Finally! The annual International Sight
and Sound Exhibition is here. Its an annual event that I
always look forward to, as it is the only hi-fi related show
that is available in sunny, tiny Singapore. Its my
get-away from the usual chore of work to immerse myself into
something that I really enjoy, i.e. listening to music and
lusting after the latest wonderfully built (not to mention
wonderful sounding) hi-fidelity components, be it speakers or
cd transports or ... you get the picture.
One of
my goals when I attend the event is to see just what
worthwhile thing I can buy for under $200 to try out in my
system. The year before, I bought the Solid Tech
Iso-Clear isolation feet at the show discounted price. I
am still very happy with it as it does work well under my CD
transport, taking over the duty of my set of Golden Sound DH
“Super” Cones. So, this year, it is no
exception.
So, as the title gave away, I eventually
bought a pair of supertweeters from Leo Research for S$80/pair
(show price). I have to admit though that I was rather
skeptical at first, and I actually left the show without
getting anything except CDs. At the Leo research room, I
did notice the supertweeters perched on top of a pair of
bookshelf speakers. I asked about them and promptly was
treated to an A-B comparison of just what the supertweeters do
for the overall sound of the system. Even though the
show condition did not allow for a proper audition, I did
manage to discern the difference with and without the
supertweeters in place. On the whole, with the
supertweeters in place, the system seemed to exhibit more
information from the music. But, like I mentioned above,
the cramped and crowded room did not allow for a proper
audition. I went away intrigued but unimpressed.
When I got home, I decided to check out my Grand Piano
Domus specifications, specifically on its highs. It
topped off at 20kHz. Hmm... I had really thought
that it goes higher than that. Anyway, I then did a
search on the WWW about supertweeters in general, and lo
behold I am very surprised by the many versions and price
range that are available in the world market. The
cheapest I found (outside of Singapore) is AV123's Onix ERT at
US$349 (excluding shipping) while the most expensive is
muRata's that cost close to US$3000! Well, I certainly
will not buy the muRata but the AV123's Onix ERT looks
interesting and more affordable. However, it cannot beat
what Leo Research is offering (in terms of pricing) for their
supertweeters at the ISSE.
So, a quick call to my audio
buddies (to find out who have yet to attend the show) to ask
one of them to buy the supertweeters for me. I managed
to find my man and, on the very next day, the supertweeters
appeared in my place. I wasted no time installing them
onto my Grand Pianos. Of course, I played my
system BEFORE I inserted the supertweeters, so as to be sure
how they actually impact the sound. I had however
forgotten that I can do an A-B comparison easily because the
supertweeters can be disconnected / isolated from the Grand
Piano quite easily via its single RCA connection behind each
supertweeters.
In the
solace of my home and my system, with the supertweeters in
place, there are definitely greater clarity achieved but
without any discernible hardness or sharpness in the
highs. The bass was also tightened and bass lines are
easier to follow. I thought perhaps I had let the fact
that I installed the supertweeters lulled me into imagining
these improvement. So, I asked my wife to check them
out, and did a double-blind test on her and sought her opinion
each time I allegedly connected/disconnected the
supertweeters. She was able to get 100% right each
time. Her observations matched mine too, with greater
overall clarity being the most obvious difference. She
also noted that there is no sharpness (her own words) in the
sound, just clearer, like the singer and band are physically
in the room. Without the supertweeters, my system sound had
suddenly become veiled. Its amazing what you don't know,
isn't it? You would think that I am happy with what the
supertweeters wrought, right? Well, in a way, I am very
pleased with the purchase and result. But, I am
intrigued by the thought on improving the supplied
interconnect cable, which was made with the ubiquitous red and
black wires and the loose fitting (spell: cheap) RCA
connector. I mean surely changing out the interconnects
with a better set (read: better wires and connectors) should
improve the overall quality and output of the supertweeters,
right? That is the basic premise all audiophiles will
attest and agree to.
So, in
my next visit to X-Audio, I bought a pair of 1.5m QED Qontour
Ultra-Flat 99.999% OFC speaker cables and a pair of good grade
RCA connectors. After fabricating the QED interconnects,
I listened once again to the system with the red/black
interconnects before swapping them with the QED version.
I think you know the answer to the outcome. The QED
interconnects were able to allow the supertweeters to give
greater output (I hooked up 1 QED and 1 red/black per side for
direct comparison). Yes, I can hear the output from the
supertweeters. So can my children. With both QED
versions installed, the overall sound quality is really
addictive, and I really enjoy the improvement the QEDed
supertweeters brought to the sound.
So,
all in all, I really am glad that I decided to purchase the
supertweeters and upgraded the supplied interconnects. I
did not realise what I have been missing until now. The
supertweeters not only improved on the overall clarity of the
music, it also tightened the low bass region, transforming the
bass into easily discernible lines to follow and enjoy.
The only catch now is.... what about the other
supertweeters that are available out there. The Leo
Research supertweeters are titanium based dome units.
There are ribbon-based ones out there as well, and we know
what ribbons can do to the highs. Alas, I suppose
someone else will have to try it because frankly, I am very
happy with what I got considering what I have paid.
Until the next ISSE...
