Part 1 - An Introduction

**scott_01** · 31st August 2009, 09:48

Part One: An Introduction

THE AIM: Okay folks, to start off with I think I should warn you that this is a long one, and the first of 5 posts. Hopefully you'll find them interesting. If you don't, then enjoy the pictures, although it should also be noted that I'm not exactly David Bailey when it comes to photography, either! The aim of this series of posts is to let everyone know a little bit about HiFi in Singapore, or more specifically, the Adelphi Mall and some of the retailers that lurk within.

Given the recent hoo-ha about Roy Gregory, HiFi+, et al, I thought I'd add a couple of bits. About one of the only useful things that RG seemed to do for me was to raise a bit of awareness of audio gear that you can't find in the average Sevenoaks. Sure, we have a few high end emporiums in this country, but even living in London I can't say I've been into any of them. I can't help but think that most people haven't been to Definitive Audio, Noteworthy, Walrus or Coherent to name only 4. The idea of a place where you can see some really esoteric equipment and heaven forbid actually listen to it without appointment, in a showroom, is almost foreign.

THE REASON: Why would I want to do that? Well I've visited Singapore a number of times on business and I've never seen anywhere like it. I know that we all start with musical satisfaction in mind. If you don't, you are a heathen and should be banished! However, in order to get there we've all kind of accepted that the basic Dixons / Currys mini system probably isn't going to deliver. What people seemed to have been crying out for is choice and a view beyond the sound delivered by the usual names trotted out in the UK. Therefore I felt that you forum members may like this insight into a slightly different way of doing things.

THE COUNTRY: Singapore has around 2 million permanent residents and about the same number of resident, non-naturalised workers. It's not a huge population, around the same size as Scotland. The difference is that all these people are crammed into a small Island about the size of Greater London.

THE HIFI MARKET: Real estate is at a premium, rooms are generally small and home ownership is not the norm, unlike here in the UK. That said, credit is generally easily available and the all pervading influence of western culture is also strong. Given this density, it is surprising that there is no Domestic HiFi industry to speak of, but what does exist is a large, concentrated market of individuals who have a real interest in high quality audio reproduction. That market seems to stretch from the low end mass market retailers, to young (and old) headphone enthusiasts, right up to the highest of the high end. We can't say that people don't have other distractions, gaming, sport, socialising, etc, they're all there, just like in the UK, yet people still seem to be interested. I'd contend that's partly because somewhere like the Adelphi exists for them to go. I'll let you decide what you think...

THE ADELPHI: Like the market, the retailers that support it are also tightly packed and concentrated in one place. The Adelphi is a small 5 floor shopping mall which contains the vast majority of Singapore's specialist HiFi stores. The concentration of so many shops in such a small space is beyond anything I've seen before, maybe Tokyo or some other exotic location comes close these days. In the past Tottenham Court Road may well have been similar, but certainly not any more, not for HiFi anyway.

The brands available range from Kondo to Marantz, from Lyra to Einstein, stopping off at Wavac, Mark Levinson, Linn, Naim, Dynavector, Consonance, Monitor Audio, Esoteric, Goldmund, Gamut Audio Note UK, etc... The list goes on. About the only notable absentee from my point of view was Accuphase who are supported elsewhere in Singapore. Ever fancied trying out Avantgarde horns with Naim Amplification? Or maybe Some WAVAC amps with an Esoteric CD player? Providing you are serious about buying then this can be arranged, all this and more, much more! (insert manic laugh)

I'm going to post 4 more times on this subject, each time highlighting a different listening experience with another retailer. As well as some poorly focused audio porn, I'll be trying to highlight some of the differences between the Adelphi and what I experience in the UK. That's the intro done then, I'll post Part 2 shortly!

The Adephi Mall - courtesy tuong162

***************

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five

**lAmBoY** · 31st August 2009, 22:53

I spent 2 days strolling about the Adelphi the last time I was in Singapore - loved every minute of it! It was the first time I spotted Amphion Xenons which I bought a year later back in blighty. Also picked up some superb tunes. Cant wait to go back.

**scott_01** · 1st September 2009, 18:43

It's a no brainer, esp if you have a flight stopover and are either:

a. on your own
b. with a SWMBO who wants to do other things

Even if you don't want to buy they're happy for you to wander in and have a listen to some of your own music (within reason).

Oh, and prices are pretty reasonable at a rate of 2.3 SGD : 1 GBP, at around 2.5 - 2.8 they get very good.

**alphatoner** · 7th September 2009, 22:17

THE COUNTRY: Singapore has around 2 million permanent residents and about the same number of resident, non-naturalised workers. It's not a huge population, around the same size as Scotland. The difference is that all these people are crammed into a small Island about the size of Greater London.

What does that make the 18 million who do live in Greater London, sardines?

**scott_01** · 7th September 2009, 22:43

That's a very good point that,

I shouldn't have compared the size of Singapore to Greater London, as Singapore has only a third of the area of this large conurbation.

Using the ever reliable Wikepedia I can tell you that:

Singapore has a population of: 4.86m and an area of 274 Sq miles

Greater London has a population of 7.512m and an area of 609 Sq miles

Therefore 'wiki-densities' are:

Singapore is: 17275 people per Sq mile,
London is 10596 people per Sq mile

Continuing the sardine analogy then if the glorious citizens of London are the aforementioned bait fish; I would liken Singapore to a kind of smoked mussel, having a suitably higher density in the relevant container.

***Dev*** · 8th September 2009, 09:36

Hi Scott,

Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. I enjoyed reading them.

31st August 2009, 09:48	#1
scott_01 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 433	Part 1 - An Introduction Part One: An Introduction THE AIM: Okay folks, to start off with I think I should warn you that this is a long one, and the first of 5 posts. Hopefully you'll find them interesting. If you don't, then enjoy the pictures, although it should also be noted that I'm not exactly David Bailey when it comes to photography, either! The aim of this series of posts is to let everyone know a little bit about HiFi in Singapore, or more specifically, the Adelphi Mall and some of the retailers that lurk within. Given the recent hoo-ha about Roy Gregory, HiFi+, et al, I thought I'd add a couple of bits. About one of the only useful things that RG seemed to do for me was to raise a bit of awareness of audio gear that you can't find in the average Sevenoaks. Sure, we have a few high end emporiums in this country, but even living in London I can't say I've been into any of them. I can't help but think that most people haven't been to Definitive Audio, Noteworthy, Walrus or Coherent to name only 4. The idea of a place where you can see some really esoteric equipment and heaven forbid actually listen to it without appointment, in a showroom, is almost foreign. THE REASON: Why would I want to do that? Well I've visited Singapore a number of times on business and I've never seen anywhere like it. I know that we all start with musical satisfaction in mind. If you don't, you are a heathen and should be banished! However, in order to get there we've all kind of accepted that the basic Dixons / Currys mini system probably isn't going to deliver. What people seemed to have been crying out for is choice and a view beyond the sound delivered by the usual names trotted out in the UK. Therefore I felt that you forum members may like this insight into a slightly different way of doing things. THE COUNTRY: Singapore has around 2 million permanent residents and about the same number of resident, non-naturalised workers. It's not a huge population, around the same size as Scotland. The difference is that all these people are crammed into a small Island about the size of Greater London. THE HIFI MARKET: Real estate is at a premium, rooms are generally small and home ownership is not the norm, unlike here in the UK. That said, credit is generally easily available and the all pervading influence of western culture is also strong. Given this density, it is surprising that there is no Domestic HiFi industry to speak of, but what does exist is a large, concentrated market of individuals who have a real interest in high quality audio reproduction. That market seems to stretch from the low end mass market retailers, to young (and old) headphone enthusiasts, right up to the highest of the high end. We can't say that people don't have other distractions, gaming, sport, socialising, etc, they're all there, just like in the UK, yet people still seem to be interested. I'd contend that's partly because somewhere like the Adelphi exists for them to go. I'll let you decide what you think... THE ADELPHI: Like the market, the retailers that support it are also tightly packed and concentrated in one place. The Adelphi is a small 5 floor shopping mall which contains the vast majority of Singapore's specialist HiFi stores. The concentration of so many shops in such a small space is beyond anything I've seen before, maybe Tokyo or some other exotic location comes close these days. In the past Tottenham Court Road may well have been similar, but certainly not any more, not for HiFi anyway. The brands available range from Kondo to Marantz, from Lyra to Einstein, stopping off at Wavac, Mark Levinson, Linn, Naim, Dynavector, Consonance, Monitor Audio, Esoteric, Goldmund, Gamut Audio Note UK, etc... The list goes on. About the only notable absentee from my point of view was Accuphase who are supported elsewhere in Singapore. Ever fancied trying out Avantgarde horns with Naim Amplification? Or maybe Some WAVAC amps with an Esoteric CD player? Providing you are serious about buying then this can be arranged, all this and more, much more! (insert manic laugh) I'm going to post 4 more times on this subject, each time highlighting a different listening experience with another retailer. As well as some poorly focused audio porn, I'll be trying to highlight some of the differences between the Adelphi and what I experience in the UK. That's the intro done then, I'll post Part 2 shortly! The Adephi Mall - courtesy tuong162 *************** Part One \| Part Two \| Part Three \| Part Four \| Part Five

31st August 2009, 22:53	#2
lAmBoY Lothario and Libertine Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: At home Posts: 1,189	I spent 2 days strolling about the Adelphi the last time I was in Singapore - loved every minute of it! It was the first time I spotted Amphion Xenons which I bought a year later back in blighty. Also picked up some superb tunes. Cant wait to go back. __________________ Jam on it, Jam on it, Jam onanonanonit....wickey wickey wickey....{¯`·.¸_LÅMß¤¥_¸.·´¯}

8th September 2009, 09:36	#6
*Dev* Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Ilford, Essex, UK Posts: 5,336	Hi Scott, Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. I enjoyed reading them. __________________ Regards, Dev My Kit

1st September 2009, 18:43	#3
scott_01 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 433	It's a no brainer, esp if you have a flight stopover and are either: a. on your own b. with a SWMBO who wants to do other things Even if you don't want to buy they're happy for you to wander in and have a listen to some of your own music (within reason). Oh, and prices are pretty reasonable at a rate of 2.3 SGD : 1 GBP, at around 2.5 - 2.8 they get very good.

7th September 2009, 22:17	#4
alphatoner Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 133	THE COUNTRY: Singapore has around 2 million permanent residents and about the same number of resident, non-naturalised workers. It's not a huge population, around the same size as Scotland. The difference is that all these people are crammed into a small Island about the size of Greater London. What does that make the 18 million who do live in Greater London, sardines?

7th September 2009, 22:43	#5
scott_01 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 433	That's a very good point that, I shouldn't have compared the size of Singapore to Greater London, as Singapore has only a third of the area of this large conurbation. Using the ever reliable Wikepedia I can tell you that: Singapore has a population of: 4.86m and an area of 274 Sq miles Greater London has a population of 7.512m and an area of 609 Sq miles Therefore 'wiki-densities' are: Singapore is: 17275 people per Sq mile, London is 10596 people per Sq mile Continuing the sardine analogy then if the glorious citizens of London are the aforementioned bait fish; I would liken Singapore to a kind of smoked mussel, having a suitably higher density in the relevant container.