roadtonowhere08

Happy birthday! Your photos make me jealous of your adventures - especially all those jaw-dropping mountain shots! Have a good one.

I am sure I would like the LCD-2 based on the opinions of people I trust, and with great looks and an alright price, if I was not completely happy with what I have, I'd be ALL over it. This thing? Ugly wood and ugly cable connectors with a price to match its looks? No thanks... I love headphones, but I my interest stops when the price goes north of a thousand bucks. That's speaker investment territory.

Every lossless file that I have is FLAC. It is as future-proof as it gets. Besides, if it does go by the wayside in the distant future, there will be batch converters that will perfectly convert them pain free. Since it is all lossless, the log files are still valid, and all you have to do is change the file extension in the .cue files with notepad for them to be good as well. There might be batch converters for this as well, but I am not aware of any. If you upsample the FLAC itself, you have ruined the file as far as I'm concerned. Do what you want to it on the fly, but the point of archiving CDs in FLAC is to have perfect copies on your hard drive. Use SOX and foobar and upsample all you want, but leave the actual file alone.

And your concerns were...

Well, it's being worshiped over at Sputnikmusic: http://www.sputnikmu...e-for-Drowning/ Unfortunately, most of the votes might be coming from total morons if the comments thread below the review linked are any indication. I agree with your comments, deepak. I am working my way through it, and I really like most of it. Almost all of it is at least good thus far. The only parts that irritate a bit are some of the more extended wankery parts spread very sparsely throughout. Parts of this album give me a very strong Stupid Dream/Lightbulb Sun vibe, which is always a good thing. The darker and more morose pieces are well done, which is good, because sometimes Steven borders (or sometimes bathes in) on the pretentious with the darker stuff. Shame that Steven's prog influences did not save Opeth's Heritage, as this album is clearly superior to it in every way. Overall, I am very, very impressed. It's better than anything he has done since In Absentia. When does this man sleep? EDIT: Finished. The album is out-fricking-standing!!! Blu-Ray copy, here I come!!!

I think there are a few Riverside/Lunatic Soul fans here, so this should be good news: Mariusz Duda + all instrumental = YES PLEASE!!!

http://pitchfork.com...devils-orchard/ Thoughts? Myself? In other news, the predictable and easily digestible yet still very satisfying Insomnium are releasing One For Sorrow October 18th in the U.S. Should make for a great driving on the freeway album like the others:

There is an almost 8 minute album synopsis of the new Mournful Congregation album "The Book Of Kings": http://www.myspace.c...nopsis-84005979 Tracklist: 1. The Catechism of Depression..............19:19 2. The Waterless Streams........................12:18 3. The Bitter Veils of Solemnity.................12:02 4. The Book of Kings................................33:10 Total:01:16:49 It is to be released in the US November 8th. Sad that this will be vastly overshadowed by "Heritage" when this is clearly the superior album just based off the incomplete synopsis... and I LOVE Opeth. Tour dates for people on the west coast/southwest: 11/30 - Seattle, WA - Highline Bar (w/ Samothrace) 12/01 - Portland, OR - Plan B (w/ Merkstave) 12/02 - Arcata, CA - Jumbalaya's (w/ Ash Borer) 12/03 - Oakland, CA - The Metro (w/ Brainoil, Laudanum, Lycus) 12/04 - San Francisco, CA - TBA (w/ Vastum) 12/05 - Los Angeles, CA - TBA 12/06 - Scottsdale, AZ - The Rouge (w/ Rituals) 12/07 - El Paso, TX - Larry O’s Lounge (w/ Impetuous Ritual, Grave Upheaval, Ritual Necromancy, Obeisance) 12/08-11 - San Antonio, TX - Rites of Darkness Festival Here's to hoping the 12/5 show will be near Orange County instead of some crowded ass West LA venue

The higher end Grado stuff (RS and above) has always been overpriced for what it was. Some people LOVE the sound (including me), so the price was rationalized away. Philosophically speaking, it's not a function of making the HP-1000 in the 2k range or so but more of a realization that the top end is over the top and should be adjusted down (or some models eliminated) so that the HP-1000 could fill the $1,000-$1,600 price point. Obviously prices never really go down on product lines, but the product line right now kind of prevents such a product from coming out. I am not sure many people would go for an HP-1000 over $2k (PS-1000 being $1.6k). I know I wouldn't, but I would never buy any headphone at that price point. Ah, gotcha.

There has to be more behind the scenes that we don't know, but damn.

Perhaps, I am not sure. In my experience, I find most reviewers that work for a published company are master wordsmiths and salespeople, but rarely know their head from their asses when it comes to actually knowing the product and the rest of the field. I find that the respected hobbyists (many of you guys) know quite a bit more than just about any paid reviewer. Once I read "the breath of life", I stop reading. Anyone who says that needs to be punched in the nuts. I have never met the man, but I have the same opinion. I quite like the wooden Grados, but to deny enthusiasts the PS-1 or anything from the HP-1000 days is insane. It would make money, and there is no R&D to speak of. I can respect that he wants to look forward and keep the company small, but there is a market for those products, and die-hard fans are practically screaming for them. Give the people what they want.

The HP-1000 series and the PS-1 would do really well if released again, but I seriously doubt it will happen. That review was a pile of crap. It's sad to think some people might lend some credence to that garbage.

Damn, I hit the wrong button...

I am a flats only user, but I have never had a problem with highs with any of my Grados. Perhaps it is because I am using a MAD Super, the flats, or both, but I am very happy. Not neutral obviously, but for the music I listen to, it's mighty satisfying. Since I have HF-2s already, I have no interest in this new phone, but I have to wonder about Grado's product line sometimes. If I was John, my product line would be something like this: SR-60 -> SR-225 -> SR-325 (It has a following) -> RS-2 -> RS-1 -> PS-1 (it really needs to come back) -> A true studio phone like the HP-1000 series All the other phones just seem unnecessary to me.

Totally agree. I would love to hear a PS-1, but the prices now are nuts.

I will give it more listens as well in hopes that it will grow on me, but I doubt it. All the ingredients are there to make an awesome album. Mike is a great clean singer, and the rest of the band is also great. I MUCH prefer Peter and Lopez, but since Mike does everything, most of the credit (and criticism) falls on him as it has been for a long time. I appreciate that he wants a different direction, and he is a fantastic musician through and through, but the song structures and the ideas for this album flat out SUCK. Damnation blows this album out of the water. In other news, seems Mournful Congregation is touring the west coast at the end of the year. I'm going to see if I can go. Should be a good show.

Nobody? Damn, you guys are missing out...

Just heard Heritage from Opeth in its entirety. A complete disappointment. If this is Mikael's homage to 70's prog, then I want nothing to do with it. I am down with long and progressive songs, but the transitions are crucial to sound good rather than disjointed. This album is filled with horrible transitions and extremely uninspired songwriting. I really liked the piano title track, but the rest was positively forgettable. I am very bummed, because Opeth can write such damn good music, but it's been since Damnation that I have been floored by them. Bring back the earthy forest feel - screw the prog... and the album cover sucks sucks sucks!!!

Not sure if any of you follow weather events for fun, but I bet Hurricane Irene will impact many of you East Coasters. If you are interested in following the event unfold, this link is about as good as it gets: http://www.talkweath...carolina-coast/ Looks like it will grind against the East Coast from N. Carolina to MasNoNoNoNoNoNosetts. It definitely has the potential to cause some serious damage. If you live in NYC, mass transit is expected to completely shut down for possible evacuations. If any of you are expected to feel the effects, stay safe and prepare now.

Christ, almost $600 for the "Uber" edition? "That Steven Wilson has NOTHING on us..." Out of curiosity, how much of this is the band's decision, and how much of this is the label? I imagine a band as large as U2 would have at least some say in these things.

I am not really a fan of straight up death metal, but I will try it when I have a chance. What about this album did you like? Nothing groundbreaking, but: Doom/gothic metal that is very easy to get into. Good melodies. Death vocals sound like the singer from Rapture and the clean vocals sound a tiny bit like the singer from Swallow the Sun. Not a classic in my eyes, but a great album for people not well versed in this kind of music (i.e. This ain't Esoteric ).

Since the Darkest Desires thread never went over well (I think the name turned some people off ), and I know there are a few of you who have a rather extensive music collection, I am curious to see if anything has changed from the old Desires threads back on HF. Any new favorite albums or recent discoveries? I know there is the "What are you listening to" thread, but that is a little light on the info and not specific. Here are a few albums that have been getting some serious playing time lately: Mar de Grises Melodic Doom/Death Metal from Chile. While I love Swallow the Sun's first three albums, I have no idea why this band has not overtaken their popularity for this genre. Both bands have fantastic keyboard driven atmosphere. STS gives me that Scandinavian metal forest and fog feel, while Mar de Grises totally makes me feel like I am in the middle of the Atacama Desert sometimes (Listen to Draining the Waterheart's Sleep Just One Dawn from 5:30 onward). Damn good band as they balance delicate beauty and crushing brutality with perfection. Mournful Congregation - The June Frost Best funeral doom metal album ever made. Period. Poema Arcanus - Iconoclast Cut from similar cloth as Mar de Grises. Both are from Chile, both have AWESOME death vocals, and both have outstanding ideas that set them apart from many other bands. Where Mar de Grises' vocalists have a more or less standard yet very pleasing clean voice (think Swallow the Sun), Poema Arcanus' singer has a very unorthodox barritone clean voice. Might turn off some, but I think it's awesome. Void of Silence - Human Antithesis HOLT CRAP! Can you say EPIC? Alan Nemtheanga Averill (from Primordial) sings the hell out of this album. His singing reminds me of Eric Clayton from Savior Machine. The spoken parts can be a bit melodramatic, but if you just go with it, it adds to the album. This just screams to be blasted from BIG speakers!!!

Sounds interesting. Classical based and released by Deutsche Grammophon: http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/gpp/index/tori-amos-debut

Well, the new Opeth single, The Devil's Orchard, was released: http://www.mediafire.com/?9tjxwx4ggxxiiek or http://stereogum.com/766792/opeth-the-devils-orchard-stereogum-premiere/franchises/haunting-the-chapel/ I have not listened to it yet. I'll give it a few listens before I comment, but I am (unfortunately) skeptical...

Anyone have a chance to try them yet?