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Finally, I’ve had some time to sit down and dot down my final thoughts on the CRBN. They’ve been here for a couple of months, but I really wanted to have a Carbon CC up and running to try them on before I wrote anything final. I rustled up some pretty ghetto front and back panels this week, so I finally have one for my own system. Feeding it is a Denafrips Terminator DAC but I’ve tried it with a number of other sources plus whatever amps I’ve up and running at any given point, KGSSHV, KGST, CCS modified Stax amps etc. Now I want to start with how it’s been living with them for the past two months, in a word flawless. No issues at all with this second set, no imbalance, noises from the drivers… nothing like that. They are also supremely comfortable, and I’ve worn them for hours on end with no discomfort. Now this is Iceland so not exactly warm and the all-leather earpads might be an issue in warmer climates. Audeze might make hybrid pads like the Sennheiser HE60/90 but here I just open a window to cool down... 😉 Also, a word on driving them. They are inefficient and do need a lot of power. Anybody claiming otherwise is just full of it and thinks gain and position of the volume knob has anything to do with power levels. They are not quite 007 bad in this regard but they do reward a more powerful amp when pushing them. Baseline for excellent performance would be the KGST/KGSSHV line but even with the CCS modified Stax amps they work well at moderate volume levels. Push them though and yeah… you need power behind them. So how do they sound… well TLDR, how I’ve always wished the Sennheiser HE90 should have sounded but never did. These were my first impressions, slightly oversized soundstage and not as precise as others but far from the mess that is the HE90. Plenty of deep, well controlled bass too but not quite up to the 007 level. They can get bright when the source calls for it, slightly excessively so at times, but far from the forward nature of the 009’s. The soundstage is a bit larger than life, but it makes for plenty of presence and separation so while not pinpoint accurate, they are very close to it. Overall, they are just so balanced and pleasant to listen to regardless of what you feed them. Now for the only real issue, the damping is something which has annoyed me more and more. Now as some might know… I’m a bit picky… just a tiny bit… 😛 and while it is not always apparent, some songs or parts of them just sound off to me. This generally true for every headphones I use so I remove all damping when I can. Also, a large part of why I like the 007’s so much due to their innovative air damping. Now on the CRBN the damping is damn good, but I can still tell it is there. This is not like the Sennheiser HE-1 for instance, where that bloody amp with its mosfet based output stage and joke of a front end just spreads its dirty fingerprints on everything. This is far more subtle and only affects some tracks so for instance, it is too closed in when it shouldn’t be, bass has a twang to it that shouldn’t be there… something like that. This is a very minor gripe, and this is me being super picky so take it as you wish. Still, I’d love to try these drivers with less damping… 🙂 So, this aside, there is so much to recommend here. They are certainly not cheap but just holding them you can see where the money has gone. Plug them into a good amp yeah, they will impress. The only issue for me it they have rekindled an old project, take some LCD-2’s and fit them with custom electrostatic drivers. Anybody know of a cheap set I can buy? 😉 Now I’ve not received my SR-X9000000000000 yet so I can’t compare them but on its own the CRBN is a great product. They are not perfect (what is?) but as a first stab at making electrostatics, they are damn impressive. I’m adding this set to my collection, and they are certainly in my top 5 all-time greats. I really must say they are a breath of fresh air as the releases over the last few years have been such a disappointment. It really has been a 10-year slump now so here’s hoping we get something excellent over the next 10 years.

Until trusted person gives a reliable review here, you might study the interior of the new Stax SR-X9000. I let the pictures speak for themselves.

The new Stax just arrived. Sorry for posting in CRNB thread.

I was getting ready for a bike ride this afternoon and hunting through the dryer for some gloves when I spun the drum by hand and it made a huge bang. Hmmm, that's weird, says I. I find the glove and attempt to restart the dryer and no joy, no spin, no heat, no nothing. So I make the executive decision that this is not going to ruin my ride and inform the family that laundry is off limits for a while. Got in a good ride with two local buds and then got to work. Initial prognosis, the belt is still around the drum so deeper we go... Problem found, the belt had slipped off the idler pulley and then the spring that loads the idler had fallen off so the whole drum had to come out to get at things to perform the relatively straight forward repair. About a half hour later everything was back together and working. Worst part is that the belt is worn so I'll get to do at least half of this again sometime sooner than I'd like but at least it's working again.

"Diaphragm" side of stator. Zoom in and you can see the structure of net (copper??). Stator with plastic ring. Outer diameter 94mm and inner 84mm. Thickness of diaphragm ring is 0,95mm on my digital caliper, so I would say spacer thickness 0,5mm. To me spacer material looks like aluminium.

I successfully designed (Fusion360) and printed my first part on Wednesday. It's an adapter to transform the diameter of a cyclone dust separator that I'm printing for use with the Shapeoko as my had and I are going to use the machine to make parts/pieces for a quad of Adirondack chairs this winter. Stock part left, my part right. Combined Assembled with 2/3's of the separator, the third piece is printing now and should be done in about 12 hours. Then I have to print one more each of the nozzle/hose pieces.

We had family down from a Covid hot spot in Mass, and one of the people visiting is a RN who regularly tests people. Since it was a nice day, out of an abundance of caution, we had outdoor picnic style Thanksgiving. That involved, among other things, Quiche (a type of pie), Yorkshire puddings stuffed with succotash (also a type of pie), stuffing cooked inside puff pastry (more pie), and apple galettes (a free form pie). To my wife's chagrin, the pumpkin was in the form of scones, so pumpkin pie will need to be made in the near future. For the record, stuffing cooked inside puff pastry is a winner.

Not myself, I'd already left for work. But I heard that Suzy fought off a racoon that wondered into the apartment. I've been leaving the door open for her, and it must have looked like a good place to look for food. The landlord heard her barking like crazy (she doesn't bark unless something seems wrong to her), came down to investigate just as Suzy was chasing the racoon out of the apartment. I guess I'll have to stop leaving the door open. No signs of scratches or bites on Suzy, says the landlord. She said Suzy calmed down quickly.

If that doesn't make your mouth water, then you're dead.

While waiting for the replacement I today brought forward my home-built headphone which has been stoved away for a year or so. It sounds really good, even better than I remembered. Perhaps it ages as a good wine. Wonder what happens if I put it away in our wine cellar for a couple of more years? Original home-built Faulty Stax

Just cooked 1.5 lbs. of bacon, then crumbled. Cubed 7 lbs. of cheese (5 lbs. Tillamook cheddar, 2 lbs. Boars Head pepper jack), in preparation for my homemade macaroni and cheese. My contribution to tomorrow's dinner at Al's Sister's house. If that sounds heavy to you, there's also 32 oz. of heavy cream and 24 oz. of sour cream involved in the cheese sauce. I generally make this dish only once a year these days. Not sure the arteries could take more than that.

Here is one of my mini T2. Left channel is changed to this… A Megatron something. Upper EL34 changed to T2 style CCS with 3 x 2SC4686 and 01N100D driving two LEDs. Current 28mA, cathode resistance 1390 ohm (the 500R resistors and a trimmer). The big black capacitors are Mundorf MCap Supreme silver/gold/oil, expensive but they look nice. My kitchen at lunch time.

I think I have listened to this 6 times in the last two days. I probably will listen to it 6 more in the next two.

That resaw looks awesome. Finally got some time to work on the bench today. Knocked out building the deadman with a walnut inlay to carry on the theme. Also cut and glued down the deadman rail. So close, just need to build the center divider. Then clean up and finish.

A collaboration with a certain northeastern master semiretired circle hole cutter, I present a panel ammeter that has a plain, not hip rgb light source. working on a second so we can compare two different dials and will play a bit with the LED backlight placement

I'm watching the news that three asshats have been found guilty of murdering an unarmed jogger in Georgia. Thank you to the jurors for being human.

My workmanship is about 87k levels below the bench, but getting closer to wrapping up the crate.

Actress Ellen Terry, aged 16 - photographed in 1864 by a wizard of early photography, Julia Margaret Cameron in Freshwater on the Isle of Wight. I've visited the museum in her house and studio. (Apart from Cameron's astonishing work, there is a bronze statue outside of Jimi Hendrix)

I made lumber! The tree cutter who took down my brother's trees gave me some small Black Acacia logs and I just tried cutting 5/4 slabs out of it. I think I may have discovered the Temple of Gozer the Gozerian in the middle of the log. 😱

Got summoned to a job sight to "drop in a new door". "Should take you about 20 minutes." Yeah, yeah. I hear this all the time. So I arrive at the jobsite and the rough opening is two inches less than the width of the new door. The door is also a 20 minute fire rated door, from the house into the garage, and as a first for me, it is milled out for a threshold, but there isn't one on the door. At least I got to try out two of my new tools. After cutting the sheetrock back with my new, ultra quiet 18v multi tool, My new beast of a 36v reciprocating saw, had the jack and king studs out in a few minutes. After relocating them 2 1/4" back, I then went to the builders supply store, where I found a threshold to fit the door. Had the door opening resized and door and trim installed in about 2 hours. Then got busy on the mail slot that the boss forgot to mention. "You'll be done in 5 minutes". Yeah, right. After encountering 1/2" of stucco and steel lath, I dug out one of my 4" grinders with a masonry blade. 15 minutes and clouds of dust later, I had the opening for the new mail slot cut. After finding my 1/8" tile bit, I managed to drill the holes to hold the slot in place. Now to install the overly complex Baldwin doorknob and deadbolt. "Oh, there's also a little bit of baseboard upstairs I forgot to tell you about." Now I've pulled out my miter saw and half of the tools that I own, and my "20 minute" job has turned into 6 hours.

Sorry Andy, no review or opinion from me. We have to wait for the trusted - Birgir. I just tear things down, a bad habit. P.S. I think SR-X9000 is the best headphone I’ve listened to. I haven’t listened to original Omega or HE90.

so many wires

Challenge Accepted! And for the head casers Met with Joanne's seal of approval

I have been named Wallmart best cüstomer! My phone doesn't work since I tried to click the link, but I can't wait for my gift card to arrive!

Not today but yesterday I had two what I call “Real Men of Genius” moments. #1. Had leftover poutine and thought to myself, I bet that would make a hell of an omelette. Result was yes, indeed, it was delicious. #2. Had leftover smoked pulled pork. Decided nachos were required. It was a good day.

- oats cooked in milk, butter and honey - whole wheat flour - bread flour - dates - walnuts - nutmeg - cinnamon - orange zest - yeast & salt

Pretty simple, female is V carved .11 with a 60deg bit, male is cut at .02 with a start depth of .09 with the same bit. Male is a mirror of the female. Then glued up and clamped. Once dry the male portion is cut of on the bandsaw (could also surface it off on the CNC but bandsaw is way quicker). Then sand.

Pizza night

From the picture you posted, there are some flocs have been inserted into the driver house，yea, it is more difficult to clean up for the mesh stator...😬

Totally messed it up being a Fusion360 noob but I present Chop V 0.5. I’ll redo it in the near future, also not super happy with the aesthetics.

Happy Thanksgiving to the best internet family out there. Like my tall friend much pie was consumed, but not too much. There's no such thing as too much pie.

First Georgia helps elect Biden, now Georgia convicts three White men of killing a Black man. I'm going to have to reevaluate Georgia. Way to go Georgians!

Found a dealer that offers $9k off a ordered TRX! Will probably lose my $500 deposit but I’ll still be $8500 ahead.

Today I went to check out a new project that I'll be heading up in the Oakland Hills. The house is owned by a former client that I dearly love. While there I got to talking to her tenant who was in the process of moving out. He offered me several pieces of mahogany, left over from a project. Then he asked if I'd be interested in an old Stanley router. Not sure how old, but it's old, and all metal. While I was looking that over, he brought me the first powered drill, patented in 1917. Super awesome stuff! Pics to follow. My plan is to offer them up to the new woodshop, as decoration, even though I believe they both work. He wouldn't take any money. He just wanted them to be appreciated. They will!

Recent purchase

Built the lower deck and made the chop. Still need to cut it down and make it presentable but I wanted to make sure the glide fit and worked well. It sure does. IMG_5519.MOV

The second year of a pandemic seems more kind to Halloweenish fun than the first. For Friday's school Historical Halloween she was kickass Jeanne/Jean Baret/Barret/Baré (1740–1807), botanist and first woman to circumnavigate the global (disguised as a man on Louis-Antoine de Bougainville’s 1766–1769 expedition). For today/tonight's choice she was inspired by 2013s mega-meme-Ylvis-zeitgeist-experience The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?).

Woody Woodpecker dropped by

Another dose Another dose

I'm sorry, Steve. It's not callous at all but merciful.

What I hate most in such situations is the feeling of impotence, that being absolutely powerless. It's your mother who'll have the hardest hit. You're doing great being by her side as much as you can.

I was at my partner’s great-uncle’s funeral this past weekend. He was the patriarch of the clan. Heather’s family is Scottish: he came over after Korea, with his wife from Jersey (a story in and of itself). He was bigger than life in some ways, and kind and decent, and everything I’ve heard says to me that I’m sad I didn’t get to meet him. It was sorrowful, and happy in remembrance, and I got to see her family again (they have absolutely welcomed me, and I appreciate them so much). I wore my Drive Extra Flat. I wore it because I thought “boy, this watch is beautiful on my dresser, but leaves me cold on the wrist, but selling a watch is such a pain in the ass so I never have done so, so I should probably wear it.” At the wake, after, the youngest adult grand-daughter of the decedent, whom I adore (vibrant, smart, fun as hell, striking out on her own at the end of her college career in secondary education and the first openly gay member of the family) kept looking at my wrist (jacket off and sleeves rolled up). I of course noticed. She finally got around to asking what the watch was, because she just was fascinated and loved it. I took it off and handed it to her and told her what it was and said “try it on.” There have been a few times where I have seen somebody’s life just shift a little by an object. I of course immediately said it was hers. Sending the box and papers off to her tomorrow. I’m sure she’ll wear it for the rest of her life, and she’ll remember me every time she puts it on, when I’m long gone. I have a form of “seller’s remorse” now, of course: it was so damned pretty on my dresser! Thought the ‘case watch people would like the little story. Watches aren’t worth anything if they aren’t worn. [Edits because I got some of the family details wrong as I thought about it.]

The East coast ping pong table is up and running again. Retirement plaque for the Public Works Officer.