shellylh

I run my old Oppo DVD upscaler without a screen but I just play CDs through it. I have no clue about the new ones.

^Jeff is moving to the DC burbs.

Finished Season 2 of Boardwalk Empire a couple of nights ago. Now the waiting for Season 3 on DVD begins.

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Jim!!!

My teams are completely falling apart.

Blue cheese (on my salad)

Boar's Head Chipotle Gouda

Thanks Mike but I already made an order at C&B.

I'll take a look there. Looking for an greenish (olive) 18mm, and a dark brown and/or dark blue 20mm. Seems difficult to find a nice darkish brown one.

Jeff, Who/where did you get your NATO straps from?

http://baconology.org/

(I am ashamed to admit this but) I have an old pair of Monster 1/8" -> RCA cables and they are directional. I was confused by this and looked up this on their website. It says: Why do the cables have directional arrows? This is done for shielding purposes only, a design where we do not solder the shield on the signal's destination. This ensures that any noise picked up by the shield will not be transmitted into your signal path. Can I assume that any other cable that I buy will not be directional? For example, I want to get the Blue Jeans Cable RCA-1/8" cable or similar and want to use it from my DAC or GS-1 line out to the Pico Slim. Also, I don't understand Monster's explanation. Why would this make it directional?

You should meet up with us next time he is in town. He is down here often for work. He would love to see you and Marc again.

BBBlt

Mainly for a faster lens but still with some zoom capability. I have been using the 35mm or 40mm lately but would like a bit more flexibility. If I am shooting mostly outdoors and at a lot of different distances and I don't want to have a lot of lenses (like when I go on vacation), I usually take the 18-200. Thanks for your comments about the various fast-ish zoom lenses Peter, that is quite useful.

What do you guys think about a Sigma 17-50 f2.8 for an everyday lens for the Nikon D90? If I upgrade my camera, it will be to another DX lens. Just can't justify the heavier full frame and pricier lenses. Right now I have the Nikon 18-200 Vrii, Nikon 35mm f/1.8, Tokina 100mm f/2.8 (micro), and Nikon 40mm f/2.8 (micro). I may sell the Nikon 40mm but if I get this, maybe.

Met up with pabbi1 Al to listen to some live music. The walk was great, the weather is gorgeous! Also, noticed a "newish" cocktail bar on the way there. Stepped in and checked the place out but didn't have time for a drink. It looked pretty nice and is within walking distance of my house... what is not to like.

^I hadn't but now I want to! Following Al with some Saint Andre Brie

^Isn't that going to be the case if you go with active speakers (assuming both are powered by their own amp like the Emotiva). I had to use a significantly longer RCA to the left speaker than the right with my Quads. But I like the idea of buying moar new stuff Jim. I'll be interested in your opinion of the Airmotiv5 if/when you get them. Got the A5 setup with the Mopads and they don't sound so bad. [i really should get some speaker stands some day.] I think I like them (physically) tilted up a bit more than flat. I'll have to mess around a bit with the angles. I asked hubby how they looked and he said they looked a little small (I guess I am training him). Better get some bigger speakers before he changes his mind.

Thanks Mikey. I figured out that part.

Anyone switched the left and right speakers on the Audioengine A5? It's easier for me to set up the amp on the right. (It might a bit of a difference because the tweeters are not centered.)

Thought about these but ruled them out at the time because they were rear ported. Also, I wasn't so impressed with the build quality of the Emotiva DAC I had but maybe these would be better. I think Ric is probably correct that I should just stick with the A5s for now (until they really bug me or until they break like Jim's). I am still interested in these answers since I'll eventually get tired of the A5 and want to upgrade (assuming the Quad can't be fixed). I sent an email to lanemart asking if I had any options but haven't heard back from him (and I may not). Getting a DIYer to look at it is certainly something I should look into. Maybe I can haul it to Austin in November and beg someone sober to look at it ... cough cough Marc, Naaman.... It may be worth even spending some money on shipping to get it fixed. [Whenever something breaks I immediately get upset and want to get rid of it... then after time, I become more sensible.]

Thanks Nate. The Focal SIB look interesting. From specs, it seems like the JBL would also be a little bass shy (like the NHT). Also, I the speakers off to the side of my desk so they can be a bit bigger than normal desktop speakers.

[This post is too long.] As you may know, one of my Quad 12L actives died. RIP. I have a pair of Audioengine A5 actives to use for now and maybe they will be good enough (I don't use speakers very much - usually headphones) for my limited desktop use. I was thinking that I wanted to get a pair of Adam A3X and I think this is probably what I might get if I went the studio monitor route. Then I remembered how much I liked the Ascend CMT-340 when I owned them (which I only sold because they were way too big and loud for nearfield listening). So I was thinking of going Parasound Zamp + Ascend CBM-170SE instead. (The Parasound ZDAC, Zamp and GS-1 would make a nice little desktop stack.) I really liked the neutral but still musical sound of the CMT-340 and the CMB-170 is supposed to retain this "house" sound. They should be easy enough to drive with Zamp (45W into 8ohm, per channel). They are rear ported but Ascend recommends 4 inches from the wall when wall mounting so I wouldn't have to have them too far from the wall. CBM-170SE: Typical In-Room Frequency Response 53Hz - 20kHz +/- 3dB In-Room Sensitivity 91dB @ 1 watt / 1 meter Frequency Response (Anechoic) 58Hz - 22kHz +/- 3dB Sensitivity (Anechoic) 89dB @ 1 watt/ 1 meter Average Impedance 8 ohms Pros: I will most likely like the sound, easy to drive with Zamp, I like the bare bones look, at least partially made in the USA, good price $350 + shipping Cons: A little bigger than I would like, rear ported. The other bookshelf option I was entertaining was NHT Absolute Zero mostly because they are not ported and so I can put them against the wall. I have never heard these but I remember people saying that they were fairly musical and neutral. In general, I think I remember that internet people preferred the 170SE (whatever that is worth). I seem to remember some members of HC recommending them so I am hoping some people have owned or at least heard them. The problem is that I am not sure if the Parasound Zamp would be able to drive the NHT since they aren't very efficient (86dB sensitivity, 6ohm). Also, I think they look a bit ugly without the grills on because of the metal tweeter. NHT Absolute Zero Pros: Smaller than Ascend 170SE, no ports Cons: Haven't heard any NHTs before, lack of bass? ( I don't want to get a sub), inefficient, ugly? Note: This is all for desktop use. They will be 4-10 inches from the wall, a few feet from me and probably about 5 feet apart - not optimal but this is what I have to work with. I'd appreciate any thoughts people had, especially if they have heard the NHT with a low powered amp or the NHT and the Ascends. Is there some smallish bookshelf that is front or non-ported that I should know about - not too pricey? The other question is whether I should really be using bookshelves + amp instead of powered studio monitors for nearfield use.