dsavitsk

$6000 more?

The whole thing is basically an empty shell. My issue is that I wanted the feel of the Thinkpad, wanted to use a smaller X series computer as my main computer, but also wanted a large monitor. The external keyboard is the same as what they use on the laptops, but the shell does not offer as much support as a dense laptop body. So I was really filling it with goop in order to make it solid and heavy. The noise dampening was a side benefit. The hardest part of the whole thing was getting the case open. All of that said, it is still not silent. I think the only way you are going to not hear the keyboard at all is to go in the other room

I took a Lenovo Thinkpad USB keyboard and opened it up and filled the hollow bits (all of it) with Dynamat sound dampener. This is basically gooey tar with a foil backing. I then put a layer of adhesive rubber on the bottom. Keyboard is solid as a rock, and very quiet -- not quite silent, but better than most others I've tried.

@ jury duty ...

If you are traveling a lot, I'd take a look at a Thinkpad. I bet there is some way around here to eek out a discount on one, too ...

The Pickett Furniture/ecp audio Morkt Samfunn Console is up on Apartment Therapy as a submission in their 2012 Design Showcase!

Happy Birthday!

I'm sure you could send them to a DIYer to see if they can be fixed, or the amp replaced. Sometimes these sorts of things can be surprisingly simple.

Happy Birthday!

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/skills/how-to-build-a-homemade-levee

I'm working on this, too. I2C is built into the pi through a kernel module, so I am working on using it to control a Wolfson receiver to build the pi directly into a dac, along with other digital inputs. The handsome guy with the blue shoes in the front is me http://pumpingstationone.org/2012/08/nerp-meetup-08-27-12/

I'd not either. I saw them play in an old slaughter house in Dayton, OH in the early 90's. Great show. I saw Citizen Fish play there, too.

I very briefly heard the Audio-Technica W3000ANV and thought they were not too bad. Maybe worth a look.

I should add that non-proprietary/open source is a requirement.

I am looking for a good way to implement a music distribution system in a largish space. The space is ~10,000 sqft with several rooms and several levels. The space is a noisy workshop, so audiophile sound is not really a consideration. I would like to have multiple nodes that play music and that can be synchronized, or be used independently. The more wireless the system is, the better. I would like to accomplish two distinct things: - the first is to allow multiple users to play music from a central server to one or more nodes. - the second is to allow users to play music from a device (laptop/phone/etc) to send to the rest of the system. There is a large server in place that can run whatever virtual machine I like. But the nodes do not exist, and cost is a major factor. For the first part, I think the easiest thing is to run a central server (Vortexbox most likely) that stores files and runs Squeeze Server (Logitech Media Server). Each node will then be some small Linux device (Raspberry Pi, Beagle Bone, etc) with a sound card, a digital amp, a speaker, and SoftSqueeze running. That seems straight forward enough. The second part is the hard part, I think. One thought is some sort of software soundcard that could be installed that would broadcast sound to a network. Another possibility is a USB soundcard to plug into, or an AtoD converter that a user could connect the analog jack to the system. The issues here are broadcasting to a controllable set of notes, and not running wires every which way. Any ideas?

Low Z makes sense when speakers are badly behaved -- as most commercial ones are. But, headphone impedance is really linear, so it is not that important. Try listening to a Lowther, or a Fostex full ranger with a low Z amp -- it is awful -- unlistenable. So, the argument here is that dynamic phones are basically like extremely good single driver speakers. Tyll - I'll send you a gm type amp if you want to give it a try. Even KG liked it (though he says it isn't really a gm amp.)

There is an argument that damping factors are grossly exaggerated anyhow. Link, citing the Audio Cyclopedia 2nd ed. My experience says that a non-zero Zout is beneficial to most dynamic phones. For Grados, I like ~10-15 ohms of impedance, for Senns (the 650's anyhow) anything from about 4 to 30 ohms seems pretty good. Indeed, driving the 800's from a gm amp with a Zout of around 600 ohms worked really well (it also works well for Grados.) As mentioned, the positive impedance seems to give some warmth and body to the mids. Indeed, this is a big part of the SET thing -- it has nothing to do with tubes being "tubey" (which they aren't), but rather has to do with a lower damping factor and lack of feedback being pleasing. It is a subjective preference, but at the end of the day, it is a subjective hobby.

Happy Birthday!

Be very careful with that. When a cat is in kidney failure, the kidneys in essence take water away from the other organs. Water shortage can lead to other problems, not the least of which are constipation and impacted bowels (which will require a very unhappy and potentially dangerous trip to the vet) as well as dental issues. Multiple water bowls that are cleaned and filled every day is a good practice.

Our kitty (Bolivia in ) was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney disease last October. The vet gave her a few days, and we called a hospice vet and made an appointment for him to come over. We started syringe feeding her (she had stopped eating) and giving her sub q fluids everyday. She started perking up immediately, and after twice daily syringe feedings, by December she started eating on her own. She won't eat kidney food on her own, but she did start eating 3 cans of Fancy Feast per day and by April had put back on almost all the weight she lost. At that point, she stopped eating the wet food, and will only eat Science Diet dry now. But she eats a bunch of it, so long as we give her small doses of cyproheptadine, femotadine, and ondansetron twice a day. We also still do 200mL of fluids everyday, but her condition has been upgraded (downgraded?) to stage 2. If you are not familiar, this website is invaluable http://www.felinecrf.org/

The same theory that drove GM in the 80's ...

I think that might work. Thanks.

Does anyone know of a source for a panel mount 3.5mm TRS jack that can mount in a thick panel? They make these in 1/4" for guitars, but I have been unable to come up with a smaller one.