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Progy prog day The Human Equation Ayreon 2004 https://album.link/i/1600474851 Example: This really is the album that got me into modern prog - that being beyond the Yes, Genesis, Floyd, ELP, Crimson, etc... that I was listening to. It showed me a modern concept album (this about a person in a coma from a car crash), with a fusion of modern styles and classic elements. Thank you Arjen Anthony Lucassen and all your projects.

Thanks! I've got to bump this thread to page one with some real stuff 😀. The GGPT (Grounded-Grid Pentode/Tetrode) now gets a proper PCB laid out: I made a few deviations to the common choice of parts: 1) I found some 2SK332, could be Sanyo's answer to the low noise dual N-JFET market back in the day. They cost me about 60 cents a pop, so I ditched the LSK389. The footprint is also usable for a pair of 2SK170s. SOT-23 footprints are added for the 2SK209, and a few others that share the same pinout. 2) Through-holes on the SMD pad for the SOT223s are a big no-no for machine assembly due to solder wicking, but works okay for hand soldering. It allows the use of A970/C2240s. I found some from a Chinese manufacturer Foshan Blue Rocket Electronics, pretty decent build quality, good low-current linearity, and cheap (14 cents a pair). 3) All through-hole RCs. I know the world has moved to SMD but I have quite some through-hole resistors accumulated over the years, and personally prefer leaded components on tube PCBs due to the thermal and mechanical stress they have to endure. The FU50 tube sockets are so big and everything else have to dance around them. I chose not to use slotted pads at the exact socket pin locations, instead having soldering pads on the side allows flexible or semi-rigid connections from PCB to the tube socket contacts, which can absorb the strains. The scheme is similar to what Stax had on the original T2 PCB. A couple more mounting holes are added to allow other types of tube sockets to be used. The board mounting holes have the same distance compared to the Carbon board. This board can overlay on top of the Carbon board in the chassis where I have enough Z space left. They can share the heat sink and the power supplies. The goal is to be able to switch between them with a flip of a switch. The GG Pentode with GU-50s and the GG Tetrode with 807s, side by side: The 807s have slightly better measured performance, at the voltage level that I probably never going to drive my phones at (when I'm wearing them).

I learned much of what I know from watching Norm. I truly feel like I know the man. I did have the pleasure of having lunch with him and Steve Thomas. The company I worked for in Alaska set it up for me. They knew what a huge fan I was. And they got me on the panel at the Home Show, and the luncheon with Norm. I set across from Norm and next to Steve Thomas. After 10 minutes or so I got up the nerve to throw out a zinger about what a premadonna Bob Vila was. That got both of them laughing and we spent the rest of the lunch making fun of him. Great fun, and a day I'll never forget. He is getting old, and it makes me sad. It's hard to believe he's at the end of his career, and I'm not far behind. Time goes by so fast!

Some photos.

Got both of them here..how about a Head-Case demo tour?

Cannoli. @ https://modernpastry.com/

Boston Chowda Fish 'n' Chips @ https://www.thebostonsailloft.com/ 👍👍

Having owned a DCA Aeon Noire for a while the DCA Stealth got me interested. I like what Dan is trying to achieve, with the introduction of the Expanse I couldn’t resist the urge to buy another flagship. So I have an Expanse incoming, will be pairing it with a CFA2. I do not like the dicky naming of the products, minor gripe hopefully I’m happy with what the Expanse brings to the table being that I love what the Noire achieves at its price point. Will be updating with impressions when I’m ready, has anybody heard or owned a DCA Stealth or Expanse?

^^^^ this^^^^

Oh shit! R.I.P. Loretta. She made some incredible music. But didn't take herself too seriously either.

It really doesn't matter, 5% is plenty good so just go with what ever fits.

Check the resistors in the power supply, they are known to go bad.

Thank you, and big thanks to @kevin gilmore@Kerry and many others who made this DIY journey really enjoyable!

Norm's the best. He's been looking pretty tired the last few years. Thanks Norm!

Wouldn't say no!

♥️♥️♥️

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass was back live for the first time since 2019. It was good to be there and so far I don't think I have covid. Saturday: Ismay (granddaughter of HSB founder Warren Hellman) Meklit (unrelated) Waxahatchee and Jay Som, not pictured Elvis Costello Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew performing Remain In Light (highlight!) Sunday: Alison Brown Quartet (not pictured) Charlie Hunter and DaShawn Hickman (not pictured) Brothers Comatose Lucius, with Marcus Mumford as guest for a song (another highlight!) Bela Fleck (not pictured) The Whitmore Sisters Emmylou Harris, while we made our way out of the festival (not pictured)

^^ from the image - that must be the low resolution edition? 😁 (sorry) Me: Silver Age (Extended Edition) Daniil Trifonov 2020 https://album.link/i/1551363684 Example: 2.5 hours is a little bit much for a one time sitting of this extended release. But I really enjoyed these works. The Scriabin I thought was particularly well done.

Indeed, a lovely way to start a Sunday. Getting to drive the Macan on the road to the trailhead an added bonus!

Post Hike Corporate Chocolate Croissant ( @TMoney can provide more detailed telemetry on the hike ! )

I would be very careful to call the SR-007 any better than the SR-Omega, and vice versa. There are always multiple sides to these stories in audio. I'm not going to dispute the fact that the SR-007 was an absolutely great achievement, considering the limitations they had to deal with and with not much time to spare. They have common strengths and weaknesses and different tunings that may benefit a certain listener more than the other, a direct comparison would always favour one over the other as the ideal matching for them should be a bit different, etc. The common strengths are that they are generally easy to listen to with a wide range of musical material, and have a naturally full and open sound with powerful bass and masses of unforced detail. They are amazing headphones. But nothing is perfect as long as one is willing to analyze and compare deep enough to see, why a particular tuning is good or not. Common weakness is that they are both power hogs, the sound is leaning towards a bit of softness, a bit laid-back and distant in the midrange with instruments that can feel overly panned towards the sides (whenever I switch to Lambda, I can feel the sound getting smaller, but with better tactility and a lot of recordings just placed more naturally) and dynamics seem somewhat compressed compared to an SR-009 or SR-X9000 or the Sennheiser e-stats. That might not be a bad thing, this aspect can also make the sound busier, less peaceful, more fatiguing. I have the late version SR-Omega, which according to some sources might be closer to the SR-007 and not as forward as the earlier version (again, another set of advantages and drawbacks, not a question of better or worse) To my ears (and many others, who I showed these with some chain differences) the SR-007 Mk1 is hands down warmer and more coloured. It has more bass, more upper treble and more recession in the upper mids, and the mids themselves are tweaked to have more a 'liquid' quality to them that colour vocals in a unique way that can be very appealing. The SR-Omega seems a bit brighter, flatter, slightly drier (but not dry), but also smoother and cleaner for the most part, as the treble isn't as emphasized. The Carbon does manage to bring out a tiny, narrow peak somewhere in the lower treble, but for the most part, it is whisper clean, sweet and delicate. But again, is that how it "should" sound? You can be your own judge. Once again, just like I wrote last time, this manifests itself in two ways: either the SR-Omega seem a bit smoothened, rounded, less full, or the SR-007 Mk1 feels a bit more forceful and V-shaped. A good practical example is the Eagles album. Victim of Love is SR-007 territory, this is imho more in line with how it should sound. However, just by letting it go to the next, slower-paced song (Pretty Maids All in a Row) seems to render cleaner on the SR-Omega. The pacing is also different. The SR-007 Mk1 is faster in the midrange and treble, but bass is fatter and slower. The SR-Omega tempo is more unified: more mellow in the mids and highs but the bass is faster, cleaner. Still somewhat "dirty" compared to the SR-009 or SR-X9000, but those can feel thinner with too little volume - it seems these two aspects go right against each other with regard to tuning. So, once again, it just an individual opinion which of these is perceived as "faster" - or is that even better... Detail rendition is different again. If you listen to a solo organ for instance (Peter Hurford on the organ of the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, Torronto, Canada Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582 1300), the SR-007 Mk1 is wonderful, able to render it with more nuance and detail, the focus is a real specialty. However, if you like more complex music with lots of elements and texture, the SR-Omega is able to edge it out, that's just one of its own specialties. I can also hear into the bass better. This is one thing by the way, where the SR-X9000 does deserve credit, being able to retrieve information, especially in bass lines, where with the SR-007 Mk1, it's just not there. Both copies are excellent. The reason why I personally prefer the SR-Omega is that it's more forgiving, not as dissolute, more predictable (the "Omega signature" maybe a little less prominent) in what's going to happen and I also prefer how it fits on the head. At times I feel I have an absurd number of driver crackling on the SR-007 Mk1, a testament to the perfect sealing, it does have some clamp to it, like two pillows pushed towards my head. I prefer the slightly imperfect seal of the SR-Omega and the fit is near-perfect and easily adjusted, no looseness and no clamping. If you are interested in other takes rather than my little pamphlets, you can dig out some more posts from other long-time members like elephas, n3rdling or 3x0, imho they've also made some great observations.

(OC) I remember when it happened. 36 years ago today Cliff Burton died in a tragic bus accident. His passing was the final nail in the coffin of Metallica's legacy as an artistically significant metal act. In addition to being the eccentric iconoclast of the band, he was also the counterweight to James and Lars and their near infinite supply of bad ideas. Kirk, bless his little mealy mouthed heart, never had the spine to stand up to the other two. Jason Newsted never had a chance. The truth is, Metallica's merit has already been plummeting for several years when Cliff died.. While he was the keystone of the band, musically and diplomatically, Cliff was not the only source of brilliance. When Dave Mustaine was in the band, he wrote more or less all the of great Metallica riffs (either used in his original songs, or recycled later.) While Dave is an unrepentant, irredeemable cretinous asshat of mind boggling proportions, he is one of if not the best riff writers in all of metal. When, in 1984, Metallica was more or less the best metal band on the planet, their success was the result of Mustaine and Burton's brilliance.

I've finished building a KGST and it sounds amazing. Much thanks to the Stax Mafia for an awesome design and making all of this possible, Headinclouds for the group buy, and everyone here for your help and assistance! So I gave one of the two KGSTs I was building as a wedding gift to a friend who just so happens to be a photographer and he gave me in return some pictures of it. I'm still finishing up the other one but here is the finished one. The rest of the photos are here: http://adhikariphoto.smugmug.com/Portraits/KGST/n-9GZfc/

I finished my KGST recently. The fit was pretty tight in this 2U/330mm/280mm case. Had to reduce the 1.5kOhm resistor to get the offset to 0V though. Spritzer did mention a case this small would need a lot of ventilation, so I went with a pretty open top cover. Dead silent operation too.

Entertainment!

I'm actually getting a little choked up, watching Norm get choked up. I can't believe he's retiring. I remember watching TOH, from the very first episode, back in '79. Norm was never supposed to be on camera, but in episode 2 they needed him to explain a few things, and he was in front of the camera every since. Truth be told, Norm is more responsible for my career choice than anyone other than my high school woodshop teacher.

R.I.P. Loretta Lynn at 90...

R.I.P. Shaun Kitka! I met my friend Shaun in 1996. He was 18, and he a several other young gay guys were leaving an underage dance club in downtown Anchorage, just as I and a friend were riding past on our bikes. He and his friends were immediately physically and verbally assaulted by two larger and older, homophobic assholes. Nothing gets me to a rage state faster than homophobic bullies! I dropped my bike and grabbed the biggest guy and started telling him what I thought of him while poking my finger into his chest quite aggressively. Two cops that were at a flop bar next door came up and pulled me away from this jerk and started detaining me, when Shaun explained what had happened. One cop actually acted like it wasn't a big deal that young gay guys were being hassled, which further pissed me off! However, the second cop was having none of that bullshit, and after explaining that putting my finger in his chest wasn't allowed, he basically ripped the two bullies a new asshole. Shaun and his friends were very thankful for my intervention, and insisted on buying me breakfast. We all got to know each other, but Shaun and I became good friends immediately. I became a kind of pseudo Father figure. I introduced him to a long term boyfriend, and later actually moved in with him in Sacramento after that relationship ended. We got along well, but the new boyfriend didn't understand our relationship and was crazy jealous. To the point of being mean to my dog Suzy. I couldn't have that, and that's how I ended up moving to Fairfax the first time, in 2014. It did strain our friendship some, but we did manage to keep that friendship alive, especially after he told me about his cancer diagnosis a few years ago. He called me on a regular basis. I think that he could share his fears and his hopes with me in a way that he couldn't with his boyfriend. And I think the length of our friendship provided a degree of trust and familiarity that he didn't have with anyone else. He never knew his Father, and in many ways he looked to me for that kind of relationship. I also knew his entire family, as screwed up as they were. I last talked to Shaun two weeks ago. He sounded great. Things were going well medically, and he was really excited about a new flight simulater he was putting together. I just read about his passing today on Facebook, so it's a real shock! I've been losing siblings the last few years, and that's tough, but Shaun was 42 years old, and that's different. I had some time to prepare with my Brother. This came out of nowhere!