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Prine and company - In Spite of Ourselves

I used two transformers. both with electromagnetic shields, static shields and potted from http://www.mueller-rondo.com/kontakt.htm . (The low voltage transformer can be used for the blue hawaii - the 6922 windings are just not used the other voltages and currents are fine.) low voltage: transformer two windings 6.3V 4.5A for EL34 heaters one winding for each channel NOTE these windings are -400VDC to ground two windings 6.3V 1.5A for 6992 heaters one for each channel and my HT delay board two windings 15.5V 0.4A for golden reference LV board + and - 15VDC high voltage transformer one winding 365V 0.2A for dual golden reference HV board -460VDC. NOTE 365VAC gives 516VDC which gives less than 10% margin before reaching the 550V limit of most high voltage 550V 470uF input caps on the golden reference HV... so be careful if your household mains voltages are usually higher than spec. one winding 322V 0.2A for dual golden reference HV board +400VDC and +580V stax bias one winding 192V 0.18A for golden reference HV board +220VDC The blue hawaii just fits in a single 2u case 400mm deep, using 1 transformer with less windings - one less high voltage and two less 6.3V, golden reference LV board and golden reference HV board. The mini T2 has two transformers AND an extra HV board so the issue is not height but depth, to give you a size idea the transformers are Low voltage diameter 105mm height 55mm High voltage diameter 115mm height 65mm not having shields in the transformers will result in some hum and electrical interference if you turn the volume all the way up if you go single case. Not potting the transformers might make them a little smaller. putting the transformers into a separate case makes both the blue hawaii and mini t2 absolutely silent. you cant easily use the space bellow the mini t2 amp boards because they have 4 pillars which screw into the bottom of the case so you don't bend the amp boards when inserting or removing the valves. Neither the golden reference LV or HV boards will fit bellow the am boards because of this. for both my blue hawaii and mini t2 builds I went with the following case https://modushop.biz/site/index.php?route=product/product&path=102&product_id=195 its 2u, 400mm deep and has large heat sinking and is fully aluminium so fairly easy to drill. The heat sinking is overkill for the mini t2 - which runs quite cool, but the blue hawaii needs those large heat sinks, For the umbilical chord I used 1KV silicon rubber multi-strand copper hookup wires (https://www.mouser.co.uk/Search/Refine?Keyword=CT2956) for good flexibility and Russian 19 pin military connectors (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/19-pin-Soviet-Military-connector-Female-Male-Set-Oty-1/254196620095?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649). I then covered the bundle with expandable nylon braid and tested the leads with an insulation tester and they passed 5 minutes at 2500V with 20+Gohm resistance. They failed insulation at 5KV. P.S. if you build golden reference HV boards kemet do 550V 470uF caps which are 65mm high and will fit in a 2u case https://www.mouser.co.uk/Passive-Components/_/N-5g73Z1yzvvqx?Keyword=kemet+550V+470uF&FS=True. Be careful Kemet also sell 680uF 550V caps that are 80mm high and will need a 3u case to fit . (https://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/KEMET/ALC10A681EL550?qs=%2Fha2pyFadug678O2NPlQ%2F8WMW0dBZWV2y30oREQu6XgezeenvV90cA%3D%3D). for the +220VDC golden ref board you can save some money and go kemet 470uf 450V or even 400V. I didnt simply because I might re-purpose the 220V board to a higher voltage sometime.But the 550v 470uF kemet caps are not cheap. P.S. the golden reference LV board is not necessary, only the servos are run from the + and - 15V lines so you could just populate the low voltage section of the GRHV board. However, if you don't want thumps on switch-off the + and -12V lines require large capacitors so the servos stay powered while the HV lines fade. I found ~15000uF to 22000uF is required but these caps are physically too large to fit in the simple LV section of the GRHV board. They fit fine in the GRLV board, but a full GRLV board is extra expense just to avoid switch off thump. I use GRLV boards in lots of projects so again they can be repurposed...

The last 3 nights have all concluded with some John Prine 😥 jazzing it up with some sidewinder

Arcade Fire - Funeral been long fucking time

Received that pewter half pint tankard I ordered to use for drinking whisky, but without the handle, and I’m very happy with it. For size comparison here’s a photo of it with one of the stainless steel glasses I use for drinking whisky.

That was fucking awesome! That is definitely the most new (to me) artists I discovered in under 6 minutes. THIS is the Rolling Stone article about the video.

I thought Noodle was a dude, but apparently she’s been a chick the whole time. She started off as 10, then 13, and has aged more since. Also, Hooky on bass FTW!

You’re not going to need to make that distinction much longer.

^^good looking burrs @HemiSam my levercraft order had a hiccup and was delayed, but Eric ended up throwing in an entire extra jar of his Burundi for me. and it is a good jar indeed for pour over.

I have not listened to any of my 3tb of hires music on the NAS in over a year. I only use Qobuz, Tidal and sometimes Sirius on the Sonos system and I have been perfectly happy. I could stream all my music through Sonos as well, but I am fine with the streaming resources. I even bought that flavor of the month music library software everyone was using a year or two ago and only used it once or twice as it was not worth the hassle of having a computer on and running and it plays like shit embedded on a NAS.

I’ve had Tidal and Qobuz jointly running for a few months now. I prefer Qobuz Mac interface quite a bit, but Tidal’s iOS interface for significant speed loading difference. Tidal has a larger artist catalog, but Qobuz goes deeper with the artists it has (EPs, etc.).Like Americana and Bluegrass? Go Tidal. Listen mostly to Classical and need detailed metadata? Go Qobuz. Listen mostly to albums? Qobuz is organized for you. Want generated playlists based on recent listens? Tidal has them. Want auxiliary information on releases? It’s Qobuz. Want upfront presentation of new releases? Tidal. Then there’s everyone favorite MQA (Tidal) v. 24/192 (Qobuz) debate. Keep in mind this is all in comparison only. Either service is pretty wonderful and are amazing options we have. Because of personal artists preferences, I end up on Tidal more often (and sometimes struggling to get around their suggested new young artists), but the Qobuz missing artists is still an issue, though that list is clearly shrinking.

I listen to Tidal probably 75% of the time now. If that percentage gets much higher I am likely to ditch the Mac mini. I am pretty happy with the GUI of the MacOS Tidal app and its audio quality.

Table updated. Received all but one payments. I have proceeded to contact PCBnet to place our order.

Toto - Toto IV

grawk, The NFC disc for the Niche Zero showed up. A few images....well, trying. They are HEIC so I'm going to have to get creative. The Niche is very nicely constructed, as it should be given they are proud of it. HS

Wow....VERY Peter Hook! You can always tell his bass lines.....

probably a pointlessly-long post... @n_maher if i've learned one thing in the last three months on this coffee expedition it's that the behavior of beans are really fucking random regardless of how much money you drop. if anything it seems like the higher-end bags have more variability from one to the next. a good example - i purchased two different Guatemalan bags from Heart Roasters last month. the first one - absolutely fantastic with v60 pour over, so good that i didn't need to bother trying it with aeropress. a top 3-4 bag for me so far. so i end up buying another varietal that seemed quite similar on the site. it behaved completely differently on v60... it was generally "lifeless" and not memorable. i switch over to aeropress and it is great, maybe not at the level of the first one on v60, but good enough that i only used aeropress for remainder of the bag. even within the same bag i can create a different profile if i change my method on pour-over. Hoffman method is very consistent and seems to give me a large brushstroke of what those beans will represent. if i try the same beans with the same ratios on 4-6 method, it's completely different. 4-6 will pull out extra flavors that verge on 'overbrewed' but not fully, less about intensity of bitterness and more bizarre nutty-type notes. Hoffman is definitely my preferred method and i don't do 4-6 unless i'm dissatisfied or just want to fuck around. edit - don't even get me started on water profile and how it affects your brew... i started to fuck around with Third Wave water and if anything it made the cups a little cleaner but also a little more boring... -- so we know that this Burundi is a pretty crazy bean and i pulled some flavor this morning that i've literally never gotten before from any coffee. on french press i could see this not being a good thing. on pour over, i'm all about it. at least you gave it a shot. appreciate the offer to share but i've got plenty to get through already , if i were you i'd freeze the remainder and save them for whenever you want to clean out your grinder.

^^^ maybe their beans aren't half bad, but I can't drink the store brewed stuff anymore. I'd rather go without. And their donuts are dead to me at this point. @Aura- interesting that you enjoy the Burundi. I love lime everything, except evidently coffee that inspires tasting notes related to lime. I find the Burundi undrinkable. I've tried playing around a bit with grind size and brew times to extract more or less flavor and it just hits a bad note with me. If you want a 1/4lb of it let me know and I'll try to send it your way. Seems a shame to chuck it.

That is my favorite John Prine song. For me it sums him up perfectly as a musician.

wentworth-pewter.com With or without the handle the cost was £38 + £4.95 P & P, although it’s made in Sheffield which is around 35 miles from where I live, so P & P will probably be more for overseas. As well as whisky, I also like to drink stout at home, so decided to get that goblet in the photo from the same place.

I tried using Roon but it was never an easy proposition and I think k that is why I gradually shifted over to Tidal. I also tried to get Roon to run on my NAS ()which is pretty capable) but it is not reliable. Because of the above comments I am going to try Qobuz as an addition to Tidal.

I've had all 3 under trial and ended up with Qobuz. I liked it best.

I tried Tidal and Qobuz and preferred Quobuz for the volume of high res and jazz options, but Tidal seemed to have more new music. I ended up just using the Spotify family plan that Claire and the kids had been using for years. If I get serious again, I'd pick Quobuz.

Bachelor No. 2 or, the last remains of the dodo – Aimee Mann

JH|13

It's A-OK. I have had literally years worth of photos waiting to be worked with that I had just been too busy to do anything with until this recent pause.

Should anyone be interested Magnums revolving Square Print sale is back up for a few days. 50% of their proceeds go to Médecins Sans Frontières’s COVID-19 emergency response.

Which leads to the biggie - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts

Last night about 30 people in our neighborhood managed to socially-distantly gather near a neighbor's house. The mom is a nurse, and volunteered to help in ICU with the COVID-19 patients. Thankfully she had plenty of PPE she said, but still a risk of course. We all cheered and clapped as she drove in the neighborhood. Their daughter, somewhere out West, was on Facetime with her dad, and she was balling. She's supposed to get married in early August, plans are certainly TBD now.... There are so many wonderful and amazing people in this world, and I'm thankful for them all!

I watched this yesterday.

The bench and chairs combo makes perfect sense and acomodates a flexible seating arrangement. I attempted a pre-storm ride to recover conditioning while maintaining social distancing...things did not go as planned. Thank you National Weather Service.

I’ve had three Glencairn whisky glasses with the last one I got being crystal, and all three ended up with a crack on the lip, ( I know I needed to be more careful ) so I decided to get two of those stainless steel glasses in the photos. Now while I’m happy with them, I wanted one with a similar shape to the Glencairn glasses, so I’ve just placed an order for that in the photo. Yes it’s a half pint tankard made out of pewter, but I quite like the shape and was able to order one without the handle, so it looks more like a whisky glass. I did like those Glencairn glasses I had, but at least with the two stainless steel I have, and the pewter I’ve ordered I won’t have to worry about breaking them.

Sometimes suggestions bot at YouTube finds good stuff, or of my liking, which probably isn't the same.

Was big fan of 2001s The Ghost of Fashion. Then kinda forgot about him/them. Then Tidal reminded me. Great review of the new album here - https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/clem-snide-forever-just-beyond/

I have HD700 and I love it. One advantage I found for HD700 than the HD6 serious is easier to pair with amp. Although it is not difficult to find a amp matching HD6 serious, the high will sound unreal when pairing a wrong amp (like the HDVDs) Also, I think HD700's bass is better. The main difference between the 2 will be tonarity. HD6 serious has a unique color that will make HD700 sound dull when comparing them side by side. Other than that, the quality of sound for HD700 will be better.