Getting close to nature, gentle giant

[Big Dog RJ]

So my daughter is spending her Uni break away in Thailand, visiting my Bro & sis.

Here's a classic! Doesn't get any better than this!

Well actually it did... many years ago when she was just 7, we headed to a special Ellie orphanage where she actually fed a baby Ellie from a 5 litre bottle of milk! Whiles feeding Ellie bulbs, mama Ellie is in the background standing right behind her keeping a close eye. That was very intense but kiddo handled it well. Unfortunately thanks to my expert IT skills, I accidentally deleted that photo! She hasn't forgotten that episode.

Anyway, this one's just as good. This place is called Ethical Ellie tourist Park something... all the Ellie's are not bound by any chains, allowed to roam freely.

Back in Colombo they always chain them, even Ellie bugs and mama were chained. So, Thai authorities took back those particular Ellie's that were donated to Sri Lanka! Go figure! Now we're a few Ellie's short but no worries, our main Ellie orphanage is doing ok, thanks to tourism dollars.

This one where she visited in Thailand cost her $200, for 3hrs with lunch provided, kiddo says it was worth every penny! Ellie fella here was happy as after a few bananas.

Cheers, and enjoy mother nature. We must somehow preserve our planet!
Woof! RJ

[admin]

Amazing. What beautiful creatures. I'm sure that became a life long memory for her.

I was in Thailand a couple of years ago. Had a great time. It was very hot and humid however!

[Big Dog RJ]

Well we're back maties. Thought I'd make a new thread but this one seems most appropriate enough.

Pops at 91, still going... bless. Wants us to visit at least once a year, says that will keep him going and he'll always look forward to seeing us. Yes, I can certainly understand that but air travel is awful! Unless you were on business class (only for the high rollers). I need to save up for tooobs & maintenance. At 6'3 it's not easy to sit in monkey class for several hours... hate it.
Pops is going great, doesn't remember much about our dealer days but definitely recalls all the special Primer CJ gear we had. Bit difficult to have long convos, need to breakdown the sentences in smaller words and wait a while for his response.

Didn't get the chance to audition the mighty Genesis Tributes, the chap who bought them hasn't redone his room properly. There were too many other types of speakers lying around, and those big Focals take up a lot of space including older Thiels and Klipsch horns in the same room. So not sure when this high profile audition would take place. I'm not really counting on it.

Although that was something I was looking forward to, my focus slightly changed towards other gear, especially Jadis and Pass Labs XA series amplifiers. Jadis has quite a vast array of tube gear to choose from and it's marvellous! The Pass Labs XA series is designed extremely well and is something I've set high on my short list. So I managed to audition primarily these two types with electrostats, and mostly ML's. I was thinking of heading back there in October for a second round on the Jadis amps but I think I'll keep my CJ monoblocks, after all that's a custom type of sound I developed over several years. The Jadis are so very very tempting though, it's quite different to CJ and a very high level of musicality. I wouldn't say one is better than the other but perhaps as a second choice of amplifiers or alternative options, the Jadis is it!
If you hop onto their website, you'll come across the Jadis MK2 series 80, 200, 300 and 500 amplifiers, they're superb!
I thought to myself, just one more round of fine tube gear before retirement... but I think I'm done here. Not sure if it's worth engaging in such spend. Perhaps a smaller Jadis stereo 60-80w would be just fine, but won't drive CLX's to full flight, only the Pass Labs will do that. So need to see how that goes next year.

Although these were great times and I learned new things about other gear, these two pics are priceless and specially the one with pops & wifey. Also, the digital reef tank in Spore at LV is awesome! So this time round I decided on posting these two pics, rather than the usual audio gear. I just sat there looking at the reef tank longer than I actually auditioned gear! Ha! Goes to show the senses are touched in different ways.

So here's a big cheers to pops! 91 go pops!
A mighty WOOF!
RJ

[admin]

Welcome back RJ! Glad to hear your travels went well. Glad your father is doing well. Let's all hope to make it to that age! I enjoy traveling but the airplane ride is always a hassle and not a very pleasant experience. I'm too cheap to upgrade to first class/business but will typically make seat reservations to an exit row or something like that to get a little extra leg room. I have a European trip coming up next week so I'm starting to mentally prepare!

That's a big screen on that Louis Vuitton Store. I guess when the products you sell are that expensive, it buys things like that!

Completely agree with you. Jadis and Pass Labs makes some top tier gear. Very hard to find a "not so great" amp and impossible to find a bad one. My local audio dealer is a Jadis distributer but unfortunately not Pass Labs. So relatively easy to check out some of their offerings and they usually have something set up in one of their demo rooms. Never disappoints.

Again, welcome back and enjoy the tunes on the home stereo!

[Big Dog RJ]

Cheers Admin!

The wifey was looking at a nice piece from Cartier, lots of bling in those stores including Tiffany's. Then when visited the Adelphi which also had plenty of bling shiny tranny covers (Manley Labs, Jadis and VAC) to name a few, she asked what's the big deal in all this type of gear??? My reply was, it plays fine tunes!
Put a few grand of nice jewellery bling on your finger... what the heck does that do??? Oh you wouldn't understand...(eye roll) and that's all she wrote.

Apart from all the wonderful gear, auditions and personal demos, when I visited pops, I sort of lost the thrill. I realised that he's slowed down a lot, and now takes even more meds than last year, just to keep afloat. Certainly not a lifestyle that I would choose but as you said very correctly, at 91 what more can I excpect.

I'm heading there again mid next year or so to visit another old dealer mate who's celebrating his 80th. That will be a blast for sure and we'll probably stay close to the Adelphi plaza. Obviously I'll visit pops on the way back and check on him.

Airline travel hasn't changed much since I was born! Been travelling since I could walk... i guess the only difference is the personal screens. Back in the day, I remember a central column and they'd show a movie for all to watch. How bizarre. I told my daughter about it and she thought it was a typical dad joke. Can't even fathom those were the days of air travel.

Yes, I was quite surprised by the array of tube gear that Jadis makes. They nearly cover anything and everything from SET tube amps to KT170 power houses, 4 chassis monoblocks huge! The MK2 500's have massive power supplies, probably able to launch the next mission to the moon! I was so overwhelmed by their product range that I couldn't be bothered in taking any pics. Anyway, each model is clearly listed on their website with some great pics, so that would be better than my phone. On my next visit I'll take a pic or two of the ones I've been very keen on. Just beautiful sound and beautifully crafted, those French designers are perfectionists!

Speaking of design team, I really wonder how many people are employed by Jadis because that's quite a lot of gear to be producing from Preamps, power amps, stereo/ monoblocks, various tube varieties, DACs and source gear as well. What a range! Looks like the only thing they missed are toasters!

The long time CJ dealer, Norman HiFi are going ok. They've placed new orders mostly on the mid-tier category, Classic and CAV series. In relation to the top line category comprising of ET7 series and ART line, there's a long wait. CJ HQ is also waiting for parts, mostly power supplies, so there are back orders. Overall, the pulse is ticking but I do know a few dealers who have decided to adopt other brands to carry on the business. At the end of the day, it's a business after all but I do miss the passion from the previous team of Lew J, Bill C and Ed. Those were the days!!!

Cheers to CJ, and all the very best.
Do enjoy those finest tunes.
RJ

[admin]

The wifey was looking at a nice piece from Cartier, lots of bling in those stores including Tiffany's. Then when visited the Adelphi which also had plenty of bling shiny tranny covers (Manley Labs, Jadis and VAC) to name a few, she asked what's the big deal in all this type of gear??? My reply was, it plays fine tunes!
Put a few grand of nice jewellery bling on your finger... what the heck does that do??? Oh you wouldn't understand...(eye roll) and that's all she wrote.

We all have our toys. For my wife it's shoes and not so much jewelry but I think the concept is the same. I have recently started to collect a modest watch collection but you can argue that I spend more on these expensive trinkets than my wife!

Apart from all the wonderful gear, auditions and personal demos, when I visited pops, I sort of lost the thrill. I realised that he's slowed down a lot, and now takes even more meds than last year, just to keep afloat. Certainly not a lifestyle that I would choose but as you said very correctly, at 91 what more can I excpect.

My parents have had their health decline in the past few years and it's very difficult to watch. More and more meds, yet less and less functioning. A healthy dose of stubbornness on their part makes it that much more of a challenge.

Airline travel hasn't changed much since I was born! Been travelling since I could walk... i guess the only difference is the personal screens. Back in the day, I remember a central column and they'd show a movie for all to watch. How bizarre. I told my daughter about it and she thought it was a typical dad joke. Can't even fathom those were the days of air travel.

I still have some vague memories of when I was a kid and there was still smoking allowed on airplanes. I think that was banned in the late 80's in the US. How times have changed.

Yes, I was quite surprised by the array of tube gear that Jadis makes. They nearly cover anything and everything from SET tube amps to KT170 power houses, 4 chassis monoblocks huge! The MK2 500's have massive power supplies, probably able to launch the next mission to the moon! I was so overwhelmed by their product range that I couldn't be bothered in taking any pics. Anyway, each model is clearly listed on their website with some great pics, so that would be better than my phone. On my next visit I'll take a pic or two of the ones I've been very keen on. Just beautiful sound and beautifully crafted, those French designers are perfectionists!

Speaking of design team, I really wonder how many people are employed by Jadis because that's quite a lot of gear to be producing from Preamps, power amps, stereo/ monoblocks, various tube varieties, DACs and source gear as well. What a range! Looks like the only thing they missed are toasters!

I'm not sure of how big Jadis is. But they must have a reasonably large crew as they have so many models of preamps, amps, and sources. That must take considerable resources to develop, especially the source products as that is significantly more complicated than a analog preamp/amp.

The long time CJ dealer, Norman HiFi are going ok. They've placed new orders mostly on the mid-tier category, Classic and CAV series. In relation to the top line category comprising of ET7 series and ART line, there's a long wait. CJ HQ is also waiting for parts, mostly power supplies, so there are back orders. Overall, the pulse is ticking but I do know a few dealers who have decided to adopt other brands to carry on the business. At the end of the day, it's a business after all but I do miss the passion from the previous team of Lew J, Bill C and Ed. Those were the days!!!

Cheers to CJ, and all the very best.
Do enjoy those finest tunes.
RJ

Yes, times have changed and the "good old days" are gone. Of course at the same time we have a lot more options and these products have evolved to sound better than ever. So things are always in flux and progress has its pros and cons.

Happy listing.

[Big Dog RJ]

G'day maties, trust all is well at your end of the woods.

Managed to find those pics taken from the Adelphi. For those who maybe keen to know what's on demo... retook these from the site just for your quick reference. I've posted only a few, which I came across as most engaging with high performance.

Of course my top favourite was the Diptyque ribbon panels. These are the smaller ones in their range, didn't get a pic of their Reference 140mk2. However, in the Jadis pic, you can see the sheer size of those tube monoblocks, as big Dan D's Relentless monoblocks, massive amps. I reckon they could launch the next mission to Mars with that gear.
Cheers, and do enjoy those very fine tunes.
RJ

[admin]

Really some amazing gear. Looks like you took pictures from a screen, but even with the low quality they are really something. That's some big-time gear with prices to match. I would love to demo some of that gear if given the chance.

[Big Dog RJ]

Yes correct Admin.
Retook the pics from the Adelphi show, since our good Aussie mate was also there for show coverage. Took a while for the full report but couldn't cover every room, there's just far too much. It's not as vast as Munich's show but it's quite comprehensive, covering a lot of gear. I think the one in HK is also quite good.

I just wanted to share some of the pics just for our members to get an idea about how they go about it in Sth East Asian region. Plenty of buying power and CJ is still high on the podium. That's a good thing!

Sorry for the blurry pics... it was just to pass around. There were other top rooms, like Burmester and Vitus, too many people crowded in though. Those huge Dan D's amplifiers are the same ones supposed to have been partnered with the mighty Genesis Tributes but that never took place. So didn't get a chance to audition that system, not even sure if it will happen. I think the owner of the Tributes is a fairly quiet chap, hence doesn't like too many visitors. Fair enough. I was really looking forward to it though. Perhaps one day, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Cheers, RJ

[admin]

I appreciate the pictures. Great to see such high end gear. It makes me happy to see these shows still thriving in the current world of "order everything online without any audition."

I only wish I could have seen/listened to these systems in person myself.