Visit to Paul Pang in Taiwan

[joelha]

As I was on a business trip to Asia in November, I was able to visit Kaohsiung, Taiwan and see Paul Pang. For those of you who frequent the JPLAY forum (JPLAY - hi-end audio player for Windows) you’ll likely know of Paul and at least have read about if not tried some of the remarkable cables, USB card, and and other items he produces and sells.

 

Paul and his wife Nike were incredibly nice to me. They not only spent a lot of time with me, taking me to Paul’s partner’s (Sam’s) home to hear his Paul Pang-built audio system, they even cooked dinner for me in Sam’s apartment. As many thank you’s as I offered, there’s no way I could fully express my gratitude for all the accommodations they made for me.

One of the most remarkable discoveries I made listening to Sam’s system was hearing Paul demonstrate that even swapping one brand of a compact flash card for another made a meaningful difference in the sound. I didn’t want to believe it, but I couldn’t deny what I heard. So much to learn from Paul, so little time.

 

While Paul has made a variety of components for his partner (not all for sale at this time), he spends a great deal of time making cables for customers all over the world. But as fun and educational as it was to visit Paul, luck had it that I was in Taiwan not only on the right weekend but in the right city for a semi-annual meeting of Taiwan audiophiles.

 

This group takes tweaking to an entirely different level . . . at least in my experience. The group is headed by a man who goes by the name P900 (I’m not kidding). He’s also known, by those who prefer to refer to him by name, as David Chou. David has done a remarkable job of coordinating the efforts of Taiwanese software programmers and hobbyists. As so many of our computers are made in Taiwan there’s a decent concentration of programmers in Taiwan.

 

This group is currently using a modified version of Windows Vista. I don’t recall how they settled on that OS or the details of the complicated process involved in getting a copy today. They’ve also hacked a sound card and run analog cables directly from the card to a preamplifier. This group generally doesn’t use DAC’s.

 

The meeting I attended was in a Kaohsiung restaurant. The proprietor is an audiophile and had his system on display which was playing before and also at times during the meeting. I was big time handicapped during this gathering as Mandarin was the primary language spoken. Yet, between David and others offering an occasional whispered translation and by just watching some of the demonstrations, I was able to enjoy the experience a great deal. This was a very nice group. They constantly applauded presentations and efforts made on behalf of the members. The mood was warm, polite, and exuded a kind of community feel.

 

As a matter of fact, while many of these hobbyists have never even met before, David estimates that some 300 are involved in the project I’ve detailed above. When it came time to make a group buy of sound cards, $30,000 was collected and sent to a member of the group whom most had never met. Apparently, the purchase went according to plan. They’ve also made group purchases of low latency RAM and probably other items I’m unaware of.

 

The software player of choice is Samplitude. The software (player and/or OS) has been modified such that the external hard drive and PC screen will automatically turn off once the music file(s) had been loaded into RAM.

 

By the way, a specific motherboard has to be used for this system to work. I apologize for being light on details but given the language barrier and my inability to remember all I had heard, this is all I can relate.

 

You can find the thread they use to communicate at ¥´³y²×·¥ HiEnd HTPC - ­µ¼Ö­«¼½·s¥D¸q - MyAVµøÅ¥°Ó±¡ºô although even with Google translate, it’s tough to get a lot of information from these exchanges. But you can see from the tremendous number of posts that an incredible amount of activity has taken place.

 

I’ve already communicated with Chris Connacker about this group and I’ve told David Chou that I’ve told Chris about them. I have no doubt that Chris is overwhelmed with the many worthwhile audio projects he’s engaged in. At the same time, I hope he’ll get a chance to learn more about David’s group and will give us all a chance to dialogue (as best we can) to share information. I have no doubt there are great ideas we can exchange.

 

I’m going to send David a link to this thread in hopes that we can begin our dialogue sooner rather than later.

 

Joel

 

P.S. While I haven't taken the time to label all the photos (sorry about that . . . I just wanted to finally get this information posted), the shots which were taken in an apartment are from Sam's system, the other shots are from the Sunday meeting I described above. I also apologize for the poor quality and orientation of the photos. I'll try to answer any questions anyone might have about this visit.

[christopher3393]

Great post! Thanks.

[wkhanna]

+1

[InfernoSTi]

+2

[The Computer Audiophile]

+ three

[Paul R]

+4!

[elcorso]

+5

 

Thanks Joel...!

 

"One of the most remarkable discoveries I made listening to Sam’s system was hearing Paul demonstrate that even swapping one brand of a compact flash card for another made a meaningful difference in the sound. I didn’t want to believe it, but I couldn’t deny what I heard. So much to learn from Paul, so little time."

 

BTW, do you remember the compact flash brand name Paul uses that brought the best SQ? I'm not joking. I'm true believer that even different brand SS drives has his own sonic signature.

 

Best,

 

Roch

[joelha]

Hey Roch,

 

Thanks very much.

 

Here's what Paul is showing on his blog and I believe it's what I have at home as well (I'm out of town at the moment or else I would check and confirm).

 

 

And believe me, I know you're not kidding about SQ on CF cards. I realize I sound like a nutjob suggesting that something like that could actually matter. But this hobby constantly reminds me to keep my preconceived notions in my back pocket. Otherwise, I'm likely to miss out on some fantastic discoveries.

 

All the best,

 

Joel

[elcorso]

Hey Roch,

 

Thanks very much.

 

Here's what Paul is showing on his blog and I believe it's what I have at home as well (I'm out of town at the moment or else I would check and confirm).

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]11061[/ATTACH]

 

And believe me, I know you're not kidding about SQ on CF cards. I realize I sound like a nutjob suggesting that something like that could actually matter. But this hobby constantly reminds me to keep my preconceived notions in my back pocket. Otherwise, I'm likely to miss out on some fantastic discoveries.

 

All the best,

 

Joel

 

Hi Joel,

 

Thank you very much to you again for bringing this issue to the skeptics, like many others take us to incredible new world of "little" details that improve SQ in computer audio without spending a fortune.

 

Kind regards,

 

Roch

[mayhem13]

Very cool. It's been said that if you chew on some Betel nuts before a listening session, you can actually see the music as well!

[AlainGr]

+6. Thanks for taking the time to relate your experience and share these pictures with us It would be wonderful to read about the tweaks they use to improve on SQ.

 

And as you say so well, we do have to put aside our preconceptions about many things... Even if sometimes one does not hear a difference, it does not mean that there isn't...

 

Regards,

[elcorso]

Very cool. It's been said that if you chew on some Betel nuts before a listening session, you can actually see the music as well!

 

Betel nuts can stimulate perception, but do not cure deafness...!

 

Roch

[David Chou]

Thanks for Joel to invite me to Computeraudiophile, looking forward to learning new ideas from here.

[InfernoSTi]

Thanks for Joel to invite me to Computeraudiophile, looking forward to learning new ideas from here.

 

Welcome, David! I am sure we will learn new ideas from you, too.

 

John

[wkhanna]

+1 v2.0

I join John in welcoming you to CA!

[pis99]

No betel nuts here! Following images shown production lines dedicated to P900 CAT project for only case plating using trivalent chromium plating on 6061. This process along will excess any technology exists today just on audio gear cases, not to mention efforts done within the team from other members toward to software and hardware development. Our love is music!

 

Cheers!

 

Daniel

 

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Betel nuts can stimulate perception, but do not cure deafness...!

 

Roch

[kiskaprince]

Welcome David to our forum

Please share your ideas and expertise with us

[RubenV]

Awesome topic, and welcome David! My whole computeraudio setup is already using a lot of PPAstudio products.

[joelha]

Just to be clear, while I know David is very familiar with Paul Pang and some of his products, there's no business relationship between them that I'm aware of.

 

Paul has an audio components business in Taiwan and David is a very avid computer audio hobbyist.

 

I hope there will be a lot of questions and answers exchanged between us as the level of expertise I saw exhibited at the club meeting I attended in Taiwan blew me away. There's too much information each of us has that I don't believe has been shared yet.

 

Joel

[PewterTA]

I would've loved to be there and hear the system.... jealous!!!

 

+<whatever next increment of number is>

 

Welcome David as well!!! Can't wait to learn from you and to teach as well!!!

[4est]

It is nice to see others pushing the limits of this medium.