It was then a part-time sideline to satisfy the ever-growing interest in audiophile myself. Who knows serving the customers of this sideline can be an even growing satisfaction?
While there was a year and a half break in between this period to serve a greater need in my main job as a Photographer, QA was well-rested in the same duration, always having the intention to come back when a time can be right.
It was in 2017 when QA was relaunched with the entire makeover of the brand and website, with internet security high on the list of priorities. SSL was thus introduced site-wide. But more importantly, payment gateway is processed on the side of Stripe, offering even more protection to customers’ credit credentials. These infrastructures serve as a crucial foundation to build upon the trust of customers.
Yes, these are signs of growth and QA aims to grow. For those who follows QA close enough, the stop-gap period when these new infrastructures are being implemented after the break, QA was engaging in the buying service of products from various e-commerce platforms. It was a great platform tapping into consumers’ interest in the growing market then. The availability of choices and options given to consumers were immense. Too immense, though, that QA was not able to leverage on a focus group of products as well as the target audience.
Vacuum tubes. I got to bring that essence of personal belief back in. The glowing beauty of these hot glass bulbs caught my eyes and love the very first time I saw them personally. They were a marvel in decades before, and they are still a marvel now. A vintage product in the ever technology-exploding field of audio definitely should have its place now, at least in Singapore, like how the turntables are turning tables.
Too many great Audiophile products are out there in the world with superb potential yet to be discovered by a larger group of consumers, and they often lack the outlet to get hold of as well. QA is turning towards to be a source for products well-curated that can provide a positive listening experience to audiophiles. You will find audio tubes and tube amps high in our emphasis as that is what I want to be when QA is being thought of.
In 2019, our inventory had undergone some refresh, to cater to the advancement of technology, market prices and most importantly, customers’ varied choices. Performance and value were still the two factors high on our prerequisite list our products must feature in order to be profiled and offered. And we had realised our growing knowledge and experience should now value-add to serve up even more efficient and improved products.
Rising to be one of our USPs, we have begun providing modification upgrades to components in both internals and exteriors of products to push their performances even higher. Stock components can never make it in this perfection-chasing hobby/past time/profession, whatever you called it. For QA, there is no snake oil or placebo on these deemed ‘insignificant’ upgrades; we have done enough experiments to be sure to say different capacitors DO sound differently, as much as a 15-35% change in sound in relation to a tube/opamp change.
Hence there was no reason for QA not to polish gemstones further that are already unearthed when their potentials have much room to scale up. In some instances, we are confident our upgrades will even be comprising of full/re assembly and branding here fully in Singapore.
In 2020 we have successfully become the sole distributor of Muzishare tube amps from Zhuhai, China. For the first brand which we could proudly carry as our product line, it had since garnered wide interests, both locally and abroad, on the superior quality of Muzishare tube amps which shone on its high performance and affordability in compared to other brands on similar specs.
Not long after, R100, a flagship model that was offered in the choice of 211, 845 and 805 SET tubes make its way into our demo sessions. Almost all who have heard it had only positive things to say. By 2021, the improved model of R100 which included the remote control and better-included tubes was making waves in the community, while on their end, Muzishare was bringing on a EL84 tube amp for the headphone user crowd.
2021 was an incredibly busy year despite the unfortunate global pandemic. There was wider recognition for Gotham cables which QA has always been confident that they will make a stronghold for most of the audiophiles who have given them the opportunity. Positivity and surprises were the various feedback that will propel QA to populate more cables types from Gotham in the coming days ahead.
TeddyPardo then became the 3rd brand QA was pleased to have dealership with, as we sought to bring their stable and high quality LPS, not just primarily for the Naims, but also basically any other equipment that require DC votlages to the greater audience in South-east Asia. One can be definitely sure through QA is where you will be getting on hand one of the finest LPS made entirely in the Middle East with extensive warranty and sales support.
Mid 2022 is when things being planned earlier in the year materialised. Not only is Muzishare X9 finally be available for auditioning now, which keeps up the continuity in the confidence of tube amps QA had placed in Muzishare ever since, but having a dedicated space in the form of a retail shop is probably the biggest statement for that!
Having a retail store open is definitely one of the greatest milestones thus far in the history of QA, enough said. Not only has this underlined the commitment QA has placed in providing for the audiophile community, it also meant a great deal from the support QA has gathered from its customers and we fully appreciate that. So please, feel free to drop by the shop, have a chat and I hope you can enjoy a wonderful listening experience too.
There will definitely be a lot more things to look forward to but execution of plans will take time. Things change, but providing warranty support is our beliefs on the quality of products we carry and it will continue to be true. Competition is still inevitable, but we know we have more than what figures can be counted for.
8 years in and counting, it is an evolution of how QA has become, but it is always a growing phase for QA. Newsletter subscription is not in QA’s current plan, so do follow us on the various social media to keep up to date what we are busy at in giving you more performance and value for all the music we love!
