devwild

haha, he may have a battle on his hands if he ever did

When you can't afford a nice 300mm+ telephoto, you find yourself wanting to crop a lot when you're shooting things (animals, buildings, sunrises, etc.) at a distance. That's the biggest benefit of these new high resolution sensors for everyday use - lots of room to crop and recompose your shot after the fact, and still get something nice to show to the family. If the lens can't keep up, you lose a lot of that wiggle room because the resolution isn't doing you any good. You'll note that I specifically said it's frustrating to detail freaks, but fine for everyday use - I have a similar lens myself and totally agree. That, and you have to realize that as audiophiles of various degrees, most of us have the personality type to begin with! More detail! More range! More bass... wait...

One of the things I like about the Nikons better are the flash options, if you're doing a lot of indoor shots, that's probably a solid plan. Don't forget to pick up or DIY a diffuser, and if you get really ambitious about lighting, there's always cheap strobist kits out there. More evil ways to drain your wallet, that's all we need!

The nikon folks I know eventually tired with this lens and stopped taking it out for just this reason (this is a problem with most of both nikon and canon VR/IS consumer-class zoom lenses), and it's a bigger issue with the newer bodies, because the 12MP+ resolution really lets you know when your lens isn't quite sharp enough. These lenses are great for casual shooting and family photos, but if you're a detail lover (architecture, landscape photography), it will drive you to swap out eventually. However, both companies are upgrading all these lenses because of these complaints, so it's good to keep an eye on the reviews.

It's funny, I'm 6'5" with big spider hands, and while I've heard this a lot, I've never had a problem with the Rebel series. It seems that because my hand size is so large, I curl my fingers downward on the front side of the grip, and it just kind of works. Most of my friends agree with your comments. I have problems with the grips on some normal DSLRs because I can't comfortably hold the grip normally or curl my fingers. It's a good example of why to always try for yourself. The battery grip accessory makes these bodies much easier to hold for most people, but it negates a lot of the size benefit if you wouldn't normally use one (but it is great for portrait shots).

You guys should let me know if you do a comparison of the Stackers and CTH, I'm starting to seriously think I need a hybrid on my desk at work and would be happy to sit down and do some testing - remember the presonus can be really handy for amp comparisons.

A fun site to get you drooling over the lens options (usually a little behind the newest selection, but still good for comparisons and overviews of what's available from both first and third parties): photozone

As said, lenses are really where the money needs to go, it makes a world of difference regardless of the body. Depending on your shooting style I recommend taking a close look at your lens options first and foremost. Personally I own an XSi - I wanted a 50D as an upgrade from my XT, but it didn't come out with certain features I want, and know will be released within a year, so I chose instead to go cheap (I was able to get the body for under $400), and I plan on keeping the XSi even when I do upgrade as a secondary camera. It's not as much of a step below the 40D as some might tell you, the biggest faults being in low light due to limited iso options and a bit less dynamic range. It's a big step up from the previous Rebels with larger viewfinder and more competitive image quality. The resolution and performance is up there with the bigger boys for most shooting, and the small size and weight can be really convenient when traveling. It should be noted that the next rebel is rumored to be released soon - most of the rumored features are unfounded guesses, but it will most likely have more bells and whistles in many ways than the 50D (canon is horrible about that). Basically all I'm saying is that if you want to save some money for lenses, I feel the line is still a viable option - you can always upgrade in a couple years, and once you start buying lenses the body is only a fraction of your total cost. Glass is going to be a long term investment, while the body is going to cause a lot more upgraditis anyway. I've also used the D90 thanks to a friend who recently bought one, and it is an outstanding camera for the price point, and the feature set, including video, is a lot of fun. I considered jumping ship and dumping my canon gear, but couldn't give up the lenses. Right now I'm happy I didn't, because it looks like I'm getting an awesome deal on a lightly used canon 24mm tilt-shift this weekend. As for lenses, I highly recommend the Sigma 10-20mm on either brand (the canon 10-22 on canon bodies performs a little better/costs a little more), a very fun lens. Sigma's new 50mm prime is supposed to be a serious competitor too, and I believe it. There are some great options in 90 or 100mm macro lenses that are worth looking into, and you can either use one of those for a portrait lens, or get an 85mm prime. Good luck!

Bah, all this love, you're making me wish I would have listened to them more at the meet. I was more focused on headphones than amps this time around and didn't really think it through Ah well, I'm sure I'll have more chances

By overall sound quality, and ignoring practicality and amp finickiness issues. "Equality" levels obviously subjective, and despite very different sounds. SR404 > K701 / SA5000 > Frankensenn > K81DJ > KSC75 Throwing in past owned items: SR404 > K701 / SA5000 > SR 225 (c-pad) / HD595 > Frankensenn > SR 80 > A700 > K81DJ > HD280 > KSC50 / KSC75

Well, I prefer lower volumes than the average person... I attribute that as part of the reason I actually like the SA5000 and didn't generally find grados harsh (except on a PPA, that hurt). It seems to depend on the frequency though... perhaps all I can do is buy a pair and try for myself?

How is the bass aside from "less boomy" with the foam removed? Does it get overly bright or harsh at all? (the K701 for example can be ear-piercing defoamed)

Now this is interesting. Makes me want to go ahead and pick up a pair to try out

Koss will release a new electrostat to rival the HE90!

Oh yeah, that reminds me. My couch rig, Onix XCD-88 (opa627) -> M^3 (ad843) -> SA5000 It's been enjoyed by enough people that don't normally care for the 5000 that I feel pretty darn confident with the synergy there, and am afraid to touch it unless I replace it all.

Dared MP-5 w/ Sovtek 12AX7LPs -> K701 IMO better synergy than Aria -> K701, which is considered good, take that for what it's worth.

amen

Apparently the first stores were in seattle in the 70s, didn't know that either (damn edit limit )

Interesting, apparently in 2000, Best Buy purchased magnolia hi-fi, which consisted of a seattle chain and the original Oregon stores I am familiar with (I purchased my HD525s from the Clackamas store in '97, the first oregon magnolia hi-fi was opened in Beaverton in '89). They carry a lot of overpriced crap for the most part, but a few interesting bits. I had no idea this had happened. The local stores haven't changed a bit, but some searching confirms they are now owned by Best Buy (the original stores are now Magnolia Audio/Video and the Best Buy side-stores are Magnolia Home Theater). Very strange to see a northwest local turn into a Best Buy nation-wide name. I don't think that's a change for the better, but honestly I don't think the stores were all that to begin with. Just interesting... http://www.magnoliaav.com/stores/storedetails.asp?id=11

It takes a very... unusual... perspective on the development of human culture and the nature of leadership. 90% of modern democratic debate is quite pointless... and Americans are very poor at looking at the big picture.

Sure, I'll take one

I don't give a rat's ass about the parties. I thought Bush was a moron the first time he ran and felt that he and his appointments/followers throughout the government would likely be impressionable corporate playthings. For the most part that has been the case. 9/11 and Iraq was a surprise, but has not improved my opinion. In particular it pisses me off that not only have we managed to severely alienate ourselves from the rest of the world in the last 6 years mainly due to one man, but that Americans are so blind to the rest of the world that they reelected the guy. I will vote for people who admit their mistakes and stand for what they believe in. I honestly care more about that than what exactly it is they believe in. You know, leaders - something Americans don't believe in any more apparently. To rip off Jon Stewart, don't vote for people "like us" - we're a bunch of fucking morons. Unless of course they believe in something insanely stupid or something that violates our basic rights. Most american politicians who stand for that shit are puppets, and thus don't pass test #1, but you gotta keep an eye out for the crazies too. Don't elect me for example. That's my highly detailed and well constructed arguement.

I mentioned when I first got my 701s on head-fi, any "normal" headphone jack (read consumer level headamp) I plugged them into, the bass was very poorly controlled. That was the first idicator to me that these babies need current, as the SA5000s respond similarly, but IMO not just in the bass... without current, the SA5000 overall is very messy and harsh. I compared the K701 and DT880 a while back on my M^3 (which is biased for low impedance cans) and the K701 easilly surpassed the DT880 on bass control and detail, though not quantity, on that setup.

I've gone through (and continue to go through ) this as well, so I don't blame you one bit

You aren't going to accidentally buy any songs, don't worry. iTunes, unlike realplayer, opens when you open iTunes or plug in an iPod. It doesn't try to tackle you to the ground and do lude things, while crashing your machine at random like realplayer