It was quite common for most Malaysia guys who went to study overseas to have an interest in hi-fi, I guess it was the in-thing. During my bachelor days, my first hi-fi set consisted of a second-generation Philips CD player, an integrated amplifier, a Technics Tuner and a pair of Celestion speakers linked by Monster Cables. To me, it was acceptable for the budget invested except that it sounded very boxy.

Later I sold them to my sister and upgraded my hi-fi set for A Sony CDP-337ESD CD player, Musical Fidelity A200 Class A integrated amplifier, Musical Fidelity T-1 Tuner, Musical Fidelity MC-2 speakers linked by Kimber Kables 4TC. I was so impressed by the Kimber Kables that  the Monster Cables gave way for Kimber Kables and I had the MC-2 speakers rewired with them. This made them less harsh and subsequently I could move the volume knob of the amplifier one notch louder with no strain. I was happy with what I had but maintenance slowly became expensive. Only the Sony CDP-337ESD CD-player has been the most robust of the hi-fi system. The Musical Fidelity A200 amplifier and MC-2 speakers short-circuited during a heavy downpour and the set wasn't even playing though I made the mistake of leaving the plug in the wall socket When Sabrina, my first child, was born, financial sacrifices had to be made so the hi-fi set went into cold storage. I took the hi-set out again but some little monster, no names mentioned, went and poked one of the speakers with a pencil. That was repaired only to have the other speaker dropped off its stand accidentally by you know who. For the time being, hi-fi is out. 

"Maybe I revive this soothing hobby after the kids have grown up." That was what I said some time ago but during the time my wife was in confinement after the third monster, Danial, was born, she was extremely bored and wished I repaired and get the hi-fi going. Apparently, three days after that Yahama had a warehouse sale. There were Yamahas about but there were also Celestion speakers. They were selling off their demo models and after a short demo between a Yamaha and Celestion floor speakers, I choose the Celestion because the Yamaha was too bright. There were actually two Celestion floorspeakers I had "demoed": the 30i and the 35i. Both the Yamaha salesman and I agreed that the 35i had too much bass until the mid-range was slightly lost. The 30i was only RM100 cheaper but it had better balance. So off I went to borrow RM1000 from my brother because this was an offer too good too lose. The actual retail price of the 30i was RM2,500 and they were still in very good condition so I believe it was a very good bargain. I placed them against the wall as recommended as they give more punch to the bass.

Although CDs on average cost RM42  now as against RM38 when I used to buy them, the value of the Malaysian Ringgit is weak and I feel like I just spent RM50 for a CD. So for the time being I listen to the tuner which is not bad since there are a few channels to choose from, in fact, 90 per cent of the time when I play the hi-fi is listening to the tuner. With the external aerial, the acoustics from the hi-fi set is not bad at all. Incidentally, the external aerial are middle of the range Mastero, the sole agent does not sell the professional range in Malaysia.

Conclusion: What can I say... I'm contented. Have a look at the technical specifications:

Technical Specifications:

Reference: