3Rd Floor Fortune Town

[naughtybadfurrimunki]

I was so disappointed yesterday, went to Fortune town - only 1 hi-fi shop left.

Suansiang (the tt shop) has moved to Amarin plaza, but I don't know where the other shops have gone.

There used to be a record shop with a reasonable selection of Japanese imports, can't remember the name but the shop's logo was done in the style of the Metallica logo. Does anyone know where he's gone?

And there used to be a used record shop, the guy had a Linn tt and some big US speakers as the centre piece.

Also, there used to be a cable shop in there too, I wonder what's happened to him?

Does anyone have any further info? Guess I'll definitely need to get myself down to the hi-fi show in November!

[stgrhe]

I suppose Fortune Town is moving in the same direction as the HiFi Center.

[lomatopo]

It looks like they are going to do a major refurb at Fortune Town. On south side, floors B, 2 & 3 are mostly shuttered. Maybe they want to spiff it up before the new mega CW opens across the street?

Maybe have a Thai friend search the Thai forums to find out where some of these shops might have re-located to, or ask a nearby shop (which may still be open) for info or contact details.

I do see these high-end stereo shops tucked away in various malls; I'll try to make mote of them and post back here.

[CarlBkk]

Unfortunately I feel the worst: some of the Fortune shops relocated to the Hi Fi Center, which itself is struggling (always was optimistic in a shrinking market. It might work in Singapore but Bangkok is a different story). There really are three places to check. Amarin (frequent changes but mostly new gear), HiFi Center and the Thai What Hi Fi magazine.

[naughtybadfurrimunki]

Thx for the comments guys. Carl, I tend to agree with you. Anyway, I'll have a wander round Amarin when I have a free afternoon and post my findings. Personally I find it really frustrating; I want to buy a new LOMC cart; Lyra, Koetsu, Benz, Dynavector etc, but in BK it's impossible to find a dealer that carries all these products and with enough stock to allow for A/B comparisons before purchasing.

[stgrhe]

Thx for the comments guys. Carl, I tend to agree with you. Anyway, I'll have a wander round Amarin when I have a free afternoon and post my findings. Personally I find it really frustrating; I want to buy a new LOMC cart; Lyra, Koetsu, Benz, Dynavector etc, but in BK it's impossible to find a dealer that carries all these products and with enough stock to allow for A/B comparisons before purchasing.

Contact Khun Wuti at Audio Excellence. They are the distributor for Lyra in Thailand.

Telephone no. 02-266 3827

e-mail: www.audioexcellence.co.th

[naughtybadfurrimunki]

Thx stgrhe, will do. Anyway, I was in Suansiang's new shop in Amarin and they told me that some of the shops are reopening after the renovation.

I've already contacted the Miyajima and Benz distributor,(Komfortsound) but the guy's not so hot at replying to emails!

[ExpatOilWorker]

Thx for the comments guys. Carl, I tend to agree with you. Anyway, I'll have a wander round Amarin when I have a free afternoon and post my findings. Personally I find it really frustrating; I want to buy a new LOMC cart; Lyra, Koetsu, Benz, Dynavector etc, but in BK it's impossible to find a dealer that carries all these products and with enough stock to allow for A/B comparisons before purchasing.

I have always wondered how is buying that pricy HIFI equipment, but I guess now I know. Is it really that much better then good standard JBL speakers and say Yamaha equipment?

There are also some HIFI stores in Central Chitlom and Paragon.

[OriginalPoster]

Thx for the comments guys. Carl, I tend to agree with you. Anyway, I'll have a wander round Amarin when I have a free afternoon and post my findings. Personally I find it really frustrating; I want to buy a new LOMC cart; Lyra, Koetsu, Benz, Dynavector etc, but in BK it's impossible to find a dealer that carries all these products and with enough stock to allow for A/B comparisons before purchasing.

I have always wondered how is buying that pricy HIFI equipment, but I guess now I know. Is it really that much better then good standard JBL speakers and say Yamaha equipment?

There are also some HIFI stores in Central Chitlom and Paragon.

Usually, but if you randomly pick a bunch of high-dollar components and throw them together into a system they might not be. There definitely are a lot of highend shops that fail to produce highend sound in their showrooms.

[stgrhe]

Thx for the comments guys. Carl, I tend to agree with you. Anyway, I'll have a wander round Amarin when I have a free afternoon and post my findings. Personally I find it really frustrating; I want to buy a new LOMC cart; Lyra, Koetsu, Benz, Dynavector etc, but in BK it's impossible to find a dealer that carries all these products and with enough stock to allow for A/B comparisons before purchasing.

I have always wondered how is buying that pricy HIFI equipment, but I guess now I know. Is it really that much better then good standard JBL speakers and say Yamaha equipment?

There are also some HIFI stores in Central Chitlom and Paragon.

Usually, but if you randomly pick a bunch of high-dollar components and throw them together into a system they might not be. There definitely are a lot of highend shops that fail to produce highend sound in their showrooms.

So true but sometimes that is due to the store layout and not because the staff do not know what they are talking about. I have found several dealers that are really good.

Randomly mixing equipment is not the best way to select once's HiFi set. I do recommend one should always start with selecting the loudspeakers, and then match the power amplifier to the chosen speakers and work from there.

[ExpatOilWorker]

Thx for the comments guys. Carl, I tend to agree with you. Anyway, I'll have a wander round Amarin when I have a free afternoon and post my findings. Personally I find it really frustrating; I want to buy a new LOMC cart; Lyra, Koetsu, Benz, Dynavector etc, but in BK it's impossible to find a dealer that carries all these products and with enough stock to allow for A/B comparisons before purchasing.

I have always wondered how is buying that pricy HIFI equipment, but I guess now I know. Is it really that much better then good standard JBL speakers and say Yamaha equipment?

There are also some HIFI stores in Central Chitlom and Paragon.

Usually, but if you randomly pick a bunch of high-dollar components and throw them together into a system they might not be. There definitely are a lot of highend shops that fail to produce highend sound in their showrooms.

So true but sometimes that is due to the store layout and not because the staff do not know what they are talking about. I have found several dealers that are really good.

Randomly mixing equipment is not the best way to select once's HiFi set. I do recommend one should always start with selecting the loudspeakers, and then match the power amplifier to the chosen speakers and work from there.

I can hear the difference between the free speakers you get when you buy a Plasma TV and my current JBL speakers and Yamaha sorround sound system, but that is as far as my hearing can take me.

It is great to hear that there are people out there with more refined acoustic skills.

[naughtybadfurrimunki]

Imho its not about listening skills. For example, I decided to purchase my speakers first, I knew exactly what I wanted, they're high end actives (power amps built in) used in pro and domestic situations alike, so the next choice was a suitable pre, then I got my tt sorted in the UK and bought a reasonable arm, cart and phono stage to get me started. So in my case, I now find myself wanting a higher spec cart, arm and phono stage to do the speakers justice. When I'm ready I'm going to buy the Ayre phono pre from Decco 2000, then I'll contact the various cart distributors/dealers and ask for home auditions to ensure compatability (synergy) with the rest of my components (there's no way I'm gonna spend the equivalent of £2000 or thereabouts on a cart if I can't audition it first on my system in my room). If a distributor/dealer isn't prepared to do a home audition then imho they're not worthy of selling such high end components, and therefore they'll lose a potential customer, ie: me.

Once you get started on hi end hi-fi there's no going back!!! BTW, the gear I'm talking about is quite different from home theatre setups - of which I have no interest at all, mainly because they cater to a different audience and are usually only designed for impact (ie: movies)... imho these kind of systems get tiresome very quickly and aren't suitable for prolonged listening sessions due to the listener fatigue they induce.

[naughtybadfurrimunki]

btw strghe, which are your favourite dealers in BK?

[naughtybadfurrimunki]

Expat Oil worker, I know of no shops in Central Chitlom? Are you referring to Power Buy, or are there some new shops in there?

[OriginalPoster]

Expat Oil worker, I know of no shops in Central Chitlom? Are you referring to Power Buy, or are there some new shops in there?

At Chitlom there are some shops in the Amarin Plaza, maybe that's what he's referring to.

[stgrhe]

btw strghe, which are your favourite dealers in BK?

Piyanas, Image and the Focus Audio dealer at Amarin Plaza, always forget their name, plus Conice although they are both a dealer and a distributor. I also like Khun Wuti at Audio Excellence but they are a distributor only.

Mr Balance has some good second hand stuff but his lack of service mind puts him off the list.

[naughtybadfurrimunki]

I know all the shops in Amarin... 'expatoilworker' specified Central Chitlom! That's why I asked.

[CarlBkk]

btw strghe, which are your favourite dealers in BK?

Piyanas, Image and the Focus Audio dealer at Amarin Plaza, always forget their name, plus Conice although they are both a dealer and a distributor. I also like Khun Wuti at Audio Excellence but they are a distributor only.

Mr Balance has some good second hand stuff but his lack of service mind puts him off the list.

Yup, Mr Balance is fine if you know exactly what you want and the price is right. He will hardly budge or negotiate on his prices, but he certainly knows his stuff. No aires and graces with him at all though. Complete contrast to Audio Excellence, who are very customer-oriented. Still, unless you've bought from a dealer before, highly unlikely they'll even consider home demos (as they have actually told me when I wanted one). Too much risk involved on their part.

[wintermute]

Hi-Fi stores seem to run on a pretty shaky business plan since the people who would most likely purchase hi-fi products could get it several times cheaper in the country that they come from to begin with.

[CarlBkk]

Well the richest of the rich probably see their hobbies (including hifi) as a fad to show off with, so the dealers must really struggle with regular sales. The richest Thais also wouldn't be interested in second hand. However, some Amercian products are actually cheaper to buy new in Singapore and Indonesia, and that is where other Asians sometimes go to "collect" the item and bring it back with them as extra luggage. No joke. A TG 1st class return tickets giving 100kg luggage allowance will be cheaper than importing from EU or USA and the associated tax. I also suspect that the retailers' mark-ups are much less than those imposed on EU and US retailers, allowing them to sell cheaper.

[stgrhe]

Well the richest of the rich probably see their hobbies (including hifi) as a fad to show off with, so the dealers must really struggle with regular sales. The richest Thais also wouldn't be interested in second hand. However, some Amercian products are actually cheaper to buy new in Singapore and Indonesia, and that is where other Asians sometimes go to "collect" the item and bring it back with them as extra luggage. No joke. A TG 1st class return tickets giving 100kg luggage allowance will be cheaper than importing from EU or USA and the associated tax. I also suspect that the retailers' mark-ups are much less than those imposed on EU and US retailers, allowing them to sell cheaper.

Some really good bargains can be had at the Adelphi in Singapore especially if you pay cash.

[CarlBkk]

Well the richest of the rich probably see their hobbies (including hifi) as a fad to show off with, so the dealers must really struggle with regular sales. The richest Thais also wouldn't be interested in second hand. However, some Amercian products are actually cheaper to buy new in Singapore and Indonesia, and that is where other Asians sometimes go to "collect" the item and bring it back with them as extra luggage. No joke. A TG 1st class return tickets giving 100kg luggage allowance will be cheaper than importing from EU or USA and the associated tax. I also suspect that the retailers' mark-ups are much less than those imposed on EU and US retailers, allowing them to sell cheaper.

Some really good bargains can be had at the Adelphi in Singapore especially if you pay cash.

Oh yes, it's a little slice of heaven for me there. I nearly handed over my credit card for some Martin Logan Summits when they first came out...

[ExpatOilWorker]

Expat Oil worker, I know of no shops in Central Chitlom? Are you referring to Power Buy, or are there some new shops in there?

At Chitlom there are some shops in the Amarin Plaza, maybe that's what he's referring to.

Yeah, I guess I was think about Amarin Plaza. My bad.

[kkerry]

<br />

<br />

<br />Expat Oil worker, I know of no shops in Central Chitlom? Are you referring to Power Buy, or are there some new shops in there?<br />

<br /><br />At Chitlom there are some shops in the Amarin Plaza, maybe that's what he's referring to.<br />

<br /><br />Yeah, I guess I was think about Amarin Plaza. My bad.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

The basement area of Zeer Rangsit was ruined by the flooding but since then I've noticed a number of new shops opening on the top floors including some hi-fi shops. Not sure if they are what you are looking for but seemed reasonably high end to me. Maybe worth a look if you're ever out that way.