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Thanks everyone! 60 came in with a vengeance today. Unfortunately not in a fun way. As Al posted elsewhere, it turns out that I got Vertigo for my 60th Birthday! Today was the roughest of the last few days, but I'm very happy to have a diagnosis. I have meds and an appointment for lab work to follow up, so feeling good about that. All of that said, the best thing you can ever hope to get on your Birthday is the best friends a guy could ever hope for! Once again Al has completely taken care of me in a scary medical situation. I really did win the friendship lottery when I met all of you! I can't state enough how much of a blessing you all are to have in my life! My Mother is constantly amazed at what you folks have done for me, and how loving and caring you have been. She has met some of you in person, Marc, Shelly and Al, and has commented to me how lucky I am. She seems to think that something in me draws friends like you fine folks, but I know that I just got very lucky finding so many true friends in one place! So even with the latest circumstances, it really has been a fantastic Birthday!

Occasionally, I wish I believed in Hell.

I bit. Let's see what all this Sennheiser-hype is all about. All your Senns are belong to me.

I think he was terrible enough to celebrate his death: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/rush-limbaugh-mock-aids-gays/

So did the death panels finally show up? Here's hoping in the end he was surrounded by caring feminazis.

Live simulation of todays Mars mission. Don't forget to hit the "Live" button or if you missed it, "Replay". https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/mars2020/#/home?id=cruise_stage_separation&time=2021-02-18T11:17:32.914-08:00

I love Allclad stuff. Seconds sale- https://homeandcooksales.com/?cjevent=412b63e871a411eb80d700430a1c0e13

I still hate that mutherfucker!

Here's the best I can say about him...

cheers steve.. Happy Birthday!

“I have never killed a man, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.” I wonder what my friend meant by this when she posted it on her FB timeline.

https://www.focal.com/en/headphones-0/headphones/for-home/celestee

Speak of the devil. Tim Burton to Direct Live-Action Wednesday Addams Series for Netflix. https://www.indiewire.com/2021/02/tim-burton-wednesday-addams-netflix-series-1234617596/

Will they bury him with his medal of freedom?

Happy Birthday, Steve!

Rush Limbaugh... I'm trying to be nice, so I won't say anymore.

"Sennheiser announced on Tuesday it’s looking for a new partner to buy its consumer audio business, which consists of headphones and soundbars. It’s going to shift its focus entirely to professional audio, including its Neumann microphone division and what Sennheiser calls business communications." Source: https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/16/22285497/sennheiser-investors-selling-consumer-headphones-soundbars-business This is pretty sad. Makes sense why Axel Grell left now. We haven't seen any really new high-end product from them since the HD-820, and it sounds like we shouldn't expect anything else to be forthcoming. The HD600/650 and HD800/S are my two favorite headphones. I don't think they are going away any time soon, but I doubt Senn is investing heavily in any successor models.

Soccer Mommy - color theory Don't let her silly stage name fool you. She is a talented young woman. I like this one a lot.

I'm not sure he was so terrible that I will celebrate his death, but correspondingly he was definitely terrible enough that I won't celebrate his life.

There is risk no doubt, but for all the failed dreams/scamminess of Kickstarter/Indiegogo, has Massdrop/Drop ever had a failed "campaign"? They may, but I hadn't heard. They often put a spin on models for sale elsewhere, so yes you get in cheap now or wait for reviews (mostly suffering only time to receive). And I'd be surprised if there's much doubt this will become something always available in the future instead of just campaigns (when they switched from Massdrop to Drop). Depending on health of Sennheiser of course and as you mentioned. For what it's worth I'm not sure there's been any critical response to any modified Senns sounding worse than the normal versions. I haven't found my 2 HD6XXs or HD58X to be so (and still have 2 HD580s to compare). How many Senns do I have again?

^^^ Wait, so you drop $1100 tomorrow and you might receive some headphones in November that no one has ever heard before and might come from a company that no longer exists? Where do I sign up? I guess I missed when DROP became kickstarter but I admittedly have stayed out of all of this.

Per https://drop.com/buy/our-most-requested-headphone-launching-2-18-21/talk? Hey Friends, Tomorrow morning at 9am PST, we are releasing the DROP + Sennheiser HD 8XX. This headphone is the result of hundreds of thousands of community posts and four years of collaboration between the teams at DROP and Sennheiser. Analyzing discussions around the HD 800S, we saw clear mandates from the community around bass extension and midrange balance. The HD 8XX incorporates two novel changes to accommodate those mandates. Where the HD 800S uses a single resonator, Sennheiser developed a dual resonator system for the HD 8XX, creating bass extension down to 10hz (+5db @ 10hz vs 800 S) by changing the resonant properties of the housing. Sennheiser’s team, lead by Jermo Koehnke, reached the bass solution pretty quickly, but our goals for the midrange proved demanding... bordering impossible. After significant research, Sennheiser reached a solution; altered acoustic impedance in the transducer's dampening material to smooth the FR from 2.5k to 8k. This means the transducer in the HD 8XX is unique, it’s a new ring driver. The HD8XX goes live tomorrow at 9am PST with 3000 units available, shipping in November. These 3000 units represent the full production we anticipate for 2021. We’ll make more available if the capacity increases, but this launch is the only guaranteed HD 8XX availability until 2022. Launch pricing for the HD 8XX is $1100 and you’ll receive $200 worth of drop points (20,000 points) with purchase. For future units, HD 8XX pricing will increase to $1200+. So come by tomorrow morning at 9am PST, pickup your HD8XX, use your drop points to buy a DROP + THX 789 for $99 and enjoy the endgame this November. https://drop.com/buy/drop-sennheiser-hd-8xx-headphones ^ this is the direct link for 9am tomorrow, thanks for your support

Dammit, Colin. Happy Birthday!

With a 35Ω impedance and a 105dB/mW sensitivity they shouldn't be much harder to drive than a pair of Grado. They look comfortable like the rest of the Focal line, but they don't provide a figure nor explain the build for noise isolation. I'm guessing they're more concerned for the surrounds not listening to your music than vice versa.

Happy Birthday Steve! Hope you’re feeling a little better. Best wishes.

Loved their first album, which was very 80s/90s pop. This one seems to have jumped forward 20 years or so. Pastiche? They do it well and I enjoy it so who cares ...

Forstner JB Champion Flat Link bracelet (brushed) ordered for my 1861 Speedy. I hate the bracelet that came with it, and have always worn it on a strap because of that, and I also don’t really want to spend the $1,000 or whatever it will be for the bracelet that was introduced with the new coaxial Speedy (it has been confirmed to fit the older models, maybe requiring a kiss of a grinder if you want it to be perfectly flush). The bracelet on my Pre-Moon is more or less perfect, and the Flat-Link should be similar. I’ll report back. This is a “normal” bracelet, so I won’t have the issues that I did with the mesh one (which has found a happy home since).

Happy Birthday, Steve!

Happy Birthday Steve

Happy Birthday!

Have a wonderful and very Happy Birthday, Steve

Happy Birthday Steve! S

Happy birthday, Steve! May your penis be extended many more times... (party favour noise)

Happy Birthday, Steve!

A friend of mine posted this:

Happy Birthday Steve!

Happy Birthday Steve! I hope you're feeling better so you can enjoy it.

Happy birthday!

I made etouffée, but didn't take pictures. Then I drank heavily and watched true blood til I passed out.

Happy Birthday Steve! Echo what Nate said.....thanks for your wisdom, humor, and humanity here!!

As much room porn as it is anything else.

Good review, and I agree with almost everything you've said. Not a cheap product, but a very good one.

A short video to show the kind of human being that Chick was

Are they going to be honest and just call in the Tracker?

Yes. I really like this cartridge. It's not unlike the Denon, just a bit better detail. Dynamics are better and I feel like the Soundstage is much improved. One of the other added benefits is the taller height of the cartridge body. No shim necessary. I'll keep the Zu/Denon, but honestly unless something happens to the Benz, the Denon won't see much use. This thing is built like a tank as well. The entire motor structure is just so much beefier than the Denon.

using mousers parametric search I can't find any vishay resistors !% 50ppm 1/2w 350v working. koa mf1/2 series are same ppm, working voltage and wattage and similar size. https://www.mouser.co.uk/KOA-Speer/Passive-Components/Resistors/Film-Resistors/Metal-Film-Resistors-Through-Hole/MF-Series/_/N-7gz41Z1yzvvqx?P=1yzbppyZ1z0zlrrZ1z0ynpy I use them interchangeably with the Xicon. Xicon is far cheaper if you don't mind buying 100. koa is an option if you want to buy just a few. Per resistor koa is more expensive than the xicon. vishay MBB02070C are close to the xicon 1% 50ppm 350V working but 0.6W https://www.mouser.co.uk/Vishay/Passive-Components/Resistors/Through-Hole-Resistors/Metal-Film-Resistors/MBx-SMA-Professional-Series/_/N-7h7zb?P=1y97ob9Z1z0jjxqZ1yzrof0Z1z0x6pwZ1z0zls5Z1z0wljo (I have not tried these resistors)