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My very first set of cans were Koss. Granted they were branded as Realistic (i.e. Radio Shack), but they didn't even cover up the Koss logo. RIP Mr. Koss. a younger me (self portrait) with my Koss headphones over my left shoulder on a foam wig head (yeah I was cool)

So that’s where Galifianakis got the Between Two Ferns idea

Played on a Pleyel Grand Piano from 1836 - info.

I had no idea that Koss was still alive, but RIP John Koss. My first pair of headphones were a new pair of PRO4AA that I bought new in 1974. Long gone. To remind myself what an uncomfortable thing they were I bought a pair maybe three years ago. Removed the tar like decomposed foam in the cups and replaced it. Took off the rock hard and empty fluid cups, and replaced them. Still bloody uncomfortable! Like a head clamp. And oddly, not that good in terms of sound quality in hindsight. Second headphones I bought were not very old second hand ESP6's. And that got me into electrostatic phones. Amazing things as compared with anything I'd heard before. Long gone. But I (again recently) bought a pair of ESP9 - again a bit of nostalgia. Needed the fluid seals replacing. Again sounds superb. The energizer is a horror story though - a spaghetti of wiring and completely unserviceable. And those electrostatic phones were what ultimately got me into Stax. So again, RIP. What a company he founded!

"So they rigged up cardboard cups that contained three-inch speakers and chamois pads from a flight helmet, and they attached them to a headband made of a bent clothes hanger covered with a rubber shower hose."

I am an influencer

And a book about PASCAL on the bookshelf, so cool nerd?

Some #Partygate Mashups for your enjoyment ...

I was perusing my local Marshall’s while I waited for an Apple repair, and I noticed that they had a ton of coffee stuff. Like, good stuff, too. Bodum and Breville kettles. Lots of slightly wonky but interesting pour over stuff. An open box Brim pour over brewer for $60 (if I had a need or space, I would have gotten it). Just an FYI that holiday returns seem to be hitting close out stores now.

The Architecture of Musical Instruments https://petapixel.com/2022/02/02/photographer-reveals-the-architecture-inside-musical-instruments/

My first pair of Koss headphones were probably their least expensive earbuds, to replace my broken Panasonic cassette walkman's stock pair (which were decent). A succession of similar Koss headphones followed. My last pair (still working fine!) is the Koss SportaPro, purchased in the early 2000s. Great headphones, great company (I think they had some kind of internal scandal some years ago). RIP, John Koss.

BREAKING: Bob Dylan promises to sing in tune if Spotify bans Joe Rogan....

Do you want to single dose or have a hopper? And how much do you want to spend? Unlike with IEMs, where the answer is always “JH13,” my answer is not going to be “get a Niche,” and I really like mine. Espresso this morning was a Rao blooming as described by Covered_ears. We are sure lucky to have her here on this dumb forum. This shot was… one of the better espressos I’ve had. Pic where I pulled up the shot for the bloom: just about to drip but not quite. I sure love levers.

Paypal took care of the Clive issue so I am now in the market for a grinder that handles espresso for the Flair 58 and Chemex switchoffs. I am going to be much more particular in my selection this time.

Drama. If I did not have so much Incra stuff I might have considered the Harvey mitre and sliding table. Stumpy’s response seems super sponsor directed to me.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/02/business/john-koss-dead.html RIP John Koss, the guy who got me into this with some Porta Pros back in the 90s. What a legend.

Always liked her playing - and on a beautiful sounding Bösendorfer.

you are going to need a pile of floating filament transformers. although now that SumR has finally produced transformers that are the right voltage and run cool this is easy. this one has regulated 300v and RCLCC high voltage supplies each with tube diodes. that is 2 more transformers. This one is 211 watts. A standard T2 is about 250 watts. replacing the current sources with tubes will add another 80 watts. and lots more physical space. and more filament transformers This modified to fit amplifier board will not be published and would be useless to everyone. The standard amp board should be used. The 300v regulated tube board with the tube hv diodes would be publishable once i put all the tube sockets back on standard distances. The hv power supply board would be publishable if people are interested. both of these would only be released to people who promise not to let them fall into the hands of FUCKING INCOMPETENT MORONS.

Maybe rename the thread "Xe Services?"

Toys In The Attic Aerosmith 1975 I should listen to this album more:

The Chinaman doesn't have battery life issues, Dude. Also, Dude, Chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature.

Good stuff, Jacob. Great to see you pulling so many fun shots. Took the day off and started with a nice chemex pour over. Boy it beats getting up early and drinking crap at the office. Going to take the espresso machine for a ride after lunch. I'm having a bit of difficulty dialing in the Niche. I am at way a lower grind setting than most to get the pressure I would expect at the group head. I did find the tip over limit where it was so fine it stifled the shot. Backed off and went too far in the other direction. A bit frustrating, but the coffee is quite good so I think I just need to get over it. I'm going to clean it again today and recalibrate just in case I did something weird the last time around. First world problems FTW... HS

A good espresso this morning. I just pulled a traditional, fast ramp up to 6 bar and a slow ramp down. 18.5 in 38 out in about 40 seconds. Not my best puck prep ever, but it came out pretty and delicious, so maybe not doing as good of a job as I would like is the way to go!

Happy birthday Ric. If I am late with this wish...blame Brent. 😁

A belated Happy Birthday!

RIP Monica Vitti, “Queen of Italian Cinema” https://theweek.com/news/1009681/italian-film-star-monica-vitti-dies-at-90 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/02/movies/monica-vitti-dead.html