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So I've officially fallen off the wagon again as I got one of these just now. I swore I was done buying headphones but clearly not... So I just put them on my head so listening impressions will come later but first some over all impressions. Now the case...the case is super retarded whoever came up with should be patted on the back for being super "special". It's pretty much Head-fi in a case form, has wank factor off the scale but is utterly useless. Way, way too heavy too. Now the cable, from the outside it looks well enough made but I will open it up to see what's inside. The pins on the plug were all bent and it looks like the whole front of the plug has bent inwards as it is now concave. Not sure if it was supposed to be like that but it has clearly deformed a bit. I needed to bend the pins to get them to fit in our custom made sockets so something is off. Now this is a used set so I don't know what abomination it was plugged into... The rest of the cable is ok, I like the small splitter piece but the cable is way too microphonic for my taste. Even the smallest tap is transmitted straight to the cups. Now the actual connectors for the cups...again we reach one of those "special" design choices. So it looks like a DB9 plug (smaller though) but the actual contacts are tiny PCB mount parts so it is all for show. I'll take some pics later but this is super stupid. I'll also run some HV tests on it and see how it holds up as I zap it with some KV's. Now the actual phones, I like that they say "FLOW" on the headband which I presume is some other model. Too costly clearly to make a new molding for this... The earcups feel solid but those earpads are just crap. They are pretty badly made and the opening is far too large. They will be the first thing I'm going to tamper with. Then we have the circa 3mm thick dense foam on the face of the driver...in 2018!! Now this used to be the norm (though never for Stax) and the Koss ESP950 still has this but that's only because they haven't changed in nearly 30 years. I'll try them first fully stock and then start to mess with them. Pics will come later as I start to take them apart too but first some listening...

Dinner last night at the Buenos Aries Grill. Turns out to be Seattle Restaurant Week, so the giant pile of meat I was planning to order had accompaniments for less money than normal. Result!

All my music pro buds are all quivering at the release of the new Mac Mini! Could be just what we need (once the 3rd party ram prices go down). https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2018/10/new-mac-mini-packs-huge-punch/

They are ODU parts, not LEMO. Can't remember the part number but you can find it on HF. Senn is using similar parts for the HE-1 connectors. As for the fake Lemo, I used something like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1Set-2Pin-Push-Pull-Circular-Aviation-Connector-Compatible-LEMO-0B-FGG-EGG-Serie/171989556108?hash=item280b605b8c:g:Z48AAOSwhcJWOhal:rk:1:pf:1&frcectupt=true Standard 0B series but they might be a bit long.

Early ears on these (outside of the Cult Of Dan) were far from complimentary. I am horribly fascinated to see a) the pics b) your conclusions.

Congrat Sox! Fuck the Dodgers!

That box would just be a funny oddity if they didn't force you to buy it. I repeatedly suggested that they offer a version with their ether travel case for a few hundred less. It was met with the fiery denial of an evangelist. Don't forget that these almost shipped with single sided covers until my self and a few other over there repeatedly pointed out what a disaster that would be. This also met with resistance, first feigning ignorance as to what we are taking about.. Then questioning if sealed drivers would work before finally giving in. They should have shipped with out the display case, custom plug, custom ear cup connectors and a simple protective mesh outer cover on the divers for 2k. Edit:: and I hate coming across as being against other estat manufacturers besides stax. I'm the furthest from it I desperately want hifiman and mrspeakers in the game to push stax and vice versa. It feels like innovation died a decade ago in stats.

Looking forward to the new album, which is produced by Jack Antonoff (Bleachers, Lorde) and titled Norman Fucking Rockwell.

Speaking of which, seeing reports in various forums of the Lyr 3 killing headphones. Have you peeked inside one? If so, any idea what's up?

Indeed, the headphones are setup for constant charge so when you pull the power source the charge is still present. It will then slowly dissipate over 20-30 minutes or so and the sound will become softer and softer.

Mismatched very high cacitance vishay siliconix output mosfets. And ground splitter. Otherwise identical current feedback amplifier same as liquid gold,liquid carbon,Cth, liquid platinum etc. at least it's better assembled than schiit.

Little gems salad with end of season cherry tomatoes and leftover buttermilk fried chicken (made by my sister in law's girlfriend who will likely also be my sister in law one of these days).

Meanwhile at Starbucks in Napa ...

Short Ribs Lamb Burger Flourless Chocolate cake

Bye Jonny.

This is very local to me, but the manager of the club where I used to do lights for a decade died recently. https://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2018/10/donal_rooke_northampton_music.html Don was one of the sane adults I talked to in the sea of drunken, tripping children that was the mid 00s drum n bass and house music scene. The club we worked in a seedy place, but I really enjoyed talking to him and some of the other elder staff. They'd seen enough insanity and still had appreciation for the music that it was an inspiration for me to put up with as much shit as I did and not go bonkers.