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Soccer Tournament Day 2. They won their third regular game 8-1 to go undefeated in their bracket. They beat the other bracket winner 9-0 to win the U10 division. Congratulations to son (even with the cheesy smile) and coach mom.

Anyone who doesn't say AriPower/HF-2 rig was best in show (or, second best, after the GS-X Mk.II with HD800s, to the people with severe hearing damage, because seriously, they are only good if you are the guy on a submarine listening for the enemy walking around on the opposing submarine that's trying to find you) is dead to me. **BRENT** Edit: when packing up all four sets of headphones you take to work with you, remember to grab at least ONE set to take to work with you the next day. Jesus, today sucked. Edit 2: Purk, don't let Lee or Tom Hankins steal my amp. I know they both want the HF-2s!

Al, You need to add the GS-X MK2 to your impressive collections. It is such a transparent and neutral sounding amp with a craftsmanship to match. Work wonder on the HD800 and my R10 as well.

Opinion worthless.

It was great hanging out with Brent and his friend Brian. Brent had to leave a little earlier but was kind enough to let me audition his AriPower in my own envioroment. Justin's GS-X MK2 charmed everyone at the meet in exception to one junior headfier who kept reminding me that his Questyle CMA800R is just as good in single-ended operation. I thought that his amp was good sounding especially with the HD800 but the GS-X MK2 is clearly more transparent to these ears. On a side note, he is in love with Cavalli Liquid Glass though. His AKG812 was good sounding as well but has such cheap build quality. Thanks John & A-VCOA for hosting this event. We did have a really good time. Next time, I'll bring less gears to the meet. Too much work packing/unpacking on my end.

Considering the problems you've had with Adorama, I don't know why you went back to them for printing job. Of course, this also means the rest of us will have trouble-free experience with Adorama since you seem to be a magnet for issues with Adorama.

^ Thanks Brent, but the joke's on me. MA bureaucracy wins again. Turns out that the agent I scheduled an appointment with (over a month ago) is only able to help seniors get health insurance. Even though I might look like one, I am in fact not a senior. This tidbit of information would have been handy to know, but none of the people on the other end of the half dozen phone conversations I had every saw fit to point it out to me. I am back to square one (well, square two, I've got all the sodding paperwork in order on my end) and once again am diving face first into the slow, churning gears of the Taxachusetts bureaucracy. This should be a hoot. Fun side note: The agent I met with had the first name of Tyll, pronounced "Till." He's of Dutch descent and named after a folk figure. He's something of an amateur photographer, having shot both 35mm and 120mm with Rollei. I did not learn his position on headphones or motorbikes.

You probably seen "Desperate Man Blues" on PBS or IMF but it's a great one; http://www.dust-digital.com/dmb-dvd/ For those interested in recording studios and the early engineers, "Tom Dowd and the Language of Music" is amazing! If you can't find it online, I have the DVD and I'd be willing to lend it out. There was also a BBC production that followed Sir George Martin around the world searching for the roots of music which was also called "The Language of Music". I've only seen one of those but I'd love to find the rest.

Spent the morning getting a lot of paperwork in order. In a few minutes I'm off to apply for Taxachusetts health care, so I can NOT DIE.

Filet in bone. 2009 Stag's Leap Petit Sirah. Now Knob Creek Manhattan. Vegas.

Glad you didn't fall asleep at the wheel. I would have felt guilty, even though I kept telling you last night to get some sleep. Then boom, another message from Brent...

I got in about 36 down at the lake. Got lost and had a great ride. I am home alone tomorrow so another ride in the morning.

Apparently Hawks 2-0 in the series now. Go Hawks!

Got 47.5 miles in today in perfect (to me) weather. For some reason I like riding in at least 80 degree weather, I feel like I can get my legs warmer quicker and suffering in the heat gives me delusions of being a badass

Waiting to take it home

Colin, is that you?

Just got my pair in today. Quick warmup and listen (Fio X-3 -> Digital out to Neko D-100 Mk 2 -> Eddie Current Lunchbox 2) using some 16/44 up to 24/192 FLAC files. First impressions: big and full sounding, fairly well balanced with maybe some lightness to bass (assume it may get better in time). It actually reminded me of many of the good things about Grado's, with a little larger soundstage and a little more evenly balanced. Not as wide open as my Senn 600's coming out of the Lunchbox 2, but still pretty good for a closed phone. Isolation was good, I think these will do quite well at work. Got some good details/transparency out of them, too, thanks likely to the DAC. Comfort was good, not too strong of a clamp, and the insides of the cups didn't rub on my ears (thought they might given their size). Probably not as comfy as the Phillips Fidelio X1's, which have larger, felt earpads. Will compare them at work tomorrow, fed from same FLAC files to the Meridian Explorer, to the X1's I had been using. As a side note: I like this Fio X3 DAP a lot. Some/several things NOT to like, but they matter less to me (menu system especially, and some reported bugs reading LOTS of files - I put exclusively FLAC on with lots of hi-rez, so no worries about filesystem for me). Sound out to the Ety 4P's is very good, and using it as a digital source is simple and real nice. I listen to the above setup with the Neko and EC feeding my Senn 600's almost every other night, and it is quite fun.

I'd say that's a fair statement; not brighter by a lot, though, and having tighter, more impactive bass. So it's not as simple as just saying their brighter.