My Journey
Dennis Krishnan
Confessions of an audiophilic
I am a practicing audiophile and have been for the past 40 years. My love for ‘Hi-Fi’ began when I was 16 years of age listening to the rediffusion soundbox - American top 40 no less. I subsequently found a love for records that I had borrowed and subsequently purchased when I had saved enough. I started playing records on my dad’s turntable console system. I remember vividly Pat Boon's (Technique) and James Taylor's (Fire and Rain) both EP's 45 RPM. I soon evolve with age into 70's rock with Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk, and Black Sabbath among many others. I only began to get more serious about music reproduction when I joined the army in 1975. I purchased my first ‘real’ audio system through an installment plan which was a Luxman integrated amplifier, Kef loudspeaker, and an AIWA tape recorder (the CD was not invented yet). Home dance parties were the flavor of the time which subsequently got me involved in providing audio systems for events. As a regular in the army for 6 years, I provided audio systems on occasion for dance parties in my spare time. When it became necessary then to get a better ‘sounding’ system, I upgraded to Marantz pre and power amplifiers and got a pair of Altec Lansing Santana loudspeakers to do the needful.
To cut a long story short, my passion developed into a business of sorts, and began to purchase second-hand sound systems and got into pro audio because I fried some consumer tweeters and amplifiers. When I left the army, with my meager gratuity, I established a mobile disco business that was trending in the early '80s. This included DJ mixers, equalizers, and turntables (Technics 1200 Mk 2 no less) as the primary source for music playback. Cassette tapes were used as background music and minus one (karaoke). I also had disco lighting and effects such as smoke, fog, and bubble machines. The business continued steadily and morphed into pro-audio with sound reinforcement systems supporting mini-concerts and other events. I soon established a retail shop on Orchard Road at Ming Arcade and did this for 10 years as a retailer, installer, and events consultant for sound and lights.
My entry into the audiophile world began in the early 90s. When I became more familiar with the high-end audio scene in Singapore, I spoke to some retailers about to possibility of an audio magazine to help ramp up the market in Singapore. After a feasibility study, I decided to give it a go. I started the first audiophile magazine in Singapore called “High-End Audio”. I was the publisher, editor and reviewer/writer, and everything else to develop the business and helped grow the high-end audio industry. The industry eventually made a base for itself at the Adelphi Complex. I also organized the first high-end exhibition in Singapore and eventually, it became an annual event. As such, I visited on many occasions the winter CES high-end audio show in Las Vegas and Chicago for the Summer CES show. I also visited many high-end audio shows in Hongkong and Taiwan including many manufacturers at their factories such as an audiophile recording studio in the US, a cable manufacturer in Japan, and a loudspeaker manufacturer in Australia among others. I have also interviewed and spoken with many high-end audio designers during the 10 years of my tenure as a publisher/journalist including visiting many audiophile homes in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Then the world went into a bad recession which took a toll on the business. I had a Joint Venture agreement merging my magazine with the Singapore AudioVisual magazine. I became the Technical Editor of that magazine until the end of 2000 and continue to publish ‘The High-End Journal’ in a larger format under Inkwell Publishers. Thereafter, things came to an end, the rest they say is history. I then joined the security industry and did business development work and training for the next 20 years after which I retired at age 60 as a professional adult educator. I still provide training and courseware development on a freelance basis.
A sample of my PREVIOUS magazines in both formats
I was an avid subscriber of the “The Absolute Sound” (TAS), “Stereophile” and “Sound Practices” magazines, the latter an audio DIY magazine. I was a proud amateur DIY hobbyist, I made for myself a tube-checking device, a tube preamplifier with a phono stage (based on the Marantz 7 architecture), and a tube line stage for CD players. Along with the ‘dangerous knowledge’ I had acquired over my DIY time, became a passionate modifier of components including audiophile-quality electronic parts, point-to-point wiring, and beefing up power supplies to benefit sound reproduction. I am partial to tubes. Although presently using a hybrid setup. I am an analog diehard but listen to digital on occasion if I don’t have the music on vinyl and for casual listening. I am also a strong advocate for bass reproduction and definition i.e., a full-range system. Presently, I am exploring the world of streaming and have purchased the Raspberry Pi 4B with the ALLO Signature HAT and the ‘Shanti’ dual linear power supply to power both the ‘clean’ board and the ‘dirty’ board. It’s loaded with the Volumio music player and streams on the Spotify platform. The streamer is connected to the Schiit Modi DAC via half a meter Mogami digital 75ohm interconnect terminated with BNC connectors on both ends. Although streaming may be a source of music for some audiophiles, I used this medium only to evaluate software that I would purchase on vinyl or CD, therefore CD quality or hi-res music streaming providers are not on my radar at this time.
Here I go again
I am out of hibernation and getting myself involved again like the mystical Phoenix rising from the ashes. I have lots of capacity and am so motivated because of the ease of digital publishing, being less costly, timely, and convenient. Further, the resurgence of turntables, the advent of headphone audio, and more recently home recording studios have attracted the young of both genders, which I and many others believe would slowly but surely populate the high-end audio community. I see a gradual comeback for the health and well-being of the high-end audio industry if the economy picks up and the COVID pandemic is permanently in the rearview mirror. The progressive generation I believe may appreciate quality audio coupled with a market that only recently makes affordable audio breaking the proverbial barriers for entry into high-end audio. These new emerging markets (headphone audio, audio streamers, and home studio enthusiasts) could potentially be enticed into becoming audiophiles someday.
Therefore, in all humility, I believe I can be a catalyst and at the same time contribute to the industry by giving budding audiophiles perspective even as they are being bombarded by the myriads of YouTube audio/video ‘gurus’ teaching them what’s right and best for them. I hope to offer in these digital pages an alternative voice so that audiophiles can analyze and evaluate for themselves as they journey with me into audio bliss.
What you can expect from this site
There would essentially be 4 distinct categories. The primary category (phase one - already done) would be knowledge-based items that would consist of opinions, ‘what is’, and ‘how to’ articles that offer guidance. The next category (phase two) would consist of news, of new products offered in the marketplace that are less than 6 months old. Another category (phase three - already done) would be reference music for equipment review purposes for analog and digital mediums. The site includes a lexicon of evaluation descriptors to help you comprehend when evaluating your own or any other systems or components. The next category (phase four) of retail sites in ASIA where you can source audio components including ancillary components, The final category (phase five) would be a forum space via email where the community of audiophile subscribers can ask questions, and share ideas and information and it would be moderated where necessary to keep the conversation balanced if that’s possible. The objective is to guide newbies and keep the community engaged in the conversation where peer teaching and learning may be achieved. This would eventually be a site by and for audiophiles. The end game for my journalistic effort would be ‘videos’ by creating short video clips on ‘YouTube’ with designers of high-end audio discussing high-end audio philosophy and yours truly providing master classes for setting-up audio systems.
Full disclosure
As a side note, for full disclosure, I am not an audio engineer nor an engineer or technician of any stripe. I am not schooled in music, electronics, acoustics, or recording. I'm also not sponsored or in partnership with any manufacturer, dealer, or retailer of any audio products or accessories nor is this website being sponsored or in partnership with any manufacturer, dealer, or retailer of any audio products or accessories. My knowledge, experience, and abilities are derived from observing, reading, learning, questioning, and applying what I had discovered during my tenure as an audio journalist for 15 years and journeying as an avid audiophile for 40 years. I have a passion for good sound reproduction and am happy to share with you the jewels that I have uncovered. You may not agree with everything on these pages, but more knowledge is better than less to make more informed purchasing decisions that are guided by best practices. It's just like eating fish, you eat the flesh and throw away the bones.
My audio philosophy includes high-resolution music reproduction although purely a subjective undertaking, I believe the price, features, and cosmetics of a product don’t necessarily equate to good sonics but to the design philosophy where less is more, and the use of discrete circuits, audiophile quality electronic parts, and the construction of a component which mitigate resonance and electrical interference. I have discovered 8 audio rules that would adequately define a high-resolution system that is described in "Foundation: The Audiophile Practices". However, you may continue to enjoy your hobby as is but if you want to level up and optimize your audio system, I invite you to journey with me and explore my world of high-end audio.