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Finished... Back plates before I mounted them...

I helped this guy move into his new place in Mayberry.

Every now and then I receive emails where people want free review samples or some stupid shit like that. Now then this gem showed up today: I just like the blatant offer to offer promotion and clearly a glowing review for a measly 45% discount... My reply is below... Kevin told me not to be too harsh... I think it went ok.

So Tice removed a deck at his job site, which is Armistead Maupin's former home. In his genius he recognized it to be Brazilian Ipe that was only screwed down from one side. The new owner eventually agreed to give the boards to the contractor and Steve's bosses gave them to him. Claire has been asking for an outdoor chaise lounge so Steve donated the Ipe and his skills to the project. Here is what the boards look like without any work and then a progression from weathered (as received) to planed to sanded and then to oiled with Tried & True linseed oil with beeswax. We chose a design from Restoration Hardware as the basis for Claire's chaise and essentially winged it from there. Here is the original and the final product with a side table, finished just before our vacation but built to last for many years. There is no stain or pigment in the oil so the finished look truly blew us both away. Thanks Steve for supplying the wood *snicker* and the knowledge and know how to make this come together.

Moving day! New furnitature looks amazing in the new place. Hat tip to @Hopstretch who sold me his family’s old dining room set. My old apartment was too small for a dining room table so I’ve been eating meals at home on the couch or at my desk for years. Now I get to eat at a table like an adult. Feels good, man!

It's been a busy week for sure. My second Cousin has a lawn care business in Rockport, TX. He has lots of equipment and He, his Dad and I have been clearing trees, brush and trash all through his neighborhood, as well as temporarily tarping roofs. There are many elderly residents that just can't do it themselves. So we're filling a need and helping them get some piece of mind. It feels great to see the relief on their faces and the shock when they try to pay you and you tell them it's part of the massive volunteer effort underway. It also keeps my mind off of things I have no control over. Being a carpenter and letting people know what is reasonable and what is an obvious scam is also very rewarding. This place is already seeing those that travel to prey on others in dark times, and I'm determined to thwart as many of those as is possible. I'm safe and sound, eating well and generally in good spirits. Not yet sure about my next home options, but I'll figure that out in the near future. I have offers from past customers to stay as long as needed, so no need for any kind of panic. I am considering this event as motivation to get my ass out of Texas, and back to California, where I belong, but that won't happen overnight. Just so glad that my Mother is in Alaska and not having to witness the devastation first hand. She went through it in hurricane Celia in 1970, and that's why we went back to Alaska. Not sure she'd handle it well today. I miss all of you and will be back on a regular schedule before too long.

My own Carbon, not going anywhere... IMG_6585 IMG_6590 IMG_6592 IMG_6593 IMG_6595 IMG_6596 IMG_6597

We'll have a prototype of the new GS-X mini at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest next month!

I'm alive! Don't worry about me, I'm safe and dry and my dog Suzy is by my side. The rest is all solvable. Made it down to check damage. My RV is in pieces, but that's just stuff. I think my scooter is OK, and my wormdrive saw is OK. I'll need both as the destruction was massive. Many people far worse off than I. And lots of work ahead. I've had several offers from the best people on Earth (Head-Casers), to put me up and I love you guys! I'll take some time to decide my next move, but have options. I should qualify for a FEMA trailer, and may do that. I might decide that Texas doesn't want me around anymore, and try a new start. Too soon to know yet. Either way, my spirit is intact. A true Alaskan can never be beaten by Texas! What is most important to me are my Mom and my Suzy, so things are good. Suzy is a bit freaked but otherwise fine. As long as I have them and my HC family, I can make it through anything. I'm learning to use my cell phone for Head-Case, so bare with me.

I finally got the last plate machined. I had to replace the spindle on my CNC and also made a mistake on the CAD so had to redo this plate, but it's looking great now.

Hangin' out at Tyrion's place....for buds, brisket and brews. Got CarlSeibert back into action.....

Took Suzy for her two week follow up with the Vet. I really like this Dr.! She's so thorough and so caring. Suzy is looking fantastic. Everything is normal and she's lost two more pounds. Just 3 lbs. to go for a healthy weight. She also got Suzy caught up on her vaccines today, and that was very reasonable, and without any office charge. She will need her teeth cleaned, but she can wait until February, which is dental month and $100 off.

Had dinner and great conversation with Doug, Todd and Nate tonight! So thankful that they made the drive down. Humbled by that gesture! Such a fun evening, and it doesn't get much better than this. Great friends and great food have become so important in my life! In honor of Stretch, I had pork belly for the first time tonight. Thanks again guys!

With permission, then, here's the story. When my mom passed away in 2011, Steve made a beautiful box to hold her ashes and it was very special to me and my family. Claire's mom's memorial and internment is next month and I had been meaning to ask him for another favor but it slipped my mind until just days ago. Being such an amazing guy, Steve immediately said yes and started work the next day. He's already finished a turned lacewood urn and will ship it tomorrow. Claire and her sister are thrilled that their nature loving, conservationist mother will not be put in the ground in a plastic box, and of course I am eternally grateful to Steve for his beautiful work and friendship.

Finished paying off my ex. Celebrating tonight!

Time for some impressions of this rare beast. The Icelandic distributor has a set on loan and they carved an entire afternoon out of the schedule for me to try it and do some comparisons. I showed up with the HE90 I built from spare parts, Aristaeus, Carbon amp and a port modded SR-007Mk2. Since they were using the built in dac on the HE-1, I just plugged both amps into as well to equalize the comparison. Over all, I like the build quality of the headphones. Imagine a HD800 built properly and you are pretty much there. The leather earpads are super nice and the headband has nice extension to even fit my large melon. I don't think they are super comfy though as they are fucking heavy (550gr) and all of the pressure is on the top of the head. The Stax 4070 is just about as heavy but far more comfy due to the suspended headband design. The earcups get a bit warm due to the internal amps but only about 5-7°C above ambient. The cable is also pretty nice and not microphonic at all but more on the amps etc. later. Amp itself...well it is just fucked up. I get that they were trying to cater to some nouveau-riche people who just want something expensive but the wank factor is off the charts. I also have serious doubts about what's hiding in that nice marble shell... As for the headphones them selves... well the drivers look pretty much identical to the HE90 units and the few pictures of them that exist, point to that. I wanted to rip off the earpads to check further but people get antsy with something this expensive... One worrying thing I noticed though is that both sides of the drivers have porous dust covers. They look identical to the woven nylon found on the HE90 and well...I would expect solid covers. Now for some actual impressions. As I said above the HE-1 dac was the source for all the amps. To that you have to turn off the headphones so no direct comparisons were possible but I know how both systems should sound so not a big problem there. The source feeding the HE-1 was a Macbook Pro running itunes but I bypassed that with my own FLAC files and player. There are some major changes compared to the older system, this one can do bass and isn't as horribly colored either but over all...I was not impressed and the system never made me really interested in the music. It doesn't engage like a good 007 system can, where I sometimes just sit in awe even after owning a set for all these years. Here, it just doesn't pull me in. This is clearly a midrange issue as there just isn't enough presence there. First off the major issues are the bass, treble and the soundstage. Let's start with the bass, it has this annoying hump to it sort of like the old Lambdas. I'm not sure if this is the mosfet driver (could be, the Cavalli crap boxes have similar issues) or the headphones but it is a clear coloration and once you notice it, just annoys the fuck out of me. Now on some tracks it wasn't as noticeable but always lurking in the background none the less. Next up is the treble...which is both subdued and bright at the same time. I know plenty of people complain the 007's lack sparkle and with the Mk1 this was mostly true but they could be bright if the source called for it. The HE-1 manages something different, the treble is just flat and boring but then it suddenly bites hard. Now I was listening at higher levels but still nothing super loud, only about 12 o'clock on the dial. This also wasn't like the upper midrange bite of the 009's, more lower treble fizz but the source material didn't call for this. I'm so used to listening to SR-X Mk3 Pro drivers now (which are pretty much the gold standard for treble) as they are in my DIY headphones and nope, nothing like this. I suspect the amp is a huge influence here too but no way to verify that... Last major issue, the soundstage. Many will know my stance on the old HE90 where it sounds like you are listening to some people playing in dense fog and you can't quite make out where they are. This time around it is much improved but the lack of pin point accuracy is still apparent. The soundstage is also a bit too far away for my liking and it just doesn't throw the same huge headspace the 007's can. This also affects the midrange and the whole "disconnected" feeling I got from the whole system. I once reached for my phone as I was just a bit bored listening to it. Over all I like that Sennheiser built this but they really should have spent more time on the electronics. I don't think there are any improvements to moving the amps to the cups over something like the Carbon where I can burn 50+W as heat and overcome the small capacitance in the cable. Next post will discuss the tech specs of the system but I'll end with another picture of it all... It was really dark in there and I suck at taking pictures... Now for some technical discussion. I found the specs in the back of the manual and it turns out the bias is 650VDC and the amps run at +780VDC. This makes this more than compatible with Stax so I see no issue with removing the internal amps and rewiring one of these for Stax use. I have been asked to that before but I'm really hesitant to mess with something this expensive. That said, moving to proper amps which are not just the HEV70 rehashed can only be an improvement. I've never found any mosfet device with sufficiently low Cob to work in this role so I truly don't get what Senn were thinking. Some other info, the entire amp only consumes 40W per the user manual which doesn't leave a lot for the actual amps. So we have 8 tubes running with heaters plus all the motors in there. HV supply for the tubes, another for the output stage and well...not a whole lot of power to spare here. Compare that to the BHSE, Carbon or even the T2. All of them use far more power and it is just for one goal, to power the headphones. I also played around with the amp and I could swear that the volume control feels like a RK27. No way to know but how it felt when moving to the extremes...it was just like a RK27. Now as a proper volume control aficionado... ... they all feel a bit different. TKD feels nothing like a P+G or a RK50... Until somebody opens one of these up, take it how you will. It is also clearly a volume pot and not a chip or some other setup.

Milo and I got the speaker boxes mostly complete today. Made some round holes and some rectangular panels. Tweeter holes are in the Cherry baffles only, as they're not deep enough to need holes in the MDF panel too. Woofer holes and port tube holes in back. Cherry baffles got milled and drilled as well. And the first coat of Arm-R-Seal. The fluting is strictly aesthetics.

To paraphrase Mack Daddy Doc, happy 25th anniversary to us!

Here's an update on the mini. I've got the external regs running now. This thing does throw off quite a bit of heat. I've some sinks on the output transformers now, but I'd like to make them a bit larger. The regulators heatsinks are going to about 140 deg F at their peak and I'm ok with that. I was testing at +/-14V before I put the heatsinks on. The bump up to +/-20V seemed to smooth things out a bit on the top and bottom ends. I'm very happy with this so far

Visiting my son for his graduation as the honor graduate from SOCM at: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So my son Andrew has been accepted to his 4 top schools, with great merit from 2, OK from 1, and we were waiting to hear from 1 (Clarkson, his top choice). Clarkson Financial letter came today, and at first it was disappointing, showing a decent but 3rd lowest amount in 2017, same in 2018, and then nothing beyond. THEN, we read more closely: FALL of 2017 and SPRING of 2018..... It turned out to be the highest of all the schools so far for a year, renewable for the 3 additional years as long as he maintains grades. WOOOOOO-FUCKING-HOOO are we psyched!!! The Hermit Boy even agreed to go out to a celebratory dinner with us So fucking proud.....he did this.....had some help to coordinate, but he did it.....

OMG the long thought extinct Monkey has been sighted!!!!!!!!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Good times Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Regarding this past weekend and my recent absences from this forum- BS in Neuroscience, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kapa, these past four years have just flown by. This pretty much says it all.

Today I proved that I can bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan. I mixed & poured concrete while simultaneously baking cookies. And I even did a little lawyering in the middle. Importantly, I marked the foundation with cryptic symbols.

Not to dilute from Jacob, but I think I finally got a job :)

So I had to come back to Atlanta to do my transfer to a different store up in VA. Just my laptop and a pr. of senn hd201s. Then here comes the king of all friends...(that would be Purk) Brings me a pair of HD800 and HD650's. Sets up new software on my laptop, brings all cables and a nuforce converter, along with headroom desktop headphone amp/dac and desktop power supply. After 7 months of health issues and not being able to work, getting back in the groove was not easy. Having these tunes to come home to has made so much difference! Thanks just doesn't cover this much trouble and time he's put into this hook up. He's the best

Got the news that the initial check from insurance should essentially cover what I lost in terms of out of pocket cost in that car break-in last month, which is a huge relief

Alex and I wish you a merry Christmas.

Isn't everybody glad that I'm crazy enough to buy this stuff and have Kevin rip it apart?

Been busy at work, but managed to pull a new version of the T2 amp board together. I've added separate modules for the active batteries, balance servo, pre-CCS feeding the output CCS and the opto coupled output servo. I should be able to plug and play with a few options on these modules. Here's a rendering (Eagle / Fusion 360)... I still have to test, but so far I'm happy with the layout.

Finished the porch and it simply looks like it did before, just better built, clean, well painted, waterproof, solid and safe.

Got out of the office.

Waited in line with beer douches

Picked Suzy up from the Vet. She's not feeling too good but she's hangin' in there. Should feel a little better by tomorrow. Surgery went well, no complications and bloodwork shows no other issues.

After many, many years with BAT/Avid/SME YG Acoustics systems this is what my wife and I have spent the last year building for listening to records through. VPI HR-X w/12.7 arm, and VPI ADS power supply. Air Tight PC-1 Supreme cartridge. AudioNet PAM G2 phonostage w/ AudioNet EPS G2 power supply. AudioNet PRE G2 preamp, AudioNet AMP Monoblocks and YG Acoustics Anat III signature speakers with a couple upgrades. Back up cartridge is Benz LPS. Mono is Ortofon Cadenza mono on seperate 12.7 armwand. Digital (Dac, Rdbook, SACD) all done with Marantz SA11s3. Cables are a blend or Kubala-Sosna and Audioquest. Power cords are Signal cable reference and DH Labs Red Wave. Room treatment from GIK. Audio Desk Systeme record cleaner. Adona rack

Apparently we're fostering a pupper until we can find her a human.

We survived that in the mid 70's, and got to our 39th wedding anniversary yesterday.

You can't have it both ways. If you're writing reviews that are read by "thousands" and you are receiving discounts on the products you review, then that is a material connection to the manufacturer that must be disclosed. And you're not doing this for free. If you receive a discount, then you are in fact being compensated to the tune of the amount of said discount. People may be making buying decisions based on your reviews (for better or for worse). Accordingly, you have a duty to disclose anything that might affect the credibility of your review. Fortunately, this is all rather easily solved by simple, clear, conspicuous disclosure. When people balk at such disclosure, I get very, very suspicious about motives. But who cares what I think. The FTC on the other hand... I recommend familiarizing yourself with the FTC's 2009 guidelines on endorsements (attached hereto) and the recent guidance it disseminated regarding same. The FTC has made it very clear what the rules are and how to comply. I'll get you started. Example 7 concerning Section 255.5 seems particularly apt to me: Example 7 (section 255.5 disclosure of material connections): A college student who has earned a reputation as a video game expert maintains a personal weblog or “blog” where he posts entries about his gaming experiences. Readers of his blog frequently seek his opinions about video game hardware and software. As it has done in the past, the manufacturer of a newly released video game system sends the student a free copy of the system and asks him to write about it on his blog. He tests the new gaming system and writes a favorable review. Because his review is disseminated via a form of consumer-generated media in which his relationship to the advertiser is not inherently obvious, readers are unlikely to know that he has received the video game system free of charge in exchange for his review of the product, and given the value of the video game system, this fact likely would materially affect the credibility they attach to his endorsement. Accordingly, the blogger should clearly and conspicuously disclose that he received the gaming system free of charge. The manufacturer should advise him at the time it provides the gaming system that this connection should bedisclosed, and it should have procedures in place to try to monitor his postings for compliance. I've written reviews in the past. Like you, I also have a day job and do it for "fun." (Though I sometimes get paid cash money by the publication.) So these rules apply to me, as well. I try to disclose as much as possible any material connections; it is always on my mind for the simple reason that I don't enjoy misleading people. And I think I can probably improve on it, as well. Ignore this stuff at your peril. ETA: Also, I'm curious what your policy is regarding the resale of the gear on which you receive a discount. If/when you sell such gear, do you set the price based on retail or the price you paid? In other words, do you try to turn a profit? My personal policy is not to accept more than what I actually paid. However, I guess if it were some sort of collector's item that had an unforeseeable increase in value, I could see reaping the benefit of that. 091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf

So I finished my my KGSSHV Carbon a few weeks ago. Been too busy listening to it, but I thought I would share my effort and measurements. I am lucky enough to have access to some test gear that allowed me to take thermal pictures of the amp and some further analysis such as frequency response. I also put together a bring up guide that I used. It is basically a summary of what others have already come up with here in posts. it can be viewed at: KGSSHV Carbon Bringup Guide Attached is the test report. And yes, the wiring still needs to be tidied up in that picture, especially the grounding. I was a little impatient, plus I still need to design a small latch and inrush limiter circuit for the momentary switch. For now the switch on the IEC connector makes do. KGSSHV Carbon - SR17001.pdf

Some of you have seen this on Facebook, but I wanted to post it here as well. I don't feel like typing up anything different, but I love you guys and wanted to share this. Today marks the 25th anniversary of my dad's death.I remember being picked up from school by my Aunt Nancy and taken home to a sea of cars at the house, but asking where dad's was; it was the only one missing.I remember being told my dad was dead, and I remember the immediate denial in my head, and then looking across at the faces of these people who I KNEW had to be playing some cruel joke onus, but I immediately knew it was true. I remember my dad always wearing dress pants and a button up shirt. I remember him wearing shorts one time, and that's when we were out for a walk on the beach. They were navy blue, and basically a shorter version of the dress pants he wore every other day. I remembered a few minutes ago, as I was about to take off my socks after a long day at work, that Xavier insisted he do it for me. I remember taking off my dad's socks for him after he was relaxing in the recliner in our old house after what was surely a longer day (as superintendent of schools) than I typically have. I remember playing golf and meeting a man and finding out he knew my dad. We talked and he told me that he didn't like him, but he respected him. That encounter really helped to flesh out my idea of my dad not just as my dad, but as a person and a leader in our community; a story that has stuck with me for 20 years. He was a good man, a kind man, a loving husband and father. I still think about him often, and I miss him daily. I wish my brother and I could have had more time with our dad, my aunt more time with her brother, and my mom more time with her soulmate, but alas, we did not. We do, however, have our memories, and as long as I'm able, I'm going to remember, fondly, my dad, Richard Kirk Lawson. -Brent Kirk Lawson

Finally finished casing my Blue Hawaii today. Running on my "universal" PSU that also powers my HV Carbon. 400VDC and 18VDC rails, 20mA plate current. The heatsinks warm up to about 42C (108F) and stabilize, about 22C (40F) rise from ambient temperature. The chassis is a Breeze Audio 3608A, one of 5 chassis I bought from Breeze Audio at TaoBao. I requested that the front and rear panels be left plane, un-drilled. Works quite well.

Poulet à la Normande with a flambé in progress Et fini

Euthanasia Yolanda is history!!! Showed up to protest today. Was a little bummed that only two others were there, but it ended up not mattering. A Mr. Hooker (yeah I know) came out to ask if we could talk. After listening to my story, he asked if I would be willing to give a written statement. I said yes. As I was finishing my statement he came in to confirm that "she" was no longer employed there, and that her actions were in no way in compliance with policy. It feels good to stand up and be counted!

I got wood! And metal. And sand. Super excited to try out my new DAC from Doug. Thanks for the beautiful work!

Was offered a dream one year research position with my absolute favorite professor in all of med school. The man is close to retirement as a practicing neurologist so this is one of the last year's he is taking on students. He can tell you which page any neurological disorder is on in the neurology bible and can act it out on cue but more importantly is one of the most humble and down to earth people I have ever met. It's a research position on paper but I basically would be an apprenticed to him and shadow him during any patient interactions in his office and in hospitals. Instead of MAYBE (he is so popular, his office does a lottery for students every month) doing a one month rotation with him in my third year, I get to take a year off after taking my first boards and spend an entire year with him. The fellowship comes with a tuition waiver for the last two years of med school so that's a huge help but most important of all, he wears scrubs every day and has no dress code for students rotating through his office! Says he can't think unless he is comfortable. He asked me to think about it over the next week and get back to him. I told him I was taking the spot immediately. There was nothing to think about to which he replied, "you kids get more impatient every year. Im not giving you the answers to the licensing exam, you know." Hooray!

It's not what I did, but what others are doing for me. I just found out that Al is at my new apartment, setting it all up for my arrival. That is so touching and so very cool! I seem to be alternating between grinning like an idiot and tearing up like a little kid. It's been like that since it all became real a few weeks back. I hope that I'm able to express how in awe I am at what everyone has done for me! You people have my heart always! This is the best group of people I've ever known! Head-Case Strong, Head-Case Proud!