他就是在冷靜與熱情之間，理性地用科學管理音響，感性地用心去欣賞音樂，做就了一套獨特的系統建立哲學與評核標準。
我們沒有化腐朽為神奇的功能，亦不需將五音不全的歌曲，瞬間變為天籟之音。經典能流芳百世，自有它箇中的原因，能夠將前人留低的經典錄音，古今中外音樂製作人的作品，鉅細無遺地程現出來，就是御品每天在不停在追求的。
有感而發於神曲工作室
Mr Dynamic
2022年5月12日
一團火
最近拜訪神曲工作室，再次欣賞「帝女花」的香夭，今次的體驗竟把我的心神，攝進了明末將盡之畫面。生於七十年代的我，對粵曲認識膚淺。但我尤其喜歡任劍輝，因為她擁有得天獨厚的聲線，高音處清麗若行雲流水，低回時渾厚似空谷回蕩，而且她吐字發音，非常清晰、準確，盛載著唐滌生淒美的詞，泣訴了周世顯對長平公主難捨難離的悲愴情境。
香夭曲長六分鐘，要播好這幾分鐘，卻耗上了不知多少年月日。「看似尋常最奇崛，成如容易卻艱辛」，將音樂創作人的作品，要做到有聲有畫，聲情並茂，重現眼前，已成為御品的己任。任姐能做到真正的字正腔圓，爽朗韻味綿長，其行腔總是清爽利落發音。原來她演唱的字、詞、句之間總是寸度得體，這些美妙細節久藏於錄音裡，若不是執着追求完美的重播，便會錯失了她一部份的靈魂，實在有點兒可惜。因為那個時代已過去。屬於那個時代的精神，都不存在了，唯獨尚存在錄音內。
堅持善用音響系統，去極致忠實地還原錄音內的音樂真締，談何容易？費神、花錢、耗時、霸佔昂貴空間等，究竟值得嗎？就算做得到，又有多少人懂得欣賞？尤其踏入數碼世代，充斥着速食文化。在平板電腦上觀摩巨型的「清明上河圖」，在手機上觀看荷里活的大電影，都已經成為生活日常，為的是方便過目，卻忽略了細味尋根。
堅持走自己的路，內心需要有一團火。我認為它源於一份使命感去樹立榜樣，然後再以教育傳承此精神給不同的領域，貢獻社會，乃是一個良性循環。仲然是一點燭光，啓發的正能量可以好大。究竟怎樣才可以種出這些態度？我的見解是：可遇不可求，所以要珍惜。
古今中外的前人留下無數的動人音樂，每首勵志的歌曲，將每把共鳴的聲音，去慰籍不同的心靈。我參與了以音響此媒界去重建他們的靈魂。原來從前錄音的技術已經捕捉得到，挑戰在於能夠還源多少。音樂的認知、音響技術上的配搭、以及一顆開明的頭腦，比音響器材的價值更為重要。
堅持需要毅力，要訣在於如何護辨不同的觀點，這需要自信，可以從客觀知識建立。支持你的人總會存在，不需在乎數量，只要是並肩同行，更顯罕貴，互相鼓勵的力量自然更強大。
Mr Dynamic
2022年5月19日
我和家母細味多篇你的文章，我們覺得情感表達十分自然，邏輯其實藏在情感內。我們尤愛一團火。未親身體驗過的人，未必明白，但我是過來人，感受極深。
General view between hard rubber Pelisten feet vs Revopod one…
Revopods installed….
Image size is large, texture is great, clarity is top-notch, and bass is very confident. For the final configuration, I ended up with just 3 on each component and with the delrin tip pointed down.