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While being stuck home, recovering for the past two weeks, I finally got round to doing some more DIY electrostatic headphones. I wanted to try out some different materials, 2um mylar and Comfort fabric softener to do the resistive coating. I must say both worked well and if the Comfort stuff holds up long term, it is a damn good coating that costs pretty much nothing. First off my long standing test drivers in a Superlux HD330 housing... as I had some donor headphones in stock. I made a few of these but this set has the Stax wide PC-OCC cable and Dekoni Fostex hybrid pads. I've made so many of these drivers over the years that they are a good benchmark and they perform flawlessly. Charge up instantly, no charge migration or issue with humidity that I can detect. The drivers are also modular so easy to assemble and test: I didn't even spring for ENIG on these but yeah, super simple design that just slots into the Supelux housing. They are just a bit on the small side for my head and the partially closed housing has issues but it's a fun set to play with. Next up is a set of SR-5's that had severe imbalance. Time for a new set of diaphragms with the thicker spacers I made 10 years ago or. I simply replace the stock diaphragm and this converts them to Pro bias too. Throw on there an old Lambda cable which had a break at the cable entry and it's a great little set of headphones. I love the SR-X Mk3 drivers and they are fun to play with. It is a bit challenging to fit the thicker spacers into the normal bias housings as it can warp the drivers but not a big deal really. Then I put on some leather earpads from my stash and yeah, a great SR-5 Pro... something Stax really should have sold back in the day. While I was making the diapgragms for those SR-5's, I made a couple of more for a spare set of drivers which resulted in this: I'm always on the lookout for cheap open back headphones which can be "easily" turned into electrostatics. This is a Fiio JT1 which was less than 60$ shipped but is not ideal for the conversion as the baffle is not flat due to how the earpads are mounted. Still nothing a circular saw can't fix: I covered the stock holes with tape to seal the baffle and keep the glue out when I fitted the driver: The PU two part adhesive covers all the baffle vents and I put some tape on the earpad attachment points to just keep the glue out of them. Worked just fine and the seal is great No damping at the back and they are open enough. I fitted strain reliefs at the cable entry and plugs to seal off the top vents in the housing as well. This one has the stock earpads and the cable is the standard silicone 6 core stuff floating around with an aluminum cable splitter for the Y split and a prototype plug I was sent a while back. Pretty nice sounding set of headphones that don't cost a lot to make. Granted you need a SR-X Mk3 to donate the drivers and some custom spacers to make it work but I'd want to make something like this with custom drivers. It would be a great DIY project to release, buy this set of headphones, rip out its guts and make your own drivers from these PCB's. The cable is easy to source, so are the cable entry glands and a Stax plug can be 3D printed with basic XLR housings. Finally, a bit of a closure for me with what is probably the final version of the HD580/600/650 electrostatic conversion above. I was always battling baffle leaks on those as it is impossible to shave the stock baffle completely flat. I might try to laser cut a neoprene gasket or something like that but on this one I simply designed a new protection grill and glued that to the baffle. Not ideal but it works nicely. Then new stators and new spacers for the diaphragms and dust covers. The cable is the King Sound KS-H4 unit so it is removable. I just shaved down the socket a bit and glued it into the stock holes. The protection grill which is glued to the baffle. Earpads are the hybrid units Drop used to sell and then sheepskin headpad. New stators with full ENIG plating and purple solder mask because reasons. :) These do sound great if I dare say so myself, very much on par with the HE60 but with a fuller sound. Same spacing at 0.5mm so sensitivity is very close too to stock Senn units. Funny for me as the HD600 was my first ever high end set of headphones, so when I found this set with broken drivers it was an ideal candidate for conversion. Full circle and all that shit...

Between yesterday and today, giving and feeling good. I've been talking to two different (one partially) homeless people for several months, always giving a 10 or 20 when I see them. At my son's insistence (!) I just gave one of them $300 in cash. To say the least, he was amazed and driven to tears and hugs. As I walked back to my car, this woman drives up to me and chats with me. "He's not REALLY homeless..." she says. I knew that; he has a wife and a dog, and his father in law lets him stay at his place at times. Otherwise, they live in a van. I acknowledged that, but also just said that people need some help now and then. A man came out of the passenger seat, she told me it was her son, and he has autism, so don't be put off. He was fairly high functioning, but you could tell he'd always need help. Anyway, we got to talking and this woman has a home, but also has had a tough time of things. So, I took the other $300 I had and gave it to her. We both started tearing up. Now I need to pull ANOTHER chunk out to give to the other person. He knows me by name, knows I lost my wife, and like the first guy I give him something whenever I see him. He also told me that - even though he's homeless and has limited capability to help - if I ever needed something he could provide, to not hesitate to ask. These folks are amazing. So yeah, I'll get him something that I hope will help him this winter. On top of all that, today my son (staying with me while condo being worked on) has a friend over and they are listening to a few of my systems. Son brought back some speakers I gave him, so offering them to his friend. TL;DR version: it feels fucking great to give and help others as long as I can!

Completed servo controlled grid voltage. Works with EL34, 2A3, 300B and EML 20B-V4.

A breakfast almost worthy of a Grehaem. Venison snausage and bacon hiding in the periphery. I would also like to note that this is what happens when you give the humble potato to the French. 🫣

"15 Worst Audiophile Snake Oil Products That Break the Laws of Physics but Still Sell in 2025" https://www.headphonesty.com/2025/10/worst-snake-oil-products-break-laws-physics/

I got SO lucky with a local listing. Altec A7-500, and I added the supertweeter.

Why is this the first time I am hearing about - Kobe Beef Bacon? Who been slacking on updating the Bacon thread!!?? Come on people - we are living a society here...

Speaking of: Released on Wednesday. Chopin: 24 Préludes, Ballade No. 4 & Piano Sonata No. 2 by Eric Lu (2025) https://album.link/hj55qbvfbjcp4 Example: Winner on Warner. Good recording, and performance is top notch. Looking forward to seeing how he grows.

Posting this here instead of the "Consumerism" thread, as likely only viewers here would possibly find this interesting in any way. I've always wanted a try a medium telephoto on my full-format DSLR, mainly for portraits. So, when an inexpensive Rokinon 85mm 1.4 in the Sony A-mount sat on B&H's used site for a few weeks, in a weak moment I succumbed to the temptation & placed the order: Literally the first snap from my A900, in a dark living room with one lamp lit, at f1.4 yielded this, which shocked me in its [insert typical "medium-format like" or "3D" quality superlatives here], particularly since it's manual-focus with the usual sliver DOF at minimum aperture: Of course, I've yet to reproduce anything since that approaches these qualities. So clearly I got very lucky on my first snap & will have to invest more time to learn how to get the best out of this big chunk o'glass. Also, so far I've only shot in B&W (which is my current favored MO), and yet to play with the color output (and deal with the reported CA at minimum apertures). But it's a beautiful piece to fondle & hear the clicks from the aperture ring.

I was lucky enough to meet Prunella Scales around 20 years ago. She gave an acting masterclass to our local pro theatre company, Creation Theatre, that for some reason we got invited to. She was very nice, and was really tiny.

RIP to the other Mrs. Robinson

The wind is just giving you bonus training. 😁 Seriously though, don't worry, it's not a race. I get the frustration though as 9/10 rides home from work are into the wind of some sort. Today for me was a quick rip around town as I didn't have time for a long ride and my back still hasn't totally recovered from last weekend so I'm trying to mostly take it easy on it. Garmin's guess at the wind was way off. I'd say the seat of the pants feel was more like 10mph steady with some swirling/gusting going on. Still a beautiful day for a ride.

so here is the latest version of the kgsshv-carbon with the c3m series parts including the current source. Good for up to +/-600v power supplies. board file updated. kgsshvcarbon600v.PDF kgsshvcarbonv6.1c3cs - CADCAM.ZIP

For the bargain hunters out there.

The war and treaty at the bijou in knoxville

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47 by Howard Mitchell (1959) https://album.link/trxprptjq5zr7 Example: Noise floor is a little high (hiss), but it made up for by getting very loud and being a great performance.

Removed the grill which removed a "veil" from midrange 😆 and had to rework the crossover and physical alignment of the supertweeter, but yeah, I'm beginning to think the speaker angle was already a solved issue in the 1950's and 60's..

and the power supply that goes with it. standard off the shelf antek transformers are $44. need 2 schematic fixed. kgsshv600vpower - CADCAM.ZIP circlotronpsupdated.pdf

In case y'all don't think I'm eating (enough) (Round a friend's)

Extension of a Man by Donny Hathaway (1973) https://open.qobuz.com/album/0603497936687 Example: Someday Donny, someday.

Martin Denny - Exotic Moog ex.

Looks like I got one

With all the great analysis videos out there is it time for a separate thread?

Also kinda

Just for future info: diskutil unmount /dev/disk1s2

Brief update on this issue: To securely wipe an HDD, it's necessary to do one pass with Disk Utility first, then make use of the Terminal command. This is because Terminal itself can't unmount a disk. Also, in possibly related news I have a stack of six HDDs to donate to the local second hand shop.

Participating in the Spotify Boycott, so cancelled my Spotify subscription and renewed my Tidal. Have to figure everything out all over again. Started, of course, with Al1ce's latest, As Above, So Below. Turns out, they're already working on another dimension. As Within, So Without.

Tasty Fish and Chips, Beet Salad @ Andy's Anchor Bar

Maybe I didn't give them a fair shake back in the day...

^^ Very sad. She was brilliant in FT. ... and I got to know about her condition over a decade ago and happy that she made it this long. I use to watch her canal boat program all the time. I would just ask my partner, 'Old People on a Boat?' RIP Prunella...

David Lynch and video games:

On No Kings day, Claire and I made an exception for Kingfish, aka Christone Ingraham. He's an amazing blues guitarist and a great singer to boot. I was very happy to hear some great blues and if the video works for you, it was a blast when he walked out into the audience while playing and ended up two feet from me. IMG_7503.mov

I might have posted before, but if you want over 20 hours of analysis of a single album, there is:

Yes, it should have no problem with that. The only issue might be gain and bias but easy to solve.

I love Elizabeth/The Charismatic Voice; several others have also mentioned her. For me, I love how she geeks out to Heilung.

Apparently, ignore the global statecraft, it's all about relationships. https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2025/10/23/diplomat-netflix-keri-russell-clinton-marriage/

I'm slowly working on replacements but nothing that is ready for release yet. The Dekoni pads are well made but I wouldn't pick those as they are too big and I'd never use fenestrated pads due to the air leaks. You'd ideally want 105mm pads with a fairly large opening and there aren't all that many out there off the shelf.

Later she starred in Dead Women in Lingerie with Jerry Orbach. Dream casting.

When I can get myself to do it, low 80s rpm feels “right” for me as far as a sweet spot between perceived effort and power. I’m starting to learn to hate the wind. It is the one time I wish I was on a e-bike. Hills are a fun challenge, but pedaling into the wind sucks. Pusing straight in to a 25mph gust felt like trying to bail out a leaking boat. So much effort and all I get out of it is 8-9mph!

I'm pretty sure everyone has done this at one time. Hung onto a headphone or piece of gear that You want to like, but don't. Mine is a q701 I bought used 12 years ago real cheap. Cheap because it smelled like an ashtray. Pulled it apart and cleaned it well, and did the bass port mod. I don't like the sound. Put it away and then tried it out again when I changed DACs and amps. I still don't like it. I'm trying real hard to make myself get rid of it. It's hard to be a horder.

i hade one Soekris DAC1541 it was cool

Got a chance to hear these at an audio show a few days ago and in short, they suck. I'd heard the Stax amps are less than ideal so I did plug them into the Mjolnir audio amp at the Audeze table which improved things but not nearly enough to make them listenable. My main problem with them is they suck at dynamics & impact, especially in the lower midrange to bass region. Metal, rock, reggae, anything with kettle drums, all that stuff gets ruined since there's not nearly enough weight or impact down low. There's also some kind of wonky resonance in the midrange & treble which pops up from time to time, it sounds a bit like the cuppy or slightly out of phase sound you get from most closed headphones, not nearly as bad but still enough to annoy me. Didn't pay much attention to soundstaging, imaging, or detail & resolution. There were just way too many issues with the frequency response & lack of dynamics for me to really care about that stuff. Overall, I'd have to say it was one of the bigger disappointments I've had in the headphone world.

I’m coming up on 200 miles on the new bike and still very much in the honeymoon phase. I did a 35ish mile ride today and had a blast. This thing is a riot to get out and ride. I love how much distance I can cover, and it feels like a proper machine. The farm roads where I live are infinite, and with the radar I’m not caught off guard when motorists do want to overtake. I’m starting to get used to the clipless setup. No wipe-outs since the initial one. As I’ve developed a more deft touch on the brakes it is easier to dismount under control. I still have close calls every now and then so not ready to crank the pedal tensioners up yet, but I’m getting there. I’m ready for a bike fit and booked one with a local place that a co-worker recommended that uses the Retul stuff. I don’t know what I’m doing outside of going by feel, so hoping they can help me out. I’m not sure if my saddle is right or not, and I do get some shoulder soreness on longer rides. I can see fit being more and more important as I do longer rides. I’m also going to bring the bike back to the shop for a break-in adjustment and cleaning. She is getting filthy and I don’t have access to a hose to spray it off.