Leaderboard

Hah! Finally getting through the thread. Thanks everyone (except 1)! Nate, I'll take you up on that in 3 weeks? Grahame, that was fantastic. I really thought the wheels were going to be a proper star; now I'm wondering if I can get some built up that way. Knucks, who only has 500 tabs? Rookie. Mikey, thanks! But that living long thing, that's gotta be relative, right? I wound up working, had a video call with mom and brother, then a mensa game night, then the fam got me a chocolate cake that they didn't know I'd been craving, but I'd been CRAVING chocolate cake. Rich enough that I couldn't finish a piece, so we've all been doing small slices here and there. Got lots of snuggles from the dogs, and went to bed sober and early. Tonight having Mexican at this place we like in Kirkland (no, not at a Costco, nor a Taco Bell), and then brunch at STK tomorrow. Oh, heh, and Xavier got me a new grill brush (wrapped in christmas paper and black duct tape). All in all a pretty good birthday, even if the answer year didn't turn out the way I'd hoped.

I'd like to report a murder.

This memorial day weekend, I am going to skip on my teetotal lifestyle and raise a glass to the fallen, and wax philosophical about my retired-from-army-with-honors cousin Greg who passed away many years ago. I've been thinking about him a lot lately, for two reasons. A lot of guns come in FDE (flat dark earth), and he was in both Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield, so I associate him with that colour. I initially hated that colour because it reminded me of his death, but it's been long enough, that now, I only have the fond memories. I've also been addressing a lot of issues that revolve around emotional maturity (I'm not), and -- in a lot of cases -- the more emotionally mature way to handle things could be thought of as, "WWGD" (What Would Greg Do?). I'm not saying he did everything right, but his heart was always in the right place. He prided himself on retiring as (sorry, don't remember the exact rank) the highest ranking, non-enlisted rank, because he never wanted his Care for his immediate people surgically removed. He remained in touch -- not only with those he still worked with, but everyone who had ever worked for him. And they all loved him, and he loved them all back. His retirement party was insane. He was always there for people. When I needed to recover some stuff from storage, I found out the people who I hired were basically going to hold my stuff hostage/blackmail/whateveryouwanttocallit. He took care of it. I don't know what he said or did, but all of a sudden they just gave me my stuff which we had to transfer from their pods to a rental truck and they told me to take as much time as we needed. And other things, when I was looking for a new place to stay many years ago, he offered to let me live with him. Just ALWAYS. THERE. FOR. ME. So as I continue to learn how to be a normal adult with my own motivations, I continue to think about him, and what would he do in situations. I don't really have any close family or friends that I can protect, and I'm in no position to provide for anyone other than myself and my cats, so I need to find my own motivations in life, but it helps to have a high bar that I can look to. I will always support service members and veterans, especially those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, as I'm sure that's what Greg Would Have Done. Please toast with me, and remember them fondly.

Have you listened to the Steve Wilson remixes? They made CD and vinyl releases in 2018. Now listening to this Andy Bey - Ballads Blues & Bey Looks like it's only available at iTunes/Apple https://album.link/i/215944320 I got it elsewhere. Sweet beautiful music for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Beth and I went to see the Chicago Symphony last night conducted by Neeme Järvi, doing the Mahler 2nd. Excellent performance, much better than when we saw this with MTT conducting back in the mid 2000's, although the mezzo-soprano back then (Lorraine Hunt Lieberman) was stunning doing the 4th movement ("Urlicht"). One of the longest standing ovations I've witnessed (> 5 mins). 90 minutes is a long time to sit (1st world problems).

Those earpads had to go and they have a pretty clever magnet system for them: Just now I noticed the R laser etched into the mini XLR plug so there is some indication. The earpads pull off and have a metal ring in them that is easily removed. The pads are 110mm so a lot of aftermarket stuff will work here. I replaced them with some Kennerton pads I had sitting next to my desk and I much prefer the fit. Now the issue is that the earpads barely hang on as the magnets are so weak with the thicker leather of the Kennerton pads

Ok yeah the X1 doesn't suck. Some very early impressions: Small, lightweight, comfy. The fit is somewhere between supra-aural and circum-aural. The build is minimalistic but seems fine. The only thing I'm concerned with is dust and stuff accumulating on the back of the driver. When you live with a german shepherd dog hair gets in absolutely everywhere. I was wondering why my 650s crackled until I pulled a wad of dog hair out of the driver. How it got in there past all the foam, who even knows. I'm using them with a stock 007t atm. It's a bit light on power but not too bad. Still you can hear that it could use some more. The sound is pretty monitor-like. A bit light on the bottom end but not too thin. The mids are surprisingly realistic. The treble is also pretty smooth. I think the 1-2khz region is a bit pushed and 3-5 is a bit recessed, but not so badly that stuff sounds weird. You get used to the sound signature quickly and then it just sounds normal. Resolution is fine for what it is, but staging is a bit small. These are a far cry from the alien weirdness that is the L700 pre-EQ and even with my treble allergic ears I can listen to these with no EQ just fine. But they could use a bit of tuning up. I'd want them a bit fuller and 1-2khz slightly toned down. Seems pretty solid so far, NGL. I was beginning to think Stax forgot how to make something that sounds relatively normal, but here we are.

First of all I would like to apologize, as everyone knows, English is not my native language and I´m quite basic when describing sounds. Don't take my mistakes into account or be too hard on me guys. “Fragile” is considered the first Yes album that launched them to stardom and put them in the orbit of progressive Rock, a course they would follow throughout the 70s. Several issues must be considered that influenced the recording of this album. Firstly, a group of technically very brilliant instrumentalists is formed with the arrival of Rick Wakeman (Bill Bruford, Chris Squire and Steve Howe already formed a solid relationship). Secondly, the album is built with common works to which small pieces by each of the members are added where the level of virtuosity of that member is demonstrated, including a recording by Jon Anderson that was supposed to be recordings while he did warm-up exercises that overlap in a loop ("We Have Heaven"). The album was produced by Eddy Offord at a time when relations between the band and him were still bearable. Offord always complained that working with Yes meant dealing with 5 producers at the same time and that was a considerable strain on him. The members of the group wanted to control absolutely everything related to their jobs and did not stop interfering in all the work of others. The versions I have of this recording are the following: Vinyl original 1973 print. CD original release from 80s (maybe 1988) CD remastered from 94 CD version HDCD Japanese edition (90´s/00´s) CD MoFi 2004 I really want to be able to buy that new Super Deluxe Edition. I never tire of collecting these things even though some of them are just simple complaints. Next buy sure!!!!!! . Vinyl original 1973 print. My favorite edition. Listening this album with the DL103R (or DL301) is a pleasure. With newer cartridges (and more expensive like the ortofon 2m black or the BM Silver) it has never seemed so pleasant to me . The Steve Howe guitars ( I love the Gibson ES-5 Switchmaster) have a very good warmth, neither too low nor too high (just right). The guitar harmonics are a delight. I miss a little more presence from Wakeman 's keyboards. It seems that the stereo effect is very closed... it doesn't give me the breadth of a Hammond. As for the Voices, they seem correct to me but with little bass. I know Anderosn's voice is high but I miss a warmer touch. As for Squire's bass the sound is correct maybe I feel like it needs a little more warm but nothing bad. The drums, I think the treble of the cymbals and the gong are very well done (listen to the interlude between "Long Distance Race" and "the Fish")... simply unique. Now as for the battery itself, although its sound seems correct to me and the stereo effect is good, so good I think it lacks a little power. In general I don't see anything wrong with this recording. As I said, I can spend hours listening to it without getting tired. Note: I have seen vinyl pressings of 80 that are as thin as a sheet of paper . CD original release from 80s Just terrible EMHO. Very sharp and noise without the warmth of vinyl, the rest of the sound spectrum is as if flattened. Sharp guitars, Anderson's voice very high, the bass and drums in the background. I have many CDs from the 80s of recordings from the 60s and 70s that sound as this. I don't know if it was due to the processors of the time, the ADC or what, but the result is not very good today. . CD remastered from 94 Digitally remastered by Joe Gastwirt at Ocean View Digital Better than the previous. They have tried to restore the quality of the original mastering and it shows (although from my point of view it has not yet reached vinyl). The noise level has dropped considerably in this remaster. This remastering makes the recording easier to listen, the treble is less aggressive and the midrange has recovered a little. The presence of some instruments in certain parts has been achieved a lot, for example the bass . The harmonics of the guitar have improved too they still seem somewhat aggressive to me if we compare them with the vinyl edition but it is clear that they have worked a lot to restore the original sound. The stereo effect is much better although it seems that the musicians are located very far in front. For a few bucks it is the best recording you can get. . CD version HDCD Japanese edition First of all, does anyone remember the HDCD? It seems that everything Microsoft touches is screwed.... Remastered HDCD by Isao Kikuchi in East West Japan It is an interesting cd. Isao Kikuchi is a Japanese sound engineer who in the late 90s and 00s worked on several recordings and remasterings for the Japanese market on HDCD and SACD. The HDCD version is far from the two versions mentioned above. My cd is a Rotel RCD1072, he can naturally read this format and decode those 4 "extra" bits of information. By the way, I would like to see a comparison between Redbook vs. HDCD decoded audio spectrums of this record. Here there is more presence of the mid-range, something that is noticeable in Howe's guitars or Anderson's voice. I feel his voice more natural, not as high. The same thing happens with the bass and the keyboard; you can enjoy more hard bass lines and a drum sound with more punch but unfortunately the cymbals sound a bit noisy/distorted and having increased the midrange means that sometimes with all the musicians playing, each instrument cannot be heard clearly. This is a shame because the stereo effect of each instrument separately is good. I´m very curious to know if the filters applied to the HDCD codification process have something to do with the roughness of the trebles.... although I have hundreds of HDCDs and very few have this singularity. As a rarity, I would say that it is fine and the recording is enjoyable if one omits the problems that I have talked about previously. . CD MoFi 2006: There are Mofi remasters that seem good to me and others not so much... and they tend to be very questionable purchases, especially considering the price at which these recordings are quoted. In this case I must say that it is worth every buck. In this case I must say that it is worth every dollar. It has the best of the previous recordings and only one bad thing; its price (I paid about 60€ for it when it was just released). If I said that the best thing about the HDCD was the restoration of the mid-range, the Mofi does everything much better: Perfect treble (the cymbals sound crystal and clear) Bruford 's drum snare now sounds and they have the bass drum attached, it can be seen present... The bass finally sounds with nuances (it sounds like a bass and not something with strings) it does not mix with other instruments and marks its lines in a very pleasant. Howe's guitar also benefits from this improvement, it is much more enjoyable and can be heard much more clearly (even when using effects pedals) and the delicacy and attack of the nylon strings on "Mood for a Day" finally appears. Wakeman 's keyboard and piano appear very convincingly as well, with more of a stereo effect, without being locked in the center. It is especially noticeable in pieces like "Heart of the Sunrise" A piece that I have used a lot for comparisons is "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)" That intro with guitar harmonics, the wah pedal, the bass with that hammering chorus, the drum box marking the bars... "We Have Heaven" has been another piece that I have used a lot, since the loop effects with XXX's voice, the guitar, the maracas, the bells, etc... (damn, each song is full of countless little details) help I have a hard time grasping the differences. "South Side of the Sky" with that strong bass line, XXXX's keyboard adding details and forming the melody, XX's drums as support and Howe's guitar with that distortion while he doesn't stop playing scales and riffs from above to low... In short, an album that I really enjoy every time.

You're right about the LV supply (Stax did stick in some zener diodes to sort of regulate it), but this was meant to be a simple mod. It is intended to be bang for buck, and the most significant improvement is the constant current mod. Yes the power supply could be much better, but the constant current mod is a first order improvement, the power supply is a second order improvement. The intended audience wasn't the Stax Mafia, it was people who have a Stax amp and want to improve it without going to the expense of a KGST level amp. Or are just getting into Stax and are willing to do a little DIY (or have it done for them). I think more people would be interested in Stax if they could buy a $500 used amp, put $100 and a few hours work into it for some significant improvements, instead of spending a few thousand for the amp. Not everyone is interested in building from scratch. Actually, I didn't comment on the bias supply as I was not aware that was an issue, but now that I look at the schematic, I see that there should be a 5 megohm resistor after the last capacitor for protection. Damn!

Dogecoin dog Kabosu dies after 14 years as meme.