jpelg

Claudia Cardinale, the famed Italian actress, passed away on Tuesday. Not sure which one of her movies - quite possibly "Once Upon A Time In The West", or just as likely "The Pink Panther" - sparked my initial crush in my early, prepubescent years. But I just knew she had "it": "Ciao bella". RIP

Happy birthday!

Benchmark has made changes/improvements to their DAC line over time. The DAC1 USB you have uses an Analog Devices AD1853 dac chip like its predecessors, but upgrades the stereo-outs to LM4562/LME49860 opamps, which should sound better(read: smoother) when connected to another amp than the original DAC1 that many people heard back in the day. The DAC1 PRE updated all the op-amps to LM4562/LME49860 opamps, so the headphone-out should sound better too. The DAC2 line changed the converter chip to the ES9018, which adds DSD64 decoding capability, if that is relevant to the content you play. The DAC3 line changed the converter chip to the ES9028PRO. I have no idea if that sounds any better, or what it would take to detect a difference. IME, the hardware component factors that affect the sound of a DAC is the converter implementation, along with the output stage. For me, the DAC2 line was/is the sweet spot when it comes to price::features::performance for Benchmark.

Happy Birthday!

Thank you guys. Always much appreciated. Dang, I'm "getting" old 😜

One of the greatest clothing designers ever, Giorgio Armani, has died at the age of 91: I am sure he came into my orbit in 1980 as the person who created Richard Gere's iconic looks in the movie "American Gigolo": RIP to a legend in the industry.

The Thursday Murder Club (Netflix) - fun to see Brosnan & Mirren in more, er...light-hearted roles (compared to their characters in the show Mobland). Other septegenarian British heavy-hitters, including Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie, & Jonathan Pryce provide support. Enjoyable, easy watch. Set up for a sequel, so those writers better start putting pen to a page asap! 🤭

Woot has the Nikon D800 (Body Only) for $999.99 for anyone still interested in getting their DSLR freak on. Update 8/29 - price drop down to only $899 now.

^I was today-years old when I found out this type of thing existed!

^I need to watch "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert". It's been a minute: Watch Terence Stamp’s iconic scene from Priscilla, Queen of the Desert | News | Independent TV

The Day of the Jackal (Peacock) - series based on the 70's movie of the same name. Really good, and a well-curated soundtrack as well!

The Lazarus Project (Netflix) - an absolutely crazy take on the time-travel sci-fi genre. Just finished binging S1, now starting S2. Awesome.

Happy Birthday!

Paradise (Hulu) - not what I expected (in a good way). Only 8 eps in this first season, & ep 7 is very intense. Hoping for a second season.

Happy Birthday!