skullguise

Bumping this ol' thread.....doesn't look like Blackwoods is even available in the USA (?) I'd be surprised if any of the UK online stores would ship to USA, or even if they do if it's worth the $. Any suggestions? Anyone coming over to the USA (Northeast) for a visit? I'll actually keep an eye out for a local who is going there, too.....

I remember Arlington....almost got some Ayre gear there years ago, but couldn't quite afford. Weren't they even their own entity for a while (IE, not partnered with Ensemble)? Sorry to hear of your issues with Ensemble. There were several folks there (Mark M., Mark P., and Brad come to mind) who left to do their own things. John is running the show now and they are seemingly doing well. I haven't paid too much attention to Sam recently, so don't know what kind of praise he's lauded on them. But I have definitely enjoyed what I heard.

I still subscribe to Stereophile....I like it for the pictures I would avoid this DAC at its price. Everything I've heard in the past from MH is better than average but in dire need of updates/upgrades, and just not worth the price of admission new. Dan Wright did a very nice mod job on one of their CD players, but he replaced the whole output stage to start (though yes, with tubes). Cheaper parts, and as dsavitsk points out, some questions on implementation. All adds up for overpriced in my book.....

Loved Darby Crash....."Gimme a fuckin' beeeeeer" And their version of Grand Ol' Flag is priceless! I saw Ani Difranco Saturday night, a sometimes quirky but very talented lady. Not even as familiar with her newer work, but was highly enjoyable. Outdoor concert, JUST escaped the rain!

Do you know if this is build 7600? I have seen reference to that as being the RTM, but not sure if I should believe it or not.

I have a 4.0 DAC, and love it. I don't find it too bright, could be system dependencies or interactions. At list price, there's a heck of a lot more competition these days. But used, around the $400-450 mark, it's pretty tough to beat IMO. Detail/resolution, spacious sounding, extended highs (again, not too bright IMO though) are strengths. Deep quality bass is the main weakness. I haven't heard the Buffalo DAC except for a brief listening in an unfamiliar system. But the ESS DAC's and a good implementation look like they are winners. You'll pay more, maybe up to double what the OMZ costs used. That could be worth it if you have the money. If not, I don't think the OMZ will disappoint by any means.

If it's a "lite" Linux Kernel with a new web-based window system, what will there be for apps? I can't see this going too far, in all honesty. Though it may get my old PIII-1GHz system back from the dead Liked the Fake Steve article, pretty good and funny stuff. Asus started something good with their first netbook, but the main complaint I tended to hear (aside from power) was the cheap interface. Even when folks were installing full Linux on it, it was still a niche. Netbooks started getting bigger once companies put WinXP on it. Sorry, but that's what the masses are used to. Browser interface may be better than that first Asus machine interface, but I'm thinking it still won't be enough. Heck, if MS is so scared, they can probably offer a lite version of their own (aren't they doing it on the OLPC initiative anyway?), and the sheep will buy that.

Indeed? Actually, thanks, I'll check out Blackewoods as well.....

Not a gin connoisseur by any means, but I have recently been drinking it some with dinners. Usually with tonic and lime. Just went out to a nice place last night, and ordered Bombay Sapphire. Waitress, a gin lover herself (and dang cute!), recommended one I had only heard of but never learned about or tried: Hendricks of Scotland Distilled with flowers and cucumbers! I took her recommendation, though, and glad I did! Was a very smooth yet flavorful gin, with none of the pseudo-paint-thinner scent I've smelled before, even a bit on some of the best gins. Highly recommended....will likely get a bottle for myself, first hard alcohol I've bought since Absenthe became legal again in the US.....

Yeah, I heard about this too late, too....didn't check their site, but someone else said the same thing you did (N/A now) I'll start looking again, will ping you if I find.....

Agreed on points of songs being great, and Margo's voice. I loved Trinity Sessions when I first got it, and musically, liked The Caution Horses even better; a little more personal, maybe more gritty in the emotional sense....just connected with me more. I remember they did a Tonight Show appearance, and Jay Leno held their CD up in front of him and announced that the new album "The Cautious Horses" [sic] was now available... I've enjoyed just about all of their albums since, but none as much as these two. I picked up Whites Off Earth Now after these two, and it was pretty nice, too, coming in a fairly close 3rd place for me. I seem to recall a few critics called Trinity their debut album. Never got to see them live, though.....bummed about that.

SOTA "Moonbeam," aka Rambo Bose Kitty....great friend, one-time brief unofficial Head-Fi mascot thanks to Photochop. This guy peaked at around 32lbs, and when he passed away he was down to about 17lbs. Oddly, he died of Melanoma, apparently very rare in cats.... Pic a bit before he left us A few months later, we got Gryphon (L) and Tab....wonderful friends, too (but no SOTA)

Hey Nate, Have you tried MicroSeconds in Salem (Rt 28, across from Best Buy)? Prices are OK, not quite as good as Mail Order of course; but they can put together a decent system with focus on what you'd need, and put it together for you so you don't have to do it if you don't want. I'm sure tey'd do some testing on it too. FYI, haven't read the WHOLE thread, but I saw tkam's PDF quote. Very good system, but I'd spend a little more for an ATI 4850 based GPU; the others below just aren't as good.....overkill most of the time, but good for when you need the power.

First post on the site, and figures it has to be about friggin' cables! In my exprience, a slightly better than average cable (like the Belkin Gold) works well. I had bought a MisterX HPDAC (2 of them actually, I usedone at work). Used a basic simple shielded USB cable, and with low impedence phones, I got horrible distortion. Brought e one at work home, it also had distortion. Went back and forth with Marshall a couple times, then tried the Belkin Gold cord. No more distortion at all, with any phone..... I haven't been able to tell any other difference, but there you have it. FYI, the old USB cable is connecting external HDD to my PC now, and never had any data errors FWIW..... Now back to our regularly schedule snake oil discussion