Miscellaneous

Another possibly limited interested topic, but I know a few here spend time hiking/camping and I am trying to get into it and looking for a repository of the best products, etc. and tips on overnight, multi-day, etc. backpacking trips. So far I only have the backpack Gregory Baltoro 75, a spork, a fire kit, various Busse knives and Vapur collapsible water bottles. What are you guys packing and using on your hiking trips?

Folks, My apologies for using this public forum for a private request. I was wondering if someone here could ask NwAvGuy (creator of ODAC and O2) to contact me. I tried contacting him, but his blog contact-form is full. We have a project at MIT that may relate to his work. My private email is: tom [at] findthomas [dot] net. I would be so grateful if NwAvGuy could reach me. Thanks in advance. Tom Hardjono @findthomas

This is priceless...... Three billion, you say? http://www.cnet.com/news/bose-accuses-beats-of-infringing-noise-canceling-headphone-patents/

I have a 2 year old staying at the house this week and I am afraid she is going to want to put legos or some other toy in the front port of my Monitor Audio 6 (for some reason Tim wants to have her play right next to the speaker system). The speakers have front ports. Would it be ok to cover the front ports with some sort of light cloth for the week (while the system is on). This is the main tv setup so I can't put the speakers in a different room. I'm not so concerned about the sound but whether it could damage the amplifier. My guess is that is probably ok but will look like shit. I was thinking of using thin like a disposable dish cloth like this.

Wanted to start a thread for those of us that are interested in the water and those things you can do around, under or on it. Not sure if there are a lot of HC'ers that partake but should be a good place to discuss if there are. Video from today's paddle on the Potomac.

This is an odd topic but I'm looking for quick answers. I am having some Ikea solid beech wood butcher block counter tops installed in the Mayberry kitchen. They suggest sanding, sealing and oiling but they do not really give a lot of specifics. They sell some linseed oil but not a sealer and I am not sure if a sealer is necessary or recommended for use on butcher block counter tops or what to use and still be safe for food handling on them. Anybody have ideas for specific products or general procedures to employ or avoid?

Yep, It's now official Available direct from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Fire-Phone-32GB-AT/dp/B00EOE0WKQ etc http://online.wsj.com/articles/amazon-unveils-smartphone-1403114271 http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/18/amazon-phone http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/18/5819516/meet-the-fire-phone http://gizmodo.com/amazons-fire-phone-is-here-at-last-developing-1592702508 http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/06/amazon-announces-its-first-smartphone-the-fire-phone/ http://time.com/2895275/amazon-fire-phone/ http://m.t3.com/news/amazon-announces-the-amazon-fire-phone Firefly:"It's basically the easiest way to spend your money you'll ever find."

I was pondering the idea of sound design when it comes to amplifier design. I am wondering if amp designers know what a circuit is going to sound like before they make it? So is it the case that they think about the sonic attributes they want to create and design an amp to suit or do they just build an amp with little concern for the sonic side of things and aim to keep the variables (such as THD) in an optimum range with an expectation that the amplifier will sound good at the end? In addition to this are there things a designer can do to deliberately change an aspect of the sound, such as increase the warmth, widen the soundstage or increase the detail? Sorry for …

Anybody know how to disable Nvidia's Optimus function? Googling didn't lead to a good answer. I did a clean install of Win 8 (then 8.1) onto Sandisk Extreme II 480 GB SSD for Dell 17R SE (1980x1020, i7, 8GB), and now Windows Experience Index is quite high for all, Except for graphics performance. Intel graphics HD4000 and Nvidia GT650M (with Optimus) can't be as bad as this ChrisPC Win experience says? (Win 8.1 dropped genuine Win Experience ap) IMG_20140529_145412 by drjlo1, on Flickr IMG_20140529_190543 by drjlo1, on Flickr

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?

Summary: recommend me a wet vac I can use to suck all the nasty water out of my A/C pan. So last summer I had issues with my pan under my A/C in the attic overflowing and staining my ceiling. This probably happened for a variety of reasons: My pan for some reason leans to the opposite side of where it drains Also for some reason the "kill switch" that cuts off the A/C when the water reaches a certain level was on the wrong side. So water was draining out the other end of the pan, and the kill switch was never switched. The drain pipes are probably clogged up because as a first time homeowner I knew nothing of keeping A/C drainage pipes clean, so didn't do anything…

This thick cable has got all the strange looks, and is really very stiff, almost tipping my gear over. A bit of the (normal) lamp cable deep inside can be seen through the blue semi-transparent connector (Patrick does not apparently believe so much in effects of the actual conductor). It works, as the image shows.

Hi, After lurking here for a while and giving up on the advice at another forum, I thought I would try asking about a problem that has been bothering me for some time. I am having substantial problems with my cell phone pings being picked up by the headphone cable. I am running a nuforce HDP and HD650s in case someone else has experience with the same problem and setup. So I see a few options: 1) Shielded headphone cables. (Although the price scares me vs option 6) 2) Craft a EMI blocking filter (Perhaps with an inline Neutrix EMC series XLR pair or equivalent), or maybe a ferrite core? 3) A magical audiophile solution I am not aware of. Preferabl…

In the process of buying a property, my credit report was pulled with much lower score than previous. It was due to some %$#@ opening a credit card with my identity, defaulting on the bill, which went into collection. I never knew any of it because the address they sent their letters was different than mine. I asked the credit card CS on the phone how could someone so easily open a credit card under someone else's identity, and he said "It is easy." Damn, if it's so easy, why don't credit card companies do a better job of screening applicants for fraud Now all my real estate actions are on hold, and I am supposed to call their Identity Theft department when…

Figure there are enough of these to start their own thread. Anyone brave enough on this one? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hellobragi/the-dash-wireless-smart-in-ear-headphones

Does anyone have a strong recommendation for an office chair? I currently have an Aeron which I like well enough, so getting a second is not out of the question. However, I am interested if there are others people like better. I used to have a Knoll Bulldog which I did not really like as it was too bulky and just didn't fit right. I was looking at the Steelcase Think for no particular reason other than it just seemed to stand out. The Think or Aeron are at the absolute top of the price range -- cheaper would be better.

So I'm in need of a component rack of some kind. As it stands I have my turntable on a random wood end table, and the rest of my gear splayed across my computer desk. The desk is way too cluttered, and whenever I do decide on a dac there won't be any room for it. So I need to once again buy some sort of equipment rack. The current most obvious choice is a Salamander Archetype: http://www.amazon.com/Salamander-A5-Archetype-5-0-Black/dp/B0006VPUMQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391319380&sr=8-1&keywords=salamander+archetype I'd opt for the upgraded cherry model because it looks nicer. However, I dread putting the damn thing together and leveling all the sh…

My mom is wanting to get a small laptop (bigger than a tablet) to use at home, primarily for Skype to be able to do video chats with her grandkids, downloading pics, Microsoft Office, and basic internet browsing. She wants a built-in camera, moderate budget maybe $500 to $600. She's computer literate, but not at all tech savvy (kind of runs in the family). She's thinking about a Macbook Air such that she can avoid the hassle of viruses and such but isn't cray about spending $1k when she can get the same for $500 or less for her basic needs. Any suggestions?

In the spirit of last year's thread I decided to see what everyone else is thinking for the year My major goals are the following two Gran Fondos: Diabolical Double (16k+ ft, 125 miles): http://www.winthefight.org/granfondo/diabolical_double.htm The Alpine Loop Gran Fondo (11.5k+ ft, 107 miles): http://alpineloopgranfondo.com/ Plus I think I will probably do the Tour de Cure in Northern VA (6/1/14) with Jeff. I'm also loooking at: MS Ride The Riverside (6/7/14-6/8/14) Airforce Classic (6/8/14): http://cyclingclassic.org/ Total 200 Double Century (6/14/14): http://www.total200.com/ Edit: It's not a "goal" really but I'll probably do a few 5k races w…

I decided not to necro-bump Bryan's 2009 thread as it was kind of specific and not in my budget. I played through high-school but have not played in 20 years. I am looking to get back into playing and I am looking for a great acoustic and a decent electric setup to start with. I am thinking about looking into a full custom for the acoustic but it is pretty hard to figure out how they handle from websites. A few decent shops around my parents place in Dallas that I intend to check out when I get back there this weekend. First on the list is http://www.theguitarsanctuary.com. Has a decent selection of factory and small shop guitars to try out. I know there are …

I know recently we have had discussions here regarding censorship on Head-FI particularly around criticism of sponsors products. Well it seems any mention of this forum now results in instant removal of any reference! I was involved in a conversation regarding the Metrum MK1 DAC and happened to mention the work Craig Sawyers had outlined on this forum to upgrade the output transformer. He also noted the need for correct cable matching etc.......... All very useful stuff. Well within a hour or so of posting I received the following PM below telling me that the link had been removed. They must be very touchy over there because people might find there are more i…

I was at the Verizon store, trying to undo a Verizon mess-up (what else is new?). It gave me a chance to scope out my next phone, upon which I will be placing a large emphasis on *good* camera performance, as I tire of carrying a real camera to various casual events. My prime candidate, the Samsung Galaxy Camera, was heavily disappointing. It was MUCH larger and heavier than any phone OR compact camera I've owned, not to mention the ugliest. It's like they literally took a phone and camera and fused them without weight or size savings. The 21x zoom lens was not bad even zoomed all the way out as far as IQ and focus speed, but it looked ludicrous when zoomed out. …

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/

I am think of getting a small handheld camcorder but don't know what to look for. I assume a bigger sensor is better for low light and you want a decent mic, optical zoom, and decent battery life. That's about all I know. I have read that midrange ($300-$600) is the sweet spot for someone like me. I'm just going to use it for the usual recording friends, family, etc. I was thinking of something like http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00AW54Z4K/thewire06-20 or http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00AWZFJ22/thewire06-20 or http://www.amazon.com/Sony-HDR-CX380-Definition-Handycam-Camcorder/dp/B00AR95FRM/ref=dp_ob_title_ce or maybe something even cheaper http…