Farang friendly hifi stores in Bangkok?

[jvs]

23 minutes ago, grobec said:

I’m brought to tears when I think of my rig back in Montreal that is packed in storage.
Wilson Audio, Jeff Rowland, PSA Directstream DAC and 6tb of music mostly hi-res and DSD.
Here I’m listening to Sonos and lo-do internet Streaming.
Oh well, other stuff to do here, but I miss my rig.


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Nice equipment!!!

[grobec]

Many years of listening, tweaking and finally to my liking.
Then back in the boxes and crates. Sigh!


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[grobec]

Incidentally I was in on the “voicing” of the DirectStream DAC for the first few software releases ( not a chip DAC) and it beats out a lot of big name and price rivals. IMHO nothing at even twice the price comes close.
Of course I might prefer a Lampi but then i would have to sell my car. I’m


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[Thian]

11 hours ago, zhangxifu said:

Sales and customer service here in Thailand is really a hit and mis experience. And a way more on mis side than what I am used to in Europe.

 

Home Pro being the worst of them all. I had to visit them over 50 times this year as I was redoing my condo from a scratch in Bangkok and had no choice. It's good thing you had a list cos I usually forget half the things I wanted after tens of hellos and no have, cannot do, conversations, with the know nothing, have nothing to do sales people standing around smiling. Every department does have sort of a "boss" with all the knowledge of his accessories, eg. the guy with the key to those electric switches etc.. But is understandably very very busy. Over 50 visits with purchases this year and not once, NOT ONCE , a smooth experience without waiting ten minutes for nothing etc. cashier not finding the discount code that is clearly written on the paper or something similar.

 

Then again I find most of the cashiers at BigC and Lotus very professional, even the high school students. Ikea seems to use lots of time training their stuff the basics there, seems to work great but remains very superficial. Most service in Thailand just cannot handle the negative feedback and then start to ignore the customer, making things worse. It is a cultural thing.

 

Going back to OPs high-end stores with very high snob factor. I'm not very knowledgable with hi-fi but have had similar experiences with high end musical instruments, big bikes etc. It really is a hit and mis thing. Some shops just don't care if they sell or not, some have brilliant service. I suggest you keep looking for the right shop and people first. Then try to get them find the parts for you. Sometimes buying online is just easier. Even international, I just imported some bags from the USA and the customs forwarded it in a week to my local post office with out problems and charged the correct duties. Everything by the book.

Yup i had similar experiences as well.

 

On the Moto-expo i was willing to buy a big scooter..went to see Honda's stand, got an agressive sales-rep after me who was a snob as well....i only asked if the bike could be delivered with a backrest for the passenger but he said that was a stupid thing to ask. Well i don't like to  see my passenger fall off, has happened before.

 

At the Suzuki stand they couldn't speak english, when the translator came he didn't know anything about the technical specs/service of that Burgmann scooter, useless....i asked him about the big sticker with "discount untill next month" but i still don't know what is means.

 

I've also been to many cardealers to buy a new car, but if you want to pay cash they don't care of you as customer at all.

 

Same in 5* Thai hotels, once my keycard didn't work and i was laughed at at the servicedesk....the new card they gave me also didn't work when i used it later, again they laughed at me....the 3rd card also had issues but i didn't go tell them anymore and called my wife to open the door.

 

The list is endless and the service gets worse if the product you're buying costs more....

 

One day i told my wife about how they followed me like a dog while in homepro...i was just looking at the furniture and thinking if i would buy or not. She said it was all in my head untill next day she listened to a radio-dj who spoke exactly the same about homepro as i did....he said a ghost was following him in the shop and that was quite something for the Thai.

 

But for an expensive amplifier i would also buy equipment to protect it during electric fall outs...i bet the Thai sales have never heard of that but it's important.

 

Now i can totally understand why many Thai like to buy a demo-house in a community...those houses have all furniture already and if you buy it you can just move in, no more homepro-hassle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Airalee]

I can see that there are some serious audiophiles here.  I have a quick question.  I have a couple 110v integrated amps back in the US (Bryston B60 and an Electrocompaniet ECI-3).  Is it worth bringing the Bryston over (it will easily fit in carry on luggage) and using it with a step down converter/transformer?  It’s not worth selling there (might get about $600 for it) and buying a new B60R SST from Piyanas for $4000+ (฿134,900).

 

I have an email into Bryston right now to see about doing a conversion to 220v but not sure if they can (or will).

[Will E Vormer]

13 hours ago, grobec said:

Incidentally I was in on the “voicing” of the DirectStream DAC for the first few software releases ( not a chip DAC) and it beats out a lot of big name and price rivals. IMHO nothing at even twice the price comes close.
 

Ladder Dac? Quite curious about these.. one of the older Burr Brown ladder dac chipsets is supposed to be great.

[grobec]

FPGA is the term to google.

Regular DAC chips are limited due to capacity and firmware.

So a manufacturer is locked in based on the potential of the chip.

FPGA basically replaces the chip giving the end manufacturer more control over the “effect ” that their component has on the sound quality. “Voicing”

A very long process. We were four in different states and countries and listening on different equipment and even different rooms. Hundreds of software versions over months but thankfully we all agreed on most of the better versions.

The late Arnie Nudel ( Infinity speakers) was one of our 4.

Sad that we lost one of the great masters of the industry.

 

 

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[grobec]

Here is a general explanation of FPGA

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[ronaldo0]

I bought a denon stereo for a bar and one for my house. No problem with service or delivery from Mahajak in siam paragon . But after a year or so the equipment started to have problems . The cd player in one and the ipod input in the other. Fixing them was nigh on impossible and they wanted me to just send them to denon in Singapore I think it was or they were going to send it to denon somewhere. Months after sending the cd player off I was told the laser was done and needed a new one. Cost to replace was as much as new cd player almost !!

I had a denon system in the UK for years and not one problem with it although I read online the quality of denon nowadays is poor compared to before .

If anyone is looking for home speakers I seen a nice set in Piyanus online at a bargain . 190,000 gbp !! ?

[Peterw42]

I think some of this needs to be put into context, a lot of the time buying some products like big bikes, high end audio equipment etc, you are not dealing with the manufacturer or even an official dealer etc. You are often dealing with a "grey" importer.

The grey importers are very good at setting up shop/website etc to look like the manufacturer. Although these importers present as a retail outlet, they are more wholesalers, importing large orders to supply other retail outlets.

They just import, they dont support or repair the product or even have much knowledge of the product.

[JayBird]

I reserve most of my tech or expensive shopping for when I'm in Singapore or the UK.

 

Although I did get an Xbox one x from Nadz Pattaya, and the guy working there was quite nice (Tested everything first)

 

Sony shop is usually hit and miss, often the guys don't look up from the TV. Good luck if Thai fight is on. However the guys at Sony at the mall bankapi were very helpful.

 

I think there is a lot of hit and miss here, as with a lot of countries. Still, better than France.

 

 

 

[jvs]

Service is alwys a hit and miss no matter where you go or what you are getting repaired.

I had a wfoofer with a problem and the set i needed to repair it costs

nearly 200 euros.

Took it to a local gguy around here who owns a small repair shop,he said he would have a look at it,he did!Price 400 baht,sounds great!!!

[grobec]

By the way...
Any audiophiles near udon thani?
I could live out my fantasies on your rig once in a while


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[Thian]

19 hours ago, Airalee said:

I can see that there are some serious audiophiles here.  I have a quick question.  I have a couple 110v integrated amps back in the US (Bryston B60 and an Electrocompaniet ECI-3).  Is it worth bringing the Bryston over (it will easily fit in carry on luggage) and using it with a step down converter/transformer?  It’s not worth selling there (might get about $600 for it) and buying a new B60R SST from Piyanas for $4000+ (฿134,900).

 

I have an email into Bryston right now to see about doing a conversion to 220v but not sure if they can (or will).

I had an old B&O tower on 110v but that transforer to 220v was expensive and very heavy. It worked well but in the heat of Thailand you might need one with extra cooling.

 

At the top floor of Phuntip Ngamwongwan are traders in the kind of equipment, they might want to buy from you...i wouldn't trust any thai trader though but it's up to you.

 

Also the audiostreet in Chinatown might be interested but i have never seen any real brandnames there.

[Airalee]

4 hours ago, Thian said:

I had an old B&O tower on 110v but that transforer to 220v was expensive and very heavy. It worked well but in the heat of Thailand you might need one with extra cooling.

 

At the top floor of Phuntip Ngamwongwan are traders in the kind of equipment, they might want to buy from you...i wouldn't trust any thai trader though but it's up to you.

 

Also the audiostreet in Chinatown might be interested but i have never seen any real brandnames there.

Fortunately, Bryston got back to me and said that their local distributor should be able help me with a conversion over to 220v.  I’ll contact them and see what they have to say before I bring it over.  Now I’ll have to figure out how to get my speakers over here as they certainly won’t fit in my carry-on luggage.

 

I also contacted a place in the US that sells transformers and they had some suggestions for my amp and sub (Martin Logan Grotto)...this is what they recommended...

http://www.220-electronics.com/1500-watt-diamond-series-voltage-converter.html

Edited September 17, 2018 by Airalee

[Thian]

4 hours ago, Airalee said:

Fortunately, Bryston got back to me and said that their local distributor should be able help me with a conversion over to 220v.  I’ll contact them and see what they have to say before I bring it over.  Now I’ll have to figure out how to get my speakers over here as they certainly won’t fit in my carry-on luggage.

 

I also contacted a place in the US that sells transformers and they had some suggestions for my amp and sub (Martin Logan Grotto)...this is what they recommended...

http://www.220-electronics.com/1500-watt-diamond-series-voltage-converter.html

Also by a conversion there's a risk of overheating, you best tell them about the ambient temperatures in Thailand so they know the purpose...an extra fan doesn't cost much and can do the trick.

[Zuman]

6 hours ago, Airalee said:

Fortunately, Bryston got back to me and said that their local distributor should be able help me with a conversion over to 220v.  I’ll contact them and see what they have to say before I bring it over.  Now I’ll have to figure out how to get my speakers over here as they certainly won’t fit in my carry-on luggage.

 

I also contacted a place in the US that sells transformers and they had some suggestions for my amp and sub (Martin Logan Grotto)...this is what they recommended...

http://www.220-electronics.com/1500-watt-diamond-series-voltage-converter.html

I used two 1500 watt diamond series voltage converters for 2+ years here in Phuket to power my system.  They worked fine and had no overheating issues. I consider them to be an excellent value.  

 

My Current System:

Core Power Technologies Step Down Balanced Power Transformer

Antipodes Gen II Server

Lampizator Golden Gate II Preamp/DAC

Bakoon Amp - 12R

Zu Definition Mk IV Speakers

LessLoss Cables and Power Cords

[Will E Vormer]

Any opinions on Accuphase gear? Noticed the s/h prices are very reasonable here. Checking noomhifi classifieds daily..

Edited September 18, 2018 by Will E Vormer

[RAZZELL]

My local Homepro are brilliant! ?

 

Some great members of staff in there. A month or so ago I did some shopping and left a kitchen roll holder behind - a few weeks later I went in and a guy came running up to me...telling me they had it behind the counter.

 

YMMV! ?

 

RAZZ

[varun]

Thailand is the not the best place to be an audiophile.

Poor customer service experience and inflated prices due to excessive customs duties for Audio products are the two main reasons, among others.

 

 

[Airalee]

Since last posting on this thread I was able to cobble together a satisfactory (to my ears) system using 3 different dealers.

 

HiFi99 at Fashion Island:   A small one room retailer who is the distributor for Sugden gear.  Very friendly owner (only speaks Thai) and a good selection of second hand high end gear.  Their website is a Facebook page that is regularly updated with the latest offerings.  Prices IMO are fair and there is very little room to haggle.  I walked out with a nearly new Hegel H80 integrated amp for about 1/2 of the retail price.

 

Hi End Gallery at 9 center mall:  another small retailer selling only new gear...most of it out of my price range...way out.  But, I was able to get a great deal on some PMC DB1 gold speakers (less than I would have paid in the US).  Brands I noticed were PMC, B&W, Chord, Bow Technologies and Meridian to name a few.

 

Piyanas (Central Bangna):  Friendly service, but I came in knowing what I wanted (REL T-zero and some speaker stands) so no high pressure sales. The best thing about Piyanas is their membership program which is free to join.  It gives you 15% off retail prices and 20% off on your birthday.  I haven’t been to any other Piyanas so I cannot comment on them.  They were even nice enough to invite me into their “hidden” room and let me hang out for a while and listen to this...

 

 

[Will E Vormer]

Piyanas is great. They have a deal on the Cambridge cxn atm. Thanks for the birthday discount tip!!

By accident found a thai company producing Nelson Pass clones(First Watt J7). Obviously this is an IP issue and out of respect for 'Papa' (audiophiles will understand) will probably give these a miss. 

Edited October 16, 2018 by Will E Vormer

[Will E Vormer]

Correction. F7, not J7

[Airalee]

2 hours ago, Will E Vormer said:

Piyanas is great. They have a deal on the Cambridge cxn atm. Thanks for the birthday discount tip!!

By accident found a thai company producing Nelson Pass clones(First Watt J7). Obviously this is an IP issue and out of respect for 'Papa' (audiophiles will understand) will probably give these a miss. 

From what I have always understood, Nelson freely posts the schematics of his amps and even has his own DIY forum.  I’m not surprised that people on the other side of the planet are trying to cash in on it.  I too wouldn’t buy a copy as I feel that he shares his work so that people who can’t afford a $3k amp but are handy with DIY electronics can actually build one themselves.

[Airalee]

Went to Fortune Town today (3rd floor).  There are at least a half dozen high end shops there (Including a Piyanas) and a couple used equipment shops.  Just about every brand under the sun is represented.  Pass, McIntosh, Krell, Electrocompaniet, Sugden, Audio Research, etc etc.  Definitely worth checking out.  There is also a record/C.D. store on the same floor that has an incredibly extensive collection of both new and used vinyl and cds.