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Fishes. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just ordered a HomePod. Interested to see how it compares to the KEF Muo.

It's more of a retinue.

Like mine. We use it all the time in the family room. The main problem is smartass teens who think it’s funny to wander into the room whenever something is playing, say “Hey Siri play ‘God’s Plan’” and leave smirking.

The HE-1 meaty? Nahh... mosfet flabby sure but that's it... In other news, I just got a care package from Justin...

Stax with proper English would not be the company we all know and love...

I still have a couple of prototype amplifiers available. One is a Black Diamond with an upgraded power supply ($1100). The other is a DSHA2 ($1200). Both amps use transformers for gain. More information at http://ecpaudio.com/stuff.shtml, or send me a PM.

Patsy Cline - Greatest Hits Listened to this last night. I've always been a sucker for a great alto voice and Patsy sure was one of the greats. Taken from us way too soon.

Can I join your entourage?

009S and a new DAC got announced (SRM-D10). Can't wait to give it a listen next time I'm in Japan. They are both expected to be for sale in the middle of June. 460,000 yen for the 009S and 90,000 yen for the DAC. https://stax.co.jp/2018/04/24/009s_d10/ https://stax.co.jp/products/sr-009s/ https://stax.co.jp/products/srm-d10/

I'm guessing that number is exaggerated because people who haven't had problems are probably less likely to either find this poll or vote in it. Generally, polls like that are hardly accurate or scientific. Still, the warning about buying from authorized dealers stands. I've read elsewhere of focal drivers potentially running out of excursion at high spl, and I wonder if that relates to more frequent driver failure.

That's a very nice care package, Birgir!

It's the only place I know of nearby.

It's World Book Day! Currently reading: The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin Market Forces by Richard Morgan

Stumbled across this impressive promo of what's possible with the latest Unreal Engine 4 (from GDC 2018).

I've been listening to them for the last few hours on and off getting to grips to how they sound. The system is a Carbon fed by the Denafrips Ares so just about as transparent as they come. Over all I quite like the sound, they are inoffensive which is something I'm a huge fan of. Any transducer should just get the fuck out of the way of reproducing the music. They are certainly a far cry from the turd which was the Jade in terms of sound so no major issues but still some small ones. The highs can be just a tiny bit too harsh, not like the 009's which are just aggressive. Here this is more of a slight sibilant edge where the recording is not perfect. The sound stage is perfectly find if just a bit distant and imprecise. It's far more subtle than say on the HE90, HE60 etc. and really depends on the recording how much you pick up on it. Bass....well the crap pads are really an issue here as they are just the standard Hifiman mount (i.e. 4 flimsy as all hell clips) and cost maybe about 1$ to make. The bass has nice presence but there is a dip in the upper midbass which makes them sound just a tad thin at times. I need more time with them but over all, not bad. No issues have cropped up, the drivers have no squealing and the coating seems solid with steady volume levels. They are also pretty comfy over all with my melon head. Now the stuff that annoys me...they stink, they stink real bad of that cheap pleather crap. I feel like I'm stuck in H&M hell with them on my head. The earpads and headpad have to go so does anybody know of any replacements for the Susvara? They seem identical so parts should be interchangeable. The cable is too short so the first job will be to replace it. I do have a nice 950 Stax extension which I could fit so that's probably what I'll do. Don't remind me...

Panda Express? Armistead would be rolling over in his grave if he were dead.

"Dance with me, Clarice.......!"

So...Justin knows how to make me do crazy shit so I'm now the proud owner of a set of these. What strikes anybody holding these is just how fucking cheap they feel, they make even the old Jade feel well built in places. So let's start to examine them, I'll take some pics later when I have some time. The drivers are metal (copper?) mesh on a spacer ring. I'll get a better look at them when I take these apart. No solid dust covers on the back, clearly woven nylon so a huge fail there. The earpads are woeful... some odd mix of what feels like fake leather and cloth. They are also very badly fixed to the phones which means the baffle seal could be compromised. They feel ok on the head but are just so fucking cheap looking... They also smell like cheap fake handbags from China aka. a whole isle at Marshall's or HM... The headband is the standard HFM fair with the same fake leather headpad. These cost 6k$ so leather was out of the question? Seriously...no money left over for that? Very Sennheiser in 1991... The housings are aluminum and feel solid enough but they are not a one piece unit as Stax would do it. The back is a separate plate and how it fits with the rest of a the housing is a bit of a joke. No gap on the bottom...1mm at the top. Pure quality here. Now the for the best part, the cable. This thing is so fucked... Now the plug is a clone of the Stax one but they used the wrong pins (look identical to the old Jade pins) so they had to make a spacer which fits over the end of the plug to shorten the pins. Such quality and attention to detail... Now the actual cable is clad in the cheapest tech flex from the 90's that money could buy which makes it look a bit like something which would be shipped with a cheap computer PSU. You can see the wires through the techflex if you push it together and they are super tiny with transparent insulation. Not formed into a proper ribbon either so this is not good at all. I wonder if this cable would last a year with normal use, it's just that flimsy. I'll report later on the sound but spoiler...there are issues I don't hate them.

Reduced voltage on my “modified” T2. DHT by night.

Rainbow Kitten Surprise is an excellent band name.

What all the smart iMac Pro users will be sporting this year,..

HomePod just plonked on the marble kitchen counter with a hard tile backsplash behind it sounds miles better than the in ceiling Sonos system. Sonos CONNECT amps are $500 per room. I think they have a problem.

RIP to one of our cats, Gryphon "Diablo" Just got back Saturday from 2 weeks in Australia, and while we knew he had some issues, it turned out to be a large and aggressive tumor of some sort. According to our neighbor watching the house and cats, the "eaten" food amount dropped significantly on Thursday. We took him in today, got the bad news; then I got Andrew at school so he could say goodbye. Pics from when we first got him (he's the tuxedo cat), and a couple years ago. RIP bud.....

Between this and the t8000 you have been duped into over 10k worth of impossible to unload gear ;/ Can't wait to hear your impressions on their sound.