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With the three cats bonded with three members of the family, Piper was feeling left out. So now we’re a four cat family. Picked up a female Flame Point Siamese tonight from the same rescue as our two other meezers. Just over a year old. We haven’t settled in a name yet, but with Nutella, Marshmallow and Jelly Bean, we kind of feel the need to stay on-brand. Tough to get a good picture because she won’t stop moving to get more pets. But she’s settling in quickly. We’ll keep her separated from the other kitties for a few days. And I think it’s safe to say we’re good on cats.

We have a cat named Jellybean He's named after Craig Feldspar's cat.

Only answer - Fluff.

May the snakes stay out of your wine bunker, and the cougars avoid your doorstep (at least the four legged kind).

Digikey shows a VIshay SS14-E3/5AT or a Diodes Inc. B140-13-F as direct replacements.

If you use a shunting pot (configuration B below) built with a regular audio taper pot instead of a quad pot in a balanced design, besides being both cheaper and inherently symmetrical, nearly all of the taper is in the first half which makes amps appear to these sorts of people as being more powerful than they actually are.

Poolside nibbles including homemade falafels, hummus, and chocolate hummus.

Happy Birthday, Greg!

Happy Birthday, Greg!

Have a safe and sane birthday weekend Greg! Cheers!

Happy Birthday, Greg! I hope there's a bottle or three in your near future to balance the pastry consumption noted elsewhere.

Poolside fruity kebab And donuts With the Brits.

I tried the amp @ CanJam and thought, hmm wait a minute, the knob is only at 11 and I'm listening THIS LOUD to STAX? That's when I realized.. the gain is ~2400x, which is the highest I have heard of for an electrostatic amp (STAX amps typically 500x to 1000x) but makes perfect sense for demonstrations in a loud room. I changed the gain tube in the Grand Cayman (720x gain) from 12SN7 to 12SL7, which did the trick But that was the end of the show, so...next time

Happy birthday to my favourite wine enthusiast! (party favour noise)

Happy Birthday Greg. Enjoy your 'tasting'. Cheers -

Good news, everything appears to be working normally now. With some help from georgep and joamat I managed to track down what seems to have been the culprit: one dead 2SC3675 in one of the triplets of 2SC3675's. Probably the reason two of the LEDs nearby were dead too. I just need to plug in some stax now and have a listen... All batteries now measure +200V/-539V, and R42 measures 6.55V just as it should.

Well, Nutella cost us $1,300 and counting today. Against our better judgement, we left some party decorations up for Piper’s birthday week. Found some chewed pieces of plastic streamers on the ground yesterday morning, and she didn’t finish her breakfast so I feared the worst. After multiple rounds of vomiting, including parts of streamers, she spent much of the day at the emergency vet. Long-story-short, looks like she’s going to be OK without surgery. I’ve admittedly been a bit of a mess… It was not a fun night, or enhaoyable day waiting to hear. And everyone was determined to welcome her home.

So I've spent more time with the SRM-T1/ED-1 combo lately. I must say that I'm a bit at a loss to really make a decision. On the one hand, the ED-1 processes information out, so you miss micro-detail and lose some dynamic "umph". But on the other hand it does snap things into focus. It's like there's a slight haze on the sound without it, and then you turn it on and BAM, clarity. Overall i'm not sure if it's something I want to keep and use long term. I like the depth it adds to the headstage and image, but at times it can sound a bit thin and anemic. It's certainly an interesting device. It works best with the Lambda Pro (since it was designed for that headphone) and not very well with the Sigma Pro...not at all. It's good with the Lambda Signature too although less so, but not by much. I also got a pair of SR-X/MKIII headphones and these are little firecrackers! Clear and snappy. It's amazing how good these things sound....lots of fun with electronica and pop/rock.

I like my O2's apart from the weight, and that I have to put tape on the earpads to keep them in place. But that aforementioned sense of refinement can get a bit boring after a while, the same way I slightly tired of the Orpheus after a while. I'm at that stage now. My ears might just need a period of sandpapering with a pair of Grados so that I can slink back to the Omegas with a sigh of relief. And no bass? I call 'electrostatic bullshitter' on that one. Even as is the O2's can put out plenty of bass. I don't use my main system much anymore, so it's usually out of the computer where I have an EQ and in those cases you might even be surprised how much lows the O2 can put out if you're in the mood for it.