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Ah - the good old battleship grey Cambridge Audio livery. It was panned by the reviewers, as were the buttons on the CD player (they described them as reminiscent of poking dead flesh). Very unfair, because the product performance and sonics were good. However the reviews killed that iteration of Cambridge Audio (~1990). We acquired the wreckage when I worked at Wharfedale, including a massive inventory of product, for almost pocket change (at least in a corporate sense). We sold the inventory at knock down prices, and then did nothing more than change the appearance to a dark gold colour, and the dimple in the knobs became a light gold colour pin instead. After that they sold very well. I turned the Cambridge Audio technical team to the re-launch of the Leak brand, that Wharfedale owned. Among those was a very young Steve Sells, fresh from University, who I let off the leash and told him to design the best power amp he could - a Krell-beater. I got a design consultancy to do the appearance design, and Steve designed FET output monoblocks of truly heroic performance. When we set up to show that at Heathrow, I wired up the speakers and only got a very quiet sound like a tinny transistor radio. I'd left the shorting links across the back of the speakers, and Steve's design was playing the speaker cables into a short circuit without breaking sweat. Fast forward several decades, and Steve is now director of engineering at Naim. They likewise let him off the leash, and the astonishing and ridiculously expensive Statement was the result (google it). Cambridge Audio, from its foundations in 1966, has been bust umpteen times over the decades. But astonishingly it is still very much alive and still British, and owned by Richer Sounds. It was orignally founded by my good friend and mentor Gordon Edge (RIP). To celebrate 50 years from the foundation of the company, Cambridge Audio introduced the high end Edge series of products in 2016. They even incorporated Gordon's always barely legible signature on the circuit board silk screen.

Memorial Day dinner

So next...

this is the right ratio (meat/veg) for a balanced plate

Here are a few pics of my test build. GR78/GR79 are set for +/-15VDC, GRHV set for +237VDC/-247VDC. I did not build out the bias supply on this board. I use 182K for R22 and 330uF for C17 which results in timer delay of about 75 seconds. I also tested a 500K/100uF setup which results in about 55 seconds delay. The 100K/470uF combination in the BOM provides about 50 seconds delay. Not these numbers will vary a bit mostly due to the tolerance of the capacitor (see more details in the next post). The PSU main board is of a modular design (see the schematic). It contains the following circuits: 1. A set of GR78/GR79 low voltage regulators. 2. A set of GRHVxx high voltage regulators (B+ and B-). 3. A CD4093BM trigger based timer control (need to provide aux-power, see my posts below). 4. CPC1117N based soft-start for the GRHV. 5. A configurable headphone bias supply (2 outputs are provided - Bias H and Bias L). Note that C1, C2, C3, C4 are pre and post regulation filter capacitors and their values and voltage rating need to be picked based on your needs. The pitch for the pins are all 10mm. C1, C2 diameter need to be 35mm or less and C3, C4 need to be 22mm or less. Pick caps with smaller diameters if you don't like the caps physically touching each other when installed. I mounted the pass transistors of the GRLV in a goofy way and it's not what Kerry has intended. For a normal person, the pass transistors should be behind the PCB

Sous vide Oreo cheesecakes are submerged and cooking.

Yup, had one of them last night and from a "was it cooked" perspective it was great. The recipe for the actual cheesecake needs tweaking, but it was a fun first effort.

This post is about the auxiliary power supply for the timer circuit. Kerry designed the board to accept an external +5VDC supply for the CD4093BM based timer. After Kerry and I discussed we agreed that there are 3 options: Option 1: For the purist, use an external +5V supply as designed. Note that C17 will see almost the entire voltage drop of the supply so it needs to be rated for 5V or higher. Option 2: Jumper a wire directly from GR78 output to the +5V pin of the Aux - Pwr pads. If you do so, make sure C17 is rated for the GR78 output voltage AND change R1 and R2 from 3K to 10K. For this option, the highest value we could find for C17 in 1210 package is 100uF/16VDC. Combined with 500K for R22, the delay is about 55 seconds give or take a few seconds. I tested this option by rigging in through-hole parts for C17 and R22 and it worked fine. I also added a 12K resistor in series to the LED indicator but this may or may not be needed. Option 3: Solder a 7805 regulator directly in the Aux-Pwr pads and feed theGR78 output to it. I came up with this option mostly because the parts I happened to have on hand and it's what's shown in the pic below. You'll need some capacitance between the Vout and GND pins of the 7805 for it to work (I use a 47uf cap). I also soldered in a 1N4007 zener between Vin and Vout pins to protect the 7805 regulator. I use 330uF/6.3V tant capacitor for C17 and 182K for R22 and the delay is about 75 seconds (I prefer a longer HV delay). You need to jumper a wire from the Vout of the GR78 to the Vin pin of the 7805 (the purple wire in the pic). Options 2 and 3 are easy to do because there is extra hole for the GR78 Vout on the board.

That moment you realize it burns when you pee not because you have a yeast infection, but because you had something spicy in the last 24 hours...

I will definitely post pics! And that strap you had made is beautiful. The Speedies work so well with so many kinds of bands. It totally changes the watch.

Very cool, ER. Surprised they didn't include some wrist shots for context. Hopefully you'll post some so we can see how it looks on you. Might be an option for my FOIS. I'm still enamored with the JR alligator band. I never put on the beads of rice band on my Aquascaphe...always have the blue rubber one as it's so comfortable and suits the watch IMO, but who knows... HS

I'm surprised this has taken so long to be made. I've had an original, made in 1969 or 1970 (this was before they became crazy expensive), and it was too small and cheaply made. Of course NASA chose the JB Champion 19mm bracelet because it was fragile: if an astronaut caught the watch on something while floating in their capsule, it would likely break instead of breaking the spacecraft. It looked pretty cool, though. This looks really great. Better made and better sized (I care much less about "authenticity" these days). I dunno if I'll wear it on my old one or my new one. I bought the horned end version. The coupon code MOON gets you free priority shipping, for anybody interested. https://forstnerbands.com/products/forstner-komfit-jb-mesh-watch-band-with-horned-ends

I'm still stoked about my 2019 iMac (8core) and while I wouldn't care to guess what the timeline and differences will be with the next gen, I have heard that there might be some cosmetic changes like a smaller bezel around the screen. For me, that kind of stuff becomes invisible quickly and I don't have folks coming over and passing judgement on my set up. Performance wise, my machine isn't invincible (I can bring it to it's knees with loads meant to put an unrealistic strain on it), but for what I demand, it's up to the task. I owned a couple of Mac Pro's before the iMac and at that time, it was worth being able to easily upgrade components to keep up with rapidly improving tech. But I don't see (or have) a need for that these days. So, maybe Apple will make a huge leap forward in the next year or two. If so maybe I'll upgrade to it in 6-8 years just for fun.

Hopefully that converter is durable and fairly cheap. I know a couple of guys that had their portable keyboard/controller and it was kind of delicate. One guy went through 2 in an equal number of months (IIRC) and gave up on them.

A short 12 minute piece on creativity, Keith Jarrett, and Brian Eno. https://www.npr.org/transcripts/719557642

Pathos Classic One.

I presume the front end on these is similar or the same as the SS Dynalo? If so, JFETs sound a lot better than the THAT340 does.

With the Spritzer plug adapter, I auditioned my Monolith electrostatic with both of my Stax amps (SRM1-MK2 Pro recapped & SRM-353X). Using very familiar true hi-res music from AIX through my Oppo UDP-205, I could not even tell that there was a bass player in the mix, and the high-frequency hand percussion was nearly inaudible. My Koss ESP/950 with plug adapter on the same amplifiers clearly reproduces those two frequency extremes. (My Stax SR-007MK2 and Sennheiser HE 60 with adapter sound even better, but it is not a fair comparison in terms of price.) The Monolith M1060 planar headset reproduces the full frequency spectrum much better than the Monolith ES. And for dynamic driver models, my AKG K1000 also reproduces the missing bass and percussion (again, not a fair comparison pricewise) and the Sennheiser HD 600 and 650 (and 58X Jubilee at $170) have a more satisfying overall frequency balance than the Monolith ES. So I returned them to Monoprice because, for me, a midrange-centric headset is not worth $250.

I discovered the problem with chopping chilies in my early 20's. Then going for a wizz. It is a lesson once learnt never forgotten . That picture in the Wikipedia link is a horror story. Look at the front of the stainless steel units that the chef is standing at. And the filthy wiping rag. Sure he has some stuff organised in the foreground, but the rest of the kitchen is salmonella waiting to happen. Ugh. Can you imagine how Gordon Ramsey would take that place apart? It looks like a classic Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares episode.

Haven't you heard, size doesn't matter?

Eighth? What happened to that other one that you bumped off for me about 6 years ago to make me 7th? Am I shrinking, or is it just the kids eating chicken nuggets with growth hormones that accellerated their height. Perhaps they needed a little more to get over the "wall"? Thanks everyone! Had a pretty good day, even if I wasn't feeling that great/was trapped (mostly) indoors. The fam got me a gift that arrived a day late. They couldn't get the one I've been wanting for years, but I think this should do just fine, and help me get started on a better path.

Fajitas: 1. Lime marinated chicken 2. Peppers and onions 3. Homemade refried beans 4. Sour cream 5. Guac 6. Salsa 7. Cheese Delicious.

Petra Haden is one of the Haden triplets, daughters of bassist Charlie Haden. Super talented family!

Fernando Perdomo:

I have become a subscriber .... although I do not have speakers on the PC

Virtuoso Ukelele playing!

The bolt was OK, the wire though was broken. Maybe the bolt damage the wire when it was tightened. Anyhow I got the opportunity to see how the RR 1 is built. I also disassembled the driver unit. Spacers seem to be about 1.3 mm thick and the sound when knocking the diaphragm it sounded about right. And yes, everything is easily accessible, except the pads maybe. Bottom line: I like the design. P.S. As the original pads were removed I took a pair of 007 pads

Check this video by Haas: You may want a special tapping drill to make thread go deeper in the limited depth of blind hole.

Yes, I've tried pots to star ground. No change. Input grounds are connected to the chassis (using the Neutrik connection pin), and not to the pot or star ground. I read that it's supposedly the Right Way in the famous Rane Note. (Unless I brutally misunderstood what I read).

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