By WL Low
Franck’s the name, and fun’s the game! That”s what one can expect when attending an Acoustic System International demo by Franck Tchang. Two weekends ago, CMY Audio & Visual hosted such an event at their Damansara Uptown showroom.
Franck was in town to promote some of his latest products, and the one and only pair of flag ship Super Tango loudspeakers in this part of the world. “I only made three pairs of these, no more! There’s a pair in my home, another pair in Europe somewhere, and this pair you see here. However, the more common Tango speakers will continue to be manufactured as per order basis”, he said.
| The demo system system in use featured Metronome CD player, Prima Luna pre & power amps and Franck Tchang”s Super Tango loudspeakers plus ASI cabling. |
| Some of the audiophiles at the listening session. |
Franck was also promoting his new product, namely an Acoustic Phase Corrector! It looked just like that block of wood used to hold up his acoustic resonator cups, but Franck says the design is different as it was designed to do a different job!
Franck reckons there’re 3 types of phase one should take care of when setting up a high-end audio system – first is the electrical supply phase (which Franck admitted was the most important), second is the recording phase (such as those highly-prized Decca classical recordings for example, which is why he absolutely recommends having a pre-amp with phase inverting switch) and lastly, the room phase (which is a result of speaker to room interaction, which can result in unfavorable sonic results).
With the first two phase issues tackled, the final hurdle remains, and that”s where his Acoustic Phase Corrector comes into play. As usual his demo is highly convincing as one can really hear the difference when he plays around with his Resonator Cups and Phase Correctors, working in unison with his Sugar Cubes. All are Franck”s take on non-invasive methods of room acoustic treatment, compared with common solutions, which can be bulky and unsightly (resulting in poor Wife Acceptance Factor!).
| Franck Tchang’s latest innovation, the Acoustic Phase Corrector. The front face, seen here with the blue dot pointing to positive phase; if one turns it around it will result in negative phase. Easy as that! Franck recommends the use of four Phase Correctors in a music room. |
A short Q&A session with the audience ensured from then on and that”s when Franck put on his charm offensive! I”ll leave you with some of the more memorable pictures of the session.
| “What? Me crazy? Maybe just a little!” |
| “What do you mean you don’t believe? You can’t hear the difference?” |
