Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by kc01

F10 mini test drive

kc01 — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 17:56:12 +0800

This is my test drive of the F30 in Melbourne today.

Accompanied my friend who was interested in the F30 to the beemer showroom for a scheduled test drive. Arrived in the pouring rain and started to look see look see while waiting for the 328i to be available.

In Australia, the F30 came in 4 themes - Basic, Modern, Luxury and Sport with the last two being the most expensive. The demo car was a Luxury version which GPS comes as standard together with the usual features including 18" alloys and RFT. Non standard optional items in the car was sunroof, comfort access, bi xenon with DRL amongst others. For the first time, the side mirror comes with the integrated indicator, one of the last brand who adopted this. Standard steering with multifunction buttons is very very nice. Without the optional items, this car is A$82k on the road (driveaway).

The cars looks better the second time I saw it. Nice design with strong resemblance to the bigger brother, F10 especially the rear lights.

Obviously, my friend took it for a spin first. Last week he test drove the C250 and came out unimpressed. In his previous position, he was given a company car, Volvo (don't know which model) and his impression of C250 was similar to his Volvo, no premium feel despite higher price tag. He was put off by the C250 parking brake -"so old fashion" he said.

I sat at the back behind the driver and while this is considered a small car, the rear space is considered tight but slightly larger than my E90. Salesmen goes through the customary briefing of the car. My earlier complaint about the potruding LCD screen has changed a little bit and more acceptable now. The quality of the LCD was quite impressive with salesman showing different driving mode can be engaged - Economy, Comfort and Sports. Whilst this car has got no rear camera (optional) but with the car's rear and front sensor activating the Parking Distance Control with the combination of audio and visual graphical warning in the screen, it is one of the best I've seen, so much better than Merc.

My turn to drive and when my friend changed seats, he discreetly told me "Very Impressive!" outside the car with the intention not to let the salesmen knows about the brief exchange of word. That basically forms the background of my brief test drive.

First impression - steering feels light when parking but in control at higher speed. 4 potter turbo 2 litre engine with 180kW (250HP at 5k RPM) power the car very easily. I though I will miss the inline six roar, when I press pedal to metal but the engine sound is different but nice with no turbo lag experienced. The 18" wheels gripped superbly in the pouring rain and when I floored the pedal when the lights turned green, no loss of traction or grip were noted. Not sure whether the stability or traction kicks in as I was concentrating on the road. Definitely there is a connection between the driver and the road via steering unlike the lifeless Merc. 8 speed shifter is very smooth and impressive. The gear knob is nice to use as well.

I've driven the IL6 2.5 and 2.8 and 2 litre oil burner diesel before so in comparison, this new 4 potter turbo feels so much powerful but the difference is 'lighter' and much more willing to rev higher.

The negative is although the F30 luxury comes with enough standard equipment, the option list can be very long and before you know it, the options you added will add 10 - 20% the the cost of the car. Sunroof and bi xenon DRL (standard on 335i) should be standard but it was not. Comfort Access which was a standard in my E90 is not standard in F30.

The bread and butter 135kW 320i will come in a few months time together with the entry level 318D and 320D which complete the sedan line up.

Off topic - F10 5 series. Again, took a look at the A$250k M5 in the showroom. Very nice! To make way for new F10 equipped with the 4 pot turbo, they are selling the brand new IL6 F10 528i for A$99k driveaway to clear stock. Very tempting. Makes the F10 much more value ($5k difference) than the F30 if you add sunroof, bi Xenon DRL and mettalic paint to the F30.

In summary, very impressive all rounded car with enough power. If I am in the market to consider the entry level executive car, this car is high on my list. I will add sunroof and bi xenon DRL options. Having said that. I see better value in the F10 with IL6 powerplant.

But I'm not changing car at the moment!

Orlando, Florida & NYC

kc01 — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:16:24 +0800

Planning to go these two destination in September. 7 nights in Orlando and 10 nights in NYC. 2 adults and 2 children (aged 15 and 11 respectively). Any suggestion on places to go and accommodation?

Orlando
Will visit 4 out of the 6 Disney World theme parks and 1 of the 2 Universal Studio (the one with new Harry Potter). Interested in Space Kennedy as well.

NYC
Out of the 10 nights, will allocate 3D/2N to Niagara Falls and Toronto.

Any other suggestions?

Which iPod system? And why?

kc01 — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:21:04 +0800

What would you recommend for a reasonable iPod system for the bedroom? Have already a iPod dock for my Yammy receiver, so would like one which is one piece or simple design, simple, resonable and with decent sound quality.

Bi amp questions

kc01 — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:06:19 +0800

Does bi amp improve the sound of the front speaker? Are my following assumption correct on bi amp connection?

Receiver front left obviously to left front speaker first pair of connection.
Receiver 6th amp or surround left to left front speaker second pair of connection.
Take out the metal connection between two pair of connectors
Repeat above steps for front right speakers
Obviously receiver centre to centre speaker
Receiver rears to both main rears speakers

Am I right?

Question about PCM

kc01 — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 21:16:02 +0800

HT sifu sekalian

So, I recently acquired my latest baby, a Yamaha RX-A2000 with all the bells and whistles which I'm still trying to comprehend! This is a big difference coming from using a non HDMI receiver but enjoying HD audio codec via a BD player which is capable of decoding and outputting via the player 5.1 multi analogue output to the receiver's multi channel input.

I can see the front panel showing "DTS HD MTR AUD" or " DOLBY TRUE HD" playing recently released disc. But my question is when playing older BD like "Black Hawk Down" which had DD5.1 and PCM, how do I know it is outputting HD codec via PCM? My receiver display just show "PCM", so I'm not sure.

Which receiver?

kc01 — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:39:24 +0800

Which of the following receiver would you choose, assuming around the same price? Yes, I'm aware some of them is already superseded model but it is ok. And yes, I do have a budget constraint.

Yamaha RXA2000
Onkyo 808
Denon 3312

75% movies, 25% music. Front : B&W704, centre : Paradigm CC170, rear : JBL wall mounted (not sure what model), sub : Seaton Submersive. Also to consider the calibration i.e. Audyssey, YPAO.

htkaki told me that the best is Audyssey XT32 but those receiver that have this feature is too elite for my budget.

Watch 3D from your 2D display

kc01 — Thu, 19 May 2011 14:12:26 +0800

Have you guys heard of this product before where you view 3D over your 2D projector/flat panel display.

http://www.3d-vip.com/#!products

AVS review
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1323671
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1323736

If it works, it is a good and cheaper alternative for you current 2D display to achieve 3D, rather than to do expensive upgrade.