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Based on this fun performance I went back to an old classic for me - and also still remembering David - 😔 Double Vision by Bob James & David Sanborn (1986) https://album.link/i/1472334799 Example: And produced this classic example with brother Al Jarreau. I actually forgot this was on this album. I shall not forget..

Toast them I will...

An old JVC XRCD, Count Basie meets Oscar Peterson: The Timekeepers

Hmmm - That has been in my recommended section all week. I wasn't thinking of checking it out. I guess I might now.

It is treacle-y, it is over produced, it is emotionally manipulative… and yet. This show is my guilty pleasure. I am won over by it every season. This third season is no different. Just delightful.

The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel

“We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, one word they spoke,” he said. “But we do know they summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens. For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.” James A. Garfield 1868

Hear, Hear 🍻

This memorial day weekend, I am going to skip on my teetotal lifestyle and raise a glass to the fallen, and wax philosophical about my retired-from-army-with-honors cousin Greg who passed away many years ago. I've been thinking about him a lot lately, for two reasons. A lot of guns come in FDE (flat dark earth), and he was in both Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield, so I associate him with that colour. I initially hated that colour because it reminded me of his death, but it's been long enough, that now, I only have the fond memories. I've also been addressing a lot of issues that revolve around emotional maturity (I'm not), and -- in a lot of cases -- the more emotionally mature way to handle things could be thought of as, "WWGD" (What Would Greg Do?). I'm not saying he did everything right, but his heart was always in the right place. He prided himself on retiring as (sorry, don't remember the exact rank) the highest ranking, non-enlisted rank, because he never wanted his Care for his immediate people surgically removed. He remained in touch -- not only with those he still worked with, but everyone who had ever worked for him. And they all loved him, and he loved them all back. His retirement party was insane. He was always there for people. When I needed to recover some stuff from storage, I found out the people who I hired were basically going to hold my stuff hostage/blackmail/whateveryouwanttocallit. He took care of it. I don't know what he said or did, but all of a sudden they just gave me my stuff which we had to transfer from their pods to a rental truck and they told me to take as much time as we needed. And other things, when I was looking for a new place to stay many years ago, he offered to let me live with him. Just ALWAYS. THERE. FOR. ME. So as I continue to learn how to be a normal adult with my own motivations, I continue to think about him, and what would he do in situations. I don't really have any close family or friends that I can protect, and I'm in no position to provide for anyone other than myself and my cats, so I need to find my own motivations in life, but it helps to have a high bar that I can look to. I will always support service members and veterans, especially those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, as I'm sure that's what Greg Would Have Done. Please toast with me, and remember them fondly.

Have you listened to the Steve Wilson remixes? They made CD and vinyl releases in 2018. Now listening to this Andy Bey - Ballads Blues & Bey Looks like it's only available at iTunes/Apple https://album.link/i/215944320 I got it elsewhere. Sweet beautiful music for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Beth and I went to see the Chicago Symphony last night conducted by Neeme Järvi, doing the Mahler 2nd. Excellent performance, much better than when we saw this with MTT conducting back in the mid 2000's, although the mezzo-soprano back then (Lorraine Hunt Lieberman) was stunning doing the 4th movement ("Urlicht"). One of the longest standing ovations I've witnessed (> 5 mins). 90 minutes is a long time to sit (1st world problems).

Hah! Finally getting through the thread. Thanks everyone (except 1)! Nate, I'll take you up on that in 3 weeks? Grahame, that was fantastic. I really thought the wheels were going to be a proper star; now I'm wondering if I can get some built up that way. Knucks, who only has 500 tabs? Rookie. Mikey, thanks! But that living long thing, that's gotta be relative, right? I wound up working, had a video call with mom and brother, then a mensa game night, then the fam got me a chocolate cake that they didn't know I'd been craving, but I'd been CRAVING chocolate cake. Rich enough that I couldn't finish a piece, so we've all been doing small slices here and there. Got lots of snuggles from the dogs, and went to bed sober and early. Tonight having Mexican at this place we like in Kirkland (no, not at a Costco, nor a Taco Bell), and then brunch at STK tomorrow. Oh, heh, and Xavier got me a new grill brush (wrapped in christmas paper and black duct tape). All in all a pretty good birthday, even if the answer year didn't turn out the way I'd hoped.

I'd like to report a murder.

Those earpads had to go and they have a pretty clever magnet system for them: Just now I noticed the R laser etched into the mini XLR plug so there is some indication. The earpads pull off and have a metal ring in them that is easily removed. The pads are 110mm so a lot of aftermarket stuff will work here. I replaced them with some Kennerton pads I had sitting next to my desk and I much prefer the fit. Now the issue is that the earpads barely hang on as the magnets are so weak with the thicker leather of the Kennerton pads

They are more like the new Stax stuff. Way too early for that.

How would these rank compared to the Lambda Signature or Lambda Nova Signature in terms of sound?

I listened a lot to normal SR-X mk3 out of SRA-12S in the last two three weeks and I really enjoyed them. How do X1 compare to SR-X do they have similar sound signature of are these are still more like new Stax stuff.

This, belated birthday wishes!

Hello Larkspur! Music in The Park kicks off with Spike Sikes and His Awesome Hotcakes The locals are on their feet And I'm not suffering

Dogecoin dog Kabosu dies after 14 years as meme.

Ok yeah the X1 doesn't suck. Some very early impressions: Small, lightweight, comfy. The fit is somewhere between supra-aural and circum-aural. The build is minimalistic but seems fine. The only thing I'm concerned with is dust and stuff accumulating on the back of the driver. When you live with a german shepherd dog hair gets in absolutely everywhere. I was wondering why my 650s crackled until I pulled a wad of dog hair out of the driver. How it got in there past all the foam, who even knows. I'm using them with a stock 007t atm. It's a bit light on power but not too bad. Still you can hear that it could use some more. The sound is pretty monitor-like. A bit light on the bottom end but not too thin. The mids are surprisingly realistic. The treble is also pretty smooth. I think the 1-2khz region is a bit pushed and 3-5 is a bit recessed, but not so badly that stuff sounds weird. You get used to the sound signature quickly and then it just sounds normal. Resolution is fine for what it is, but staging is a bit small. These are a far cry from the alien weirdness that is the L700 pre-EQ and even with my treble allergic ears I can listen to these with no EQ just fine. But they could use a bit of tuning up. I'd want them a bit fuller and 1-2khz slightly toned down. Seems pretty solid so far, NGL. I was beginning to think Stax forgot how to make something that sounds relatively normal, but here we are.

If you want a gourmet dish, the Mofi is the best bet but I prefer the vinyl becasue the sound, without being so precise, is somewhat more relaxed, with less loudness. It's a little difficult to explain but when I have been listening to music for a long time, I feel like it doesn't exhaust me.

Well these have landed about 10 minutes ago: They came in a huge cardboard box with a custom cut insert and two cables were included. This is SR-003 level of thin and very much made in the Hifiman way with mini XLR's on the headphones. There is no L or R indication anywhere so I just picked where the cable wouldn't rub on my shoulders (as the phones are not fully symmetrical in the cable entry) and did a quick continuity check to see which side was which. A small red band on the cable or just a dot somewhere wouldn't go amiss here. They They are a bit bulky but nicely made, that is real wood and leather in the headband and everything feels solid. The 3D printed parts are very nice with that textured finish. I really like the "Audeze" style metal grills but I do wonder if they provide a bit too much damping. One thing I really don't like though are the earpads... super cheap fake leather with no contouring at all. They make the fit rather odd as they don't clamp all that much, so in 10 minutes they have almost fallen off my head twice. They are also stiff so the headphones just sit there, not uncomfortable but this is where some money should have been spent. As for sound, there is some damping going on here so they are rather mellow and laid back. Inoffensive springs to mind with ok bass, extended but not in your face highs and a nice midrange. I have a feeling they might improve quite a bit with better earpads and a nicer, low C cable so that's something I'll look into.

Still do you like better the vinyl than the Mofi?