Miscellaneous

I'm looking for a small folding knife to use when dual sport motorcycle riding. Most of its use will occur while camping. I was thinking of this Gerber, but am open to other suggestions. The Gerber will give you the idea of what I want and the price point at which I'm interested. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

My partner and I are thinking that we may want to buy ourselves a new tv for Christmas (probably 50"). Right now we have a Samsung 40" 720p LCD. We have been pretty happy with it but I think it is time for a step up. We have a lot of windows in the living room but do most of our watching at night. Any suggestions? How is Sony vs Samsung?

I've been sort of into mechanical keyboards lately. I spend a lot of time typing, and I felt I should start doing it properly. Naturally, that has meant spending money on unnecessary things. Out of DIY interest, I bought an Ergodox keyboard kit from Massdrop. Improbably, I assembled it correctly and I've been enjoying playing around with layouts. I've not gotten too interested in the more esoteric collecting popular elsewhere on the internet, but this little thing sure is fun. I have some legended keycaps coming, soon, but I've gotten okay typing on the blank ones. Anyone else interested in this type of thing?

Same photo, five different interpretations. Some changes are obvious, others are more subtle. Which one do you like best, and which one do you think is the most accurate representation of the actual real life scene? Something to think about and keep in mind when we're out listening to gear, doing comparisons and so forth.

Qobuz streaming officially came to the US on Valentine's Day. Anyone else giving the 30 day free trial a try? Like the background text info on releases, etc., though that can get in the way as a player occasionally. Seems to have more releases per artist, though some major artists missing in comparison in Tidal, though that could be simply my preferences. Handles high resolution (24/96-24/192) differently (no MQA). Seems to dislike using the word "album."

I've been wanting to dive into the realm of digital SLR for a while now and with our trusty point-and-shoot getting bit long in the tooth/temperamental (along with wanting to have a decent camera before the baby arrives), I figured this is as good a time as any to do it. For the budget, I'd like to keep it at/around $1K. I'd appreciate any recommendations/suggestions. Thanks.

Hi! A few weekends ago, we visited my wife's grandma's house for a final time, as she was recently admitted into a home, and they are going to have an estate sale. This was a chance for the grandkids to sort of go through and pick any momentos they wanted. I thought it would be nice to take home her grandma's old vinyl and possibly play it a bit. I am not a vinyl guy at all, nor do i see myself really getting into it. So all I am looking for is a very cheap, small space, functional vinyl rig that my wife can listen to her grandma's old records.

Let's see what shows up this year. First up the Auralic stand/DAC/amp. http://parttimeaudiophile.com/2013/10/11/rmaf-2013-auralic-and-the-abyss/

My trusty Sony a100 bit the dust the other day and it's well out of warranty at this point so I figure it's time for a new camera. I'd like to keep the cost under $1k (body only or w/ kit lens). While I liked the a100 I'm thinking it might be a good idea to go with a Canon or Nikon this time due to the large of amount of available lenses and their seemingly better performance at higher ISO levels. Any suggestions/recommendations are appreciated

When I was in SFO last weekend for the meet, I bought a pair of Vibram Five Fingers KSOs at In-jean-ious. I had gone up there with the intent of trying a pair on and possibly buying some, and when I got to the meet, it turned out that Icarium and his whole posse were outfitted with them. Their good recommendations didn't hurt to seal the deal. Anyway, the 47s fit me well enough, so I bought a pair in black. I've been wearing them exclusively ever since. They are totally fucking awesome. They do look kinda funny though, and in black, they look like some sort of water shoe, so be prepared to get shit from your friends. And people who don't give you shit have 1,000,000 quest…

These two make look innocent. But, they are interconnect chewing machines. One of them chewed up another pair of my irreplaceable siver/ gold alloy hybrid IC's today. I just sent Zach a pair of Gold alloy IC's they chewed completely through a few weeks ago. Before that they dined on a couple Oehlbach Senn cables, a pair of gold alloy, a silver hybrid and yet another gold alloy. Can anybody think of something I can put on the cables to discourage this behavoir? Nothing poison .... but something that would taste really bad.

Thought I'd start a thread for any interesting CES gear (audio or otherwise). First is a DAC. Anyone know BMC gear? http://parttimeaudiophile.com/2013/01/06/pre-ces-b-m-c-audio-announces-puredac/ Seems the XLR comment is off.

I know that java-fi will probably have my head, but I need a good auto coffee maker for the morning. Yes, I have a French press, but I just don't have the time in the morning most days. So, here's what I need: a reliable coffee maker with a timer that makes good joe. Flavor over looks and not too expensive. Help me.

Looking to update quite a bit lately and I am moving on from all my Mephisto dress shoes to something a bit more modern/interesting. Couldn't find a shoe-case thread here hiding amongst murses and bicycles so I figured we could have a nice discussion of something I assume most of us use. I have Allen Edmonds right across the street and an Alden one train stop away so they are first on my radar. Fashionista Colin pointed out the Peal & Co. option as well made shoes available at Brooks Brothers so I am looking at them as well. So what does the well-appointed Head-Caser wear for daily dress, casual, sport shoes around here?

I've been thinking of expanding and moving my office rig. At the moment I face the back of my office (back to windows) with my rig set up as Headroom style rig using the Headroom stands. For pretty much my entire day I fact the back corner of my office looking at the computer screen with my back to the window. As a result, I rarely use the actual desk portion of my office furniture. Here are a few pics of the layout and one with a crude drawing of what I am considering. Current layout: Proposed future layout: I question whether this is overkill. I already have the speakers, I would just need stands. Either the low gain beta I have in my office now or th…

I'm starting a new thread so it doesn't get lost in the main one. If others think this should be more appropriately placed in the off-topic forum, I'll move it, but I was just thinking to keep the two threads somewhat together. Anyway, I like goals. Without them, I do nothing but talk about doing things. I'm going to keep mine simple and, barring more injuries, do-able. 1. 4000 miles. That's about 83 mile a week. Highly do-able. 2. I want to increase my speed to be able to hang with a paceline for more than 10 miles at 20+ mph. 3. I want to learn how to ride hills. I still can't stand and pedal, and descending, however much I like it, scares me. …

And the Fire is official. Out November 15, 2011. "GDGT's Ryan Block notes that the WiFi-only Kindle Fire is merely a "stopgap" product, hence its pre-holiday release. Writes Block, "[M]y sources tell me the second-gen Kindle tablet [...] will be out in Q1 of 2012 -- yes, that soon."

I've been a regular poster at head-fi and our local Singapore fora sgheadphones.net and jaben.net/forums. By accident I stumbled over this forum and I must say it's nice to add another enthousiast forum to the collection. One thing baffles me though, the anti-head-fi postings. People seem to like to snub at the "burn in rage" or the "Edition 9 love" that apparently is going on at head-fi.com. We've had spats between the Singaporean fora but they seem to be resolved now. I'm probably here but what's the deal?

Doing a little research for a friend who'd like a CD player and speakers (and amp if he doesn't go with active monitors). He can't go above $1000.00 and preferably would like to spend less. He is not yet using a computer as source, so I think the CD player is a must. I was thinking of something like this as a starting point: NAD / PSB Package-Audio Advisor Any thoughts?

There is an abandoned house next door that's in foreclosure. People moved out, and there is an unfinished pool in backyard, a large dig but without any concrete. After the recent rains, the hole is now full of water, apparently rife with numerous frogs. There's a dirt yard with wild bushes everywhere also. There is VERY loud frog noise intermittently throughtout day and night at all hours. Called HOA, who said they can't do anything as they can't enter the property. They (and I) called "Vector control," who do not deal with frogs but will come out "in few business days" to take a look for mosquitos. In the meanwhile, I got zero hours of sleep last night due t…

I picked up my McIntosh MC2100 from the local repair guy. He measured it at 150 Watts/ch with low distortion (in his words a "righteous" amp). That was good! While in the shop I saw a Marantz 8b, Mc2300 (rated 300 Watts/ch, but probably hits nearly 500), and an Mc40 among others. Helped move the behemoth mc2300. That was cool! I put 4 hockey pucks in place of the missing rear spikes for my Tannoys. Feels more solid, works good! I replaced the crooked-bottle Electro Harmonix EL34 tubes in my Eico HF87 with some new Teslovak EL34ls (same as the Groove Tubes version, and made in the JJ factory I hear). The new tubes look great (much better built) and sound very clean,…

Because some companies just don't get it, this thread is dedicated to the weird, the "you missed the concept" and the WTF. For starters: "...with a retro-vacuum tube look"

I thought about upgrading my iphone 5s to the 6s and then I thought that maybe I should consider switching cell phone carriers. I've been with Sprint since around 2000 and for the last 10 years I've been on a family plan with Tim, Tim's daughter, Tim's dad and now I am off contract (and Tim's dad just passed away so I should be able to cancel his phone without penalty). I was thinking about switching to Verizon for better/faster LTE coverage. My phone plan at Sprint is an unlimited plan and I'm a little worried about getting rid of an unlimited plan... this is my one fear about switching. I would probably get the 12GB option at Verizon which would be around $100+ tax …

I thought we were having some light hearted fun in the "Is this the anti head-fi forum or what?" thread, only to see it locked very quickly. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't get any kind of malicious sense from those last several posts, just some fun loving, lighthearted ribbing. I noticed the same thing in another thread recently. Are we jumping the gun too early and censoring like the other site? Just my own viewpoint.

So I realized that my LP Custom and Guid JF30 are just rotting under the bed, so I was thinking of getting cans for them at first, then I thought "hey, why not do a 2-fer and see if anyone might trade these two for one stompin' dreadnaught?" So I find a 1970's Martin D-41 and the guy might do it... Uh oh. Gear Acquisition Syndrome in effect!