Gary SteelThere’s a new importer of high-end hi-fi brands in town, with SoundWe setting up an Auckland showroom.
Selling hi-fi in NZ can be a loser’s game. It’s a crowded market, sales are sluggish, and it’s hellishly hard to find stockists for quality gear.
None of which seems to concern Eric Poon, owner of newcomer Soundwe, which is getting going by introducing the Amari Turntable brand here, as well as Holo Audio DAC/headphone amps and a range of other gear.
Soundwe also imports Purist Audio Design cables, Syzygy subwoofers, Unity Audio studio monitors and Vicoustic acoustic treatments.
But it’s the Amari Turntable brand that Eric’s keen to get some traction on from the get-go, and a selection of the brand’s turntables are available to audition in Soundwe’s showroom on Auckland’s North Shore.
The Amari LP-82s ($10,999) is the flagship model of the Amari turntable series. With an external motor driving mechanism, motor noise is isolated from the main plinth and platter. Magnetic suspended bearing and feet ensure mechanical noise is eliminated, and all the information stored in the groove is picked up by the cartridge.
As well as the LP-82, SoundWe have the LP-007 ($1499), LP-10MK ($1699) and LP-16s ($2999) in their showroom and available for audition.
Then there’s the Holo Audio brand, “a world reputable brand which focuses on producing high quality and musical DACs, pre-amplifiers, and all-in-one DAC/pre/headphone amplifier. Holo has been focusing on using R2R ladder DAC to preserve the musicality of the content of digital music. The flagship “Spring” DAC, the Cyan all-in-one DAC/pre/headphone amp has received positive reviews around the world.”
SoundWe owner Eric has been addicted to high-end audio for more than 30 years as a consumer, and for the past few years has been very focused on acoustic treatments and measurements.
“I have always been passionate about music and audio,” says Eric. “When I built a dedicated hi-fi room and testing acoustic treatment, a friend suggested that it could be a showroom and I should share my acoustic treatment
knowledge, and that’s how it started and I decided to get into this
business.
“I am a strong believer that not only traditional mix and match of
gears is important to suit personal preference, the room itself needs
to be seen as an important component,” says Eric. Soundwe is the first authorized service agent for Vicoustic NZ to launch acoustic measurement and design services for Auckland area, for a very reasonable price. Using
the same principle, the products that were selected would have good price performance ratio.”
Stop Press: SoundWe has also been confirmed as the NZ distributor of Purist Audio Design Cables, Syzygy Subwoofers (adjustable via cellphone!), and Unity Active Monitors.
