John
On Hong Kong Island? Causeway Bay? Curious about portable audio? Thirsty / hungry? How about some time out from the intensity of Hennessy Road with a drink and a pair of headphones?
Take the fifty steps north to the mid-500s of Jaffe Road and step up into an air-conditioned hallway manned by two friendly security staff. Take the elevator to the first floor and turn right. Welcome to the DMA / Cafe – that forward slash purposefully splits its personality.
Is it a portable audio store with cafe attached? Or is it a cafe with store appendage? Either way, headphone listening stations grace each table where an Astell&Kern or HiFIMAN DAP feeds any number of entry-level headphones. Off to one side, a galley kitchen serves light snacks as well as hot and cold drinks. A setup for live music sits in front of the rear window – bands reportedly play here in the evenings.
DMA is all about portability so this isn’t the place for desktop amplifiers and DACs. Higher-end headphone offerings are available on request but don’t expect top flight models from Beyerdynamic, AKG or Audio Technica. This store is stocked, in the main, by local distributor ECT. That means Final Audio, Chord Electronics, Fostex, Campfire Audio, Audeze, JH Audio, FitEar,
It’d be churlish to complain. This is a terrific zero-pressure starting point for those interested in taking better sound onto Honk Kong’s MTR subway system and beyond – a place to audition gear at one’s leisure. Be warned though: going long with adult beverages will see wallet damage arrive more easily. This commentator stuck to water and jasmine tea before taking a wander around with a video camera.
Opposite the exploded Sony ZX-1 portable player that greets guests at the door, there’s a nice selection of accessories. I picked up a 10cm ALD/Furutech OPT-MT (500HKD/~US$65) for joining my Astell&Kern AK100 (the original!) to a Chord Mojo.
What a refreshing find.
DMA / Cafe is open from midday to 11pm every day of the week.
Further information: DMA / Cafe
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