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We had some inventory of the classic Audio Analogue products from Italy and we thought we like to offer them at very, very special prices (terms and conditions applies) to you. Quantities are limited depending on models and offered as a first come, first served basis. Click on above image for more details.

The latest buzz word in radio is not DAB but internet radio. With an internet access, you can tune in to thousands of radio stations world wide offering an endless genre of music and audio entertainment. The Tangent Quattro does just that: a table radio that access your wireless network and seeks out radio stations all over the internet.

The Quattro, like its compact brothers in the Tangent line up, is small and portable enough to bring anywhere, as long as you have a power point and internet access, you are good to go. It also offers FM radio for local broadcasts and its 3.5mm line input means you can also play your music files from your portable media players like the iPOD. You can also use its line-out to listen to internet radio through your hifi system or perhaps for private listening late at night through a second line out for your headphones.

Available in white gloss (pictured here) which I think is gorgeous as is the glossy red finish and in black stain as well as dark walnut. The Tangent Quattro sells for Sing$599. Tangent products are available through our eSHOP 24/7.

The Sound of Thunder 

Prior to Home Cinema, audiophiles have a disdain for subwoofers – citing fat and boomy room response, ‘slow’ bass that had trouble catching up with the main speakers and to an extent, most audio recordings have very little low bass information below 40 Hz. So if you would buy a subwoofer to ‘augment’ your loudspeaker, you want to be able to ‘hear’ the subwoofer to get your money’s worth. If you don’t hear anything, most people would probably just keep turning it up till you can hear some boom. By then it is boom – room resonance – and not real bass information.

With home cinema, the subwoofer is perhaps the second most important speaker in the system, the first being the center channel speaker. In a home cinema system, the main speakers (left, center and right or otherwise known as LCR) are spared the agony of having to reproduce sub 90 - 100Hz frequencies, which is then delegated to the subwoofer. The main speakers, relieved of the need for the small 6.5-inch or 8-inch drive units to perform such a Herculean task, would simply sound better on the range above 100 Hz. It is at this point, the subwoofer plays its biggest role – it handles all the 5 or 7 channels monoed into a sub 100Hz range – it has to move a lot of air - a massive task indeed.

An effective subwoofer system can increase the apparent loudness of the system before distortion sets in, increase clarity (by improving the main speakers performance as outlined above), increase dynamics (loud parts play louder while soft parts remains audible) and add to the overall sense of realism, especially when it is a big 100”+ projector based home cinema system.

I used to think big subwoofers is better than a small subwoofer – a bigger subwoofer may add only another 3 – 5 Hz of extension but at the low end, every Hz makes a difference. Then ‘long excursion’ subwoofers came along, thanks to the SPL competition in car audio, a long excursion 10” subwoofer can produce as much extension and output as a ‘normal’ 12” or even 15” subwoofer. Improvements in spider design, high temperature voice coils that don’t melt under extreme power output, diaphragm materials and the ‘long throw’ cone surround all contribute to a whole new generation of high performance subwoofers that are not only smaller but also sound better than the subwoofers of yesteryear. These subwoofers are equally effective for 2-channel systems as well as multi-channel home cinema systems.

Given the technological advancements in subwoofer design, some of my preconceived notions no longer hold true - like a large subwoofer is not necessarily better than a small ‘long throw’ subwoofer. A subwoofer need not be boomy sounding even in a 2-channel hifi system. And modern subwoofers are ‘fast’ enough to match with high performance loudspeakers.

Witness the Mini Me active subwoofers from Earthquake. The name, taken from a certain character in a naughty British comedy movie, is distinctly obvious! This is perhaps one of the smallest subwoofer you can find in the market – compare size for size – say a 10” Mini Me vs any other 10” subwoofer and you’ll be stumped! It is way smaller, go deeper, play louder and cleaner and most important, very cost effective. I’ll put it this way – get a good subwoofer and it will survive several speaker systems upgrade! Let’s take a look at the 3 models in this range.

The smallest Mini Me is the P8, an 8” long throw subwoofer would equal any 10” normal subwoofer but it has an additional 8” passive radiator in the same cabinet which makes it an equal of a 12” subwoofer with an extension down to 25 Hz! The drivers are mounted back to back in a small cabinet which also houses a 320 watt Class D amplifier (Class D amplifiers are efficient and generate very little heat. Class D amplifiers are popular in car audio for its high output power for driving subwoofers). Placed as recommended by Earthquake – in a corner of a room - it can generate up to 108 dB in loudness! The P8 is so small you can dress up the corner and it would simply disappear! The P8 is available in high gloss black or high gloss white finish and retails at Sing$999.

The next two models are the P10 and P12 with a 10” and 12” subwoofer/passive radiator configuration. The internal amplifier is up-rated to 600 watts and promises extension down to 20 and 18 Hz respectively. The P10 and P12 are available in high gloss black finish and retails for Sing$1299 and Sing$1599 respectively.

There is a lot more specs you can glean at our eSHOP but why not drop by the showroom for an audition?

Soundbar fetish?

Soundbars are getting popular for their all-in-one solution – plug a DVD player and a subwoofer and you have an ‘almost’ home cinema setup. I said 'almost' for the fact there is no rear speakers and what you get is some pseudo surround effect. Not good. Soundbars to be slim and svelte means teeny weeny drive units that have limited excursion and loudness capability – and they distort all too readily. Not good too.

Quad’s new L-ite plus Soundbar is to satisfy videophiles with slim envy – the new LCR is slim enough (about 10cm depth) that you can wall-mount conveniently below your flatscreen TVs. You have three sets of speakers in the soundbar – left channel, center channel and right channel – the metre long soundbar-like speaker gives you three full discrete speakers as if they were in separate enclosures.

The left and right channel are two-way speakers while the center channel is a dual midbass flanking the tweeter – using the same drive units as Quad’s popular Quad L-lite which comes in separate enclosures for each of the speakers. So now you have a choice – L-lite plus as Soundbar + 2 rear speakers and subwoofer or L-lite with 5 discrete speaker cabinets and subwoofer.

Both are passive speakers, meaning you need an AV amplifier or receiver which means these systems can sound more powerful and dynamic without distortion compared to any all-in-one Soundbar. An inexpensive AV receiver with either L-lite or L-lite plus would cost no more than a good quality all-in-one Soundbar anyway and sounds wayyyy better! Whether you choose the L-lite plus of the L-lite, either is definitely a better bang for the buck! 

The Quad L-lite 5.1 system is available now at the eSHOP, the L-lite plus is available mid March 2010.